As a child, I knew the answer to this question: NO! We should never lie. Of course life isn’t simple. We can experience situations that complicate our morals. We find such a scenario in the biblical book of Jeremiah. The prophet is going through a lot of hurt. His scroll gets chopped and burned in [...]
Archive for the ‘Hard Questions’ Category
Seeking to Understand
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Hard Questions, Jeremiah, tagged evil, faith, God, life, religion, spirituality, suffering, why do bad things happen on April 19, 2012 | 1 Comment »
“Why does evil happen?” “Why does God allow suffering?” I hear questions like these frequently. We seek to understand God’s ways, but they avoid our comprehension. Our human intellects are limited. We cannot grasp the God who is bigger than our boxes. Many of us don’t like that. We want to understand. We want God [...]
God Works
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Hard Questions, Proverbs, tagged faith, God, life, Randy Harris, religion, sovereignty, spirituality, why do bad things happen on March 17, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Why do bad things happen? If we believe that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving, this question can challenge our faith. I’ve heard some answers but haven’t found one that silences the question. Why does God allow evil and suffering? One truth claim that I accept, however, is that God is always working through whatever [...]
Born Again…Again
Posted in Baptism, Hard Questions, tagged Baptism, re-baptism on February 3, 2009 | 1 Comment »
A few young adults have recently talked to me about re-baptism. Just last week, a college student told me she was thinking about getting baptized again and wondered if she sounded crazy. People have different perspectives on this subject, and even staff members ministering with the same congregation can disagree. This often happens with subjects [...]
What Do You Believe About Abortion?
Posted in Hard Questions, tagged abortion, birth, Church, college student, community, death, forgiveness, God, Jesus, life, question, redemption, sin on January 29, 2008 | 9 Comments »
This Sunday, one of our deacons emailed me a message that a college student had submitted on our church web site. The student was looking for a “church home” and wanted to know our beliefs regarding “a woman’s right to an abortion.” After much prayer and thought, I emailed this response to that student. Thank [...]
