Hi extfour. I know how you feel. You've recently come to the point where you're starting to see life for what it is --a whole lot the same stuff. As they say in the adult world "SSDD" -same stuff, different day. So you're looking to see if there's more.
Before I give you the details, here is the jist of Christianity. Pay attention, because this is the most important part. This is the reason why Christ came to Earth and died. Make sure you understand this, because it is the biggest fundamental.
The Gospel:
Are you a good person? By human standards, probably. We Christians believe in a perfect, just, and holy God. So does God think you and I are good people? Well, He gave us a standard to know. You can take this little quiz and know. You don't have to share your score:
1) Have you ever lied? If so what does that make you? Well, someone who lies is a liar. Some people say "Well that was a long time ago". Christians believe that time does not erase the guilt of sin(as it says in the Bible), so it remains.
2) Have you ever stolen anything(mp3s, anyone)? (value is irrelevant)? If you have, what does that make you? (Hint: a thief)
3) Have you ever taken the Lord's name in vain? The Bible calls that blasphemy.
4) Have you ever looked at a woman with lust? Jesus said that if you even look at a woman with lust you have committed adultery with her in your heart.
So let's stop there. If you have committed all these sins (as I have) that makes you a lying, thieving, blasphemous adulterer at heart, and we've only looked at four of the Ten Commandments. This is how God sees me, and maybe you.
So in God's eyes none of us are good people. That is why the Bible says "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God".
The Bible says that the punishment for sin is death and eternal suffering in Hell (second death). So that's why you don't have to be a 'bad person' by our standards. If you break the Law you only need to break one law to have the cops after you. You don't have to break every law.
But here's the good news (that's why we call it the Good News). You don't have to suffer eternally. You do not have to face judgement. Jesus, who lived a clean and sinless life, died on the Cross at Calvary. Like a father who pays his son's speeding ticket, Jesus died the first death on the Cross so you don't have to suffer the second one (eternity in Hell). All you have to do is accept Him as your Lord and Savior. It's kind of like a party: The invitation has already been sent and received, you just need to show up.
As for reasons to believe the Bible, I'll post a few here. You can find more in "Hidden Wealth: Scientific Facts in the Bible" by Ray Comfort.
The Bible and Ship Dimensions
In Genesis 6, God gave Noah the dimensions of the 1.5 million cubic foot ark he was to build In 1609 at Hoorn in Holland, a ship was built after that same pattern(30:5:3), revolutionizing shipbuilding. By 1900 every large ship on the high seas was inclined toward the proportions of the ark(verified by "Lloyd's Register of Shipping" in World Almanac
The Bible and the Immune System
The Bible instructs that male babies are to circumcised on the eigth day (Genesis 17:12). Medical science has now discovered that this is the day that the coagulating factor in the blood, called prothrombin, is the highest. It reaches its peak on the eighth day, then drops. Medical science has also discovered that this is when the human body's immune system is at its peak.
The Bible and the Hittite Empire
The Scriptures make more than 40 references to the great Hittite Empire. However, until on hundred years ago there was no archaeological evidence to substantiate the biblical claim that the Hittites existed. Skeptis declared that the Bible was in error, until their mouths were suddenly stopped. In 1906, Hugo Winckler uncovered a huge library of 10,000 clay tablets, which completely documented the lost Hittie Empire. We now know that at its height, the Hittite civilization rivaled Egypt and Assyria in its glory and power.
The Book of Job and Air Mass
"Scripture tells us in Job 28:25 that there is 'a weight for the wind'. Long before it wasrecognized that the air had weight (sixteenth century), the Bible said that it did. It also tells us that water has weight. The fact that so much water covers the earth means that the effects of the sun and moon's gravity are balanced perfectly. The energy is dissipated in the water --the weight of the water is precisely measured." Richard Gunther
The Bible and Meteorological Laws
The Scriptures describe a "cycle" of air currents two thousand years before scientists discovered them: "The wind goes toward the south, and turns about unto the north; ti whirls about continually, and the wind returns again according to his circuits" (Ecclesiates 1:6). We now know that air around the earth turns in huge circles, clockwise in one hemisphere and countercockwise in the other.
