Nine years ago, I uploaded a couple of videos, called "Questions for Christians":
The questions were the result of having been a regular church goer for thirty years, and eventually realizing that there were a handful of concepts in the Bible that I could not wrap my head around; Important concepts upon which Christianity is based. Struggling with whether or not it was actually possible for me to continue being a Christian, I made the video, and reached out to try and get my questions answered.
I got many replies, but not a single helpful answer. The video has about ten of fifteen questions that I had, but today I have twenty-eight. If you are a Christian, I invite you to read on, and share your insight. If you can answer a single one of these questions, I'll be intrigued.
But before I go on to sharing the questions, I want to write a bit about what would make an answer particularly helpful...
The above, pretty diagram on the left, was the complex route that people believed the sun and planets took, when orbiting the Earth.
The picture on the right is what we now know. The Earth and other planets actually revolve around the sun, and the route is really simple.
The diagram on the left is a great example of how I used to think, before I started asking questions. Instead of coming to the obvious conclusion that the Earth was not the centre of the solar system, most people held onto their existing beliefs. The left diagram is, to me, the picture of an excuse. Regardless of the simplest explanation usually being the right one, many people (my younger self included) immediately come up with excuses the moment their beliefs are challenged.
Criteria for a Helpful Answer
So, criteria 1 for helpful answer, is this: If you find yourself making excuses and needing to build a complicated answer, to try and hold your answer together, chances are that your answer is wrong. The truth is usually simple.
2. Please don't say, "Read this book." If I need to read an entire book to have my question answered, chances it violates criteria 1. Someone may also have felt like they had the answer to a question after reading a book, but if they cannot repeat the answer to me in their own words, then I don't believe that they really understand it.
3. Use logic, not poetry. Hypothetically, if I were to ask, how Jesus cured a blind man, one might be tempted to say that he spat on some sand, made mud and put that on the man's eyes. It sounds nice (poetic), but if anyone attempted to reproduce the results, they would have actually merely done something disgusting. The correct answer is, "I don't know." Another example would be if I asked, "What was the purpose of Jesus' crucifixion?" One might say, "Jesus died for our sins." Again, it's poetic, but it doesn't dig deep enough and explain why a fundamental law exists, which states that the temporary loss of consciousness and a heart beat is required to repair the relationship between a creator and the life form which has been created.
4. Honesty. These questions are the result of my attempt to be honest with myself. When I consider the truth itself to be more important than any belief I hold, or any holy book or person, then I have a better chance of getting to the truth. If you're willing to be completely honest with yourself, and decide that the truth is more important than your belief, then read on.
5. Don't try to answer all the questions. These questions are hard, and in most cases the honest answer should be something like, "I don't know." If you really think you have an answer to a question, I'd love to hear it, but in my experience, when people answer question after question after question, they've violated some of my criteria above. Restrain yourself, and answer one question, if you actually know the answer.
Update: I have received some thoughts from friends, and added answers below some questions, categorized as follows:
- Green means that I consider the question to be answered.
- Orange means that, while the answer is interesting, I'm not satisfied with it.
- Red means that the question does not have a helpful answer.
Please feel free to answer an answered question, if you have a more helpful answer.
Questions
1. Some Christians believe that the Bible is 100% true. If you believe the Bible is entirely true, why? This is something I find difficult to comprehend, because I don't know of any reason that it would be 100% true, and if it were, are the original manuscripts (which no longer exist) true? The oldest manuscripts don't match the most recent copies. The first book to be written in the New Testament (Mark) was written about 40 years after the events! The oldest New Testament manuscript still around is from about 300AD. There are many differences between the copies of the manuscripts. Are the original Greek and Hebrew true? Are all translations true? The NIV and King James versions contradict each other. Different verses in the same translations contradict each other (
here are 101). What about the other 26 gospels that weren't included in the Bible? Were they true? Even the four that we have contradict each other.
I grew up in a church that taught the Bible was 100% correct. I didn't realize that a large proportion of Christians (perhaps the majority - some stats here) actually seem to realize the flaws, and don't consider it to be completely true. Rather than considering it to be a book written by God, it's a collection of books inspired by God. What inspired by God actually means, could be different to each individual. To me, it means that the books in the Bible were written by people who had heard stories or witnessed events relating to God.
I remember my grandmother teaching me never to put anything on top of a Bible, and I developed the sense that it was more than just a book; as if it was a living thing. While it's valuable in that it probably contains more ancient writings about Jehovah and Jesus than can be found elsewhere, there's nothing magical, or perfect about it.
