Well, this is going to be weird, real strange opening thought exercise today, but I think it's important, and we're going to do it. I know this is going to hit a whole bunch of you differently because we've got a wide variety of friends here hanging out in the room together. I know there are people here who've been around faith for a long time, and it's just made sense to you, and it's been a pretty steady thing for you. I know there are others of you for whom it's been a little more up and down, but here you are for better for worse. Stickin with it, trying to figure it out. You want to know the Bible better. Cool. I know there are others of you who are brand new to this. And every time I talk about things like sacrifices in the Old Testament, you're like, what is going on? This is weird and confusing. But, hey, you're still here. Awesome. Thank you, by the way. I know there are others of you who are like, I don't believe in anything supernatural. I'm probably not ever going to be religious, but I'm really interested in the Bible. And I really like trying to understand the people who do believe in God and who

think that the Bible is from God. So a wide variety of people are here in this conversation. I get

that, and this next question is going to hit you all different, but I kind of suspect you're going to

all have similar answers to this weird scenario I want to put in front of you. Okay, that's enough

buildup. Let's bounce the scenario off you here. What would you do if your favorite politician

came out and did a press conference and announced that they are in fact God? What would you do?

It's a laughable scenario. I know. It's laughable. But what would you do?

Again, this isn't a politician you don't like. This is your favorite one. How would you respond to that?

I mean, I assume you'd be like, well, I like some of your policies, but I don't think you're God.

And now you seem kind of dangerous, and you're not

my favorite politician anymore. I mean, I think you'd pretty quickly see through it. I think you'd

be able to come up with four, five, or ten, or a hundred things that would cause you to say,

well, that can't possibly be God.

That cannot be the originator and maker and sustainer of all things.

It just doesn't make sense.

I have seen enough stuff from him or her and what she's done publicly.

No, that ain't God.

Okay, but now let's run the same scenario with a politician you don't like.

Picture the politician who

annoys you the most, who you think is the most corrupt and power hungry. Now imagine that

person comes out and is like, well, wanted to get everybody together to tell you, I am God,

the maker and sustainer of all things. But I think it'd be really easy then for all of us to be like, no, you're not.

...