The Bible and the Science of Oceanography
Matthew Maury (1806-1873) is considered the father of Oceanography. He noticed the expression "paths of the sea" in Psalm 8:8 (written 2,800 years ago) and said "If God said there are paths in the sea, then I am going to find them." Maury then took God at His word and went looking for these paths, and we are indebted to his dicovery of the warm and cold continental currents. His book on oceanography remains a basic text on the subject and is still used in universities.
The Bible and Radio Waves
God asked Job a very strange question in 1500 BC. He asked "Can you send lightnings, that they may go, and say to you, Here we are?"Job 38:35. This appears to be a scientifically ludicrous statement--that light can be sent, and then manifest itself in speech. But did you know that all electromagnetic radiation -from radio waves to x-rays --travels at the speed of light? This is why you have instantaneous wireless communication with someone on the other side of the earth. The fact that light could be sent and then manifest itself in speech wasn't discovered by science until 1864(3,300 years later), when "British scientist James Clerk Maxwell suggested that electricity and light waves were two forms of the same thing"(Modern Century Ilustrated Encyclopedia
The Scriptures Speak of an Invisible Structure
Only in recent years has science discovered that everything we see is composed of things that we cannot see--invisible atoms. In Hebrews 11:3, written 2000 years ago, Scripture tells us that the "things which are seen were not made of things which do appear".
The Bible Speaks of One Common Ancestor
"Researchers suggest that virtually all modern men --99% of them, says one scientist --are closely related genetically and share genes with one male ancestor, dubbed 'Y-chromosome Adam'. We are finding that humans have very, very shallow genetic roots which go back very recently to one ancestor . . . That indicates that there was an origin in a specific location on the globe, ad then it spread out from there." (US News and World Report, Dec 4, 1995)
Law of Probabilities Confirms Genesis
"The likelihood of the formation of life from inanimate matter is one out of 10^40,000. It is big enough to bury Darwin and the whole theory of evolution. There was no primeval soup, neither on this planet nor on any other, and if the beginnings of life were not random, they must therefore have been the product of purposeful intelligence" Sir Fred Hoyle, professor of astronomy, Cambridge University
The Bible's Prediction of the Middle East Conflict
In the Book of Beginnings, in Genesis16:12, God said that Ishmael (the progenitor of the Arab race see Time, April 4, 1988) would be a "wild man . . . and every man's hand [will be] against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren." Almost four thousand years later, who could deny that this prophecy isbeing fulfilled in the Arab race? The Arabs and the Jews are "brethren" having Abraham as their ancestor. The whole Middle East conflict is caused by their dwelling together.
The Bible Predicts Russia's Attack of Israel
A number of books of the Bible speak of future events. Ezekiel 38 (written approximately 600 BC) prophesies that in these times ("the latter days", v 16), Russia (referred to as the "Prince of Rosh"; see Smith's Bible Dictionary, p 584) will combine with Iran, Libya(in Hebrew called "Put"), and communistic ethiopia(in Hebrew called "Cush") and attack Israel (vv5-8). This will take place after an Israeli peace initiative has been successful(v. 11).
The Bible even gives the Russian reasoning for and the direction of the attack(vv 10-15), as well as the location of the battle(Armageddon--Revelation16:16). This is generally interpreted as meaning "the mountain of Megiddo," which is located on the north side of the plains of Jezreel. Russia has had a foothold in the Middle East for many years: "The Soviets are entrenched around the rim of the Middle East heartland, in Afhanistan, South Yemen, Ethiopia, and Libya"("Countdown in the Middle East,"Reader's Digest, May 1982)
. Surround yourself with other Christians, and God's Word. Please speak with your pastor, he will be more than happy to answer your questions.
