Let’s think this through

How many times have we requested, “If we are wrong, please show us?” I bring this up is because we recently heard a person who viewed an episode of our TV program on YouTube. He is what he wrote:
 

“You don’t treat facts the same way we run our justice system. Something that is said is not a fact until proven wrong, something becomes fact when it is proven right. So your entire basis is backwards. A talking serpent has never been seen or observed, ever. No person has ever been seen capable of parting water. You are believing what you chose to believe, and I feel terrible for the children in the room you are brainwashing.”

Those who believe they have the truth should never be afraid or get upset when challenged. With that in mind, let’s examine the comment we received. It is important to read carefully to avoid misunderstanding what was written. Too often people disagree with something that was not said. As this article proceeds, please reread the submitted comment a few times to keep it fresh in your mind.

Let us first address the statement that “A talking serpent has never been seen or observed.” We read in Genesis 3:1-4 that Eve saw and observed the talking serpent. On this point, a person will either accept the Bible as fact or reject it. The same goes with the parting of the waters. In Exodus 14:21-22, there were plenty of people that saw the parted waters. Even those who did not believe in the God of heaven (the Egyptian army), were also witnesses of what Moses did (verse 23).

Now let’s turn our attention to his statement concerning our justice system. He declared, “Something that is said is not fact until proven wrong, something becomes fact when it is proven right.”  He then indicates that eyewitness accounts are the burden of proof to prove something true. However, courts use circumstantial evidence all the time. If no one was an eyewitness, does that mean no one could ever be convicted of a crime? Of course they can. If there is overwhelming evidence that a person committed a crime, the charge is considered true.

Moreover, people accept things that have not been explicitly demonstrated all the time in their daily lives. For example, if I say I had a hamburger for lunch, the statement is accepted as truth until it is proven that I lied. Would this man accept that Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet? No eyewitnesses are alive today. We accept this fact based on Shakespeare’s own claim and written historical records. Christians do the same thing regarding the Bible.

I do take exception to the final claim that I am brainwashing people. That would be true if I told people to believe whatever I said without checking it out (Acts 17:11). It would be true if I asked people to believe things that did not work logically. The argument given in response to the TV program was very thin, and yet the final claim (brainwashing) is very strong. At a minimum, making flimsy claims like that is no better than the brainwashing he accused me of!

It is true that we walk by faith (II Cor. 5:7). But this is not blind faith. It’s actually the opposite – our faith is based on evidence (facts). Hebrews 11:1 states that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We did not have to be present during the days of creation to know that God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1).  I did not have to be present when man made the pyramids to state that they were manmade. Some people are very quick to dismiss the beliefs of Christians, yet they believe many things about this universe with far less evidence. If someone is going to convince me that I am wrong, I will need more than a statement saying I am!

                                                                                                                                                Chuck