Saturday, December 22, 2012

101 Questions for Christians (Can YOU reply to these?)

I don’t think these questions should be unfamiliar to Christians. The answers and conversations surrounding these questions should be common amongst both new believers and mature believers, and both adult converts and those who grew up in Christian homes.

You might like to share these questions at a study group. Also, if any of the questions presents you with particular difficulty in answering then I urge you to start a conversation with other Christians about that question, and seek the answers together.

If you are not a Christian, but have Christian friends, you might like to challenge them to reply to  some of these!

Additional: These questions are not in any particular order and are not meant to make up a Catechism or curriculum.  They are merely written off the top of my head as a creative exercise.  There is no reason, other than for readability/reference-ability, why I have written every tenth entry in bold.

  1. Why do you believe that God exists?
  2. Why do you believe that the God of the bible is this God?
  3. Why do you believe there is only one God?
  4. Why do you believe that the bible is true and trustworthy?
  5. Why would God make such a terrible world with disease and pain?
  6. Why should anyone follow a God who lets bad things happen to good people?
  7. Why should someone who is basically a good person be punished in hell for not believing in your God?
  8. Why is it important to believe in the Trinity?
  9. What is the meaning of life?
  10. What if it doesn't make me happy to follow God?
  11. How come there are so many denominations?
  12. How do we know that we can trust the bible when there are so many different interpretations?
  13. What about Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc?
  14. There is no absolute truth! (Isn't there?)
  15. What causes division in the church?
  16. Is division in the church ever a good thing? Why?
  17. Have the gifts of the Spirit ceased?
  18. What was the biblical form for the gifts? (What did they look like in practice?)
  19. Do Christians have to give 10%?
  20. What about “prosperity preaching” - doesn't this prove Christianity is a scam to make money?
  21. Are all homosexuals going to hell? 
  22. Hell is going to be better than heaven! (Isn't it?)
  23. Do babies and children that die go to heaven? 
  24. What about people who never get the chance to hear the gospel - do they go to hell? (This doesn’t seem fair)
  25. What is the gospel?
  26. How does the gospel save people?
  27. Does this mean everyone will eventually be saved?
  28. Why eternal punishment? (and not just a short time)
  29. What does it mean to be born again?
  30. How does a person become born again?
  31. How should we read the bible?
  32. What is a study bible?
  33. What is a bible commentary?
  34. How does a Christian “hear” from God?
  35. Why pray if God already knows what we will pray?
  36. What is worship?
  37. What is discipleship?
  38. What is the difference between general and special revelation?
  39. Does God know what I'm thinking? Explain
  40. What is a miracle?
  41. What is God’s purpose in miracles?
  42. Can miracles be from the devil?
  43. Can we make God bring a miracle by praying hard enough?
  44. What does it mean to be holy and how does this apply to us and to God?
  45. Do miracles depend upon our purity and sinlessness?
  46. Do blessings depend upon whether we are sinful? (or have sinned)
  47. Can we be perfect in this life (completely free from sin)?
  48. How were people saved in the Old Testament?
  49. What qualities should Christian leaders possess?
  50. Why are there different versions of the bible?
  51. What is the best version of the bible for me? (and why)
  52. What is the difference between the Old and New Testaments?
  53. Are the books of the bible in chronological order? Explain
  54. What does the future hold? 
  55. When do/did the “last days” begin?
  56. What is God’s purpose in the suffering of his people?
  57. What is the purpose of hell?
  58. Who goes to hell?
  59. What will hell be like?
  60. What is the purpose of heaven?
  61. Who goes to heaven?
  62. What will heaven be like?
  63. Is there any place other than heaven or hell where people might go when they die?
  64. Do animals go to heaven?
  65. What is the difference between Roman Catholicism and Protestant Christianity?
  66. Why is Roman Catholicism wrong?
  67. What was The Reformation?
  68. What is the best way to know error or untruth when you see it?
  69. What should you do if you find out you are wrong?
  70. How do people identify their gifts from God?
  71. How do they use their gifts from God?
  72. What is the best form of church governance?
  73. What is the difference between a biblical pastor and a biblical teacher?
  74. Can we know for certain that we are saved?
  75. How do we reach assurance?
  76. Can we say if someone else is saved or not? Explain
  77. Can we lose salvation having once had it? Explain
  78. What does it mean that God is sovereign?
  79. Do we have free will? Explain
  80. If we don't have free will, does that make us robots? Explain
  81. If we do have free will, does our decision to follow Jesus mean we are smarter than those who choose not to? Explain
  82. Why is it important to have assurance of salvation as a Christian?
  83. What is discipleship?
  84. When is Jesus coming back?
  85. What should help Christians to get through hard times?
  86. What does it mean to worship in spirit and in truth?
  87. What does Israel have to do with Christianity (both past and present Israel)?
  88. Why did they sacrifice animals in Israel in the Old Testament?
  89. Why has the sacrifice of animals ended and will never be needed again?
  90. What does it mean to glorify God?
  91. How should marriage glorify God?
  92. What does it mean to be made in the image of God?
  93. How does ‘being made in the image of God’ inform our stance on abortion, war, and euthanasia?
  94. Can we earn our salvation? (Why/why not?)
  95. What is the fall?
  96. How does the fall explain so much of the imperfect world we live in?
  97. How does creation demonstrate the existence of a Creator?
  98. How does creation show the glory of the Creator?
  99. Should we read all of the bible literally? Explain
  100. How should Christians seek to make converts? (Methods, attitudes towards God, attitudes towards men)
  101. How do we examine ourselves to see whether we are Christians or not?

Get talking!