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QUESTIONS
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Question 1: “How can one connect the Christian belief in the Holy Trinity and the belief in the unity of God, which is so clearly witnessed in the Old Testament, without getting tied up in contradictions?” (TR)
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Question 2: “The Son of God was not created but born and nevertheless the Son is not after the Father? Is there significance and an explanation for this belief?” (TR)
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Question 3: How can the formulation of Christian teaching “one nature in three person and three persons in one nature’’ be reasonable?” (TR)
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Question 4: “What are the specific tasks of each of the elements (that is, each of the three “persons”) of the Holy Trinity, according to the Christian faith?” (TR)
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Question 5: “According to your belief, Satan brought chaos to God’s plan for humanity. God forbid! Does that mean that the will of Satan has overcome the will of God? Would not such a view contradict the dignity and magnitude of God?” (TR)
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Question 6: “Even if God created Satan and made him superior to humanity (and allowed him to lead people into temptation), God still gave human beings some powers to resist Satan. Did God really find no other way to save humanity except to become a human being himself?” (TR)
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Question 7: “How can a sensible person understand that, in order to forgive sin, God leads humanity ever deeper into sin finally even to the point of becoming God’s killer, Do Abraham’s children receive forgiveness by killing their God? Why then does God demand prayer and obedience? Why then does God set up commandments for humanity?”. (TR)
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Question 8: “Would it not be more appropriate if, instead of God himself (in the form of Jesus Christ) fighting Satan, he would leave this to humanity?” (TR)
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Question 9: “Life’s order in this world is based on humanity taking responsibility for its deeds. Is it not strange that salvation for all people should be accomplished by one person’s suffering for all?” (TR)
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Question 10: “Let us assume that every person carries sin within himself since birth. Will not God, the merciful Lord, not simply forgive him of this sin? ” (TR)
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Question 11: “What is there to say about the belief of the early Christians, who were not familiar with the formulation of the dogma of the Holy Trinity. Was their belief recognised as legitimate?” (TR)
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Question 12: “Let us assume that Christians do not believe in three Gods? But where does the divinity of the Messiah come from? Can a man – developed in the womb of a woman, breast fed like every child, raised like every child – become or be God? Is this compatible with God’s greatness and transcendence?” (TR)
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Question 13: “Two thousand years ago, Hz. Isa (Jesus)did not exist. Can one add something to God later? Is God also so weak and helpless that He can be crucified by humans? Also, there are verses in the Gospels that show that Jesus was not willing to be crucified. (see Mt 27:46)” (TR)
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Question 14: “The term ‘Holy Trinity’ causes also the following problem: How would it have been possible for one of the three divine persons to leave [the Holy Trinity], to enter Maria’s womb, to mix with this mortal world and to assume the human form? For, if God were a trinity then it would not be possible for only one of the three of the trinity to come down to earth separately.” (TR)
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Question 15: “If the crucifixion was the will of your God, should He then not thank the Jews and Pontius Pilate? What do the terms, such as ‘peuple déicide’ (people that killed God), ‘peuple maudit’ (cursed race), ‘peuple reprouvé’ (thrown out of grace) that fill the entire Christian history show? What is the main reason why the term ‘déicide’ has found a place in Western language?” (TR)
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Question 16: “In the book it says, ‘Believers of different religions should try to identify those issues on which a shared, believing witness is possible, together with a genuine search for unity, in humble submission to God’s will.(Chapter: Religious pluralism, Christian responses, at the end of the first paragraph)
I would like to ask the author: How can people who have entirely differently or even CONTRARY teachings regarding God or Gods, as the case may be, form one unity? And ignoring that for a moment: How can they obey a teaching that lacks unity, that is, that is contradictory within itself. Where does true UNITY exist?” (TR)
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Question 17: “In the book it says, For believers, Christian or Muslim, human beings are the creation of ‘God’s hand’, formed after his likeness and destined to return to him.’ (Chapter: The Heart of Christianity, Christian Perspectives 2. Christianity as the Way to Human Fulfilment).
