If someone came up to me and asked me why I believe, this is where I’d start: “If someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it, but do this in a gentle and respectful way.” I Peter 3:15b-16a NLT There are countless reasons why I believe in Christ as my Savior and Lord, but I’d like to highlight three main ones. He is Worthy “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.” Revelation 4:11 NLT I came to know Christ as a young girl. In fact, I was so young I don’t even remember how old I was, but if I were to guess, I was three. My mother is a believer, and she asked my sister and me if we wanted to accept the Lord into our hearts as Savior a long time ago. I did not have an easy upbringing, but I am thankful for her guidance here. After that, coming to God with my hurts and pains came naturally to me. I’d often find myself in the Psalms for comfort as a bullied child, and drew strength from David’s accounts, especially his request to God on smiting others, and my prayers would often mimic wanting the Lord to show up for me this way personally. Although I never witnessed the Lord avenging me like the Old Testament suggests he’s capable of, I did realize I was a worm in comparison to this all-powerful, all-mighty God, and I came to learn throughout my formative years that He alone is worthy of all honor, glory, and praise. I Was in a Pit of Despair, and He Rescued Me. “He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.” Psalm 40:2 NLT Fast forward to nineteen, pregnant for the third time, and ready for a change, I cried out to God again. This time, utterly defeated and quite sarcastically, I threw my fist towards heaven and charged, “If there is any truth to this grace thing, I want it.” The Lord met me in that terrible place and began to reveal to me just how far I’d run from the warmth and safety of his loving arms. Year after year, I struggled with deep-pitted pain and loss, raising three children alone for nearly a decade. Through many bitter tears and a venomous strike, only rebellion can provide, I continued. Day after day, week after week, I sought the Lord and brought him my pain. Little by little, he set me free from debilitating addictions and sin that held me captive for many years. Eventually, I realized I had been rescued. The Lord had brought me into a nice, spacious land, but only recently, and after nearly 30 years of obeying the Lord, has he revealed this to me. I am thankful today for two things. One, that he revealed to me at nineteen that I was in a pit, and two, that he showed me the way out and placed my feet on solid ground. He Remains Beside Me Always. “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 NLT More recently, I’ve had plenty of more questions for God. Questions like, “If you really loved me, why did you allow my twenty-five-year-old son to die?,” or “Why is my fourteen-year-old daughter so sick that I had to abruptly leave my job as a minister and ELA teacher of nearly sixty 5th-grade students last week?” Why God, Why?, I lament, and I candidly ask. These types of blows assuredly sting, especially since I’ve spent many years equating my walk with Christ as something to be earned, or a type of performance I share with him. I did not intend to pick up this religious idea, but if you are a part of a church body for just about any amount of time, I am afraid this is a very real ideology, and as a young woman, I fell victim. Since 2022, however, the Lord has been revealing something new. God is always with me. God loves me, as if I were his only daughter, and it is his good pleasure to keep me safe, wrap me in his love, and surround me with his precious presence. He also remains in front of me, and I am simply to walk in the way He has already pre-determined I do. He has shown me that I am safe. That He is the Good Shepherd. That I am in his kingdom-ever-after pen, and that it’s OK to explore pastures. I am safe. This has been my favorite breakthrough in Christ to date because I have always been terrified to make a wrong move. I did not feel like a part of God’s family. I felt like a slave, a hired hand, who must perform perfectly, or I am in danger of losing my salvation. This type of thinking is so heavy and debilitating. Today, I am convinced that God, more than anything, not only wants us to receive the precious gift of salvation, but also wants us to learn how to walk with Jesus and the help of the Holy Spirit so that we firmly understand He is with us, and that He will never, ever leave us. I now boldly declare that it’s not about me at all. It’s about Jesus’s faithfulness to keep us, his unfathomable willingness to remain beside us, and his longing that every single one of us would come to know Him as Lord, Savior, and King. For this revelation, I can not thank God enough. It has been slow coming, but it is sure, and now I just want to proclaim from the rooftops what a mighty God we serve! This is it, folks. This is why I believe. He is worthy, He is my deliverer, and He will never leave me. I pray that if you’ve never made Jesus your Lord and Savior, you would come to him, as you are, and allow him to be yours so that you may be freed from this world and all of her pain and suffering eventually, and spend eternity with him. © 2026 Worth Carrying.

