This question is probably the most common question those who do not believe in God ask themselves and ask others.
When looking to the Bible, the answer is clear and simple. Alas, many people, even those who do believe in God, do not even read the bible, and could not even answer the question.
I find that Christian religions often have this quality of passing down information from one generation to another without actually remembering the source of truth: The Bible.
It is like a game of gossip. One person has their beliefs, and they teach their children these beliefs. Those beliefs get passed down continually, and become so warped and so far from the Bible that eventually the family's beliefs split into many different ones. Perhaps some will choose to depart entirely from a faith that they feel only brings judgment and confusion and pain.
However, all of that can be avoided when we as individuals take the responsibility upon ourselves to search for truth, and to advise others to do the same. Spiritual ignorance and confusion can be overcome when we do not rely on people (Since when are people reliable?) or on any one religion (For there are countless religions) to tell us what is true of this world.
Jesus himself said to the Jews that were criticizing him for healing on the Sabbath and for calling God his Father:
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
I receive not honour from men.
But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.
I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?
Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.
For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me.
But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?
Matthew 10:39-47
The bible is a book of books. These books were written across history, by many different men of different generations. These books are prophetic. What is prophecy? Prophecy is a prediction of something to come. The Bible is filled with prophecies, which is why these different books written by different people were all compiled together into one book. When Jesus was alive, the Old Testament books were believers' scripture.
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
2 Peter 1:20, 21
Personally, I think of the Bible as both inspired and also simply a record of what happened, or in other words, as history. The Old Testament in particular (the testament before Jesus was born, books Genesis through Malachi), is filled with war and death, much like a history book. Who expects books written about a fallen world to be all good? We have lived in corruption from the moment we fell -- the moment Adam and Eve, creatures given free will, did not trust in their Creator when he said:
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Genesis 2:16-17
Today we will be discussing the fall of man. What is the "fall of man"? Biblically speaking, the fall of man is why the world contains both good and evil; both light and dark; both life and death.
The world that God created was perfect and free from sin. Adam and Eve had knowledge only of good and also had access to the tree of life (eternal life). It is by partaking of that tree of knowledge of good and evil -- against God's command -- that Adam and Eve fell from perfect communion with God.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Genesis 3:3-5
On one side, they had their Creator telling that them when they eat of it, they will surely die. Not if they eat of it, not might they die, but when, and surely.
On the other side, we have a serpent which is said to have been more subtil (or clever) than any other creature that God had created (Genesis 3:3), telling the woman quite the opposite: "You won't die. God just doesn't want you to eat of it because he doesn't want you to be like a god like him," is basically along the lines of how the serpent deceived Eve.
Once Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit of the tree which God blatantly told them in the day they ate of it, they would die, they knew of both good and evil.
It is important to note that the reason Adam and Eve's eyes were opened to evil was because of their desire to gain more than the perfection they had already had. Just as Lucifer had desired to rise above the one who formed and created him, and coveted his Creator. Tree or no tree, it was their choice to trust themselves more than God that opened their hearts to sin.
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Genesis 3:7-11
Adam and Eve explained what happened to the Lord, Adam placing the blame partly on God and partly on Eve, and Eve placing the blame on the serpent. Notice the pattern here of blaming others instead of taking responsibility for one's own mistakes. This pattern of humanity carries on even to this day (Genesis 3:12, 13)
This is why the serpent was cursed above any other animal for deceiving the woman, the woman was cursed for eating of the fruit and sharing it with the man, and the man was cursed for listening to the woman even though God had commanded them not to do it. And it was for man's sake that the ground was cursed (Genesis 3:14-19).
Even after all of this, God provided clothing for his fallen children so that they would not be naked (Genesis 3:21)
And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Genesis 3:22-24
After they had fallen, he cut them off from the tree of life that they previously had access to, so that they, now subject to sin and evil, would not live on eternally in this state of darkness.
God loves and cares for his creatures' souls so much that instead of simply destroying them after having disobeyed and having become subject to sin, he instead provided the great propitiation (Jesus, as we know from previous bible readings) to free them and give them the gift of eternal life with Him, the Source of all good things.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Matthew 1:18-23
He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
1 John 3:8
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
John 1:10, 11
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
John 1:14
Jesus said to the Pharisees and the Jews while he taught in the temple as written in John 8:
But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
John 8:40-44 (I highly recommend reading this chapter in its entirety)
As Jesus said, the devil, or Lucifer, who was an angel of God, has been sinning from the beginning, for he sought to rise above his Creator, and was cast out of heaven, along with those fallen angels (also called demons) which chose the devil over their Creator (Matthew 25:41)...
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Isaiah 14:12-15
Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
Ezekiel 28:15, 17
The devil is an example of a creature that has both eternal life and knowledge of good and evil, because he, in his beauty that was given to him by the Lord, sought to rise above his God. But God will destroy the devil and his angels in the end.
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Revelation 12:7-9
As for humans, unlike the devil or his angels, we are given this gift of salvation and of eternal life, and all we must do to receive it is to believe in Jesus (John 3:16), our mediator to God, our Savior (1 Timothy 2:5). For he lived in the flesh just as we are living here, and is sinless. He experienced all the temptations of the flesh and did not sin, and was killed by his own people, his own children.
This is why the Bible tells us these things:
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Ephesians 6:11
But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.
John 17:15
But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
2 Timothy 3:13
Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.
And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
2 Timothy 2:22-26
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Romans 6:16
One of my most favorite parables that Jesus shared with us summarizes all of it metaphorically, in a way that we can understand:Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
Matthew 13:24-30
Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; (the Son of man being Jesus)
The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Matthew 13:36-43
The Bible reveals to us that death on earth can be thought of like sleep, for being resurrected is being awakened from death. Jesus referred to death as sleep, and the bible often refers to it as sleep.
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1 Thessalonians 4:13, 14
Those who have died believing in Christ will be resurrected first when Jesus returns, as Jesus was resurrected. Then those who are alive who believe in Christ will join them as well (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17)
When Jesus spoke of Lazarus:
These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
John 11:11-14
But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1 Corinthians 15:35-44
In the end we must remember, it is not humans that we wrestle against, but the evil one and his angels.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Ephesians 6:12
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:12-14
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Psalm 119:105
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