Jordan Peterson, Phanatik and 10 Reasons Why the Bible is the Precondition for Truth

Jordan Peterson recently said, during a podcast with Joe Rogan, “It isn’t that the Bible is true. It’s that the Bible is the precondition for the manifestation of truth, which makes it way more true than just true. It’s a whole different kind of truth. And I think this is not only literally the case. Factually, I think it can’t be any other way. It’s the only way we can solve the problem of perception.”

This comes on the heels of the news that famous Christian rap artist/apologist Brady “Phanatik” Goodwin renounced his faith because he said that he no longer believed the Scriptures.

In my opinion, the greatest proof of the Bible is the impossibility of the contrary. Without the truths that Scripture puts forth, there is no rational understanding for meaning in the world today. Without the framework of the Bible, the perceived reality of this world collapses down to irrationality. For instance, there’s no explanation for intelligent design of the cosmos, categories, grammar, mathematics, language, names, natural law, physics or gravity.

The following are 10 reasons why the Bible is the precondition for all truth:

1. The Bible explains the beginning of all things. There is still no scientific explanation for the beginning of the cosmos that excludes the supernatural or intelligent design. Even the so-called “Big Bang” needed a catalytic source to generate the energy required to eventuate the universe. Genesis 1:1 is still the most logical explanation for the beginning and existence of all things.

2. The Bible explains what went wrong in the world. Everybody knows that there is something wrong in the past that interferes with our hope for an ideal world. Whether it be natural catastrophes caused by earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions or the evil exhibited by humanity against one another, as seen in wars and violent crime, or the brutality of the animal kingdom as seen in predatory species, we all know there is something wrong. The so-called Darwinian “survival of the fittest” cannot comprehensively account for evil and environmental volatility. The account of the fall of humanity in Genesis 3 gives us the most precise and reasonable explanation of how evil entered the world and negatively impacted every aspect of existence (Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3:23).

3. The Bible explains the solution for our fallen world. The Bible teaches us that since through man sin entered the world, and death through sin, it would take a sinless man to take humanity’s place to remove sin and heal our brokenness (Rom. 5:12-19; Rom. 6:23; Heb. 2:14-18).

4. The Bible explains the consummation of human history. The Bible teaches us that, although humanity started in a garden, the redeemed will end up in a city (Gen. 2; Rev. 21-22). Furthermore, the consummation of the cosmos will end up with everything being identified with and aligned with Jesus the Messiah (Eph. 1:9-11).

5. The Bible attests to things that are experienced by billions of believers. Can the consistent testimony of over a billion Christ-followers living today, all independent of one another, be wrong? Can the multiple billions of Christians who have lived the past two millennia all be wrong? They all speak of the reality of God’s work and operation in and through them in their everyday life (Heb. 12:1-2).

6. The Bible attests to the resurrection of Christ. To this day, Jesus’ body has never been found by the Jewish leaders and Roman soldiers who desperately searched for it. Who moved the stone in front of the empty tomb? What gave the cowardly disciples boldness to preach and start a global movement that is still sustained today? Furthermore, how can billions of Christians bear witness to the reality of the sacred text and His resurrection for over two thousand years? Many atheists, agnostics and skeptics have tried to disprove the resurrection of Christ. Nobody has succeeded.

7. The Bible attests to the reality of the Holy Spirit, answers to prayer and miracles. The Bible speaks about the ability of true believers to receive supernatural answers to prayer, miracles, healings and prophetic words (John 14:12-14; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11). The testimony of billions of Christians, including myself, of supernatural answers to prayers is common among the faithful. This vast consensus flies in the face of natural phenomenological law. It has no explanation except to conclude that there is a supernatural, transcendent God who is personally involved in the affairs of believers (Heb. 11:6).

8. The Bible attests to being born again from above. Christianity is the only so-called religion you cannot convert to unless you have a supernatural encounter with God. All other major religions have to observe forms, rituals, laws and more. However, Jesus said that unless one is born from above, He cannot see His kingdom (John 3:1-8).

9. The Bible attests to the moral law of God. As found in Exodus 20, the Ten Commandments is the only moral code that enables nations and individuals to be blessed if they follow it. For example, imagine a world in which everybody put God first, set aside one day in seven to be with their family and worship God, did not commit murder, did not commit adultery, did not steal or covet their neighbor’s goods. If every person consistently attempted to obey this divine moral code, the world would become a utopia. However, imagine a world in which everybody intentionally (outwardly, not just in their hearts) disobeyed these commandments. The world as we know it would soon collapse in its foolishness and sin!

10. The Bible is one cohesive unit with the metanarrative pointing to Jesus. The Bible was written by about 40 authors over 1600 years from people living in various geographic regions with diverse economic backgrounds. Despite all this diversity, the Scriptures cohere with each other, with a meta-narrative that points to Jesus the Messiah. The comprehensive, coherence and consistency of the Scriptures all point to the fact that it is a divinely inspired book. {eoa}

For the original article, visit josephmattera.org.

Dr. Joseph Mattera is an internationally-known author, consultant and theologian whose mission is to influence leaders who influence culture. He is the founding pastor of Resurrection Church and leads several organizations, including The U.S. Coalition of Apostolic Leaders and Christ Covenant Coalition. Dr. Mattera is the author of 13 bestselling books, including his latest, The Purpose, Power, and Process of Prophetic Ministry, and is renown for applying Scripture to contemporary culture. To order his books or to join the many thousands who subscribe to his newsletter, go to josephmattera.org.

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