WHY I BELIEVE – Ryan Bocook

Methodology

Belief doesn’t necessitate blindness; rather, it stands in contrast to disbelief, not reason. My convictions are rooted in rational and critical thinking and is supported by evidence. While I don’t believe humans will ever possess all the information necessary to be completely certain of any conclusion, the more supporting evidence I accumulate, the narrower the gap becomes between my faith and Christianity. Simultaneously, this widens the gap with naturalism, materialism, or any other worldview ideologies.

Here’s an outline of the reasons behind my beliefs. While none of these ideas lead to my conclusion in isolation, and there are undoubtedly valid counterarguments to each, I have discovered that, when striving to set aside bias, these conclusions stand out as the most compelling after thorough consideration. The outline below is not to be considered comprehensive. I plan to drill into and further test each one in future journal entries.

Before I get into my outline, I want to talk methodology. We have all come to some conclusions on a few critical questions:

Where did we come from?
What is our purpose?
Is the existence of God a reality?
Who is God?
How do we relate to Him?

These are profoundly significant inquiries that shape our beliefs regarding morality, purpose, origin, and destiny. This is not a trivial matter; rather, it holds the essence of meaning, value, and purpose in our lives. Our beliefs about God extend their influence across every facet of our existence.

So how do you come to these important conclusions? Have you spent much time thinking about them, or have you just let your worldview drift with culture, unanchored and dangerously floating towards an unknown end? I believe many people do not spend much time really thinking through the facts and are shaped too quickly by culture with little consideration to more than a 100 word social media sound bite.

Abductive and Inductive Inferences

Abductive and inductive inferences are two types of logical reasoning processes, often used in the field of philosophy, logic, and reasoning. They are distinct methods for drawing conclusions based on available evidence and observations.

Abductive Inference:
- Definition: Abductive reasoning, also known as inference to the best explanation, involves forming the most plausible explanation or hypothesis to account for a set of observed facts or evidence.
- Process: In abduction, you start with an observation or a set of observations and then generate the best possible explanation that fits those observations. It is not necessarily a proof but a way to arrive at the most likely or reasonable explanation.
- Example: If you find your umbrella wet in the morning, you might abductively infer that it rained overnight.
Inductive Inference:
- Definition: Inductive reasoning involves making generalizations based on specific observations. It is a process of deriving general principles or conclusions from specific instances or examples.
- Process: In induction, you start with specific observations and then generalize to form a broader conclusion. The strength of the conclusion depends on the number and reliability of the specific instances observed.
- Example: If you observe that the sun has risen every day in the past, you might inductively infer that the sun will rise again tomorrow.

In summary, abductive reasoning is about forming the best possible explanation for observed facts, even if it’s not guaranteed to be true. Inductive reasoning, on the other hand, involves generalizing from specific instances to derive broader conclusions, with the understanding that the conclusion may not be certain. Both types of reasoning play important roles in our everyday thinking and the scientific method.

part 1: intelligent design

Teleological Argument – Intelligent Design

The teleological argument is an argument for the existence of God based on the apparent purpose or order in the natural world. The argument suggests that certain features or aspects of the universe, especially its complexity and apparent design, point towards an intelligent designer, we identify as God. There is beauty all around us as the natural law harmonize in a symphony of purposeful existence.

The intricate complexity and organization of the material universe appears to exhibit the intelligent productions of human beings through design.
The purposeful, ordered and intentional design of any artifact is the effect of having been made by an intelligent being with with purpose.
Like effects have like causes.
Therefore, the design in the material universe is the effect of having been made by an intelligent designer we know as God.

Kalam Cosmological Argument

“Ex nihilo nihil fit.”
Parmenides

Out of nothing, nothing comes. Everything has to have a cause. The alternative theories for where our universe (our even multi-verse) fall short and directly contradict what we know as conservation of mass and energy. The materialistic explanation around God then means:

Everything has perpetually existed, rendering the universe eternal, with no beginning or end.

