Are evangelicals ‘people who don’t have any questions’?

In the Gospels, Jesus was asked around 180 questions and He almost never gave a straight answer.

Instead he asked over 300 questions of His own. When we considered these facts last month we applied the lessons to situations in which we are on the receiving end. This month I want to consider the power of questions and how we can be proactive in asking them.

Questions foster curiosity

Recently I heard evangelicalism described by someone from the outside. We are, apparently, ‘people who don’t have any questions.’ There are many ways we could respond to that accusation, but it might be wise if one response was to ask some searching questions of ourselves. Do we position ourselves as Answer People rather than Questioning People? If so, what message does that send about the truth we have found? It might well communicate that we are satisfied with ‘answers on a postcard’ – that we’re content to keep our doctrine to that which can fit within an evangelistic tract. And how attractive is that for our questioning friends?

But it’s even worse. If we think that non-Christians have questions and we have answers, what are we communicating about the nature of faith? We’re essentially saying that conversion is ‘getting all our questions answered’. Yet I have more questions as a Christian than I did before my conversion, and if my friends think they need all issues checked off a list before they can believe, they’ll never come to faith. We need to foster curiosity – in ourselves and in our friends.

Questions forge relationship

Anyone who’s spent any time with young children knows how thick and fast the questions come. And it’s not just an insatiable desire for knowledge. They’ll often ask a question you’ve only just answered. They’re not simply being inquisitive. They’re being interactive. They enjoy the back and forth. It’s pretty rudimentary in their early years, but their questions are less about knowing an answer and more about enjoying a relationship.

It’s the same in our friendships. To ask our friends questions is to go deep with them. In fact, questions are so personal we should probably pray and reflect on how appropriate or intrusive we’re being. It can be a very intimate thing to ask someone about their past, their feelings, their motivations or their deeply held beliefs. But if we’re prepared to be open ourselves we might find that our questions are helping to forge mutual understanding. Perhaps use the following four to explore issues a bit deeper than regular chit-chat:

• What gets you thinking (about the big issues in life)?

• What gets you up (in the morning)?

• What gets you down (in the dumps)?

• What gets you through (the hard times)?

Questions forward the conversation

The fascinating thing about questions is that they put you in the driver’s seat. No wonder the Lord of Heaven was so often asking rather than answering questions. From the beginning He confronts us: ‘Where are you?’ (Gen. 3:9), and ‘What have you done?’ (Gen. 4:10). He asks ‘What good is it for someone to gain the whole world and forfeit their soul?’ (Mark 8:36) and ‘Who do people say that I am?’ (Mark 8:27). Questions forward the conversation in a particular direction and perhaps we should be quicker to pose them. Questions like:

• Do you have a faith?

• What kind of God do you believe / not believe in?

• Have you ever had a religious experience / seen a miracle?

• Where do you think we’ve all come from?

• Does your answer to that question help you live a happy and meaningful life?

• Do you think there’s a meaning to life? What is it?

• What do you think comes after death?

• Nature is brutal – where do you think we get our morals/values from?

• We’re two slabs of meat – how come we’re able to have a conversation?

• We’re survival machines – how come there’s goodness, truth, beauty and love?

• What would stop you being a Christian?

• What do you make of Jesus?

• How come a guy crucified in godforsaken agony in his 30s has been history’s most influential figure?

• Have you read a Gospel since becoming an adult?

Let’s not be ‘people who don’t have any questions.’ And instead of being the Answer Guys, let’s be posing the questions instead.