Do you find yourself questioning things more than you used too? I know I do.
As Christians, we’ve always been taught that we need to have the answers. Study to show thyself approved meant, you must have an answer for everything people come up with so you can prove your beliefs are right.
I remember having questions in the past, but I basically blew them off and buried them, thinking I was wrong to even think such things. As time went on, the questions kept popping up and I began to realize that questioning was not wrong.
I believe God accepts us, questions and all. I am hoping that one day I’ll have more answers, mostly for my own sake and not necessarily to defend my beliefs.
I think the modern-day church and religion in general do not like questions, at least not hard questions. Especially questions that make us wonder about the basic beliefs they teach. They like to have all the answers, and answers that fit into their particular belief and doctrine.
In his book ‘Dying to Religion and Empire: Giving up Our Religious Rites and Legal Rights’, Jeremy Myers makes a statement that is oh so true: “And as is the nature with questions, asking hard questions rarely leads to answers, but only to more questions”
I think God is much bigger than what the church makes of him sometimes. They try to fit everything into a box and don’t like people asking questions that require out-of-the-box thinking.
It seems to me the spirit within, the spirit of truth, brings up questions that the religious system taught us and we always just accepted. Now, rather than suppressing these questions, I have allowed them to surface and truly seek God for guidance.
On February 9, 2015, Mick Mooney posted an article on Facebook, part of which says: “But who has the faith to ask questions with the intention of seeking the answers to them? Who can let their foundation be not a doctrine or dogma that must be defended, but Christ himself who needs no defense? For it is those who have their foundation solely upon Christ, who can walk in their faith without fear of questions, but rather they walk in their faith knowing that God is lighting their path with questions, and it is these very questions that are paving the path that the Spirit of God is guiding them upon”.
If you are feeling guilty for having questions, I have found it best to stop feeling that way and keep asking the questions. That is the best way to continue growing and learning in our walk with God. Even when we don’t get the answers, we should continue to be asking and seeking the truth from our Father.
In religion, questions are so important. If one never questions, they never have true understanding; they have only someone else’s understanding.
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Hey Tim, so true. Of course when we were growing up in organized religion, questions weren’t really appreciated. I can’t count how many times I had a question pop up in my mind, but I felt guilty because of it, so ignored it. Questions are so important, God can handle them. If we don’t question, we just keep following what religion has told us all along, based on their doctrine or denomination. Thanks for the comment.
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This echoes much of what I’ve been thinking and feeling over the last ten years, and the best part is that my inability to answer (or find answers elsewhere) bothers me less and less.
Sadly, the answers we come up with, all too often place another course of bricks on the box we’re building. We often think of box building as trying to put God in a box, but of course, he is much too large for any box. What we fail to realize is the box is being built around us, closing off our ability to see beyond it to an even greater revelation of he who created the heavens and earth, he who humbled himself for our benefit, he who became our Sabbath rest and our holy days, he who is the great I Am.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Mike!
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So true Dan, the more we allow ourselves to ask questions and dwell on them, the more questions we come up with. I like your statement of how we build a box around ourselves. I’m not sure why we do that, but like you said, we try to box God in, yet we are actually boxing ourselves in. Either way, we end up separating ourselves, and that is not a good thing. Thanks for commenting.
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Great post my brother!
Here are a few questions of my own:
For such an important, essential topic as the end of the age and the world, why on earth or heaven or wherever is the Book of Revelation such a coded, encrypted book that no one can really make sense of? (yes I have all of the various interpretations, believe me it is a jumble).
Jesus spoke in parables to presumably hide the truth of what he was saying to the unbelieving Jews – yet I find the meaning of many of these parables are very much hidden to many of us. Why was this, why could He not just tell us plainly what was going on?
He came for such a short time, yet billion so innocent men, women and children have been slaughtered since he left, how does this advance His kingdom or anything good?
Are Paul’s (or Peters, or John’s words really god-breathed Scripture? Why have men essentially built a religion up around one man’s email to others who were mired in problems, weakness and ignorance?
Why do christians exalt Jews and Israel when Jesus Himself cast them off and focused on the heart, not the blood in a man?
Jesus must have clearly foreseen what men would do with His words and life, that hey would quickly make a religion out of Him – so why didn’t He stop it? Look at all the harm this has done to people, look at the blood pilled in His name since then.
If faith in Christ is the only way to Gods heart, then why did He leave such a important thing to mere men who have not taken Him to all the world, but rather their own brand of religion and doctrine?
How do we comprehend non-Christians who are so very good to the core, who show such moral courage, men like Gandhi and the Dalai Lama? Men who did more good in this world for so many than any denomination or church group. “Oh they are not believers so they are going to hell.”
Why a dragon in the garden? Why a curse on all the world? Why are innocent babies considered evil before they even walk or talk or think?
Why do men worship the Bible and yet dismiss the wise words of others teachers and sages and prophets among us? (The Buddha lived 500 years before Jesus but it is staggering how similar their message was in so many areas.
I am not asking for answers here (beleive me you dont have them anyway, I have searched these things out extensivly), just providing some of my own examples of what you are talking about my brother
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Thanks Wayne, I think we are both finding that as we allow ourselves to ask more questions, the questions become harder. I certainly don’t have many answers, and I don’t know where this will lead, but I know God is there and He loves us and will see us through. Thanks for commenting.
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As I walk further out of man made religion I find not only does the Lord expect me to ask questions, He also poses them to me so that I will search them out with Him. I find He delights in doing this because it deepens and enriches our relationship. An honest relationship can withstand honest questions.
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. Proverbs 25:2
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So true, God wants us to ask questions so he can lead us to the truth. Organized religion does not want us to question, but just accept what they say and follow them. Thanks for your comment.
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“As Christians, we’ve always been taught that we need to have the answers.” No.
“Study to show thyself approved meant, you must have an answer for everything people come up with so you can prove your beliefs are right.”
Nope.
“I believe God accepts us, questions and all.”
Absolutely.
“I think the modern-day church and religion in general do not like questions, at least not hard questions.”
Unfortunately, you’re right for a much larger segment of the church than we would like. But the number of people repeating a lie never makes it any less a lie. God isn’t afraid of questions, we shouldn’t be either.
“I think God is much bigger than what the church makes of him sometimes.”
Oh, I fully agree.
“If you are feeling guilty for having questions, I have found it best to stop feeling that way and keep asking the questions.”
I stand and applaud. Great post. My hat’s off to you.
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Thank you BJ, I appreciate the comments.
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