We
believe in the Bible, the written and preserved revelation of the Creator.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God
may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
2 Peter 1:20-21 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a
matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of
human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
Psalms 119:72 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the
smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Matthew 5:18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the
smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
T rustworthiness of the
manuscripts
H istorical and
Archaeological Accuracy
E vidence from Science
B est Diagnosis of
Mankind’s Problems and Needs
I ndestructible Message
B ible Consistency and
Unity
L ife-Transforming
Universal Influence
E xtensive Prophetic
Accuracy
Mao Zedong and China
Mao, throughout his leadership of the Chinese Communist Party,
persecuted Christians. During the
beginning of the People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong and the Communists had seized control and 10,000
missionaries were forced to leave the country.
Persecution of Christians proceeded at full throttle. Mao Zedong did not want any foreign influence
on the people. During the dark years of
Mao’s ‘Great Leap Forward’ (launched in 1958) and ‘The Great Proletarian
Cultural Revolution’ (launched in 1966), many of the Christian leaders were
killed and imprisoned for their faith, and many others spent years in hard
labor camps. According to an article in
Epoch Times, “The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) has lost all composure in the
frantic persecution of religion. During
the Cultural Revolution, numerous temples and mosques were torn down, and monks
were paraded in humiliation in the streets.
In Tibet, 90% of the temples were damaged. Even today, the CCP continues
religious persecution, jailing tens of thousands of house church Christians.
From the time of Trajan (reigned 98-117) until
Constantine (c.300), virtually every one of the Roman emperors was opposed to
Christianity. It is true that not all of
them actively tried to suppress it, but few of them encouraged Christianity in
any way. Many of their efforts were
directed toward destroying the Bible.
Of Diocletian
(284-316), the ruler immediately preceding Constantine, Eusebius, the historian
said, “royal edicts were published everywhere, commanding that the churches be
leveled to the ground and the Scriptures destroyed by fire”
After this edict has been in force for two
years, Diocletian boasted, “I have completely exterminated the Christian
writings from the face of the earth!” (Rimmer, Seven Wonders of the Wonderful
Word, p.15). But had he completely destroyed it?
History tells us that the next ruler, Constantine, became a Christian. He requested that copies of the Scriptures be
made for all the churches. But
alas! Diocletian had completely obliterated
the Word of God. After Constantine
offered a substantial reward for a copy of the Scriptures, within 25 hours 50
copies of the Bible were brought to him!
Voltaire
(Francois-Marie Arouet), the noted French infidel, who died in 1778, made his
attempt to destroy the Bible. He boldly
made the prediction that within 100 years the Bible and Christianity would be
swept from existence into oblivion.
But Voltaire’s efforts and his bold prophecy
failed as miserably as did those of his unbelieving predecessors.
In fact, within 100 years, the very printing
press upon which Voltaire had printed his infidel literature was being used to
print copies of the Bible. And afterward
the very house, in which the boasting Voltaire had lived, was literally stacked
with Bibles prepared by the Geneva Bible Society. Voltaire and all his cohorts had miserably
failed.
H.L. Hastings has forcibly illustrated the
unique way the Bible has withstood the attacks of infidelity and skepticism:
“Infidels for eighteen hundred years have been refuting and overthrowing this
book, and yet [it] stands today as solid as a rock. Its circulation increases and it is more
loved and cherished and read today than ever before. Infidels, with all their assaults, make about
as much impression on this book as a man with a tack hammer would on the
Pyramids of Egypt.
“When the French monarch proposed the
persecution of the Christians in the dominion, as old statesman and warrior
said to him, ‘Sire, the Church of God is an anvil that has worn out many
hammers.’ So the idea of infidels have
been pecking away at this book for ages, but the hammers are worn out, and that
anvil still endures. If this book had
not been the book of God, men would have destroyed it long ago. Emperors and popes, kings and priests,
princes and rulers have all tried their hand at it; they die and the book still
lives” (ref.11, pp 17-18)
Bernard Ramim adds that: “A thousand times over,
the death knell of the Bible has been sounded, the funeral procession formed,
the inscription cut on the tombstone, and committal read. But somehow the corpse never stays put. No other book has been so chopped, knifed,
sifted, scrutinized, and vilified. What
book on philosophy or religion or psychology or belles letters of classical or
modern times has been subject to such a mass attack as the Bible? With such venom and skepticism? With such thoroughness and erudition? Upon every chapter, line and tenet? The Bible is still loved by millions, read by
millions, and studied by millions” (ref. 14, pp 232-233).
