Questions from the Pew

Write a beginner's section for thinkask.ai, a site of long-form,
source-first "dossiers" on Christian teaching and its history, in
British English. The dossiers are numbered, and each exists in three
versions: a full dossier, a quick read, and a Simple English page.

  WORKING TITLE. New Here? Start With the Questions. Propose a name
  that will resonate with new readers and confirm it with me.

  WHY. A new visitor does not know where to begin, and may not know
  the vocabulary (sacrament, revelation, Reformation, prosperity
  gospel). The home page offers a topic filter and a full list, and
  both assume the visitor knows which topic he wants. Most visitors
  arrive with a question instead. Meet them at their question and
  point them to the dossier that answers it.

  READ FIRST. Read every published dossier before writing. Each
  answer must agree with the dossier it links to, and must not add a
  claim that is not in it.

  QUESTIONS. Write each one in the voice of an ordinary church member
  asking an honest question, in plain words, in the first person
  where it fits: something a person might ask a friend after a
  Sunday service, not an academic heading. Avoid jargon in the
  question; if a term is unavoidable, explain it in the answer.

  ANSWERS. Brief: two to four sentences. The short answer first, then
  one key Scripture reference or historical fact that supports it.
  End with a link to the full dossier, showing its number and title,
  e.g. "Read more: 01 · When Were You Born Again?" Link only to
  dossiers that exist; do not invent titles or links. Where the
  dossier presents the strongest case for the other side, say so
  briefly. Invite the reader in; do not close the question.

  NAMES. Name no preacher, church or person, as in the dossiers.
  Historical figures named in the dossiers (Luther, Bunyan,
  Margoschis) are fine.

  GROUPS. Use "Getting started" and the site's nine topic groups as
  headings: Baptism and the new birth; Worship and the Lord's Supper;
  The historic church and its creeds; Independent churches and who
  decides; Assurance and the inner life; Prophecy, revelation and
  reason; Pastors, preaching and power; Money, blessing and
  suffering; Family, work and everyday faith.

  GO DEEPER. Add two groups at the end that lead to the companion
  course, creedalfaith.org, and mark their links clearly as leading
  there:
   - "Learning the historic faith": a self-paced course in the
     fundamentals, written for readers in the four creedal traditions
     (Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican). The reader can choose a
     tradition or read all four side by side, and each unit has a
     Complete and a Brief depth.
   - "Where did modern beliefs come from?": its Modern Church
     section, which traces Baptist, Pentecostal, charismatic and
     non-denominational beliefs back to where and when they began,
     and answers them from the creeds. It is written about these
     movements, not for them.
  Where a ThinkAsk answer touches a topic the course covers, add a
  secondary "Go deeper" link to the matching unit. Verify that each
  unit exists before linking to it.

  STARTER QUESTIONS (verify each against its dossier; reword, merge
  or drop as needed):
   Getting started: What is ThinkAsk, and why are the prompts
     published? Why are there three versions of every dossier? Is
     this site against my church? Is it wrong to ask questions about
     what my pastor teaches?
   Baptism: When was I born again? Is it a feeling, or something that
     happened to me? Did the early church baptize infants? Isn't baby
     dedication the same thing as infant baptism? Should I be
     baptized again? Aren't we just following Jesus' example when we
     are baptized? Pilgrim's Progress shaped my faith. Is anything
     missing from it?
   Worship: Is the Lord's Supper just a symbol? Our church has no
     liturgy. Is that more biblical? Why is the stage at the front
     instead of the altar? Since when did being a Christian become
     about "me" and not about Christ?
   The historic church: My pastor says the old churches are dead. Is
     he right? We have no creed but the Bible. Isn't that enough?
     Could the whole Church have been wrong for 1,500 years? Where
     does my church stand compared with the early Church? Are old
     heresies coming back in new churches? Does it matter what is
     preached, as long as Jesus' name is used? What did the
     missionaries who brought the gospel here actually preach?
   Independent churches: My church is non-denominational. Doesn't
     that mean it has no theology? We just follow Jesus. Why do we
     need anything written down? Can I change what I believe without
     noticing? Can a pastor hand the church to his son?
   Assurance: If I miss my quiet time, am I less spiritual? How can I
     know I am saved if it depends on my experience? Do I have to be
     clean of every sin before the Spirit will come? Do I really know
     God? Should a Christian be afraid of death?
   Prophecy and reason: Does Jesus need to speak to me every day for
     me to be a real Christian? How can we trust a pastor's personal
     revelation when it overrides the Bible? What if a prophecy does
     not come true? Do I have to switch off my mind to have faith?
     Is speaking in tongues a real language? Does God promise to heal
     everyone who has enough faith?
   Pastors and power: If I disagree with my pastor, am I fighting
     God? Do I need a pastor as my "covering" to be safe? Can a pastor
     ask God to kill those who disagree with him? Will God strike me
     down if I question the man of God? Is the pulpit the place to
     correct one person in the congregation? My pastor quotes a
     hundred verses. Doesn't that make it biblical? If "God told me,"
     can the church board still ask questions?
   Money and suffering: Should I just give and not ask how the money
     is used? Must I pay my tithe before I help someone in need? Can I
     earn God's favor by what I give? My pastor promised this month
     will be marvellous. What if it is not? If misfortune comes, is
     God punishing me?
   Family and work: Is serving at church more spiritual than my
     everyday job? Can my children see through a faith I only perform?
     My child loves music and sport. Is that taking them away from
     Jesus? I raised my child in church, and they walked away. Did
     God's promise fail?
   Learning the historic faith: Where do I start? What does the Creed
     actually say? What do Christians mean by the Trinity? Who decides
     what the Bible means? What does God do in baptism? Are the bread
     and wine only a reminder? How is a sinner put right with God?
     Can I know that I am saved? Why does historic worship follow a
     set order? How do I keep a rule of daily prayer that does not go
     cold? What has the Church always prayed for the sick, and what
     has it never promised? What happens when I die?
   Where modern beliefs came from: Where did my church's beliefs
     come from? How are the modern movements connected? Where did
     believer's baptism come from? The rapture and end-times charts?
     The altar call and the "second blessing"? Tongues in modern
     churches? Healing crusades? The prosperity gospel? Today's
     "apostles and prophets"? "Covering" and submission? The "Seven
     Mountains" mandate? Megachurches? How did these movements come
     to India? Who were the people who shaped them?
  Make sure every published dossier can be reached from at least one
  question.

  NOT YET ANSWERED. Some good beginner questions have no dossier yet.
  Do not answer them with invented links. List them at the end under
  "Suggested future dossiers", after checking whether the companion
  course already covers them.

  THE PAGE. An interactive HTML page that matches the site's theme,
  including its light and dark modes, and looks like part of the
  site rather than an add-on. Each question is an expandable card:
  the question visible, the answer and links on click, with "expand
  all" for readers who prefer to scroll. A simple search box. Links
  follow the reader's chosen version (Full, Quick read, Simple
  English). A prominent box at the top states the site's single most
  important idea: it does not ask you to trust it; it gives you the
  sources so you can check for yourself. Professional, suitable for
  publishing as it stands after a quick review, and easy to extend:
  adding a question for a new dossier should take a minute or two.

  HOME PAGE. A panel near the top of the home page, close to the
  introduction and the pinned dossier without crowding it, showing
  about six questions a first-time visitor is most likely to arrive
  with, linking to the full page, with a line under it that points
  to the companion course's "where did my church's beliefs come
  from?" material.