How I Found Value in the Bible

A personal search for truth and stability leads from skepticism and cultural confusion to discovering the Bible as a trustworthy guide.

By Trevor Buchanan

Read Time: 5 minutes

If someone told me five years ago that I would be writing an article with this title, I would have called them crazy.

Apart from a handful of Sunday School attendances and prayers by relatives during holiday meals, I never had much exposure to religion in my life. Frankly, I did not even (seriously) begin reading the Bible until just before my 26th birthday. Especially with a full course load in university, I was generally reluctant to read anything not directly required by my Engineering curriculum, let alone the Bible. Despite this, I could always tell there was something increasingly odd both on and off campus from social and political standpoints. In university, radical social and political ideas were increasingly popular on campus, and anyone who disagreed with “mainstream ideas” was quickly dismissed as a bigot. I found many of these ideas rather ridiculous, and I was indirectly somewhat guilt-tripped for believing things as straightforward as basic biological facts. With that said, I largely still criticized religion from afar at that point and never thought much about it having something to offer.

Upon graduating in 2020, I began investigating the many political and social ideas I felt were becoming increasingly commonplace as I entered the workforce. Briefly put, I wanted a source of sanity and understanding in a world full of confusion, with the mounting pandemic, doubts about its legitimacy, and widespread social uncertainty. For those reasons, I began my search in the self-help, philosophical, and historical sections of bookstores. After three years, I built up a reading list of about 30 books complemented by podcasts that, though they seemed perfectly reasonable to me, were still considered “controversial” at the time. Despite some progress in understanding the various issues that bothered me, I was still not fully satisfied, especially on the political front. Any time I felt I was getting closer to building confidence in a political candidate or party, there was an equally appalling article or story that would put me right back where I started. My search for anything or anyone I could genuinely trust and “put my faith in” became an exhausting, never-ending exercise that yielded no results.

After that approximate three-year period, I got the opportunity to move to Chicago in the summer of 2023, and this is when things really took a turn for me. As a going-away gift, my grandmother gave me a copy of the Bible. Since the many podcasters, authors, and political commentators I had been listening to for the better part of three years had often spoken to or criticized the Bible in some way, I was very curious to read it for myself and form my own opinion. So, that is what I did! It was a perfectly timed gift, and I simply began reading it cover to cover from Genesis to Revelation. Very soon, I could not get enough. The dense wisdom and advice the Bible offered, especially the Proverbs, was unlike any of the other 30 books I had read. Soon enough, nearly all my work commutes were accompanied by a podcast or radio show that directly addressed content from the Bible. By the time the holiday break hit six months later, I had come home with a four-page summary of a lecture series posted on the Book Road Christadelphian website. I presented it to my great-uncle, a baptized Christadelphian and lecturer on that same series. Somewhat surprised to receive a lecture summary with his (and my) name at the top, I found that the entirety of our dinner conversation was dominated by political and biblical topics. From that point on, we began the “Learn to Read the Bible Effectively” (LTRBE) series remotely while I was still living in the United States.

Although I was excited to begin studying the Bible in a more structured way, my study was interrupted by numerous other trials that came with my time in Chicago. Between a demanding job, two vehicle thefts, a brutal robbery, identity theft, fraudulent loan attempts made in my name, and the passing of my father, it is safe to say my 14 months in Chicago were not all I had hoped for. In parallel with all of this, I was still running ultramarathons, struggling with my own bad habits on weekends, and trying to take the two-or-more-hour calls with my uncle for the LTRBE seminar. Life was very stressful. Finally, I lost my job and therefore returned home in September of 2024. Chicago was not meant to be, and I was relieved to come home.

Upon returning home to Canada, I took some much-needed vacation time and addressed as much as I could on the home front to adjust to the loss in our family. Once the dust settled on those matters, my uncle and I resumed our regular Bible study during the four months I had between jobs. Frankly, he was incredibly generous with his time, and we averaged two to three hours a day for a consistent four-month period. Not many people, who despite being on an all-inclusive vacation, will insist on leaving the beach in the middle of their day to get a usable WiFi signal to take a FaceTime call and discuss the Bible. My uncle did exactly that, and I am grateful for it.

As the LTRBE series progressed, I became even more fascinated by the Bible. On the surface, any given story or narrative offers a handful of moral lessons that anyone can benefit from. Beneath that, the Bible has so many other layers of sign, symbol, prophecy, etc., all linked together in such a way that consistently left an impact on me. I was quickly convinced of how people can dedicate their lives to studying such a book, and that all the thirty-plus books I had been reading were successful because they elaborated on a principle already found in the Bible. Most of all, though, the lessons each made sense and offered the refreshing feeling of relief that no other search through politics or social sciences could offer.

In addition to Bible study, there is another major component I must mention: the value of a welcoming ecclesia. To the reader, ecclesia is the Greek word not just for church but also for the entire body of believers in it. It is not just the building itself, but the community as a whole. I cannot stress enough how refreshing it was to walk into a building full of people who share the same worldview and want nothing more than to learn your name and offer you something to eat. Admittedly, I was somewhat nervous about walking into a building full of (mostly) strangers. However, those nerves were quickly put at ease after the multiple handshakes, hugs, and enthusiastic attitudes of everyone there. I was immediately welcomed and encouraged by everyone.

What I hope and intend for people to take away from my story is that there is truly something for everyone in the Christadelphian community.

To the atheist: What do you have to lose by studying the Bible? At the least, studying the Bible as diligently as you would any other text will arm you with the knowledge of how others think. As a previous atheist myself, I now believe there is still a large degree of faith involved, which ironically, is a major impediment to pursuing religion for many in the first place. For example, consider taking the Big Bang Theory to its bedrock, where even the scientists who developed that theory acknowledge the math they use to get there fails when you attempt to describe what happens before the singularity. Simply put, you cannot have an infinite mass created from nothing. How I dissected my atheistic views would be an article or lecture all on its own, and most of all, I would encourage everyone to read the Bible, whether you end up being baptized or not.

To the young people in Christadelphia: I have spoken to many of you who feel disconnected or sheltered from the world because of your upbringing—using phrases like “I feel like I grew up in a bubble.” Let me try to reassure you: I grew up outside of that “bubble” and please, if you are ever wavering, talk to someone in the ecclesia you trust and take everything in prayer. The focus on a life in Christadelphia is such a wholesome, rewarding thing, and any time you think the world has something better to offer, this former lost sheep can assure you I am happy to be back with the ninety-nine.

To the lifelong, baptized Christadelphian: for the same reasons I warn young people, I commend and thank you. Your productive, generous, charitable efforts that extend into the ecclesia and broader community are fruits I am grateful to enjoy. I am excited to continue learning, thankful to the community, and, of course, grateful to God for all that I am blessed with. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

So, between the help of a willing teacher (Matthew 10:5-8), relief in finding a source of truth (John 8:32), and the sense of community to be found (Ephesians 5:25-33), my decision to get baptized soon became the easiest and best decision I have made. Since my baptism, opportunities have only kept opening. There is no shortage of things to get involved in, ways to contribute, work to be done, and people to meet! I am learning a lot, excited to continue learning, and grateful to God for what has truly changed my life for the better.

That, dear reader, is how I found value in the Bible!

Trevor Buchanan,
Book Road Ecclesia, ON