NOTE: Remember that once you have answered a person’s initial
question (s), to continue turning the conversation back to the person of Jesus
Himself. Avoid getting off on tangents!
If God is all-powerful, how could He let these tragedies happen?
He is all-powerful, but you are asking the wrong question. Perhaps a better one
is, "Why He does not wipe us all out for our sins." The answers begin
to make sense once you have begin a personal relationship with Him, which
includes getting to know Him through His word. Once Christ enters your life, He
will speak to you and gradually give you insight into what now does not make
sense.
Why was I spared?
Perhaps it was because He knew that only through such
a tragedy you would seek Him. Maybe you hadn’t cared to give God ‘the time
of day’ until He got your attention through this tragedy. Why don’t you
begin a personal relationship with God and ask Him why He spared you at this
time? [http://www.whoisjesus-really.com]
Why is evil ‘rewarded’ and bad things happen to good people?
Good
question! Just look around. It seems that often evil ‘gets the upper hand,’
such as in 1940 when Hitler was overrunning Europe. Nevertheless, his downfall
came. The Bible promises an eventual end to evil and a final judgment. What will
be your fate at that time?
God is unjust.
No, but He mixes mercy with justice. He WILL deal with
these terrorists, but in His time and place. In the meantime, He is using this
tragedy to bring many people to Himself in saving faith.
Why does God allow evil in the world?
God allows mankind to have freedom
of choice. Otherwise, we would just be robots.
Why is there so much suffering?
This is not the world as God planned it,
but He does have a plan to redeem it. Come to Christ, read the Bible and find
out what His ultimate plan is.
Why would God allow innocent children to be orphaned?
Excellent
question. However, God knows what it feels like to lose a child. He sent His own
Son to deal with the ultimate issues, and will take care of each child who asks
Him for help.
Didn’t Christians die on Sept. 11th? Why?
Yes, many did. We
all are going to die until Jesus returns for His Second Coming. Ultimately only
the wise God knows, but asks yourself … would you rather die quickly or over 2
– 24 months from cancer? Death in all forms is terrible … but Christ came to
give us eternal life, eventually new bodies, and re-uniting with our loved ones
who are believers.
How can I pray? I don’t hear anything back.
You cannot hear from
someone who you don’t know. First, ask Christ to enter your life, and then
begin reading the Bible, starting with the gospel of John and check out www.whoisjesus-really.com
.
I’m Jewish.
Excellent. So is the Messiah. He fulfilled all the
prophecies of the Torah, Pentateuch and Prophets. Become fully Jewish [as God
intended] by receiving His offer of salvation in your promised Messiah!
If fate is predestined, why take care of yourself?
Because being
predestined does not give one license to live irresponsibly. We are commanded in
the Bible to take care of our bodies in order to better honor God and be a
witness to others of our live for Him.
How do I deal with my fears?
Realize that ultimately there is only one
person who can protect you, and that is Jesus Christ. He is the only one who was
ever victorious over death, and promises eternal life to all who follow Him.
Buddha, Confucius and Mohammed stayed dead.
If I become a Christian, will I be safe from now on?
Yes, and no. Your
soul and spirit will be totally protected and your future secure in heaven, but
God may sovereignly allow things to occur in your life to teach you to grow in
your faith. Like a muscle, your faith will need to be exercised to grow strong.
But He promises never to test you beyond the breaking point (I Cor. 10:13) and
to never leave you (Heb. 13:5).
I feel so weak.
Let God be your everlasting rock and solid foundation,
who cannot be toppled by airplanes hitting Him. His love and Spirit will
strengthen you!
I am full of anger. How do I deal with it?
First, it’s good to
acknowledge it and talk about it. But the real issue to establishing a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ, who will give you the power to channel your
anger in a constructive and healing way over time.
Is all religion bad? All wars seem to be religiously motivated.
Religion
itself can be bad and has resulted in many atrocities; from crusades to jihads
… just study what Jesus had to say about ‘religion’ and a group called the
Pharisees. However, a personal relationship with God through Christ is a
completely different issue.
I feel I am good enough as I am. God
says you are by nature bad
enough. Men and women in their natural states do wicked deeds, think evil
thought, go to bad places, and reject Jesus Christ – because of their own evil
hearts. No one is naturally or totally, perfectly good. We all need a Savior.
Those who do not come to Him send themselves to hell.
I am as good as others.
We need to live by standards, not comparisons.