According to this sentence, all people will return to God. That undermines the clarity, for where does this return lead to: heaven or hell? The next sentence then says:’ For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Rom 8:19–25; Sure 81; 82; 99; 101). This common vocation establishes also the fundamental equality of all people across all differences in race, social position and religion’.
Now I would ask the author, why Jesus described himself in the following verses as THE ONLY WAY. Does Jesus mean in Jn 14,6: all paths lead to God?” (TR)
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Question 18: “Is divorce forbidden for you Christians? If the love between two people is already over would it then not be an ordeal to let them carry on living together? If your religion forbids divorce, then why are the divorce rates in America and Europe so high? We read in the newspapers that every second marriage there breaks down”(TR)
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Question 19: “You also explain that God is unreachable for people, or transcendent. If Jesus is God, then how would God remain unreachable for people, or remain transcendent? But how, in your opinion, can Jesus as well as the Holy Spirit be God since you speak of one God and not three? Had God cloned himself?” (TR)
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Question 20: “How can the Eucharist be God? Jesus says in the Gospels that everything that passes through the mouth (in humans) reaches the stomach and is then expelled again. How can you call something that you eat and drink as God? And do only 2 Gods from 3 remain after you have eaten the Eucharist?” (TR)
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Question 21: “You claim that every person is born afflicted with original sin. Let us assume for now that that this is correct. In Jesus, reparation came about for the sins of all or Jesus paid the ransom fee for the sins of all people. By the way: What happens here to the responsibility of the individual? Be that as it may: if Jesus, by his death and resurrection, has paid for all sins, will all children who are born now still be born with original sin? If yes, then what use is Jesus [as redeemer] actually?” (TR)
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Question 22: “If Trinity is God’s nature, then the characteristics (or distinguishing features) of humanity, created in God’s likeness, must also resemble the Trinity of God. What are these characteristics (or distinguishing features)? In other words: What is it that makes humanity resemble God” (TR)
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Question 23: “Throughout the Old Testament it is said that God was one, not a person, absolutely no one was at his side. The term Trinity is used for the first time by Tertullian [African Church Father (ca. 160 – ca. 225)] in the year 200 after Christ. Can you show any point in the Old Testament that contains, or even makes only a reference to, the term Trinity.” (TR)
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Question 24: “Can you point out a baptism in the Gospel that was made in the name of the Trinity? All baptisms were made in the name of Jesus the Messiah (Christ).” (TR)
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Question 25: “Can someone who has come to believe in Jesus Christ lose their salvation again?” (TR)
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Question 26: “I have a question regarding the interpretation of the Holy Spirit. This was apparently understood differently by the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church: The Roman Catholic Church apparently says that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the father and the son. The Orthodox Church apparently says that the Holy Spirit comes only from the father. This belief apparently played a major role in the conflicts regarding the true doctrine in AD 1054. The Orthodox Church said that the Gospel supported its point of view: “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from Father, he will testify on my behalf.” (John 15:26). How do you explain this statement from the Gospel?” (TR)
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Question 27: “Since I have started reading the Bible, one question preoccupies me: How can it be possible what the Old Testament itself says, namely, that Lot’s daughters made their father drunk and slept with him and conceived children? Or is there another explanation for this event?
