Resumo de Bible

C. S. Lewis eloquently points out in his book ?Mere Christianity? that all humanity has an innate sense of right and wrong. And while our conscience may be skewed at times by our sinful nature, our judicial sentiment is curiously untainted. Judicial sentiment is the thing inside us that judges others. For instance, when we get mad at someone for lying to us regardless of the fact that we lied to them we find ourselves under the paradox of judicial sentiment. Let someone steal a stamp from the bank robber, or someone slap the mother of the serial killer and he will burn with anger, demanding that judgment fall upon the offender. This is judicial sentiment. It transcends all cultural, religious, and economic lines. It has been evident throughout all known history.
It should also be noted that no one can live up to their own judicial sentiment. Some might say that this is a trait learned from society. There are, however, two problems with that argument. The first is the failure of some to follow societal guidelines. For instance, most societies teach that murder is wrong, but there are those that still kill with complete disregard for the laws. The societal conscience that holds most in check is shrugged off by them. Yet, their judicial sentiment is still intact. The second problem is that judicial sentiment is universal. By this I mean that it may differ as to what constitutes an insult based on the society you live in, the fact of an insult never changes. It is always seen as disrespectful and offensive. So the question is where does this moral standard come from? As we?ve already seen there are three reasons that it cannot come from man, 1) it is universal, 2) no man can live up to it (it would follow that any code that man made would leave him with the ability to adhere to it), 3) it is permanent and unchangeable by any individual. Therefore there must be a ?Supreme Moralist?; A personality that has set the moral bar by His own character.
At this point we have to take two steps towards the most reasonable conclusion based on the evidence at hand. The first step is, if there is a creator whose power we cannot even fathom, if there is a ?Supreme Moralist? whose code we can?t negate or even live up to; then he must be infinite. Without ever touching the Word of God we can ascertain that there is an infinite creator who is the supreme moralist.
Now the next step, if the creator is infinite and we are finite, then it is impossible for us to understand certain things by self examination. A created thing could never declare its own purpose, only the creator could. Nor could a finite mind understand, by self examination, the personality of an infinite creator. So we are left with the need for special revelation from the creator for answers to such questions. It seems illogical that a creator would create mankind and leave us without the means of knowing Him.
Now, imagine if you will, hearing about a person who saw an infant in a trash can and left it there to fend for its self. Would you not want to see that person punished? If indeed you would, then like me, you believe that abandonment falls under the ?moral code? ingrained in our judicial sentiment. If this is so, wouldn?t it be impossible for the Supreme Moralist to abandon us?
If we apply these two points to what we have already determined we have a picture of what we can know of God outside of the Bible. He is the infinite creator and supreme moralist who is bound by logic and his own character to reveal himself in a special way, because we cannot know him otherwise.
Now we search for special revelation. The Supreme Moralist must be true and logical; therefore His revelation must be true and logical. These tests are negative in nature and as such cannot tell us what is true. They can however reveal to us what is not true.
For the purpose of brevity I willuse only the Bible, but I encourage you to apply these tests to other religious books.
1) Does it explain creation? yes
2) Does it deal with our inability to uphold the ?moral code?? yes (Christ)
3) Is it illogical or contradictory? no
4) Is it scientifically sound? yes
5) Is it archeologically sound? yes.
Now let?s see if there is any thing that can be positive proof for the Bible. First I will point to the miraculous signs recorded in the Bible. Though we cannot see them now, there were enough witnesses that this evidence shouldn?t be taken lightly.
The last proof I will offer is prophesy. The Bible is unique to all books that claim to be the revelation of God in that it has fulfilled prophesies. Their specificity refutes any claim that they?re fulfillment is coincidental. No other book makes documented claims about the future that are now fulfilled. Given all the evidence, which I am positive is not exhaustive; the Bible is the revelation of God to mankind. It is not only illogical, but dangerous not to take it at face value. It is truth and as such we are obligated to incorporate it into our world view.

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