Measure yourself by Jesus if you want to know how good or bad you are. And note
… He claims to be the final Judge. You either have to be as perfect as Jesus,
or admit you cannot do it on your own and accept God’s love gift of salvation
and follow Him.
I do not feel a need for Christ.
The world is not run by feelings,
contrary to what the soap operas portray. Most people do most of their worthy
acts contrary to feeling. Doctors do not deal with disease or disasters because
of happy feelings, but because of necessity. God says you are a sinner, whether
you feel like it or not. You have a terminal disease called cancer. Please do
not ignore the cure God lovingly offers. It’s at your own peril.
I am doing the best I can.
That’s commendable, but God does not grade
on the curve. Your ‘best’ is not good enough to achieve perfection, the
basis for ‘entrance’ Your only ticket into heaven is obtained through coming
into a personal, forgiving relationship with His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ
who paid the ticket price for you to enter.
I am too big a sinner.
Maybe you feel that way, but God said that anyone
could come to Him and receive salvation. Look at the Apostle Paul, who before he
came to know Christ was a murderer and henchman towards Christians.
There are too many hypocrites in the church.
Hypocrites are not the
issue. Unless they come to Christ, they too will be lost. Besides, you have to
be smaller than what you hide behind. If you ‘hide’ behind the excuse of ‘hypocrites’,
you must be smaller than them.
A professing Christian wronged me.
Please accept my sincere apologies
for his/her actions, but is that any reason why you should not look past that
offense and come to Jesus? Be honest … you have wronged Him by your
sins from the day you were born, and He is still ready and eager to forgive you.
I mean, really, are you saying that you’d rather choose to go to hell just
because someone else hurt you?
There is too much to give up.
Yes, some things in life give temporary
pleasure. But, let’s get serious. Would you rather ‘enjoy’ a few material
things or relationships now for a relatively short time and then go to eternal
hell, missing future blessings in heaven?
I’ll take my chances.
I guess that’s what many in the World Trade
Center thought who did not want to come to Christ before Sept. 11. Honestly, do
you think that’s a wise course of action when you don’t know if you will be
alive tomorrow?
How can God damn a person to hell?
Actually, God allows them to make
their own decision. He has shown His incredible love by sending His very own Son
to die in your place, so a better question is "What motivated God to give
us an option to be saved when He could have totally destroyed us in the first
place?"
I am already religious.
Religion is not the answer; a personal
relationship with the true, loving God is. Jesus clearly said that no one
could come to the Father except through Him. He is the only way, the only
truth, and the only life.
I want to hold off on any decisions.
Well, are you willing to risk the
fact that a tragedy or other terrorist attack may overtake you and you won’t
have the time?
I can’t break away from my sins.
No one can without the power that
Christ gives once He enters a person’s life. You can have His power to change
once you humble yourself, admit you cannot do it alone, ask Him to be your
Savior, and decide to follow Him as Lord. [www.powertochange.org]
What is the main difference between Christianity and other religions?
All other religions and cults tell their followers that they must struggle on
their own to obtain salvation or ‘paradise’. Christianity states that the
real issue is our own personal sin, and that only a sinless, infinite person,
the God-Man Jesus Christ, could ever be a substitute and pay the infinite
penalty required by a perfect God for each person’s sins. Better yet,
Christianity involves a personal relationship with the Creator, not some
distant, non-personal state like the other religions portray God(s).
Why should I accept the Bible as the final authority?
Because the Bible
is the only religious book in the world which not only claims it is divinely
originated, but offers the internal test of prophecy coupled with recorded
history to verify its authenticity. Check it out!
How is Jesus different from all other religious leaders?
Buddha,
Confucius, and Mohammed never claimed to be God … only so-called prophets.
Jesus Christ unmistakably claimed and demonstrated to be God Himself. Check it
out!
I am from another faith, and I fear persecution.
I understand, and do
not want to minimize your struggle. However, it is better to believe the truth,
even if you have to die for it, then submit to peer pressure to conform to a
false religion. Christianity is the only religion which explains how God can
(and does) forgive our sins.
Why was Mary a virgin?
Sin is somehow intertwined in our physical
makeup. Incredible as it sounds, Jesus became a single embryonic cell God the
Father inserted into Mary’s womb so He (the infinite Son of God) could be born
sinless [which was only physically possible if Mary was virgin {Isa. 7:14, Mt.
1:23}] into the human race, experience humanity, die in our place, and purchase
our salvation.
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