No claim that has been made to discredit the Bible has ever been
proved to be true!
Joseph Stalin
and The Soviet Union (1922-1952)
The history of Christianity in the Soviet Union
was not limited to repression and secularization. Soviet policy toward religion was based on
the ideology of Marxism-Leninism, which made atheism the official doctrine of
the Soviet Union. Marxism-Leninism has
consistently advocated the control, suppression, and the elimination of
religion.
The state was committed to the destruction of
religion, and destroyed churches, mosques and temples, ridiculed, harassed and
executed religious leaders, flooded the schools and media with atheistic
propaganda, and generally promoted ‘scientific atheism’ as the truth that
society should accept. The total number
of Christians killed, as a result of Soviet state atheist policies, has been
estimated at over 20 million.
Religious beliefs and practices persisted among the majority of the population, in the domestic and private spheres but also in the scattered public spaces allowed by a state that recognized its failure to eradicate religion and the political dangers of an unrelenting culture war.
Life-Transforming
Universal Influence
Some say, “The proof is in the pudding.” In other words, if it tastes good and fills
the tummy, that is proof that it is good.
It results in satisfaction. Are
people satisfied by trusting in Jesus Christ and what He and His disciples
taught? The answer in an overwhelming,
“Yes”, from those who really do believe and follow Christ’s teaching. If the Bible is true the lives and habits and
attitudes of those who believe should change greatly.
Consider C.S.
Lewis, one of the intellectual giants of the 20th century. During his time at Oxford, he went from being
an atheist to one of the most influential Christian writers of the 20th
century.
How about Frances Collins, a physician-geneticist
noted for his leadership of the Human Genome Project? He currently serves as Director of NIH in
Bethesda, MD.
Saul
of Tarsus
The story of his conversion is given in Acts
chapter 8. Read it for yourself and see
the great change it made in his life. He
was hunting down, arresting, and approving of even the death of
Christians. After his salvation he
became a powerful preacher of the faith, a wonderful blessing to the
Church. Paul (Saul) recounts his
conversion before king Agrippa in Acts chapter 26. Robert Morgan (Beyond Reasonable Doubt)
asked, “How can you explain that the greatest destroyer of Christianity became
its greatest defender? How can you
explain his metamorphosis, as he gladly endured a lifetime of shame, suffering,
and the executioner’s sword to spread the faith he had once labored to
ruin? The mind of Saul of Tarsus was
brilliant. His training was superb. His passion was unquenchable. His background and heritage flowed with the
Jewish blood of a hundred generations.
Yet in one moment he was transformed from the greatest enemy the early
church ever faced into the greatest missionary the world has ever known. What power could so change a life? The Gospel!
The Gospel’s chain of witnesses from the days of Saul of Tarsus to our
own is unbroken, and it grows stronger still.”
John Nicholson
There were 100’s of thousands-maybe millions in
each generation between Saul (Paul) and John, but he wanted to skip to the 20th
century. John was a Christian. He wanted a room in a hotel which was so he
was asked to share a room with Samuel Hill.
These men enjoyed fellowship so much that a second time when they shared
a room they started an organization called “The Gideons.” Many a man and woman have believed in Christ
by reading Bibles placed in hotel rooms by the Gideons without any person there
to help! As Morgan implicated, the power
is in the Gospel (good news) of Christ.
Botembo Isako
Botembo Isako left teaching to become a
soldier. “He lived an evil life, doing
drugs, committing immorality, and misusing his authority against civilians.”
One day when he was assigned to lead a security team at a soccer
game, he sent the others inside and he stayed outside. There he robbed the people he was supposed to
protect. He searched a 17 year old, but
only found a small New Testament. He was
angry and beat the teen until he broke loose and ran away covered in
blood. The teen called out, “God bless
you. May the Lord forgive you.”
At home that evening, Botembo began to read it
and remembering what the young man had said, eventually he begged God for
forgiveness. He left the army that day
and is now a pastor serving the Lord, and still looking for that young
man. What other book would have such an
effect on a man? What book would take
one who only thought of his own desires at everyone else’s expense and make him
into a loving man who is now more concerned about the needs of others? Changed him from one who laughed at religion
to one who preaches Christ and Him crucified, buried, risen and coming again?
