Dear friends: If faith is based on emotion rather than solid reasons, it will not stand when adversity strikes. If faith is based on inaccurate information such as a concept that God is impersonal or punitive, you will feel very alone with adversity and likely blame God. You can be encouaged in faith if you are convinced your faith has a solid foundation and the God you believe in is personal and cares deeply about your situation. I encourage each of you to think about the books of faith you trust to tell you about your purpose, the importance of prayer, and how to be confident of eternal life. Here are some questions that I hear about faith and some information which may help:

Is evolution science? Is there evidence for intelligent designer? I have researched growth factors, complex proteins that are responsible for the ability of cells to grow. Through this study, I have become aware of just how deadly small changes are in these proteins, and how the design of these proteins is critical. A "partially evolved" growth factor system would be incompatible with life. This is just one of many examples demonstrating the inadequacy of the evolution theory. While neither evolution nor intelligent design are "science" (since neither can be recreated by experimentation), both are theories, and their acceptance is based on observing the natural world for the best fit with those observations. Click the link "Evidence for intelligent designer" below for more information.

Even if our book of faith was inspired by an intelligent designer, how can we trust that the original words have been accurately preserved from ancient times?
The method of copying of manuscripts is key to prevention of errors over time. The method of copying for the Old Testament and the New Testament was via scribes, whose technique was unprecedented in its precision. Scribes used a method of counting syllables and letters, and immediately destroyed any copy with even a minor error. The Dead Sea Scrolls, unearthed in 1947, found Biblical texts dated 1000 years earlier than the 900 A.D. manuscripts of the Old Testament, and yet comparison showed word-for-word correlation identical in >95% of text (with the <5% variation consisting of obvious slips of pen and variations in spelling). Therefore, no effect on the message occurred over the 1000-year period. No other book had copying methods of such precision. Click the link below for more information
The method of copying of manuscripts is key to prevention of errors over time. The method of copying for the Old Testament and the New Testament was via scribes, whose technique was unprecedented in its precision. Scribes used a method of counting syllables and letters, and immediately destroyed any copy with even a minor error. The Dead Sea Scrolls, unearthed in 1947, found Biblical texts dated 1000 years earlier than the 900 A.D. manuscripts of the Old Testament, and yet comparison showed word-for-word correlation identical in >95% of text (with the <5% variation consisting of obvious slips of pen and variations in spelling). Therefore, no effect on the message occurred over the 1000-year period. No other book had copying methods of such precision. Click the link below for more information

Is there a religious leader whose coming and characteristics were predicted in advance? Yes, one. Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecies (including many over which He had absolutely no control) about the Messiah against very large odds. For example: Born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), first-born male (Isaiah 7:14), Jerusalem temple intact when he was born (Daniel 9:26), and from the tribe of Judah and line of David (Jeremiah 23:5). The Messiah would be called "Almighty God" and "Everlasting Father" and "Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:7). His power would be through His words, not by military action (Isaiah 11:4-5). He would be considered a priest, although not from the priestly tribe (Psalm 110:1-7). Additionally, the messiah would be wounded and killed for our wrongdoing, and God was in control of this (Isaiah 53:5-6). Click the link below for more information.

Were Jesus' miracles unique in their scope and documentation? There have been stories of many healers over the years in several cultures, the most striking of which were described in the Old Testament via the Prophets Elijah and Elisha. However, no one has performed the variety of documented miracles in front of multiple witnesses that Jesus did. As a rehabilitation specialist who sees the frustration of permanently deformed hands after strokes and crippling severe spinal curvature, I find the immediate correction of deformities and immediate correction of disuse weakness in those who have not stood or walked for decades particularly compelling. Healing visual problems is also quite different than healing the vision of someone blind from birth. Healing an infectious disease (leprosy) in multiple people at once is unprecedented. Bringing multiple dead people back to life cannot be dismissed when one is on his way to burial, (widow's son in Nain) when another has been mourned, wrapped, and in the grave for 4 days (Lazarus), and when the spiritual leader himself was tortured, punctured with a spear, underwent full crucifixion, and was wrapped and entombed for three days before resurrection. To take one example of the level of evidence, note that at the time that Acts was written, more than 250 of the 500 witnesses of the resurrection of Christ were still alive and perfectly capable of disputing the facts of his resurrection which would have saved them a lot of persecution. For a table listing miracles and numbers of documented eyewitnesses click the link.

