5 smooth stones

Five Smooth Stones

Scott Symington

Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream,

put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand …

This article presents five smooth stones, each offering clear, logical, and tested evidence to help you determine what is true and why it matters.

Every one of us faces the giant questions of life:

Can we really know the truth, or is reality just a matter of personal perspective?
Did the universe have a beginning? If so, what caused it?
Does the universe—and my life—have a specific purpose?
With so many different beliefs about God, how can I know which one is true? Is there evidence?
What does all this mean for me personally, and what happens after I die?

The answers to these questions shape our beliefs, choices, priorities, goals, purpose and direction in life. Many assume truth is impossible to know, overwhelmed by conflicting worldviews, opinions, and misinformation.

Yet, the evidence is already in. Countless minds poured over the study of beliefs throughout history, and like the continuous flow of a river over stones, has hardened and smoothed pieces of evidence, which can be brought against the giant questions of life to breakthrough all opinions, misinformation, and inaccurate beliefs and support one worldview belief to a level of verification none other can reach.

Approaching worldview beliefs with Five Smooth Stones

This approach to determining the answers to the giant questions looming before us is simple (notice only two possible options for two of the steps), and the evidence is already in (a continuous flow of evidence has smoothed & hardened the stones) to provide solid guidance, breakthrough, and confidence in accurate answers.

As we walk through five straightforward steps using five smooth stones, and since it follows the organization of the FaithFactCheck website, you can click on links at the end of each section if you want further details of what each stone reveals.

Stone 1: Why should I Care? Can TRUTH about beliefs be known?

When to use this stone: To logically break through apathy (not caring enough to take your beliefs seriously) and agnosticism (thinking truth about beliefs cannot be known).

Why should I care about my worldview beliefs?

Most people would rather invest time in entertainment than in exploring their worldview beliefs. Therefore, we first demonstrate no decision impacts your life more than the worldview beliefs you guide your life by.

Spending appropriate time with your beliefs pays off better than anything else you could do in your life.

Click here if you don’t recognize how serious your beliefs will impact you.

Does truth about worldview beliefs exist, and can it be known?

Once realizing the how serious our beliefs are, some still feel there is no truth about beliefs, or it is unknowable. Therefore, the next logical step is determining, “How can we know what is true?”

Truth exists and can be tested using the same tools and logical approach we have done naturally, every day since childhood; enabling anyone to determine which belief(s) fit reality (are true), and safe to build life upon.

Click here if you still think there is no “truth”, or truth about beliefs is unknowable.

Take Home Conclusions from Stone 1

Your choice of foundational beliefs is as important to you as it gets, and
truth exists regarding beliefs and can be tested to determine what is true, and what is false.

Stone 2: Did the Universe have a Beginning, or Not? If it did, what was the Cause?

There are many ways to approach verifying which belief(s) fit reality. We provide a simple approach, anyone can use, and clearly observe well-established evidence verifying or invalidating the different beliefs.

When to use this stone: if you or someone you know wants scientific evidence to refute pantheism, atheism, agnosticism or any non-biblical belief system, or wants unprecedented evidence there is a God responsible for the Bible.

There are as many different belief systems as there are different human desires for belief, but all worldviews fall into one of four basic categories.

Starting with something most of us will accept, our universe exists[1], we only have two possible answers:

The universe has always existed (no beginning, no cause)
The universe had a beginning and was caused by something

The BEGINNING EVIDENCE includes some of the most important discoveries in science, and the well-established scientific understanding is:

There was nothing of the universe or nature (all matter, energy, space and time), then all nature had a beginning when it all came into existence.
Before this discovery, every belief system made its claims about the origin of the universe. Every belief system not founded on the Bible, including atheism, and the understanding of science, were ALL inaccurate on this foundation-bearing fact.
Not only was the Bible uniquely accurate in this test of truth, but much further, this beginning of the universe had a number of amazing aspects, which were noted by the scientists involved to be precisely predicted by the Bible thousands of years earlier.

[1] Well, most will accept this, for those who want to believe or argue the universe and you do not exist, please send in your reasons as we will respond to this in the “Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)” section. When asked this before I said I will debate this, but by phone, with myself in a safe location, and the challenger would have to lay in the middle of a nearby highway at night, while we discuss why I do believe in the existence of this universe, the oncoming cars, and the critic’s pain receptors being very real, with very real consequences.

