“Every year about this time, our church board presents the new budget to the congregation, and our preacher takes several weeks to preach about money and tithing and all that. Frankly, I get tired of it. In my opinion, he ought to be dealing with spiritual things, not with money.”
“My uncle never wanted anything to do with God or religion, and he always let others know it. And yet just before he died he made us promise to hold his memorial service in a church. What do you think was going through his mind? It seemed kind of hypocritical to me.”
“Do you think medical science will ever abolish all sickness, and even death itself? I'd be dead by now if it weren't for some of the most recent medical advances, and it's made me wonder where such things could be headed.”
“I think “hell” is just a myth. It's just an idea that various religions dreamed up in order to scare people into following their beliefs. I assume you don't agree, but I challenge you to prove that you're right and I'm wrong.”
“My brother-in-law, who's an atheist, says death is the end of us, but I can't bring myself to agree with that. I guess I'm not sure what I believe about God or life after death. Do you have any advice?”
“I heard recently about a church near us where it was discovered that the pastor was getting all his sermons off the Internet. He wasn’t even changing them or giving credit to the original preacher, but was using them as if they were his own. Do you think the congregation was right in asking him to leave? This seemed a bit harsh to some.”
“I made a New Year's resolution to read straight through the Bible this year, but I've already given up. I'd never read the Bible before, but the Old Testament was too much for me. Any suggestions?”
“I love my grandfather and hate to say anything against him, but he's very prejudiced against people of other races. He seems to make a special point of talking about it when we bring our children for a visit. How should we handle it with them?”
“My brother rebelled against our parents and against God as a teenager. He’s in his 50s now and has really messed up his life, but he won’t even talk with me about it. Why do two people from the same family take such different paths?”
“I’m furious, because the man I’ve been seeing for two years told me at Christmas that he’s decided not to divorce his wife and marry me. Our relationship was secret, but what would be wrong with letting his wife know what’s been going on? He deserves to get hurt for going back on his promise to me.”
“Our pastor said the other day that we ought to be glad when problems come, because we’ll become better persons as a result. I’m not sure I agree with him. Why would God put us into hard situations?”
“Why can't Christians get along with each other? Our church is going through some conflict right now over what is really a minor issue, but no one wants to give in or admit they might be wrong. Are all churches like this?”