Chip Answers Your Questions

Chip's twelve most recent answers appear on this page.

Dear Jessie

Thank you for visiting www.chi4kids.org and thank you for sharing your questions on Atheism and Taoism. The stories on our website are all about Christian heroes who did great things because of their faith in Jesus. But it can be good to understand those who believe differently.

Atheists don't believe in the existence of God. Therefore, they don't believe God sent his son to earth to die for our sins.

Taoism is a term to describe beliefs that originated in China. It is a religion that believes there is some sort of higher power, but that higher power doesn't really interact with creation. According to them, this being's name can not be known, and is simply called "Tao" or "the Way." From what I can tell, the Taoists believe good and evil exist, but that it's futile to try to influence the world for good, since evil will always be there along with good.

Christians believe in God! We believe there is one true God, and He created the universe, including you and me. He cares deeply about creation and mankind and is a force for good. He wants us to do good and live good lives and he wants to have a relationship with Him! He sent His son Jesus to earth so we could be forgiven of the bad things we've done and be in a right relationship with Him.

I hope that helps you with your questions! Keep on learning about Christian History and don't forget to tell your friends about www.CHI4Kids.org!!

Dear Matthew,

What a great question! The Bible is not just one book, but a collection of 66 books that were written over a 1500 year time period by 40 different people, from 10 different countries. Wow! But I think you are wondering when those books were pulled together to make the Bible. This was a process that took a couple of hundred years. Throughout the early years of Christianity, the church leaders held the Old Testament, or Hebrew, scriptures as sacred. They were also beginning to quote and use many of the writings that would eventually become the New Testament. Around 180 A.D. A man named Irenaeus identified many of the writings we now have in our Bible. For many years after that, Christians were persecuted and could be burned if they refused to turn over their sacred books. Finally in 324 A.D., Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal. At that point Eusebius collected the sacred writings into one book - this is the first time the New Testament writings were all collected together. In 367 A.D. Bishop Athanasus of Alexandria of Egypt made a list of the divinely inspired books. This list was the first one to correspond to the list we have today. In 393 and 397 A.D., two important councils confirmed this list. These same 27 books were thought to be the divine word of God.

You can learn lots more about the Bible and it's formation from our Glimpses stories at www.chinstitute.org/glimpses . Check out cycle 10 on how we got the Bible. You will be particularly interested in #56. Also go to www.glimpsesforkids.org and read story #6 on William Tyndale. That will help you to see how very important the Bible really is!

Have a great day!

Keep on learning about Christian History and don't forget to tell your friends about www.CHI4Kids.org!!

Dear Libby,

Keep on learning about Christian History and don't forget to tell your friends about www.CHI4Kids.org!!

Dear Taylor,

Thank you for visiting www.chi4kids.org and thank you for sharing your question! George Washington Carver is a terrific hero of faith. He used his abilities to help others live a better life and learn to use all God's resources well. George died in 1943. He had been ill for several years and was sometimes hospitalized. In December of 1942 George fell while opening his museum and was badly bruised. Following this, he never got better. He stayed mostly in bed, while many visitors came to see him. He died on January 5, 1943.

Keep on learning about Christian History and don't forget to tell your friends about www.CHI4Kids.org!!

Dear Libby,

Thank you for writing to me and sharing a bit of what you are going through. It can be very painful when parents get divorced. I know this is a sad time for you. Sometimes you may wish you could go back to the way things used to be, but that's not possible. It's hard to adjust to living in a different home and with different people.

The first thing you should do is pray to God and ask Him to give you peace about your situation. The divorce is not your fault, but unfortunately now you have to live with the results. Ask God to help you. Then, if you can, you should share your feelings with your Mom. Tell her you are hurting, but you want to make the best of the situation. One thing that might help is remembering your new step-sister is probably having a hard time too. She has also been through a lot of change. Maybe she wants to be your friend, but doesn't know how. Maybe you and your step sister can find some things you both enjoy and start forming a friendship.

I hope that is helpful. I'll pray for you Libby and I hope things get better for you.

Dear Melissa,

Thank you for visiting www.chi4kids.org and thanks for writing in with your question! Mary Slessor is one of my favorite heroes from Christian history! I hope you read our story about her on www.chi4kids.org or in Glimpses for Kids. Following that, you may want to read the excellent book, Mary Slessor: Forward into Calabar by Janet and Geoff Benge. Mary led a very interesting and faithful life, filled with excitement.

