#STRask: Recent Episodes
Stand to Reason
Stand to Reason’s Greg Koukl and Amy Hall answer questions on ethics, theology, apologetics, and culture from a Christian perspective. Submit your questions on Twitter using the hashtag #STRask.
Questions about whether Genesis 1 indicates that humans are basically good and that we’ve emphasized sin too much, and how, if the heart is “desperately wicked,” anyone could believe in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and be saved. * Since, in Genesis 1, God made humans in his image and called us “very good,” does that mean humans are basically good and we’ve emphasized sin too much? * If the heart is “desperately wicked,” why does God search the heart, and why does Romans 10:9 say, “Believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, and you will be saved”? How could a desperately wicked heart do this?
Questions about how to respond to someone claiming the Quran is the true word of God and how one can discuss the gospel with a Baháʼí. * How would you respond to someone claiming the Quran is the true word of God? * How can I discuss the gospel with a Baháʼí?
Questions about inspiration when the New Testament writers quote the Septuagint rather than the original text, whether we could add books to the Bible if new letters from the apostles were found, and how to handle passages like John 7:53–8:11 that were added to the original biblical text. * Can you explain verbal plenary inspiration with regard to the New Testament writers quoting the Septuagint in places where it’s different from the original Hebrew text? * Would it be inappropriate to add books to the Bible if new letters from the apostles were found? * How should we handle passages like John 7:53–8:11 and Mark 16:9–20 that seem to have been added to the original biblical text?
Questions about whether Christians are complicit in abortion if they shop at companies whose health plans cover it, the claim that putting up Christmas decorations at work discriminates against other religious holidays, and an employer that won’t work around an employee’s religious obligations. * Many are appalled by Christians who lived near World War II concentration camps who failed to resist them or even profited from their evils, yet how are we any different if we invest in or use companies like Amazon that offer health care plans that cover abortion? * What is a polite response to the claim that putting up Christmas decorations at work “discriminates” against other religious holidays? * How do we navigate a hostile work culture that denies us the hours and funds we need simply because we have church obligations that limit our availability?
Questions about where Jesus went when he “ascended into Heaven” in Acts 1, the idea that Jesus has already returned, whether we’ll see or hear from Jesus after we die, and whether Jesus would have ceased to exist at the cross if annihilation is the punishment required for our sins. * Where did Jesus go when he “ascended into Heaven” in Acts 1? * What do you think about the idea that Jesus has already returned? * If I won’t see or hear from Jesus while I’m alive, is it going to be like that after I die too? * If annihilationism is true, then wouldn’t Jesus have ceased to exist at the cross since he was receiving God’s judgment for us?
Questions about what we make of the eyewitnesses to Joseph Smith’s golden plates, our thoughts on the Book of Mormon itself, and why we consider Latter-day Saint theology to be “another gospel.” * What do you make of the eyewitnesses to the golden plates, what do you make of the Book of Mormon itself, and why do you consider it “another gospel”?
Questions about how to respond to the claim that the Bible is full of contradictions, and how to answer a Jewish person who knows and speaks Hebrew and says our Bibles weren’t translated properly and the New Testament is made up. * How would you respond to the claim that the Bible is full of contradictions? * How would you answer a Jewish person who knows and speaks Hebrew and says our Bibles weren’t translated properly and the New Testament is made up?
Questions about the idea that “Satan” is merely the propensity of humankind to commit evil acts, why Satan and the demons would want to keep storing up wrath for themselves if they know they’ll be defeated, and whether a “spirit of divorce” can be carried from generation to generation. * What would you say to someone who believes that Satan is not a being but rather the propensity of humankind to commit evil acts? * If Satan and the demons know they’ll ultimately be defeated and tormented, why would they want to keep storing up wrath for themselves? * I’ve heard Christians talk about a “spirit of divorce," but is that biblical, could it be carried from generation to generation, and does Exodus 20:5 support that view?
Questions about how right a person’s theology needs to be to enter the kingdom, whether it’s okay to baptize a cognitively challenged person who isn’t able to explain salvific concepts, and whether an intellectually disabled person can be saved if they can’t understand the theology of salvation. * Considering there are a lot of Christians who say they’re right that don’t agree with each other, how “right” do I need to be to enter the kingdom? * Is it okay to baptize a young man who really wants to be baptized but who has cognitive challenges and isn’t able to explain salvific concepts like God’s grace or why Jesus needed to die on the cross? * Can my intellectually disabled daughter be saved if she can’t understand the concepts involved with Jesus personally dying for her sins?
Questions about claiming to know the one and only perfectly true denomination on earth and how a person can know they are going to Heaven. * Are you about to tell me you know the one and only perfectly true denomination on earth? * How can a person know they are going to Heaven?
Questions about whether confidence in a belief should be informed by how long the belief has been held or by how many have held it, and whether it’s irrational and illogical to believe in God and one has to go against reason to believe in him. * Should confidence in a belief be informed by how long the belief has been held or by how many have held it? * Is it irrational and illogical to believe in God, and does one have to go against reason to believe in him?
Questions about how to tell the difference between someone who is righteously offended by homosexuality and a bully, and how to challenge cultural Christians to think more deeply about the Christian worldview when they complain about men wearing women’s dresses in public. * How do you tell the difference between someone who is righteously offended by homosexuality and a bully? * How can I challenge my cultural-Christian friends to think more deeply about the Christian worldview when they complain about people dressing in bizarre ways in public (like men in women’s dresses)?
Questions about what to do if your child came home and told you they were gay, and whether it’s strategically wiser to set emotionally charged sexual ethics aside at first and begin with other sins when evangelizing. * What would you do if your child came home and told you they were gay? * Given how emotionally charged sexual sin is today, is it strategically wiser to set sexual ethics aside at first and begin with less identity-loaded sins (lying, theft, etc.) to establish repentance and regeneration—letting sexual ethics follow as a result of new birth?
