What should I ask?

Question

Some days (like today) I log into Biblical Hermeneutics and see not much going on. So I think, "What question should I ask?" Asking good questions on demand turns out to be very difficult, if not impossible. What are some good ideas for questions I can ask?

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Meta-note:

I'm most interested in specific suggestions about how to generate ideas for posts rather than a recap of the FAQ. Also, if (like me) you have questions that you don't have time to properly ask, you might consider posting them here (as a separate answer) as a sort of donation or reminder.

Answer 1

Pick up your Bible, open to a book you have not read recently, and read it closely, with attention to small details. Look both for things to share (self-answering questions, as you said) and things about which you are unsure. Most of my questions come out of my regular Bible reading time. Thus the fact that you will see me ask a string of questions from the same book.

Answer 2

Self-answered questions

On a site like ours, we have plenty of people who are able to contribute good answers, but not so many people who are really confused about the topic. We aren't like Stack Overflow where we get a constant flood of clueless users asking basic questions. That's a good thing! So our site is a perfect place to experiment with the Encyclopedia Stack Exchange idea.

If you run across something in your regular study and feel like sharing, why not ask a question and provide your answer? Just be sure to ask legitimate questions. That way, we can all learn from your answer and provide alternative answers that could aide in your own learning.

Answer 3

Check out The Library

Our chat room is an underutilized feature at the moment. Perhaps you don't like the idea of wasting time with chat. But it is a low-friction way to brainstorm ideas. I, for one, almost always have a tab open in chat, so if you want to get some help with an idea, try there.

If we ever do get some critical mass on chat, I've found (on other sites) that it can stir up questions I didn't know I had. Maybe that will happen for us too.

Answer 4

Suggestion: the time Jesus lost an argument

TRiG suggested this article in the Library.

I asked one question about the translation "puppies". There are more potential questions in this passage, however.

Answer 5

Suggestion: "Harsh" commands

Someone asked on Skeptics about how "harsh" the Bible is in the things it mandates. (It's really a poor question, so I'm not advocating asking it here.) To me, the commands of God show mercy, not cruelty. Yet many people see the Bible (especially the Torah) as ordering people to do unnecessarily severe things as punishment. But, as you can see, I can't really see how to form this as a question. Would you like to help me out?

Answer 6

Suggestion: Share Your Journey

If you are like me, you are thinking about this stuff (BH, Scripture) all the time. I think it is important to use the Q&A on this site to "log your journey".

It helps you

• If you are wrestling with an idea, why not post a question about it and get different perspectives

• If you have figured something out, why not post a question and answer it yourself... one great thing about this is you get to check your answer in community and get some "constructive criticism"

It helps others

This Q&A helps a much larger audience than the OP of a question. Let's use the Q&A as a tool to journey together in understanding God's ways as the interdependent body of Christ.