Are any promises in the Bible testable? For centuries, believers in biblical doctrine have testified before men the truth of 'scripture', repeating the claim that the Bible is the word of God, a God who does not fail to keep his extraordinary promises. If these promises indeed are to be kept by their alleged author - an omnipotent, omniscient and honest God, then at least some of these promises should be testable, shouldn't they? After all, if God says it, shouldn't it come to pass?

Below I have recreated as a dramatization the course of many conversations I have had with numerous Christian apologists. The subject is the enormous claim that the believer can move mountains simply by saying so, because he has faith. This claim is recorded in the Bible in Matthew 17:20, Matthew 21:21, and Mark 11:23. Similar verses fortify the magnitude this fantastic, yet empty promise.

In my correspondence with many Christians who say they are willing to stand completely on the "word of God", I have asked them to answer the promise that the believer should be able command mountains to remove themselves, and that they shall obey. Virtually every conversation I have had with believers on this topic takes approximately the course of the recreation I have assembled below.

[Enter the Christian and the Atheist.]

Christian: We know we have life everlasting to those who believe.

Atheist: How do we know this which you claim?

Christian: Because we have God's promise.

Atheist: Where do we find that promise?

Christian: In the Bible.

Atheist: But there are other promises in the Bible which have been broken, why should we believe this one?

Christian: Give me an example of one promise in the Bible that has been broken.

Atheist: The Bible attributes the following promise to Jesus in Matthew 17:20: "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you." Surely, you don't think this promise has been kept, do you?

Christian: Sure, it's God's word after all.

Atheist: Well, I am not so credulous. I'd like to see you move a mountain if you think God will keep this promise attributed to Jesus.

Christian: I think you're taking this verse out of context. 'Mountain' does not necessarily mean mountain as in a hill of dirt. A mountain is a metaphor for a problem in the believer's life, perhaps a sinful habit that's hard for him to break.

Atheist: That's odd, why do you think Jesus used the word 'mountain' if he meant a problem, like a habit?

Christian: You have to remember that the Bible is poetry.

Atheist: I see, so what you're saying is, that's what it says, but that's not what it means.

Christian: You don't understand at all.

Atheist: Well, the language is pretty plain to me. Here Jesus says if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will be able to move a mountain. Do you have faith as a mustard seed?

Christian: Sure I do. I have salvation in Christ.

Atheist: Well, let's see you move a mountain then.

Christian: I told you, you're taking this verse out of context.

Atheist: Then you're saying that's what it says, but that's not what it means.

Christian: No, not at all. You're trying to make it say something it clearly doesn't say.

Atheist: Clearly doesn't say? It says it right here. Turn to Matthew 17:20. What does it say? It says if you have faith as a mustard seed, whatever that means - I suppose you'll try and turn that expression into something remotely imaginable too - you will be able to tell a mountain to remove itself and it shall remove.

Christian: You don't understand proper hermeneutics obviously.

Atheist: Well, I may not know what your hermeneutical method is, but I can guess by your evasions. But back to what the Bible says. Clearly this is a verse expressing a promise to the believer and attributing that promise to the words of your man Christ. But now you back down from trying to act on that promise, for you try to equivocate it into saying something it does not.

Christian: I'm not equivocating. Jesus did not mean that I or any other believer will move actual mountains, don't be absurd.

Atheist: Actually, it is not I which is absurd, but the promise. That's the whole point!

Christian: Like I already said, you don't understand the verse.

Atheist: So are you saying that your God is not powerful enough to move a measly mountain? That should be child's play for an omnipotent universe-creating God.

Christian: Of course God can! He's God!

Atheist: Then why can't he fulfill this promise you say he'll keep?

Christian: I told you, you're misinterpreting the promise.

Atheist: Now tell me, you say your God is all-powerful, right?

Christian: I don't say it, God says it.

Atheist: Okay, you believe that claim, right?

Christian: Yes, because God reveals that.

Atheist: But you repeat that claim by saying that God will keep all his promises, right?

Christian: I don't claim it, I don't need to claim it. God says it, I believe it, that settles it.

Atheist: But you hold this as a conviction then, right?

Christian: Yes.

Atheist: But you are embarrassed to repeat it?

Christian: Certainly not! I am not ashamed of my Lord and Savior!

Atheist: So then you do repeat this claim that God is all-powerful and that he will keep his promise recorded in Matthew 17:20?

Christian: You don't understand.