How could you know if there is something beyond humanity (God) involved in the Bible?

Whether it is a person claiming to be speaking for God, or supposed “Scripture” (God’s message to us in a book), it would, at least, have to demonstrate something beyond humanity’s ability to reproduce. If the Bible were simply another book made-up by man alone, then you would find numerous other examples, throughout all of history, able to achieve the multiple, clear, specific predictions made over a thousand years prior to modern science proof. What are your examples?

Click here if you still cannot accept the conclusions from the BEGINNING Evidence, or want further details.

Further, the evidence from the beginning of the universe eliminates all potential options for the cause of the universe, except one …

The CAUSED EVIDENCE shows there is only one reasonable belief as far as what caused the universe.

Every other worldview was invalidated again: Once again, atheism, agnosticism, scientific consensus and every non-biblical belief system made claims about what the cause of the universe must be, and was exposed as inaccurate.

We know PROPERTIES of the Cause: Scientific findings provided a number of properties, which the cause of the universe must have:

transcend nature
eternal (not bound by time)
greater power than all the universe
able to act beyond natural laws
able to make choices

We show this is well-established scientifically, and as though it just copied the biblical description of God.

Only 1 option remains: In all philosophical and scientific thought and literature, there are only 4 types of causes given for the Cause of the Universe. The three no-God theories have been disproven by discoveries of science and logic, reducing the possible options to just one – an immaterial mind. This refutes atheism and naturalism.

If one doesn’t want to accept the biblical claim of the cause of the universe, okay, but why? What evidence overcomes the evidence of predictive accuracy and supports for the properties of the biblical cause.

To claim we do not know what caused the universe has become an error in logic, the ad futuris fallacy, as you are basically saying: “All other options are refuted, the one option left, an immaterial mind, which is backed with evidence and unprecedented predictive validity, I do not accept, so I will just wait until evidence I like comes in.”

Click here if you still cannot accept the conclusions from the CAUSED Evidence, or want further details.

take home conclusions from stone 2

A refutation of every belief system not based on the Bible due to inaccuracies on foundation-bearing claims about the beginning and cause of the universe.
A validation of the Bible, not only producing the only accurate belief, but also provided multiple clear, specific predictions thousands of years in advance of the modern science verification, which is one of the most-telling tests of truth – unprecedented and demanding an explanation – nothing humanity has ever produced remotely approaches what is found in the biblical claims.
Only 1 option remains: In all philosophical and scientific thought and literature, there are only 4 possible options given for the Cause of the Universe. The three no-God theories have zero evidential support, fail to meet the properties of the Cause, have fatal flaws, and are opposed by the one model with significant positive evidence – the biblical model.

If the universe had a beginning, then either the cause of this beginning was an intelligent Creator, or not. Simple, only two options, which are tested with the third stone.

Stone 3: A Personal Cause or Not?

When to use this stone: to refute atheism and agnosticism.

Also, if you enjoy amazing science facts, want evidence pointing directly to a personal Creator, or are interested in the purpose or meaning of life.

The FINE-TUNED EVIDENCE shows the cause of the universe is personal & purposeful, and therefore, your life also has objective purpose and value.

Scientific discoveries reveal the universe is extraordinarily fine-tuned for life, meaning if a diverse and growing number of aspects in nature happened to be even a little different, then life would not exist. And because these are not required through natural laws, either (a) this fine-tuning happened by random chance, or (b) a Creator capable of choice designed the universe with purpose.

Mathematically the first option is not reasonable, in fact, in the scientific literature you find, every month or so, another example of fine-tuning is discovered, which makes any hope the universe and life just happened by chance fall literally a million times less likely. Chance has no chance. These amazing examples will make for great conversation.

The only options now are either a personal, intelligent agent is the cause of the universe, or there are an infinite number of other universes. And wait until you see what one must believe to have the type of multiverse needed to avoid the conclusion the universe is the result of a purposeful creator – not reasonable, mathematically absurd, not safe to trust life choices, goals and direction upon.

Click here if you still cannot accept the conclusions from the FINE-TUNED Evidence, or want further details.

take home conclusions from stone 3

Any belief system without a purposeful, choice-making, creator is refuted.
Mathematically, the belief our universe and life is just the result of chance – has no chance of being true. Believing anything else aside from a purposeful Creator is against the obvious and relentless trend of discoveries in science, with amazing examples to discuss.
If there is no purposeful Creator, in a position to know and enforce, beyond or transcending all human opinion, then logically we cannot escape the fact objective purpose, free will, special human value, inherent rights, social justice, and other things we naturally think exist – are delusions – they cannot exist.

