Please explain how there are different races in the world when we are all supposed to be born from Adam and Eve?

Sincerely,
Ethnic Diversity

Dear Ethnic Diversity,

We all came from Adam and Eve (Gen 3:20).  Eventually, mankind was scattered across the whole earth after the Tower of Babel (Gen 11:9).  Different races were created as these scattered groups became more isolated.  This is very similar to how you see parents and children looking alike – they share noticeable physical traits because they are closely related.  The groups that were scattered from the Tower of Babel were isolated by their language differences, and therefore only married amongst their specific language group.  This isolated intermarrying created distinct physical characteristics that differentiated one group from another (i.e. skin color, eye shape, face shape, hair color).  The different races of the world are nothing more than large family groups created after the Tower of Babel.

I read Richard Dawkins book The God Delusion, and having doubts, on my own made the switch from Christian to agnostic.  I had been accepted into Christ during my youth and later in my life came closer to Christ, enforcing my beliefs.

After reading this book, as I said, I had made the switch and confessed to both my parents and a few friends that I didn't believe in the Bible.

My parents, as I would have guessed, cannot stand the fact that I denied Christ.

Now, I am having doubts, feeling that I just lost my soul and that I am going to hell for the mistake I made.  (I made this choice before, once or twice, but felt God forgave me and that He was still drawing me closer.)

Now I am unsure what to believe – people or the Bible – and what my faith is.  I want to come back to being a Christian, but I am afraid there is no use as Jesus said, “Whoever denies Me, I will deny to My Father.”

Is there really no hope?  Am I lost for good?

Sincerely,
Soul In Despair

Dear Soul In Despair,

Yes, there is hope, and no, you aren’t lost for good.  Your question has two parts to it.

1. Can I be forgiven of denying God?
2. Does God really exist, or is Richard Dawkins right?

You can be forgiven of denying God.  Paul was forgiven of denying Jesus (1 Cor 15:9-10).  Peter denied Jesus (Matt 26:75), and he was forgiven.  Now is the time to repent and begin anew.  We recommend you read “What Must I Do To Be Saved” to learn about what it takes to obey God.

The second part of your question has a little more depth to it.  The short answer is, yes, God does exist.  We have several articles that you might want to read.  Read through our articles in the EVIDENCES category of the archive; almost all of them pertain to your situation and will reinforce your belief in God.  We also recommend that you rent or buy “Expelled” by Ben Stein.  That movie has an interview with Richard Dawkins where Dawkins admits that he has no idea where life came from.  He even guesses it might be aliens that put life on this planet!  That film does a good job of exposing the bias and prejudices that men like Richard Dawkins have.  And last, but not certainly not least, we highly recommend that you go to our congregation’s main website (www.mvchurchofchrist.org) and listen to a series of lessons preached by a geologist, Dr. Don Patton, on Science and Creation.  Every one of those sources should help to reinforce that evolutionists don’t have the answers; God’s Word does.

In  1 John 5:7-8 … what does it mean with water and blood?  Is the water the baptism?  And the blood the sacrifice that Jesus Christ did?

Sincerely,
Elemental Interest

Dear Elemental Interest,

In chapter five, John is addressing the issue of Jesus’ deity.  Those who overcome the world are those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God (1 Jn 5:6).  John says that three things bore witness to Jesus’ deity.

1. He came by water (1 Jn 5:6).  Jesus was baptized, and afterwards, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove (Matt 3:16).  John the Baptist used this baptism as proof of Jesus’ divinity (Jhn 1:31-34).
2. He came by blood (1 Jn 5:6).  Jesus died a death like no other before or after Him.  It was a horrific and painful death, and yet, He did not cry out (Isa 53:7).  As He died, the sun turned to darkness (Matt 27:45), and the temple veil was torn in half (Mk 15:38).  After a bloody death like that, even the Roman centurion exclaimed Jesus’ deity (Mk 15:39).
3. Lastly, the Spirit bore witness (1 Jn 5:7).  The Holy Spirit brought the truth about the Son of God to all mankind.  The Bible is a record of Jesus.

By those three things, it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is God’s Son.

Ever since about three or four months ago, I've been having doubt about the existence of God.  I'm a Christian.  Is this normal?  I don’t want Him to think I’m ungrateful or anything.  Help!

Sincerely,
Agnostically Challenged

Dear Agnostically Challenged,

Everyone faces times of doubt in their life; the key is to strengthen the weaknesses in our resolve.  Like the man who cried out, “I believe, help my unbelief!” (Mk 9:24), all Christians must recognize that faith must grow and increase over time.

Faith is the evidence of things not seen (Heb 11:1).  We can’t see God, but there is plenty of evidence that He exists.  The whole creation cries out as evidence of God’s existence (Rom 1:20).  As science and our knowledge of the natural world have increased, the proof of God’s existence has increased as well.  Answersingenesis.org is a website based entirely around the scientific proof of God’s existence.  Books like Has God Spoken? by A.O. Schnabel, Case For A Creator by Lee Strobel, and Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell are excellent resources that make clear the existence of the God of the Bible.  Take the time to fill your mind with information from sources like those mentioned above, and you will find yourself more confident in no time (Php 4:8).

Hi there.  I stumbled here from Google while researching some Bible history.  I'm really trying to make sense of some ideas and background of the Bible.  My main question is: why are texts such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Apocrypha of John, and the Gospel of Phillip not included in the Bible?

Thanks for making this site, and I hope to hear back from you!

Sincerely,
Bible Student

Dear Bible Student,

The books that you referred to are called ‘apocryphal’ books. An apocryphal book (‘apocrypha’ means hidden) is a book that was rejected from the Bible because it was considered inauthentic. These books are not written by God and never were accepted by God’s people as divinely inspired – most of them were written hundreds of years later.  They were forgeries created by false teachers and charlatans of the day (religious corruption isn’t a new thing!).

The most famous historical document that includes the entire list of all the New Testament books was written at the Nicene Council in 325 AD.  The Nicene Council did write down a list of the New Testament books, but they didn’t create that list – they just reiterated what people had already known and accepted for a couple hundred years.  Within fifty years of its books being written, most of the canon of the New Testament was universally settled.  Most of the New Testament books were written as letters to different congregations that personally knew the apostles and prophets that wrote the letters. Paul would even mention his penmanship as being distinctive (Gal 6:11). Those churches were able to tell the difference between a letter that was actually written by an apostle and one that was a forgery. The church of the first century collected, copied, and distributed these letters just as God intended (Col 4:16, 1 Thess. 5:27).  God made sure that His Word was properly preserved and established.