Ask your question of "The Answerer"

Kids ask questions of Peter Harris a Scripture Teacher in Perth public schools.

Have you checked out my Picture-Click Bible Stories page? 

Would you like to be a teacher ~ a great way to start is to train:

Creative Approaches are interesting ways to get your point across to any audience!

The Passing The Baton training day & expo is on again this year presented by the Children's Ministry Network. Click here to go to the PTB website!

    Peter's car is fully restored! 

Dear Reader:

In my first book I answered 100 of YOUR questions about:        "Why didn't God stop?" or simply "Why doesn't God?" and about bad things that happen or about bad people doing bad things. 

Check the "Q&A's" already on this site first!

Try the orange Category search to the right =>

Or click on the Answers Tab above to see them in numerical order.

See also the children.org.au website which has all of the Questions & Answers uploaded.

The answers are being added below as blogs - so you can comment as others have contributed already. We have 1,500 more comments to work through this month!  

From Peter Harris

"The Answerer"

("The Answerer" is the name the children

in my Scripture classes call me!)

Yes! Indeed He does! Why? Because we are "made in His image." (like him) (Gen.1:26). Jesus' whole life was directed to us. He spoke of love 27 times in John's Gospel alone.

In John 3:16 Jesus said to a night visitor, Nicodemus: "For God loved the world so much that He gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." "The world" means everyone and "whoever" means anyone who believes in Him and follows His way.

This love is not the same as ours. It is bigger and more forgiving than we know how, because it does not depend on us being "good."

MORE INFO: God's love is a bit like a mother's love for a wayward son.

You have probably seen on TV a weeping mother outside a court, facing the TV men. Her son has been convicted of a serious crime and is off to jail. Everyone hates him for what he did. Not so his mum. She says with tears: "I still love him whatever he has done, he is my son and I love him."

God's love is much more than that. He helps us to make a new start if we want to.

Finally, perhaps this is helpful: When Jesus agreed to come to earth to die in our place what if he said to God (His Father) "Ok, I'll go, but I will only die for those who love me - the rest can 'go jump'."

Wow! I have been asked this question many times and it is not that hard to answer.

When God created us He had a choice: Should humans be always kind, helpful and hurt nobody. Or should we have a choice to be selfish, greedy and always 'Look after number one' (me).

I guess that sort of divides us humans into roughly three groups.

(1) Those who learn about God early and know that He is real and can help us in life.

(2) Those who choose to ignore God and His ways.

(3) Those who have never even heard of a God who made them and loves them.

This writer has heard stories from missionaries, that some people are amazed to hear that. They cry out for more information because they have been brought up to believe in, and make sacrifices to unseen gods and 'the spirits' who rule their every thought. They gladly embrace the idea of the God who made everything and them!

Please note: Jesus said, and the apostles (the very first followers of Jesus who had never actually seen him) mentioned a judgement day when we will answer for the good and bad things we did on earth.

Murderers and kidnappers come in all styles. The Roman Emperor Nero, Adolph Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot murdered thousands, even millions, and all of them believed they were doing the best thing - even that 'God was on their side.' YES!!!

To think upon: Imagine a human with no choice to be good or selfish. I imagine it would be like one who is hypnotised - who does exactly as the magician (hypnotiser) tells him to do. A bit like someone who is on drugs who has no idea as to where they are, or what they are doing - good, bad or normal.

Many kids ask these things and many more adults too.

I guess He gave us the brains to make them and the ability to make them and use them to kill people - or to heal people of diseases.

Dangerous things: Well I have two large knives in my kitchen drawer. I keep them sharp. I cut bread, cake, and vegetables but I have never hurt anyone with them.

The ozone layer: a human was awfully clever to make up ozone for refrigerators. It was very good until another human discovered it was very dangerous and we stopped using it. Another better chemical was made for fridges.

Bad news: Ozone is banned here but it is still sold in some poor countries.

In this world there are 30,000 (might be 300,000) man-made chemicals and many are poisonous. They can poison / kill or make people very sick. Look up 'Bhopal' on Google to see a bad case of greed, death and pain.

God will not force us to be 'good.' He hopes we will be, but many choose MONEY!

Why does he make us die? So we can take the trip to heaven. Really, this life is only a sort of school to teach us about life and death. We have 70 to 80 years on earth. Heaven (eternity) is FOREVER.

I recall who wrote this question, a really kind and lovely girl. She hit the jackpot by seeing a part of the Bible that exposed who Jesus was and WHY He came to this earth. Thank you.

Long ago, a very long time ago, after Adam and Eve 'messed up' they were expelled from God's presence in the Garden of Eden. (see Genesis chapter 3)

God had to expel them simply because: "The eye of God cannot look upon evil." (Habakkuk 1:13).

Wanting a 'Family' God set in motion a plan to get his people back with him in heaven. (We could not be good enough by ourselves.)

Jesus was to go to earth, live as a human, yet be God's son, and teach 12 disciples all he could about God. Examples: Giving sight to the blind, raising the dead to life and yes, loving their enemies. (Loving them does not mean liking them.)

Then came the ultimate: "I will be handed over to sinful men and be crucified but I will rise to life again on the third day." (Luke.18:31-33)

NOBODY had ever said that before! Come back to life again!

Dunno what he means, they must have thought because people just don't do that.

Well He did.

Those 12 disciples were so changed when He did come back from death, that nobody could shut them up. They were the beginning of the Christian church in 33 AD. Just 12 of them.