A changed life, Becoming a Christian, Believing in evidence and logic, Believing in God, Believing in Jesus, Does God exist?, Evidence for God, Finding God, knowing God, Reason-based faith

#1: I Made Discoveries that Powerfully Impacted My Life

(For much-more information about this blog, see the home page at https://reasonbasedfaith.com/.)

At the outset, it’s likely that readers will wonder why I’m writing this blog. What is my motivation or reason for writing? I believe that four factors have contributed to this.

Factor #1 is that I used to be a passionate and very committed atheist who tried to persuade Christians to become atheists! I shared with them the “good news” (from my perspective) that God doesn’t exist! I felt I had a good reason: I thought God’s non-existence was “good news” because applying this “knowledge” would free people from religious restrictions.

Factor #2 is that I met a Christian who knew how to invalidate and refute the anti-God argument I used. (I thought that this argument proved that God didn’t exist; however, it contained a false premise and therefore proved nothing. She pointed this out to me.) Also, this Christian challenged me to investigate, for myself, whether there was actual evidence for the biblical God’s existence, as she claimed.

I accepted the challenge

Factor #3 is that I chose to accept the challenge and to carefully study this question of evidence, which I found could be more-precisely described as “evidences.” (I agree with those scholars who believe that “evidence,” as a noun, has a legitimate plural form—“evidences”—and is not an “uncountable noun.” One reason is that its synonyms have plural forms; another is that the concept of multiple evidences supporting a particular theory is well-understood and established within the realm and purview of science. Cf. American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition, 2016.)

I studied these evidences with a fair amount of objectivity because my Christian friend seemed to be so certain that they were compelling. What especially motivated me was that she was somehow—I didn’t know how at the time—SO convinced that the Christian or biblical God was real! I had never met a Christian (even the ones I argued with) that was as convinced as she was! Because she was this convinced, I began to think that it just MIGHT be possible that He actually WAS real, and this gave me the open-mindedness to be fairly impartial and objective as I took up her challenge, to study to see if this was so.

Reading glasses and books suggest a serious desire to study.
Reading glasses and books suggest the possibility of good study habits.

The afterlife as a possibility

Also, I realized that, if the biblical God really existed, the Bible’s portrayal of the afterlife (i.e. Heaven and Hell) might actually be true to reality! Of course, as an atheist, I thought that Hell was utterly nonsensical and foolish—just a made-up story—but what if I was mistaken? The possible consequences of being mistaken (in this situation) motivated me all the more to try to be objective, even though Hell still seemed like nonsense.

I also asked myself, “What if God had a legitimate reason for creating Hell—and we know nothing about that reason? Isn’t this at least a possibility? And shouldn’t I allow for it? My not seeing a legitimate reason for Hell doesn’t mean that there couldn’t be one!”

(Parenthetically: today, I understand Hell better—it makes more sense than what it did—though I still don’t understand it perfectly. There are three extrabiblical factors supporting Hell’s existence. Firstly and philosophically: without Hell, there is extreme injustice: those who commit heinous or horrific crimes, and are not caught by the civil authorities, are never punished; with Hell, they are. Secondly, some near-death experiences appear to be veridical or demonstrative of fact, as I’ll discuss later, and there are hellish near-death experiences just as there are heavenly ones. Thirdly, numerous evidences and reasons cumulatively establish God’s existence to a high degree of probability and there logically would be justice after death in a theistic or God-created reality. Conclusion: the totality of evidence points towards Hell’s existence, even if we can’t understand it perfectly.)

Therefore, I spent months in careful, conscientious study because I tried my best to be objective and to come face-to-face with reality, whatever it might be like. In retrospect, I now see that this attitude (of wanting to know the truth more than anything else) is what it took for me to be brutally honest: I had to admit to myself that I could actually be mistaken about such an important feature of reality as God’s existence.

