“There’s no such thing as a stupid question.” That is the sentiment we are taught as youngsters and it is repeated throughout our lives. However, most of us have a strong memory of asking a “stupid question” and having everyone laugh at us at some point. As we grow older, many fear to ask questions because we’re afraid that we’ll appear unintelligent or uninformed. I have found this is even more true with our faith and our Christian education. “Judge a [person] by [their] questions rather than by [their] answers.” -Voltaire
Asking questions and seeking answers is how we strengthen and deepen our faith. So, my challenge for all of us is to do just that – to start asking more questions about our faith.
- What are your questions: So, what questions do you have about your faith? About our religion? Biblical questions? Theological questions? Philosophical questions? Write them down.
- Don’t be afraid to follow a lead: I asked my religion professor in college what he thought about heaven and hell and he didn’t answer the question himself, but directed me to a book – The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. I was superbly annoyed by this at first because it meant more work for me and I just wanted the easy answer. However, I have repeatedly found that when wise people refer something to you – it is almost always worth your while.
- Who to ask: Who should we bring our questions to? The answers you receive will depend on who you ask. Sometimes we ask certain people our questions because we know we will be comfortable with their answers. Instead ask yourself, “Self, who is the most knowledgable person I know on this subject? Do I respect them?” Ask them.
Good luck. Did I miss any of the reasons why questions are important for our spiritual development?
PS – The preamble to this post was a Lord of the Rings conversation with Brian C. Dees about why the eagles could not have just flown the Ring to Mordor and destroyed it as illustrated in this popular video.
Dearest Brian,