Dangerous Questions

It could be said that I have the answers - well the Answer anyway. I've been a Christian for 23 of my 30 years of life. I've been in church for 25 years. I've been part of a wide variety of doctrinal backgrounds, and I've spent a great deal of time studying the Bible on my own and in groups. At phases in my life I devour books in my personal time.

I like knowledge. If there is a who, what, when, where, or why I want to know it. Most of the time I want to know for no better reason than for the sake of knowing. Because of this mentality, I know tons about Christianity in general, Christian doctrine, the doctrines of other faiths, etc. One could even say that I know the "correct" and/or "accepted" answers to most of what I'm going to be saying here. But as you will see those answers don't always satisfy, in fact they often create more questions.

These statements are important to know, because I want readers to know that I don't need or want the cliché answer that the church/Christians usually give. I want the Answer to respond. I'm tired of things not being what the Bible says and having them explained away - I want to know what's missing. I would say that I'm at fault and that somehow it's an issue of who I am as a Christian, but if the Bible is true (and I believe it is) then this cannot be the case.

So the questions that need answers that fit better than the sugar coated Christianize can give are here.

First and foremost is this: why does the man that prays and sees the sick healed, blind eyes opened, the lame walk, the deaf hear, and the mute speak wear glasses? Why aren't his eyes healed? That's not what the Bible teaches is it?

Why is the government attempting to do the right thing in seeing that everyone in the U.S. has a chance at health care, and Christians fight it? Let it be known that I don't like the current plan congress is working on, but something needs to happen. Doctors go to third world countries to help the sick and the hurting - for free - but here in the U.S. if a person is working hard trying to do the right thing they can't get help. So where is the church? I'll tell ya - busy seeking their relationship with God and not reaching out. I realize that not every church is that way. I know of a few that have great community outreaches, but not enough to need more than one hand to count them with. These churches have done something useful with their relationship with God and have done as James teaches us - they've found true religion.

Where is the balance of the Holy Spirit and spiritual ideas verses doing something useful and being relevant? Can't we do both?

Why are we so afraid of being judgmental, instead of being concerned with judging rightly like the Bible tells us to? The issue is not if we judge. The issue is really if we judge according to God's standard.

Why can't people say what they mean and what they feel without people getting mad and wondering what happened? Some things just need said. The problem is people don't want to hear them. They don't want to stop and look inside to see the truth. Actually maybe they need to stop looking inside and at what they are actually doing. That is a far better judge of our Christian life than the things we say or intend.

Finally, the hardest question to ask: Why doesn't Christianity in the U.S. look like the Bible's version? We all claim to do what the Bible teaches, and we claim that we believe what it says. If that were true when people said it don't you think the U.S. would be a better place? Wouldn't the U.S. look more like the Bible and less like a sinners' paradise if we really did believe?

Someone once said, "one day somebody is going to pick up the Bible and believe everything it says. That person will change the world." We've seen those people from time to time. The world around them was changed, but their influence faded with them in most cases. Why?

There aren't any good answers to these questions other than the questions we ask ourselves. Those questions are only useful if they change the course of action we take.