At the tender age of 7, Jim Tucker saw his
mother nearly beaten to death by a robber who broke into their house. His mother was hospitalized for some time and
Jim was put in foster care. “From there
he went to juvenile halls, reform schools, and jails” Morgan wrote. He used drugs and alcohol and
turned to a life of crime and eventually, was put on the FBI’s most wanted
list. He faced over 600 counts of crime
and was sentenced to prison for 90 years.
Morgan wrote that he resolved… “to be even tougher and meaner than
ever.” Wherever he was placed, he staged
one man riots, taking on 5 or 6 guards at a time; destroying cells, starting
fires, attacking and maiming other inmates.
His chest was 54”, his waist was 32”, and he could press 400 lbs. They called him ‘the animal’.”
The prison had to deal with him special ways
with powerful drugs, shock therapy, and other unusual actions. He was finally put into a solitary,
soundproof 5’x8’ steel-doored box with no bed, mattress or bathroom, only a
drain in the floor. He was there as long
as 3 years, though no one was supposed to be in there more than 29 days. After
27 years he was released and started back into crime.
Finally he went to the top of a building to jump
off and end it all, but couldn’t jump.
So he went into his hotel room where he found a Bible and started to
read it. Although he never cried during
his 27 years of prison life, he cried after reading about the love of God. Now he goes to prisons to preach the Gospel
of Christ that others may be freed from sin and eternal death. He tells them that, “No one wanted me…but
God!”
Morgan concluded this story with “No one is
beyond the power and influence of the Gospel, and no one is hopeless in God’s
sight. The Lord is in the business of
transforming the heartless and giving hope to the hopeless.”
Gary Fossen
Gary grew up with an outwardly happy childhood,
playing Little League ball, camping, fishing with his family. They lived in the suburbs and had everything
money could buy. But under Gary’s skin,
the blood ran dark and devious. During
his college years, he took a shotgun and killed the only three people who had
ever loved him: his parents and sister.
He was arrested,
convicted, and sent to prison. He felt
no remorse and described himself as an animal.
One day a clergyman came to his prison and started talking about Jesus
Christ. Gary cursed him and told him
that if he got any closer to the bars that separated them, he would kill
him. To his surprise, the preacher kept
returning. But Gary only cursed him at
every opportunity. One day the minister
gave Gary a small Gideon New Testament.
Gary took the book, spat on it, threw it on the floor, and kicked it
across the room and under his bunk.
Sometime later, Gary Fossen grew unbelievably lonely and decided to kill
himself. A former paramedic in a nearby
cell told him how to cut himself with razor blades so that he would bleed
freely and die quickly. They smuggled in
a razor, and Gary waited for the lights to go out. He thought about writing a suicide note, but
he realized no one would be interested.
He had no one to mourn his death.
Then
he remembered the little book under his bunk.
He thought perhaps he should at least read a verse of Scripture before
killing himself. He turned to Romans and
started reading chapter 6. He went on to
Romans 7 and 8. He said, “I had never
read the Bible before and the words started burning inside of me.” He knelt by
his bunk and began trying to pray. He
asked God to show him how to be sorry because he still had no remorse. “That night, I saw a slow-motion movie of my
life,” he later said. “I saw every
wicked thing I had ever done and I began to write them all down. The list went on for page and page and I wept
over each one. I had not cried at all
after the murders, but here I was in my cell crying.”
That night forever changed Gary Fossen. “I was still in prison, but it didn’t
matter. That was the end of the pain and
loneliness. I would never be alone
again. I am still in prison, but I thank
God for His Word that is so powerful that it cut into the deep calluses of my
heart and seared through all the layers of hate.”
Now,
ask yourself-can Shakespeare have such an effect? Can Homer or Milton? Or, for that matter, can the writings of
Darwin? No. Charles Darwin once wrote a letter to a
Christian minister named J.W. Fegan who had conducted a preaching crusade in a
village in England. As a result of
Fegan’s campaign, the alcoholics were converted and the bars closed down. Darwin wrote to Fegan saying, “We (the
evolutionists) have never been able to reclaim a drunkard, but through your
services I do not know that there is a drunkard left in the village.”
Jacoby Koshy was
determined to have lots of money in life and ended up dealing in drugs and
gambling and eventually international smuggling. He was arrested and placed in a government
drug rehab prison in Singapore. Knowing that
all his goals and desires were stopped, he became extremely frustrated. A no-smoking rule caused him to smuggle
tobacco into prison and he rolled it up in pages from a Gideon Bible. While smoking one such cigarette he fell
asleep and it went out and he read the charred paper that remained. He read,
“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”
He asked for another Bible to read the story of Saul and realized that
God could change him, too!” He trusted
Christ and wept about his sinful life.
