Voddie on Evidence of Life…

April 18, 2005 | 12:16 AM

There are several things we learn from the life of Malcolm X. First, experiences can be misleading. He saw and heard what he claimed was the Messiah. He had a vision in his cell and later met the man whom he said he had encountered. I don’t know what produced Malcolm’s experience. I believe it was a demonic force. Nevertheless, his experience, real though it may have been, was ultimately misleading, by his own admission.

Second, a changed life is not irrefutable evidence. Malcolm X was a new man. He got off drugs; he stopped womanizing; he quit gambling; he quit stealing; he was changed! Nonetheless, what he believed turned out to be a lie. There are many people today whose lives have been changed by what they perceive to be the truth. However, in many instances, their “truth” turns out to be no more than self-delusion.

If this is true, then how can we know anything? How can we know that our experience is both real and true? How can we know that our faith is founded upon the rock and not merely upon sinking sand? How can we know that our God is God? …

Just because a person’s life is better doe snot mean that his god is real. There are Mormons, Jews, Catholics, Buddhists, evangelicals, and pagans who claim to have had religious experiences that changed their lives. Everyone has a testimony! However, as stated earlier in our discussion of religious relativism, we can’t all be right. Some experiences are grounded in truth, while others are merely placebos. Ultimately, there must be a standard. I believe that standard is the Word of God, the Bible.

Voddie Baucham, Jr., The Ever-Loving Truth: Can Faith Thrive in a Post-Christian Culture?, 97-98.