If you asked me why I believe in God, I probably wouldn’t start with arguments or long explanations. I’d just tell you the simple truth. There are so many of my life experiences that have proven to me that God is real and is concerned about every single thing that concerns me. There were seasons in my life when believing would have been the easiest thing to give up. Moments when prayers just seemed like a burden, words said to heaven seemed not to be exceeding the ceiling of my house. Times when life didn’t look anything like what I had hoped or prayed for. And sometimes seasons like that shook my faith more than I admitted, but somehow, even in those moments, I kept noticing something strange; I was still standing. You know how we can make plans and have expectations for how we want our lives to go… I remember a time when I was trying to get admitted into school. I had my life all “planned” out. I wanted to be done with everything regarding my academics by age 24, but things weren’t falling in line the way I expected. I stayed home for years due to financial constraints and I was hurting so badly. I always thought that my journey was so sluggish, it looked like all my friends had gone ahead of me, even pupils I taught had graduated while I wasn’t in school yet. By the time God told me the school to apply for, it was a school I disliked so much, and that began another phase of frustration for some months because I felt God was being unfair to me and he didn’t like to give me my heart's desires, but after some time, God helped me, and I overcame. I got to a certain time where the Lord began to bring my attention to many things that I wouldn’t have achieved if I had gone to school at the time I planned. He made me understand this: the fact that people are in front of me does mean they’re ahead of me…. It was at this point that a lot of Scriptures began flooding my mind, like: Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. Were there days when I was tired enough to give up? Of course!! Emotionally, mentally, sometimes even spiritually. Were there times when I didn’t feel strong or certain about anything in life or my future? Absolute!!! But God was always there to help and comfort me, even when no one else was there. The thing about God is that He doesn’t always show up in loud, dramatic ways. Sometimes His presence is quiet. He comes as peace, showing up when anxiety is trying to take over, and His hope keeps returning after disappointment tries to convince you that nothing good is ahead. When some life situations hit me, I begin to consciously remind myself and recognize them as evidence of a God who is present, even when life feels uncertain. And so, if you’re struggling to believe, I need you to understand that God is not afraid of your questions; He isn’t actually waiting for you to have faith before He cares about you. Sometimes faith doesn’t always appear as loud confidence, and this is where we miss it, many times it comes with choosing to hope again when life has given you various reasons not to, choosing to pray and trust God again, and also living in the consciousness that your story isn’t finished yet. So if you asked me why I believe, my answer would be simple. I believe because through every season – the good ones and the hard ones, God has always shown up in unimaginable ways. I can go on and on with testimonies on how God has shown that He’s concerned about me, down to the tiniest details. When I say He shows up, I don’t mean that it’ll be in the ways we expect. Remember that His ways are not our ways at all, and His thoughts aren’t our thoughts. And it’s happenings like this that have given me reasons to keep believing and trusting God, against all odds. I trust Him when the way seems blurry because I’ve had encounters that have proven to me over and again that God cares and His presence is with me every step of the way, and so He is with you too. All you need is to be conscious of Him and believe that every single one of His words is truth and life. © 2026 Favour

All I can really think is — how could I not believe? God has brought me through some of the most troubling times in my life, and yet He’s also given me so many blessings. Even in those darkest moments, when I could have gone the wrong way, He sent people into my life that I never would have expected. Those people fought harder than the devil to keep me from going dark. That was God’s work. I’ve seen too much to ignore Him. From the stars in the sky to the detail of a single snowflake, everything points back to God. No one else could design life with that kind of care. I’ve also seen the power of prayer, real healing that can only be described as a miracle. That’s God’s work. No one else is capable of that. I believe in God because without Him, I would be lost. Who would I turn to when I’m in need? Who would guide my heart to do good even when there is nothing in my favor? I believe in God because without Him, I am nothing. I would be a nobody who came from nowhere. I would have no ancestry. So really, how would I even be alive if God never created mankind? Some of my thoughts are hard to put into words. The miracles of life, from mankind to creatures, mountains to oceans, rainforests to deserts, these didn’t just happen; they were created. From having my children and watching them grow, God's doing; their souls are rooted by God. No one else could bless me with them. They are here by His choice. I believe in God because I know no other way. I am not capable of thinking there is anything or anyone else that could guide my life as He has. From blessings to hardships, God was there, and He will always be there. I believe everything happens for a reason, good or bad, and we must trust His plan. No matter what. He hasn’t failed me. © 2026 Guest Joanna.

