Can you please provide evidence for these Biblical events?

[Compassionist]

Can you please provide evidence for the following Biblical events?

1. Creation Miracles (Genesis 1–3)

Creation of the universe: God creates light, sky, land, seas, plants, stars, animals, and humans in six days.
Creation of angels: Implied in passages like Job 38:4–7; often considered an early act before physical creation.
Creation of Adam and Eve: God forms Adam from dust and breathes life into him; Eve is made from Adam’s rib.
Creation of other organisms: All species of plants and animals are said to have been created by divine command.
The Garden of Eden: A paradise created for Adam and Eve.
The Fall: The serpent speaks; Adam and Eve eat forbidden fruit and are evicted from Eden; curses are pronounced.

2. Early Genesis Miracles

The mark and protection of Cain (Genesis 4:15).
The longevity of pre-Flood humans (many living 900+ years).
Noah’s Flood (Genesis 6–9): God floods the entire world, saving only Noah, his family, and the animals in the ark.
The rainbow covenant: God sets a rainbow as a sign of the promise never again to flood the earth.
Confusion of languages at Babel (Genesis 11): Humanity’s speech is divided, and people scatter across the world.

3. Miracles in the Patriarchal Era (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph)

Call of Abram: God speaks directly to Abram (Genesis 12).
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah: Fire and brimstone from heaven (Genesis 19).
Lot’s wife turned to salt (Genesis 19:26).
Birth of Isaac to elderly Sarah (Genesis 21).
God’s testing of Abraham: A ram provided in place of Isaac (Genesis 22).
Jacob’s ladder dream and wrestling with God (Genesis 28; Genesis 32).
Joseph’s prophetic dreams and interpretations (Genesis 37–41).

4. Miracles of Moses and the Exodus

The burning bush (Exodus 3).
Staff turned into a serpent (Exodus 4).
The Ten Plagues on Egypt (Exodus 7–12):

1. Water to blood
2. Frogs
3. Gnats or lice
4. Flies
5. Livestock disease
6. Boils
7. Hail
8. Locusts
9. Darkness
10. Death of the firstborn
The Passover protection (Israelites spared).
Parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14).
Pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, guiding Israel.
Manna and quail were provided in the wilderness.
Water from the rock (Exodus 17).
Mount Sinai theophany: God’s voice, thunder, lightning, and tablets of stone.
Bronze serpent healing (Numbers 21).
Aaron’s rod budding (Numbers 17).
Moses’ radiant face after speaking with God (Exodus 34).

5. Miracles in the Time of Joshua, Judges, and Kings

Jordan River stops flowing so Israel can cross (Joshua 3).
Walls of Jericho fall (Joshua 6).
The sun stands still (Joshua 10).
Gideon’s fleece tests (Judges 6).
Samson’s strength feats (Judges 14–16).
Fire consumes Elijah’s offering on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18).
Elijah raises the widow’s son (1 Kings 17).
Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2).
Elisha parts the Jordan, purifies water, multiplies oil, raises the Shunammite’s son, feeds 100 men with loaves, heals Naaman’s leprosy, and makes an iron axe-head float (2 Kings 2–6).
The shadow on the sundial goes backwards for King Hezekiah (2 Kings 20).
Angelic destruction of the Assyrian army (2 Kings 19).
Daniel’s survival in the lions’ den (Daniel 6).
Three men survive the fiery furnace (Daniel 3).
Handwriting on the wall (Daniel 5).

6. Miracles in the Intertestamental and New Testament Era

Zechariah was struck mute until John the Baptist’s birth (Luke 1).
Virgin (immaculate) conception of Jesus by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1; Luke 1).
Star of Bethlehem guiding the Magi (Matthew 2).
Angelic announcements to Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds.
John the Baptist’s prophetic calling before birth.

