Big questions we rarely ask about God in theology
Madonna Della Strada Chapel under scaffolding. Photo: Gerald Farinas.
In my many years studying theology, I’ve encountered countless books, sermons, and conversations focused on the big questions of faith.
Why do we suffer? Where is God in tragedy? What happens after we die?
These are essential and timeless questions. But I’ve also come to realize that there are other equally profound questions that theologians often leave untouched.
Last night, I found myself walking along the lakefront boulder promenade at Loyola University.
The horizon was hazy, clouded by distant wildfires in Canada, and I was quietly contemplating my relationship with the world around me, its beauty, its grief, and its fragility.
And as one does when passing the beautiful art deco Madonna Della Strada Chapel with lake waves just behind it, I couldn’t help but ask some deeper questions about God. Questions that don’t always get much airtime but still stir something sacred within us.
Here are just a few of those “Big Questions” that I believe deserve more attention in the life of the Church:
What does it mean for God to be eternal, not just without end, but outside of time?
If God is outside time, how can God “act” in time?
How does God hear our prayers or respond to our choices?
This isn’t just philosophical. It gets to the heart of how we understand divine presence and providence.
Will we remember everything in heaven including our grief?
Will we carry our memories with us into eternal life?
Our traumas, regrets, even our unanswered questions?
What does it mean to be fully healed, and do our memories play a role in that healing?
Does the Holy Spirit have a name?
We speak of God the Father and Jesus the Son, both with unique identities. But what of the Spirit?
Is the Spirit a presence, a person, or something else entirely?
Exploring this might reshape how we pray, worship, and seek guidance.
Is there redemption for creation itself?
Does God’s saving grace include endangered animals?
Extinct species?
Dying ecosystems?
What is the hope for creation beyond human salvation?
What does the image of God mean for those with severe disabilities?
We proclaim that all people are made in God’s image.
But what if someone cannot speak, reason, or act for themselves?
Do we still see Christ in them?
We must.
And doing so challenges our definitions of value, dignity, and love.
Could Jesus have sinned?
Scripture tells us Jesus was tempted. But was it real temptation if sin was never truly possible?
What does it mean to say Christ was fully human if He couldn’t fail?
Does God laugh?
We often speak of God’s anger and God’s mercy. But does God laugh?
Not mockingly, but joyfully?
Might God be the first and final source of holy laughter, the kind that breaks chains and bursts tombs?
Reformed faith started with such questions
These aren’t questions with tidy answers. But asking them honors God just as much as answering them.
Faith is not certainty. It’s trust. And God does not demand that we know everything. Only that we remain curious, hopeful, and open to wonder.
So may we be brave enough to ask. Bold enough to explore. And humble enough to admit that some truths are simply too beautiful for final answers.
Let us pray
Eternal God, you are mystery and majesty, near and yet far beyond.
You give us minds to question, hearts to wonder, and souls that long for truth.
We thank You for the questions that unsettle us, for the ones that deepen faith instead of finishing it.
When we are too quick to assume, slow us down.
When we are afraid to ask, give us courage.
When we demand answers, remind us that grace is often found in the not-knowing.
Open our eyes to see the world as You see it, woven with complexity, beauty, and the breath of Your Spirit.
Make us students of wonder.
Make us friends of the unknown.
And in every sacred question, help us to hear Your voice, not always in certainty, but in love.
In the name of Christ, who asked questions before He answered them.
Amen.
