Messenger of the Lord

The Weight of Evidence

All divine revelation, by virtue of the process, comes in a fallible package. Because the message comes in an imperfect container, God Himself invites us to weigh the evidence: “Come now, and let us reason together” (Isaiah 1:18). MOL 519.8

When God invites us to reason with Him, He is not playing word-games: He truly appeals to our reasoning skills. Often Ellen White challenges the reader to recognize that sanctified reasoning powers are intended to make us “intelligent Christians.” That means that Christians “are not requested to believe without evidence.” In making this search for belief, “we must put away all skepticism, all exaltation of our own ideas. We must humble our hearts by repentance ... praying for true enlightenment.” ³² MOL 520.1

God, true to His nature, does not coerce, compel, or force anyone to believe—He waits for men and women to respond to sufficient evidence. He will never “force faith.” ³³ Ellen White summarized it well when she said that although “God has given ample evidence for faith, He will never remove all excuse for unbelief.” ³⁴ MOL 520.2

This respect for human responsibility flows out of God’s arrangement for making human beings “in His own image” (Genesis 1:27). Love, respect, confidence, and any other human emotion involving trust cannot be forced or else it ceases to be what we seek for most. A trust or love that is forced is an oxymoron. Because God wants happy, convinced people, He does not play hide-and-seek; He makes sure that we have sufficient evidence amidst the possibilities of human error. MOL 520.3

One of the surest signs of evil occurs when people “seek to compel the conscience” or when there is “the disposition to hurt and destroy those who do not appreciate our work, or who act contrary to our ideas.” No matter what the motivation may be, force of any kind is the work of the evil one, not of Christ. ³⁵ MOL 520.4

However, in earlier chapters we have noted that presuppositions determine the way one weighs evidence. Presuppositions drive historians, scientists, and theologians to predetermined conclusions, often unconsciously. For this reason, paradigm shifts occur occasionally when researchers suddenly begin to see the same world through different lenses (Copernicus, Einstein, Pasteur, etc.). Those lenses are presuppositions that determine the way we look at evidence. ³⁶ Self-evident “truths” are usually human constructs or paradigms that determine how a person weighs evidence. MOL 520.5

For example, if one looks at the Bible as an anthology of Jewish history, and to references of God’s interventions as myths by which believers interpret their religious experience, the message of the Bible as God’s self-communication with men and women will never be understood. If miracles are ruled out because one does not believe in supernaturalism, one will never understand the stories in the four Gospels. Such events as the resurrection of Jesus will have to be explained in some contrived manner. If God does not personally intervene in the affairs of humanity, then surely Ellen White’s claim to be His messenger cannot be taken seriously. And on it goes. MOL 520.6

The epistemological principle set forth by Jesus runs through any research that requires moral response: “If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority” (John 7:17). ³⁷ Built within men and women is the quest for autonomy, for believing what one wants to believe. Thus “all who look for hooks to hang their doubts upon, will find them. And those who refuse to accept and obey God’s word until every objection has been removed, and there is no longer an opportunity for doubt, will never come to the light.” ³⁸ MOL 520.7