7. Miracles Performed by Jesus

Turning water into wine (John 2).
Healing the sick, blind, deaf, and lame (many Gospels).
Cleansing lepers (Matthew 8).
Casting out demons (Mark 5, etc.).
Feeding 5,000 (Matthew 14) and feeding 4,000 (Matthew 15).
Walking on water (Matthew 14).
Calming the storm (Mark 4).
Raising Jairus’s daughter (Mark 5).
Healing the centurion’s servant (Matthew 8).
Healing the bleeding woman (Mark 5).
Restoring sight to Bartimaeus (Mark 10).
Raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11).
The Transfiguration (Matthew 17).
Paying temple tax with a coin in a fish’s mouth (Matthew 17).
Cursing the barren fig tree (Mark 11).
The resurrection of Jesus (Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20).
Post-resurrection appearances (Luke 24; John 21).
Ascension into heaven (Acts 1).

8. Miracles in the Acts of the Apostles

Tongues of fire and the gift of languages at Pentecost (Acts 2).
Peter and John heal a lame man (Acts 3).
Peter raises Tabitha (Dorcas) from the dead (Acts 9).
Paul blinds and heals various people (Acts 13–28).
Earthquake freeing Paul and Silas from prison (Acts 16).
Paul survives a viper bite (Acts 28).
Philip’s teleportation (Acts 8).
Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for lying (Acts 5).

9. Apocalyptic and Prophetic Miracles

Visions of Heaven and angels (Revelation 4–5).
Trumpet and bowl judgments: cosmic catastrophes, locusts, plagues, blood rivers, darkness.
Two witnesses calling down fire (Revelation 11).
The New Jerusalem descending from heaven (Revelation 21).
Creation of a new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21–22).
God dwelling with humanity eternally - the final miracle of restoration.

[Compassionist]

[Replying to 1213 in post #20]

Thank you for pointing back to post #9. I’ve reviewed it carefully, and here’s why the sites and claims you mention don’t constitute verifiable evidence for biblical miracles.

1. “Split rock at Rephidim”

The rock you mention is the 15-metre-tall formation near Jebel Maqla / Jebel al-Lawz in north-west Saudi Arabia. This formation has been examined by both the Saudi Geological Survey and independent geologists. It’s a natural weathering fracture in Precambrian granite. Such vertical joints occur commonly where granite expands and erodes; the “split” pattern is purely structural. No tool marks, inscriptions, or cultural remains connect it to any Late Bronze Age settlement or to the Israelites. No peer-reviewed paper identifies it as “Rephidim” or as evidence of a supernatural water source.

2. “The altar near Rephidim”

The low stone circle near the same site is a modern herding enclosure, according to field archaeologists who surveyed the area in the 1990s. There are thousands of such pens throughout the region. No pottery, ash, or human occupation layer consistent with the Late Bronze Age has been found. An “altar” that lacks any cultural layer or dating evidence cannot verify a biblical episode.

3. “The black top of Mount Sinai (Jabal al-Lawz / Jabal Maqla)”

The dark summit is due to igneous basalt and desert varnish - a thin manganese-iron oxide layer that forms naturally when rock faces are exposed for thousands of years in arid conditions. It’s not “burned granite.” The Saudi Geological Survey mapped this in 2002 and confirmed the discoloration is consistent with regional geology, not with melting or fire. Dozens of nearby peaks show identical dark surfaces.

4. “Coral formations shaped like chariot wheels in the Gulf of Aqaba”

These claims originated with Ron Wyatt in the 1980s and were repeated by Dr Lennart Möller in The Exodus Case. No coral-covered chariot wheels, bones, or artifacts have ever been recovered, documented, or placed in a recognized museum with verified provenance. Marine biologists who reviewed Wyatt’s and Möller’s photos identified them as circular coral growths, which naturally form around sponges, debris, or even anchor fragments. The Israel Antiquities Authority and Egyptian Antiquities Organization explicitly stated that no archaeological evidence for an Exodus-scale crossing exists at Nuweiba or anywhere else along the Gulf of Aqaba.

5. “The Exodus Case” as a source

Dr Lennart Möller’s book is not peer-reviewed archaeology; it’s a popular apologetic work published by a religious press. No geological, archaeological, or Egyptological journal has replicated or confirmed any of its claims. Extraordinary assertions require field reports with coordinates, stratigraphy, carbon dates, material analyses, and independent verification - none of which exist for Möller’s “discoveries.”

