Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Tough Questions

A pastor from the Mars Hill Church in Seattle recently asked his congregants to ask him any question they wanted. The questions, in turn, would be addressed in various sermons over the course of 2008. 893 questions were asked on the church's website and over 343,000 votes were cast to narrow the list down to the top nine questions, listed below. I was surprised about some of the questions, as well as what didn't make the top of the list. All in all, it seems to be a pretty interesting idea.
  1. Do you believe that the Scripture not only regulates our theology but also our methodology? In other words, do you believe in the regulative principle? If so, to what degree? If not, why not? (i.e. the regulative principle)
  2. What can traditional/established churches learn from 'emerging' churches?
  3. How does a Christian date righteously; and what are the physical, emotional, and mentally connecting boundaries a Christian must set while developing an intimate relationship prior to marriage?
  4. If salvation is by faith alone (Romans 3:28), then why are there so many verses that say or imply the opposite, namely that salvation is by works (James 2:24, Matthew 6:15 & 7:21, Galatians 5:19-21)
  5. How should Christian men and women go about breaking free from the bondage of sexual sin?
  6. Of all the things you teach, what parts of Christianity do you still wrestle with? What's hardest for you to believe?
  7. Why does an all loving, all knowing, and all sovereign God will into creation people He foreknows will suffer eternal condemnation? Why does Romans 9:20 feel like a cop-out answer?
  8. Why do you make jokes about Mormon missionaries, homosexuals, trenchcoats wearers, single men, vegans, emo kids and then expect these groups to come to know God in the same sermon?
  9. There's no doubt the Bible says children are a blessing, but the Bible doesn't seem to address the specific topic of birth control. Is this a black and white topic, or does it fall under liberties?

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