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49 Example Questions (7 closed)

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up vote 16 down vote

added by mfg, edited by DJClayworth Mar 7 '11 at 14:55

This is worded poorly (IMO) but it is a good question. I think, "Does the prohibition in the Bible against graven images include images of Jesus and others in their churches?" makes less of an assumption about someone being right or wrong. – MrHen Apr 19 '11 at 16:31

@MrHen As posed, an accurate answer would explain the prohibition, which Christians it applies to and which ones it doesn't, and address the apparent though illusory contradiction. I don't mean for it to seem judge-y, it was meant to convey the confusion over which tenets one group observes that another does not. The same confusion might apply to Transubstantion of the Flesh (Eucharist), Pre-Determination, and other doctrines where basically the appearance of contradiction just needs sussed out. – mfg Apr 19 '11 at 16:56

@mfg: Sure. I do think the question has merit; I am just thinking of poor questions that fit this form. E.g., "Why do Christians hate people when Jesus was all about love?" The form itself lends to really problematic questions because it assumes things in both parts: (a) a group of people do [x] and (b) the religion teaches [y]. I don't think (a) is on-topic and (b) should be a question instead of an assumption. A more gregarious example: "Why do Christians commit genocide if the Bible says genocide is evil?" The amount of work to answer this question far exceeds the value of the question. – MrHen Apr 19 '11 at 17:31

Wouldn't this question be better on christianity.stackexchange.com ? – Yuttadhammo Nov 1 '11 at 12:22

up vote 11 down vote

added by mfg Jan 14 '11 at 19:28

up vote 11 down vote

added by mfg Jan 14 '11 at 19:31

up vote 10 down vote

added by apoorv020 Mar 16 '11 at 20:20

up vote 10 down vote

added by babonk Apr 2 '11 at 20:34

up vote 9 down vote

added by neilfein Sep 21 '10 at 3:10

What a strange question. I've had plenty of debates about Religion in which the existence of God is not taken as given. – DJClayworth Mar 4 '11 at 14:12

@DJ C An alternative manner of phrasing this question might be "Why is the burden of proof more frequently on atheists to prove that [god] doesn't exist, rather than on theists who claim that [god] does exist?" – mfg Mar 8 '11 at 13:59

That's almost as strange. None of the atheists I talk to accept that the burden of proof lies with them. I don't hear Christopher Hitchens or Richard Dawkins saying that. – DJClayworth Mar 8 '11 at 14:03

The concept of God is not inbuilt into Buddhism for example. – apoorv020 Mar 16 '11 at 20:15

up vote 9 down vote

added by Jaime Soto Jan 7 '11 at 17:44

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%ADa_de_las_Velitas – Jaime Soto Jan 7 '11 at 17:44

up vote 9 down vote

added by Lohoris Feb 14 '11 at 23:23

closed as off topic by Robert Cartaino♦ Mar 12 at 14:21

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.

Actually, this would be on topic since in fact it would have an objective, canonical answer... if his awesomeness were quantifiable by the meager maths of man. – mfg Mar 8 '11 at 14:03

I disagree... FSM is not religious, it is anti-religious. Hilarious, but it's pretty clear Pastafarians are making a statement against religion, rather than engaging in discussion about it. Maybe it's on topic if we want discussion about the absurdity of religion, but the answer to this question wouldn't add to the discussion at all. – Yuttadhammo Nov 1 '11 at 12:26

Not really a good question for Q&A. – Hrafn Jan 3 at 2:46

up vote 8 down vote

added by John Dec 14 '10 at 18:43

closed as not a real question by Robert Cartaino♦ Mar 12 at 14:22

It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form.

How can this be a good question, I wonder? It makes no sense! Asking which are the points in common might be good, instead. – Lohoris Oct 2 '11 at 10:55

Still wondering how can this be a good question. – Lohoris Feb 5 at 19:22

This would be closed as overly broad. You couldn't possibly list the difference between two religions in this Q&A format. Questions will have to be a lot more focused and specific. – Robert Cartaino♦ Mar 12 at 14:20

up vote 7 down vote

added by Jonesie Nov 29 '10 at 1:17

closed as not constructive by mfg, Dori Nov 2 '11 at 19:28

This question is not a good fit to our Q&A format. We expect answers to generally involve facts, references, or specific expertise; this question will likely solicit opinion, debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion.

