​We live in a world that is both beautiful and bewildering. Each of us tends to interpret both the beautiful moments and the bewildering complexities of life through our worldview. A world view is simply how we view the world. It's like looking out your bedroom window at the traffic on the street. Imagine you had a blue tint in your window glass. All the traffic on the street would have a blue tint to your view. If you had blinds on your window, most of your view might even be obstructed. The truth however, is that the style of your window would not affect the reality of what's happening on the street below. It would though affect your perception of reality. Obviously the best window would be the one that is transparent - one through which we can accurately perceive and interpret reality or what's real.​

 

Think about it.

 

If you were looking through a blue window and saw a red car drive by, it might look purple to you. You might walk away with the belief that you just saw a purple car. You might tell your friends you saw a purple car. After all, you SAW a purple car!​

 

In this case you interpreted the evidence (the car) as being purple, but the faulty interpretation does not change the reality (truth) of what colour the car actually is - red.​

 

Worldviews don't deal with automobiles however. Instead they are the window through which we look to understand where we came from, where we are going, the meaning of life and the reason for morality.​

And people interpret the evidence based upon their worldview. Obviously the more transparent the window through which we look, the more accurately we will see reality and interpret the evidence. And the fact is, Truth is truth whether we believe it or not.​

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So it's time to install some transparent glass in our window and remove the blinds. It's time to view the evidence all around us through a framework that is logical, consistent, coherent, and accurate. And that window is the window of faith.​

 

       But not any just any faith.

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                  Specifically, Biblical faith.

 

We've looked and found the Bible to be that transparent glass, as it were, allowing us to perceive reality as it really is.

 

For real.

 

Maybe you're thinking, "Based upon what? Why not some other religious or secular writings?"

 

As Carl Sagan made popular, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence", and we agree.

 

In the Bible's case, both the claims and the evidence are extraordinary!

 

You see before we can accurately interpret reality around us, we need to have a few basic questions answered such as where did I come from and why am I here? You see these presuppositions are like the individual molecules within the glass window pane. Our beliefs on those questions influence everything we look at. Unfortunately, many people have incorporated faulty reasoning into the answers to those questions. It works like this: "I will prove that the car is purple because by looking through the window, I see a purple car. Therefore the purple car proves that I have the right window."

 

The reality however in this situation is that the tint of the window (presuppositions about origins/meaning etc) is causing the viewed car (evidence) to appear purple instead of its true color - red. This tends to reinforce the belief of the person with the tinted window, even if it's faulty.

 

Therefore we need an external reference point that we can use to first test the window's clarity before we can be certain that it's transmitting to us a picture of reality that is "untinted". We need to make sure we have the right window.

The Bible provides just such a reference point. In fact it's so amazing, so profound, that it will probably shock you! But before we touch on the ultimate external reference point, here's a quick review on why the Bible is unique from every other religious or secular text.

 

1. Internal consistency - You see, the 66 books of the Bible were written by 40 different authors over 1500 years on 3 continents. From beginning to end, the same picture of God and humanity is presented. There are no theological contradictions! How hard would it be to find 40 people to agree on anything, especially religion, let alone people separated by time and space. By contrast, the Koran was written by one man over 25 years.

 

This internal consistency argues strongly for a supernatural origin.

 

2. Translational consistency - In 1947, the famous Dead Sea scrolls were found. Untouched for almost 2000 years, archaeologists opened a time capsule in those clay jars! Inside were found portions from every book of the Old Testament except Esther. There was a complete book of Isaiah, and incredibly it was 99% accurate to what we have today in our Bible! We can absolutely know that the Old Testament that Jesus had, is the same one we have today.

Additionally, there exist over 5000 different manuscripts of the New Testament. They are 97% in agreement.

Even though the Bible was written several thousand years ago, we can know that we have the same text today. In fact there is more historical, manuscript evidence for the Bible than anything else in history. Basically, every other historical manuscript has far, far less supporting evidence than the Bible.

 

This translational consistency argues strongly for a supernatural origin.

 

3. Culturally relevant - There are at least some people from every ethnicity and culture in the world who love the Bible. It has universal appeal, and has been universally sold/printed/distributed globally more than any other book. Ever.

 

So now let's get into the "external reference point". Another way to say this is a "super-natural" or an above/outside nature reference point. And since the Bible makes some supernatural claims, we need some supernatural evidence.

 

Something that will point not just to its supernatural origin, but to its Divine origin.

 

So here it is:

 

"Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done." Isaiah 46:9,10

 

Did you catch that? The God of the Bible is making 2 claims:

 

1. That He is the only God there is - the only self-existent Creator.

2. That no one else is like Him - no one anywhere is as good, as just, and as compassionate as Himself. No one has a character or personality like Him.

 

Then there is the bombshell - God reveals the future before it happens. In fact He reveals the future way, way before it happens. God in essence is saying "You can believe my extraordinary claims based upon this extraordinary evidence: I will tell what's going to happen before it happens"

 

Think about it.

 

He can only declare/reveal the future if He knows the future! That's definitely a sign of Divinity, not just a supernatural sign!

People can manipulate nature. Magicians can do some amazing things to elicit a response in people that are less knowledgeable than themselves. Even a supernatural miracle does not necessarily reveal Divinity.

 

But knowing the future. That's not a supernatural characteristic, that's a Divine characteristic.

 

God reveals that He has jurisdiction over not just space and matter, but over time itself.

 

Approximately 1/3 of the Bible is prophecy. Prophecy is simply the fancy word for saying "history in advance" or revelations of the future. It's like God is standing in our room and saying, "I know there are a lot of window salesmen around. There are so many windows for sale, and it's hard to know which one is the best. Use this window - it's clear, I guarantee it. And to give you confidence that I'm telling you the truth, in the next 24 hours, items A,B,C,D,E,F and G will walk/drive down the street at exactly these times_____. No other window salesman can say that".

 

And over the next 24 hours, as you intently look through your window, everything that was told you happens exactly as predicted.

 

Then you recognize that same car you had seen earlier. But this time it's red, not purple! You now realize that you are beginning to observe reality as it really is. To see things truly.

 

That clear window is the Biblical worldview.

 

      The true color of life can now be observed.

 

      The complexities and nuances of life begin to be understood.

 

      Personal peace begins to be realized as meaninglessness gives way to meaning.

 

                    You see

 

Finally, there is another evidence to support the accuracy of the Biblical worldview.

 

It's us.

 

Our experience. We've been looking through this glass for some time, and it's amazing! We'd love to share more of what we see.

 

And this analogy of the tinted versus clear apartment window? A more accurate analogy is blindness versus sight.

 

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see."

 

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