Atheist: I think I do understand, but you seem quite unwilling to stick your neck out for your own god-belief. Now, do you believe this or don't you?

Christian: I just said I believe this.

Atheist: But you are reluctant to repeat it, is that it?

Christian: No, I am not reluctant to repeat this.

Atheist: Then why don't you. Read Matthew 17:20 aloud for me, with the conviction you claim you have.

Christian: Matthew 17:20 says, "And Jesus said unto them, 'Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you.'"

Atheist: There, that wasn't so hard, was it? Now you've repeated it, and you said you have the conviction that this is true, so in essence, you stand behind this claim as a promise from an all-powerful God, right?

Christian: Yes, I do.

Atheist: Okay then, now let's see you move a mountain.

Christian: You just won't get it, will you! That's not a mountain that Jesus is talking about! It's a problem.

Atheist: Well, Jesus didn't say problem, he said mountain, but I can see how you might think this is a problem. I think it is a problem, too, at least from your stand point.

Christian: It's not my problem you don't believe.

Atheist: Well, funny you say it that way because that's entirely the context of this passage of the Bible, isn't it?

Christian: What do you mean?

Atheist: What did Jesus say in the beginning of the verse?

Christian: What?

Atheist: Here, I'll read it for you again: "And Jesus said unto them, 'Because of your unbelief:'"

Christian: So? What difference does that make?

Atheist: No difference whatsoever! Apparently Jesus detected lack of belief among some of his audience, for if you read a bit before this, you see that the disciples could not perform a healing miracle, ostensibly a far weaker feat than moving a mountain, a real mound of dirt, in other words. The context is more than clear, it is explicit.

Christian: No no no… no!

Atheist: Yes, I'm afraid so. It's quite clear language here. A child could understand this. But I don't suppose a lot of children actually believe this promise.

Christian: No, no! You're wrong and you know it!

Atheist: But see the context here? Jesus was ministering to disciples who obviously did not have strong enough faith, for clearly the context here is addressing the problem of believers' failure to perform their own miracles. Here Jesus is offering the believer the solution to what it takes to perform a real, bona fide miracle: Faith as a mustard seed. Do you as a believer have faith as a mustard seed?

Christian: Of course, I already told you this!

Atheist: So you did, don't get huffy, I'm just trying to get my point through to you. You seem to insist that that's what it says, but that's not what it means. I think you're the one who's trying to take things out of context.

Christian: Not at all. No. I'm the one who's saved, remember?

Atheist: How can I forget? You're the believer. But I do not believe. And Jesus said to his disciples, who failed to perform a relatively easy miracle, that they lacked faith. He told them that if they had faith as a mustard seed - apparently meaning if even their faith were meager - they would be able to command mountains to remove themselves and they would obey, even though we have yet to find a mountain that can understand any human language, Christian or otherwise.

Christian: You're mocking Christ! You certainly are in error here!

Atheist: So, you don't see the context here, do you?

Christian: Sure I do. Yes, the disciples clearly failed in performing a healing miracle, and their failure was due to a lack of faith.

Atheist: Then by that do you agree that if the disciples had sufficient faith they could have successfully performed the healing miracle?

Christian: Yes, I would say that is so. That is Jesus' whole point.

Atheist: So, by the context of the passage here, if one has faith as a mustard seed - which should be enough to move a mountain - then one should be able to perform a healing miracle, correct?

Christian: Yep! My minister does it all the time! Clearly God is moving in the world! Glory to God!

Atheist: Do you have faith?

Christian: Yes, I certainly do have faith!

Atheist: Do you have faith as a mustard seed?

Christian: Uh, hmmm… ye… well, sure, yes, of course I have faith as a mustard seed! By golly!

Atheist: Then you should be able to perform healing miracles, right?

Christian: Hold on now! You're taking things out of context again!

Atheist: Well what good is this faith as a mustard seed then, if it cannot perform!?

Christian: God can perform!

Atheist: Well, that's the promise anyhow. I'd like to see a demonstration.

Christian: God does not do parlor tricks. He's not a monkey on a circus stage that performs on command!

Atheist: I see. So, because of my unbelief, I will not see a miracle today?

Christian: Because of your unbelief, no.

Atheist: But you believe, right?

Christian: Yes, but you do not.

Atheist: Well, I shouldn't have to if your faith is as a mustard seed, right?

Christian: God can act whether or not no man believes.

Atheist: Well, if God does not need anyone to believe in him in order to act, how much more possible is it to see God in action in the lives of those who do believe in him?