Therefore, if a purposeful Creator exists, which God is it? And did God become distant, detached, and disinterested, or did God demonstrate how much we are valued and reveal care in the most personal way by personally revealing in Jesus?

Or, is it Allah, or are we all god and one with the universe as eastern and new age religions claim? Just like any other important choice in life, we can follow the evidence where it leads.

Stone 4: ONE OF THESE CLAIMS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHERS …

When to use this stone: once one recognizes God exists (theism is true), then the obvious next rational step is determining which claims about God are accurate, and this stone reveals how Christianity stands apart.

A. A Different Standard

Unlike every other belief system throughout history, Jesus claimed God doesn’t grade on a curve (how “good” we are), but on a standard (holiness), which none of us have met. He stated we have all done things “unholy” (against God’s nature), and such things will be separated from a holy God. Like oil and water, they don’t mix. If true, that’s the bad news.

B. B Personal Answer

But a holy God came to personally show us his nature, and then to take the death penalty for us on the cross, so the justice against unholiness is paid and our debt can be cleared. This is the “Gospel,” which translates as the “good news.”

C. C The Answer is Historically Checkable

Then, Jesus rose from the grave to verify his authority over death, and his claim he can do the same for us. This sounds like great news, and some immediately wonder if it is only wishful thinking. It would be wishful thinking to believe any belief system without standout reasons. But Christianity stands alone in testability by placing its core belief, the resurrection of Jesus, on the examination table where it can be validated or rejected. What have we found?

This is the most impactful person in all history, making the most important claim in all history (if true), and verifying this claim with an event in history. This event is ancient, yet comes with unprecedented evidence, allowing only a handful of possible explanations. Based on the evidence, all options have been falsified, except the one of Jesus being resurrected as was claimed. Christianity is historically testable, evidence-based, and unique among worldviews.

If you don’t want to accept this option, wait until you see how uncomfortable you will be trying to believe any of the other options – as an event this central and unprecedented requires an explanation.

If you currently accept Jesus and are already experiencing what this relationship means to you, then you know why it is so serious to assist others in removing barriers and realizing why this relationship will impact their life better than any other choice one can make. If you currently do not have this relationship, then you have the opportunity of your lifetime.

Click here if needing more details regarding the conclusions of who Jesus is.

take home stone 4

This claim has been scoured over by scholarship more than any other in all history, which has led to only a handful of options – the only reasonable, supported, and clearly validated option is Jesus is exactly what he and the Bible claimed.

Stone 5: What does this Mean for Me?

This picture always makes me sad, and happy.

It hurts seeing anyone who suffers from lack, and wonderful to see a face of pure joy.

All the work put into this website is because we want people to get their new shoes. This life is wearing out for all of us, from the moment we put it on. And if the claim of Jesus is true, then you not only get a new one to put on, but can also try it on now.

Yet, just because this sounds nice, doesn’t make a claim true, and there are plenty of other claims.

The only way to lasting joy is having your purpose, peace, and possibilities be reliable. This only happens if your beliefs fit reality, and won’t instead drop you into unexpected consequences.

Do you even know WHAT you believe and WHY? Most people allow comfort, avoidance, or circumstances to control their decisions in the giant (or life-shaping) questions, and therefore do not really understand what they are standing on, why, and whether it is reliable.

This last section will provide:

Overviews and comparisons between the different belief system options,
How each answers the big questions in life, and a straightforward accounting of whether these ideas stand over others, or crumble when the reality of available evidence is applied.
Finally, we can take a real look at your future now!

When one has genuinely gone through the process of recognizing the seriousness of their beliefs, seeking the truth, and standing upon the one worldview belief that reality supports beyond the reach of any others, they can experience pure, lasting joy.

This joy is not dependent on you, your control, or what life brings, but on an Authority above it all, in a position to know, and with unmatched verification rewarding your search with knowing your purpose, peace, and possibilities are demonstrably reliable, and will never wear out.

Click here for overviews, comparisons, and how each worldview belief option stands or falls when the hard stones of evidence are applied.