Quora questions

 

...a good outlet for expressing yourself

Now and then, I answer a question that gets shot at me on Quora. Not often, mind. Many questions are weird, like one that was answered by a couple of people last week: “King Richard III was an African American. Why does that fact upset British people?” As we know, the only Americans that existed in Richard III’s time were Native Americans. As England, Europe and Africa hadn’t been discovered yet, Richard III couldn’t have even been Cherokee or Navajo, let alone African American. But I’ve seen a lot of questions like that on Quora, and even sillier.

But you will also find a lot of good writing prompts if you get into the right categories.

An invitation to answer a slightly more sensible question appeared in my mailbox the other day, and even though the question itself was a bit unclear, I decided to answer it.

Here’s the question:

If Christians aren’t bound by the law, why is it still important to follow it, especially when it comes to ensuring justice for the poor and needy?

And my answer:

Being made free from the law goes hand in hand with Christian transformation. When a person comes to repentance and faith in Jesus, they become born again. That’s not simply a new status of being exempt from laws, rather, it’s a transformation of one’s whole being. In becoming a believer, one makes the decision to accept and commit to God’s agenda for this earth, or the Kingdom of God as the Bible calls it. Once in the Kingdom of God by faith, the transformation begins to happen by the Holy Spirit - from God breathing on us and renewing us. That includes becoming full of compassion for the poor and needy, as well as other healthy desires that begin to replace the ones that were killing us, like hate, jealousy and greed. The Bible states that when we’ve been thus born again, then, we’re free from the requirements of the law.

However, the message we hear too often is, “Do you want to go to heaven? Then, say this prayer. Have you said that prayer? Good! No you’re on your way to heaven! It doesn’t matter what you do! “

That is NOT the gospel message. Because we’ve too often made it about escaping hell and going to heaven, we’ve presented an easy gospel for them - not the true gospel of the Bible, which is about becoming a part of God’s agenda. That’s why the so-called Christian world of the West is so weak and enemic.

People who have been truly transformed by their faith will naturally be showing compassion on the poor and needy, and seeking justice. That’s why they’re not under law. They don’t need it.

So, if you’re looking for more outlets for your writing, you could do worse than surf over to Quora.com.