Questions about what happened with Germany in World War II if the idea of intrinsic human value came from the Christian worldview, and how to explain the fact that Christians on both sides of World War II slaughtered each other while claiming to fight in the name of God. * If the idea of intrinsic human value came from the Christian worldview, then what happened with Germany in World War II? * How do you explain the reality that World War II saw roughly 40 million Christians slaughtering other Christians—both sides claiming to fight in the name of God?
Question about what Christians should think about capitalism. * What should a Christian think about capitalism?
Questions about the benefits of holding Greg’s view on not expecting to hear special messages from God, and how the ideas of God putting something on someone’s heart and prompting someone to pray a certain thing fit with Greg’s theology. * What are the positive benefits of holding Greg’s view on not expecting to hear the voice of God and using more appropriate language for describing how the Holy Spirit interacts with us? * In light of your view on hearing the voice of God, what did Greg mean when he talked about God putting something on someone’s heart, and what did Amy mean when she said God might prompt someone to pray a certain thing? How do these ideas fit with your theology?
Question about what Hebrews 7 means when it says Jesus became a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. * What does Hebrews 7 mean when it says Jesus became a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek?
Questions about what Jesus meant in the passage where he says, ”It is written that you are called gods” (John 10:34–36), and why he would compare himself to those who are merely called gods. * Can you give a more detailed explanation of the passage where Jesus says, “It is written that you are called gods” (John 10:34–36)? It seems like he’s downplaying the fact that he’s God by comparing himself to those who are merely called gods.
Question about where Scripture teaches unambiguously that Jesus is God. * Where does Scripture teach unambiguously that Jesus is God? Jesus also said he wasn’t God when being called a blasphemer, so when you say “unambiguously,” what do you actually mean?
Questions about how the new earth ties in with the the teaching that we go to Heaven after we die, whether the Isaiah 65:17–25 passage about the new earth is metaphor, whether people in Heaven are aware of things happening on earth, and the prohibition against communicating with the dead. * How does the new earth and the new Jerusalem mentioned in Revelation tie in with the teaching that we go to Heaven after we die, how can we be taken directly into God’s presence if we’re not as worthy as Elijah and Enoch, and are we misleading people about the afterlife because of unbiblical assumptions? * Is the Isaiah 65:17–25 passage about the new earth metaphor, especially the part about having babies? * Are people in Heaven and Hell aware of things happening on earth? * Is the prohibition against communicating with the dead merely against our trying to get them to respond, or should we not talk to them at all, even if we’re not expecting a response?
Questions about responding to the claim that someone who died saving the life of another shouldn’t be punished with Hell, and answering someone who says they don’t need a relationship with God and that if there’s a just God, then we should all be judged according to our deeds. * How would you respond to the claim that someone who died saving the life of another shouldn’t be punished with Hell? * What would you say to someone who says they don’t need a relationship with God and that if there’s a just God, then we should all be judged according to our deeds?
Questions about how God’s divine prerogative in Romans 9 differs from the capriciousness of Allah, why we should bother with evangelism if God draws those whom he draws and no one has a choice, and the role of faith in the elect in Reformed theology if God guaranteed their salvation. * How is God’s divine prerogative shown in Romans 9 different from the capriciousness of Allah? * If God already knows who goes to Heaven, and he draws those whom he draws, then why bother with evangelism since it isn’t like someone can have the choice to choose God? * In Reformed theology, what’s the role of faith in the elect if God guaranteed their salvation?
Questions about whether or not a human clone would have a soul, when each identical twin receives a soul, whether anencephalic babies have a soul, and whether the fact that scientists can use AI to decode people’s thoughts by analyzing their brain activity disproves the soul. * Would a human clone have a soul? * When identical twins form from a single-cell fertilized egg, when does each receive a soul? * Do anencephalic babies have a soul? * Does the fact that scientists have been able to decode people’s thoughts by using AI to analyze their brain activity disprove the idea that the soul is real and that consciousness is an immaterial, private experience?
Questions about advice for parents whose daughter was turned away from the faith by the culture, and what to do when you’ve been a Christian for 35 years and are feeling cold to evangelism and a deeper understanding of Scripture. * Do you have any advice for us after this culture turned our dear daughter away from the faith she grew up in? * As someone who’s been a Christian for approximately 35 years, I'm feeling very cold to evangelism and a deeper understanding of Scripture, and I’m looking for some advice on where to get started.
Questions about why people are using the Old Testament laws to condemn people if we’re not under those laws, thoughts on Christians celebrating the feasts of the Law out of obedience to the Lord, and whether we should keep the feasts so we’ll recognize Christ at his second coming. * If the Old Testament laws were not even meant for us, then why are so many using the old laws to condemn people now? * What do you think about my friends insisting that Christians celebrate and honor the various feasts of the Mosaic Law—not out of a spirit of legalism, but merely out of obedience to the Lord who saved them? * Just as part of the purpose of the Mosaic Law and sacrificial system was to teach God’s people how to recognize Jesus when he came, should Christians be keeping the Feast of Tabernacles and other commands so we can recognize Christ at his second coming?
Questions about how to answer someone who says, “Everyone deserves love and happiness,” in response to objections to same-sex weddings, and how to think about same-sex adoption when looking through the lens of the greater good. * How would you answer someone who said, “Everyone deserves love and happiness,” in response to my objections to same-sex weddings? * How should I think about same-sex adoption when looking through the lens of the greater good? If same-sex marriage is legal, what is the greater good in terms of children—giving a child a home or fighting against same-sex adoption ever occurring?
Questions about how to make a biblical case for God’s good design in creating two genders and the rightness of submitting to his design for our own bodies, and how “gender-affirming” care can be wrong if it’s not discussed in the Bible. * Would you make a biblical case for God’s good design in creating two genders and the rightness of submitting to his design for our own bodies? My trans, Episcopal brother is asking why “gender-affirming care” is wrong and harmful if it’s not discussed in the Bible.