Christian: God is always at work in the lives of those who believe in him.

Atheist: Okay, that's what I'd like to see. You said your minister performs healing miracles all the time. Does your minister have faith as a mustard seed?

Christian: Yes, of course he does, his station is a calling from God. He has been chosen to the ministry.

Atheist: So your minister can perform healing miracles because of his belief in God, right? Because of his faith?

Christian: Yes. He is a man of great faith, my minister. I have seen him cure all kinds of people.

Atheist: Has he cured both saved and unsaved persons by these miracle cures?

Christian: Yes, I have seen it with my own eyes.

Atheist: And he can perform healing miracles as a result of that faith, right?

Christian: Yes.

Atheist: And you said that you also have faith as a mustard seed, right?

Christian: Yes, I do.

Atheist: Then you should also be able to perform healing miracles too, right?

Christian: Umm…

Atheist: God said it, you believe it, that settles it, right?

Christian: Well hold on now…

Atheist: Why the sudden hesitation? Why are you suddenly not so sure?

Christian: I am sure!

Atheist: Don't you have faith?

Christian: Yes, I already told you I have faith.

Atheist: Well if faith then is the secret ingredient to miracle cures, and you have such faith, then you should be able to perform such miracle cures yourself, right.

Christian: You're trying to twist things around.

Atheist: You see, I have an astigmatism in my right eye, and I'd really like for you to perform one of these miracle cures for me.

Christian: But you don't have faith!

Atheist: Well, I'm not the one who has to perform this cure. You're the one with the faith as a mustard seed, I'm asking you to perform it. Jesus never said anything about the recipient of the miracle cure having faith, only the performer.

Christian: No, you need to have faith, too.

Atheist: No, not at all. Your faith is sufficient for God to work through you, isn't it? After all, isn't that the promise?

Christian: You have it all wrong.

Atheist: You said yourself that your minister is able to cure people who are not saved. What is the difference? Can you perform these miracle cures or not??? That's the question.

Christian: I am too young in the faith. There's still so much I have to learn.

Atheist: But you said you have faith as a mustard seed, didn't you? That should mean that you should be able to allow God to work such miracles through you.

Christian: But I still have so much yet to learn.

Atheist: So you do not have faith as a mustard seed?

Christian: I do, but I don't know quite how to channel it.

Atheist: Channel it? Hold on now. How are you supposed to learn how to 'channel' your faith? The Bible does not say anything about 'channeling' faith. What does that mean?

Christian: I have to learn how to direct it.

Atheist: But that doesn't make sense. If it is God's power that actually performs the miracle, then why would you have to know anything about 'channeling' it, especially when the Bible makes no provision regarding such a concern?

Christian: You just don't understand.

Atheist: Well, you keep evading the issue here. It's not my understanding that's in question here. I don't think you have faith as a mustard seed. That's all.

Christian: I do have faith as a mustard seed! It is you who don't believe!

Atheist: Never mind me. It is you who are the believer. That should be sufficient. But I don't suppose I'll have my astigmatism cured tonight, will I?

Christian: Not if you don't believe.

Atheist: Well, see, here's a prime opportunity for you and your all-powerful God to make a believer out of me. You can call on your God to perform a healing miracle on my eyesight, to correct my astigmatism and give me 20/20 vision, and if that is successful, I will give belief in your religious views a serious second thought.

Christian: I still don't think you understand what you're talking about.

Atheist: That should not be an impediment to God's miracle-working, even if that were the case. Your God is able to perform such a miracle, isn't he?

Christian: Yes, of course he is. He is omnipotent. There is nothing he cannot do.

Atheist: Well good then. Then what keeps him from curing my astigmatism?

Christian: Your unbelief.

Atheist: I see. So, you cannot perform a healing miracle, as your God promised you?

Christian: You have to believe.

Atheist: You believe, don't you?

Christian: Yes, I do.

Atheist: Then why do you wear glasses? You like the look?

Christian: You don't understand!

Atheist: Didn't God say in that same verse we both read out of the Bible that "nothing shall be impossible to you"?

Christian: Yes.

Atheist: So, why do you need to wear glasses?

Christian: I told you, you do not understand.

Atheist: No, I don't understand. If I believed in a God's promises to perform miracle cures, one of the first things I would ask for is to cure my own vision problems.

Christian: See, you are selfish, for your first inclination is to ask for something that benefits yourself. You ask amiss.

Atheist: Well, then why can't you cure my vision for me? That would not be selfish for you.

