The title of this post was taken from this article which was specifically about the question, “If you commit suicide, do you go to heaven?” In the article, the argument is made that outright answer of the question is wrong. A better response is to dig at the reason for the question.
And that’s true in many contexts. People pose questions about theology, about the nature of good and evil, about suffering and sovereignty, and yes, about suicide. But when those questions are really, really posed, they often are not done so in a purely theoretical way.
There’s something else going on.
Something personal.
Something painful.
Something driving the question.
If we are too quick to simply answer the question, then the person asking it is not served. Our information may be right, but we are failing to take advantage of the redemptive conversation that might follow.
If we embrace that there is something, something intensely personal, usually driving these questions, then a better response, rather than a dispensation of information, is to simply return the question with a question:
Why do you ask?
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So true. When I have students ask whether Christianity is the only true religion it typically comes from having a friend of another faith and not wanting to think that they are not saved through their own religion. This also pops up when something a parent or former minister said to them does not connect with what we are teaching. For them at that time the question is really who can I trust.
Good word, Josh. Always something deeper. We mask the real question with intellectualism.
I’ve often found that many Christians answer the “theological questions” this way (annoyingly, with another question) because they simply do not have a good answer for you. If you look to the Bible for answers in morality or kindness, or if you have a question like “Why are animals allowed to suffer when they have no hope of going to Heaven, and therefore have nothing to gain by experiencing misery?”, you will have trouble finding answers. Even ministers have trouble reconciling their worldviews to reality, so answering others’ important questions through a pious film may seem like, well, stretching the truth a bit. Unfortunately, the Bible is not a good place to go for anything but storytelling. Real life questions must be answered in a manner that has to do with 2011, not the 1st century–and it’s most helpful if advice is given based upon fact, not fiction. There again, the Bible has nothing to offer the serious seeker of truth. Looking back to the 1st century for questions about our lives today is an exercise in futility. Somtimes we have to find answers on our own; and unless we’re willing to chop off our offending hand or stone to death those causing us grief, the book we use probably shouldn’t be the Bible. Even Wikipedia would be better.