"There are a lot of things I don't know. I don't know where evil came from or why God allows so much suffering in the world. I don't know if there is such a thing as a 'just war.' I don't know how God will ultimately judge between good and evil. I don't know which church tradition best represents truth. I don't know the degree to which God is present in religious systems, or who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. I don't know if hell is an eternal state or a temporary one or what it will be like. I don't know why people are gay or if being gay is a sin. I don't know which Bible stories ought to be treated as historically accurate, scientifically provable accounts of facts and which stories are meant to be metaphorical. I don't know if it really matters so long as those stories transform my life. I don't know how to reconcile God's sovereignty with man's free will. I don't know what to do with those Bible verses that seem to condone genocide and the oppression of women. I don't know why I have so many questions, while other Christians don't seem to have any. I don't know which of these questions I will find answers to and which I will not.
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Those who say that having a childlike faith means not asking questions haven't met too many children. Anyone who has kids or loves kids or has spent five minutes with kids knows that kids ask a lot of questions. Rarely are they satisfied with short answers, and rarely do they spend much time absorbing your response before moving on to the next 'why?' or 'how come?'
Psychologists say that the best way to handle children in this stage of development is not to answer their questions directly but instead to tell them stories. As pediatrician Alan Greene explains, 'After conversing with thousands of children, I've decided that what they really mean is, "That's interesting to me. Let's talk about that together. Tell me more, please."' Questions are a child's way of expressing love and trust. They are a child's way of starting dialogue. They are a child's way of saying, 'I want to have a conversation with you.'
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If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that serious doubt--the kind that leads to despair--begins not when we start asking God questions but when, out of fear, we stop. In our darkest hours of confusion and in our most glorious moments of clarity, we remain but curious and dependent little children, tugging frantically at God's outstretched hands and pleading with every question and every prayer and every tantrum we can muster, 'We want to have a conversation with you!'
God must really love us, because he always answers with such long stories."
--Rachel Held Evans in Evolving in Monkey Town
Thank you for those two posts.
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