2. Why didn't God write the Bible himself? Why let other people write the books, and then copy and translate it themselves? Wouldn't it be logical for the all powerful God to carve such an important message into a material as strong as graphene, translate it into all languages, and give a copy to everyone when they're born? And for the many people who cannot read, wouldn't it make sense to have an angel visit them and at least narrate it to them? I would guess that, since the beginning, billions of people who lived in remote parts of the world would have never even heard of the bible. With the power to do anything, wouldn't he implant it directly in our brains?
Unanswered
3. Why doesn't God answer prayer? I've heard stories about people who've had diseases and have prayed and been cured. Of course what you don't hear about is whether they were also undergoing chemotherapy at the same time, or if it was something that would normally take time to heal anyway. I've never, however, heard of a prayer where someone lost their leg, and they grew a new one, or known someone who ran out of petrol and God filled up their tank... the kind where there is proof that a miracle occurred. Regardless, that's not really the kind of prayer I'm most interested in. I want to know why I have to ask these questions on the internet. Why won't God himself answer them?
Probably the most useful answer that I got was this one:
An honest evaluation would mean searching the Scriptures and reading what Christians (note that requirement) are expected to pray for. I believe unbelievers may in all honesty pray "God, if you are real, please reveal yourself to me" - and that is a prayer that must be made in absolute humility and trust. The other prayer is "God forgive me, a sinner". Both of those are, again, relational prayers.
So, perhaps God neither cures people of diseases, nor re-grows lost limbs. But it actually contradicts my original problem regarding why one has to ask these questions on the net, rather than God himself answering. One would expect that my prayer would be the one that God is most eager to answer.
4. Where did God come from? I know the simple answer... he always existed. It's just a problem because it's irrational. Creationists might argue that people are too complex to have simply evolved, but God is just as complex (or maybe even more so). It's harder to believe that something complex always existed, than it is to believe that it came about slowly, over a long period.
Unanswered
5. Where did the devil (and demons) come from? The devil has nothing better to do with his time than tempt seven billion people to do naughty things, knowing that God's going to put him in hell one day? Why wouldn't the devil and demons repent if they knew that (James 2:19)? It also seems that we'd sin without their existence anyway, seeing as most temptations are related to our need to survive and our need to reproduce. It doesn't seem like we're tempted to just go out and kill and lie for no apparent reason.
Unanswered
6. Why did God make the universe seem like it was 13.82 billion years old and the Earth 4.543 billion years, when they're both actually only 6,000? The Bible lists all the people in the line from Adam to Jesus, so it's quite easy to calculate the the Earth is about 6,000 years old. So the only way that I can think that God could have done this is by putting us in some sort of simulation, simulating a very old universe. When we look out at the stars, we're not actually seeing stars billions of light years away, as that would be impossible in 6,000 years. We must be looking at an incredibly complex illusion. God also went and deposited a couple of trillion of barrels of oil in the Earth, to make it look like life has existed for billions of years. God also made it look like the universe was completely random, with trillions of pointless galaxies, rather than a geocentric universe. Is God trying to deceive is into not believing the Genesis creation story? If so, he's doing an incredibly good job. I'd go as far as to say that I cannot think of anything more that God could do to make it seem like we're living in a randomly evolved universe.
Unanswered
7. Another question I have about creation, is why did God decide it was necessary to create so many harmful things? Through him all things were made. Firstly, there's the food chain,... the idea that many animals exist by killing other animals (and humans sometimes). It's a rather terrible concept, if you think from the point of view of any animal low down on the chain. And secondly, off the top of my head, here are some things in nature that don't seem to have been created by anyone with good intentions: Viruses, harmful bacteria, disease, e.g. smallpox, HIV, measles, the flu, colds, TB, bubonic plague, malaria, mould, etc. Harmful animals, e.g. snakes, spiders, lions, scorpions, mosquitoes, etc. Acts of God, e.g. floods, drought, earth quakes, tornadoes, volcanoes, tsunamis, etc. Poisonous plants, like some mushrooms, etc.
Unanswered
Before I continue to the next question, I want to clarify the word punishment. It's a central theme in the Bible, and I want to make sure that you and I are on the same page before I ask related questions. To me, the sole purpose of punishment is to protect the majority of people. If someone does something that negatively affects other people, then they might be locked up. This could be to prevent them from doing it again, or to send a message to other people not to do the same thing. Punishment has a positive goal, not a negative one.
8. Why does the beginning of Genesis have so many things that are hard to believe? Some bits sound very fairy-tale like:
- God plants a tree with deadly fruit in the middle of the garden... well, the fruit itself wasn't deadly, but God's reaction to the fruit being eaten was the worst thing to ever happen. Adam and Eve were newborns, without the knowledge of good nor of evil. I can only imagine they were like three year olds in their intelligence, as they had the ability to speak. So it's a bit like having a nursery, with a pit with spikes in the middle. Why? It makes no sense.
