Answers for Deena Dobson's
"Questions To Ask The Christian Theist"

This page was inspired by a woman I met on the net 10 years ago. Her name is Deena Ann Dobson, and she has written several essays about different religious beliefs. Her main focus, however, has been Christianity. "Questions To Ask The Christian Theist" was one that I had her email to me. It is a list of questions that are designed to stump traditional Christian theologians. However, thanks to the Restoration we no longer need to be stumped. Every one of these questions can be answered through the scriptures, most of them through modern day revelation and scripture (such as the Pearl of Great Price). I will assume the role of the "theist", drawing on the knowledge and inspiration of other "theists" (IE prophets, apostles, and theologians), and will answer all these queries. I have copied the questions in the same format they were sent to me, so you can read Deena's essay. To view the answers, just click on the heading links.
Putting together this page has reaffirmed my testimony that by asking God, and by the teachings of modern day prophets, we can find answers.

The Bible: 1. If the Bible is God's Word, what parts of the Bible were written directly by God? In what language did he write in? 2. Did God personally choose the men who were responsible for choosing which religious writings were to be included in the bible? How did that happen? 3. Why is it that there are books of the Bible that are included in the Catholic Bible and not in the Protestant version? Wouldn't God have something to say about which religious writings are to be included in the bible? Leviticus: The description of ritual laws for Israelite religion. 1. Why don't Christians abide by these laws today? (They consider everything in the Bible to be God's word, therefore are not his biblical commandments valid?) 2. Isn't a bit strange that the Jewish writers of the bible proclaimed that Jews are God's chosen people and then proclaimed that this is God's Holy Word? 3. Why is it that all 4 gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) have diferent versions and contradictions of what happened after Jesus' death? Shouldn't the "inerrant" word of God be more accurate? God: 1. What was God doing before he created the earth? 2. Why several names for God, Yahweh, Elohim, Jehovah, etc.? 3. If God is all knowing and all powerful, he must know everything abut the future. Therefore he both knows and controls the future. Isn't that a paradox? Therefore, did he not set up Adam & Eve to fail in the first place. 4. Why did Yahweh reject Cain's sacrifice of vegetables? Why did Yahweh demand sacrifices in the first place? 5. If God exists, then why is he hiding? 6. And just why did God create man? For his own perverse pleasure? To toy with mankind and to test mankind? To send the believers to heaven to serve Him there and to cast the others into Hell so Satan can have his pleasure with the unbelievers? Adam & Eve: 1. What language did Adam & Eve speak? How did they learn it? 2. Did Adam (or Eve) have a belly button? 3. Since the Bible doesn't say that God created other females except Eve (in the Garden of Eden), Cain and Seth married their own sisters? (And where did they come from?) 4. What race was Adam & Eve? How did the many races and stocks of humans come into being? 5. Did the dinosaurs who lived on earth for more than 200 million years, come before Adam & Eve, or after?

Jesus: 1. What race was Jesus? 2. Did Jesus have any sisters? 3. The first Chapter of Matthew is "A genealogy of Jesus, son of David, son of Abraham. The genealogy ends with Joseph as husband of Mary, however, by immaculate conception, Jesus was not genetically related to David or Abraham. Do Christians ignore this? 4. Leviticus proclaims that you must not eat locusts, yet in Matthew and Mark we see John the Baptist going about preaching and eating locusts and wild honey. (Shame on him!) 5. How come Jesus never wrote anything? Everything he said was quoted by someone else (and most bible theologians agree that the gospels were written at least 40 years after Jesus' death). Is this reliable? 6. Christian theology says that "Christ died for our sins". This is to mean, that Jesus was the "sacrificial lamb" and that this sacrifice was somehow going to appease God to forgive the "original" sin of "Adam" or anyone else who came along afterwards? Does that mean then, that God demanded a sacrifice, and he sent his "only son" be sacrificed (because "he loved the world so much...")? Prayer: 1. If more people pray for a request, does that make it more probable that it will be granted? 2. Isn't it kind of inconsistent to pray to God (a request for God to intervene) for some other person to know and to believe in God? (Or to thank God that this person "came to" God?) 3. Assuming that God knows all, and knows your need before you ask Him of a need, then is a prayer really necessary? 4. Praying the "Lord's Prayer", what are we really saying? And, what's the point of saying it if we are "commanded" (by scriptures) to say it? 5. How about "prayer requests" of the TV evangelists? Isn't that a bit silly? God Protecting His Own: 1. Recent news tells of a church burning down. A church school bus overturned, killing several children and injuring others. A very devout young man with a wife and dependent children died with melanoma cancer. Why? Why, if there is a god, why does "he" not protect those who love and worship him? 2 Why should churches need fire insurance anyway? 3. What are the statistics of devout religious persons being involved in accidents as compared to non-believers involved in accidents? Conclusions It seems that there is only one simple answer to all of these questions: There are no gods, devils, angels, spirits, ghosts, and other mythical supernatural beings, and never have been!

My Thoughts
People ultimately have their choice on whether to believe in God or not. I stand as a witness that God lives. He loves us and knows all of us as individuals. Jesus did indeed come to Earth in the meridian of time, and make a universal atonement for the sins of the world, so that we might have an opportunity to return to the presence and arms of our Father. I know that God has spoken face to face with prophets since the beginning of time, and that He leads and directs the Church today, through a living prophet. God wants us to succeed, and pass this course of (upper division) Life 360. He has given us all the materials, instructors, and extra credit we need to make it through. We just have to utilize all that He has given us, and not be afraid to ask for help, or even start study groups. I would much rather believe this through my life, having strength and direction, die and flicker out like a candle and be wrong, than live my life in cynicism and misery, not believing in God, having no hope for anything better, then die and be wrong.
Remember, dead atheists are living in extreme denial! *wink*
I write these things in Jesus', Name, Amen.