When students took their questions to James South’s talk on the validity of the Bible during a Crash group worship meeting, they learned that he was reared in a church-going family but had never read the Bible while growing up.
Thus, at age 16 he started reading the Bible, and at age 19 he became a Christian while attending college.
“I was afraid I was going to die and lose my soul,” South said.
A Crash worship is a monthly meeting designed for non-Christians who are curious or skeptical about religion.
A collateral faculty member in VCU’s School of World Studies, South has studied the Bible for classes as well as for personal reasons. He also read literature that criticized the Bible, but he said this did not dissuade him in his beliefs.
“I am persuaded by the validity of the Bible,” he said. “What it says is true logically has to be true.”
As a child, South said, scientists still debated whether the universe had a beginning, but they have learned a beginning had existed, and that it now is winding down to its end.
“Nonbelievers call (the beginning) the big bang – believers call it creation,” he told the audience, saying there is intelligent design to the universe and to have this design there had to be a designer.
South said God designed humans so they can communicate with him.
“There’s no better way to communicate with him than through the Bible,” he said.
After his talk, South addressed a student’s question about the Bible being written by man who is imperfect, by responding that the people were fallible but what they wrote was not.
“(These) people were writing through God,” he said; therefore, they were not fallible in their writings. He said it is hard to find something all believers say is accurate, but the Bible has come close.
Alex Kirk, intervarsity staff member with VCU’s River and Crash groups, said he appreciated the answers South gave to some of the audience’s questions.
“He encouraged Christians in the audience to not feel like they have to defend the Bible, but rather to invite people to read it and let it do its own work,” Kirk said.
Brennan Moore, first year art foundation student, attended South’s presentation but had not attended a Crash meeting.
“I enjoyed (South’s) talk,” he said afterward. “I plan on coming to more things like this on campus.”