Difficult Questions about Christianity

[ReggieJones]

This is inspired by discussions on mn and also in rl about Christianity. Jesus' death for us can sometimes seem like an easy thing to explain and those of us who've heard about it for many years can become a bit complacent. But I also often find it a really tricky thing to get my head around, despite believing iyswim. It would be interesting to hear what questions people have and also how we might be able to answer questions in a way that's humble and not personally offensive (although Jesus does say that people will be offended by the Gospel.

Yes to whoever asked, I have never had sex. I know this makes me not quite an expert. But I've never claimed to be, I've studied what the Bible says about sex and because I don't have direct experience I'm having to trust His word.

*God's view doesn't change

But you couldn't possibly live by God's Laws as described in the Bible, they're too contradictory. So everyone will fail.

God has always 'highly valued the rights of women'? Really? If we're to take the bible as God's word, then there are too many contradictions to that statement for it to be true

"Let the women learn in silence with all subjection.But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." (I Timothy 2:11-14)

"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: " (Ephesians 5:22-24)

"Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak;" (I Corinthians 14:34-35)

""Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." (Genesis 3:16)

"Of the woman came the beginning of sin, and through her we all die." (Eccles. 25:22)

"Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks." Psalm 137

and God does change his mind..

"So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people," (Exodus 32:14).

It can be interpreted as 'relented' or 'repented' as well.

So I'll try and answer your questions 001 but please don't think I have the answer to everything. I've never claimed to and I often find things in the Bible that I'm not sure how to interpret but this hasn't swayed me from believing in the 'non-negotiables', that Jesus died for my sins and rose again.

The Timothy passage and others like it are something I struggle with. I believe that the Bible teaches that men and women have different roles but are equally imperfect and yet also equally forgiven through the redemption Jesus won on the cross. I interpret this verse to say that women should learn from men in a way that is submissive. The Ephesians passage suggests that women should be submissive to their husbands who should love them as Christ loved the Church (which was a lot as He died for the Church!). I struggle with all this but it doesn't sway me from the non-negotiables.

Eve was the first person to sin but Adam sinned very soon after and was also cursed by God

17Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. 18"Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; 19By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return."…

So Adam and Eve were both kicked out of the garden and both cursed but in slightly different ways. The biggest curse that both Adam and Eve (and the rest of us as in Eccles reference) face is death but in Genesis God also says that He will eventually defeat death. He says that women's offspring will crush the devil's head, therefore defeating death for good, this offspring is Jesus. So as well as bringing about death Eve also brings about redemption through her greatest offspring Jesus.

I don't think that the woman referred to in Psalm 137 is a real person. I think its imagery for a sinful place. Its written by people exiled, who've been badly treated by Babylon.

Yes to Adam and Eve being real and yes to the garden of Eden being true. There is a lot of imagery there, eg the serpent's head being crushed being a foretelling of Jesus. In terms of the age of the world, I'm not sure on the specifics as as I said there is a lot of imagery and I don't think years, days etc are the same as today.

Hi Big Dorrit, you asked me a what I believed and I told you what I believed. I'm sorry if you were expecting something else. I'm not sure if iotas of rational thought are my forte at 11.15 on a Wednesday night (or indeed at 19.21 at the end of a busy day whilst getting ready to go out ) but I'll give it another go.

There are two main reasons why I think in Genesis days may not be days as we know them

1. God's time isn't the same as our time because He created time
2. God didn't create day/night until the fourth day so perhaps this means the days preceding the fourth day weren't 24 hour periods and maybe the ones after weren't either?

As for years, yep I can admit to being a bit divally on that one. I'm not sure when the calendar as we know it (as in 365=year) come into being. I'm going to research this further, but not right now! For me these things aren't dealbreakers there just not, and for some Christians maybe they are but for me the resurrection is.

As for me being the right the person for this thread or not I wasn't aware there needed to be one? Anyone can contribute and others have and I really hope more do. When people have asked questions and particularly if they're addressed to me (as yours was) I've tried to answer them. And theres other places you could go, you could go knock on your local Church/minsters door tomorrow and see what they have to say

but for me the resurrection is

Sorry, what do you mean Reggie?

Genesis says the sun was made after the earth and that flowering plants were the first things he called forth but we know from geology and physics that that is wildly untrue.

So you believe God created an Adam and Eve and you reject the evolutionary model that we evolved from earlier life forms?

Also - Jesus.