6. The broader pattern

Extraordinary stories require ordinary evidence: datable artifacts, inscriptions, habitation layers, or genetic continuity. The regions traditionally associated with the Exodus (Sinai, Edom, Midian, Canaan) have been excavated for more than a century. Tens of thousands of Late Bronze and Iron Age sites are catalogued. None show traces of a nomadic population of hundreds of thousands, no consistent destruction horizon matches Exodus chronology, and Egyptian records - obsessively detailed about grain, slaves, and armies - show no such catastrophe.

7. On your latest remarks

“It is still also about what you prefer, even if verified.”
If evidence determines truth, preference becomes irrelevant. Verification ends preference.

“In post #9 I show two examples of evidence.”
Those are interpretations of natural features, not independently verified data.

“And it has been done.”
Then please cite the peer-reviewed publication and dataset so that others can confirm it. “Published” means reproducible methods, not just printed claims in a book.

“:D”
Science isn’t offended by laughter - it just asks for publicly testable data.

[1213]

The rock you mention is the 15-metre-tall formation near Jebel Maqla / Jebel al-Lawz in north-west Saudi Arabia. This formation has been examined by both the Saudi Geological Survey and independent geologists. It’s a natural weathering fracture in Precambrian granite. Such vertical joints occur commonly where granite expands and erodes; the “split” pattern is purely structural. No tool marks, inscriptions, or cultural remains connect it to any Late Bronze Age settlement or to the Israelites. No peer-reviewed paper identifies it as “Rephidim” or as evidence of a supernatural water source.

Thank you for your comments.

When the miracle was a split rock, the evidence that could be found would be the split rock. And now that you have confirmed that a split rock can indeed be found and it happens to be also in the place where it should be, it is evidence for the story.

The story doesn't tell it was split by tools, which is why no tool marks should be expected.

But, I didn't expect you to believe. And I don't expect it to be confirmed by atheists or Muslims. And I think this example shows nicely that it is actually pointless to show any evidence, because those who don't want to believe, can always make up excuses and explanations why the evidence means something else.

By what I know, it is forbidden to go to that area. And that is interesting, if it is meaningless as you think it is. Do you know are people nowadays allowed to go to that area? Would be nice to go to see the places.

The low stone circle near the same site is a modern herding enclosure, according to field archaeologists...

By what I know, there is actually remains of two altars. And I don't think they look like herding enclosures, which is why I have difficulties to take seriously that field archaeologist.

The dark summit is due to igneous basalt and desert varnish - a thin manganese-iron oxide layer that forms naturally when rock faces are exposed for thousands of years in arid conditions. It’s not “burned granite.” The Saudi Geological Survey mapped this in 2002 and confirmed the discoloration is consistent with regional geology, not with melting or fire. Dozens of nearby peaks show identical dark surfaces.

That could be true. And even if it would have burned thousands of years ago, it could be that it would be covered after that. I should go to examine that area by myself.

These claims originated with Ron Wyatt in the 1980s and were repeated by Dr Lennart Möller in The Exodus Case. No coral-covered chariot wheels, bones, or artifacts have ever been recovered, documented, or placed in a recognized museum with verified provenance. Marine biologists who reviewed Wyatt’s and Möller’s photos identified them as circular coral growths, which naturally form around sponges, debris, or even anchor fragments. The Israel Antiquities Authority and Egyptian Antiquities Organization explicitly stated that no archaeological evidence for an Exodus-scale crossing exists at Nuweiba or anywhere else along the Gulf of Aqaba.

After seeing the images, I think it is ridiculous to claim they are around sponges or anchors.

If the Israel Antiquities Authority and Egyptian Antiquities Organizations make such claims, after I have seen the images, I can't take them seriously.

Dr Lennart Möller’s book is not peer-reviewed archaeology;...

For me it is not a problem. Actually, if he would be peer reviewed, I would assume he is wrong. I don't trust any peer reviewed. I trust only what can be shown. And the good thing about Möller's book is that he shows the evidence. I can then review it by myself.

