Do you love your enemies? You know that the Bible requires you to do this. Do you find this to be the most difficult commandment to keep? How do you identify your enemies? People who are trying to kill you? People who disagree with you? There is a wide gap between these groups, but you don’t get to excuse yourself from following this commandment by saying that you don’t have any enemies. You can have beneficial interactions with people you disagree with, even if they are working for a different vision of the future.

What is the main theme of the Bible? Is it composed of the stories of people who believed in me and encountered me? The first people who did this, such as Abraham, didn’t have doctrine to go by, so their beliefs were not as fully formed as yours are. Yet their encounters with me were transformative. Can one thing substitute for another? Which do you think is more important? Which of these do you see getting greater emphasis in my life? The modern church is very effective at teaching doctrine. Is it equally as good at facilitating encounters with me? How could this be improved?

Do you practice the one true faith? Do you know of denominations that identify as Christian that claim to be the one true church? Do you find this claim off-putting? How do you think your claim of Christianity as the one true faith is viewed by those who practice other faiths? Everyone thinks that their version of the truth is correct but they cannot all be insofar as they contradict one another. You want to be an advocate for the truth as you understand it, and this is an admirable goal.

Which do you consider to be more important, the pursuit of happiness, or the pursuit of meaning? The pursuit of happiness may be enshrined in your founding documents, and you may see everyone you know putting forth a great effort to obtain it, but is it the most valuable thing? To answer this question consider the tradeoff. Do you know people who pursue happiness and end up shallow and disappointed, lacking substance? Who can endure a meaningless life? This is a spiritual longing that you can’t ignore. How many people do you know that lead meaningful lives who are unhappy?