He told other prisoners what God had done for him, and upon his release
he got involved in a church. He married
and became a Far East missionary preaching about what Christ can do for
us. Morgan concluded the story with,
“What other book possesses such power?”
Robert Morgan ends with this summar, “These
stories are but representative of millions upon millions, many of whom have
freely laid down their lives for Christ and His kingdom…Other religions and
philosophies may modify behavior, but only Christianity transforms a person’s
character from the inside out. Only
Christianity offers a never-ending parade of witnesses, millions upon millions,
from every tongue and tribe, spanning every era since the cross, covering every
age and race, who gladly say, ‘Come and see! Come and meet the Master. Come and let me tell you how He changed my
life.’
I should
know. I am one among the untold millions
whose lives have been touched by the Master’s hand. I hope you, too, are among those who have
learned that, yes…it works.”
I, too, am one of
those who invite you to come and find the peace and enriched life that trusting in Christ can bring. Won’t you join with us, that great number,
too big to be counted, and enjoy the wonder of the Christian life, a life that
is eternal? It never ends! Praise God! –Beyond Reasonable Doubt.
Romans
1:21 For even though they knew God,
they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations,
and their foolish heart was darkened.
Romans
1:24 Therefore God gave them over in
the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored
among them.
Romans
1:28-32 And just as they did not see fit
to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do
those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness,
wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are
gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors
of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy,
unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that
those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same,
but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
Romans
3:10 as it is written, “There is none
righteous, not even one;
Romans
3:14-17 “Whose mouth is full of cursing
and bitterness”; 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood, 16 Destruction and
misery are in their paths, 17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
Matthew
11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary
and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn
from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the
Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will
have the Light of life.”
John
8:31-32 So Jesus was saying to those Jews
who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples
of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
We believe in God, the Creator of the Universe.
Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word
of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
Jeremiah 10:12 - "He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens at His discretion."
Romans 1:20 - For since the creation of the world His
invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are
made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse."
Psalm 19:1-3 - "The heavens declare the glory of
God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their
voice is not heard."
We believe in Jesus
Christ.
His Centrality: We believe
we were made by Christ and for Christ and that life cannot work separated from
Him.
Colossians 1:15-16 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all
creation. For by Him all things were
created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created
through Him and for Him.
Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name
under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.
His Sacrifice: We believe
that, in love, Christ gave Himself on the cross for our sins and that He rose
alive from the grave in order to satisfy universal justice and remove all basis
for human distrust.
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the
unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the
flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For the love of Christ controls us,
having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He
died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but
for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
2 Corinthians 19-21 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself,
not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word
of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are
ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg
you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might
become the righteousness of God in Him.
His Promises: We believe
in His promises of forgiveness and eternal life in His kingdom to come for all
who are reconciled to God through faith that follows Christ freely, fully, and
forever.
John 10:27-28 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him
forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes
is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of
Moses.
Acts 13:38-39 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him
forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes
is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of
Moses.
We believe in Man’s Need of a Savior
Romans 3:10 as it is written,
“There is none righteous, not even one;
Romans 3:14-17 “Whose mouth is full
of cursing and bitterness”; 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood, 16
Destruction and misery are in their paths, 17 And the path of peace they have
not known.”
Romans 3:12 All have turned
aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is
not even one.”
We believe that ONLY Through Christ, we are “Justified”
Just (as)
If
I’d never sinned!
We believe in The Importance of God’s Justice
Isaiah 33:22 For the Lord is our
judge, The Lord is our lawgiver, The Lord is our king; He will save us—
Romans 3:19-26 Now we know that
whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every
mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; 20 because
by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the
Law comes the knowledge of sin.
Justification by Faith
21 But now apart from
the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the
Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus
Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His
grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed
publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness,
because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;
26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so
that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
“It is
impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.” ~George Washington
We Believe in the Consistency and Unity in the Bible
Genesis
3:21 Animal slain to cover nakedness of fallen man
Genesis 4:2-4
Abel’s offering accepted-necessary
Genesis
22:7-8 Abraham, God provides the lamb
Exodus
12:6-7, 12-13 The slaying of the lamb
Leviticus
22:21 The lamb must be spotless-pure
Isaiah
53:4-7 The Lamb is a Person (prophecy of Christ)
John 1:29
John identifies the Lamb
Acts 8:
32-35 Christ proclaimed as the Lamb
1 Peter
1:18-19 Christ the sacrificed, sinless Lamb
Revelation
5:6, 11-12 The Lamb worshipped
1 Corinthians 15:12-14 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised
from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the
dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been
raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your
faith also is vain.