The evidence convinced me

To make a long story short, in part because of my newly-acquired objectivity, and in part because of the compelling nature of three of the evidences I found, I became a Christian myself! I understood how the evidences demonstrated that the biblical God’s existence is highly probable, especially from a cumulative perspective or within a cumulative case.

That is, each form of evidence raised the probability of God’s existence to a degree, and then, from a cumulative perspective—i.e. considering every form of evidence—I viewed His existence as highly probable. I didn’t rationally or reasonably think that these evidences would all likely point to the biblical God’s existence if He didn’t exist. (Today I know of many more—over thirty groups of evidences—that support His existence.)

At that time, I hypothetically could have resisted believing, but considering the compelling nature of those three evidences, I would have been intellectually dishonest in doing so, and I couldn’t tolerate that. Also, since these three evidences were very compelling, it would have actually required more faith for me to continue to disbelieve, rather than to simply believe in the biblical God’s existence!

In other words, since I couldn’t bring myself to believe CONTRARY to the evidence—it’s only rational (or only makes sense) to believe in ACCORDANCE with the evidence—therefore, I realized that it would be more rational for me to believe rather than to disbelieve. Thus, I chose to believe—I took a step of faith—and became a Christian.

The DIFFERENCE was that, formerly, as an atheist, I didn’t see any evidence for God. Now, after careful study, I saw three potent or convincing evidences. (Two of these evidences will appear in a post titled, “The Strongest Historical Evidences for Jesus and the Resurrection.”)

I agreed with Lee Strobel

I was then able to agree with journalist and former atheist, Lee Strobel, who is also a nationally-known author. He holds a Master of Studies in Law degree from Yale Law School and has been interviewed numerous times on national television, including CNN, ABC’s 20/20, and Fox News.

Beginning in 1980, Strobel spent a year and nine months carefully studying evidences. He wrote in his bestseller, The Case for Christ: “On November 8, 1981, I summarized the evidence for and against Christianity on a yellow legal pad. Based on the avalanche of evidence that pointed so powerfully toward the truth of Christianity, I concluded that it would take more faith for me to maintain my atheism than to become a Christian.” (The Case for Christ Movie Edition: Solving the Biggest Mystery of All Time, Zondervan, 2017, from the appendix, “An Interview with Lee Strobel,” Kindle locations 5592-5594)

In my case, the words were different, but the meaning and perspective were the same. I knew I couldn’t continue to believe contrary to where the evidence pointed. Some may say, “What evidence?” That’s what I’ll discuss and explain in my posts. However, I can present the following:

Evidences and logical arguments for God

Here’s a list of videos – many of them animated videos – that feature logical arguments for God, based on evidence, from Reasonable Faith, the organization founded by Dr. William Lane Craig:

By the way: today I’m very familiar with atheistic explanations for such evidences as Christ’s resurrection, Paul’s conversion, Bible prophecy, the beginning of the universe, the fine-tuning of the universe, the uncanny applicability of mathematics to the physical world, the algorithmic information encoded in DNA, and a number of other evidences that point to God. However, I find that these atheistic explanations don’t correspond to or match up with certain details of these evidences. When the details are carefully considered, it becomes clear that these evidences do actually point to and, along with other evidences, cumulatively demonstrate the reality of God’s existence.

What is reason-based faith?

Some readers may wonder about some of my above statements. It’s simple: the stronger the evidence is, the less faith we need to believe what that evidence supports or demonstrates to be true. The stronger the evidence is, the more rational and logical it becomes to believe something because it’s more likely to BE true. If something is highly probable on the basis of evidence and logic or reason, it’s easy to believe it—you only need a little bit of faith to do so! I call this belief “reason-based faith.” (This is explained well in the Introduction—in the section, “The Faith of an Atheist”—of the lay-friendly book, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist by Drs. Norman Geisler and Frank Turek, Crossway Books, 2004.)

(Of course, there are those who have faith instinctively, without apparently basing it on evidence or logic. The Bible does not say that this is wrong—it may be the faith mentioned in 1Corinthians 12:8-9. But I’ll speak for myself here: since, as an atheist, I wanted to base what I believed on evidence and logic, I felt a need to be sure that my newfound faith in the biblical God was similarly based on evidence and logic, and so it is.)