“Some of them were ready to quit and go back to Egypt. Others just said, ‘Forget it. If this is what God has planned for me, I don’t want it.’ In spite of their gross lack of faith, God performed a miracle there on the desert sands, turning bitter waters into sweet waters.”  — Bill Wilson, Christianity in the Crosshairs. Children sulk. If they ask for candy or ice cream before bedtime and you say no, they don’t usually argue. Sometimes, they just…withdraw. They make those small pouted lips. Fold their hands. Avoid eye contact. Maybe crawl under a blanket and refuse to talk. Cute, and a little dramatic. If I’m being honest, that’s exactly how I’ve treated God for most of my life. Yeah, childish faith. There was a time, back in 2016, when I was trying to move to the States for graduate school. Everything seemed lined up. I had admission letters. Funding plans. Travel money. Confidence. I was pumped. I had prayed about it for months. All I needed was the visa. I was rejected at the American consulate during my visa interview. I tried again a few days later. Rejected. Again. More than five times! Each interview felt like walking toward a door I was sure God had opened… only to have it quietly shut in my face. I remember coming home after one of those interviews feeling like a dry, dead autumn leaf being pushed around by the cold wind. No direction. Just drifting with lots of questions. I had done everything “right." Prepared well. Prayed sincerely. Stayed hopeful. So why wasn’t it working? I didn’t lose my faith in some dramatic moment. I just started sulking. Whenever something important didn’t work out according to plan, an exam, an opportunity, something I had prayed over deeply, I reacted like a child who didn’t get what he wanted. Quietly, I would withdraw a little. Pray less. Open my Bible less. Talk less about faith. Not because I stopped believing God exists. But because I believed He could have changed the outcome…and didn’t. And honestly, that hurt. Later in life, the pattern repeated itself. Professional exams. Career plans. Moments where I thought: This time it will finally work. Sometimes it didn’t. And the old reaction came back. That tightening in the chest. That quiet distance. Like a child sitting in the corner thinking: “Fine. I won’t talk either.” You see, we don’t sulk toward someone we don’t believe in. We sulk because we expected something from them. It took me years to realize that. My frustration wasn’t proof of weak faith. It was proof of relationship. Looking back now, something about that surprises me. Every single time I pulled away…God didn’t. I reduced my prayers to silence. He remained steady. I stopped reading Scripture for weeks sometimes. He didn’t disappear. I sat in disappointment, convinced I had been forgotten. And slowly, without drama, I would find myself coming back. Opening Scripture again. Whispering short prayers again. Sitting quietly again. Like that same sulking child who finally peeks out from under the blanket…and slowly walks back into the living room. It almost feels funny now. Some doors never opened. Some plans dissolved completely. Some things I prayed for sincerely just didn’t happen. But I’m still here. Still talking to Him, wrestling and returning. I’m not here writing this to tell you that I believe because every prayer worked out the way I imagined. I believe because I’ve never been abandoned in my disappointment. I believe because even when I shut Him out for a while, He didn’t shut me out. My faith has survived my own immaturity. These days, I’m learning something slowly. For a long time, my faith was transactional. I thought if I prayed sincerely enough, prepared well enough, believed strongly enough, then God would arrange outcomes accordingly. But faith isn’t a transaction. Our faith must not be based on outcomes. God isn’t a vending machine responding to the right combination of effort and belief. He’s a Father. Patient enough to let me sulk. Steady enough to wait until I come back. If you’re someone whose prayers feel unanswered right now, I don’t have a formula. I wish I did. I’ve tried creating distance from God when I was disappointed. It never lasted. Not because I’m afraid of burning in hell, haha. But because something in me knows where home is. I don’t have a perfectly mapped future. I don’t understand every delay. Some days are still confusing. But I know this much. The God I get frustrated with is the same God I return to. The God I question is the same God who has carried me through every closed door so far. And maybe faith isn’t about never doubting. Maybe it’s about always returning. That’s why I believe. Even though I’ve seen manna falling from heaven less often, I’ve seen His pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day guiding me, walking with me day and night, protecting me (Exodus 13:21,22). His presence mattered. His presence assured me that everything happening in my life happens underneath Him. He is sovereign. Though I didn’t know the number of hairs on my head, He knew. The best part? He knows more about me than I do about myself! I didn’t have to listen to the devil’s conniving thoughts pushing me toward despair or separation from Him. I didn’t have to compare my journey with someone else’s. Like Jairus, when people told him his daughter was dead and to leave the Teacher alone, I had to hold onto the Teacher and “not be afraid and ONLY believe” (Luke 8:49,50). I didn’t have to believe and figure everything out and make sense of it all. I didn’t have to believe and try to understand the delay. Only believe. Everything around me sometimes said I was failing. I know how heavy that place feels. But strangely, trusting and believing in Him feels lighter. All I know that He wants from me now is this: childlike faith and not childish faith. If this reflection encouraged you, you can support my writing or future reflections here. Your support simply helps me continue sharing thoughtful pieces like this. Thanks for reading! © 2026 Dr. Anudeep Manne.