In explaining why the daughters had to take this step, it is pointed out that were no more potent men to be found in the city. However, it is also reported that, following the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham saw the smoke rising from the burned-out cities. Why then did Lot’s daughters commit this so clearly hideous sin? And how can a prophet be involved in such a hideous sin?” (TR)
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Question 28: “If Allah loves humanity, then why does he send so many prophets? Why has he allowed people from all religions to kill each other for thousands of years? And on top of that, in the Torah (OT) Allah even gives such commands as ‘Kill all the people in this city!’ How can one then say that God loves humanity?” (TR)
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Question 29: “When was the ban on meat lifted?” (TR)
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Question 30: “Are we allowed to change our religion?” (TR)
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Question 31: “In response to Question 4 you write: ‘It is a unity that is realised in its variety and a variety that is moving towards unity’. There is variety and still there is also unity, diversity and also equality. How can that b possible?” (TR)
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Question 32: “Until 1960 all Catholics had to pray in Latin, just as all Muslims pray in Arabic. The Protestants abandoned this language as early as in the 16th century. If it was wrong, why did the Catholic church wait so long, if it was right, why was the Latin language, which promoted unity, given up?” (TR)
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Question 33: “What do the 12 stars on the European flag symbolize?” (TR)
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Question 34: “Where and what is Christendom and why was the concept needed?” (TR)
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Question 35: “What is the Rosicrucian Brotherhood?” (TR)
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Question 36: “Why does so much Christian thinking have to do with the Kabala and Gnosticism?” (TR)
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Question 37: “Who is the "Black Mary“? (TR)
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Question 38: “Who is the king in the Bible who saw a statute in his dreams: ‘The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs bronze, the legs iron, its feept partly iron and partly tile.’ (Daniel 2:32-33), and how do you interpret the four kingdoms in Daniel? Will it come to pass as predicted in Daniel?” (TR)
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Question 39: “Why do large part of the Gospels (I assume that "of the Bible“ is meant here) read like a history book?” (TR)
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Question 40: “Why have Christian and Jewish clerics developed encrypted script?” (TR)
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Question 41: Why did the crusaders slaughter thousands of innocent people? What kind of God’s love and tolerance is that? (TR)
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Question 42: ”What kind of religion is Christianity, in view to the fact that Protestants don’t recognize Catholics as Christians and claim, Catholics will go to hell. And this, although Protestants and Catholics believe in the same prophet and the same gospels! Does your scripture not teach you about tolerance? Are views like the ones mentioned not cruel and without compassion? Will only Protestants go to Heaven? Can those teachings be found in your Holy Scriptures?” (TR)
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Question 43: ”Could you please briefly summarize your view of Protestant Christians? According to Catholic teaching, are they condemned to go to hell?” (TR)
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Question 44: “If I understand correctly, the protestants claim that Jesus has forgiven you all your sins and that he has promised you the Kingdom of Heaven. This would mean that you could now commit as many sins as you like, be as evil as you wish, because you have already been saved. How can it be possible to believe in this teaching in the Gospels? Could you not be wrong here? Do the Gospels really teach a faith which encourages people to commit sins? What is your view about this? (For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it inot from works, so n one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).“ (TR)
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Question 45: “What did your Messiah whom you call God, say? How many Gods do you have? Who is it, this Messiah is God next to? The way you describe it, it is not clear whether he (the Messiah) is a lawyer or God. “Who will condem? It is Christ [Jesus] who died, rather, was raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us (Romans 8:34; see also Hebrews 7:25). "My children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one" (1John 2:1). (TR)
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Question 46: Do you recognize Islam and Muhammad? If the answer is yes, which is the final religion, Christianity or Islam? If your answer is “Islam”, do you then declare Christianity as over, i.e. should not all Christians convert to Islam? (TR)
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Question 47: The Gospels are distinguished through their beautiful language and content. But how are we to understand and interpret the many verses in the Old Testament which contain violence (e.g. Deuteronomy 13:15; Exodus 32:27)? (TR)
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Question 48: Prophets are sent by God and shall also be examples. But if one reads the stories of David and Solomon, it becomes clear that both have committed grave sins. How can these persons be prophets? (TR)
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Question 49: Are Muslims who wish to become Christians given any kind of preferment? (TR)
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Question 50: Why should I become a Christian? What good would it do me and how can Christianity guarantee me an afterlife? The Muslims don’t think highly of Christians, much like the Christians feel about the Jews: how can I find the right religion? One religion makes the other sound like a fairy tale, how can you prove the truth? What is the proof? A Creator does indeed exist, but which of the religions is right? (TR)
