The Questions They Say Christians Can't Answer

Date Posted: 2014-05-29 16:07:15
Viewed: 4
The Questions they say Christians can't Answer


Hello and good evening from Scotland. Apologies to those we know for our absense in recent weeks, we've been so busy with our two new babies, work and church work however I'm sure most of you know how busy things can be at times.

I'm sure most of you will have seen or encountered individuals who challenge us with difficult questions either as a genuine query about our faith or, just seeking to take a pop at us for what we believe. This is common and okay if your experienced and well versed however, if you're young in the faith, this can be tremendously challenging indeed. As a former youth Pastor, I certainly found that the youth faced a tremedously tough peer group and my aim was never to arm them with answers so they could just prove wrong and walk away victorious, but rather know the truth well so they might respond confidently and lovingly. So, what questions have you encountered about God which you'd say a young Christian would struggle to answer? Please feel free to post the question and the answers of you wish, I look forward to the fellowship
 
Date Posted: 2014-05-29 16:07:15
Viewed: 4
The Questions they say Christians can't Answer


Hello and good evening from Scotland. Apologies to those we know for our absense in recent weeks, we've been so busy with our two new babies, work and church work however I'm sure most of you know how busy things can be at times.

I'm sure most of you will have seen or encountered individuals who challenge us with difficult questions either as a genuine query about our faith or, just seeking to take a pop at us for what we believe. This is common and okay if your experienced and well versed however, if you're young in the faith, this can be tremendously challenging indeed. As a former youth Pastor, I certainly found that the youth faced a tremedously tough peer group and my aim was never to arm them with answers so they could just prove wrong and walk away victorious, but rather know the truth well so they might respond confidently and lovingly. So, what questions have you encountered about God which you'd say a young Christian would struggle to answer? Please feel free to post the question and the answers of you wish, I look forward to the fellowship

What a great post. I am a newer believer and a question I get from my atheist friend is 'why are there so many religions' and 'why is the Bible the and Christianity the right religion and not Judaism or Islam or Hinduism etc.' He believes that we are just a product of our environment i.e. if you are born in a Muslim nation, you will more than likely be Muslim or a Christian nation you will more than likely be Christian and so on.

I hope that wasn't too much to start with.

My response to him regarding why there are so many religions was basically that there have been many false religions and idols since the beginning of man. This is to be expected because of our corruptible nature after the fall. There are those who chose to believe in the God of the Bible and there are those to choose to believe in false gods and idols. Please feel free to add to this or correct me if I'm off. I look forward to your and others responses.
 
How about this one:

Mr. Red - That's not irony, it's you thinking that me pointing out the evil in the bible is me being evil, so really you're a devil for being a sheep to an evil book.

Mr Blue - But you didn't point out any evil in the bible. You just made an empty statement.

Mr Red -
Didn't think I needed to.

Psalms 137:9
"How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones against the rock,"

Exodus 21:20
"When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod so hard that the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his own property."

Deuteronomy 22:23
"If within the city a man comes upon a maiden who is betrothed, and has relations with her, you shall bring them both out of the gate of the city and there stone them to death: the girl because she did not cry out for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbors wife."

Ephesians 6:5
"Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ."

There u go
 
What a great post. I am a newer believer and a question I get from my atheist friend is 'why are there so many religions' and 'why is the Bible the and Christianity the right religion and not Judaism or Islam or Hinduism etc.' He believes that we are just a product of our environment i.e. if you are born in a Muslim nation, you will more than likely be Muslim or a Christian nation you will more than likely be Christian and so on.

I hope that wasn't too much to start with.

My response to him regarding why there are so many religions was basically that there have been many false religions and idols since the beginning of man. This is to be expected because of our corruptible nature after the fall. There are those who chose to believe in the God of the Bible and there are those to choose to believe in false gods and idols. Please feel free to add to this or correct me if I'm off. I look forward to your and others responses.

I think that all the religions of the world is proof that there is a deep desire to worship a god what we feel is in control. Atheists think that they don't worship anything, but that is very clearly incorrect, or at least from a biblical standpoint. Atheists worship worldly things and themselves with more vigor than most Christians worship Christ.

As for why I believe that Christianity is the correct religion, it mainly has to do with the New Testament as well as people's response to Jesus being discussed. The New Testament, and really the whole Bible, is amazing. If we think about all of the manuscripts we've found and how many times it was copied and by how many people, it is really shocking that they all agree with each other. Although some people think the same can be said of other holy books, it really can't. The New Testament was spread around everywhere and lots of people copied it. I also think that some the different accounts in the Gospels is a good reason to say that they are writing about true events. We have the same thing even in American History. We have slightly different accounts of the same event because everyone places importance on different events or points.

As for people's reaction to Christ. They absolutely hate Him. It's amazing the amount of time believers in other religions and atheists spend hating on something that they think is absolutely false. Why go to every Christian book on Goodreads and rate it with one star? Why use up all that time? Because even the name Jesus invokes strong feelings in people. I don't think that would be the case if there wasn't truth in it. I don't feel anything when I think of Allah or any other religious figure and neither does anyone I know, but talk about Christ and you can see a change in them immediately.
 
