Here are just some of the questions I’ve asked myself along the way.
Why does God need to be so hidden? (link)
Why is God so dependent on our belief in Him?
Why does there need to be shedding of blood in order for there to be forgiveness?
Why did God send Christ only to a small group of people?
If the Bible is a perfect holy book, why was it only given to a small group of people?
Why did God order so much murder in the Old Testament? (Remember how much was involved in securing the promised land.)
Why did God order the killing of people for very small crimes in the Old Testament? (ex. for a disrespectful child, for picking up sticks on the Sabbath?)
If the Bible is a perfect holy book, why did it take 300+ years, negotiating, and voting in order to put the New Testament together?
Why would God expect us to believe stories like Noah’s ark, a man in a fish’s belly, etc.
As parents we try to make the punishment fit the crime and we do it in order to teach our child. Why would God create an everlasting punishment of hell which outlasts any possible crime and has no teaching value or purpose?
If God really sends people to hell is it moral to align ourselves with such a god?
Why would God leave the spreading of his message to sinful people? If it’s so important shouldn’t he have found a better way to communicate?
Why did God allow suffering? (Remember he could have created any possible world.)
Why does God hold people responsible for sinning when he created them with the ability to sin? Isn’t that his mistake not ours?
If prayer worked, wouldn’t it be obvious? (link)
If we need God to be moral, why are nonbelievers just as moral as Christians?
Isn’t it MORE moral to do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do, not because you’ll be rewarded or punished?
Which is more likely, that miracles happened or that people wanted miracles to happen?
Why do we easily dismiss absurdities in other religions but bend over backwards to have them make sense in our own religion?
Why are Christians so sure they know the only way to God when they know so little about other religions?
Why are Christians not afraid of the Muslim god? (and vice versa)
If the existence of the Christian god is obvious, why do we have to constantly drill it into our children? Shouldn’t they automatically believe in his existence?
If everything needs a creator, then why can God exist without a creator? If he can exist without a creator then couldn’t we as well?
Who says there was ever ‘nothing’ and therefore this world had to be created? Maybe ‘something’ always existed.
If God is all-powerful why does he get all the credit when something good happens but none of the blame when something bad happens?
Is life really meaningless if there is no god? Why is meaning that comes from outside of ourselves better than meaning that we create on our own?
I don’t need to go into where we stand on questions of faith and spirituaity, but I am excited for this next part of your journey. To blindly accept a system of habit without testing or questioning is religion, and we too don’t want any part of it. It is one area where the Christian church has failed and that is to ask the hard questions.
Something that may add to your journey is a listen through a series that asks many of the questions posted above. Back in 2007, a tough series called “The God Debate”, and later in 2009 a series called “Duped!” wrestle with some of the content above. If you go to the website http://www.themeetinghouse.ca and click on the Teaching tab, you can listen/watch them there…just scroll down ’til you see the series I mentioned.
I trust you guys do not take even the suggestion to check these out as a way of trying to convince you of anything, but rather to add to the questions and the journey that we all need to make daily!
Blessings
Thanks for your comments Jeff! I edited out some of your post since it had personal info – but left all the relevant info.
I appreciate the link and I am happy to post if for anyone else who is searching and would find it helpful. In my two year journey I did more reading, watching, and listening than you can imagine. I did watch some of the Meeting House stuff online at the time and I respect the way they approach the tough issues. I don’t know that I feel like going back and rehashing all that right now. I’ve sort of been there, done that and came to my own conclusions about those questions I posted.
I really appreciate your response and am glad that you see the value in questioning and dealing with the hard issues.
All the best to you and your family!
I’ve been wondering if there will still be free-will in heaven? If so, will there be another rebellion? And another?
Here’s a great article on the topic of heaven that I’ve linked to before. I’d love to get your thoughts on it.
http://www.ebonmusings.org/atheism/pearlygates.html
Here’s the link to one of my posts on it if you want to discuss it there:
http://leftchristianity.com/2012/03/07/reposting-those-old-pearly-gates-the-doctrine-of-heaven/
Why do you agree with God’s 10 Commandments? You don’t like liars, thieves and adulterers and yet you have lied, stolen and looked with lustful eyes. “You hypocrites how shall you escape the damnation of hell?” – Jesus.
Why do you think you will get a different answer than the man that was sent to hell in Luke 16? God is no respector or persons. You will get the very same answer!
“If you don’t listen to the prophets (Isaiah)” – isaiah666.com