Who did Jesus claim to be? Jesus made many claims and they were certainly not those of being a teacher or a prophet. To say one is greater than Solomon is one thing. To say you are the gift of God to all people and that you have lived a perfect life and that you command the angels and sit on a throne next to God and are eternal and equal with God the Father and that everyone should be baptized in your name is quite another. These are not the claims of a teacher nor the claims of a prophet. Instead they are either the claims of a lunatic, a liar, or God in human form. We just listed the documented eyewitness evidence of astounding control of weather, instant healings and control of death that Jesus demonstrated. This type of power has never been documented in the history of the world and does not point to a liar or lunatic. For a table listing the claims of Jesus about who He is, click the link below.

What did Jesus claim to be able to do? Jesus was the only religious leader who demonstrated the power and authority to describe how to be at peace with God in heaven. If all religions lead to God and all you need to do is be "sincere" in your belief, then Jesus should have said so. In contrast, Jesus made it unequivocally clear that he is the only one who can reveal God to man, that no one can come to the Father but through him, and that he personally will judge us for our wrong doing and determine our eternal future. He was completely "inclusive" because he died for everyone and offers salvation to every nation and people but completely "exclusive" because he states that, as the Messiah spoken of for thousands of years, he is the "only way" to find eternal life with God. This leaves us with the question of who do we believe? Do we believe those who are mere men and only their opinions to offer, or one who did what Jesus did? For a table listing the claims by Jesus about what he can do, click on the link below.

What did Jesus predict? Jesus, uniquely among religious leaders, made a variety of predictions whose fulfillment was evidences either at the time, or later. Among various examples, consider the number of witnesses present when Jesus was in the house of Jairus the ruler and told him his daughter "was not dead but asleep." He was then laughed at scornfully by the mourners who knew full well the young girl was dead. Then he took James, Peter, John, the father Jairus, and Jairus' wife, into the room and proceeded to say "Damsel, arise" and took her hand, pulled her up and told them to feed her. Consider also when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick and purposely delayed until Lazarus had been dead for days before going to Mary and Martha's house. He then, in front of a significant crowd in a city just 2 miles from Jerusalem (Bethany), and (over the objections of Martha who was concerned about the body of Lazarus stinking 4 days after death) proceeded to stand in front of the tomb, requested that the stone be removed and commanded Lazarus to come forth. Note also that Jesus predicated "My words will not pass away" and his words have been preserved far more accurately and completely than any other person in history. For more examples of his predictions, click on the link below.

Is Jesus still alive? (Was Jesus resurrected (come back to life) after being killed? ) Jesus not only raised others from the dead with many witnesses (Luke 7:11-16), but did so after days in the grave beyond the point of early decomposition (John 11:39), and was the only religious leader to conquer death Himself, with a resurrection that had more than 500 witnesses over 60 days. Jesus had a well-known grave site. His grave was sealed, under penalty of death if the grave was disturbed. More than 500 eyewitnesses saw Jesus alive in a number of settings and many touched the spear and nail marks that occurred during His crucifixion. The disciples, who were in hiding after Jesus' death, suddenly became bold, and each went to their death (almost exclusively by execution) proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus. Dr Simon Greenleaf, Royal Professor of Law at Harvard University, one of two men responsible for the rise of Harvard Law School, wrote the following: "According to the laws of legal evidence used in the courts of law, there is more evidence for the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ than for just about any other event in history." Click below for more information.

What does Jesus Offer Us? There is compelling evidence for an intelligent designer, that the Bible contains the only dependably preserved manuscripts from its era that could even hope to accurately transmit information from the intelligent designer, and that Jesus was the Messiah spoken of in the Old Testament. His coming and his characteristics were predicted hundreds of years in advance. His miracles were unprecedented and documented, including raising others from the dead. He made astounding claims about who he was and what he would do and consistently predicted the future accurately, including his own resurrection. Therefore, there is no comparable source of information we can get about why we are here and how to be sure of eternal life than there is from the Bible and and specifically through the offers of Jesus. It is useful to know that the New Testament was written so that people of ALL countries and races can be confident about eternal life and peace with God. If you are interested in what the New Testament (Jesus and apostles) says about how to be sure of eternal life with God, Click below for more information.