Donkeys are mentioned approximately 140 times in the Bible, appearing primarily in the Old Testament (about 133 times) as symbols of service, peace, and humility. Notable mentions include Abraham’s journey, Balaam’s talking donkey, Samson’s weapon, and Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. (AI overview) Over grilled cheese sandwiches accompanied by season-salted French fries with my Buddhist friend, she asked , “Why do you believe in a God who created an imperfect world with imperfect people?” I’m actually paraphrasing her question, but that was the gist of it, as she expressed concerns about all the things going wrong with human bodies, including the suffering her precious young daughter is currently enduring from an unknown (TBD) autoimmune disorder. Truth be told, I’ve had a few “by-the-grace-of-God” and “come-to-Jesus” moments in my life. As a result, I now know down deep in the marrow of my bones that Jesus “double-imputed” in my heart and soul, taking all of my past, present, and future sins onto the cross, simultaneously in exchange for His presence abiding in my heart forever. I am never alone. Grateful for each miraculous breath of life I get in my lungs. I do my very best not to roll my eyes or outwardly cringe when I hear fellow Christians answer questions like my friend’s inquiry about why our good God would allow bad things to happen to “good” people, with “It’s a fallen world, so the Earth and everyone on it is flawed since the fall of man, with Adam’s original sin” or something along those lines. But the only other explanation I can offer you is that pain is the touchstone to all spiritual growth. This has certainly been the truth for my life. More suffering equals more growth, which brings us to my wilderness story. Shortly after divorce, on the heels of a 27.5 year long marriage filled with love, laughter, joy, infidelity, addiction, pain, and suffering, WE (planet Earth) entered The Pandemic era. Everything shut down. In the year prior to the unexpected global lockdown, I had been living in a small rental downtown after moving out from what had previously been my marital residence for almost the same number of years as the marriage. After making the non-confrontational decision to leave it ALL behind, I chose to let go of any expectations of a financially equitable division. I accepted the consequences for my sins. Naming serenity and sobriety among my highest priorities, I embraced the solitude and simplicity of being single for the first time since the tender age of fifteen. Once the year-long lease was up, I faced the next important life decision. After much prayer (*Philippians 4:6–7), seeking wise counsel (Proverbs 11:14) and careful consideration, I made the decision to move in with my aging mother (Dad had recently passed in 2018). The hope was to assist her and save up enough money to hopefully purchase my own home again someday. So I moved back home with my Mom, back into my childhood home out in the country. Then it happened. COVID happened. The world shut down. My heart was still broken. (And maybe still is to this day… I honestly don’t know if one ever gets over divorce completely.) Living with my Mom and working remotely as required during the worldwide pandemic, I took daily nature walks around her neighborhood. Why I Believe In all the prayer and meditation walks, I was reminded each day that I was never alone (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus walked with me, redeemed me, and healed me. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. Psalm 51:17 NIV The peace that passes understanding enveloped me during that **Shalom season of healing. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. *Philippians 4:7 NIV **Shalom (שלום) is a rich Hebrew word meaning far more than just “peace”; it signifies wholeness, completeness, harmony, well-being, and flourishing, encompassing health, prosperity, and tranquility in all aspects of life, used as a greeting (hello/goodbye) and a deep blessing for holistic flourishing (AI overview). Since my 40+ days wandering the wilderness with Jesus in 2020, part of my redemption story includes the gift of a new marriage, as a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) forgiven and FREE indeed! As mentioned earlier in this piece, this was not my only “born again” (John 3:3) moment. God has saved my life repeatedly. By the grace-of-God, I have come-to-Jesus each time I have humbly come to the end of myself, my ego, and my pride, and fallen on my knees at his feet, to Be Still and Know (Psalm 46:10). O Come to the Altar lyrics by Elevation Worship 2016 Are you hurting and broken within? Overwhelmed by the weight of your sin? Jesus is calling Have you come to the end of yourself?Do you thirst for a drink from the well? Jesus is calling O come to the altar The Father’s arms are open wide Forgiveness was bought with The precious blood of Jesus Christ Leave behind your regrets and mistakes Come today there’s no reason to wait Jesus is calling Bring your sorrows and trade them for joy From the ashes a new life is born Jesus is calling, oh O come to the altar The Father’s arms are open wide Forgiveness was bought with The precious blood of Jesus Christ O come to the altar The Father’s arms are open wide Forgiveness was bought with The precious blood of Jesus Christ Oh what a savior Isn’t He wonderful? Sing Hallelujah, Christ is risen Bow down before Him For He is Lord of all Sing Hallelujah, Christ is risen Rather than go into the details of those other eternal life-altering moments, I will simply leave you with this worship song linked above. Perhaps I will share my “testimony” story with you another time. Until next time, happy reading and sweet story time dreams. © 2026 Nora Gwen.

