Basic HTML Version
nations on the question,
"Do
you
believe in God?" here is what was
found:
Don't
Yes% No% Know%
Grcece
96
2
2
Australia
87
7
6
Austria
85
JO
5
Switzerland
84
11
5
Finland
83
7
10
West Gennany
81
10
9
Netherlands
79
13
8
Great Britain
77
11
12
France
73
21
6
Norway
73
12
15
Sweden
60
26
14
Even in Sweden, the majority of
people claim to believe in the exis–
tence of God. In most Westem na–
tions, the overwhelming majority of
citizens hold this belief.
Back to Basics
Let us take as a starting point tbis
astonishing fact:
97%
of all Ameri–
cans anda majority ofDanes, West
Germans, Finns, Swiss, Austrians
and Greeks
say
they believe in the
existence of God. Could it be tba t if
God does exist, he might have re–
vealed a standard of conduct aod a
way of life?
Since most readers of this article
would say they believe in God, we
should be able to take this fact for
granted. There is one problem. The
word "God," like "capitalist" and
"communist," meaos many different
things to people. Believers in Islam,
Buddhism, Shintoism, Hinduism
and Christianity all have different
concepts of "God."
We need, for a moment, to forget
all these ideas. This article, from
now on, will no longer be talking
about the
traditional
God concept of
Christianity. Probably, many would
be better off to use a totally new
term, but that would confuse the
matter more.
Let's look at the situation from a
different viewpoint. Divorce the con–
cept of God and the idea of sorne
moral standard from aoy traditional
religious body, Christian or other-
PLAIN TRUTH November 1973
wi&e,
aod
COflsider the Bible as a
possible so:urce containing this vital
wisdom.
There are, of e<mrse, many claims
in this book that it does contain the
revealed thoughts of a supreme
being. For example, in the Old Tes–
tament book of Deuteronomy, we
tind the following words:
"If
you will obey the Lord your
God by diligently observing all
bis
commandments which
1
lay upon
you this day, then the Lord your
God
will
raise you high above all
nations of the earth, and all these
blessings shall come to you and light
upon you, because you obey the
Lord your God:
"A blessing on you in the city; a
blessing on you in the country.
"A blessing on the fruit of your
body, the fruit of your land aod of
your cattle, the offspring of your
herds and of your lambing
flocks....
"May the Lord grant you a bless–
ing in your granaries and in all your
labours; may the Lord your God
bless you in the land which he is
giving you....
"May the Lord open the heavens
for you, bis rich treasure house, to
give rain upon your land at the
proper time and bless everything to
which you tum your hand ..."
(Deuteronomy
28:1-12,
The New
English Bible).
Now those are really fabulous
promises. Livable cities and livable
farms. No stillbirths. Plenty of cattle
to be turned into juicy steaks.
Wbeat surpluses to knock out your
eye. Human needs and desires satis–
fied.
A Practica! Code of Conduct
The commands or morality of this
God were practicaJ - related to the
day-to-day needs of the citizens.
"If
you obey ..." then happiness is
yours. This God provided an answer
for the question: How can 1 know
that a certain way of life will bring
me the happiness 1 desire? The
proof was in the eating, so to speak.
If
the ci.tizea obeyed - followed the
moral and social code of this God -
life would be abundant aod happy.
If the code was not obeyed, then
other consequences, very undesir–
able consequences, would follow.
This God offered the choice of
following his way of life or rejecting
it in favor of a personal code of
conduct. But he did stress the con–
sequences: "1 summon heaven and
earth to witness against you this
day: I offer you the choice of life or
death, blessing or curse. Choose life
and then you and your descendants
will live; love the Lord your God,
obey him and hold fast to him ..."
(Deuteronomy
30: 19-20,
NEB).
In a world where many religions,
social groups and moral lobbyists
are clamoring for the loyalty of indi–
viduals, it is vital that each person
check for himself. Could the Bible,
after all, be the word of a supreme
being who really did create man?
We are merely asking a rhetorical
question so that every reader can
think thjs out
for himself.
As is obvi–
ous, this magazine recognizes that
such a God does exist and that he
makes many positive promises to
the individual.
Jf modero science has laid
man–
made
religion and supersti tion to
rest, it has been a boon to mankind.
Jt
is now time to logically and
with open eyes search for what
modero science cannot provide -
the clear and simple word for our
day from a supreme being - a word
that each one of us should base our
conduct upon and by which we
should live our lives.
o
There is a way of Jjfe which,
if followed, will produce happi–
ness and peace of mind.
ft
is
explained m a logical, step-by–
step manner in the
Ambassador
College Correspondence Course.
The course is
FREE
of charge
with absolutely no obligation. We
invite you to write to the Cor–
respondence Course in care of
our regional office nearest you
(see back cover for addresses).
19