What to Do if You Don’t Know What to Ask

Don’t Ask Me
In grade school, I quickly learned not to answer every time the teacher had a question. The guys wouldn’t respect me if I appeared to be smart, always doing my homework and paying attention. No sir, I would answer only when called upon.
Being at peace with my classmates didn’t always keep me out of trouble. In my passionate curiosity, I sometimes asked questions the teacher couldn’t answer. A dismissive stare said, Don’t you know I’m the teacher? I’m the one who asks the questions.
Since then, I don’t think I’ve ever grown up. I’m still asking questions, still wanting to learn.
What do you think?
I love questions that don’t have a yes-or-no, right-or-wrong answer. I want to stir people’s thoughts and hear what’s on their minds. Then we can discuss the pros and cons of all possibilities and decide what seems most likely. Unfortunately, open-minded people aren’t always available.
This is why I talk to myself—a lot. Alone in a room, I can have a group discussion, propose several possibilities, and leave myself wondering for a while.
Is something wrong with our culture?
A teacher once asked a student what he thought was the biggest problem with our educational system. Was it ignorance or apathy? The student shrugged and said, “I don’t know and I don’t care.” Did the student confirm the teacher’s hypothesis? Maybe. But I think it’s more relevant to say we haven’t asked questions that stir curiosity and make us eager to learn.
Ask me a question about the book of Acts.
When I wrote Acts of the Messengers in the Early Church, I included more than 750 discussion questions in the back of the book—almost as many questions as Bible verses. Obviously, we’ll probably see ice at the equator before I have time to answer every one. But I’d love to share my thoughts and hear your insights on any one of them.
You can buy the book if you want.
Or you can read every question online and see the related verses in both my translation and the King James Version. Either way, I’d love for you to find a question of interest and click the button that says, Ask for the Author’s Thoughts about a Question.
So far, the only question I’ve answered is Question 1, Chapter 1.
Here’s the question:
In ancient Greek writing, all the letters were capitals, making it impossible to distinguish THEOPHILUS (meaning “lover of God”), in which Luke would be addressing all individuals who had a love for God, versus THEOPHILUS as the name of a person. Do you think Luke is addressing any lover of God or a certain person? Why?