I am currently a Deist, not tying myself to any one religion or belief; however, I do believe that there is a Supreme Being, One who orchestrated the birth of the universe.  However, I also believe in the findings of our scientists, such as the Big Bang theory and the scientific theory of evolution.  Because I believe in a god, but not a Christian god, where does that leave me on that Great Day (according to Christianity)?  I just figure that if Christianity WAS the correct path after all, would that "kind and just" God send me to an eternity of damnation, or would He understand my doubts because He created me in His own image?
Sincerely,
Deist

Dear Deist,

It is understandable with all of the opinions that are thrown around as science for you to feel torn between belief in God and the belief in evolution, but it isn’t enough to believe in a generic god – we must place our faith in the God.  After all, even the demons admit belief in deity… but that won’t save them on the Day of Judgment (Jas 2:19).  Jesus is a very exclusive Savior.  He very boldly claims, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no comes to the Father, but by Me.” (Jhn 14:6).  If you don’t have a life of faith built upon following Christ, you won’t be saved.  That may sound harsh, but let’s talk about the evidence that God provides to make it possible for a deist to turn into a christian.

First of all, all faith is built upon some sort of evidence.  That evidence may be historical data (like when you trust traffic lights to work properly because they have statistically done so in the past), it may be personal experience (i.e. when you trust a friend because they have shown good judgment and loyalty in the past), or circumstantial evidence (like when a jury convicts a murderer based upon the evidence presented to them – even when there weren’t eyewitnesses at the scene of the crime).

Your belief that there is some sort of Supreme Being is probably based upon some sort of basic evidence from the world that you see around you.  Rom 1:20 says that God has provided evidence of His existence in the creation around us.  From galaxies to atoms, this world shows the signs of design.  A design requires a Designer.  God’s handiwork is seen in the finely-tuned craftsmanship of the human eye, just like Nikon’s handiwork is shown in the craftsmanship of their cameras.  You’ve done well to acknowledge His existence in a general way… but we would beg you to keep digging deeper.

Don’t be dissuaded by the scientists that say we evolved from goo.  First of all, not all scientists are evolutionists – no matter what the media tells you.  Thousands of biologists, geologists, doctors, paleontologists, etc. believe in the Creator of the Bible, and they are intellectually honest in doing so.  The scientific evidence has led them to the Bible, not away from it.  Second of all, things like evolution and the Big Bang are a way of interpreting the scientific data, not a concrete finding from the data.  One scientist sees a bed of fossils, and because he doesn’t believe in God, he interprets that the fossils were created over millions of years.  Another scientist sees the same fossil bed, and because he does believe in God, he interprets that a catastrophic event (like Noah’s Flood) is what caused such a sudden build up of fossils and silt.  They see same evidence, but come to vastly different conclusions.  Read “Atheism-Colored Glasses” for further details on the subject of scientific bias.

Next, after looking at the general evidence of God’s existence, it is time to look at the specific evidence of the Bible’s supernatural origins.  The Bible is a unique book; it is a book that no human could ever write.  We would encourage you to read “Who Wrote The Bible?” for a comprehensive list of reasons why the Bible is a book that only God could have written.  Once we begin to see the evidence for the Bible’s divine origins, we have no choice but to ask ourselves, “Will I follow God’s Word?”.

God expects us to follow Jesus because He has given us plenty of evidence that Jesus is the one and only true Son of God.  We would encourage you to follow the evidence – it will lead you straight to Jesus the Christ.   SB