Suppose you were told that you could ask GOD any one question. What would you ask? And would your question be the same one most Americans would choose to ask? What, in fact, would most Americans ask GOD if they were granted a one-on-one interview? That was something we at the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) wanted to find out. To help us, we turned to the Gallup Poll organization. The Gallup pollsters interviewed some fifteen hundred people all across the country. People of widely divergent occupations, backgrounds, and ages were asked what one question they would most like to ask GOD.

From their survey, the Gallup people then determined America's top ten questions. These, in turn, were used as the basis for the Christian Broadcasting Networks prime-time television special, "Don't Ask Me, Ask GOD." That show included appearances by Mother Teresa, Malcolm Muggeridge, Alvin Toffler, and General William C. Westmoreland. Numerous other celebrities helped us present GOD's answers to America's top questions. Celebrity guests included Steve Allen, Ned Beatty, Ruth Buzzi, Tony Danza, Norman Fell, Anita Gillette, Dean Jones, Marvin Kaplan, Doug McClure, Jayne Meadows, Vincent Price, Ben Vereen, and others.

In the first chapter of this book, we will consider the top ten questions as gathered by the Gallup organization. Then, in the following chapters of the book, we will present biblical answers to one hundred and ninety questions that address the heart of the Christian faith and the vital concerns of people not only throughout this country but also in all the world.

We will look to the Bible for the answer to these questions because the Bible is the authoritative Word of GOD. And because the Bible is the Word of GOD, we know that what it says is always true. This is the key to answering all of the questions.

The Bible itself tells us that every scripture is theopneustos, "breathed" by GOD. This is an inspired book. Every writing, every scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, is inspired by GOD, and "is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16).

The Bible is the only book that contains the story of holy history. It starts at the beginning of time and carries through to the end of time, showing GOD's intervention in the events that have helped shape our world. It is the only story that tells the way of salvation - the way to find GOD.

The Bible is internally consistent with itself, even though it was written over a period of fourteen to fifteen hundred years. It contains the story of a nation which, out of all the nations of the earth, came to be GOD's people and that discovered the secret of GOD's salvation.

The Bible is the story of GOD's coming to earth in the person of Jesus to bring us eternal life.

The Bible has passed the test of time. There is no other book like it, and there never will be. When you look at the holy books of other religions, you find fantasy and bizarre supernatural events that do not commend themselves to reasonable people. But the Bible is actually authenticated by history.

It is a book of prophecies that have come to pass. The odds against all the prophecies about the coming Messiah being fulfilled in one person are more than a billion to one, but they were fulfilled in Jesus. There are many other outstanding prophecies, such as those being fulfiilled in modern-day Israel right now. The Bible is not only a book about an ancient people but also a book as current as today's newspaper headlines.

It is a book that was given to us by the Holy Spirit. It is our guidebook, telling us what we must do, leading us from the day we are born to the day we die, with instruction in righteousness, truth, and salvation.

The Bible was written in various times and places as the Holy Spirit moved upon godly men. It was written by Moses. It was written by historians. It was written by poets. It was written by a number of holy men called prophets. It was written by a physician named Luke, by a tax collector named Matthew, by a disciple of Peter named Mark, and by one of Jesus' disciples named John. It was written by the apostle Paul, who saw a revelation of Jesus. It was written by a fisherman named Peter and a half brother of the LORD named James.

Thirty-nine of the books of the Bible deal with events before the coming of Jesus. They center around the covenant of GOD with Israel and are called the Masoretic Text.

Twenty-seven books of the Bible were written after the coming of Jesus. They center around the new covenant of faith and are called the New Testament. Those books bearing the seal of the Holy Spirit and in circulation since apostolic days were recognized as holy Scripture by a church council in A.D. 397. The Old and New Testaments make up the sixty-six books of the Bible.

This is the Bible, the book which holds the answers to all of your questions, no matter what those questions might be. It is the authority for the answers given to the 200 questions in this book.

Answers to 200 of Life's Most Probing Questions is offered prayerfully, humbly, and with the hope that it will help you better understand GOD's plan for you life - and your place in His world.

Please understand that the limitations of space force these answers to be brief. May they serve merely as a springboard to deeper study and adventures in faith.

Pat Robertson
Virginia Beach, Virginia

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