- God makes animals as helpers for Adam?! But that doesn't work out, so after trying all the animals, he makes a woman. Strangely, all the animals have females, so why not start with a female of his own kind?
- There's a talking snake! Not only is that very difficult to relate to, but assuming the devil could possess any living being, why a snake? It makes sense from a fiction writing perspective, that the villain is a dangerous creature, but it's not what an intelligent being would do. Besides that, since Adam and Eve have no understanding of good, they would probably have simply ignored God and eaten the fruit because it looked tasty, and the villain was unnecessary.
- You could also argue that the snake didn't actually lie, but God did, because it wasn't the fruit that ended up killing them. They actually lived a long life.
- Then God curses everything, including all snakes, removing their legs (it's implied) so that they have to crawl on their bellies. Note how this contradicts my definition of punishment. It causes more harm than good.
- God places angels with flashing swords at the entrance to the garden. They have to stay there forever... instead of just closing the door, or removing the garden. If you go on Google Earth, you can still see the angels and the flashing sword... not actually - so when did God realize that it was no longer the most efficient way to protect the garden?
The simple answer is, because the Bible is not entirely true. As for why, it doesn't really matter. One person suggested that the tree was symbolic, but didn't say what it was symbolic of. What really matters, is how one determines which parts are true. Quite frankly, I don't think one can. A suggestion was that when multiple writers agree, then it's a fact, but this is a fallacy, as multiple writers could simply have heard the same myth.
9. How did at least two of every single species (10 billion?) of land animal, bird, reptile, insect, virus, etc. survive on a boat for over a year? Maybe it wasn't that many and they... evolved? However, I could not even imagine keeping even one lion on a boat for a year.
They did not.
10. The flood, estimated at
2304 BC. How did these civilizations survive it?
The flood story is not accurate.
11. The Tower of Babel... the people were working so nicely together, and God made them stop... why? According to the bible, it was because If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. So does God not like us working together to accomplish great things? Why then did God do nothing when we built the 828m high Burj Khalifa, invented the internet, landed on the moon, or built the first computer? Is he going to stop us from creating human level intelligence in AI?
Unanswered
12. God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
The reason... a test, so that God would know that Abraham feared God: "Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
I have two daughters, a 1 year old and a 4 year old. I would do anything to protect them from harm, and I think that is a very good thing. It's the most wonderful thing in the world, how much we love and protect our children. If God asked me to to kill either of them, I think my honest reaction would be volcanic anger and swearing. Surely, love is more important than faith or obedience. Surely, if the leader of your religion asks you to kill and burn your child to show how much you fear them, you're in an extremist, Satanic cult?
Unanswered
13. God killed all the firstborn sons in Egypt. Surely God could have done something else to Pharaoh, to convince or force him to let the Israelites go, but instead he killed every first-born in Egypt! This really upsets me, as a father... just thinking about anyone harming one of my children. It also doesn't mention that these were children only. These would have been fathers and brothers as well. Even the firstborn of the cattle! It would be like Donald Trump not wanting to do something that God wants, so God kills off a quarter of all Americans.
Unanswered
14. The book of Job. Why did God feel it necessary to show off to Satan? Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
Unanswered
15. Jonah and the big fish. Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. No oxygen for three days? Stomach acids for 3 days?
Unanswered
16.
Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” ...and later...
When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. My questions are, firstly, why did the people believe Jonah? Can you imagine a city of criminals suddenly becoming good because of someone walking around for a day, saying that the city will be overthrown? Secondly, is this not a false prophecy? God did not say that he would change his mind if they repented. One might argue that it was implied. The problem that bugs me is that the one thing that can prove beyond a doubt that a religion is false, is if the religion prophecies something and it doesn't come true. For example, according to
Wikipedia, the Jehovah's Witnesses have made 13 failed apocalyptic predictions. To an outsider it's easy to see that just one is enough to prove that the religion cannot be trusted, but each time a prophecy fails, there is an excuse that comes out AFTER the failure. It's called
moving the goalposts, and it's highly annoying, and is usually along the lines of
the prophet / god / alien race has / have seen that we have repented and forgiven us / postponed the event (I'd recommend reading the book,
When Prophecy Fails, in case anyone's interested to know more about this phenomenon).
Unanswered
17. Worship. Why does God want to be worshiped? It seems an appropriate request from a self-centred dictator, but I struggle to relate. To me, it's a bit like if I had the power to make a little Lego man walk and talk, I wouldn't need him to tell me how great I am. If he were constantly doing so, I'd actually find it annoying. I also wouldn't expect him to be able to comprehend my level of greatness, so whatever he tells me about myself would probably be not quite correct. It's just strange... really strange.