Christian: You just don't understand.

Atheist: Apparently not! You keep running in circles and are hopelessly inconsistent. You cannot even do what the Bible promises, promises that you say your God will keep. You say you have faith as a mustard seed, but you cannot perform any miracle cures, nor can you make a mountain remove itself simply by commanding it to do so by faith.

Christian: Jesus did not mean mountain as you mean. He meant a problem.

Atheist: But Jesus said to his believers, which includes you, if you believe…

Christian: And I do!

Atheist: …that you would be able to do these things and greater things, because he goes to his father. See John 14:12. Jesus' words are quite explicit in each passage.

Christian: But you are misinterpreting.

Atheist: You maintain that your minister can perform healing miracles, and that he can perform these miracles because of his faith, ostensibly because the Bible makes this promise.

Christian: That's right.

Atheist: But when it comes to you, another believer - and God has no respect of persons, remember, see James chapter 2 - you seem not to have sufficient faith, faith as a mustard seed, to perform these miracle cures. Why not?

Christian: You don't understand.

Atheist: No, I don't. Your words do not cohere. You make claim after claim, and then you double back on those claims when you're called to stand on them and conduct yourself according to those claims.

Christian: No, that's what you're doing! Not me! I'm the one who's saved, remember?

Atheist: Well, salvation is not the central issue here. The central issue here is the Bible's promises and the ability of your alleged God to be able to own up to those promises.

Christian: God can do it! He is all-powerful.

Atheist: So you claim, but we still have yet to see this demonstrated. Jesus is recorded to have said that this all-powerful ability to keep promises could be demonstrated. You yourself even claim that your minister can perform miracle cures. Can he cure my astigmatism? Shall we give him a call? What's his number?

Christian: My minister is on vacation right now. I don't want to bother him.

Atheist: But wouldn't God want him to bring a new lamb into the fold? Wouldn't bothering your minister be justified by the gain your church stands to be rewarded even if your vacationing minister should be bothered by a phone call?

Christian: I don't know where he is. He's in Jamaica right now, on a cruise in the Mediterranean.

Atheist: Jamaica is in the Caribbean, not in the Mediterranean.

Christian: Oh, that's right.

Atheist: But that's besides the point. The point is, I still have yet to see any promise in the Bible fulfilled.

Christian: That is not my problem.

Atheist: Well, maybe it is, maybe it isn't. However, if you are one of God's chosen disciples or believers, and your duty to Christ is to help make believers out of men, then it may indeed fall on your shoulders to do all you can to convince me of the power of your faith. So far, you've only demonstrated that you will run from any opportunity by evading the promises purported to your faith.

Christian: You need to be saved!

Atheist: Your Bible says that "nothing shall be impossible to you."

Christian: That's right, and it's true. All things are possible to those who believe in God through Christ Jesus.

Atheist: But you say it's not possible to move a mountain by faith.

Christian: I didn't say that.

Atheist: Then you do say that it is possible to move a mountain by faith?

Christian: How did we get back onto this topic?

Atheist: You never resolved it, that's how.

Christian: Yes I did.

Atheist: What was that resolution?

Christian: You need to have faith.

Atheist: I need to have faith for you to move a mountain?

Christian: No, that's not what I said.

Atheist: Well, please clarify what you meant.

Christian: 'Mountain' does not mean hill or mound or mountain, it means a problem.

Atheist: Okay, then cure my astigmatism.

Christian: Your astigmatism is not my problem.

Atheist: Then the miracle-performing power of your faith cannot be used on persons other than yourself as a believer?

Christian: That's not what I said.

Atheist: No, that isn't. In fact, so far, what you've said does not make a lot of sense.

Christian: You don't make sense.

Atheist: Can your faith cure my astigmatism or not?

Christian: You need to have faith.

Atheist: Can your faith cure my astigmatism or not?

Christian: I said you need to have faith.

Atheist: You said you have faith. Your Bible says that there is nothing that will be impossible for you. But you evade and rationalize endlessly, and never stand by your man Jesus. Is that what your 'faith' is all about? Dishonesty?

Christian: This is getting ridiculous!

Atheist: That's the first thing you've said tonight that I agree with.

Christian: You need to be saved! There's no reasoning with you at all! A fool says in his heart there is no God!

Atheist: I guess that means we're not going to see a miracle today. That's quite disappointing. As I thought, another broken Bible promise.

[Both exit.]

Which one do you believe?