Recently, I’ve been struggling with my faith.  I am eighteen years old.  I was wondering... why does it feel like the entire world is becoming atheist or agnostic?  Whenever I go on the internet, it seems like there's always some argument about why believing in God is stupid.  People bash the Bible all the time at school.  I am afraid to go to college now because I feel like I will lose my faith all together.  I find it really hard to believe.  My brother even told me today that he is "agnostic".  I feel very lost right now.

Sincerely,
Disheartened

Dear Disheartened,

The U.S. is struggling with losing its biblical ties, but it isn’t as bad as we perceive it to be.  Statistically, only about 4% of Americans categorize themselves as atheistic or agnostic.  That means that the vast majority of the United States believes in God.  Sadly, the voices most often heard in media and culture make it sound like only a fool would believe in God.

Ironically, the Bible says the opposite (Ps 53:1).  The responsibility that Christians have is to make the evidence of God’s existence clear in a culture that is opposed to God.  The evidence of God’s existence is staggering.  We recommend you read our articles “Does God Exist?” and “Who Wrote The Bible?” because both of those articles cover some of the evidence that will help you stand firm by your convictions – you might even share some of it with your brother.

Hang in there.  It sounds like you could use a faithful congregation, so you don’t feel so alone.  The Bible says that is one of the purposes of the church (Heb 10:24-25).  Not all churches do this, but we would be happy to help you find a congregation near you that is faithful, gives Bible answers, and will help you to stand strong.  Just e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org.

     I'm going to be up front with you; I am not a Christian.  I have no desire to be.  My fiancé, on the other hand, is.  I am trying to understand how he believes, so we will have a more harmonious union.  I asked him this question, and he did not know the answer.

My question is: if the Lord is so wonderful, why would He want to see His children suffer?  Why would He take away a life that has not yet even begun?  Why would He hurt the innocent when the evil continue to live?  I don't understand this.

If you could please explain this in simple terms – the preachers in my area get very upset when someone doubts the Lord’s amazing-ness.  Thus, I am turning to you, whoever you are, to give me a straight answer.  Thank you so much.

Sincerely,
Unbelievable

Dear Unbelievable,

Many people don’t believe in God because religious people are unwilling or incapable of giving logical answers to questions like this.  We are so sorry that you’ve never gotten the answers that the Bible offers because the Bible does give an answer to this question.
This world is full of all sorts of disease, pain, violence, and strife – but God didn’t cause those things; sin did.  All bad things are a result of sin.  When God made the world, He placed mankind in the Garden of Eden and gave us a joyously blissful existence in that paradise.  Who caused the pain?  We did.  It is sin that has brought all of the death, disease, decay, pain, suffering, troubles, and heartaches into our world.  We all, in varying degrees, are reaping the benefits of a world with sin in it.  Sickness is a consequence of Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden.  One of the curses of their sin was that we all must face our own mortality – life is finite.  Sickness, disease, and pain are a part of the human existence.  Sadly, this is true even for our children. When God gave us freewill, He gave us the right to cause problems for ourselves and others, and if He simply removed all the consequences for our actions, He would be removing our freedoms as well.  The flip-side to this is that all children go to heaven, so after a child dies, God immediately comforts them on the other side.

God gives mankind the freedom to make decisions, but He also has the wisdom to know how those choices will affect the future (Job 12:13).  God planned before the foundation of the world to save us by sending His own Son to die (Eph. 1:3-4).  Even though He isn’t responsible for our choices, God sent the perfect cure. This world isn’t fair – if it were, it would be heaven.  Instead, we live in a fallen world where man has been exiled from paradise.  This world is not our home; Christians await a better world (Heb 11:16).

     Is it okay for Christians to meditate?  If you pray to relieve stress but also want to just take a few minutes a day to picture a nice scenery or something to bring zen, is that okay?

Sincerely,
Mind Over Matter

Dear Mind Over Matter,

God wants us to dwell upon positive things (Php 4:8).  There is nothing wrong with meditating on the good and beautiful of this life.  Ps 77:12 talks about dwelling upon God’s creation and His handiwork as a positive thing.  Meditation isn’t a replacement for prayer – but it can be pleasant.

Why do preachers lie to people and say that Christmas has to do with Jesus?

Sincerely,
No Tree For Me

Dear No Tree For Me,

We can't explain why others teach what they do, but you can have confidence that we here at AYP don't teach that Christmas has anything to do with Jesus.  We can prove it – read this post dated Jan. 7th of last year – “A Silent Summer Night”.

     What do you think of the TV show Long Island Medium?  She claims she can talk to dead people, and the TV show does a good job portraying that she can actually talk to the dead.

Sincerely,
Remotely Interested

Dear Remotely Interested,

Mediums are frauds, and God has always condemned them (Lev 20:27).  Television has a way of portraying reality the way they want you to see it.  Magicians really make it seem like they pull the rabbit out of thin air, but we know it is just an illusion.  Reality television has illusions, too.
The only account in the Bible of a medium talking to the dead was in 1 Sam 28:12, and the medium was just as surprised as everyone else when God sent Samuel to warn Saul!