Argument: I fully believe there is never (a) enough intellectual ability in man using (b) enough information/evidence/arguments from science, history, or philosophy to (c) naturally cause someone to move from unbelief to belief in God, the Bible or Jesus as savior and Lord alone.

A well known atheist named Gotthold Lessing saw something of this in his "ugly broad ditch" problem. Lessing rightly saw that what God is asking us to truly believe in the Bible is beyond our ability to do if one is completely intellectually honest. Belief in God, the Bible and the gospel of Jesus Christ are such important, cosmic, transcendent, supernatural issues that A is never enough to cause B to happen. The ditch is just too broad to jump across - ever - by natural human mental ability and use of "enough" information/evidence. Great thinkers like Lessing could not do it nor could many others. This is where apologetics can never convert someone nor will an evangelistic conversation alone do so.

Therefore, though science, history, philosophy and arguments can assist in moving someone from unbelief to belief (since the sciences are ultimately granted by God as tools to understand Him and His world), what every human needs to successfully jump across the ugly, broad ditch is "the divine illumination of the Spirit" to move them from unbelief to genuine belief.

Humans absolutely need divine initiative or causation to truly believe. The Bible calls this regeneration; and it's fully a divine work of God. In regeneration, God, through the Holy Spirit, opens the eyes of our hearts and minds as a divine gift so that we can truly believe. Biblical support for this necessary truth includes: Jn. 3:1-8, 6:60-65, Rom. 8:1-11, 8:30, 1 Cor. 2:6-16, 2 Cor. 4:1-6, Eph. 2:1-10, Tit. 3:4-7.

In other words, True belief in supernatural truths needs supernatural causation to do so. Supernatural truths, by definition, are super--natural, which means above or beyond natural for man to believe in essence. In other words, God Himself is the only thing that has enough strength to get us to be able to successfully jump across the ugly, broad ditch.

Who gets this gift of divine illumination or regeneration? The Bible's answer is anyone whose heart and mind is open and willing enough to receive it through placing our faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation/illumination. To the person who is humbled enough to see that they need it, God is pleased to give it. Seth Stiles did place his faith in Jesus as savior and Lord. Seth Stiles has chosen to believe the Bible is what it says it is. But, the combination of my intellectual abilities and all the information/evidence/arguments in the world, are not, and would not, be enough to cause me to convert fully and truly by myself alone. Those things were helpful, but to fully jump across that ugly broad ditch, God had to do it for me. He regenerated me because I was open enough to receive it and I saw my need for it. Yet, even my "openness to receive it" was, ironically but logically, itself a work of God in me over time. Therefore, in the end, God gets all the glory for my belief in Him, the Bible and Jesus. Sola Deo Gloria!****