Scientists have faith in their theories before they’re experimentally and/or observationally confirmed because the evidence they do have points in the direction of that theory’s validity (otherwise, they would have never proposed it). So too can we have faith in God’s existence because many evidences cumulatively point to Him as a living reality—in my opinion, to a high degree of probability,

Thus, reason-based faith is believing in what the evidence logically demonstrates to be true to reality, especially within a cumulative case. This agrees with the definition of Dr. William Lane Craig, a Christian scholar well-known in the academic world. He affirmed that: “Faith is trusting in what we have good reason to think is true.” (This quote is from the video, “Why Should I Believe that God Exists? Ratio Christi Clemson welcomes Dr. William Lane Craig” at the 1 hour, 2-minute mark; accessed 10/14/2019.)

It can be comparatively easy to believe

The reason-based faith approach can make it comparatively easy to believe in God. Specifically: we examine evidences and reasons (ideally in the form of logical arguments) and then understand WHY they cumulatively show that God’s existence is very reasonable and probable. We can become familiar with the many (over thirty groups of) evidences and associated arguments, and then understand why God’s existence and identity are so logically and cogently supported by them.

All we really need is the ability to think logically because no alternate scenario or worldview fully harmonizes with all of these evidences and reasons for God! Some may view this as a controversial statement, but I’ve spent the last sixteen years of my life in a meticulous, detailed study of these evidences and reasons—and to me, this seems like an understatement! I believe that the validity of my statements here will be more and more evident as this blog unfolds.

Here’s good news: a person doesn’t have to limit himself or herself to not having faith (or much faith) if faith is instinctively absent (or minimal) in that person’s heart or being. Instead, he or she can REASON his or her way INTO faith (or into a stronger faith) by examining objective evidences (accepted by the majority of scholars) and by a reasoning process called “inference to the best explanation,” which is a valid and universally-accepted form of reasoning that’s integral to the scientific method; it’s how scientists formulate theories. Cf. Best Explanation Apologetics; Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Abduction; Inference to the Best Explanation; On Guard Conference: William Lane Craig – What is Apologetics?

I have done this myself; I know that this “reasoning my way into faith” process WORKS!

I should add that, technically, I believe that this “reasoning my way into faith” process is a GIFT from God, and that we cooperate with Him in order to receive faith—even if we don’t realize that we’re doing this at the time! (Ephesians 2:8-9) God works with us in such a natural way that we often don’t realize that He’s working with us, though we can understand this more-clearly in retrospect. I could describe how I know this, but it would be a tangent to where I’m going, so I’ll save it for another post.

The value question

An atheist might respond to me by saying: “OK, what you’ve written is interesting. But even if you’re right—even if I could reason my way into faith—why should I? Why would it be important or valuable or worthwhile for me to believe in God? Assuming for the moment that He exists, what would God have to do with my life?”

Wow! What a question! I could write a great deal about this, but for now, I’ll just give the two best answers I know, from my own experience:

(1) Believing and trusting in the biblical God has been the only thing in life that’s given me lasting joy, happiness, and fulfillment; it’s the deepest, longest-lasting joy I’ve ever found anywhere! Every other thing I’ve tried has given me only temporary joy and happiness. Many other Christians have experienced this same “phenomenon.” Even when I have a problem or trial and I’m temporarily confused, there’s an undercurrent of joy that’s with me at the same time. This may sound unusual, but I won’t complain; it works! (Cf. Benefits of Being Believers, Part A, by Dr. Skip Heitzig)

The main reason why this occurs, in my opinion, is that God has created us (or caused us to exist) and is our Source. It makes sense that we would get true joy and happiness from our Source. (Cf. Matthew 11:28-30; John 15:4-8 & 11; Acts 17:24-25; Romans 14:17; Galatians 5:22-23)

