[Gathnet] To anyone who has an answer

[SKM]

Elissa Gathman wrote:

> I was recently in a conversation with my grandmother who is an 
> atheist. A question arose that I could not answer. We were talking 
> about the book of Romans, and I  was explaining how God spoke/speaks 
> through Paul to us. But then she asked how I know that it really is 
> God speaking to us. How do we know that it's not Paul alone? Sure we 
> can back up stories written in the bible through architectural 
> findings. But the bible isn't all stories, how do we back up the parts 
> of the bible that speak simply of gods love, and his commandments to us?
>    Lissa

Dear Elissa,
    This is a very commonly raised objection: you have been asked to 
prove that this is God's word. There are many, many ways to approach 
this. Your father and aunt Beth could probably answer better than most. 
Another good philosophical source is C. S. Lewis' _Mere Christianity_.

    But here goes one try. Be aware that no approach is completely, 
proof-positive certain.
1. Faith: faith is believing something /without /proof. Many born-again 
Christians will tell you that they know God in their heart, and that his 
life in them is proof for their faith.
2. Evidence: Although you, Elissa, and I were not with Paul when he 
wrote these words, there were indeed lots of witnesses who were there. 
Many of them had seen Jesus and his miracles: they had, in effect, seen 
and heard God. These witnesses could have said "What Paul says is not 
from God - it is bunk." but they did not. Paul's writings are very 
widely copied in ancient manuscripts, and were taken by these very 
witnesses of Jesus for what Paul claimed them to be.
3. Consistency: the teaching of Paul in Romans is consistent with the 
old Testament and with the life and teachings of Jesus as recorded in 
the Gospels.
4. Experience: The teachings have born the test of time. Have you 
noticed that those who follow the Bible's commands (including Paul's) 
are different from the "crowd"? They are kind, humble, helpful, loving, 
and in every way admirable.

    Let's turn this around: How does ANYONE "know" whether any ancient 
manuscript is true? The Bible has a cloud of witnesses. Not proof, but 
pretty good.

Sincerely,
Uncle Scott