GROW IN BIBLICAL TRUTH
Questions of Faith
Questions about Christianity, salvation, and Scripture are welcome here.
If God is good, why is there so much suffering?
This is one of the most honest questions a person can ask, and the Bible never scolds anyone for asking it. Scripture tells us the world we live in is broken — not because God delights in pain, but because sin entered the world and fractured everything it touched, including our bodies, our relationships, and creation itself.
But here is what God wants you to know in the middle of it: He is not far away from your suffering. "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18) And He did not watch our pain from a distance — in Jesus, God stepped into this broken world and suffered with us and for us. The cross is proof that God takes suffering seriously. Pain is real, but it is not the end of the story, and it is never the measure of God's love for you.
How can I know God is real?
You are not asked to believe in God blindly. He has left His fingerprints everywhere: in the wonder of creation, in the conscience that whispers right from wrong, and in the longing in every human heart for something more than this life can give.
Most of all, God made Himself known in a person — Jesus Christ — who lived, taught, died, and rose again in real history, in front of real witnesses. And God makes a promise to honest seekers: "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13) You do not have to have every question answered before you begin. Start by asking Him, sincerely, to show you who He is. He is not hiding from you.
Is the Bible trustworthy — wasn't it written by men?
Yes, the Bible was written by human authors — fishermen, kings, a doctor, a tax collector — across about 1,500 years and three continents. And yet it tells one unified story, from beginning to end, of God's love reaching for humanity. Christians believe that is because God Himself breathed His truth through those writers: "All Scripture is breathed out by God." (2 Timothy 3:16)
Its trustworthiness shows itself in many ways: prophecies fulfilled in detail in the life of Jesus, a historical record that has withstood centuries of scrutiny, and — perhaps most simply — the millions of lives it has transformed. The same words that comforted the brokenhearted three thousand years ago still meet people exactly where they are today. We invite you to read it for yourself, beginning with the Gospel of John, and see.
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
This is the question Christianity stands or falls on, and it is a historical question, not just a religious one. The facts even most skeptical scholars wrestle with are these: Jesus died by crucifixion, His tomb was found empty, and afterward He was seen alive — not by one or two people in private, but by many. Paul records that the risen Jesus "appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive" when he wrote it (1 Corinthians 15:6) — an open invitation to check with the witnesses.
His followers, who had scattered in fear, were so transformed by what they had seen that they proclaimed His resurrection even at the cost of their own lives. People will suffer for what they believe is true; they do not suffer for what they know they invented. The resurrection is why we can say, with confidence, there is freedom in Christ.
Aren't all religions basically the same?
Many religions share kind teachings — be honest, be kind, care for others. But at their core claims, they part ways, especially about one question: who is Jesus? A prophet? A teacher? A good man? Christianity makes a claim unlike any other: that Jesus is God Himself, come to rescue us.
Most religions describe humanity reaching up toward God — through good works, rituals, or enlightenment. Christianity tells the opposite story: God reaching down to us, because we could not reach Him on our own. Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) That is either the most arrogant claim ever made, or the most wonderful news ever announced. We believe it is the news.
Hasn't science disproved Christianity?
Science is a wonderful gift — it tells us how the world works. But it was never designed to answer every kind of question. Science can describe how a heart beats; it cannot tell you why your life matters, or whether you are loved. Those are not lesser questions — they are the deepest ones we have.
Many of history's great scientists, and many working scientists today, have seen no conflict between studying creation and trusting its Creator. In fact, the order, beauty, and fine design of the universe have led many people toward faith, not away from it. The Bible's purpose is not to be a science textbook; it is God's message of who He is, who we are, and how we can be made new in Christ. Held each in its proper place, science and faith are not enemies.
If God is loving, why would He send anyone to hell?
This question matters, and it deserves a straight answer. God does not delight in anyone's condemnation. Scripture says He is "not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) The cross exists precisely because God made a way for every single person to be forgiven and welcomed home.
But love, real love, does not force itself on anyone. God honors the choices people make. Hell, as the Bible describes it, is ultimately separation from God — and God will not drag anyone into His presence against their will. The question is never whether God is willing to receive you. He sent His Son to prove He is. The question He leaves with each of us is whether we will receive Him.
What about people who have never heard about Jesus?
This is a question about God's character, and the Bible's answer is reassuring: God is perfectly just, and perfectly merciful. He has revealed Himself to every person in some measure — through the witness of creation, which "shows His eternal power and divine nature" (Romans 1:20), and through the conscience He placed in every heart. No one will ever be judged unfairly by God, or condemned for what they could not have known. As Abraham asked long ago, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?" (Genesis 18:25) He will.
And this is exactly why Christians share their faith, and why ministries like this one exist: because God uses ordinary people to carry the good news to those who haven't heard it yet. If you are reading this, you have heard — and His invitation is open to you today.