Everything initially emerged from nothing, propelled by nothing, and continues to endure through unguided and meaningless processes.

Of course both of these require too much faith as the scientific evidence for a singularity are too strong. I think the Kalam argument can also help here. I wrote some notes in an earlier notebook entry “The Kalam Cosmological Argument” . The basic inference goes like this:

Every thing that begins has a cause.
The universe began.
Therefore the universe has a cause.
The cause is outside of the bounds of time and space.
Therefore the best inference is that the cause is a transcendent God.

Anthropic Principle

The anthropic principle deals with the idea that the universe seems finely tuned for life, especially human life. The universe’s conditions are just right for us to exist, and if they were even slightly different, we wouldn’t be here to observe it. It suggesting that the universe is set up in a way that allows life to emerge.

I wrote some notes in my earlier journal entry “Fine Tuning” . The basic inference goes like this:

The universe appears to be fine tuned for life (and discovery).
In order to be fine tuned, there has to be a fine tuning mechanism.
The best explanation for the fine tuning mechanism is a designer.
The best inference is the designer is God.

Second Law of Thermodynamics

I think you should always bear in mind that entropy is not on your side.
Elon Musk

Everything that comes together falls apart. Everything. The chair I’m sitting on. It was built, and so it will fall apart. I’m gonna fall apart, probably before this chair. And you’re gonna fall apart. The cells and organs and systems that make you you—they came together, grew together, and so must fall apart. The Buddha knew one thing science didn’t prove for millennia after his death: Entropy increases. Things fall apart.
John Green, Looking for Alaska

In short, the natural law of our known world is towards disorder. Organization is not natural – it requires an order mechanism that fights against entropy. The basic inference goes like this:

The Second Law of Thermodynamics asserts that the overall entropy of the entire universe, functioning as an isolated system, will inevitably rise with the passage of time. Entropy, in this context, serves as a gauge for the system’s level of disorder.
Consequently, our universe is progressing towards thermodynamic equilibrium, entropy is increasing, representing progress away from order. Disorder is natural and in progress.
Given this tendency towards disorder, the question arises: Where does order originate?
It is postulated that order must originate externally to the closed system.
The most plausible explanation posits that a divine designer, God, is responsible for creating and maintaining order in the universe.

DNA

DNA is like a computer program but far, far more advanced than any software ever created.
Bill Gates, The Road Ahead

Scientifically, there is a lack of evidence for the origin of DNA, and Darwin’s theory, along with the Miller-Urey experiment, faces significant limitations. No instances exist where organized information emerged solely through natural processes or random chance. The most plausible scientific speculation suggests that individual nucleotides might have spontaneously formed in the tumultuous primordial Earth, eventually bonding to create highly unstable RNA. A theory that, if explored with any scrutiny, requires a substantial leap of faith to buy. The basic inference I have come to believe goes like this:

DNA is a digital code required for life.
Digital Code is organized information.
Organized information requires an organizer or programmer. There is no other place where we have found information that wasn’t caused by an intelligent design.
Therefore the “programmer” of this code is best explained to be an intelligent designer we know as God.

Biological Function

I wrote some notes in my earlier journal entry designing a system of systems, where I compare the design of the body to the design of an aircraft. One concept weaved through a system of systems design is Irreducible complexity. Irreducible complexity posits that certain biological systems, characterized by multiple interacting parts, would lose functionality if any individual part were removed. Consequently, it is argued that these systems could not have evolved through successive small modifications from less complex predecessors via natural selection. According to this perspective, all intermediate precursor systems must have been fully functional for the process to occur.

A frequently mentioned illustration of irreducible complexity is the bacterial flagellum—a whip-like structure that facilitates the movement of bacteria. Comprised of various interacting parts, the flagellum’s components lack individual functionality and rely on one another to serve a purpose. This includes a motor, a hook, and a long filament propeller, all essential for the flagellum to function and each component has no other purpose to exist alone.

For this system to emerge, the three components must have spontaneously generated, coexisted in the same location and timeframe, and randomly assembled. Subsequently, an external factor would need to provide it with a purpose for integration into the larger system.

A simpler and more logical conclusion follows:

The complex human body is a system of systems and even if broken down to its most irreducibly complex cellular function, it appears to be designed.
A design requires a cause.
This cause is an intelligent designer or engineer.
The best inference is the intelligent designer is God.

Consciousness

Cogito, Ergo Sum – I think, Therefore I Am.
René Descartes’

The presence of consciousness suggests a reality beyond the confines of the physical universe, given the challenge of envisioning a natural mechanism capable of generating the intricate conscious experiences and the interaction between the mind and the body that we witness. Positing a supernatural Mind as the origin of all reality emerges as the most plausible explanation for the existence of our minds and their connection to the physical realm. A basic inference goes like this:

We are a conscious being capable of free will, thought and action.
Consciousness cannot be explained by natural chemical cause and effect reactions, and is best explained by a consciousness creator (mind vs brain)
This consciousness creator is God.

The Moral Argument

The Moral Law tells us the tune we have to play: our instincts are merely the keys.
C.S. Lewis – Mere Christianity

If God does not exist, moral objective values do not exist. In this case, morality is relative to the individual and we cannot hold people accountable for their actions as they may be right in their relative space. Murdering a child, for example, seems to be universally immoral requiring no additional human laws for our instincts to just know it is wrong. The counter argument is that morality can be explained by evolution, but then one ought to be selfish.

The basic inference for morality through God goes like this:

Throughout history, humanity has consistently exhibited a universal and timeless adherence to objective morality, transcending geographical and cultural differences.
If objective morality exists independently of time, space, or culture, it logically follows that it is an inherent aspect of our human nature.
Being an integral part of our being, objective morality necessitates a causal factor or origin.
The most plausible explanation for this causal factor is the existence of a moral compass provider.
Identifying this moral compass provider as God offers the most compelling and comprehensive explanation for the source of objective morality in the human experience.

part 2: Christian truth

In the first segment, I reached a reasonable and logical conclusion, supported by various pieces of evidence, that there exists a creator of the universe, and we are fashioned in His likeness. In the following sections, I will elaborate on the reasons why I consider the Christian Bible to be the most compelling eternal worldview.

The Historical Argument

In a Roman province 2000 years ago, Jesus of Nazareth endured a brutal execution, witnessed by his followers in a state of humiliation, despair, and hopelessness. Yet, their narrative took a transformative turn as they bore witness to an empty tomb and the reappearance of Jesus. This profound encounter fueled a newfound testimony and courage, propelling them to passionately spread the good news. Even in the face of beatings, stoning, persecution, and the threat of brutal death, these witnesses remained unwavering, declaring, “As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” The significance of what they believed they had witnessed with Jesus eclipsed their own comfort and well-being, underscoring the compelling impact of their experience.

The historical accuracy, timing and preservation of the biblical texts is remarkable and unmatched by any other historical account and I plan on expanding on this concept in later notebook entries.

Chuck Missler would often describe the sixty-six books of the Bible, penned by more than forty different authors over a period of several thousands of years as a highly integrated message system from an source outside of space and time. Like a hologram, the message is encoded on every page that, when illuminated by the light of the Spirit, projects a multidimensional portrait of hits divine Author and communicates his plan to redeem, reconcile and restore His people.

Resurrection

I have been taking notes on this particular subject as it is critically important to the core Christian beliefs. Here is my journal entry on The Resurrection where I explore this topic in more depth.

I think the minimum facts argument from Dr Habermas “Minimum Facts Argument” for proving Christ’s resurrection is a good place to start. These are the facts:

Jesus death due to crucifixion.
The disciples were convinced they had seen the literal appearances of the risen Jesus.
The transformation of the disciples lives.
Skeptics conversion to believe through what they witnessed.

The disciples went from being cowardly, to being so bold as to face their own deaths to flip the world on it’s ear with their testimony. They had no motives to do this (not power, wealth, or sex). I also love that the 4 Gospel accounts tell the events from different angles and we get to see what transpired from these different lenses. These accounts provide so much color it is beautiful – Undesigned Coincidences is a lot of fun to explore.

Epistemological Argument

The Epistemological Argument asserts that beliefs formed from our inherent experiences carry inherent justification, forming the cornerstone of our cognitive framework. This principle extends to the realm of religious beliefs, particularly the belief in God, justified through direct personal experiences or the shared features of religious experiences across diverse cultures and historical periods. Analogous to our trust in the physical world based on sensory encounters, belief in God arises organically through individual encounters or collective patterns observed in religious experiences throughout human history. This argument underscores the intricate connection between foundational beliefs, whether about the tangible or divine, and our experiential understanding, offering a nuanced perspective on the epistemological foundations of religious conviction.

Prophesy

Any prophesy that is wrong invalidates the prophet – and there have been many false prophets in our world. The Bible is full of fulfilled prophecies that defy any statistical coincidence as they are fulfilled with sunning accuracy . There are many examples that I plan to expand, but at a high level Professor and theologian J. Barton Payne lists 1,817 prophecies in the Bible (ibid., p. 674), of which about half have been fulfilled. The list is too long for this short entry, but here is a good start. I will also expand on this topic over time as it is really compelling and certainly not something to brush off as supernatural voodoo.

Miracles

The motives behind Jesus performing miracles are a complex theological and religious matter. Miracles attributed to Jesus are often seen as acts of compassion, signs of divine power, and demonstrations of his identity as the Son of God. One primary purpose was to demonstrate God’s love and compassion for humanity. Miracles were also seen as a way to authenticate Jesus’ divine authority and reinforce the message of his teachings. Additionally, miracles serve as a means of encouraging faith in those who witnessed or heard about them. But Jesus is clear that miracles alone are not the reason to believe in Him – He was certainly cautious with this power and was even mocked as He was fully capable of saving Himself from the Cross chose to suffer for us.

I plan to explore the miracles performed as it is fascinating and inspiring – more journal entries to come on this topic as it is one of the primary reasons people do not believe today – Miracles defy scientific reason. We should be skeptical of the supernatural. But we should also understand that God created the laws that govern time, space and matter and is outside of these binding forces.

Jesus is the Only Way

Many fundamental religions are willing to die for their beliefs, so we cant deny the power and conviction of a believer we don’t agree with. The difference is that someone willing to blow up a building full of people has no way of actually knowing that their beliefs are true – they are based on faith. For the disciples of Christ, this is not the case. They had direct knowledge of the truth and they died for what they believed. Anyone with direct knowledge of truth would not be willing to die for a lie, yet they suffered throughout life of preaching their testimony as they knew with certainty what they saw was true.

We are all particularists and have beliefs we hold as true. A few ideas to illustrate particularisms in all of our beliefs on religion:

Pluralists believe their view is true and therefore everyone else is wrong. This is particularism.
All religions cannot be true – They do not teach the same thing and they often make conflicting claims such as one god or many gods.
“All the religions are false” – is also particularism.
Atheism claims that there is no supernatural reality, and that all the world’s religions claiming otherwise is false – therefore atheism, by definition, is particularism.
Agnostic’s non-committal position is still a position, unwilling to do the research on what is the most important question in life – Why are we here?

Additionally, Christianity is not exclusive. Everyone is welcome and God desires that everyone finds Him. You don’t have to speak a specific language. You don’t have to be born in a specific place or be a specific ethnicity. How you dress is not important. You are already invited, as-is.

The only requirement is on your free will choice: you just have to choose to accept and to show up. BUT, and this is a big but, there isn’t room for other Gods. There is only one path and one truth.

