Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight. I’m Ryan Geertsma.
Voice 2
And I’m Marina Santee. Welcome to Spotlight. This program uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Why does doubt often seem to follow faith and religion? Why do we question? People question the truth about science, politics, and many other things. But no matter what a person believes, everyone questions the truth about God some time during his or her life. Often these questions lead the person to explore matters of spirit and faith.
Voice 2
A.J. Jacobs is an American writer. He was raised in a Jewish home. But he says that he was not very religious. In fact, he says he was an agnostic - he believed that it is not possible to know if God exists or not. But his doubts caused him to begin a life experiment. He says,
Voice 3
“I always thought religion would just disappear. I was very wrong. So was I missing something important to being human? Or was half of the world fooled? I decided to...try to experience the Bible myself and to find out what is good in it and what may not be as fitting to the twenty-first century.”
Voice 1
So Jacobs decided to spend one year obeying every single rule in the Christian Bible. The Christian Bible has two parts. The Old Testament records stories from before the life of Jesus Christ. The New Testament records the life of Christ. And it records the life of Christ’s followers after he returned to heaven. The Bible is a book of books. It is one book, but in it there are sixty-six [66] books, written over several centuries.
Voice 2
Jacobs began his year by writing down every rule he found in the Bible. This list had more than seven hundred [700] rules. He obeyed famous laws like the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ command to love your neighbour. But he also obeyed the many detailed laws from the Old Testament. Some of these laws explained how to punish particular sins. Others told believers exactly what to wear. And other laws told them what to eat and what not to eat. Jacobs decided that he would try to obey every law exactly as it was written.
Voice 1
For example, in the book of the Bible called Ecclesiastes it says “Let your clothes always be white.” So Jacobs did just that. All his clothes were white: white trousers, a white shirt, and a white coat.
Voice 2
Some of the laws were difficult for Jacobs to follow. In the book of Leviticus, God told the Israelite men not to cut the hair on their faces. It was not physically or socially easy for Jacobs to follow this law.
Voice 3
“The hair on my face became very uncomfortable. And I had to hear every joke about facial hair.”
Voice 1
Other laws he found difficult to obey made his life better. He was amazed at how often he used to say negative things about others. So as he tried not to gossip, he felt better about himself. In a similar way, he felt better about himself when he tried to stop lying.
Voice 2
At the end of the year, A.J. Jacobs wrote a book recording the experiences of his spiritual exploration. He called it, The Year of Living Biblically. For him, the year was informative and interesting. And he learned many surprising things. He became very interested in the laws that are not well known today. He studied them and tried to explain the purpose of the laws. And he explored how these uncommon laws could be followed in the twenty-first century.
Voice 1
He also decided that he liked the structure the rules provided. Usually we talk about having the freedom to choose, but Jacobs found freedom when he did not have to choose. He enjoyed having fewer choices. He also found that he respected traditions more. He decided that these traditions and rules can improve life as long as they do not hurt another person.
Voice 2
After the year was over, Jacobs discovered that his thoughts and beliefs began to follow his behaviour. His beliefs were influenced by the Bible too:
Voice 3
“I became more spiritual during my year. I was praying several times a day, and it gave me a sense of awe.”
Voice 1
He admits that during his year experiment he changed his belief about God many times. Sometimes he would read about violence and believe there was not a God. Other times he would spend a lot of time in prayer. Then he would be sure that there was a loving God that created the earth. And still other times, he remained agnostic and did not choose if a god existed or not. But later, as his Biblical behaviour stopped, so did his belief in God.
Voice 3
“I was not exercising my God muscle and that made it shrink.”
Voice 2
At the end of his experiment, A.J. Jacobs still chooses not to decide if a God exists. He has moments of awe and he respects the traditions and rules of the Bible. For this reason he says he is a reverent agnostic.
Voice 1
But faith is more than just traditions and rules. Christians believe that there is more to faith than just following all the laws in the Bible. In fact, the Bible says that no-one can follow them all. It says “All people have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Christians believe that God wanted his followers to have a relationship with him. But when humans let sin enter the world, that relationship was broken. So God gave people books of law. The books were to teach his people how to live. But the law does not save people from their sins.
Voice 2
The Bible says it is Jesus Christ who saves people from their sins. It says, “This freedom from guilt and sin comes
- from God
- through faith in Jesus Christ
- to all who believe.”
Voice 1
Christians believe that Christ’s death and resurrection completes the laws of the Bible. The laws do not disappear. Instead, Christians continue to live by the moral laws God gives in the Bible. But it is faith in Jesus Christ that saves them and brings them back into a relationship with God. The Biblical laws help believers create a way of life that encourages a growing relationship with God. Even when a person has doubts about God, their behaviour will help them keep faith.
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