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Faith Q&As

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Homemaking and the Biblical View of Work

Where does homemaking fit into the Bible’s teaching on work and labor? I’ve always been happy in my role as a stay-at-home wife and mother. Then I heard a series of messages about the role of productive labor in God’s plan for mankind. Since then I’ve been having doubts. I spend my time preparing meals, …

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Pain, Injustice, and God’s Love

If God is fair, just, and loving, why is there so much suffering in the world? I want to believe in His goodness, but the injustices of life have convinced me that, if He does exist, He must not care very much about what goes on in this world. Just recently, my neighbor, a good …

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Reconciling God’s Love With Suffering in the World

If God is all-powerful and all-loving, why doesn’t He do something about the mess on earth? I used to consider myself a person of faith, but the hopeless and sad state of our suffering world has left me questioning whether God cares or even exists. Can you say anything to change my mind?

buildings and Israel flag

The “Election” of Israel and What It Means

Why would God “choose” the Jewish People? I’ve tried to examine Christianity with an open mind and give the Bible a fair hearing. Quite frankly though, its whole foundational premise suggesting that the Jews are God’s chosen people seems to discredit the whole religion for me. I mean seriously; a book, written by Jews, claiming …

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Vegans, Vegetarians, and the Bible

Does the Bible say anything about being vegetarian or vegan?

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A Biblical Perspective on Leadership

What does genuine biblical “leadership” look like? “Leadership” in general is an idea that seems to be getting a lot of promotion these days. Whether I’m at church, in a bookstore, or at work, it seems the assertion that “everybody needs to be a leader” is always being pushed. I’m not sure if this is …

Christianity and Its Claim As the Only Path to God

Why should I accept Christianity as the “one true religion?” I’m put off by the intolerance of most Christians. I might become a believer myself if you people weren’t so narrow-minded. Can’t you see that there are many different pathways to spirituality – like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Wicca – and that no path is better …

Man in volunteer shirt pushing older man in wheelchair

Faith, Works, and Salvation

Am I saved by faith or good works? As a new Christian, I was relieved to hear that salvation doesn’t depend on works, but solely on God’s gift of grace. But then someone told me that “faith without works is dead” and that God cares as much about my actions as He does about my …

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How Can Woman Be Made in the Image of a Male God?

How is it possible for both men and women to be made in the Divine Image when the Bible speaks of God primarily in masculine terms? I’m wondering if all the talk I’ve been hearing about the biblical basis for equality between the sexes is just an attempt on the part of liberal theologians to …

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Perspectives on Christian Community and Communal Living

What do you think about the current emphasis on communal living in some Christian circles? We’re seriously worried about a couple of close friends of ours. Over the past year they’ve become increasingly obsessed with the idea of creating “community.” Now they want us to sell our home, move with them to a rural area, …

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Rediscovering Christian Faith

How can I regain my childhood faith? I was brought up as a Christian but stopped believing in God a few years ago. More recently, I’ve been feeling as if something is drawing me back to the faith of my childhood. My fear is that this is purely a matter of sentiment and emotion and …

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The Fall of Man and “Total Depravity”

Does God view me as “inherently evil?” I recently heard a pastor use this phrase in a sermon on the doctrine of “total depravity.” It’s been bothering me ever since. In the first place, I think it’s unbiblical. Scripture says that God made mankind in His own image, and that everything He made was inherently …

What Bible translations does Focus recommend?

I heard that Focus on the Family doesn’t recommend gender-neutral Bible translations. What translations does Focus recommend?

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A Biblical View of Survivalists and Preppers

What do you think of Christians who adopt a “survivalist/off-the-grid” mentality? Who sell their homes, move to remote desert or mountain locations, stockpile food, grow their own crops, live like “pioneers,” and strive to be as independent of the “system” as possible? I know several people who are moving in this direction. I don’t completely …

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Christianity, Pagan Religions, and Family Life

Can pagans be good family people? I’m a young Pagan/Wiccan woman and I appreciate many of the articles, Q&As, and other features posted on Focus on the Family’s website. But I wonder what you, as Christians, think of a person like me. Would you agree that a strong, healthy religious belief system of any kind …

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Finding God’s Will

How do I seek God’s guidance when faced with major decisions? In other words, how can I get a handle on His will for my life? I’ve been told that it’s important to do this, and for the most part I believe it’s true. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to go about it. I …

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How Churches Can Support Immobile and Confined Senior Citizens

Can you offer any suggestions for organizing an effective church outreach to shut-ins and residents of nursing homes?

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Perspectives on the Compatibility of Christianity and Psychology

What should Christians think of the study and use of psychology and psychiatry?

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Repeatedly Straying Christian Wonders if He’s Beyond God’s Forgiveness

How many times will God forgive me and take me back again? I’m a Christian, but my walk with the Lord has been an on-and-off thing for a number of years. There have been many occasions when I’ve walked away from the Lord only to return to Him again after falling on my face and …

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The God of the Old Testament vs. the God of New

Why is God so angry in the Old Testament and so loving in the New?