I think that all the religions of the world is proof that there is a deep desire to worship a god what we feel is in control. Atheists think that they don't worship anything, but that is very clearly incorrect, or at least from a biblical standpoint. Atheists worship worldly things and themselves with more vigor than most Christians worship Christ.

As for why I believe that Christianity is the correct religion, it mainly has to do with the New Testament as well as people's response to Jesus being discussed. The New Testament, and really the whole Bible, is amazing. If we think about all of the manuscripts we've found and how many times it was copied and by how many people, it is really shocking that they all agree with each other. Although some people think the same can be said of other holy books, it really can't. The New Testament was spread around everywhere and lots of people copied it. I also think that some the different accounts in the Gospels is a good reason to say that they are writing about true events. We have the same thing even in American History. We have slightly different accounts of the same event because everyone places importance on different events or points.

As for people's reaction to Christ. They absolutely hate Him. It's amazing the amount of time believers in other religions and atheists spend hating on something that they think is absolutely false. Why go to every Christian book on Goodreads and rate it with one star? Why use up all that time? Because even the name Jesus invokes strong feelings in people. I don't think that would be the case if there wasn't truth in it. I don't feel anything when I think of Allah or any other religious figure and neither does anyone I know, but talk about Christ and you can see a change in them immediately.
VGP HT :)
 
What does VGP mean? :confused:

Here's another one; most of the wars have to do with religion, thus, religion is evil.
I have heard that one as well. Just because evil comes from something doesn't make that something evil. I don't believe war is evil, really. God made His people prosper in the OT through war. Without it why might have died off. That being said, I feel there aren't many wars fought today in the name of our God. It's all politics today, and I do believe that war fought for greed is evil.
 
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I am a newer believer and a question I get from my atheist friend is 'why are there so many religions' ...

Just because there are an infinite number of wrong answers to 1+1, doesn't mean there is no right answer.

That there are many religions actually works against the atheist because it shows that man is naturally a worshiping being. (It's the 'God-shaped void' in humanity that we seek to fill.) Virtually all cultures worship someone or something. Even atheists worship when they put man on a pedestal (such as Kim Jong-un, for an extreme example). If we don't worship the God of the Bible, we'll worship something else - even ourselves. Evolution can't explain why we have this urge - it doesn't serve any benefit in a purely materialistic universe.

...and 'why is the Bible the and Christianity the right religion and not Judaism or Islam or Hinduism etc.'

The Bible can be demonstrated to be true through investigation of fulfilled prophecy (including details about the return of the nation of Israel in the last days), and through trust in and obedience to God (He fulfills His promises even today to those who trust Him, and He answers prayer). We don't have a blind faith, but a faith that sees what the non-believer himself is blind to. But it's difficult to explain why we believe to those who don't believe, just as it's difficult to explain the color 'red' to someone born blind.

He believes that we are just a product of our environment i.e. if you are born in a Muslim nation, you will more than likely be Muslim or a Christian nation you will more than likely be Christian and so on.

What you believe, or the environmental influences of what you are likely to believe, has nothing to do with its truth or falsehood. The question is not really about which religion is right, but which God is real. As Christians, we're supposed to be promoting Christ, not our religion.

Because God is real, He sometimes reveals Himself directly to people in non-Christian countries. I have heard many testimonies of former Muslims who came to Christ through visions of Christ apart from any Christian's influence. A false god cannot reveal himself in this way.
 
The most common questions I hear in opposition to Christianity are:

1) You claim that because you don't understand X, Y, and Z, that means God exists. Is that an argument to ignorance?
2) If God is loving, why are there so many passages in the Bible where God commanded violence?
3) I accept that Jesus existed, but even if I were to grant you that an omnipotent God exists, how do we know Jesus is God in the flesh?
4) How can you claim the Bible is infallible if man is fallible and also wrote it? If we claim because it's inspired by God, isn't that a circular argument?

However, each one of these questions not only CAN be answered but have been answered for centuries, from St. Augustine to St. Justin Martyr to many other great theologians. And the answers continue to be re-worded for today's layman.
 
What a great post. I am a newer believer and a question I get from my atheist friend is 'why are there so many religions' and 'why is the Bible the and Christianity the right religion and not Judaism or Islam or Hinduism etc.' He believes that we are just a product of our environment i.e. if you are born in a Muslim nation, you will more than likely be Muslim or a Christian nation you will more than likely be Christian and so on.

I hope that wasn't too much to start with.

My response to him regarding why there are so many religions was basically that there have been many false religions and idols since the beginning of man. This is to be expected because of our corruptible nature after the fall. There are those who chose to believe in the God of the Bible and there are those to choose to believe in false gods and idols. Please feel free to add to this or correct me if I'm off. I look forward to your and others responses.

Hello Brian, I hope you are well and thanks for taking the time to comment. Yes I agree that's a common question in itself and I'd agree with your answer so I'll be adding it to my list of you don't mind? The second part of your response is actually another common questions which is actually quite educated on your friend's part because there is an element of truth to what he saying. That's long been a beief I've held during my years of Pastoring, not of everyone I must make clear but for some this is a reality so we have a common doctrine in our assembly where we encourage youth when they really come of age, especially those who have lived in a Christian household, to seek God on a deeper level for themselves, to really get their own personal relationship with Jesus clear. And, it's great to see them connect with God and really experience him for themselves let me tell you!!!

