We humans are funny creatures: we extol how unique and individual we are, and yet we like to belong to groups.

The more we think, read, ponder, and pray, the more we will have questions which make others around us uncomfortable. Queen Anne’s Lace, original oil painting by Steve Henderson, sold. Licensed prints at Great Big Canvas, iCanvasART, and Framed Canvas Art.

The two can go together, sort of, but the larger the group, the more the pressure on the person to conform, for the sake of the group. At some point, all of us are called to make a decision whether we will stand up for what we believe, or whether we’ll keep quiet and go along with the group.

When Christians do this in non-religious settings, fellow Christians around them sing their praises. Lately I have endured a number of Facebook posts concerning young people who have bravely and stalwartly “stood up for Jesus” in the college classroom, questioning the professor in public, or, more often, writing a paper supporting their belief in Christ.

The attitude changes, however, when Christians ask questions in a church setting, and while, in a college classroom, one is praised for being “bold” and “courageous,” in the confines of the sanctuary one is more likely to be labeled “difficult,” “doubting,” and “harmful to others.”

If you are one of these difficult and doubting people who tends to ask questions — or if you want to ask more questions than you do now but feel limited by potential censure — please read the rest of the article, Asking Questions — In and out of Church, at my Christian Post blog site.