Unanswered
The New Testament
18. What happened to the demons? Where are they today?
Unanswered
19. In the book of Mark, Jesus repeatedly said that the Kingdom of God was about to come within the lifetime of those listening.
Here are some verses that describe the coming of the Kingdom of God
- Mark 9:1 (It would come within the lifetime of those he was talking to, confirmed again in Luke 9:27, and Matthew 24:34) - And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”
- Mark 9:47 (The Kingdom is something that you can enter - as apposed to hell) And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell
- Mark 13:2-8 (Gives the impression that it's going to be catastrophic) - 2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” (read to verse 8 for more)
- Mark 13:17 onwards
So, the question on my mind is "Did this happen?" As I understand, this is the event that Christians refer to as "Armageddon", "The end of the world", or the "Second coming". The bible, however, clearly describes this event as something that would happen in the 1st century.
Unanswered
Before I continue, I'm not going to consider Mark 16:9 onwards as part of Mark, because that part was not in the oldest manuscripts, and scholars believe that it was added later. According to Wikipedia, "It was likely composed early in the 2nd century and incorporated into the gospel around the middle of the 2nd century."
20. Why doesn't Mark (the first book in the New Testament to be written) not mention that people have to believe in him in order to be saved?... The rule that many Christians believe to be one of the fundamental principles of Christianity.
Unanswered
21. Mark ends with "Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid." How did the writer of Mark hear the story, if the women never told anyone?
Unanswered
22. Why doesn't Mark mention any stories about people actually seeing Jesus after his resurrection?
Unanswered
23. Where did the concept of hell come from? Hell (a place of eternal torment) is never mentioned in the old testament. The King James version incorrectly translates sheol into the same word used in the new testament (hell) as a place of eternal torment for unforgiven sinners. Sheol was instead a place of darkness to which all the dead go, both the righteous and the unrighteous, regardless of the moral choices made in life. Surely such an important concept would have been explained in the Old Testament? I find it interesting that hell, a place of fire and brimstone under the earth, sounds very much like a volcano, or lava, and that there happened to be volcanic activity in Italy in 104BC.
Unanswered
24. Why hell? What purpose does it serve? It is not punishment, seeing as it does nothing to make things better for anyone, especially the majority of people. It seems to completely contradict the idea that God is loving and all powerful.
Unanswered
25. Why didn't God put us all straight into heaven? Why the need to temporarily put us in this mediocre environment? Is it just to test us, to see if we'd happen to believe in him or not?
Unanswered
26. What does the son of God mean? Surely it doesn't mean the same as when we have children, so how does God have a son? If it means someone that God created indirectly, then God has billions of sons. If it's those he created directly, then God has three children, Adam, Eve and Jesus. Of course God sent his only son to die. Yet, in John, it says, Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
Unanswered
27. What does it mean to believe in Jesus? The requirement for eternal life is very vague. For example, does one have to believe that Jesus rose from the dead? Probably, but what if you got his name wrong, and believed that Philip rose from the dead? What if you believe Jesus rose from the dead, but didn't know that he was God's son, or you can't comprehend the relationship to God? What if you believe that Jesus died on the cross, to save you from your sins, and didn't know that he rose? What if you believed everything exactly as it occurred, but got Alzheimer's disease and forgot?
Unanswered
28. What happened to the magical pool? John chapter 5 starts off with something quite bizarre. It's about some kind of magical pool. According to the footnotes, some manuscripts explain as follows: "From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease they had."
We know that magic like this doesn't exist today, because if it did, we would be able to see it and test it.
I can see that there is a recurring pattern in that something is usually used to do the miracle: e.g. water, loaves and fish, a pool and spit. I would guess that the use of spit and pools for healing might have come from ancient ideas that spit or water could be used for healing. So I looked it up to see what ancient Greeks believed (the book was written in Greek), and I found this: "Greek mythology specified that certain natural springs or tidal pools were blessed by the gods to cure disease. Around these sacred pools, Greeks established bathing facilities for those desiring healing."
Unanswered
29. In John 15 Jesus prophesied to his disciples, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." He said it again in chapter 16, "Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete."
Did any of them try it out? If God were to tell me, "Ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you," I would probably say something like, "Get rid of sickness, aging, cold, hunger, thirst, stress and death, and give everyone amazing games to play, so that we can all have fun and be happy."
Unanswered
If you know the answer to one of these questions, and can follow my criteria for a helpful answer, I'd love to hear from you.