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Question 51: Are there verses in the Gospels about tolerance, brotherly, and neighborly love? Can you give some explanation on this? (TR)
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Question 52: How does one become a Christian? (TR)
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Question 53: If I can prove to you that your Bible is no longer valid under Allah, who created me and you, would you accept and even convert to Islam? (DE)
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Question 54: As I understand it, in the Christian religion too, committing suicide is considered a major sin, and a person who commits suicide is (or was) refused a Christian funeral and he will is (or was) buried outside the cemetery. How is it possible that Hannelore Kohl, the wife of the former German Chancellor, has been buried in a Christian grave when she committed suicide? (DE)
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Question 55: What do the Jews think about Jesus´ birth? If He is seen as a child born outside marriage, then why wasn't Mary stoned to death and thrown out of the Temple together with all her family? Why was this Jesus as an adult so held in such high esteem by the Pharisees that he was allowed to teach in the Temple and speak to thousands of people and was called Rabbi and Master by the people? Did he conceal his real identity? Did no one recognize who he was? How can these questions be explained with help of the existing Gospels? (DE)
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Question 56: Do married couples remain married for eternity or does their marriage end with death? Can they still be together in the afterlife? Further, is it true that we will receive new bodies in the afterlife? (TR)
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Question 57: John 3:13 states that only Jesus went into Heaven. 2Kings 2:11 says Elijah went up into Heaven. 2Corinthians 12:2-4 speaks of a man who was caught up into the third Heaven. And Hebrews 11:5 says that Enoch was taken from this life because of his faith. The first reference speaks of one single person, Jesus, yet the same Bible also mentions three other people. Could you explain that please? (TR)
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Question 58: In Matthew 16:18 Jesus calls Peter the rock on which He would build His church and even says that He would give him the key to the Kingdom of Heaven.... But only a few verses on Jesus says to Peter: „Get behind me, Satan!“ What am I to believe now? Is this Peter Satan or is he the keeper of the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven? (TR)
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Question 59: There are two versions of the story of Judas Iscariot. According to Matthew 27:3-7 Judas commits suicide and the high priests buy the potter’s field. According to Acts 1:16-19 Judas himself bought this field and died there but not through suicide. Which story is true? (TR)
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Question 60: If today’s Christianity is the truth, why are there four different gospels? (TR)
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Question 61: I am researching the history of church bells and of bell ringing. When were church bells used for the first time and why were bells used instead of the human voice to call people to prayer? (TR)
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Question 62: What is the order of rites that have to be carried out when someone dies? (TR)
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Question 63: What is the relationship between the gospels and science? How do the gospels view science? Do they lead mankind to science? (TR)
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Question 64: It is said that the number of about 100 different gospels [which were recognized at that time] were reduced to four at a Council in Nicea. Is this true, and if so, how can we be sure that today’s gospels are authentic? (TR)
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Question 65: What is the believer’s view on the second coming of Christ at the end of time? Will he come for all people or “only” for Christians? Are the Muslim teachers who believe that Jesus will judge mankind at the end of time? (DE)
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Question 66: Are there today, or have there ever been in the history of Islam movements which recognize the value of celibacy? (DE)
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Question 67: In chapter 9 you mention the concept of "Liberation Theology“. What does this mean and who are its proponents? (DE)
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Question 68: Why did God forbid the Jews to eat pork? Only because of the trichinosis, or also for other reasons? Why does Jesus allow the eating of pork – does it mean that hygiene was better at the times of Jesus, of could it be said that eating pork was never bad and that the Jews only thought this up, for example for reasons of demarcation? Was it dangerous to eat pork at the times of Mohammad, because he lived in a desert and it was not so easy to test for trichinosis? Some people believe that pork is not so valuable – is that true or is it nonsense? What is the scientific thinking here? (DE)
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Question 69: On your website it says in Chapter 2, The Divinity of Jesus, The 2nd Muslim View: in Detail: Section 3, Line 1: “Jesus, whose coming was announced by John the Baptist (Yahyá), was born from the virgin Mary without a human father.“ How do you know that it was Yahyá (Peace be with him) who brought Jesus (Peace be with him) this message, whereas the Qu’ran in Sura 3:39 speaks of angels who brought Zakariyya a message from God? (DE)
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Question 70: What is the ideal age to get married? (TR)
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Question 71: If Christianity is a monotheistic faith, how can it make sense to give Mary the title “Mother of God“? (TR)
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Question 72: If you pray to the mother of Jesus, do you not place her alongside God? (TR)