Mary learned about missions in Calabar from the missionary journals her mother read to her. She learned of this from the time she was a young girl. Her mother dreamed that one of Mary's two brothers would become a missionary, but they died. At 27 years of age, Mary decided she wanted to be a missionary, like her own hero, David Livingstone. Mary wanted to serve in Africa, but was afraid to ask for a specific assignment. She was thrilled when her assignment came in and she was chosen to go to Calabar! In the summer of 1876, at 28 years old, Mary was on her way to Calabar.

I hope that helps! Keep on learning about Christian History and don't forget to tell your friends about www.CHI4Kids.org!!

Dear Andrea,

Thank you for your visit to www.chi4kids.org. I think Eric Liddell is a terrific Christian hero! Have you read our story about him? Just go to www.chi4kids.org and click on the bubble call "hero stories" on the right hand side. Eric is story number 2. Unfortunately, I don't know how tall Eric was. You'll have to do further research on that question. There have been a number of books written about him, so maybe one of them will be useful.

Did you know we are creating a "Torchlighters" video about Eric? Check out www.torchlighters.org for more information!

Keep on learning about Christian History and don't forget to tell your friends about www.CHI4Kids.org!!

Dear Friend from Perth,

Thank you for visiting www.CHI4Kids.org.  Amy Carmichael is an inspiring faith hero. Thank you for sharing your comments about our Glimpses for Kids story on her.  You are correct that there is much more to Amy’s story than we included.  The online stories you see are copies of our printed Glimpses for kids pamphlets.   Because our pamphlets are just 4 small pages in length, we must carefully choose what will fit in the story.  You could read more of her story through our adult website, www.chinstitute.org.  Simply do a search for Amy Carmichael and you will find a few other articles on her. If you want even more information, try the book Amy Carmichael by Janet and Geoff Benge.

Keep on learning about Christian History and don't forget to tell your friends about www.CHI4Kids.org!!

Dear Geraint,

Please accept my apology for misunderstanding your question and for answering too quickly in my earlier reply. I now see that you are referring to the Covenanters of 17th Century Scotland. This was a group that wanted to preserve Presbyterianism in Scotland, when the king wanted to change the country over to the Church of England. They signed an agreement or a "Covenant" to show their support.

Thanks again for your question and I believe this is more of what you were looking for.

Keep on learning about Christian History and don't forget to tell your friends about www.CHI4Kids.org!!

Dear Joey,

Thanks for visiting www.chi4kids.org. I hope you enjoy Christian history as you enjoy learning about ancient explorers. I found a website where you can learn more about Eric the Red. Check out http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/e/ericthered.shtml

To learn about another great explorer, go to our website www.chi4kids.org and click on the link called "Glimpses for kids hero stories." Then you will see a list of great stories. I'm sure you'll enjoy #13 on David Livingstone who explored the interior of Africa. David was very different from Eric the Red, because David was trying to help the Africans. From what I've read, it looks like Eric the Red's goals were not so noble.

Dear Unknown Friend,

Thank you for visiting www.chi4kids.org and thanks for submitting your questions. The book of Genesis in the Bible tells us God created the universe and the earth and all the plants and animals. After that he created people, both men and women. God created both men and women in His image, yet they are made differently to complement each other and work well together as a team in all areas of life. Men and women often seem to view things differently and can sometimes get into conflicts over this. The challenge is to work together and find ways to respect and value each other and work so every one's strengths are used.

I hope that helps! Please check with an adult you trust for your other question on God's plan for how men and women fulfill God's plan to "be fruitful and increase in number."

Keep on learning about Christian History and don't forget to tell your friends about www.CHI4Kids.org!!

Dear Todd,

Thank you for visiting www.chi4kids.org and thank you for your question. Your school project sounds like a great opportunity for you to learn about some of the amazing things God did through the time of the Great Awakening. I would suggest you check out a couple of our resources online. First you may want to visit our adult site www.chinstitute.org and then search for Great Awakening. I recommend you read the article called Glimpses #39 and 40 for an overview. Then go to www.chi4kids.org and click on "Glimpses for Kids Hero Stories" on the right hand side of the screen. Then you can read a few of our stories that are related to the Great Awakening. Try # 24 on George Whitfield and #44 on Charles Finney for starters. You might also try #36 on Frances Asbury for a different way of evangelizing.

I hope that is a help!