“Why are children so cruel? Our son has some slight physical handicaps, and it's really hard for us to watch some of the children in his class make fun of him and call him nicknames that are hurtful. We've thought about saying something to his teachers, but we don't want to be complainers.”
“Our daughter is very tender-hearted toward animals, and recently became a volunteer at our local animal shelter. We’re glad she’s found something that interests her, since many kids her age (she’s 16) drift along without much purpose. She feels this is what God wants her to do with her life, but is God really interested in things like this?”
“How big is God? Is He bigger than the moon? I'm in first grade, and my mother said to ask you.”
“I just paid my taxes, and it makes me angry to see all the churches, charities and other organizations that don’t pay a cent in taxes, while I have to pay until it hurts. They ought to pay their fair share just like everyone else. I know you don’t agree, but that’s my position.”
“My husband and I stuck it out until the children were grown, but it's been two years now since the divorce and I'm beginning to wish I'd tried harder to keep us together. No one ever told me how hard and lonely it is. I don't have a question, but maybe my experience will help someone.”
“I've had a rocky relationship with my mother most of my life, and in fact we've hardly spoken in the last year. But recently, the mother of a close friend of mine died, and it's started me thinking if I ought to try to change this. But how do I go about it? Or is it even possible?”
“I grew up in a church that always used printed or memorized prayers in its services, and I'm having a hard time learning to pray on my own. I even worry if it's wrong to try praying in our own words, because we might say something wrong and offend God. Is this a danger?”
“I get very disillusioned with the way our politicians squabble all the time. Do you see any hope for the future, or is our nation headed for the trash heap like every other civilization?”
“Our pastor quoted something from the Bible that said we’d never see God unless we were holy. Well, I don’t consider myself a particularly holy person, because I know I’m not perfect. Does this mean it isn’t enough to believe in Jesus for our salvation?”
“Some people came to my door the other day to talk about religion, and (if I understood them) they said it's a mistake to say that Jesus was the unique Son of God. We're all sons of God, they said. I don't know much about religion, but are they right?”
“How do you know if something bad that happens to you is from God, or if it’s from the devil? I’ve gone through a hard time recently, and one friend tells me that God sent it to make me a better person, while another friend says the devil sent it to make me doubt God. How do I know who’s right?”
“My mother was always an angry, critical person who never got along with anyone, and while I was growing up I vowed I’d never be like her. But now I find that sometimes I’m just like she was, and it alarms me because I don’t want to be that way. What’s wrong with me?”