“It is still also about what you prefer, even if verified.”
If evidence determines truth, preference becomes irrelevant. Verification ends preference.

I don't think so. For example, would you follow Thor or Bible God, you can answer that, even if they are not confirmed. And even if they would both be confirmed true, you could think you like the other more.

Those are interpretations of natural features, not independently verified data.

For example the peer reviewed data is the split rock. It exists. The problem is, whose claims should we believe about it. I don't have any reason to believe your claims about it. And obviously you don't believe it is the result of the miracle. Still, it is the only evidence we could find from that miracle. If you rather believe it is the result of something else, then it is so. And I actually didn't expect you to believe it. This was only to show it is pointless to show any evidence. People can always claim it means something else. And then the question is, what do you want to believe.

[Compassionist]

[Replying to 1213 in post #22]

Thank you for your reply. Let’s look carefully at what you’re saying and what follows from it.

1. You said: “the rock exists, therefore the story is true.”
But existence of a rock does not confirm why it exists or how it split.
Every granite outcrop on Earth has fractures; that’s why we have entire scientific disciplines (structural geology, geomorphology) to explain them.
If every natural feature matching a story “proved” the story, then the discovery of a round stone in Greece would prove Medusa’s petrifying gaze.
A piece of evidence supports a claim only when the claim uniquely predicts that evidence.
The Bible’s narrative doesn’t uniquely predict that one of millions of natural rock joints would exist somewhere in Arabia.

2. “It’s pointless to show evidence because people can always explain it differently.”
That statement actually concedes that your position is unfalsifiable - no possible evidence could count against it.
But if nothing could count against a belief, then nothing could count for it either.
A claim that survives only by being immune to disproof has stepped outside the realm of knowledge.

3. “If he were peer-reviewed, I would assume he’s wrong.”
This is self-defeating.
Peer review is simply multiple qualified experts checking whether the methodology is sound and the conclusions follow from the data.
Rejecting peer review in advance is equivalent to saying, “I believe only what confirms what I already believe.”
That’s not independence; it’s circularity.

4. “I trust only what can be shown.”
Then the challenge is simple: show a verifiable artifact with clear archaeological provenance, documented location, and stratigraphic dating consistent with the biblical period.
No such artifact has ever been produced for the Exodus.
Until it is, the claim remains speculative, not demonstrated. None of the miracles in the Bible has been shown to be true. I showed you evidence for evolution. Did you accept that evolution is true?

5. “Belief comes down to what you want to believe.”
Personal preference can explain belief, but it cannot justify it.
If two people “want” opposite things to be true, only evidence can decide between them.
Otherwise, every myth, from Zeus to Quetzalcoatl, would deserve the same status as history.

So yes - the rock exists. But natural geology explains it fully, while the miracle hypothesis explains nothing that geology does not.
That’s why scientists accept the simpler account - not because of “atheism,” but because it fits the data without assuming invisible causes.

[1213]

But existence of a rock does not confirm why it exists or how it split.

That may be true. But, if one asks evidence for example for a split rock miracle, the split rock would be the only possible evidence. The problem is then, how could it be proven the rock was split as the story tells. And this is why asking evidence is pointless, there is no way to prove what happened.

That statement actually concedes that your position is unfalsifiable - no possible evidence could count against it.
But if nothing could count against a belief, then nothing could count for it either.

I think it is more like, no possible evidence would prove it happened. There is no evidence that could counter your disbelief.

[Eddie Ramos]

Can you please provide evidence for the following Biblical events?

1. Creation Miracles (Genesis 1–3)

Creation of the universe: God creates light, sky, land, seas, plants, stars, animals, and humans in six days.
Creation of angels: Implied in passages like Job 38:4–7; often considered an early act before physical creation.
Creation of Adam and Eve: God forms Adam from dust and breathes life into him; Eve is made from Adam’s rib.
Creation of other organisms: All species of plants and animals are said to have been created by divine command.
The Garden of Eden: A paradise created for Adam and Eve.
The Fall: The serpent speaks; Adam and Eve eat forbidden fruit and are evicted from Eden; curses are pronounced.

