I just wanted to preface this by saying at this point in time I am a non-believer. Not an atheist by any means, just not convinced. However, I came across your website after recently learning of the Apocrypha and the Deuterocanonical books of the Bible, and it showed up in your answers section. The question was answered greatly, and I was curious to browse through some of the other questions. Some I felt were valid questions, and some were some questions I never expected to be asked. As I read through them and your answers to them, I noticed how well thought out and open-minded the answers were.<\/p>\n
In a society where Christians are portrayed as super conservative close-minded religious fanatics, your site was a breath of fresh air. Outside of a few answers, I believed to be a little on the judgmental side of the one posing the question, the answers were insightful and helpful. You did not simply turn to the answer “you have to have faith” for everything. Your arguments were informative and made sense, and you are genuinely helping these people who need guidance from the simplest ideas of which school they should attend<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0how to help change someone addicted to drugs<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0how to deal with mental illnesses<\/a>.<\/p>\n I believe whether or not someone believes in God or not, I believe this website can help people with all sorts of problems in their lives or are just interested in studying and learning about the Bible. I believe that the Bible should not be taken as literally as some people interpret it, but the lessons, morals, and teachings in it are invaluable to anyone. I have just recently taken up an interest in studying the Bible after reading up on Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy and its unique take on the afterlife, and while I have many questions about the Bible itself, that is for another time. Today, I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate you reaching out to these people who just want to live a good life serving God. Keep up the great work.<\/p>\n\t Thank you very much for the kind words and encouragement. I had to smile because in just about anyone’s view I am conservative in my approach to the Bible, but it is so good to know that at least one person realizes that being conservative doesn’t mean being unreasonable. I hope you do write again with your other questions. I used to be able to answer almost every question that comes in, but of late I’ve become a victim of success. I do my best, but I can’t keep up with all the questions I receive, so I hope you’ll understand if I don’t always get back immediately.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I just wanted to preface this by saying at this point in time I am a non-believer. Not an atheist by any means, just not convinced. However, I came across your website after recently learning of the Apocrypha and the Deuterocanonical books of the Bible, and it showed up in your answers section. The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[127,184],"class_list":["post-41200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-about-this-site","tag-atheism"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23230,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-prompted-you-to-start-your-question-and-answer-section\/","url_meta":{"origin":41200,"position":0},"title":"What prompted you to start your question and answer section?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 5, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a regular follower of your site and have learned a lot by seeing how you answer the questions. If you don't mind me asking, what prompted you to start such a question and answer format? I've never run across anything quite like it. Answer: The question and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52494,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-using-your-questions-and-answers-for-some-of-my-own-studies\/","url_meta":{"origin":41200,"position":1},"title":"I’m using your questions and answers for some of my own studies","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 31, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Thank you, Jeff, for sharing your wonderful plethora of questions and answers for the world to see. It is obvious from the number of website hits that you have provided some valuable information from God's word in application to relevant questions today. There are so many questions that are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26113,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/your-answers-to-questions-from-youth-are-kind-and-respectful\/","url_meta":{"origin":41200,"position":2},"title":"Your answers to questions from youth are kind and respectful","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I just wanted to thank you for the very thoughtfully written Question and Answers page on your web site. Many of the questions, I can tell, are submitted by youth, and the kind way they were answered shows great respect for the outcome of the choices they are to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32446,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-recently-found-your-website-and-quickly-got-wrapped-up-in-many-of-your-questions-and-answers-thank-you-so-much-for-the-recourse\/","url_meta":{"origin":41200,"position":3},"title":"I recently found your website and quickly got wrapped up in many of your questions and answers. Thank you so much for the recourse.","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 7, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Thank you. I tried scrolling through all the questions but couldn't find anything, but then again, I gave up looking and emailed you at like 3:30 in the morning. Thought it would be easier to just email you and hope for a response. Thank you for the quick reply.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31871,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/it-is-delightful-to-read-all-these-answers-and-learn-from-them\/","url_meta":{"origin":41200,"position":4},"title":"It is delightful to read all these answers and learn from them","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, While doing some research on the net I found your site. I do not have any particular questions to ask, but I just wanted to encourage you in doing God's work. It is really delightful to read all those answers and to learn from them. You are blessed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43416,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-have-an-answer-key-for-your-study-on-the-song-of-solomon\/","url_meta":{"origin":41200,"position":5},"title":"Do you have an answer key for your study on the Song of Solomon?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 26, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Greetings Jeffrey! I've been reading and reviewing your lessons on\u00a0Song of Solomon. It has been very interesting and educational. I was wondering if you had answers to your questions? Some answers are obvious, but not all. I appreciate so very much the work you do in the kingdom of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41200\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Answer:<\/h2>\n