I wouldn’t start with an argument. I’d probably just tell you the truth. My belief didn’t come from growing up in organized religion or having everything figured out. It came from running into the limits of myself. There was a time where everything looked fine on the outside… but internally, I was carrying more than I could explain. Pressure, expectations, the need to get everything right. I believed in God, but I was still living like everything depended on me. And that gets heavy. Not all at once — but over time, it wears on you. What I’ve come to see is that a lot of what we call identity is something we build. Roles, success, failure, image, even religion itself. We slowly start living from that, thinking that’s who we are. But underneath all of that, there’s something deeper. A quiet awareness. A presence. A sense that life wasn’t meant to be carried that way. For me, it wasn’t one big moment. It was a breaking point. What I was relying on stopped working. And in that place, something shifted. It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t dramatic. It was more like realizing I wasn’t meant to be the source of my own life. That I was trying to build something on an identity that couldn’t hold the weight. And when that started to fall apart, I didn’t find religion. I found truth. Or maybe better said… I stopped resisting it. I began to understand that faith isn’t about constructing a better version of yourself. It’s about letting go of the version you built that was never meant to carry everything in the first place. That’s where Christ became real to me. Not just as an idea or belief, but as something living. Something present. Something that actually changes how you carry your life. I still struggle. I still have moments where I slip back into trying to control everything. But there’s a difference now. There’s a place I can return to. A sense that I’m not alone. That I don’t have to force everything. That there is a source underneath all of this that I can trust. So if you’re asking me why I believe… It’s not because I have all the answers. It’s because I’ve lived both sides. Trying to be the source…and learning to live connected to it. And one leads to pressure. The other leads to peace. If you’re struggling, questioning, or unsure… I get that. You don’t have to clean everything up first. You don’t have to figure it all out. Sometimes it just starts with being honest about where you are…and being open to the possibility that you’re not meant to carry this alone. That’s where it started for me. © 2026 William Frick

I started this whole thing, (Why We Believe) and then I sat back and read everyone else’s articles as they came in about why they believe, and I started to overthink things. See, I’m neuropspicy, and that (overthinking) can sneak up and happen when I least expect it. But believe it or not, I started to also realize in reading so many articles, that it’s also just one of a million reasons why I believe in God. My neurospicy brain is uniquely mine, uniquely me, and that is a gift. I could have gone down many paths in my life, but I chose the path toward God. I surrendered my unique way of thinking, doing, and seeing to Him, and He has taken it to a level I never knew was possible. My First Supernatural Encounter When I was younger, I didn’t have a good childhood. I was severely abused by a Christian mother who used Scripture against me at every turn. But one day, something happened to me. I was about ten years old. I remember the lawn, the dandelions, the warmth, the love, and the feeling of being shielded. I had a supernatural encounter with God before I understood the complexities of what that meant, the way I do now. And I will never forget it. When I say shield, I mean it literally. From that day forward, there was a shield around my mind; looking back, I can see it in everything. I had already been through so much at that point in my life, and I would go on to suffer more at the hands of others and my own stupid decisions, but my mind, who I am, how I think, my love of rabbit holes, and my drive to understand, search, and seek were protected. Curiosity and Questions That is how everything started for me with my walk with God. My mind. My relentless curiosity. I asked the weird questions. I explored the strange ideas. I believed all sorts of things that I have since learned were wrong, and my salvation was not any less real then than it is now. People act like being wrong about a belief is the end of the world. It is not. When God sees fit to teach you something new, He is saying you are ready to learn, not that you were going to hell for what you believed in yesterday. Anyway, back to my brain. If you ever met me in person, you would really see it, trust me. I am aware of my personality and my strange curiosity now, mostly because the people around me hated it. They hated the questions. They hated that I challenged what I was told to believe. They hated that I refused to just go along. But I am who I am, and I am finally comfortable with that. Science Can Only Explain So Much Science can explain neurons, trauma, and the wiring of the brain, but it cannot explain who I am at my core. It cannot explain my uniqueness. It cannot explain my past or who I have become despite it. I had every rational and logical reason to turn from God, handed to me on a platter by mankind, and I did at one point. But what science can’t explain is the search and drive in all of us to seek out a higher power. Who I am is what brought me to God. I went on a search to understand, a search that spanned my teens, and