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Questions about Faith, Part 2
by Rusty Wright
Why should I believe a Bible that’s full of contradictions? How can Jesus be the only way to God? That sounds awfully narrow. Faith seems like a blind leap.
Ever have questions like that? So have I. May I propose some answers that made sense to me? You may not agree with these responses, but I hope you’ll feel that considering such important issues can be healthy.
What about all the contradictions in the Bible?
If we were interacting over lunch, I would ask you (very politely!) to please suggest some specific contradictions. Since we are not face-to-face, please consider some relevant principles.
Omission does not necessarily create contradiction. For example, in the New Testament (“NT,” a collection of writings by Jesus’ early followers), Luke writes of two angels at Jesus’ tomb after the Resurrection.[i] Matthew, another NT writer, mentions “an angel.”[ii] Is this a contradiction? If Matthew stated that only one angel was present, the accounts would be dissonant. As it stands, they can be harmonized.
Differing accounts aren’t necessarily contradictory. Matthew and Luke, for example, differ in their accounts of Jesus’ birth. Luke records Joseph and Mary (Jesus’ parents) starting in Nazareth, traveling to Bethlehem (Jesus’ birthplace), and returning to Nazareth.[iii] Matthew starts with Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, relates the family’s journey to Egypt to escape King Herod’s rage, and recounts their travel to Nazareth after Herod’s death.[iv] The Gospels (NT books about Jesus’ life) never claim to be exhaustive records. Biographers must be selective. The accounts seem complementary, not contradictory.
Space precludes more complex examples here. But time and again, supposed biblical problems fade in light of logic, history, and archaeology. The Bible’s track record under scrutiny argues for its trustworthiness.[v]
How can Jesus be the only way to God?
When I was in secondary school, an alumnus visited, saying he had found Christ at Harvard. I respected his character and tact and listened intently. But I could not stomach Jesus’ claim that “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”[vi] That seemed way too narrow.
Two years later, my spiritual and intellectual journey had changed my view. The logic that drew me (reluctantly) to his position involves three questions:
- If God exists, could there be only one way to reach Him? To be open-minded, I had to admit this possibility.
- Why consider Jesus as a candidate for that possible one way? He claimed it. His plan of rescuing humans – “by grace . . . through faith . . . not . . . works”[vii] – was distinct from those requiring works, as many other religions do. These two kinds of systems were mutually exclusive. Both could be false or either could be true, but both could not be true.
- Was Jesus’ plan true? Historical evidence for His resurrection, fulfilled prophecy and deity, and for the reliability of the New Testament, convinced me I could trust His words.
I could never take the blind leap of faith that believing in Jesus requires.
We exercise faith every day. Few of us comprehend everything about electricity or aerodynamics, but we have evidence of their validity. Whenever we use electric lights or airplanes, we exercise faith – not blind faith, but faith based on evidence. Christians act similarly. The evidence for Jesus is compelling, so one can trust Him on that basis.
The good life I’ve lived is enough to please God. I don’t need to rely on Jesus.
That was my perspective. I’d found success in secondary school athletics, academics and student government. I hadn’t committed murder. I tried to be a good person and figured God should accept me. Then friends in university got me to reconsider.
James, Jesus’ brother, wrote, “The person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as the person who has broken all of God’s laws.”[viii]
Suppose earth’s population were lined up on North America’s west coast for a swimming race to Hawaii. At the starting gun, everyone jumps into the Pacific. Imagine that an hour later, you could check their progress from a helicopter. Way out front would be an Olympic swimmer. Next would be another athlete. In the swarm of swimmers would be parents, their kids, your neighbors and coworkers.
Some poor wino would be drowning a hundred feet off shore. Behind the wino would be me. From the wino’s viewpoint, the Olympic swimmer is farther than s/he will ever get.
Now suppose you had a satellite view. None of the swimmers is very far. None will make it to Hawaii. The distance is too great.
Similarly, the moral and spiritual distance between us and God is infinite. We cannot bridge the gap on our own. That’s why Jesus died, to bridge the gap by paying the penalty for our wrongdoings. “God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”[ix]
If we could earn eternal life by being good, we might boast about it for eternity. When someone believes in Jesus – asking God to use His death as their means of forgiveness – that person is forgiven, not based on their performance but on Jesus’.
If I had a traffic fine I couldn’t pay, you could offer to pay it for me. I could refuse your gift and suffer the consequences. It’s the same with Jesus. We can tell God, Thanks for sending Jesus to die and rise again for me. I accept your free gift of forgiveness and eternal life. Help me to become your good friend. Or we can refuse His free gift and spend eternity away from Him. That would not be pleasant.
Many barriers to faith are emotional rather than merely intellectual. As a teenager, I nearly was expelled from secondary school for some problems I helped create. In my pain and anger I wondered, “Why would God allow this to happen?” I was mad at God! In retrospect, I realize I was blaming Him for my own bad choices. My personal anguish at the time kept me from seeing that.
You may be turned off because Christians haven’t acted like Jesus. Maybe you’re angry at God because of personal illness, a broken relationship, a loved one’s death, or personal pain. I hope you can see that He loves you very much and wants to be your friend. He sent His Son to die for you and me. It makes sense to trust someone who would do that. Will you consider Him?
Rusty Wright is an author and lecturer with Probe.org who has spoken on six continents. He holds Bachelor of Science (psychology) and Master of Theology degrees from Duke and Oxford universities, respectively. www.probe.org/Rusty
This article first appeared in Answer magazine 4:5 September/October 2006. Copyright © 2006 by Rusty Wright. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
i] Luke 24:1-9.
[ii] Matthew 28:1-8 NASB.
[iii] Luke 1:26-2:40.
[iv] Matthew 1:18-2:23.
[v] For more on evidences for Jesus and questions about faith, visit www.WhoIsJesus-really.com and www.Probe.org.
[vi] John 14:6 NASB.
[vii] Ephesians 2:8-9 NASB.
[viii] James 2:10 NLT.
[ix] 2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT.