The Only Question You Ever Need Ask

The Only Question You Ever Need Ask is a theological essay in which philosopher Steven Colborne examines a surprising yet fundamental question which every spiritually minded person must consider.

Colborne's spiritual journey has been quite remarkable. An atheist during his teenage years, Colborne used to hate the idea of God, believing it to be foolish and naive. After his mother became ill with a serious disease, Colborne was forced to confront the issue of suffering in depth for the first time. His mother's death sparked a spiritual yearning in Colborne which led him to explore both Eastern and Western philosophy and various associated religious practises. As part of these explorations, Colborne read authors such as Alan Watts, Deepak Chopra, Brandon Bays, Ramana Maharshi, and Eckhart Tolle, but none of these teachers brought solace to Colborne, who found himself suffering from deep depression and spiritual confusion.

At the age of 25, during an admission to psychiatric hospital following an episode of psychosis, Colborne unexpectedly requested that he be brought a Bible. Upon reading the New Testament properly for the first time, Colborne was persuaded of the veracity of the Christian faith and he became a Christian.

Despite immersing himself in Christian life in the years that followed, Colborne struggled with several areas of Christian doctrine that to him seemed highly illogical. He was especially troubled by the divine sovereignty versus human free will problem, which for him seemed to present a logical contradiction at the heart of the Christian worldview. It is this problem — the so-called 'free will predicament' — which is central to Colborne's arguments in The Only Question You Ever Need Ask.