twenties. I used my mind and that innate drive to find the truth, and I found Him every time. I went through phases where I tried to build my own versions of Christianity. I blended in witchcraft and the occult, but it was not the truth. I knew that. My mind knew that. So I walked away. I blended doctrines. I took pieces of what churches taught and what others told me to believe, but none of it felt right. Again, my mind knew something wasn't right. It connects dots in a way most people do not understand. I have been told that when I am discussing something, my face will go still for a moment, and then suddenly everything clicks, and it just comes pouring out of me. My mind took me out of what I was told, what I felt and what I was lead to believe and right into the Bible, that is why I refused to claim any definition other then either Bible-based Christian or follower of Christ. Cannot Be Explained Away That cannot be explained away by mere science. I have a personality, a moral compass, a deep breed curiosity to understand, and a unique consciousness that all point to a Creator, a unique Creator. No two humans are alike. No two think the same. No two act the same. That is diversity on a level we cannot fully comprehend. Think about that. All of humanity is unique. Science can describe parts of it, but it cannot fully explain it. Only a Creator can. The day He spoke to me, the day I felt Him shield my mind and pour His love into me, can never be explained away. Not only did He die so I could live, but He also died so my abusers could live too. Only God can renew a heart and mind in such a way that someone can say that, understand that, accept that, and be grateful that those people still have a chance to turn to Him and sit at His table. Why I Believe So this is my neurospicy ramble of why I believe. But I believe for a million other reasons too. This is just one of them, and what God led me to share. He created our minds. He saved mine that day in a way no person ever could, and that alone is a marvelous reason to believe. © 2026 Jane Isley.

Imagine leaving everything behind: your source of security, your stable family life, and your reputation. You do this to follow a man who claimed to be Divine, a man who called himself “The Way, the Truth, and the Life.” You saw him as someone who did not lie. You saw him as a powerful healer and a redeemer. Yet, that same person ends up not just dead, but crucified. He is humiliated and tortured by the very people you secretly hoped he would overthrow. This was the man who promised eternal life, but now he is a corpse in a guarded tomb. The Human Reaction The normal human reaction would be to see this person as a fraud. You would likely return to your old life, filled with the bitter regret of having given up everything for nothing. This is precisely the reaction recorded in the earliest accounts of the followers of Christ. Upon his death, his closest disciples did not wait long to return to their trades. Their assurance was gone. They did not have the luxury of overthinking because they had to survive. They went back to the boats and the nets. The Problem of the Shift Now, imagine those same people (who had already moved on) becoming so convinced just a few days later that this man was exactly who he claimed to be. In a time and place where making such a claim led to social exile or a brutal death, they did not back down. If these were merely “crazy” people, they likely would not have had the grounded presence of mind to return to work when he died. They were rational enough to know when a cause was lost. Yet, many of them claimed to have seen him again. Early Christian tradition and historical accounts suggest that these men no longer found their lives worth living for themselves. They were people with families and futures, yet they accepted a mission that offered them nothing but earthly suffering. The Sincerity of the Witness A core pillar of this argument is the nature of the sacrifice. While it is true that many people throughout history have died for false doctrines, they almost always do so because they believe those doctrines to be true. There is a fundamental difference between dying for a sincere belief and dying for a deliberate, known fabrication. If the Resurrection were a product of intentional deception, the disciples would have known they were lying. While critics might suggest memory distortion or group reinforcement, these psychological factors usually apply to subjective feelings rather than claims of physical, repeated interactions with a person who was publicly executed. If the core of their message was a conscious fraud, it is nearly impossible to explain why an entire group would face systemic execution for a lie that offered them no earthly benefit. Engaging the Counter-Arguments Critics offer several categories of counter-arguments to explain this transformation without a miracle. While these deserve study, they often face significant internal hurdles: The Hallucination Theory: This suggests the disciples suffered mass hallucinations. While “group visionary experiences” are documented in some religious contexts, they are not well-supported as a consistent explanation for multiple, detailed, and shared physical experiences across different contexts and locations. The Stolen Body Theory: This claims the disciples stole the body. This fails the test of human motivation. It is highly improbable that a group of fearful men would steal a body, hide it, and then willingly face execution for a “miracle” they knew to be a hoax. The Legendary Theory: This argues that the