Like I said there's an element of truth in what he's saying and your response is really good, could I encourage you in your own faith though? '.....product of our environment....". This is true to a degree however what the news tends not to report is that there are Christians all over the world in environments which are completely anti-christian worshipping God in secret. Take North Korea for example, the most oppressive nation on earth and there are Christians there who aren't a product of their environment not to mention Pakistan, Syria, Israel, just about anywhere where there are Christians who have accepted Jesus Christ....just some thoughts.

Thanks again and God bless for such a friendly post....
 
Here's another one; most of the wars have to do with religion, thus, religion is evil.

Another very common question and one which I've answered on our own Blog. I've heard that one a few times sometimes from quite aggressive individuals but as always there's an element of truth to it, some wars have been over religion however, it's only one reason of many as to why wars happen, others include politics, land and wealth, oppression, they can be tribal the list goes on. Religious wars tend to be fought by extremists of a particular religion and sadly even we get tarred by the same brush even though good Christians follow the teachings of Jesus Christ......
 
The most common questions I hear in opposition to Christianity are:

1) You claim that because you don't understand X, Y, and Z, that means God exists. Is that an argument to ignorance?
2) If God is loving, why are there so many passages in the Bible where God commanded violence?
3) I accept that Jesus existed, but even if I were to grant you that an omnipotent God exists, how do we know Jesus is God in the flesh?
4) How can you claim the Bible is infallible if man is fallible and also wrote it? If we claim because it's inspired by God, isn't that a circular argument?

However, each one of these questions not only CAN be answered but have been answered for centuries, from St. Augustine to St. Justin Martyr to many other great theologians. And the answers continue to be re-worded for today's layman.

Hello and thanks for that, would you mind if I noted those down and used them for our website? Blessings and thanks for taking the time.....getting some good questions here....
 
Hello and thanks for that, would you mind if I noted those down and used them for our website? Blessings and thanks for taking the time.....getting some good questions here....

Haha, I don't own these questions -- they are yours for the pickins.

These might be my favorite questions when confronting Christianity because they are, I think, good questions and questions every Christian should learn to answer.

And you are more than welcome.
 
How about this one:

Mr. Red - That's not irony, it's you thinking that me pointing out the evil in the bible is me being evil, so really you're a devil for being a sheep to an evil book.

Mr Blue - But you didn't point out any evil in the bible. You just made an empty statement.

Mr Red -
Didn't think I needed to.

Psalms 137:9
"How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones against the rock,"

Exodus 21:20
"When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod so hard that the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his own property."

Deuteronomy 22:23
"If within the city a man comes upon a maiden who is betrothed, and has relations with her, you shall bring them both out of the gate of the city and there stone them to death: the girl because she did not cry out for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbors wife."

Ephesians 6:5
"Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ."

There u go
Very good where..lets see how he does...I had to ask the Lord himself about the appearance of this issue in the New Testament...but I would guess our good brother Steven has a really good answer also.
 
Very good where..lets see how he does...I had to ask the Lord himself about the appearance of this issue in the New Testament...but I would guess our good brother Steven has a really good answer also.

Hello Mitspa and really good to hear from you. I've been absent from CFS for a couple of months due to family and church and I remember enjoying some great fellowship with you in the past, I'll maybe answer this one as part of my next post to see what you think of the answers. Nice to hear from you....
 
How about this one:

Mr. Red - That's not irony, it's you thinking that me pointing out the evil in the bible is me being evil, so really you're a devil for being a sheep to an evil book.

Mr Blue - But you didn't point out any evil in the bible. You just made an empty statement.

Mr Red -
Didn't think I needed to.

Psalms 137:9
"How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones against the rock,"

Exodus 21:20
"When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod so hard that the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his own property."

Deuteronomy 22:23
"If within the city a man comes upon a maiden who is betrothed, and has relations with her, you shall bring them both out of the gate of the city and there stone them to death: the girl because she did not cry out for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbors wife."

Ephesians 6:5
"Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ."

There u go


Hello and thanks for commenting. This question I've noticed ranks very highly on the questions they believe Christians can't answer so absolutely, great comments. As I said to Mitspa I'll maybe answer this one as part of my next post here on CFS to see what you think?
 
I have another; if there are other gospels such as the gospel of Mary, Judas and Thomas, and the gospels were to be inspired by God, how come they did not become canon? What about other books like the book of Enoch?
 
In Matthew 5:34, Jesus says to not swear an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is God's throne. James 5:12 also says not to swear an oath. Not by heaven, or earth, or anything else. Simply let your 'yes' be 'yes', and your 'no' be 'no'.

What are Christians to do when they are called to be a witness in a court of law? The bailiff will ask if you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth (and sometimes add "so help you God").

I've often wondered what would happen if I were to say, "No. The God on whom you want me to swear says not to do it. I will not swear, but I will let my yes be yes, and my no be no"
 
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