Difficult Questions

Most people who are thinking about Christianity and Jesus Christ face some difficult questions. At Stechford Baptist, we take those questions seriously. Some initial answers to some common questions are on this page.

If the answer to your question isn't here, or if you're not satisfied with the answer offered, send us your question, and we'll do our best.

Isn't faith unscientific?

Faith is not the same as science, but this does not mean that faith is 'untrue'. People — especially on radio and TV — who are arguing against Christianity often seem to use the word 'scientific' to mean 'everything which is really true and should be believed' and 'faith' to mean 'the random beliefs of gullible people'. Faith really means 'confidence', and science relies as much on faith as religion does. But confidence can be in the wrong things. Read more >>>

Doesn't religion cause wars?

During the last 100 years, atheism and nationalism caused wars which killed more people than all of the other wars in mankind's history. In any kind of war, governments on both sides try to enlist the support of every part of their societies. This usually includes attempting to get priests, bishops, religious teachers and secular philosophers to publicly support the war effort. So, in most wars, there are religious groups supporting the war. This does not mean that religion caused the war. Jesus Christ taught his disciples to love their enemies. While there are situations in which many Christians believe it is right to fight, Christianity as a faith is fundamentally opposed to war. Read more >>>

Why can't we just see Jesus as a good man?

Historically speaking, everything that we know about Jesus comes from four 1st century documents, which are usually known as the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. As well as presenting a consistent picture of Jesus's life and teachings, each of these documents make it very clear that Jesus made a startling claim about himself: that he was God. Logically speaking there are only two possibilities. Either he was right, or he was wrong. But if he was wrong, then we cannot see him as simply a good man. If he was wrong, then either he knew it, and was a Liar, or he was delusional and was quite literally Mad, suffering from a degree of disorder in his sense of reality that he could not have functioned in normal society. Read more >>>

How can a God of love allow injustice in the world?

The Bible makes it very clear that God is loving. But all of us experience pain, misfortune, and injustice. If we look at the wider world, we see terrible things, and enormous man-made catastrophes. So how can a God who loves us allow this kind of thing? Or do we have to conclude that God either isn't loving, or isn't all powerful — and would we want to worship a God who wasn't loving, and what would be the point of worshipping a God who wasn't all powerful? Read more >>>

What about hell? Is that really a part of Christian teaching?

Most of our ideas about hell (and, as it happens, heaven) don't come from the Bible but from mythology and medieval art. The Bible does not teach much about hell and heaven, but what it does say is very clear and specific. After death, there is judgement, and that judgement determines whether a person goes to hell or to heaven. But this leaves us with three questions: first, how could a God of love send people to hell? Second, is it really true? And third, what can we do about it? Read more >>>

Is it enough to be sincere?

Sincerity is one of the great modern virtues. At times we seem ready to overlook any kind of fault if a person is open about it and admits it. On the other hand, at other times when people admit things we never let them forget it. But is sincerity the same as faith? What if I sincerely believe in a different religion, or in no religion at all? Won't God count that as 'faith'? Read more >>>

I want to believe, I just can't. Can I?

A lot of people see 'faith' as something very difficult. Somehow, the word has come to mean a sort of emotional convincedness which goes beyond all reason, all doubt, and all evidence to the contrary. But this is actually both more and less than what the Bible talks about as 'faith'. It's more, because it demands something that just isn't going to happen in real life. Actually, faith that continues to believe despite all the evidence may not be faith at all — it could just be blind stupidity. On the other hand, faith is more than this emotional belief, because it requires action. Read more >>>

I don't agree with the church on some key moral issues
Jesus Christ called his followers to a radical lifestyle. Ultimately, if you are not ready to live differently as a Christian, you are not ready to live as a Christian at all. On the other hand, when people talk about 'key moral issues', what they are often talking about is issues which are not a part of core Christian belief. Which issues are which? Read here to find out >>>

How did the church get the Bible?
At the root of Christianity is the belief that there is a God, and He has chosen to reveal Himself — through the Bible, and through Jesus Christ. But where did the Bible come from? What confidence should we have that it is all the 'Word of God', and how can we be sure that there aren't other parts which should be in the Bible, but aren't? Read more >>>

What about the suffering I am going through now?
All human beings go through suffering — it's part of the common experience of mankind. And yet, for many of us, it is the time we feel most isolated and on our own. For some it is illness, for others pressure coming through work, perhaps personal circumstances. Christians in many parts of the world suffer persecution because they are believers. There is also suffering caused by war, by famine, and through poverty. Jesus Christ promises to comfort those who suffer. But what, practically, does that mean? Read here to find out. >>>

Stechford Baptist Church • Victoria Road • Stechford • Birmingham B33 8AH. Map. Stechford is in the Stechford and Yardley North Ward, and is close to Hodge Hill.