stories were exaggerated over decades. However, scholars have traced early creeds (such as the one found in 1 Corinthians 15) to within a few years of the event itself. This timeline is far too short for a complete mythological rewrite to take hold, especially while original eyewitnesses were still alive to challenge false claims. The Problem of Presupposition Much of the skepticism surrounding this event is rooted in philosophical naturalism. This is the pre-assumption that the natural world is all that exists and that miracles are, by definition, impossible. If you start with the rule that “miracles cannot happen,” then any explanation (no matter how unlikely) will seem more logical than a resurrection. However, if God’s existence cannot be disproven, then “impossibility” should not be the assumption going into this investigation. If the existence of a Creator remains a possibility, then we must look at the evidence with an open mind rather than a pre-determined conclusion. When we look at the raw human data (the sudden, radical, and costly transformation of these men), a physical resurrection becomes a compelling explanation. It is an explanation that cannot be easily dismissed without appealing to personal assumptions rather than historical evidence. These men did not find their lives worth living for a lie. They found something they were willing to stake everything on. © 2026 Mikiyas Asatake. Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or Cmd + P (Mac) to print this article or save it as a PDF.

I got curious about the phrase “right hand of God” for two reasons. It came up one night in a Bible study, and my dad is left-handed and has alluded to a few things in his past. So, my curiosity led me down a few late-night rabbit holes, and boy, was I not disappointed in my quest for information. I knew some historical information on the matter, but admittedly not as much as I know now. This goes further back than I realized, to pre-Christian civilizations. My first thought when reading through everything was that being right-handed is simply more common than being left-handed. (The online consensus is 90%-ish of the population) This originates ultimately as a “people problem” right from the start. Ok, I can get my head around that. Simply put, people can be downright judgmental, biased, and critical in general to anyone “different” and cause problems where there were none to begin with. But that shouldn’t be a shocker for anyone reading this article. What does the Bible say about the “right hand?” There are countless references to the “right hand.” To me, this makes sense, it’s symbolism and one we would and should have understood because there was already that established cultural meaning and deference to the right hand. Symbolically, being on the right hand of God means being in His favor, it’s where Jesus sits beside God in equal power; it means authority, a place of honor, and strength. Then, of course, things were taken way too literally and abused. I won’t make this article heavy on theology or break down verses by translation, we all know being left-handed by now is not a sin. We have multiple factors that led to left-handed people getting a bad rap and going through abuse for it. There was a combination of cultures already being biased, superstitions, a serious lack of critical thinking, misreading of Scripture, and abuse of Scripture to perpetuate these injustices. This is an excellent example of bad theology that we should learn from. This horrible history in Christianity is an example of bad theology and people taking things too far simply because they thought they had an authoritative right to do so. I decided it was time to talk to my dad, I knew a little history just from an occasional comment here or there. What he told me surprised me; in 2nd and 3rd grade, he went through hell for being left-handed. No one stopped him or tried to retrain him, but he got picked on so badly by his teacher that he ended up despising school. He never went to college and still cringes at the thought of school. He told me the teacher was a “staunch Lutheran” and back then and in his area the Lutheran church saw being left-handed as being “retarded and mentally ill.” I don’t like that first word at all and debated using it, but ultimately, it’s the truth. That and more was what was taught by a Christian church in his area. I have no idea if this article is about what my dad went through, a history lesson, or an article demonstrating the severity of what happens when people refuse to read all of the Bible and only use certain verses as an excuse to abuse and persecute. Maybe it’s simply an article about all three things. Before I leave you with this odd article, I want to share two things. God created us in His image, and Jesus was born with a left hand and a right hand, hence why this is a symbolic reference, not a literal one. I think Jesus would have been born with two right hands if this was indeed an actual concern God had. This is what was conveniently ignored in the Bible. “in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;” 2 Corinthians 6:7 “Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred select troops who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.” Judges 20:16 “Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly.” Judges 3: 21 “they were armed with bows and were able to shoot arrows or to sling stones right-handed or left-handed; they were relatives of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin):” 1 Chronicles 12:2 © Jane Isley First Published in Never Stop Writing on Medium.

