“Have you ever met anyone who absolutely did not believe in God? I've met some people who claimed to be atheists, but after talking with them I decided they only said they were atheists because they thought it made them sound smart.”
“Sometimes I really believe in God, but then my belief fades and I end up thinking that maybe I just talked myself into believing, and that God doesn't exist after all. Is there any way to be sure?”
“When something bad happens to us, is it because God is punishing us? My husband is dying of cancer, and I can't help but wonder if God is punishing us, since we've never gone to church or been religious or anything.”
“My parents moved this summer, and that meant I’ve had to go to a new high school. But I’m really lonely, because most of the kids here are into things I don’t agree with. Some even call me a Jesus freak.”
“If you could point to just one person in the Bible (other than Jesus) as a good example for people to follow, who would it be? Most of the people I’ve read about in the Bible seem to be a mixture of good and bad.”
“My aunt believes that if you just have a sunny outlook on life you'll be healthy and almost never get sick. It seems to work for her, but is she just kidding herself? I have a hard time being optimistic with all the problems I have.”
“I don't know what we did to be such bad parents. Our son (who's 26) is constantly getting into trouble — writing bad checks, not paying his bills, etc. He always says he'll change if we'll just bail him out one more time, but he never does. Where did we go wrong?”
“Our daughter’s husband walked out on her and it’s really been hard, especially since she has two small children and has to work. We’d like to help somehow, but we’ve not had the best of relationships with our daughter (especially since we urged her not to marry this man), and we don’t know what to do. Any suggestions?”
“I got a new job and moved to a big city because I thought it would be exciting to be around so much activity, but I’ve never been so lonely. I haven’t made even one friend here. Why did God let me make such a big mistake?”
“We used to hear a lot about cults, but it seems like we don’t hear much about them anymore. Have they lost their appeal and aren’t much of a problem now?”
“I know you say God will forgive every sin we’ve ever committed, but you don’t know what I’ve done. I’m in prison for drug dealing, and I know I probably messed up thousands of lives before I got caught. I can’t even forgive myself, let alone think God might forgive me. I feel so guilty.”
“My cousin is a very superstitious person, always worried she might do something that will bring her bad luck, or spending money on charms or other things that are supposed to bring her good luck. Is this just a harmless hobby, or is it something more?”