It is more reasonable to believe in God rather than not to

Regarding the religions currently in existence, there is no lack of information concerning their founders, their holy books, etc. But if we go back far enough, we will eventually face the question, how did religion begin? Evidently, to find the answer we must look beyond the borders of the individual religions. The study of the origin of religion is a relatively new field. For centuries, people accepted the religious traditions they were born in and were satisfied with the explanations passed down by their forefathers. In fact, with limited means of travel and communication, few people were even aware of the existence of other religious systems. Things changed in the 19th century. The theory of evolution was widely accepted by intellectuals. That, along with the beginning of scientific inquiry, resulted in the questioning of established systems, including religion. Scholars tried to apply methods of psychology, sociology, anthropology, etc. with hope of discovering a clue concerning how or why religion began. The result was a burst of theories with each investigator contradicting the other; each trying to outdo the other in daring and originality. Many of these theories have been forgotten and none of them has really stood out as more believable than the others because, simply, there was never any historical proof that these theories were true. They were merely products of some investigator’s imagination, soon to be replaced by the next one that came along. After many years of struggle, many have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to reach the origins of religion. Concerning the historians’ efforts, nonetheless, notice the observation made by the book World Religions - From Ancient History to the Present: In the past too many theorists were concerned not simply to describe or explain religion but to explain it away, feeling that if the early forms were shown to be based upon illusions then the later and higher religions might be undermined. Here lies the clue as to why “scientific” investigators of the origin of religion have not come up with any plausible explanations. Logic tells us that a correct conclusion can only be deduced from a correct premise. Starting with a faulty premise, it is unlikely that you reach a sound conclusion. Voltaire stated, “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him. ” This is what the atheists historians argue, that man has invented God. Since their many theories have failed, rather than laboring fruitlessly in the same route, let’s be open-minded. The reasonable and scientific thing to do is reexamine the premise upon which these investigations are based. Consider what the book, Story of the World’s Worship says about language:Those who have studied the languages of the world have something to say, and it is this: All languages can be grouped into families or classes of speech, and all these families are seen to have started from one common source. In other words, the languages of the world did not originate separately and individually. Evidence shows they, “started from one common source. ” If this is true from something as personal and unique as human language, wouldn’t it be reasonable to think that man’s ideas about God and religion should also have started from one common source? After all, religion is connected to thinking, and thinking is connected to man’s ability to use language. I do not propose all religions grew out of one religion. But, the concepts and ideas should be traceable to a common origin of religious ideas. Is there evidence to support this? Let’s get the answer the same way linguistics experts got the answer about the origin of language. An etymologist can trace languages back to their source placing them side by side, noting their similarities. Likewise, we can place religions side by side, examine their doctrines, rituals, ceremonies, etc. and see if these religions have anything I common. If so, let’s see where this leads us. When comparing religions, we find beliefs that are almost universal among them. Consider the legend of man’s fall from divine grace due to his illicit attempt to attain immortality, the need to offer sacrifices to atone for sin, the search for a tree of life or fountain of youth, gods and demigods who lived among humans and produced superhuman offspring, and a catastrophic flood that devastated almost all of humanity. What can we conclude from this? Notice that those who believed in these legends and myths lived far away from each other geographically. Their traditions and culture were different. And yet, when it comes to religion, they believed in very similar ideas. The obvious question is, Why? It is as if there was a common source each religion each religion drew its beliefs from. Some more, some less. Logically, these similarities in basic concepts are compelling evidence that they did not begin each in its own independent way. The ideas must have come from a common origin. But what was that origin? When you put all the common elements perceptible among all legends about the beginning of man, a clear picture begins to surface. God created the first man and woman. They were placed in a paradise. Soon they became rebellious, and that rebellion resulted in the loss of the perfect paradise, only to be replaced by pain, suffering, and death. Eventually mankind became so bad that God punished them with a great flood that destroyed all but one family. As the family got bigger, some of the offspring started building a massive tower in defiance of God. God frustrated their plans by confusing their language and dispersing them to the far corners of the Earth. This image is not merely the result of someone’s mental exercise. It is the picture presented in the Bible in the first eleven chapters of Genesis. The Bible is a book of accurate history. One of many examples of a person from the Bible whose existence was questioned by some scholars was Pontius Pilate, a governor who ruled in Jesus’ day. He is mentioned at Luke chapter 3, verse 1. Then, approximately 50 years ago, a stone was found in the Middle East with his name plainly imprinted on it. The Bible also predicted important historical events centuries before they happened. Here is one example: Daniel 8:7-8: 7And I saw it coming into close touch with the ram, and it began showing bitterness toward it, and it proceeded to strike down the ram and to break its two horns, and there proved to be no power in the ram to stand before it. So it threw it to the earth and trampled it down, and the ram proved to have no deliverer out of its hand. 8 And the male of the goats, for its part, put on great airs to an extreme; but as soon as it became mighty, the great horn was broken, and there proceeded to come up conspicuously four instead of it, toward the four winds of the heavens. Daniel 8:20-22: 20The ram that you saw possessing the two horns [stands for] the kings of Me′di·a and Persia. 21 And the hairy he-goat [stands for] the king of Greece; and as for the great horn that was between its eyes, it [stands for] the first king. 22 And that one having been broken, so that there were four that finally stood up instead of it, there are four kingdoms from [his] nation that will stand up, but not with his power. These verses predicted the fall of Persia by Alexander Magnus, and that four of his generals would take his place after his death over 200 years before these things happened! With its historical accuracy and demonstration of God’s power through fulfilled prophecies, is there really valid reasons to reject the Bible? Not at all. In fact, let’s take a look at other things that make the Bible extraordinary. The Bible is internally consistent. The first book of the Bible tells us how mankind’s problems began. The last book shows that the whole earth will become a paradise, or garden. All the harmonious material in the Bible covers thousands of years of history and has to do, in some way, with the unfolding of God’s purpose. This is extraordinary, when you consider the Bible was written in three different continents, three different languages, with over 40 writers, in a period of 1,610 years. The Bible has been most attacked book in history, and now is most distributed. In 168 B. C. E. , Syrian King Antiochus IV tried to seek out the inspired books of the Law to burn them. Roman Emperor Diocletian’s decree to demolish the meeting places of the Christians and to burn their Scriptures was issued in 303 C. E. The destruction continued for a decade. After the 11th century, popes led the efforts to suppress the spread of Bible knowledge, opposing the translation of the Scriptures into languages of the common people. It is extraordinary that despite these attacks from Satan, we still have the Bible today. It’s even more extraordinary that there is no other ancient book as well attested as the Bible with tousands of ancient manuscripts in the original language showing the Bible has been the same in almost 2,000 years and that it is the most distributed book in the world available to people all around the globe in over 500 languages! Conclusion With all this evidence and demonstration of God's power in his word the Bible, only someone devoid of rational thinking would live his life as if God didn’t exist when such life has everything to gain and nothing to lose. Surely AtheistPerson will have arguments against the Bible which I will gladly counter in a new debate, since the character limit will not allow me to do it here. But, now you know why I believe in God.