2. Early Genesis Miracles

The mark and protection of Cain (Genesis 4:15).
The longevity of pre-Flood humans (many living 900+ years).
Noah’s Flood (Genesis 6–9): God floods the entire world, saving only Noah, his family, and the animals in the ark.
The rainbow covenant: God sets a rainbow as a sign of the promise never again to flood the earth.
Confusion of languages at Babel (Genesis 11): Humanity’s speech is divided, and people scatter across the world.

3. Miracles in the Patriarchal Era (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph)

Call of Abram: God speaks directly to Abram (Genesis 12).
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah: Fire and brimstone from heaven (Genesis 19).
Lot’s wife turned to salt (Genesis 19:26).
Birth of Isaac to elderly Sarah (Genesis 21).
God’s testing of Abraham: A ram provided in place of Isaac (Genesis 22).
Jacob’s ladder dream and wrestling with God (Genesis 28; Genesis 32).
Joseph’s prophetic dreams and interpretations (Genesis 37–41).

4. Miracles of Moses and the Exodus

The burning bush (Exodus 3).
Staff turned into a serpent (Exodus 4).
The Ten Plagues on Egypt (Exodus 7–12):

1. Water to blood
2. Frogs
3. Gnats or lice
4. Flies
5. Livestock disease
6. Boils
7. Hail
8. Locusts
9. Darkness
10. Death of the firstborn
The Passover protection (Israelites spared).
Parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14).
Pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, guiding Israel.
Manna and quail were provided in the wilderness.
Water from the rock (Exodus 17).
Mount Sinai theophany: God’s voice, thunder, lightning, and tablets of stone.
Bronze serpent healing (Numbers 21).
Aaron’s rod budding (Numbers 17).
Moses’ radiant face after speaking with God (Exodus 34).

5. Miracles in the Time of Joshua, Judges, and Kings

Jordan River stops flowing so Israel can cross (Joshua 3).
Walls of Jericho fall (Joshua 6).
The sun stands still (Joshua 10).
Gideon’s fleece tests (Judges 6).
Samson’s strength feats (Judges 14–16).
Fire consumes Elijah’s offering on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18).
Elijah raises the widow’s son (1 Kings 17).
Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2).
Elisha parts the Jordan, purifies water, multiplies oil, raises the Shunammite’s son, feeds 100 men with loaves, heals Naaman’s leprosy, and makes an iron axe-head float (2 Kings 2–6).
The shadow on the sundial goes backwards for King Hezekiah (2 Kings 20).
Angelic destruction of the Assyrian army (2 Kings 19).
Daniel’s survival in the lions’ den (Daniel 6).
Three men survive the fiery furnace (Daniel 3).
Handwriting on the wall (Daniel 5).

6. Miracles in the Intertestamental and New Testament Era

Zechariah was struck mute until John the Baptist’s birth (Luke 1).
Virgin (immaculate) conception of Jesus by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1; Luke 1).
Star of Bethlehem guiding the Magi (Matthew 2).
Angelic announcements to Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds.
John the Baptist’s prophetic calling before birth.

7. Miracles Performed by Jesus

Turning water into wine (John 2).
Healing the sick, blind, deaf, and lame (many Gospels).
Cleansing lepers (Matthew 8).
Casting out demons (Mark 5, etc.).
Feeding 5,000 (Matthew 14) and feeding 4,000 (Matthew 15).
Walking on water (Matthew 14).
Calming the storm (Mark 4).
Raising Jairus’s daughter (Mark 5).
Healing the centurion’s servant (Matthew 8).
Healing the bleeding woman (Mark 5).
Restoring sight to Bartimaeus (Mark 10).
Raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11).
The Transfiguration (Matthew 17).
Paying temple tax with a coin in a fish’s mouth (Matthew 17).
Cursing the barren fig tree (Mark 11).
The resurrection of Jesus (Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20).
Post-resurrection appearances (Luke 24; John 21).
Ascension into heaven (Acts 1).