This is a request for speculation – mfg Jan 14 '11 at 19:22

That may not be true. Perhaps there is a religion or a religious text in which a doctrine is taught to answer this question. If so, it could be valuable information to the person asking such a question. – zanlok Feb 11 '11 at 2:00

If there were such a text, then the answer(s) would have to be "according to such and such a text the reason is...". There are likely to be many completely unconnected answers. – DJClayworth Mar 7 '11 at 17:47

This makes too many assumptions about Religion. Questions appropriate to specific religions should mention those religions. A better wording of this question may be, "If God is omnipotent and good, then why do so many bad things happen?" – MrHen Apr 19 '11 at 16:33

Sorry, this is not an appropriate question for the Stack Exchange model. It made sense with the previous Area 51 voting mechanism, but it doesn't carry-over. You might try your hand at re-phrasing. – mfg Nov 2 '11 at 18:47

show 4 more comments

up vote 7 down vote

added by justkt Mar 8 '11 at 18:44

up vote 6 down vote

added by dancek Apr 28 '11 at 13:58

up vote 3 down vote

added by apoorv020 Mar 16 '11 at 20:18

up vote 2 down vote

added by mfg Jan 14 '11 at 19:26

up vote 2 down vote

added by justkt Mar 8 '11 at 18:43

This could be on-topic if phrased differently like "What contradictions in OT vs. NT does Christianity have most difficulty assimilating? (i.e. "eye for an eye" vs. "be more than fair, be righteous", etc)". As phrased, this scriptural question (seemingly) applies to Christians as persons or as some broad demographic, rather than as persons adhering to a scripture. – mfg Mar 21 '11 at 16:20

mfg, this assumes that there's a contradiction. The NT is used as an interpretive lens for the OT for Christians. There's a very clear answer to this question in the book of Acts and in Christian tradition. That said, I do see your point about beliefs & practices instead of about people. We may as well ask, "Why are all Christians sinful?" – James Apr 18 '11 at 16:02

I don't think questions should be asked this way. Don't assume that most do or do not [x]. Just ask the generic question: "Do the ceremonial laws in the Old Testament still apply to Christians?" In this case, it is safer to say that most Christians fit the description but I still think the form should be avoided. – MrHen Apr 19 '11 at 16:39

up vote 2 down vote

added by apoorv020 Mar 16 '11 at 20:19

up vote 1 down vote

added by mfg Jan 14 '11 at 19:31

up vote 1 down vote

added by justkt Mar 8 '11 at 18:44

closed as off topic by mfg, MrHen, crucified soul, Jez, Musaab Sep 23 '11 at 6:19

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

I voted off-topic as this seems too open-ended and discussion-y; that said, if this were phrased "According to the sacred texts of [religoin], what happens after death?" it would be on-topic. The specificity of the question and the set of answers seems to be the key to balancing this one. – mfg Mar 21 '11 at 16:15

up vote 1 down vote

added by justkt Mar 8 '11 at 18:45

This is a "list question," and would require multiple volumes to answer. Two criteria that make it a poor fit for this site. – Flimzy Feb 13 at 8:39

up vote 1 down vote

added by babonk Apr 2 '11 at 20:38

	Logos the word (as in John 1:1), or logos, the graphical symbols used to represent an idea or organization? – Flimzy Feb 13 at 8:42
	The former.. The one that Philo of Alexandria focused his writings on. – babonk Feb 13 at 20:47

up vote 1 down vote

added by Musaab Jan 14 at 11:32

up vote 0 down vote

added by apoorv020 Mar 16 '11 at 20:18

Inspired by scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/2493/… – apoorv020 Mar 16 '11 at 20:18

up vote 0 down vote

added by brettz9 Apr 1 '11 at 14:23

Entirely too broad. – Hrafn Jan 3 at 2:48

up vote 0 down vote

added by babonk Apr 2 '11 at 20:33

If this were reworded as something more passive it would probably make a better question: "How has Judaism survived the past [x] years?" – MrHen Apr 19 '11 at 16:41

This sounds like a question that could be asked on History. – Isaac Moses May 9 at 20:50

up vote 0 down vote

added by Fergus Jul 1 '11 at 5:30

up vote 0 down vote

added by JustinY Aug 20 '11 at 20:33

up vote 0 down vote

added by user606723 Jan 25 at 16:29

up vote 0 down vote

added by AntonChanning Mar 26 at 16:46

up vote 0 down vote

added by vakufo Apr 9 at 7:36

up vote 0 down vote

added by zefciu Apr 25 at 16:34

up vote 0 down vote

added by zefciu Apr 25 at 16:37

up vote 0 down vote

added by zefciu Apr 25 at 16:38

up vote 0 down vote

added by zefciu Apr 25 at 16:40

up vote 0 down vote

added by zefciu Apr 25 at 16:44

up vote 0 down vote

added by Marc Josef Diones Riman Apr 26 at 7:53

up vote -1 down vote

added by Musaab Sep 23 '11 at 6:16

Sounds like either "General reference" (since google will answer it easily), or "too localized" (since it changes over time). – Flimzy Feb 13 at 8:41

up vote -1 down vote

added by Musaab Sep 23 '11 at 6:18

Wrong according to what standard? – Flimzy Feb 13 at 8:41

up vote -1 down vote

added by Marc Josef Diones Riman Apr 26 at 7:50

up vote -2 down vote

added by apoorv020 Mar 16 '11 at 20:23

up vote -2 down vote

added by babonk Apr 2 '11 at 20:39

The founding fathers were such a broad group, and it'd be much easier and less likely to devolve into speculation to ask "What were the religious views of Thomas Jefferson" or another specific gentleman than ask to paint the whole group with one brush. – justkt Apr 19 '11 at 16:41