Questions

I admit that I find myself questioning things more often than just accepting them right away. It is not that I am cynical, I just like to understand and investigate things before subscribing to them. I think that a lot of people in my generation are the exact same way. Here's the thing, with the amount of information available to us in this present age, we often discover that there is more to the story that what we have been told.

Maybe this is simply a result of getting older. As we get older, things make more sense to us and our worldview expands. We start to question media reports or commercial claims. We begin to seek out the background to the historical narratives that we are all familiar with. With all of the information and lines of communication out there, it is nearly impossible to be naive unless you really want to. And if you choose naivety, then you are choosing to live in a fabricated world that you can design with your own preconceived notions and predispositions.

Our approach to our faith works the same way. Many people would tell you that it is not safe to question parts of your faith. To some degree they are correct. If you cannot agree with the Nicene Creed and the Apostles' Creed, then it is hard to see how you could be considered a Christian. Don't question those kinds of things. Don't question your faith, but ask questions about your faith. It is good to ask questions about the elements of our faith and about the Bible. Our faith is rich, deep, and complex, and it deserves that attention.

Maybe your question deals with doctrine or church practices. For example, maybe you ask why people attend church rather than worship by themselves. Well, first ask yourself if your concern is not just sleeping in on Sunday. Then, go to the sources and read the Bible. Read about how the people of God have always been a community. Read about the gatherings in Acts or the temple worship in Leviticus. Then consider the benefits of attending a church and belonging to a community where you edify others and others edify you. Consider the benefit of learning about God in the midst of other people, sharing what you learned and listening to them. Remember also to ask God if attending church is what He wants or not. It is not wrong to ask the question, but it is wrong to not to seek and be open to the answer.

It is also not wrong to ask questions about the Bible. The Bible is not something that anyone ever completely understands. Passages in the Bible are often complex and have important contexts. Consider the story of Noah. Growing up the story is all about animals, rain, and a big boat. Upon further review it is a story of the judgment of God, the faithfulness of God to his promises to Adam, and to God's mercy and provision. Sadly, it is also a story of man's moral failings despite having seen God's mercy and power. The Bible that God gave to us to read requires investigation and attention. If we do not ask questions and seek answers, we have made ourselves interpreters who cannot speak the language that we are trying to interpret.

Here's the thing, our faith is something that takes humility, work, and petition. This is why people of my generation appreciate people who are not afraid to speak and write about the complexities of our faith. People appreciate people like Donald Miller or Margaret Feinberg because they come across as real people working through their faith like the rest of us. They don't try to act as if they are all-knowing or all-holy. They struggle, think, and live. The truth is that everyone appreciates the truth. If a passage in the Bible is complicated, tell me about it anyway. Don't try to gloss over difficulties or ascribe some roundabout explanation for a verse that has a few different interpretations. In the same way, don't just tell me one possibility is the answer as if there are other possibilities that are just as reasonable.

It is always more comfortable to live in a faith that we can construct. I am always wary of anyone who acts as if they have everything figured out. People who have no more questions about God are people who may not know the God that I worship. People who think that they completely understand the entire Bible must have some kind of child friendly Bible that has removed the details and the intricacies. My hope is that I am never satisfied with my knowledge of God and His word. I hope that I never take for granted the fact that God wants me to grow in my knowledge of Him.