In part 1, I went through the incident that led up to these two articles, broke down and examined “justifications” used for believing self-defense is never allowed, explored Peter’s actions, the Cities of Refuge God, and some other stuff. Part 2: You can’t “cherry pick” your way through the Bible. The pastors justification on his stance: “Thou shall not kill.” This is where his belief went off script. I could understand his first argument to some degree if you look at it just on the surface, but this one I can’t. He allowed no room for this discussion, no allowance for anyone to even explain that it is in fact Thou Shall Not Murder not Thou Shall Not Kill. Deliberate and intentional changing or going along with a previous mistranslation of the Bible that has been openly fixed and proven correct just to suit personal feelings or cowardness is the hallmark making of creating a disaster film. It’s all in the language. Before we start, two things. First, think about this quote by Andrew Holt. “All murder involves killing, but not all killings are considered murders” And I recommend you read the article below by Rabbi Yerachmiel D. Fried. I wanted to provide information from a Jewish perspective on this matter. While I do not necessarily agree with everything in this article by Rabbi Fried, it discusses both words from a Jewish perspective and linguistic source. I believe it is a valuable resource because we are predominantly English speakers who have been translating the Bible into our language. Our words, concepts, culture and thinking are not necessarily everyone else’s and vis versa. Texas Jewish Post; Torah makes distinction between murder, killing. While it is true that the word “kill” is used in many translations, newer translations have done a significantly better job thankfully of using ratsach and hāraḡ correctly. The Hebrew word used in Exodus 20:13 is trə-ṣāḥ (תִּֿרְצָֽ֖ח׃), the transliteration is ratsach, which means: “To murder, to slay, to kill.” It is not the Hebrew word hāraḡ which means “To kill, slay, destroy.” It is also not any of the other Hebrew words used in reference to death, dying, slaughter, destroy, butcher etc., it is the the word תִּֿרְצָֽ֖ח׃. תִּֿרְצָֽ֖ח׃ | trə·ṣāḥ | Ratsac “The Hebrew verb “ratsach” primarily refers to the act of murder or unlawful killing. It is used in the context of intentional, premeditated killing, as well as manslaughter. The term is often associated with the violation of the sanctity of life, which is a fundamental principle in biblical law.” (biblehub.com) הָרַ֖גְתָּ | hā-raḡ-tā | Harag “The Hebrew verb “harag” primarily means to kill or slay. It is used in the context of taking life, whether in warfare, murder, or execution. The term can imply both intentional and unintentional acts of killing. It is often used in the Old Testament to describe acts of violence, judgment, or divine retribution.” (Biblehub.com) Ultimately even if you choose to strictly use language as your only argument, it comes down to the fact you would need to remove everything else in the Bible regarding defense and self-defense and then you would have no choice but to remove God as well considering everything He did, commanded and said. You can’t have it both ways My Personal Reflections. We have learned more about the Hebrew language since people first started translating the Bible. We have become more accurate over the years as we have learned more about its unique nuances, structure and contextual uses. The words Ratsach and Harag each have a difference that sets these two words apart from each other. I recommend reading this article for an even further in-depth explanation of the Hebrew language and the use of kill and murder, it is very informative! "The whole killing vs. murder ‘contradiction’… by Mennoknight. Before anyone wants to go off and use improper translations, mistranslations, and how certain groups translated things, as a weapon against the Bible or an excuse not to believe in the Bible’s authority. Keep in mind that if someone hadn’t taken the Bible from the Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic languages and put it into Latin, then English, we’d be further backwards than forwards in our Christianity right now. Believe me, I have plenty of qualms about some of the word choices that were used over the years that led to misinterpretations, but those are for different days. Here’s the thing: We know more about languages than ever before! There is no excuse to not look and study further now, especially from someone who stands behind a pulpit. His personal feelings are irrelevant; only God’s word is relevant. If you are going to believe something and forcibly shut people down, make sure you know what you are talking about. Be open to learning, study the whole Bible, don’t cherry pick it. Learn the language, study the culture it came from, present the facts as they are and present the possible multiple interpretations as well if need be. But do not shut down your own congregation’s questions because you want to be the only one who knows “everything,” and you can not accept challenges. Don’t think that because you stand behind a pulpit, it protects you somehow or gives you the authority to change the Bible. Openly admitting you would not protect your own family and using the Bible as your “proof” is simply cowardice and a disgrace. © Jane Isley