Questions about whether the despair portrayed in Psalms and Job is descriptive, prescriptive, or something else, whether the Beatitudes are descriptive or prescriptive, how to meditate on God’s Word, and whether reading the Bible gives us information about God or a relationship with him. * Should we view the despair of believers portrayed in Psalms and Job descriptively, prescriptively, or some other middle way? * Are the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5 descriptive, prescriptive, or both? * How do we meditate on God’s Word just by reading it, and how is meditating on God’s Word different from yoga? * How should I respond to someone who says, “The Bible gives us information about God. You can’t read it again and again and say you have a relationship with God.”
Questions about the difference between believing and knowing from a biblical perspective, why it’s considered bad manners to ask for testable, repeatable evidence for the existence of gods, and why Christians don’t prove God exists by asking him to change carbon dioxide into hydrogen. * How would you understand the difference between believing and knowing from a biblically informed Christian perspective, with knowing from a secular perspective being that which one can see, smell, touch, or demonstrate empirically? * Why is it considered very bad manners to ask for testable, repeatable, consistent evidence that gods and goddesses do exist? * What prayer can anyone say over a small amount of baking soda so that when vinegar is poured onto it, the bubbles test positive for hydrogen instead of carbon dioxide, thereby giving evidence that the supernatural being to whom the prayer is offered does exist?
Questions about our best answer when an atheist asks us to prove God exists, how God can be merciful and forgiving without the existence of fallen humanity, and why, if God is complete in himself and already receives glory from the angels, he would create us to witness his glory. * What is your best answer when an atheist asks you to “prove God exists”? * Since God is a Trinity, he can be love without needing creation, but how can he be, by nature, merciful and forgiving without fallen humanity, and wouldn’t that make us necessary? * If God is complete in himself, he didn’t need to create us, and if his angels are there, he already receives glory, so why is it to the benefit of an uncreated creation that they should be created and witness the glory of God?
Questions about why the Sadducees and Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus and why God doesn’t say anything when we pray to him. * Why did the Sadducees and Pharisees want to kill Jesus? * Why doesn’t God say anything when we pray to him?
Questions about whether 1 Corinthians 3:15 indicates that a person can be saved but have nothing to show for it in the way they live, and whether a lack of good works after salvation means the person is not really saved. * Does 1 Corinthians 3:15 indicate that a person can be saved but have nothing to show for it in the way they live, and if so, how does this fit with passages like James 2 and John 15? * If good works demonstrate/follow salvation, does that mean I’m not saved since I still fail so much when it comes to selfishness, not helping others much, not giving much, etc.?
Question about the questions we need to answer for our youth to help keep them from walking away from the faith. * What questions do we need to answer for our youth to help keep them from walking away from the faith?
Question about how to love those who hate us. * How would you answer the question my former professor says is the most pressing question his students are asking right now: How do we love those who hate us?
Questions about whether biblical fasting is food specific or could include things like social media, how the “faith” listed as a gift of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:9 differs from the saving faith given to all believers, and whether it’s biblical for people with a prophetic gift to predict suffering and death. * Is it biblical to abstain from something like social media as a form of fasting to pray for a specific thing, or is fasting food specific? * Is the “faith” listed as a gift of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:9 somehow different from the saving faith given to all believers? * Is it biblical for people with a prophetic gift to predict seasons of suffering or when a person will die?
Questions about what to say to a confused four-year-old grandson whose father is telling him there are hundreds of gods, why it’s difficult to persuade a Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness, and how to engage someone who claims to be Christian yet attends a Unitarian Universalist church. * How do I respond to a confused four-year-old grandson whose father is telling him there are hundreds of gods? * Why is it so hard, when having a discussion with a Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness, to help them understand and set them free with the truth of the gospel? * How do I engage someone who claims to be a Christian yet attends a Unitarian Universalist church?
Questions about evidence in Scripture that identifies the Holy Spirit as a person rather than the transforming power of God, whether Mark 13:33 means that the Holy Spirit doesn’t know the day of Christ’s return, and thoughts on contemplative prayer and other popular spiritual formation practices. * Aside from translators’ use of the male pronoun, what evidence in Scripture identifies the Holy Spirit as a “person” as opposed to the transforming power of God? * Does Mark 13:33 mean that the Holy Spirit does not know the day of Christ’s return? * Can you comment on popular spiritual formation practices such as contemplative prayer, lectio divina, and the need to explore our past in order for the Spirit to work in us to remove sin?
Questions about whether perfect justice requires that the penalty be paid by the offender rather than someone else, and whether the references in Scripture to sharing in the sufferings of Christ are only about persecution for one’s faith or include things like sickness and financial hardship. * For “perfect justice” to be accomplished, doesn’t the penalty have to actually be paid by the offender rather than someone else? * Are the references in Scripture to ”sharing in the sufferings of Christ” only about persecution for one’s faith in Christ, or are they also about sickness, financial hardship, emotional pain, etc.?
Questions about whether to attend the wedding of someone who is into the New Thought movement and will have New Age items at the wedding location, whether one should not listen to hymns sung by Latter-day Saints, and how to respond to the Buddhist “Walk for Peace.” * Should I attend the wedding of my sister, who is into the New Thought movement and will have a meditation yurt, a drum circle, and other New Age items at the wedding location and is very outspoken against Christianity? * I’ve found that Latter-day Saint singers sing hymns that I like, and I get disturbed by that. Should I not listen? * How should Christians respond to the Buddhist “Walk for Peace” and the people and churches excited to see and support it?
Questions about which Bible translation to recommend to an adult who’s new to the Bible, and what resources to recommend to an unbeliever who’s interested in reading the Bible with her son. * Which Bible translation would you recommend to an adult who’s new to the Bible? * What resources would you recommend to an unbeliever who’s interested in reading the Bible with her son?
