God's Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty by Rice Broocks

Scripture can be trusted.
    The Bible contains commandments and laws commonly referred to as the “Thou shalt nots.” They are not just prohibitions but statements of reality that function as moral laws. Just as gravity and relativity function in the physical world, breaking these moral laws has consequences. If you’re driving down the road and see a warning sign that says “Danger Ahead! Bridge Out!” you don’t resent the sign or the person who put it there. Its purpose is to protect you, not harm you. The harm comes from ignoring the sign. In the same way, harm comes from ignoring the commandments of God.
    But there are also promises. God is a promise maker and a promise keeper. “I will bless you” (Genesis 12:2), He says. “ ‘Honor your father and mother,’ which is the first commandment with a promise: ‘that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth’ ” (Ephesians 6:2–3). There are more promises than commandments, over seven thousand in fact. There are actually promises that help us keep the commandments. “Having thesepromises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves of all filthiness of the flesh and spirit” (2 Corinthians 7:1). God doesn’t give commandments He knows we cannot keep, but we cannot keep them without His help.
    It’s like the Apple computer I’m using to write this manuscript (the analogy applies to PC users as well). To know how it works, I must consult the instruction manual Apple gave me. I must repair it with Apple parts and use a charge cord specifically made for Apple computers. I never consider those requirements exclusive or unfair. I focus more on the amazing things the computer can do, and I see the instructions for operating it properly as helpful, not as a hardship.
    In the same way, because we are designed by God, we function best with His power and truth by following His instructions. Any deviation hurts us in the way that putting water instead of gasoline in an automobile’s engine will hinder its function. God wants to empower us to live optimally in the world He made, so He gave us accurate instructions on how this happens. The Bible, in a real sense, is the instruction manual for life.
    T HE M OST P OPULAR B OOK IN THE W ORLD
    There is no way to overstate the Bible’s importance in terms of how it has shaped history, given value and dignity to mankind, defined good and evil, given rights to women and children , and shown that everyone who fears Him is welcome in His presence (Acts 10:35). It is safe to say that you cannot understand the world we live in without understanding the Bible. From the foundations of Western civilization to the Middle East crisis, theBible is the key to understanding the origins of these and other events.
    The knowledge of God that comes through creation is general revelation . There is enough evidence of God in what God has created that we are “without excuse” to reject His existence (Romans 1:20). The Scripture is God’s special revelation to man in that we are given greater clarity as to what God is like. Special revelation is like putting on glasses and seeing clearly what we can only see partially through general revelation.
    D O Y OU R EAD THE B IBLE L ITERALLY?
    Well, first of all, it is important literally to read it and not just own a Bible. Having a big one on your coffee table or at your bedside won’t help you much. Many skeptics who dismiss the Bible have never really read it. Picking it up and skimming through it doesn’t help your life any more than picking up a calculus book and skimming through it would help you build a rocket ship.
    There are various types of literature in the Bible: poetry, allegory, parables, history, didactic, epistolary, apocalyptic, prophecy , and more. To say you read the Bible literally means you take it in the sense that the author intended to communicate the written message. There are many theories that critics have put forth to diminish the weight of the Bible’s