Wandering around in Roman times supposedly doing all these noticeable and wonderful things. There is no definitive contemporary evidence that any of this actually happened. There are lots of diaries etc for other things that happened during the Roman rule at the same time, but nothing pertaining to Jesus, only vague mentions to a 'man' ina couple of texts.

Now, surely there'd be some mention of this supposed trouble maker, aside from the Gospels which were written 70+ years after the 'events' and were copied form each other. And in fact, some of them seem to be talking about John the Baptist more than anything.

Oops headinhands my syntax isn't that great after 5.00 11.00 at night!

That sentence should have explained that for me the 'dealbreaker' in my faith is Jesus' death and resurrection rather than whether or not 'years' in the bible are 'years' as we know them.

What I mean by 'dealbreakers' or 'non-negotiables' are the things that my faith is founded on. So my faith is founded on my belief that Jesus died and rose again winning atonement for my sins rather than that God made the world in 7, 24 hr 'days'. I can be sure that Jesus died and rose again but I can afford to be a bit but drivally on the exact time it took for God to create the world. But I acknowledge the fact that for others this may not be the case. Theres some really interesting going on about creation etc over here.

001 I've already answered some questions and posted some links about evidence for Jesus. I don't think I have anything to add. other than to say for me the evidence both Biblical and not is enough. Although I acknowledge that isn't the case for everyone.

As I and others have said BigDorrit that's where Faith comes in. I don't have any information that others don't access except having spent time praying to God and seeing answers to prayer in my life. But anyone can experience this, it will just look different to different people.

My faith does look pretty stupid at times I'm aware of that and as you say not everyone will be convinced but Jesus tells us that will be the case. He tells us that we will be mocked and rejected as He was because we do not conform to the world www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+15&version=NLT

Perhaps I should have said 'I believe and trust that Jesus died and rose again' that may have been clearer.

Reggie why don't you 'believe and trust' that Allah is the one true God?

do not conform to the world

Having a belief in a deity/supernatural realm pretty much puts you slap bang in the middle of the 'conforming camp' of the world. People are mocked and rejected by other people for lot of different reasons, sexuality, race, status, gender and so on so its a poor way of deciding that your position is correct. I mock and reject racists, does that mean their position has any validity? No.I'm not equating your beliefs with a racist merely highlighting that inhabiting a world comprising of people with a plethora of opposing views will mean that all of us will feel mocked or rejected in some way. It's a poor way of trying to prove the truth behind a position.

How do you believe you are not conforming? I'm guessing you pay bills, hate to see suffering, try hard to live at peace with people, care about others and so on. I'm guessing you haven't sold all your possessions and bought a sword, that you don't raise people from the dead, pick up poisonous snakes and that you don't hate your family as outlined inJesus words?

Here's a tricky question.

Do you love Jesus more than your family? To the point where you hate them in comparison to the love you have for him? Would would drop everything if he returned, with no chance of saying 'goodbye' or explaining your absence.

Because this is what he expects.

"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me." Matthew 10:37-39

"If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple." Luke 14:25-33

"And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God." - Luke 9:59-60

Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home." But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plough and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." - Luke 9:61-62

BigDorrit I think its unfair to say that Christians avoid the difficult questions entirely. I think some do some of the time. But there times in all Christians' lives where we are forced to consider some of the tricky questions particularly around suffering. Look up Joni Eareckson Tada as an example of someone who has had to ask difficult questions because of suffering (disability, bereavement, illness, infertility), she goes through doubt but ultimately still believes. Also just because we're human I think we do think about these things (God gave us minds), CS Lewis is a great example of a Christian whos thought really deeply about his faith (Mere Christianity etc). The fact that the Alpha course exists which encourages people to ask difficult questions would suggest to me that on whole Christians are not avoiding difficult questions. I think its fine to think things through and have faith, the two are not mutually exclusive.

Also its not as if the secular world gives definitive answers that they all agree on except Christians. We're all thinking things through iyswim.

headinhands I don't believe that Allah is the one true God because I don't believe his teachings adequately answer questions about justice. Muslims believe that their actions both good and bad will be weighed up according to how their score they go to either heaven or hell. And then I then I think they can eventually heaven when they've been punished. So its about rules and being good enough. Whereas God acknowledges we're not good enough to be in his presence without a price being paid by Jesus who defeated death by rising again rather than by our punishment. I don't think I'm being totally clear about this (its late!) but I think its the difference between forgiveness and having to reach a target. Also Allah didn't come and walk on the earth as Jesus did, but remains distant.