Questions about how to respond to the criticism that Christianity is narrow-minded and dangerous, and what to say to someone who thinks Christianity is a cult. * How would you respond to the criticism that Christianity is narrow-minded and dangerous? * What would you say to someone who thinks Christianity is a cult?
Questions about whether God’s primary object is to not be found, how one can say God doesn’t make mistakes if the percentage of Christians in the world is so low, and whether the fact that not everyone will be in Heaven is proof that God doesn’t win every battle. * Would you say God’s primary object is to not be found? * If God doesn’t make mistakes, how do you explain the fact that Christians have reached an all-time low percentage of the world’s population? * If the common belief that God wins every battle were true, then no one would be in Hell.
Questions about whether the fact that the truth about one’s age changes over time is an argument for relativism, and how to ground virtues like courage in objective reality without relying on circular definitions. * I’ve heard truth doesn’t change and doesn’t contradict itself, but how does yearly change fit into that—e.g., I’m 38 one year and 39 the next. Does this create an argument for relativism? * If “cowardice” is defined as failing to do what’s right, then calling it “wrong” is just a tautology. How do we ground virtues like courage in objective reality without relying on circular definitions?
Questions about what gives modern Christians confidence that they’ve inherited the Jews’ covenant with God if Scripture explicitly says it was with Israel and not the Gentile nations, and why the Jews were chosen. * The covenant in Scripture is explicitly with Israel and not the Gentile nations, so what gives modern Christians confidence that they’ve inherited that covenant? * Why were the Jews chosen?
Questions about why there is no effort towards a neutral interpretation of Scripture that doesn’t take denominational preferences into account, and how so many people in different denominations that believe different things can all claim to be followers of Christ. * Why is there no effort towards a neutral exegesis—i.e., without taking denominational preferences into account—in light of the fact that there are so many denominations divided over hundreds of topics? Which inspiration theory and which explanatory system do you use? * Considering there are so many denominations that all believe different things, how can they all claim to be followers of Christ?
Questions about how one person could trust another person on the topic of God, how STR obtained information about God that others haven’t obtained, and whether God only matters for the purpose of the afterlife. * How could one person trust another person on the topic of God, and how did you obtain information about God that I haven’t obtained? * Aside from Heaven and Hell, does God matter? Atheists and Muslims experience the same world you do.
Questions about responding to an LGBTQ person who says he feels good about who he is, and whether—since we all have sin in our life we don’t consider to be sinful—a practicing homosexual can be born again as long as he sincerely believes his behavior isn’t sinful. * What would be an appropriate response to an LGBTQ person saying, “I feel good about who I am”? * Since we all have sin in our life that we don’t consider to be sinful, and will only learn about it when we get to Heaven, doesn’t that mean a practicing homosexual can be born again as long as he sincerely believes his behavior is not sinful?
Questions about whether or not God hears and answers the prayers of non-believers, and thoughts about a church sign that reads (as if from God), “Just love everyone. I'll sort them out later.” * Does God hear non-believers’ prayers, and if he hears them, does he answer them? * How would you evaluate a church sign that reads (as if from God), “Just love everyone. I'll sort them out later”?
Questions about the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives, advice for someone who believes in God intellectually but struggles to understand how to have a “personal relationship” with him, and resources other than Greg’s that teach the wisdom model for making decisions. * If the Holy Spirit doesn’t give us personal instructions, what does that leave the role of the Holy Spirit to be in my life? * Do you have advice for someone who believes in God intellectually but struggles to understand how to have a “personal relationship” with him? I don’t understand how others “feel his presence” or “hear from God.” * What resources (outside of your own) would you recommend in regard to the wisdom model for making decisions rather than a more charismatic approach of receiving impressions, whispers, etc. from God?
Questions about why it’s necessary to believe Jesus is God, whether belief in the Trinity is required for salvation, and why one has to believe in the Trinity if the words “Trinity,” “God the Son,” and “God the Holy Spirit” aren’t in the Bible. * Why is it necessary to believe Jesus is God? Since the Trinity is so difficult for our little human minds to comprehend, is belief in the Trinity really required for salvation? * Where do you see the words “Trinity,” “God the Son,” and “God the Holy Spirit” in the Bible, and if they’re not there, do I have to believe in the Trinity?
Questions about how we can know who is teaching the same gospel Paul taught, and whether or not Jeremiah 1:5 supports the idea that we pre-existed in a spiritual form. * With so many divergent traditions, how can we know who is teaching the same gospel Paul taught? If someone in our age has been taught by revelation, then we should forget traditions. * Does Jeremiah 1:5 support the idea that we pre-existed in a spiritual form?
Questions about Greg placing his faith in his personal assessment of which truth claims best match reality rather than in the revelation of God in Jesus and a personal encounter with the Spirit, and how to fight thoughts that God isn’t real when you know he is real. * Please respond to this critique of Greg Koukl: “Those who place their faith in their personal assessment of which truth claims best correspond to reality are placing their faith in something other than the revelation of God in Jesus Christ and a personal encounter with the Holy Spirit.” * I struggle with thoughts that God isn’t real even though I know he’s real. How do I fight this?
Questions about the claim that if Christians really want to be open-minded, they need to read and study other religions before committing to Christianity, and with so many paths claiming to be the sole path, what is to be said about those who choose incorrectly? * How would you respond to someone who says, “If Christians really want to be open-minded, they need to read and study other religions before committing to Christianity”? * With so many paths claiming to be the sole path, what is to be said about those who choose incorrectly?
Questions about whether it’s possible there’s a being that’s greater than God and that’s outside of God’s comprehension and omniscience, and how to explain to people who don’t believe in the spiritual realm or the existence of God that we have eternal souls. * Is it possible there’s a being that’s greater than God and that’s outside of God’s comprehension and omniscience? * How do I explain to relatives who don’t believe in the existence of God or the spiritual realm that we all have an eternal soul? They say that if they see God do a miracle, then they’ll believe, but isn’t that why it’s faith?
