Do you consider yourself religious?
Recent studies have shown that the percentage of Americans who call themselves non-religious has increased to about 20%, which is up about 5% in the last ten years alone.
Why is this?
Contemporary times have an underlying cynical tone that tells people NOT to believe everything they hear. This might be good advice in general (it is), but in terms of religion it could limit what people are exposed to.
(This might be the topic of another blog post, but the more times people hear something the more likely it starts to "sink in" and affect behavior and attitude).
The cynical tone of the contemporary culture can lead a person to want more verification before believing something. Christians like to believe there is enough in the Bible to convince anyone who has an open mind that Jesus in the Eternal Son Of God. However, this is IF one looks at things properly, which could involve instruction from others.
The cynical tone is demonstrated when people make comments like, "I'll believe it when I see it."
Furthermore, humans are taught not to believe everything they do see, as it could be a trick. How could a person believe in a higher power if they can not see it?
This post focuses on some of the reasons why a person SHOULD believe in at least a larger power.. Just by looking around the world and the characteristics of things in it could a person begin to fathom how a higher power could be present?
Why Should You Believe In A Power Greater Than Yourself?
1. The Bible is timeless.
The Bible itself was written by about 66 authors over a time span of nearly 1,500 years. They were all pointing to or delivering the same message. All the prophets, patriarchs, ministers, priests, psalm writers, etc. were pointing to the same conclusion.
The values in the Bible are meant to apply to ALL subsequent generation, regardless of changes in things such as scientific technology.
On the other hand science changes so much what was believed 20 years ago might be out of date. It is not one coherent message, even with all of the technology advances.
2. It is evident there are powers greater than humans.
In the twelve step program after you acknowledge that you have a problem the next step is to recognize there is a power greater than yourself. It is important to realize you are not the greatest power in the universe and that you can not live without this power. If a person looks at how many stars are in the sky or at the miracle of a baby being born he/she can begin to get a sense of the magnitude of this power
Outside of a twelve step program one can also look at the Bible..
In the Book Of Romans in the Bible it reads,
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
What If You Are Not A Christian?
3.Mystery
This could include things like deja vu, things you think ares a coincidence or just something Have you ever had an instinct and it turned out to be right? Maybe not, but you might have experienced something in your life that is hard to explain to others.
The common modern phrase to refer to this phenomenon is "God works in mysterious ways."
4. Intelligent Design
There are many factors that all have to work together in a certain way for human life to exist on earth at all. These include things such as water, gravity, heat, inc. (For information please refer to Conditions Necessary For Life.
From everystockphoto.comThe universe is a very large place and the probability of human life is low. Some have actually tried to approximate the chance of human life arising by accident. Mel Robbins, self-help author, mentioned that scientists calculate the probability of your existing as you, today, at about one in 400 trillion (4×1014).
(As a frame of reference a billion is a one with 9 zeroes).
That is a lot.
You can draw your own conclusion, of course.
These posts have a Christian base. However a reasonable person could conclude that there is at least a power larger than they are.
You might also be interested in:
So, Should You Think There Is A God?
The Case For Christ
Author: Albert Wagner