(2) Believing and trusting in the biblical God has freed me from the fear of death and given me a profound peace about my future in the afterlife. I’ve heard many other Christians say essentially the same. Of course, I won’t be with God because I’m some great saint; I’m not; I have my faults and make mistakes, though I try to do God’s will. But I know that I’ll be with God in the afterlife because of what He has done in opening my mind to His truth and in forgiving me. Good biblical references are: Luke 24:45; 1John 1:7-9; 5:11-13; John 3:16-17; 5:24; Acts 3:19-20; Romans 5:6-8; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-7. (Cf. Death Is Certain … but God, Psalm 49, by Dr. Skip Heitzig)

Briefly considering the afterlife

Since I’ve mentioned this: there is probable evidence for the afterlife from the common elements or characteristics observed in near-death experiences (NDEs). These common characteristics imply that the afterlife, seen in thousands of NDEs, is actually real. Why would many of the thousands of NDEs (reported worldwide) have commonly-observed characteristics unless they point to an objective, real experience after physical death?

This situation is parallel to the situation with European explorers of the 1500s, as they explored America. How did the scholars of that day know which details in the accounts (of explorers) were real and which were exaggerations? Answer: they considered those details that were multiply-attested to be likely reliable, especially when identical details (in topography, degree and kinds of forestation, kinds of wildlife, and the characteristics of indigenous people) were reported by a large number of explorers. In the same way, we can consider details to be likely-reliable when they have been commonly-observed in NDEs and reported by a large number of individuals.

In addition, real-life events occurring a great distance away from the physical body (of the NDE-experiencer) have been perceived and reported after NDEs; these too appear to be veridical. For testimonies and reasoning about this, I recommend two informative books: Imagine Heaven by John Burke (Baker Books, 2015) and Near-Death Experiences as Evidence for the Existence of God and Heaven by J. Steve Miller (Wisdom Creek Press, 2012). I’ll discuss evidence and reasons for the afterlife in greater detail in a subsequent post.

By the way, the commonly-observed “being of light” in a sizeable percentage of near-death experiences is a marker or evidence pointing towards theism (belief in the Creator God who intervenes in the universe He has made). This “being of light,” from the perspective of a theistic worldview, could easily be Jesus or an angel.

A multitude of questions—and answers

About my becoming a Christian: I should mention also that I did have a multitude of questions after I believed. Nevertheless, I sought out and studied many resources; in the process, I found satisfying answers for most of my questions. There is a multitude of satisfying answers to the multitude of questions that are typically asked about the biblical God and the Bible.

By the way, apologetics—a term I use in the following list—refers not to apologizing (!), but to a presentation of evidences and reasons for a particular truth-claim, especially in defense against criticism. More specifically, it’s a method of supporting a truth-claim by means of logical reasoning based on an analysis of the evidence. One examines the evidence and then logically derives a probabilistic inference to the best explanation or, in some cases, a deductively-certain conclusion. Cf. God-of-the-Gaps or Best Explanation?The Compatibility of Faith and Reason; How Theists and Atheists Reason Differently about God; Best Explanation Apologetics; Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Abduction; Inference to the Best Explanation; How to Evaluate an Abductive Argument.

For this kind of study, I recommend the following websites which not only answer questions but also assist in discerning the meaning and apologetic value of evidences and arguments.

Factor #4

It perhaps should be obvious by now that the fourth factor contributing to my motivation or reason for writing is that, just as I was, most people today are being educated without any mention of the fact that there ARE cogent evidences and reasons for God. This omission tends to impart the false impression that there aren’t any. This absence of information easily allows some individuals to disbelieve and to thereby become atheists, as I did. This is why atheism can seem eminently logical and reasonable.

However, in this blog, I’ll describe why an objective and meticulous evaluation of many evidences (including their subtle details) logically leads to very different conclusions.

The sad thing is that there are probably many people who would believe in God if they only knew that there are evidences and reasons to do so. This blog will hopefully help to get this message out.