Questions about whether we should be praying for our souls rather than for material things, why we need to pray about decisions, whether the devil can hear our prayers and tempt us with “answers,” and whether it’s okay to pray for someone’s death rather than healing. * Shouldn’t I be praying for my soul rather than for material things such as a house or a new job—i.e., a diet version of the prosperity gospel? * If I’m faced with a decision to do something that’s a good thing and doesn’t violate anything in Scripture, why do I need to pray about it to see if it’s something God wants me to do? * Can the devil hear our prayers, and if so, will he tempt us with “answers” to those prayers? * Is it okay to pray for someone’s death—i.e., for God to release them from suffering rather than for his miraculous healing?
Questions about why we should pray if God already knows what’s going to happen, how the effectiveness of prayer is measured, and whether or not things would have happened the way they did if no one had prayed for them. * Why should we pray if God already knows what’s going to happen? * How is the effectiveness of prayer measured—e.g., would Christopher Yuan have been saved if his mother hadn’t prayed fervently?
Questions about why we should think Jesus is not a created being, and what it means to say God became fully human if part of being human means not being God. * Prove to me that Jesus is not a created being, that “begotten” doesn’t mean he was created, and that he has always existed. * What does it mean to say God became fully human if part of being human means not being God?
Questions about good books on Christian apologetics, philosophy, and theology with more in-depth information and ideas, and resources to help an intellectually-inclined person with spiritual formation and developing the non-cerebral side of living a Christian life. * As a high school student, I have read many baseline books on Christian apologetics, theology, and philosophy, so could you recommend good books with more in-depth information and ideas? * As someone with a passion for intellectual pursuits such as apologetics, theology, and philosophy, what resources might be helpful for spiritual formation and developing the non-cerebral side of living a Christian life?
Questions about whether there’s an issue with churches advertising on social media, whether it’s weird if we pray along with a YouTuber, and whether Christian social media influencers are going against Matthew 6:1–2 when they film themselves doing good deeds. * What are your thoughts on churches advertising on social media? * Is it weird that I often find myself praying along with a YouTuber when he ends his videos with a prayer? * Are Christian social media influencers going against Matthew 6:1–2 when they film themselves doing good deeds?
Questions about Christians condemning LGB people just because of how they love, how God can expect someone to be celibate when others are free to marry and have happiness, and why Christians seem to hate people today. * If God sent Jesus to die for our sins, and all who believe in him are accepted into Heaven, why are so many Christians condemning LGB people just because of how they love someone? * How can God expect you to be celibate when others are free to marry and have happiness? * Can you explain the hate I see from Christians today?
Questions about how to answer the challenge that God doesn’t need a “pound of flesh” to forgive sins but can simply forgive, and whether the claim in Romans 10:13 that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved contradicts Matthew 7:21. * How do you answer the challenge that God doesn’t need a “pound of flesh” to forgive sins but can simply forgive? * Romans 10:13 says everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, but Matthew 7:21 says not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will be saved. Can you help me understand this contradiction?
Questions about whether two logical people can come to conflicting conclusions on a topic without committing a fallacy, how Greg, as a public figure, deals with criticism, and whether or not criticism gets to him. * Can two people come to conflicting conclusions on a topic while holding true to logic and reason without committing a fallacy? * As a public figure, how do you deal with criticism, and does it get to you?
Questions about how to determine which topics at work are worth commenting on, and a good way to respond when you’re in a group Bible study and hear earnest, lifelong Christians talk excitedly about books or content creators that aren’t orthodox. * As someone who works in an open room with six others, where topics shift quickly and it’s hard to interject with multiple people chiming in, how do I determine which topics are worth commenting on and asking questions about? * What is a good way to respond when you’re in a group Bible study and hear earnest, lifelong Christians talk excitedly about books or content creators that aren’t totally orthodox?
Questions about whether Jesus proved he wasn’t sinless when he overturned the tables, whether Jesus’ response to the Pharisees in Mark 3:22–26 was a bad argument, why Jesus was known for associating with sinners, and to what extent we should follow his example. * How would you respond to someone who said Jesus lacked self-control, got angry, and had a violent temper tantrum when he overturned the tables in Matthew 21:12–13, proving he wasn’t sinless? * Is Jesus’ response to the Pharisees in Mark 3:22–26 a bad argument? * Why was Jesus known for associating with sinners, and to what extent should Christians follow his example?
Questions about what will happen to those who never heard of Jesus or were brought up in a different faith, whether there’s biblical warrant to think a humble, repentant attitude can save people who don’t know Jesus, and where the souls who lived before Jesus go. * We’re taught that the only way to Heaven is through belief in Jesus, but what about those living on this planet who never heard of him, those brought up in another faith, or those of a Jewish faith? * Is there any biblical warrant for thinking that those who haven’t heard of Jesus will nevertheless be saved due to a humble, repentant attitude? * Where do the souls who lived before Jesus go since they couldn’t be baptized or saved?
Questions about how one can justify calling Jesus the Messiah when he didn’t fulfill the Hebrew messianic prophecies, and whether the reason for the virgin birth was just to set Jesus apart as unique or there was a deeper meaning. * How do you justify calling Jesus the Messiah when he didn’t fulfill the Hebrew prophecies the Messiah was required to complete? * Is the reason for the virgin birth just to set Jesus apart as unique, or is there a deeper meaning?
Questions about whether anyone who tithes is not a Christian and is accursed since Paul says that if you obey one part of the Mosaic Law you’re obligated to obey all of it, and the claim that tithing preceded the Law and therefore remains a principle for the church today. * Since Paul says that if you obey one part of the Law to please God you’re obligated to obey all of it, does that mean that anyone who tithes is not a Christian and is accursed? * How would you respond to the claim that tithing preceded the Law of Moses, as evidenced by Abraham giving a tenth to Melchizedek in Genesis 14, and therefore remains a principle for the church today?