Christ taught us very plainly:

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Jesus in John 14:6

Personal Transformation

After turning to God, numerous events in my life bear witness to His presence (in fact, He had a hand in my pre-Christian life that I can look back on in awe). These occurrences are deeply personal and challenging to articulate with the personal impact they have on me, but I intend to delve into some specifics in my upcoming journal entries. What I can convey in this brief paragraph is the remarkable improvement in my life. Formerly burdened by anxiety, I now experience a profound sense of peace. Once highly judgmental of others (and myself), I have since found a deep love and empathy for every human that I can only attribute to a Fatherly God. Although far from perfection, I feel well-equipped to navigate whatever challenges God deems fitting for me. With my life in His control, I trust that every experience, even those beyond my current understanding or comfort, serves a purpose.

Christianity is Unique

Agape Love -The greatest commandment is Love God and Love People. “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God’s agape love is unmerited, gracious, and constantly seeking the benefit of the ones He loves. We are called to love everyone in this way – without condition.
God my Father. If you have children, you have experienced a deep love that cannot be explained, only experienced. In this experience you have at least a starting understanding of how God feels about each one of us. Let this really sink in – I would suffer and die for my Children’s sake.
Dogma crushed. While other religions are based on rules, Jesus crushed the rules. He doesn’t demand perfection from us, rather, recognition and turning away from sin towards Him. We all fall short of the glory of God. While there are certainly Dogmatic Christians, the point is that you cannot earn your position in Heaven.
A Personal Relationship with God -Every individual has a direct relationship with God without any intermediary such as a priest.
Evidence – I listed much of the evidence in this journal entry, but this is just scratching the surface. There is no other religion that exploded from 12 direct witnesses that were transformed by what they saw that they were willing to give up all material and even life to spread the good news of the Gospel.
All are welcome. There is no entrance criteria or exam. Come as you are and expect to be transformed.
Transformative – undeniable life change for followers. Not perfection, as troubles in life continue, rather, a peace that cannot come from your own strength.
Historical – the scriptures have been so well preserved over time, it is THE collection of ancient documents in all of history.
Coherence within itself – We have to examine the claims before accepting or dismissing them – but the 66 books across 40 authors is really one coherent message from our God.

Christianity possesses a distinctive quality in that it welcomes everyone to the table. There’s no need to earn your seat; you simply have to accept it and take your place. Salvation is freely given; it’s not something you earn. Acceptance is offered at the outset, with no entry test involved. This perspective of God, where your fate relies on His merit rather than yours, stands unparalleled. In Christianity, you are invited into His kingdom simply by choosing to believe and trust in Him.

Witnessed Experience (mine and those around me)

I have seen faith grow stronger after the death of a child. I have seen boys grow into Godly men after loosing a young brother suddenly. I have seen peace, acceptance and assurance after the sudden death of a young wife and mother. I have seen cancer healed. I have also seen it take the lives of those at peace with God’s will.

We all have to face life, and it is difficult. Even the rich and powerful cannot escape death, the ultimate equalizer. To those around me that have strong faith, thank you for sharpening me as I dull over time and use.

Conclusion

I hold the belief that, regardless of our differences in faith, every individual is created in the image of God, making them unique, loved, and inherently valuable. When engaging in conversations about different religions, it’s important to understand that I’m not passing judgment on you or your moral standing. In fact, I know many individuals with belief systems that differ from mine, yet they excel in life and demonstrate virtues I admire. I am far from perfect and recognize that I have no place or standing to judge others.

The direct evidence stems from eyewitness testimony that I have come to trust for its accuracy and lack of bias. In tandem, the circumstantial evidence, though individually may not form a robust conclusion, accumulates to create a compelling case. Relying on these evidences, whether leading to a natural or supernatural conclusion, demands a leap of faith. My objective is to assess which gap is the most feasible to traverse based on this evidence.

While the process of integrating new information into this cumulative case is ongoing, encompassing both supportive and opposing perspectives, I have arrived at what I consider a highly rational inference. The evidence, as I see it, strongly indicates that we were created by God in His image, and that Jesus, as God in the flesh, underwent death, burial, and resurrection after three days. His post-resurrection appearances further affirm the belief that through Him, we can find everlasting life with Him and a purpose for life today.