What if I’m wrong about God?

By Joseph Farah

I get this question, or a variation on it, all the time: “Farah, what
if you’re wrong about God? What if there is no God? Then your Bible is a
sham, and your worldview is based on a myth. So where do you get off
pushing your morality on the rest of us?”

My answer is simple.

First of all, I don’t believe there’s a snowball’s chance in Hell I’m
wrong. No matter how you slice it, the Bible is a supernatural book —
the greatest, most accurate history of mankind ever written with more
wisdom on an average page than can be found in entire modern libraries.

Accident? I don’t think so. Inspired? You bet.

But let’s just take the bait for a minute. Suppose I am wrong.
Suppose there is no afterlife — no Heaven, no Hell, just here and now.

Then, without a doubt, the blueprint for life — whether you’re
talking about conducting your personal affairs or the way communities
and nations interact — described in the Scriptures still leads to the
most fulfilling and productive way for us to spend our time on earth.

Think about it. Can you imagine if more people lived their lives
according to the rules of the Bible?

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Is there anyone out there who would like to argue with the Golden
Rule? Is there anyone out there who would like to show me a greater
and/or simpler commandment from any other holy book?

The first four of the Ten Commandments instruct us in the ways we are
to acknowledge and worship God. But the last six tell us how to live
with one another here on earth.

“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the
land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”

Is this arguable? Is there some atheist or pagan who would challenge
this commandment? Does anyone suggest that humanity would be better off
if we did not honor our parents?

“Thou shalt not kill.”

You have to admit, this is a pretty good starting point for the law.
When we pass laws against murder, however, we are legislating our
morality — just as surely as when we pass laws against homosexual
marriage or abortion-on-demand.

“Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

Nothing tears up marriages as completely or as often as cheating. And
broken marriages are the cause of more societal problems than we can
count.

“Thou shalt not steal.”

Nobody likes when they are the victims of theft, whether the
perpetrator is a common criminal or an uncommon one — like government.

“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.”

No lying. No gossiping. No falsely accusing. Good idea? I think so.

“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy
neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox,
nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.”

In other words, be thankful for what you have. Don’t make designs on
the property of others. Don’t lie awake at night dreaming about the
material things you don’t have. So much evil results from jealousy.

The fact of the matter is that these basic, simple, straightforward
commandments formed the basis of Western Civilization — our rules, our
morality, our Constitution, our laws. They served us pretty well for a
long time. And the further we drift from these basics, the more trouble
people create for themselves.

The Bible provides for us the basis for self-government and a life of
fulfillment. Live by the rules and you will likely live longer and more
happily than someone who doesn’t. Any doubts about that?

So what if I am wrong? Will my faith leave us worse off or better
off? I think the answer is clear and obvious.

Now, the question might be even more enlightening when redirected to
those who ask it. What if we scrapped the old rules? What if we decided
the Bible was nothing but an old book written by uptight dead white
guys? Suppose we rewrote the book of life according to the conventions
of modernism, humanism, secularism?

What would be the ground rules of such a society? If it feels good,
do it? Do unto others before they do unto you? And what would be the
moral authority for this other code? If there is no ultimate, supreme
being to judge our actions, then who is to make the rules? Government?
Who is to endow us with our human rights? The United Nations?

You know the answer to these questions, my friends. Just search your
soul for them. God has etched His moral code on the hearts of every
person. You may not believe in God, but, nevertheless, He believes in
you.

If I’m wrong, I will have lived a sometimes difficult, yet rewarding
and fulfilling life of expectation, hope and joy. I will not have missed
out on anything meaningful. If I’m right, I get to spend eternity in
paradise.

But what if you’re wrong? What kind of a world would you have built?
How much real happiness will you have experienced? And when your life is
over, what will you have missed?

Joseph Farah

Joseph Farah is founder, editor and chief executive officer of WND. He is the author or co-author of 13 books that have sold more than 5 million copies, including his latest, "The Gospel in Every Book of the Old Testament." Before launching WND as the first independent online news outlet in 1997, he served as editor in chief of major market dailies including the legendary Sacramento Union. Read more of Joseph Farah's articles here.