Questions about whether references to demon possessions and exorcisms in the New Testament are literal, how to talk to young children about ghosts, and whether it’s arrogant to think Satan knows your name when he’s a single entity with bigger fish to fry. * Are references to demon possessions and exorcisms in the New Testament literal, or are they cultural references to physical or psychological conditions that they didn’t understand? * How do you talk to young children about ghosts? It’s tempting to say they aren’t real, but I don’t want to deny the reality of “spiritual forces of evil” (Eph. 6:12). * Is it misguided or arrogant to think Satan even knows my name when he’s a single entity with bigger fish to fry than me and can only be in one place at a time?
Questions about why any rational person would have to use any religious book, whether apologetics would be redundant if there were actually a good, unrefuted argument, and how to get enough people interested in apologetics to start an apologetics group. * Why would any rational, thinking person have to use any religious book, including the Bible, unless they don’t really think with reason or comprehend logic and logical fallacies such as circular reasoning? * If there were a single good, unrefuted apologetics argument, then apologetics would be redundant. Outside of faith, can we really say we know? If we can’t, then why do apologetics? * If, as Greg says, “you can’t start a fire with wet wood” when starting an apologetics group, how can someone keep “wet wood” from putting out their fire? * How can I get others interested in apologetics and the importance of being able to have fruitful conversations with anyone who disagrees with their Christian beliefs?
Question about what tools of reasoning help us determine whether something is true or false, right or wrong, good or bad before bringing Scripture into it. * How do you determine whether something is true or false, whether an action is right or wrong, or whether something is good or bad? Before you bring in Scripture, what tools of reasoning help you recognize these categories in daily life?
Questions about whether having a recurring thought is an indication God is speaking to you, what to say to someone who says they sinned because “God told them to do something” and they didn’t do it, and whether God speaks to us through premonitions. * Would you characterize not being able to stop thinking about something as God speaking? * What would you say to someone who says they sinned because “God told them to do something” and they didn’t do it? * Does God speak to us through premonitions?
Questions about how to explain modesty to a nine-year-old in a way that won’t cause shame about her body, and when and how to tell a child about a previous marriage and divorce. * How can I explain modesty to my nine-year-old daughter without causing shame about her body? * When and how should I tell my son about my previous marriage and divorce?
Questions about why we say someone was saved on a particular date if it was part of an eternal plan, the Roman Catholic view of the gospel vs. the Bible’s, and why Paul circumcised Timothy but rebuked the Galatians for saying Gentiles needed to be circumcised. * Since God had a plan from all eternity to redeem a people for himself, why do we say someone was saved on a particular date or moment in time? * Can you suggest some tactical questions to ask a Roman Catholic relative who doesn’t see the distinction between the Catholic view of the gospel and the one in the Bible? * Why did Paul circumcise Timothy but rebuke the Galatians for saying the Gentiles needed to be circumcised?
Questions about how to advocate for Christian policy without making the government interfere in every area of life, and the differences between the modern environmental movement and the Christian perspective on caring for the earth. * How do we advocate for Christian policy without making the government interfere in every area of life? * Can you compare and contrast the modern environmental movement’s view with the Christian view regarding caring for the earth?
Questions about how to convince someone that evil exists, whether Charlie Kirk’s murder was part of God’s plan, whether that would mean the murderer didn’t have free will, and whether or not God is responsible for that plan. * How would you respond to an atheist friend who doesn’t believe evil exists and thinks “evil” actions are done by people who are just trying to get by with the circumstances they’ve been given? * If God is sovereign and has a plan, then he knew Charlie Kirk would be murdered. But if it was God’s plan, does that mean the murderer didn’t have free will, and is God not responsible for his plan?
Question about why it seems like the Bible teaches you how to be a proper slave owner rather than than saying, “Stop it. Give them freedom.” * It seems like the Bible teaches you how to be a proper slave owner rather than saying, “Stop it. Give them freedom.”
Question about providing verifiable, non-religious evidence that a supernatural Jesus existed. * I am an atheist and militantly anti-god-belief. However, I do have an open mind, so could you please provide verifiable, non-religious evidence that a supernatural Jesus actually existed?
Questions about whether it’s a sin to feel let down by God and whether it would be easier to have a personal relationship with a rock than with a God who hasn’t spoken in over 2,000 years. * Is it a sin to feel let down by God? * It would be easier to have a personal relationship with a rock than with a God who hasn’t actually spoken in over 2,000 years. What kind of God would be that way?
Questions about whether God created us so he wouldn’t be alone, what he had before us, and a comparison between the Muslim view of God and the Christian view of God. * Did God create us so he wouldn’t be alone, and what did he have before us? * Can you compare and contrast the Muslim view of God with the Christian view of God?
Questions about how to start a conversation about God with non-Christian family members, how to keep from becoming emotional when discussing faith issues with family, and the best way to alert people to the fact that they’re members of a cult. * What are some good ways to begin (and have) a conversation about God with non-Christian family members? * How can I keep from becoming so emotional when discussing faith issues with extended family members whose salvation is at stake? * What is the best way to alert people to the fact that they’re members of a cult rather than a church that follows Jesus?
Questions about whether the claim in 1 Corinthians that “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit” is a black-and-white tool for discernment, and how to have a better relationship with Jesus when reading the Bible feels like a chore and you can’t remember to pray. * Since First Corinthians 12:3 says that “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit,” if TV evangelists who seem to preach another gospel and act overtly un-Christlike claim Jesus is Lord, is that evidence the Holy Spirit dwells in them? Is this a black-and-white tool for discernment? * How can I have a better relationship with Jesus when reading the Bible feels like a chore and I can never remember to pray? I feel like I don’t know him at all.