8. Miracles in the Acts of the Apostles

Tongues of fire and the gift of languages at Pentecost (Acts 2).
Peter and John heal a lame man (Acts 3).
Peter raises Tabitha (Dorcas) from the dead (Acts 9).
Paul blinds and heals various people (Acts 13–28).
Earthquake freeing Paul and Silas from prison (Acts 16).
Paul survives a viper bite (Acts 28).
Philip’s teleportation (Acts 8).
Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for lying (Acts 5).

9. Apocalyptic and Prophetic Miracles

Visions of Heaven and angels (Revelation 4–5).
Trumpet and bowl judgments: cosmic catastrophes, locusts, plagues, blood rivers, darkness.
Two witnesses calling down fire (Revelation 11).
The New Jerusalem descending from heaven (Revelation 21).
Creation of a new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21–22).
God dwelling with humanity eternally - the final miracle of restoration.

A true child of God operates on a different kind of evidence than the world does. It's an evidence called faith.

Hebrews 11:1–3 (KJV 1900)
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

So, while the world (like the atheist) relies heavily on visual and scientific evidence in order to believe what he can verify, he actually also has faith because he believes in a threory that can't be proven (like the big bang). Furthermore, if he believes that some organism exploded to create everything we see today, then that means he needs to be able to answer where that organism came from. Did someone create it? If he says yes, then he believes in a creator, just like a true child of God does. If he says that it was always existing, then he believes in something eternal, just like the true child of God. Either way, it requires faith. The only difference is that for the secular world, the evidence comes from science books, but for the true child of God, it comes from the Bible.

2 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV 1900)
(For we walk by faith, not by sight)

[Compassionist]

[Replying to 1213 in post #24]

1213, thank you for clarifying your position. You’re right that we can’t prove whether that specific rock was split by divine power or by natural erosion. But there’s an important asymmetry between a claim of “it happened supernaturally” and “we don’t yet have evidence that it did.”

The first is a positive claim - it asserts a specific causal mechanism (“God split it”) that, in principle, should leave some differentiating trace. The second is agnostic - it simply withholds belief until such differentiating evidence appears. That’s why falsifiability matters: if no possible observation could ever count against a claim, then it’s not just unprovable - it’s indistinguishable from imagination.

My disbelief isn’t a mirror-image of faith; it’s an absence of conviction pending evidence. If tomorrow we found inscriptions, tool marks, or independent records from the same period confirming the event, I would change my view. But if no such evidence could ever exist in principle, then “the miracle” ceases to be a testable explanation and becomes a story we may appreciate, but not verify.

[Compassionist]

[Replying to Eddie Ramos in post #25]

Eddie, thank you for your thoughtful reply. I agree that every worldview has assumptions that can’t be proven with absolute certainty - but there’s still a key difference between faith based on evidence and faith in spite of evidence.

Scientific models like the Big Bang are not “beliefs without proof.” They are inferences drawn from measurable data - cosmic background radiation, galactic redshift, and elemental abundances - all of which make testable predictions. If those predictions failed, the model would be revised or discarded. That’s conditional trust, not blind faith.

By contrast, miracles like “the sun standing still” or “a global flood” make empirical claims about the physical world, yet leave no independent, verifiable traces. Believing them therefore requires a different kind of faith - one that suspends normal standards of evidence. What makes faith in the Bible any more reliable than faith in the Quran or other religious books?

Regarding the question “Where did the first thing come from?” scientists freely admit we don’t yet know. The Big Bang could have been caused by quantum fluctuations - it's a plausible hypothesis - not yet a proven fact. That’s intellectual humility, not a faith claim. A mystery isn’t a license to insert a supernatural explanation, because “God did it” stops inquiry instead of advancing it.

Faith may have emotional value, but when it comes to explaining how the world works, evidence remains the more reliable guide.

[Eddie Ramos]

[Replying to Eddie Ramos in post #25]

Eddie, thank you for your thoughtful reply. I agree that every worldview has assumptions that can’t be proven with absolute certainty - but there’s still a key difference between faith based on evidence and faith in spite of evidence.

