“I retired last year, and at first I really enjoyed not having to work. But now I'm bored to death, and I know my wife wishes she could get me out of the house. Was I wrong to retire? Did people in the Bible retire when they reached a certain age?”
“All my life, I've been told that God hates sin, and since I'm a sinner, all I can expect is hell unless I turn my life around. I've tried to do that, but I still have a deep fear of God. Is this what God is like?”
“I decided to read through one of the Gospels the other day, and it seemed to me that during His lifetime Jesus was just called “Jesus” by everyone. Is it wrong to refer to Him as “Christ”?”
“I don't understand my husband. We've been happily married over 50 years, but recently he's gotten very forgetful, and when I get after him for it he gets angry. I don't know how to deal with this.”
“My mother died recently, and although I know she's in heaven I worry about whether or not she's happy, if she still has health problems, and things like that. I've heard of someone who says she can communicate with people who've died, but my daughter says to stay away from this. What would you say?”
“I'm old and sick and don't have much time left, and as I look back over my life I know it's been wasted. I thought I was having a good time, but now I realize it's too late and I'm not ready to meet God. Maybe someone will learn from my bad example.”
“I know our society has made a lot of progress in the field of civil rights in recent years, but do you think we’ll ever eliminate all the injustices in our world? Sometimes I wonder if it’ll ever happen.”
“Why is pride supposed to be a sin? I don't see what's wrong with taking pride in your work, or in your children, or things like that.”
“How can I get a stronger faith? Sometimes my faith seems strong and I feel very close to God, but other times it's very weak, and I'll even wonder if I have any faith left.”
“My neighbor says he used to go to church, but he got disillusioned by all the bickering that went on there and decided to drop out and forget about God. Do you think he has a legitimate complaint, or is he just using this as an excuse?”
“I know you've said we ought to start teaching our children about God at a very young age, but our son is only 3 and can't seem to stay still for more than a couple of minutes. It doesn't seem practical to teach him about much of anything, let alone God.”
“I have a bad case of emphysema, and I know I don't have long to live. The doctor says I got it because I was a heavy smoker (and never really tried to quit, to be honest). I don't have a question, but maybe my letter will encourage someone to live a cleaner life.”