Questions about whether or not it’s reasonable to worry that some of our current doctrines were influenced by the fallen nature of the apostles, and how to defend sola Scriptura to Roman Catholics who argue that oral tradition carries as much weight as Scripture. * How much of the apostles’ fallen nature influenced their choice of words and how they communicated? Is it reasonable to worry that some of our current doctrines came from their just getting annoyed or impatient with someone and wording something too harshly? * How do I defend sola Scriptura to my Roman Catholic family members in light of passages like 1 Thessalonians 2:13 and 2 Thessalonians 2:15, which seem to imply that oral tradition carries as much weight as Scripture?
Questions about how to reconcile the image of God as a judge with his love, grace, and kindness, why our sins are considered to be sins against God, and whether the idea that our debt was paid by Christ means we escape the penalty for our sins by right, not grace. * For most of my life, God has been portrayed to me primarily as a judge—watching closely, ready to point out where I fall short. But I’m learning there’s more to him than that. How do I begin to reconcile that image with the reality of his love, grace, and kindness? * If I commit a sin against someone but then make amends and ask for forgiveness, how is it that I’ve also sinned against God, and why would God still need to punish me? * If Christ was literally punished for our sins and our debt was paid, then how can it be said we are “forgiven”? Wouldn’t we escape the penalty by right, not grace?
Questions about how to respond to someone who asks, ”How does it affect you if a gay couple gets married, or a woman makes a decision about her reproductive health, or someone chooses a different faith system than yours?” * How would you respond to someone who asks, ”How does it affect you if a gay couple gets married, or a woman makes a decision about her reproductive health, or someone chooses a different faith system than yours?”
Questions about how to respond to the critique that Christians care more about ideology than people, and whether we have freedom in America because Christians are more civilized or because the Constitution doesn’t allow Christians to enforce their laws. * Can you respond to the critique that Christians care more about ideology than people? * Do you think we enjoy freedom in America because Christians are more civilized or because the Constitution doesn’t allow Christians to enforce laws like in Saudi Arabia?
Questions about how the similarities between Krishna and Jesus could be a coincidence and whether there’s any proof to substantiate the idea that Jesus studied Buddhism during his “missing years.” * How could the similarities between the Krishna story and the Jesus story (e.g., a star at his birth, his father traveling to pay taxes, a transfiguration, etc.) be a coincidence? * Is there any proof to substantiate the idea that Jesus studied Buddhism during his “missing years”?
Question about how you can improve your informal writing (e.g., blog posts) when you don’t have access to an editor. * Do you have any thoughts or advice on how best to improve my informal writing (e.g., blog posts) when I don’t have access to an editor?
Question about the top three pitfalls to watch out for when you start using apologetics in conversations with others. * What are the top three apologist pitfalls—i.e., if you’ve just read Tactics, you’re ready to go, and Jehovah’s Witnesses show up at your door or your atheist coworker starts asking you about God, what are the top three things to watch out for?
Questions about whether “God the Father” is a sexist term that demeans women in general and mothers in particular, how long Hell has been there, whether God created it, and how to explain the kind of anger that would lead to the creation of Hell. * Can you respond to the critique that “God the Father” is a sexist term that demeans women in general and mothers in particular? * How long has Hell been there, and did God create it? I can’t imagine that kind of anger.
Questions about whether you should believe things you can’t fully comprehend, whether it’s just an arbitrary escape hatch to say God doesn’t require a cause, and how to respond to an atheist who grounds objective morality in an objective rule or criteria. * Should one believe things they can’t fully comprehend, and if not, at what level of comprehension of certain biblical truth statements ought they begin believing? * Why would God be immune to the infinite regress dilemma? It’s arbitrary to simply describe an object as needing no cause. It’s the escape hatch to a question you’ve been trapped by, but that doesn’t make it real or true. * How would you respond to an atheist who defends the existence of objective morality by grounding it in an objective rule or criteria like “Do to others as you would want them to do to you”?
Questions about whether Romans 14:23 means that doing the right thing is a sin if you truly believe it’s wrong, and how to reconcile Hebrews 10:16, which says God will put his laws on our hearts, with Romans 7:7, which says that if it weren’t for the Law, we wouldn’t know sin. * How should we view Romans 14:23 when it comes to people whose consciences have become twisted to the point where they start believing right things are actually wrong? Would doing the right thing become sin for them if they do it while truly believing it's wrong? * How do you reconcile Hebrews 10:16, which says God will put his laws on our hearts, with Romans 7:7, which says that if it weren’t for the Law, we would not know sin?
Questions about how a fisherman could have written the book of Peter, why people say that not mentioning the destruction of the temple indicates an early date for the Synoptic Gospels when John doesn’t mention it either, and why one should think the Bible is special. * How did Peter, being an uneducated fisherman, write the book of Peter, which seems levels above what someone with no education could do? * People reason that the Synoptic Gospels should be dated earlier than the destruction of the temple since it isn’t mentioned, but John doesn’t mention it either, and that book is dated AD 80–90. * Why should I pay any heed to the Bible when it’s just one of many ancient “holy” books? How can I trust it is special?
Questions about why, if it’s impossible to miss God’s voice, the disciples incorrectly told Paul “through the Spirit” not to go to Jerusalem, people mistook God’s voice for thunder, the Bible says God speaks in riddles, Daniel had to ask for an interpretation, and more. * If it’s impossible to miss God’s voice, why did the disciples incorrectly tell Paul “through the Spirit” not to go to Jerusalem in Acts 21:4–14? * Why did people mistake God’s audible voice for thunder in John 12:28–30? * Numbers 12:6–8 says that God speaks to prophets in dreams, visions, and riddles, so clarity is the exception here. * Even Daniel and Zechariah had to ask for interpretations (Dan. 7:15–16; Zech. 4:2–4), and James 4:2 says we do not have because we do not ask. * Scripture shows examples like Samuel, Revelation 3:20, and Jesus’ “ears to hear” sayings where God speaks clearly yet not all recognize it, suggesting that our attentiveness is needed. How do passages like these fit in with your view on how God speaks to believers today?
