So last chapter was FAQ (questions that non believers often get asked my Christians.) in this chapter I will be asking questions to anyone who is religious (but specifically Christians). I will also be adding some of my own commentary and common responses I get to these questions.

How old do you think the earth is and why?
Many of the people at my school believe that the earth is 6,000 years old. That each of the days the Lord spent making the earth was 1000 years. I'm not sure where they got that, but I'd love to hear your answers.

Where do you think the dinosaurs came from? How do they fit into the creation story?
My professor told me that God just put dinosaur bones in the earth for us to find and that the dinosaurs were never actually alive. I've also heard that the devil put them there to make us doubt God.

Have you ever 'heard' God?

Why did God put the tree of knowledge in the garden if he knew Eve was going to eat the fruit?

Why doesn't God kill/defeat Satan?

What is your basis for believing that the Christian Bible is true? (This could go for any religious book)
The only answer I've heard for this is that the Bible says it's true, so it must be true.

How do you know that your interpretation of the Bible is correct out of all the interpretations that exist? If there are so many different denominations, how is a new Christian supposed to know which is 'right'?

If God is all knowing, doesn't that mean he creates people knowing they will be sinners or non believers, and knowing that they will go to hell?
The argument I've heard when I asked this question is: 'God can do whatever he likes with his creation. It shouldn't matter to you.'
But it does matter. If God created me knowing that I would eventually become an agnostic and then send me to hell for it, then what was the point? Is he going to punish me after he made me like this?

Some might say it's because God gives us the free will to choose if we believe in him and we have the opportunity to change our minds and become Christian. Well God is still all knowing, and he knows whether or not people will change their minds. And he apparently sends them to hell if they don't.

If God made the universe and everything in it, then who made God?
I've heard the response that God just is. He was always there, no one had to make him. By this logic, no one HAD to make the universe, it could've just been here.

Why pray for something if God already has a set plan?
For example, why pray for an ill family member to get better if God intends for them to pass away? Would God change his mind because he heard your prayers?

Are people who never hear about Jesus going to be sent to hell?
My professor admitted that he didn't know the answer to this question. I would like to hear what all of you think.

Why do you think your religion is the true one when so many others exist and believe that theirs is the true one?

How could a loving God send anyone to hell?
The best explanation I was given for this is: 'When people reject God, he will reject them.'

But consider this analogy: a parent and a child. the child disrespects the parent, treats the parent poorly, or says awful things to the parent. But the parent doesn't necessarily go and abandon and torture there child. If a parent did that, we would call them abusive.

Why did God create Satan? Why did he create evil?

What's up with the rules about not eating shellfish or pork?

Why is homosexuality a sin?

Why would God make men with foreskins but then tell people they need to be cut off? Didn't God design us in his image?

"This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants." Genesis 17: 10-14