Tract #23: Tough Questions for Christians
Download tract #23: Tough Questions for Christians (PDF). See page #3 for printing instructions.
Tough Questions for Christians
It’s possible to be both philosophically rigorous and a Christian, but far too many Christians have not asked themselves enough tough questions about their own beliefs to make sure that they are indeed rigorous. Here are a few they might consider:
- Does God have free will? Could He choose to do evil?
- What crime deserves an eternity of punishment?
- What does it mean when you say that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are one? Can you form an analogy to make this more clear?
- Some Christians pray to Jesus in the hope that he will intercede with God. Does this make sense if Jesus and God are the same person?
- If human evils must be allowed so that we can have free will, why did God also create natural evils, like floods and disease?
- You believe in the supernatural. How do you know when to reject supernatural explanations for things like UFOs or spontaneous human combustion?
- How can you tell false and true religions apart? Where do false religions — including false Christian sects — come from?
- What is a Christian? Are there any groups of people who call themselves Christians that are not really Christians?
- If God sometimes interferes in human events, why didn’t he either prevent the Holocaust or arrange for it to end sooner?
- If prayer can help someone get into Heaven, does this mean that someone who went to Hell might have been saved if someone had prayed for them? Is that fair?
- If God told you to kill a child, would you do it? If God told someone else to kill a child, would you interfere?
- If you believe homosexuality is wrong, would you encourage Christian girls to marry gay men and end their lives of sin?
- Why aren’t amputees ever miraculously cured?
- Why are modern-day miracles less impressive than those in Biblical times?
- Does God value faith more than He values belief based on evidence? If so, does that make sense?
- If you pray for an answer to a question, how do you know when God answers? Could it be that you are being deceived by a demon?
- How can you tell the difference between a prayer that’s been answered by God and a coincidence that happens to coincide with your desires?
- If some of your beliefs are based on what you feel in your heart, do you accept as true what others feel?
- Did all of the people who lived before the time of Jesus go to Hell? Is that just?
- Can people who never hear about Jesus go to Heaven?
- If God gave us intelligence, wouldn’t he want us to examine our beliefs with reason?