Some words of explanation

In expressing the following thoughts, I don’t intend to criticize those who write many blog posts per month, since this flows from their purpose, method, and capability. Even so, that level of frequency doesn’t fit with my purpose, method, capability—and time constraints.

Understandably, I want what I write to be as close as possible to the objective truth I perceive. I thus avoid writing in a manner that’s rushed or hurried (not carefully-considered or well-researched or well-reasoned).

This is why I’ve adopted a meticulous (yet reliably-precise) method of study and writing that’s fairly time-consuming. In addition, each post will be of significant length and there are also constraints on my free time.

Because of these factors, I estimate that I’ll be able to comfortably write (without rushing) one new post per month; I’ll arrive at a better estimate as time progresses. I’d rather write one post that’s well-researched, well-reasoned, and well-written than write many posts that don’t have these characteristics.

A deeper reason

A deeper reason for this is that, as is obvious, I find a cumulative case for the biblical God to be logically convincing. Therefore, I’d rather clearly express how convincing these evidences and arguments really are by writing one post per month—instead of writing many posts that don’t express this clearly.

Think of these posts as chapters in a book—chapters that will become numerous and thus, cumulatively-compelling in time.

Recommended book

There are many good apologetic books. In this post, I recommend I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist by Drs. Norman Geisler and Frank Turek (Crossway Books, 2004). This book is written for the layperson (it’s eminently accessible to non-technical readers), yet it deals with some of the most-important evidences and reasons for believing. The authors discuss the following topics:

  • Self-refuting statements
  • The law of non-contradiction
  • Hume’s skepticism
  • Kant’s agnosticism
  • How the Big Bang points to a Creator
  • How the fine-tuning of the universe points to a Creator
  • How the difficulty of life’s origin points to a Creator
  • Evolution and intelligent design
  • The moral argument for God
  • The possibility and credibility of miracles
  • The historical reliability of the New Testament
  • Reasons that the Gospels are early eyewitness testimonies about Jesus
  • Ten logical reasons why the New Testament writers told the truth
  • Historical and logical reasons why Jesus rose from the dead
  • The identity of Jesus
  • Jesus’ teaching about the Bible

Recommended videos

Animated (or partly-animated) videos:

Other videos:

Recommended podcasts

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Roger, a Christian and former atheist

My interests are Christianity, apologetics, theology, and philosophy, along with a significant appreciation for astrophysics, cosmology, and biochemistry. I used to be a very committed and passionate atheist who tried to persuade Christians to become atheists! However, I was challenged by a Christian to investigate and determine for myself whether there was actual evidence for the biblical God. I took up the challenge, found a number of compelling evidences, and, as a result, became a Christian myself! Now I'm blogging about my journey and about how evidence and logic point to God's existence and identity. I believe that this reasoning is cogent by means of many (over thirty) inferences to the best explanation within a cumulative case. (No knowledgeable Christian uses the obviously-fallacious "God of the gaps" reasoning.) If more Christians were familiar with this valid method of reasoning, I believe there would be fewer atheists--the evidences are that strong, especially when they are cumulatively considered. This method is supported by Christians such as William Lane Craig, J. P. Moreland, Victor Reppert, Paul Copan, Gregory Ganssle, Craig Keener, Craig Evans, Craig Blomberg, Michael Licona, John Lennox, Timothy and Lydia McGrew, Robert Spitzer, Edward Feser, Frank Turek, Hugh Ross, Fazale Rana, Kenneth Samples, Anjeanette Roberts, Jeff Zweerink, Michael G. Strauss, James Sinclair, Sean McDowell, Ravi Zacharias, Vince Vitale, Abdu Murray, Amy Orr-Ewing, J. Warner Wallace, Gregory Koukl, and Lee Strobel—among many others..

2 thoughts on “#1: I Made Discoveries that Powerfully Impacted My Life”

  2. This is all very educational! I finally remembered to write a comment! It’s super cool to read about your story into transitioning to believing in God. I can’t wait to read more! Factor #4 is the most interesting to me!

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