Interestingly enough, the book of Romans informs us that all we need to know about God has been revealed to us individually as part of our created essence, or nature, or being.
Romans 1:18-20
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
According to Christianity, we all innately know there is an eternal God, and we all know that we ought to behave in certain ways as a result.
Yet we choose not to.
Further, since we all innately know that God is the one in charge, we all know that really only He can fix the problem. This innate knowledge alone should put us on our knees begging for His assistance, His forgiveness, and His mercy.
No book necessary.
The book in question chronicles how God has interacted with Man over the ages. It tells us specifics about creation and God's condescension to be intimately involved with man. It further tells us the good news of specifically how God has graciously decided to redeem us.
This is why the Gospels are called Gospels -- the word means "good news".
In other words, the vital and critical message for man exists innately within us. That message is, essentially, that we are sinners in the hands of an angry God. Since we all have that message innately yet continue in sin, we are all without excuse.
The Bible has been offered as "good news" to God's elect. It brings with it a breath of fresh air for those of us who trust in Christ, a message that we can be forgiven. The Bible also reinforces the message that we are condemned without God's forgiveness, making it good news to the elect but further condemnation to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18; 2 Corinthians 2:15-16).
In sum, the Bible offers additional information. All we need to know, we already innately know.
So why did God share this good news with a book?
Why not? Books are one method that God has caused people to use to understand ideas for ages. When God communicates with people, He communicates to us in ways that He has caused us to be able to understand communication. Books are one of those ways. Sometimes we hear Him speak to us audibly in our own language. Sometimes he sends personal emissaries to speak to us (much as we often do ourselves) such as angels, prophets, or apostles.
When communicating with people, God communicates in the ways we understand.
If you have recognized that you are not perfect (Romans 3:23), all that remains is for you to ask the God you know exists to forgive you and save you. If you do this sincerely, He will hold fast to His promises in His book of good news:
Romans 10:9-10
If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
God bless!
Comments
Look at the myriad of religions out there... Religions with their own prophets, books, spirits and crystals. The belief market has grown and evolved since Moses' times; now more than ever is the time to pull out the big guns: angels descending from heaven, God's mighty audible voice from the clouds, demonstrations of melodramatic 'karma-like' retribution and punishment on evil rulers and sinful criminals - just like it allegedly was back in the ol' days - when there was no book!
Now, does God believe that the Bible and gut feelings really stand a chance with convincing anyone today?? Whether He does or does not, I beg all of Christendom:
Let's stop believing everything the bible tells us at face value.
[to be cont']
Let's shed away the premise that Yahweh is all-loving, all-powerful, etcetera so-as-to unbiasly re-examine his modus operandi as we would any human dictator who would order the slaughtering of entire nations - who would order infanticide.... would you still follow him if he ordered that today? ..would you fly a plane into a sky-scraper if he actually appeared 'n ordered you audibly to do so??
Let's look to the empirical today and decide for ourselves as critical, moral beings that if Yahweh does really exist, whether Man is being given a fair chance or not.
Is such a book really an effective way to assert factual existence over one's creatures? ..with what I've said, you think critically for yourself and decide that now_
Why do you believe that one ought to accept "empirical" evidence? If you are not made in the image of God as the Bible teaches, what basis do you have for believing that empirical evidence, or your interpretation of it, can be even remotely trustworthy?
You seem to be presupposing that you yourself, entirely apart from the God of scripture, are capable of accurately interpreting reality... but what basis do you have for making this unfounded assertion?
Under what authority do you claim that any of your personal thought processes have merit? How do you know any of your personal conclusions have any truth value whatsoever? Who told you so? And why do you believe them?
[Continued]
As you rightly pointed out, Christ informs us that empirical evidence can be used to draw accurate conclusions by men made in God's image, so people who believe Christ (namely, Christians) have a rational basis and justification for accepting empirical evidence and believing that man has the ability to draw accurate conclusions from it.
But you aren't a Christian. How can you justify your reliance on empirical evidence?