One thing I notice in apologetics is that people seem to have a completely different mindset when discussing the Bible than they have in normal life. Generally speaking, people have a lot of faith. They have to. It's just a part of being human. We all lack omniscience, and so we tend to pool our knowledge, and rely on that pool. Thus, you can even convince generations of people to believe silly myths, like the myth that blood is blue when it's in the veins. In reality, you don't have a single drop of blue blood in your body, yet it may be this very article that caused you to realise that. Yet, when it comes to Scripture, people go from being so gullible they'll believe their blood is blue to being so sceptical, they'll demand to touch the bench before they'll believe a "wet paint" sign.
Now, I don't want to encourage gullibility. In fact, I find it extremely annoying when Christians don't know at least one good reason to believe the Bible. One thing I find equally annoying, however, is when the most plausible things are treated with such scepticism, it seems impossible to get people to believe it.
As an example, let's take the re'em. The re'em is an animal mentioned several times in the Bible, yet its specific identity has been lost to history. We do not know what this animal is. The KJV, however, translates it as "unicorn". This has caused some unbelievers to criticise the Bible as a book of fairy tales.
Now, before we explain why this identity is likely false, let's take a moment to grant it and ask, is this identity actually that implausible? Consider this: Horses exist. So do a variety of creatures that possess horns. Cows, goats, antelope, these are all horned animals. So, we know horses are a possibility, we know horns are a possibility, so is a horse with a horn really that unthinkable? Especially when you consider that a number of animals have been proven to exist which were previously mocked. The platypus, for example, was once considered laughable. Now, that laughter has dissipated into history. These days, people will laugh if you don't believe in the platypus. Similarly, the okapi was once known as the African unicorn, because only natives of the Congo had seen it. Now, you may be able to see one in your nearest zoo. So, realistically, we could afford to grant that, at some point in history, a horse existed that could be classed as a unicorn.
But as I said, this identity is likely false. The most likely identity of the so-called unicorn, based on the assumed roots of the word, is the aurochs, which is a now extinct species of cow. Another popular identification is the rhino. Neither of these identifications are particularly implausible, and yet, there are those who would say that not only is the KJV necessarily correct in its identification, but that modern translations are deliberately altered to make the Bible sound more acceptable.
How can this be described other than complete stubbornness? You see how when you stop to think about these things, they are actually entirely reasonable. Even if you don't necessarily believe them, you can surely level with them? Yet, apparently, even that is often asking too much.
For some sceptics, it gets even worse than that. Not only do they obstinately scoff at the plausible, they flat out mock anything that could be considered religious. Satan becomes a talking snake, Jesus becomes a Jewish zombie, and God becomes a magic sky fairy. In the modern world, it takes very little to turn even the most civil dialogue into vicious mockery.
In the early days of my faith, I had no idea why this was. It seemed strange to me that even the most intelligent people could so often be incapable of critical thinking. I thought that if I could just provide evidence, I could argue people into the faith, yet it seems to be the opposite. The more evidence people have for God, the harder it is to convince them to accept it. But now that my faith has matured, I understand that this is the very state of affairs the Bible speaks of. It is a spiritual battle: Holiness against impurity, sinners against God.
"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." - 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
You see from this extract that the world we observe, with our complete lack of will as humans to know or love God, is entirely expected if Christianity is true. If it was not, what possible cause would unbelievers have to treat it as an inconvenient truth? And why would the world look exactly like the Bible describes?
But one more thing the Bible tells us is that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). Therefore, hear the word of God! Repent, and be saved! All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.