“My mother and I always had a very rocky relationship. But now that she’s gone I feel very guilty, because I discovered after she died that she’d been severely abused as a child, and this was probably why she had so many problems. I wish I could go back and make things right, but I can’t. Maybe if you print my letter it’ll help someone else.”
“I know I am a Christian, but I just don't feel at home in most of the churches I've been to. Getting dressed up and smiling at people I don't know and everything like that seems so phony to me. Why should I bother with church? I don't need to go to church to be a good Christian, do I?”
“Every time I visit my grandmother in her nursing home I come away saddened because so many of the people there are lonely and never have anyone visit them. Why don’t churches try to get some of their members to do this? I know they’d be appreciated.”
“How can someone who’s very nice one minute explode in anger the next? I have a cousin like this. He’s very active in his church and I have no reason to doubt his faith, but it’s like walking on thin ice to be around him because you never know what will set him off.”
“My son and his family moved in with me when he lost his job. But now that he has a good job they don’t show any signs of moving, and I’m afraid he’s just taking advantage of me. I’m a widow and not in the best of health, and with their three young children and two dogs packed into the house, it’s hard on me. Would it be wrong for me to suggest they move?”
“I committed my life to Jesus a couple of years ago through a Bible study some friends invited me to, and He has really changed my life. But my husband has no interest in God, and since I no longer like to do the things he does (like spend time in bars and casinos), we're just drifting apart. Should I leave him? We just don't have anything in common.”
“I asked Jesus to come into my life at a church camp this past summer, but I’m not sure if He’s still there. I haven’t lived up to what I know He expects of me, and now I’m afraid I’ve lost my salvation. How can I get it back?”
“I know the Bible says we ought to help the poor, and I guess I agree with that, but can’t governments do this better than churches? It’ll take a lot of money to fight poverty in places like Africa, for example, and churches simply don’t have that kind of money.”
“Can you be a Christian but believe in another religion at the same time? A friend of mine claims he believes in Jesus, but he says he also follows another religion. He says he doesn’t think he’s being illogical, because all religions lead to the same place.”
“I'm always fascinated by the predictions that astrologers and fortunetellers make at the beginning of each year, and I always read them avidly. Don't you think we ought to pay more attention to these predictions so we'll have a happier life?”
“Whenever I hear about a friend who's facing a health problem I always pray for them. But I've always been reluctant to tell people I'm praying for them, because I don't want them to think I'm better than they are, or that I'm bragging about how spiritual I am. Am I wrong to keep quiet?”
“I'm sure we ought to help people in poor countries who need health care and things like that, but is sending missionaries really the best way to help them? It seems to me that groups like the Red Cross or the United Nations can make a bigger impact because they have more resources.”