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Question 73: There is a contradiction between the following two verses in the Old Testament: continuing his kindness for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness and crime and sin; yet not declaring the guilty guiltless, but punishing children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation for their father's wickedness!“ (Exodus 34:7) and “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their fathers; but only for his own guilt shall a man be put to death” (2 Chronicles 25:4). Can you explain this contradiction? (TR)
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Question 74: Is drunkenness a sin? If so, how can Christianity use something that induces intoxication (wine) in prayer, and even more so, in the name of God? (TR)
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Question 75: Can a woman from a different faith be a wet nurse? (TR)
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Question 76: May a man drink his wife’s breast milk? (TR)
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Question 77: A Muslim woman married to a Christian man suspects that Tunisian relatives cursed the couple and that these curses have now lead to conflicts within and outside the marriage. Do you know anything about the background of such curses? Is there a connection between curses and the Qur’an? Is it possible to fight these curses or to lift them? (DE)
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Question 78: John 1:18 states, that no one has seen God. However, in the Old Testament there are several verses claiming exactly the opposite (Genesis 17:1; 18:1, Exodus 6:3; 24:10; Amos 9:1, etc.). How do you explain this contradiction? (TR)
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Question 79: Genesis 11:5: “The Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the men had built.“ Is your Lord short sighted, so that he cannot see from Heaven and has to climb down from it? (TR)
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Question 80: 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 says: “Women should remain silent in the churches, for they are not allowed to speak, but should be subordinate, as even the Law says. But if they want to learn about something, they should ask their husbands at home. For it is improper for a woman to speak in the church.” Now there are even women priests. Is the gospel no longer valid? (TR)
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Question 81: What is the difference between the Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants, and which beliefs do they share? (TR)
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Question 82: If God is present always and everywhere, how can He be independent of space and time? (TR)
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Question 83: Why did the Jews not accept Jesus and still do not accept him now? (TR)
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Question 84: Do Christians pray to icons and sculptures? (TR)
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Question 85: What is your view on evolution theory? (TR)
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Question 86: How about marriage between members of different Christian denominations? Are Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox allowed to intermarry? (TR)
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Question 87: Jesus said “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel“ (Matthew 15:24). Does Jesus reject all people who are not of Jewish extraction? Or does He not? (TR)
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Question 88: Why does Jesus curse the fig tree? What can be the guilt of a simple tree? (TR)
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Question 89: What, according to Christian understanding, are the meaning of the terms “human being“ and “life“? (TR)
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Question 90: In the Gospels Jesus says: “And whoever who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven....“ (Matthew 12:32). Is the Spirit greater than the Son? Are they not all of the same being? (TR)
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Question 91: Why and how are people made saints? (TR)
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Question 92: What are stigmata? (TR)
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Question 93: Why did Jesus not ask for His message and teachings to be written down? (TR)
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Question 94: Many of the details are written down differently in the Gospels. If the same Spirit inspired the writers, why is the details inspired differently? (TR)
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Question 95: What do you think of the book, "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown? In your opinion, is the book an attack of the free masons on the Catholic Church? (TR)
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Question 96: Why do you not accept the Gospel of Barnabas? (TR)
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Question 97: Can God die? When Jesus died on the cross, did the part of Him that was God also die? (TR)
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Question 98: Why isn’t the new pope elected by casting lots? In the Gospel they even elected an apostle by casting lots! (TR)
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Question 99: If the pope is infallible, then why doesn’t he elect his own successor himself? Wouldn’t that be the best solution? (TR)
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Question 100: The cardinal, who was previously a normal human being, becomes infallible through this election as pope? (TR)
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Question 101: Did Jesus eat pork? If not, then why did his apostles? (TR)
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Question 102: Why are the Israelites, that is the Jews, cursed by Allah? Does this curse also apply to today’s Jews? (TR)
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Question 103: Why did Christianity spread in Europe although it originated in the Near East? (TR)
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Question 104: Can God make mistakes, which of God’s attributes are an expression of the fact that God can make and forget mistakes? (DE)
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