There’s a story in the Bible about one of Jesus’ disciples named Thomas. When the resurrected Jesus was seen by many of his disciples and Mary Magdalene, Thomas said he didn’t believe it. He went onto say that he would believe them when he could stick his finger in Jesus’ wounds which were in his side and in his hands. Jesus then appeared at that moment to Thomas and said to him, “Thomas, put your finger in my side, now put your finger in my hands.” Thomas fell to his knees and said to Jesus “My lord my God”. Jesus replied, “Thomas, you believe because you have seen, blessed are those who believe who have not seen.” John 20: 26-29
Thomas is a good example of the world today. Many people doubt current events in which we have video footage and pictures. The holocaust, the moon landing and the September 11th attacks. So why am I surprised that people would doubt Jesus’ existence over two thousand years ago! Because I was one of them.
I was raised by a Christian mother and Muslim father. I realized my mother and father were at odds over the subject of God, and I was not sure who was right or wrong. Actually, I thought they both were wrong. So when I finished my church obligations I never went back, living life with reckless abandon.
From that time until well into my forties, I was my own God. Based on what I had observed over the years, “Religion” was for weak-minded people who could not cope with life’s problems, who did not want to face death or needed a “personal” God larger than themselves. To me, “religion” was an ugly thing, and anyone who considered themselves religious was a judgmental hypocrite. I believed everyone has their own path in life and I would be in charge of mine. Besides, I was a good person with some faults but nothing worth being told I am going to hell over.
That all changed in 2009, when my wife became spiritually attacked. From that experience, she became a devoted follower of Jesus. I was still an unbeliever about the subject of God, demons, and the Bible. Being raised in the church and baptized, that was my “proof” that I knew “their” God and he was just a fairy tale. Truth of the matter is, other than my Bible study teacher telling us some stories, I never really read it. I was good at acting like I had inside information by reciting a few verses and parables I learned but that was it.
My wife confronted me with questions I couldn’t answer and then she said something to me that really pissed me off. She said, you don’t want to believe in God or change because you love your sin! What is that suppose to mean I said?? What’s the big deal, I like to get drunk once in a while, I use profane language, I get angry, I’ve said mean things and most of all, I like my internet porn, what guy doesn’t? I added that I am no different than any other normal man. So how does that make me a bad person?
She told me these were all sins in Gods eyes and I was no different than a murderer, thief or other crook. I laughed and told her thats absurd, I’m a good person. She said according to your definition you are good but not Gods. If there is a heaven do you think your definition of “good” is what God is looking for or His? This made me more angry.
She challenged me to read the Bible and I told her I was familiar with it and didn’t need to. She questioned me further about the Bible and again….I had no answers. I thought to myself- I never really read it, never challenged it, nor did I investigate anything for that matter. I relied on what the main stream media wants to present me with and their image of God and the Bible. I began to question, am I the one who is really brain washed? So I went on a mission to investigate this “Jesus” in an attempt to prove her wrong. Anyone who knows me will attest, I can take on a good challenge and reading the Bible was a 1200 page challenge!!!
Before reading any religious material I first had to believe that there was in fact a God. Is it possible that a “God” exists? What proof is there? As I poured over everything I could find on the subject, I kept coming back to several facts which were hard to ignore or write off:
- I always wondered, who made God? If we had a beginning then so did He right? Did God just appear out of no where? If so how? As I looked into things more and more I saw that the universe and our world are governed by scientific laws. Gravity, the laws of thermo dynamics, time, space and matter. So if we have all these scientific laws…there must be a law maker. If there is a law maker then there is a God who made those laws. I then realized….how do I know what world God lives in and do those laws apply in his realm? There it was, my “ah ha” moment, our physical laws were are applicable to God because He made them. God is not governed by anything pertaining to this world. Basically, I was placing God into my own little box or world. Our day is not equal to God’s day. This mind set led me to believe that scientists are on the same level as lawyers. A lawyer interprets laws created by the law-maker. A scientists interprets physical laws made by a creator. God has always existed and according to the Bible He said, “I am the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Revelation 22:13
- Another thing that made me believe in a powerful God was DNA. When I look at a skyscraper like the Sears Tower in Chicago. I know that there was an architect. That building required a design and it didn’t just happen for no reason, with no guidance or instruction over millions of years of unobserved evolution. The Sears tower had a creator (an architect) and it started with a “blue print”. That blue print contained, electrical, plumbing, carpentry and many other trades. The human body is amazing as well. Now add to that all the other incredible forms of life in our world which roam on land, sea and in the air. Each of those incredible forms of wild life has a blue print inside every cell. Even Charles Darwin was unaware of the amazing infrastructure life has. So If we have a blue print for life then there had to be a creator and not random chance with no direction or guidance. It’s hard to believe that if I cracked an egg on the concrete and waited a million years that it would somehow “evolve” into a chicken or a much more complex organism. Talk about faith!!!!!
- Art Appreciation- The other thing someone asked me to consider was wether or not I appreciated art work. I said yes of coarse I do. They went onto say when you walk into a room and see a painting, do you think that painting just happened out of no where? All that ink, oil and paper came together with no guidance? That it was formed over millions of years of unobserved evolution? I said no it was painted by an artist. He said how do you know that? I said because it’s too complex and organized. Right he replied and so is your body and this world. If you can envision a painter that uses only paper and ink, why is it so hard to envision a creator of our world.
These were the main reasons why I believed there was a creator. Our world is too complex and evolution didn’t make any sense, especially after researching Darwinism and the many unexplained facts. For example, if every living creature evolved from the sea, the fact that there are NOT millions upon millions of transitional fossils being discovered really put a dent in evolution. I think the “Cambria” explosion explains why- Google it. Recently they also discovered a T-Rex dinosaur with blood and tissue which means it can’t be millions of years old. Also the fact that geologists can’t explain why the mount St. Helens eruption appears to be (by scientific standards) millions of years old but we know in happened on May 18th 1980. I always thought carbon dating was infallible as well and learned that it too is known to be inaccurate. It bases the results on using a set criteria of atmospheric conditions and we all know the atmosphere and temperatures change.
