Why Are Christians Afraid To Ask Questions?

By Allen Epling

I recently wrote a blog asking "Is the book of Genesis accurate? I received a comment that basically said, "How can we have a relationship with God if we doubt His Word?" The writer of the comment took my question as a statement of doubt.

I was simply trying to get Christians to think about their faith.

Something is wrong in our faith when Christians are afraid to ask simple questions about the Bible. As a former school teacher I have always felt that the most exciting endeavor a human being can engage in is to learn about our world and the universe in general. The same should be true of God's Word. Are we so knowledgeable and arrogant that we believe all that can be known is already known. Do Christians actually believe that God does not want us to explore any further into the mysteries of His word. To me that idea is archaic and counterproductive to the faith.

There are too many people of faith who have the idea that to question is an indication of a lack of faith, therefore they see all new ideas as a challenge to the traditional beliefs they have grown up with. That is why they see all new science discoveries as a potential threat and many times reject obvious "truths" as heresy.

There is no doubt that church membership is in trouble today in many denominations and I believe it is primarily due to this attitude. When I wrote a book on a new perspective of the book of Genesis, I offered some new, and perhaps radical, ideas compared to traditional views, that I knew would be seen by some as controversial. I didn't write them to just be different but because I sincerely believed that we were "missing the point" in some of our beliefs and interpretations of the book.

I was really surprised at the several book "signings" that I attended to promote my book, to observe the older generations give it a passing glance and move on, while people of college age and younger stopped, looked and read my flyers, picked up the book and read the back cover. I spent many long sessions discussing with them the new ideas in the book and why I thought they were valid. Needless to say, I sold few books to the "traditionalists" and more to the younger generation who were interested in such things, and were ASKING QUESTIONS.

The young people today are searching for answers to questions we are refusing or are afraid to answer. They want to know about creationism, Intelligent Design, Evolution, and more. Many pastors are preaching from the pulpits to ignore such topics, they will lead you astray from the "true gospel".

That is not good enough.

If we are to attract and convert today's inquisitive young generation we have to offer what they want, answers that make sense. There are subjects that are supported by "facts" that they know are true that we are in denial about, such as the age of the earth. Why don't we just go back 100 years and preach that the earth is flat again. We used to do that. Where did we get the idea that God didn't want us to know and understand Him better by investigating those things?

I believe that this generation is finding out more about God than any other in history by exploring such topics. Yet there is a large contingent that would stop all such activity. It is exciting to me to find evidence that God may have described two separate creation events in the book of Genesis, but some would say that is "changing the Bible". I say NO!. That is changing man's understanding of what the Bible really says. I believe that for the first time since the creation, we are living in a time that we can more fully understand the mysteries that the Bible holds for us, and that it is God's will that we do so. The most ridiculous argument I have ever encountered is for someone to say "God doesn't want us to know that".

There are answers in the Bible we haven't discovered yet but through new knowledge and understanding we will gain insights that will allow us to know God better. That is what the young of today are looking for.  If we deny them the chance to know God better than our forefather's did, we will lose an entire generation. I can see that happening already.

In the movie "The Red Planet" one of the prominent scientists aboard the vessel sent to investigate life on Mars, was asked why he believed in God. He replied,

"I realized that science couldn't answer any of the really interesting questions. So I turned to ... God".

              There are questions science can never answer and many of our young realize that and are turning to the Bible. Are we to tell them "the answers are not there either", or "God doesn't want you to know that"?

Those who deny that anything new can be learned from the book of Genesis will share the responsibility for this wrong.

This article is part of a continuing feature dealing with the Evolution Vs Creationism debate. Each week a new topic will be dealt with presenting, hopefully, a balanced, educated viewpoint, while ALWAYS upholding the divinity and sanctity of the Bible. The basic tenet of this article is that every word of the book of Genesis is factually, historically, and scientifically true.

 For the book from which these thoughts were taken, visit

 http://www.beyondgenesis.com