Why are we here?
Many scientists say the purpose of life is first survival, followed by reproduction. The New York Times says ‘The universe doesn’t care about your purpose’, and leading physicist Lawrence Krauss in his latest book says, the fact that we evolved on this planet is just a “cosmic accident”. But we have far better facts to put before you on our website. And you have probably joined us from our Home Page by invitation.
Of course, science does not say anything. It is ‘certain people’ who use it, that say things. A more accurate assessment of science is one given by Professor Carl Sagan (1934 – 1996). He was a famous American astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, science populariser, and science communicator in astronomy and other natural sciences.
He said, “Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.”
“Albert Einstein, was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time, made the following profound statement.
“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”
And we support the view of many scientists that true religion and science go hand in hand especially as the claim that the truth of the Bible is based wholly on faith is false.
Hebrews 11 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Let us show you an example.
First you need to be aware of the make up of the Bible. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so let us give it a try.
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If you are not familiar with the Bible, please have a good look at the above diagram. You will see that the Bible is written in two parts – the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament tends to be called the Hebrew Bible because it was written down and preserved by the Jews for centuries. They kept copies of their Bible in the temple in Jerusalem and their synagogues across the country long before Jesus was born.
What the Bible tells
We can read in the Bible in the first book of the New Testament how one day some men came from outside Israel to see Herod, the king, in Jerusalem. It is quite possible you will have heard about it, even if you have never read a page of the Bible.
Matthew 2 1Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
They had a question about a king and thought he would be able to help them.
2Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Herod wasn’t a Jew, and he wasn’t religious. So he called the high priest and his associates to explain.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
They were able to tell him straight away.
5And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
We will stop here a moment to be sure that you appreciate the significance of the priests words. This is what the prophet Micah wrote around 500 years before.
Micah 5 2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
You can read it for yourself in any Old Testament Bible in Micah chapter 5. And this was not just a lucky guess. There are many prophecies about Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. Let’s just read a little further in Matthew 2 .
9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was … 11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
So the child, Jesus, was really there. But see what was going on in the palace.
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
Herod did not want to worship Jesus as he pretended to the wise men. He wanted to kill him to avoid any competition for the throne. This too was prophesied in the Old Testament.
Jeremiah 31 15Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in *Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.
Did Herod succeed in killing Jesus. Of course, not.
13 … Behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child too. 14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: 15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
And here is what the Old Testament prophet, Hosea, wrote,
Hosea 11 1When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
Prophecy proves the Bible is true and God is our Creator.
We have identified above at least three fulfilled prophecies in the second chapter of Matthew.
- The Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem
- Herod’s attempt to murder Jesus
- The removal of Jesus into Egypt to escape Herod.
The only way this is possible is if there is an all knowing, all powerful, Creator God, in charge of what happens on the Earth and what is recorded in the Old and New Testaments.
Isaiah 45 11 Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me. 12 I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
Thus, the basis of belief in our God (Heb: Yahweh) as Creator and Sustainer of all life and things throughout the universe, is not blind faith. It is based on the evidence of prophecy in the Old Testament of what happened later in the New Testament. Faith comes into our dealings with God as our Heavenly Father.
Why we are here.
Now the answer is straightforward!
Genesis 1 1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And He tells later,
Isaiah 45 18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
So He had a purpose with the Earth and it involved people. In fact, if you read the first chapter of Genesis it describes the whole clothing of the earth with vegetation, trees, insects, animals, and so on, right up to man at the top.
Genesis 1 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
The highlighted phrase tells us that God needs thinking beings that can understand Him. The word ‘image’ in Genesis in the original Hebrew is צֶלֶם and means ‘similar’, rather than, ‘the same as God’. The similarities God gave human beings includes a mind that could think, reason, remember and have emotions in the same way as God can, and the ability to communicate with Him.
We suggest that God did not want to live in isolation, but rather with people around Him that are responsive and appreciative of what he does for them. For example, Moses was a man who showed much concern for his Heavenly Father.
God had chosen the nation of Israel to be His own people. He made a promise to them that He would love and care for them if they would do the same for Him. The blessings He lavished upon them, with the promise of even better times to come were amazing. And yet within a little time they were worshipping an idol that they had made and behaving abominably before Him so that God threatened to destroy them and start again with Moses. But rather than glow with pride, Moses’ first thought was for his Heavenly Father.
Exodus 32 11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? 12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. 14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
That is the kind of mutual relationship that God is looking for. Appreciation of what He does for people in return for remarkable protection and wonderful benefits top come.
John 3 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
We shall receive a new transformed body like the body Jesus now has.
1 John 3:2 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
What an amazing body to have. But we must do our part to receive that huge honour of a body like Jesus with the ability to do the things he has done in the past and will do in the future, but plus much more. So let us hear and respond faithfully to the words of Jesus.
Mark 12 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
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If you would like to know more about these important matters, we have Bible talks and invite you to come and listen to one. They are held every Sunday, God willing, and the coming subjects can be found on the “Sunday Bible talks details” page at the top of the page. (Please us red arrow on right.) We also have more articles and some audio and video recordings covering many Bible topics in our “Bible study” section.