I saw the new movie Route 60, The Biblical Highway the first day it was released in theaters. As the synopsis on the web site indicates, this is much more than a travel documentary:
Carving through the heart of the Promised Land is the biblical spine of Israel, sometimes referred to as the Path of the Patriarchs and officially designated as Route 60. A highway of deep historical significance while often the scene of unrest and violence, this 146-mile road of asphalt and concrete begins in Nazareth, Israel’s largest Arab city, and ends in Beersheba, one of Israel’s high-tech centers. Running north to south, Route 60 connects ancient Israel with modern Israel, Jews and Christians with Muslims, and Israelis with Palestinians. This trek is far more than a two-lane highway; it is a historic, sacred link to the roots of Judaism and Christianity and the stories of the Old and New Testaments. Follow world-changing diplomats David Friedman and Mike Pompeo as they venture down this sacred road, treading the very ground Abraham, Jacob, King David, and Jesus once walked. Discover the history, witness the healing, and realize the hope along Route 60, the Biblical Highway.
Mike Pompeo was U.S. Secretary of State under President Trump, and David Friedman was ambassador to Israel and influential in the historic move of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Occasionally Pompeo, a Christian, and Friedman, who is Jewish, venture into U.S. politics and express concern that we are drifting away from the “Judeo-Christian” roots of our nation.
READ MORE from Granville Sewell: Evolution — More Certain Than Gravity?)
As they follow along Route 60, Pompeo and Friedman follow the journey of the Jewish people in their search for God. But as we look at the history of Israel’s gift of monotheism to the world, and the history of religion in general, many of us wonder: why do we have to search for God? Religion is often a frustrating and confusing road because there are so many differing views, and we can never be certain of our conclusions. So, it is easy to understand why so many have wandered off this road and given up the search for God, looking to science — or worse, politics — instead for answers to the ultimate questions.
Plaque of the American embassy in Jerusalem in 2022 (Granville Sewell/The American Spectator)
But this is where it is so important to know that, contrary to the narrative promoted by so many in the popular media, science is not close to explaining how we got here without design and is in fact starting to point back to God, starting to recognize what has long been obvious to the layman. Stephen Meyer’s 2021 best seller Return of the God Hypothesis: Three Scientific Discoveries that Reveal the Mind Behind the Universe is a good place to start if you want to see the scientific evidence. Among the long list of formal endorsements of this book by distinguished scientists is one by physics Nobel prize winner Brian Josephson, who writes, “This book makes it clear that far from being an unscientific claim, intelligent design is valid science.” And continue here if you want to see a short video summary of the evidence for design in the universe. (READ MORE: Science Uprising)
Intelligent design cannot tell us if the Jewish or Christian or Muslim view of God is correct and Pompeo and Friedman do not debate their differences, they only emphasize the common ground shared by these “Abrahamic” faiths. But it does tell us that however tempting it may be to give up the search for God, there are no answers to the ultimate questions without Him. So keep searching, and Route 60 might even convince you that the ancient Jews were on the right road and that our early leaders were wise to found the new nation on Judeo-Christian values.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
We are indebted to the Jewish and Christian writers of the Bible for these truths, expressed in our Declaration of Independence. They were certainly not self-evident to other cultures of that time.
Granville Sewell is a recently retired professor of mathematics at the University of Texas El Paso. He is author of four mathematics books, and the Discovery Institute Press book In the Beginning and Other Essays on Intelligent Design.