Christians can be so hypocritical — why should I listen?
Honestly? You're right, and any honest Christian will tell you the same. Christians are people in process — forgiven, but still being made new — and sometimes we fail, visibly and painfully. If the church has hurt you, we are truly sorry. The church was never meant to be a museum of perfect people; it is more like a hospital for the broken, and some of us are still very much in recovery.
But please don't judge Jesus by the worst moments of His followers. Judge Him by Himself: by His compassion for the outcast, His tenderness toward the brokenhearted, His willingness to lay down His life for the very people who rejected Him. Our failures are real — but they are the reason we need Him, not a reason He isn't worth knowing. Don't let our stumbling keep you from the One who never fails.
I've done too much wrong. Could God really forgive me?
Yes. Truly, completely, yes — and this may be the most important question on this page.
Your past is not stronger than God's grace. The Bible promises, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1) And again: "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace." (Ephesians 1:7) God does not hold your worst chapters over you. He declares that as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12).
You are not defined by your mistakes. You are not defined by the things that happened to you. Through faith in Jesus Christ, you are loved, you are forgiven, you are welcomed, and you are being made new. If you would like to know how to begin a relationship with Him, you will find a simple explanation — and a prayer — on our Rooted In Christ page. Come as you are. There is rest in Jesus, and there is freedom in Him.
Understanding Biblical Language
If you are new to the Bible, some of its language can sound puzzling at first. That is because the Bible often speaks in pictures — stories, symbols, and sayings meant to open our eyes, not to confuse us. Jesus Himself loved to teach this way. Here is a gentle guide to some of the ways the Bible speaks, so you can hear what it is really saying.
Parables — stories that hold up a mirror
Jesus told stories about a farmer sowing seed, a lost coin, and a son who ran away (Luke 15). These were not reports about real people — they are mirrors. As we listen, we begin to see ourselves in the story, and we see the heart of the Father who comes running to meet the son who comes home. When you read a parable, ask: “Where am I in this story?”
Pictures of who God is — metaphors
When Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches” (John 15:5), He is not saying He is a plant. He is painting a picture of closeness: just as a branch lives only while it stays joined to the vine, we flourish as we stay close to Him. When John calls Jesus “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), the picture points back to the Passover lamb — Jesus would be the sacrifice who sets us free. And when David calls the Lord “my rock and my fortress” (Psalm 18:2), he means God is steady and unshakable — not that God is made of stone. A metaphor is a picture with a meaning: always ask what the picture is showing you.
Strong words on purpose — holy exaggeration
Jesus sometimes used shocking language to wake His hearers up: “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away” (Matthew 5:29). He was not asking anyone to harm the body He made — this is the Jesus who healed blind eyes. He was saying: deal with sin swiftly and seriously, the way you would rush to save your sight. In the same way, when He says faith “like a grain of mustard seed” can move a mountain (Matthew 17:20), the point is not the size of our faith, but the greatness of the God we trust. When words sound extreme, ask what truth they are pressing on our hearts.
Sayings from another time — idioms
Some phrases made perfect sense to the first hearers but need a little unpacking for us. When Scripture says, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23), “heart” means the control center of a person — our thoughts, choices, and desires — not only our feelings, and not only the organ in our chest. And when you read “gird up your loins,” it simply means “get ready for action” — the way someone would tuck in a long robe in order to run or work. Knowing the everyday sayings of that time helps the meaning come alive.
Symbols — picture language, especially in Revelation
Some parts of the Bible, above all the book of Revelation, speak almost entirely in pictures. The Lamb appears “with seven horns and with seven eyes” (Revelation 5:6) — not a strange animal to fear, but a picture full of meaning: in the Bible, seven is the number of fullness and completeness, horns picture strength, and eyes picture seeing all things. In fact, that same verse explains its own symbol: the seven eyes “are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.” When you meet a symbol, slow down, look for the meaning it carries, and let the clearer parts of Scripture shed light on the picture parts.
So is anything in the Bible literal?
Yes — a great deal of it. The Bible is not one kind of writing; it is a whole library: history, poetry, songs, letters, prophecy, and parables. Jesus really lived, really died on a cross, and really rose again — the apostles insist they were witnesses of real events (1 Corinthians 15). The secret is not choosing between “literal” and “not literal.” It is reading each part the way it was written: history as history, poetry as poetry, a parable as a parable, a letter as a letter. Read that way, the whole Bible speaks with one voice — and it is the voice of a God who loves you.
A simple way to read any passage
- Notice the kind of writing — story, song, letter, or saying?
- Read the verses just before and just after it.
- Ask what it meant to the people who first heard it.
- Let clear passages shed light on picture passages.
- Ask what it shows you about God — and what it invites you to do.
You do not have to understand everything at once. Come as you are, and let Him teach you as you read.