Scientific models like the Big Bang are not “beliefs without proof.” They are inferences drawn from measurable data - cosmic background radiation, galactic redshift, and elemental abundances - all of which make testable predictions. If those predictions failed, the model would be revised or discarded. That’s conditional trust, not blind faith.

By contrast, miracles like “the sun standing still” or “a global flood” make empirical claims about the physical world, yet leave no independent, verifiable traces. Believing them therefore requires a different kind of faith - one that suspends normal standards of evidence. What makes faith in the Bible any more reliable than faith in the Quran or other religious books?

Regarding the question “Where did the first thing come from?” scientists freely admit we don’t yet know. The Big Bang could have been caused by quantum fluctuations - it's a plausible hypothesis - not yet a proven fact. That’s intellectual humility, not a faith claim. A mystery isn’t a license to insert a supernatural explanation, because “God did it” stops inquiry instead of advancing it.

Faith may have emotional value, but when it comes to explaining how the world works, evidence remains the more reliable guide.

Right. That's why I made a distinction between the faith a of a child of God and the faith of someone who isn't. Both have faith, but only the child of God doesn't need to prove what he or she reads in the Bible in order to believe it as fact. Biblical faith, is as I described from Hebrews 11:1.

Hebrews 11:1–3 (KJV 1900)
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

See the difference. The word of God suffices us as our source of truth to understand that everything written in it, came from the very mouth of God. Now, how about every other religion that claims to have a written inspired word from the same God? Or another God altogether? Well, since the scriptures came first, God warned us in his final revelation to mankind, that no one was to ever add nor take away from his words.

Revelation 22:18–19 (KJV 1900)
For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

The Quran came much later and it's claim of inspiration by the very means by which God assured us he would no longer communicate. You see, while the Bible was being written, God added to his words by various means. Through dreams, visions, audibly, by messengels (angels), etc. And once he gave that warning at the end of his revelation, we can rest assured that he's not goinf to violate his word and give further revelation to mankind (that's because God has subjected himself to keep his own words). So any faith in additional writings, is the same faith of the world which does not have the one true God as its foundation.

So, while I can't prove that the world flooded, I certainly believe it because this book that I trust in implicitly tells me that it did. Is this blind faith? I supose it is since God's people walk by faith (evidence written yet unseen) and not by sight.

[1213]

...You’re right that we can’t prove whether that specific rock was split by divine power or by natural erosion. But there’s an important asymmetry between a claim of “it happened supernaturally” and “we don’t yet have evidence that it did.”

But, we have the testimony from the people that it did happen as told in the Bible. So, I think there is differentiating evidence.

That’s why falsifiability matters: if no possible observation could ever count against a claim, then it’s not just unprovable - it’s indistinguishable from imagination.

If for example the claim is that there is a split rock and it can really be seen, no observation would ever counter it, yet it still would not be imagination. If the claim is that it was split as told in the Bible, and if the rock was actually split by some other way, I think there could be an observation that counters the Biblical story.

My disbelief isn’t a mirror-image of faith; it’s an absence of conviction pending evidence.

Your belief is that it happened naturally. I don't believe you, because I have not seen any evidence for it happening naturally.

If tomorrow we found inscriptions, tool marks, or independent records from the same period confirming the event, I would change my view.

That would disprove the story, which is why i would also change my mind.

[Compassionist]

[Replying to Eddie Ramos in post #28]

Eddie, I appreciate your honesty about the difference between “the faith of a child of God” and empirical inquiry. You’ve clarified that your faith is not based on external verification but on trust that the Bible is self-authenticating.

That’s precisely the epistemic divide between religious books and scientific investigation. Scientific models are always provisional: they earn credibility by surviving tests that could have falsified them. Biblical faith, by contrast, begins with the conclusion and treats any contrary evidence as irrelevant. Both involve trust, but science is conditional - it adjusts to new data - while the Bible is absolute - it forbids revision.

Revelation 22’s warning applies internally to that book, not historically to the entire canon, which was compiled centuries later. If every tradition used the same logic, every sacred text could claim final authority. The real question, then, is how we tell which religious book, if any, reflects reality.