1 Corinthians 15:17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is
worthless; you are still in your sins.
1 Corinthians 15:20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the
first fruits of those who are asleep.
Albert L.
Roper-Graduate of University of Virginia Law School, once began a thorough
legal investigation into the evidence for the resurrection of Christ, asking
himself: Can any intelligent person accept the Resurrection story? After examining the evidence, he came away
asking a different question: Can any intelligent person deny the weight of this
evidence?
Frank Morison, English Journalist, viewed Christianity
with disfavor, deciding that if he could prove Christ’s resurrection was a mere
myth, he could debunk all Christianity.
He poured over the evidence, absorbing all information he could and
marshaling all his arguments. Not only
was he unable to disprove the Resurrection, but he was compelled on the weight
of the evidence to become a Christian himself.
He wrote a book called, “Who Moved the Stone?” that is a powerful
argument in favor of the Resurrection.
Josh McDowell in “Evidence that
Demands a Verdict”, took the challenge of other college students to
intellectually examine the claims of Christ and the evidence supporting
Christianity. After much study and
research, he finally admitted that he could not refute the body of proof
supporting Christianity. One of the
major factors in his conversion was his inability to ignore the historical
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Lord Littleton and Gilbert West
English, Jurist/Literary Scholar…set out to disprove Christianity. They
agreed that if Christianity was to be discredited, two things were necessary:
to disprove the Resurrection and to explain the conversion of Saul of Tarsus in
a way that satisfied skeptics. They
invested over a year of their studies, then met together to compare notes. Each one was astonished to discover the other
had become a Christian. The evidence was
too strong, the truth was undeniable.
Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ
(How an Agnostic Inspired a Tale of the Christ)
In 1876, after a conversation on a train with a well-known
atheist, Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, Lew Wallace realized that he didn’t know as
much as he would like to about his own faith. (He attended the Methodist Church
off and on throughout his life, but considered himself indifferent to
religion.)
Ingersoll didn’t mean to do it, but he goaded Lew into taking
Christ seriously. Taking a train to Indianapolis
one evening, Lew Wallace heard someone call his name. It proved to be the notorious agnostic Robert
Ingersoll, who, as a colonel with the 11th Illinois Cavalry
volunteers, had fought under General Wallace at Shiloh. Ingersoll invited Lew into his compartment to
talk.
Lew claimed the right to choose the subject. His themes were all of a religious
nature. He gave them to Ingersoll and
here is Lew’s description of what happened—“He was in prime mood; and
beginning, his ideas turned to speech, slowing like a heated river. His manner
of putting things was marvelous; and as the Wedding Guest was held by the
glittering eye of the Ancient Mariner, I sat spellbound, listening to a medley
of argument, eloquence, wit, satire, audacity, irreverence, poetry, brilliant
antitheses, and pungent excoriation of believers in God, Christ, and Heaven,
the like of which I had never heard. He
surpassed himself, and that is saying a great deal.
The speech was brought to an end by our arrival at the
Indianapolis Central Station nearly two hours after its commencment. Upon alighting from the car, we separated, he
to go to a hotel, and I to my brother’s, a long way up northeast of town. The street-cars were at my service, but I
preferred to walk, for I was in a confusion of mind not unlike dazement.
To explain this, it is necessary now to confess that my
attitude with respect to religion had been one of absolute indifference. I had heard it argued times innumerable,
always without interest. So, too, I had
read the sermons of great preachers…but always for the surpassing charm of
their rhetoric. But—how strange! To lift me out of my indifference, one would
think only strong affirmations of things regarded holiest would do. Yet here was I now moved as never before, and
by what? The most outright denials of
all human knowledge of God, Christ, Heaven, and the Hereafter which figures so
in the hope and faith of the believing everywhere. Was the Colonel right? What had I on which to answer yes or no? He had made me ashamed of my ignorance: and
then—here is the unexpected of the affair—as I walked on in the cool darkness,
I was aroused for the first time in my life to the importance of religion.
To write all my reflections would require many pages. I pass them to say simply that I resolved to
study the subject…It only remains to say that I did as resolved. The novel was the result of seven years
research and writing…The results, first, the book Ben Hur, and second, a
conviction amounting to absolute belief in God and the Divinity of
Christ.”
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