Why People Reject The Bible

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you..." (Eph. 1:18, NIV). 
"Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law" (Psalm 119:18, NIV).

People who reject the Bible have motives that aren't readily apparent but should be obvious.  If the heart is in the right place one would see for oneself that it appeals to the very heart of man.  The Bible is able to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart and it reads us as we read it.  Many have read through the Bible thinking they apprehend its message of salvation, but have never let the Bible read through them!  When we ignore what we do see, God blinds us and refuses more light.   Mark Twain illustrated this by quipping:  "It's not the parts of the Bible that I don't understand that bother me; it's the parts I do!" Likewise, we must heed what the Lord is trying to say or we will not get further light.

Israel witnessed many signs and wonders and still wouldn't believe (cf. Psalm 78:32, NIV) and the Pharisees in Jesus' time would not, not could not, believe despite His signs and miracles (cf. John 12:37, NIV).  The point is that miracles don't elicit faith, but faith evokes miracles. Miracles can bring about skepticism as well as increase faith.   Miracles only increase faith but don't make it.  If you remove the miraculous from Scripture, you have just idle tales, a catalog of religious idealism, meditations, or even list of dos and don'ts.  This is not the case of so-called miracles of other religions--they are believed because the religion is already affirmed to them, not to make them believe--they are not necessary for their religion.

If Jesus had performed no miracles, He'd be a mere footnote in history.  Jesus' miracles were not haphazard or helter-skelter, nor for personal gain, but to illustrate His Deity or to show compassion and make a point in His teaching--they were not fantastic, nor showy and He never did a miracle on-demand or any biggie miracle to force faith on the hardened and unwilling.  He said in His teachings that if anyone is willing to do His will (cf. John 7:17), he shall know whether His works were of God or not and His teaching was from God.

Now, you don't have to believe the Bible per se to become a Christian, but it will make a believer out of you upon reading it.  Note that the Pharisees believed the Scriptures, but were blind to the truth due to the hardness of their hearts.  And Paul preached to the Greeks who didn't necessarily already believe in the Scriptures. But most people that reject the Bible or say it's obsolete or even legend or tall tale,  have never read it!  If they say they have, ask them what its main message is!   The Bible is known to feed you, then make you hungry--one can never get too much of the Word and newborn believers seem to have an insatiable appetite for its contents--a true thirst and love for the Word.

The person who has never read the Bible is on the verge of being barbarian or illiterate and doesn't realize the Western Civilization was founded upon its principles.  The Bible has always been considered part of the Common Law of England according to Jurist William Blackstone.  It's easily the most influential book in history, even most popular!  People who reject it have a problem in their heart because the heart of the matter is that it's a matter of the heart--one's heart needs to be in the right place to appreciate it.  Bitterness can blind a person to the truth!  The Bible is so foundational to wisdom that a knowledge of the Bible without a college education is worth more in life than a college education without knowledge of the Bible.  

Now, why do the vast majority of skeptics deny the Bible's authenticity as true, even historically?  If a secular scholar or historian disagrees, it's assumed they are the ones without bias.  They believe and accept usually by faith since they may have only heard this, that it contains contradictions.  Several scholarly books have been written to dispel this notion; namely, The Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties and Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible.  But I contend that there are no contradictions because I have seen many resolved and see that most are merely the result of not knowing basic Bible doctrine, semantics, or of sound reading, of seeing the big picture, or even that they don't know basic rules of interpretation like interpreting the obscure in light of the clear, and seeing that the Scripture interprets itself.  When they say that the Bible contradicts itself; it really contradicts them!  Some famous men have done Bible revisions or tried to rewrite it the way they see it, even taking out the miracles which they find offensive or unbelievable.  But they are not believing the Bible, but are believing themselves! 

The Bible is its own Supreme Court that appeals to no higher authority for attestation.  the proof of the pudding is in the eating!  If it appealed to science, then science would be the ultimate arbiter of truth!  The proof of the Bible is in itself:  "Taste and see that the LORD is good!" The Bible appeals to the heart and soul of man and if it's not good soil, it will not be able to grow into fruition and mature.  We often are asked to prove the Bible is the Word of God by those who cannot prove it isn't!  But the Bible can prove itself if given the opportunity.  If they say prove it to me!  You ought to say, "No, you prove it yourself--read it!"  All one needs is an open mind, willing spirit, and needy heart and God will authenticate Himself through His chosen vehicle or method of communication--the Bible. 

In sum, people who think they are rejecting the Bible are really rejecting themselves and/or their perception or understanding of it, not necessarily what it says in reality; the Bible tells it like it is and shows people who and what they are in God's estimation (it isn't pretty!), but some people don't want to live up to its reality but choose to delude themselves and reject the truth.   Soli Deo Gloria!

The Peace Beyond Comprehension

"'There is no peace,' says my God, 'for the wicked'" (Isaiah 57:21, NIV).
"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you" (Isaiah 26:3, NIV).  

To say that knowing Jesus is knowing peace, and with no Jesus, you get no peace.  But the devil always has his counterfeit peace with just enough truth to lure them into his lies and deception, inoculating them from the real thing, for example, secularists are intellectually fulfilled by adhering to evolution to explain reality.  He offers the world faux peace through idolatry, crutches, the supernatural, drugs, and in many forms.  Putting anything where God should be in one's priorities is idolatry--a time-consuming habit, hobby, or pastime.  

Christians can only know peace when they give Christ first place in their lives.  He is called the Prince of Peace for a reason!  He paid the price to set us free from our guilt and confusion brought on by sin. And only by His truth can we be set free from the lies of the enemy.   He is still in the resurrection business and can transform our lives into something beautiful to His glory.  Ephesians 2:14 says He is our peace!

One of the Jehovah texts is Judges 6:24, which calls Jesus  "the LORD is our peace," or Yahweh Shalom in Hebrew.  God's peace is manifold and multi-dimensional in the spiritual realms transcending our comprehension.  We are given peace with God, with ourselves, and with each other, and the ability to bring peace to the land by humbling ourselves in repentance to Him, and even being set free from our bondage and slavery to sin.  

We are also given the ability to share, communicate, and bring peace to others as Christ's "peacemakers," and we are lights to the world of what real peace is.  We experience this peace in the Lord and want to pass it on!  But it must start with a decision to call upon the Lord as our peace!  We must look to God, not ourselves and we will be saved, keeping our eyes focused on Him and not the obstacles.  Without Jesus, in our lives, we head towards chaos not knowing where we are going, and cannot find God or any real lasting peace.

Everyone has a God or god and if not the real thing--Jesus--there is some idol in the life filling the void.   So-called faux Gods are only the substitute that the devil offers to lure us away from the real thing!  People mistakenly believe that if something works, it's true.  The test of an idea is not whether it's true, but whether it works just considering the consequences (this is pragmatism):  because it works is no guarantee it's true (e.g., TM, hypnotism, astrology, meditation, channeling, and yoga).

That's why it's so important to seek the truth and to seek the Lord, not peace per se.  Many are really looking for the benefits, not the Benefactor, and are content with the things the devil offers the world, which will diminish one's appetite for the spiritual things of God.    Soli Deo Gloria!