I have a friend who recently went through a divorce.  His wife got tired of him, and she left him.  She took him to court for a divorce, but he never wanted a divorce.  He tried to stop it and wanted to work things out.  During the court proceedings, he found out that she had found someone else.  After that, he decided that the divorce could go on.  It has been nearly a year since the divorce, and his ex is now engaged.  Does he have a right to remarry since he only agreed to the divorce once he knew she had cheated?  Any help would be appreciated.

Sincerely,
Concerned

Dear Concerned,

Your question deals with the issue of marriage, divorce, and remarriage.  This issue is a big issue, and each individual must study the Scriptures concerning this before making a personal decision about it.  Whenever people send us questions dealing with marriage, divorce, and remarriage, we always point them toward our sermon series on the topic.  That series should answer most questions about the subject.  If there are still questions after listening to those five lessons – feel free to write back, but please make sure to include your e-mail, so we can contact you directly.  Here is a link to that series of sermons: “Marriage, Divorce, And Remarriage”.

When praying, I find myself quite frequently praying "in my mind" instead of praying out loud.  Is God displeased with this?  I mean, I'm not embarrassed or ashamed to do it out loud, but it just comes naturally to me, and it seems like I can explain myself better to Him.  It's like I get "stuck" on my words when I pray out loud for some reason!

Sincerely,
Silent

Dear Silent,

God never emphasizes silent prayer above vocal prayer or vice-versa.  We have examples of both in the Bible.  Nehemiah prayed silently before the king, and his prayer was answered (Neh 2:4).  Hannah also prayed silently, but with fervor, and her prayer was answered (1 Sam. 1:13).  On the other hand, righteous Stephen prayed with a loud voice (Acts 7:60).  There is no specific instruction given by God in regard to volume.

Does God need us?  If He has everything already, why does He need us?

Sincerely,
Feeling Frivolous

Dear Feeling Frivolous,

God doesn’t need us, but He wants us.  God loves us without regard to our necessity.  Like parents with their children, God loves us even though we are technically more of a burden than a help.  Children are messy, expensive, and time-consuming… yet, good parents love them unconditionally.  God is our Father (Heb 12:9).  We love because He first loved us (1 Jn 4:19).  It isn’t that God needs us; it is His unselfish desire for us to have life and spend eternity with Him.

Is artificial contraception a sin?

Sincerely,
Not Ready For Children

Dear Not Ready For Children,

There are two ways that using birth control would be a sin.

1. It is a sin if it is a type of birth control that is ‘retroactive’, meaning that it forces your body to reject an already fertilized egg. God says that life begins in the womb after conception. God said that Samson was a life even while in the womb (Judg 13:7); the same is said of David (Ps 139:13). John the Baptist was even described as a ‘baby leaping within the womb’ (Lk 1:41). As the old saying goes, “If it isn’t a baby, you aren’t pregnant.” Mary was ‘with child’, not ‘with embryo’ (Matt 1:18). Carefully discuss with your doctor any birth control that you might use and make sure that it does not function by aborting a fertilized egg in the early stages of development. The only birth control acceptable to a christian is one that prevents fertilization.
2. The other reason you couldn’t use birth control is if your conscience bothers you. If you can’t do it in faith, then it is a sin (Rom 14:23). Many christians believe that they are thwarting God’s will by using birth control. Others are concerned that the birth control may accidently cause a miscarriage. If you or your spouse fall under this category of ‘conscientious objector’, then you must refrain from using birth control.

Having considered these factors, make a thoughtful, informed, and prayerful decision.

All the major faiths of the world preach that only through following their teachings and believing in their god will one reach heaven.  This means everyone else goes to hell.  To a christian, all the muslims are hell-bound.  To a muslim, all the christians are infidels and will never reach God.  I find it hard to believe that a loving God would set up half the world for failure.  Each faith is strict about the requirements to spend eternity with God.  How do we come to terms with this concept that ours is the only way?

Sincerely,
Too Exclusive

Dear Too Exclusive,

One of the key components to any religion is that we accept that particular religion’s god as he is.  It isn’t fair to simultaneously try and find which god is real (Allah, Buddha, Jehovah, etc.) and also have a pre-conceived notion about how we want God to behave.  If the Muslim’s are right, then Allah exists, and it doesn’t matter whether Allah is loving or not – Allah is what Allah is.  If the Buddhists are correct, it doesn’t matter whether we like reincarnation or not – reincarnation exists.  The same is true with Jehovah, the God of the Bible.  God is who God is, without regard to our opinion of how we feel He ought to be.  We may feel that He has “set up” a large portion of society for failure, but if the God of the Bible is real (and we feel confident He is!), we must take Him at His Word that all have evidence of His existence and are without excuse if they don’t follow Him (Rom 1:20).

The key to finding which god is the true God is to look at the evidence – primarily the key documents for each religion.  When you compare the Koran, the Dharma, the Veda, and other books of faith to the Bible… there is no comparison.  The Bible is accurate scientifically, prophetically, historically, and contextually consistent; it never contradicts itself and contains truths that only God would know and yet can be proven true by practice.  We highly recommend you read our article “Who Wrote The Bible?” for further explanation of the proof that the Bible is from God.  When analyzing religion in the search for truth, follow the evidence, and it will always lead you to the Bible.