Another huge evolution blunder is the story about “Piltdown man”, a mistake or hoax by our scientific community that lasted forty five years. With all these inconsistencies in the theory of evolution that my teachers and the world never alerted me to made me question….. are some of our “Darwinian scientists” hiding any “God” discoveries from us which may put an end to there God complex?
If I sound angry or mad it’s because I am. I was lied to for so many years in the public school system that God didn’t exist. I now realize atheism is a “belief system” as well. So why is it being taught over creationism? Teach both and let the individual decide. I guess that would be too open minded though! When I was an unbeliever and had questions people would say, “you have to have faith”. I didn’t like that answer, I wanted facts. I now realize the facts support a creator and I need more faith to be an atheist.
So I now believe in a “God”, but I felt the need to investigate which religion may be right. My experience being raised by parents from different religious backgrounds led me to explore not just the Bible, but all three main world religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as well as some others. What I found odd was that Islam and Judaism require followers to perform “good deeds” and works to experience God’s grace. And yet, no one from Islam or Judaism could tell me how many good deeds I would have to perform in order to meet the Almighty’s requirements. In addition, I realized that “God” is not synonymous with “religion”. Religion is a man made construct that has become corrupted and ugly over time.
When I decided to read the Bible I approached it with an inquisitive mind seeking truth not confirmation bias, which is what I did when I was a non-believer. Being an ex-police officer I realized the importance of finding truth in not only evidence but peoples actions. Do the actions match the words and do the stories make sense. Using this logic I saw truth in everything I read, more particularly in the actions of three players or groups in the Bible who were dramatically effected and changed.
- The Disciples– Here are a group of men who followed Jesus all the way up until his capture. Once Jesus was taken into custody they all ran like scared kids and even denied knowing Jesus. We all know the story of Peter and him denying Jesus three times before the cock crowed. However, after Jesus was resurrected and seen again by the disciples they all went onto die horrible deaths promoting Jesus’ ministry and words. These were men dramatically effected by their experience with the resurrected Jesus and their actions prove it.
- The Apostle Paul- aka Saul– Here is a man that was a Jewish Pharisee and despised the followers of Christ. He hated them so much he became the most feared killer of Christians during his time. One day on the road to damascus he was confronted by the resurrected Jesus who asked him, “Saul, why do you persecute me” (Acts 9:4) Saul was then blinded by Jesus and told to go speak to a man named Ananias who would give him his site back. Ananias would also give Saul instructions about what God required of him. Saul was so moved by his experience meeting the resurrected Jesus, that he became a devout follower and went onto author most of the new testament. Again, here is a man dramatically transformed by a single event- an encounter with the resurrected Jesus.
- Jesus himself– Thomas Jefferson was one of our countries founding fathers. A brilliant man. He loved the teachings of Christ and considered him a great moral teacher. In fact, he was so fond of Christ, he authored his own version of the Bible called the “Jefferson Bible”. The difference being that he removed everything from the original Bible, in which Jesus mentioned he was from God.
Jesus’ claims that he was from God are monumental and polarizing and if one ignores this claim from Jesus, they cannot claim he is a great moral teacher. In the words of the great author C.S. Lewis these claims of being God, made Jesus one of three things. A Liar, a Lunatic or he is in fact who he claimed to be, God in the flesh. Being a retired cop I have confronted a lot of liars. I don’t know any liar that would carry a lie all the way to the end where they would be beaten and nailed to a cross. Anyone threatened with this outcome would reveal the lie and move on. Is Jesus a lunatic? If you then believe he is a lunatic no one can call him a great moral teacher. Muslims say Jesus was a great prophet. In fact, Jesus is mentioned more in the Quran than Mohammad himself!!! Jesus’ actions were not those of a liar or a lunatic so that leaves only one thing, he is who he claimed to be, the Son of God.
So in looking at the actions of all the players involved it became clear to me that Jesus and all the others did not have the actions of someone trying to make up a story or seemed to be crazy. The Bible held up to my investigative standards or actions of someone telling the truth.
After further research it became clear to me that Jesus was not only who he claimed to be but I realized why many people never experience true happiness or why the rich and famous never are satisfied and the answer is based on one simple fact- “Love”. God created us to experience many emotions. However, how amazing is love! A parents love for a child is one of the most incredible emotions in life. The next best thing is the love between a man and woman while making a child.
What we all want more than anything in this life is to be loved. It overrides all other emotions. I don’t care how many houses you can afford or vehicles you can buy, it’s really all about love. You can’t hug your jewelry, house or car or have a conversation with those material things. Besides, once we’re dead, you can’t take any of those items with you- only your soul! Jesus constantly preached love and forgiveness in order to enter His Kingdom. It is the most important thing next to loving God with all your heart, soul and mind.
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40 ESV)
After reading about the love of Christ and His ultimate sacrifice which was dying for my sins on the cross, I could not imagine believing or following anything else. When I look back, I realized that my unbelief was driven by the “do what I want” mentality as long as I’m a “good person”. As my wife stated earlier to me, the problem is each one of us has our own perception of what defines a “good person” or a “bad one”. So who is right? Are you sure your definition of “good” is the right one and not the author of the Bible- God? Is investigating where your soul will spend eternity important?
“yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” (JAMES 4:14 ESV)
Do your research and find out for yourself. Get to know Jesus, not religion and have a relationship with the creator of the universe.
May God Bless you – John Turk