Questions

 Questions

October 22, 2024

In the last blog, we talked about education and unbelief, but today, I’ve got questions. Does asking questions indicate unbelief? Are we allowed to ask questions? When did it become prohibited to ask questions? When I was in school (way back in the 60’s) asking questions was the preferred method of teaching. At least in Physics class, we were not to believe anything without scientific proof and verified experimental results. When baby boomers were students, we didn’t trust anyone over 30 and questioned everything. Now that my peers are the senior professors and deans, if seems that asking questions on campus is strictly prohibited. What happened in the meantime? (I don’t have any answer to this, but if you have any idea, feel free to discuss it with me.)

The God of the Bible is not afraid of questions. A quick look at the Psalms shows you all the times that King David questioned the Lord. “Why do the nations rage?” Ps 2, “How many are my foes?” Ps 3, “How long shall my honor be turned into shame?” Ps 4… and that is just n the first 4 Psalms. But if you read the Psalms to the end, the psalmist always found an answer and consolation and reason to hope.

Jesus likewise welcomed questions. “Where are you going?”, “What dies this mean?”, “Who sinned, this man of his parents?”, etc.  A master and his disciples asking questions was the time honored method of teaching. We call it the Socratic method after Socrates, the Ancient Greek philosopher. When did we change to a method of simply telling pupils what to believe and expecting unquestioned obedience?

Asking questions of the Lord is not necessarily unbelief. If you sincerely want to know the answer, asking questions can lead to deeper belief. Of course, a syndical question that does not expect an answer is a different matter. The difference is a humble attitude that asks questions in the expectation that there is a good answer, and then believing.

Some questions are more dangerous than others. Asking the Lord “Why did this happen?”, rarely gets a good answer. And “How long, O Lord?”, doesn’t always get an answer that you like! Mary asks “How can this be?”, and it was a perfectly acceptable question that the angel answered. And the disciples that asked “Is it you, Lord?”, got an answer every time. In most cases, asking a sincere question and listening for a true answer is an excellent way to learn.

One day, in the eternal kingdom, all of our questions will be answered, but in the meantime, let us just keep asking questions, listening for the voice of our master. This is the way to build faith and belief, by finding answers that you can believe in and walking in that truth. So be blessed, and keep asking questions.