Questions about why, if we don’t need to learn to hear God’s voice, there’s a command to earnestly desire the gift of prophecy, why we would need to learn how to use other spiritual gifts but not this one, and why there are men who don’t perceive God’s voice in Job 33:14. * You say we don’t need to learn to hear the voice of God, but we’re commanded to “earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy” (1 Cor. 14:1) and to “earnestly desire to prophesy” (1 Cor. 14:39), and passages like these seem to be prescriptive texts (1 Cor. 14:37; 1 Thess. 5:20; Rom. 12:6). * Just as someone who has been given the gift of teaching by the Holy Spirit has to learn how to exegete a passage, so those with the gift of prophecy have to learn how to hear God’s voice. * If it’s impossible to miss God’s voice, why are there men who don’t perceive his voice in Job 33:14?
Questions about how to showcase God’s goodness when we’re really struggling in our suffering, an explanation of God’s response at the end of the book of Job, and whether we should conclude from Job that it’s inappropriate to ask God why we’re suffering. * How can we still glorify God and showcase his goodness when we’re really struggling in our suffering—exhausted, depressed, etc.? * I understand Satan attacking Job and why God allowed it, but I’m puzzled by God’s response to Job at the end of the book. * Should we conclude from Job that it’s inappropriate to ask God why we’re going through certain struggles and suffering?
Questions about how to pray for persecuted Christians in light of the fact that God wills that some will be martyrs, and how persecuted Christians who are being threatened and beaten know if they should stay and preach the gospel or leave and protect their family. * I have a hard time praying “Old Testament promises” for protection and deliverance for persecuted Christians since I know that, in some cases, God wills that there will be martyrs for Jesus. Any suggestions on how to pray? * Why don’t Christians who are being persecuted, threatened, beaten, etc. relocate if they are able, especially if they have a family? How do they know if they should stay and preach the gospel or leave and protect their family?
Questions about how to discern when it’s time to walk away from a conversation, and how to cope with people charging you with being prideful and legalistic when you’re doing your best to be humble, fair, and gentle while sharing the gospel and defending the faith. * How do you discern when it’s time to walk away from a conversation? If the person is hard-hearted, is it worth it to keep trying to sow seeds? When does it become “throwing pearls before swine”? * I do my best to be humble, fair, and gentle when I share the gospel and defend the faith, but I’m still frequently accused of being prideful and legalistic, which is painful because I actually care very much about people’s souls. How do you cope with this when you have similar experiences?
Questions about how to engage someone wearing a button that reads, “Jesus had two dads, and he turned out just fine,” and how to be kind and loving without compromising truth with someone in a Bible study who says her adult child goes by “they/them.” * How would you engage someone wearing a button that reads, “Jesus had two dads, and he turned out just fine”? * How can I be kind and loving without compromising biblical truth with a member of a Bible study group I lead who told me her adult child goes by “they/them”?
Questions about whether Christian business owners should provide a livable wage, whether doing a corporate sponsorship that promotes one’s business contradicts Matthew 6:3, and whether the parable of the rich fool refutes America’s approach to retirement. * Do Christian business owners have a moral responsibility to provide a livable wage? * Would doing a corporate sponsorship with an organization we have been working with and financially supporting contradict Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:3 about giving in secret since part of the motivation would be to promote our business? * Is the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12:13–21 a direct refutation of America’s approach to retirement?
Questions about leaving a church with biblical theology because they refuse to preach on divisive topics, whether it’s okay to write an apologetics book under a pen name out of fear of repercussions, and how to reconcile Romans 13:1–5 with rulers who are unjust. * Should I leave a church that has solid biblical theology but refuses to preach on divisive topics (LGBTQ, abortion, anything political, homosexuality, immigration, etc.) because they want to introduce those topics once the person is “comfortable”? * As someone who works in the public sector in Canada, where speech is heavily policed, am I wrong to write my apologetics book under a pen name to protect my identity and family out of fear of repercussions? * How do you reconcile Romans 13:1–5, which tells us not to resist authority, with rulers who are unjust?
Questions about how we can be guilty when we sin if sin is a disease we’re born with, how it can be that we’ll have free will in Heaven but not have the ability to choose to sin, and whether morality and logic are correct because God says so or he says so because they’re correct. * If sin is a disease we’re all born with, how can we be guilty when we sin? * Can you explain how we will retain free will in Heaven but will not have the ability to choose to sin? * Is morality correct because God says so, or does he say so because it is correct? Is logic correct because God says so, or does he say so because it is correct?
Question about whether or not people with dementia have free will and are morally responsible for the sins they commit. * Do people with dementia have free will? Are they morally responsible for the sins they commit, like their hurtful words and aggressive actions towards others?
Questions about why Jesus didn’t know the day of his return if he truly is God, and why it’s important for Jesus to be both fully God and fully man. * If Jesus is God, then why didn’t he know the day of his return, and if the answer is that he limited himself, wasn’t it a lie to say that he didn’t know? * Why is it important for Jesus Christ to be both fully God and fully man?
Questions about whether it’s wrong to feel a sense of satisfaction at the thought of some atheists being humbled before Christ when their time comes, and practical methods of engagement that can be used when conversing with conspiracy theorists. * Is it wrong that I sometimes feel a sense of satisfaction at the thought of some atheists being humbled before Christ when their time comes? * What are some practical methods of engagement that can be used when conversing with conspiracy theorists?
Questions about how to respond to a family member who believes Zodiac signs determine personality and what to say to a co-worker who believes aliens created humans and put them on Earth 250,000 years ago. * How would you respond to a family member who believes Zodiac signs determine personality? * What should I say to a co-worker who believes aliens created humans and put them on Earth about 250,000 years ago?
Question about how to go about teaching students about worldviews, what a worldview is, how to identify one, how to show that the Christian worldview is better than others, and recommended resources on the topic of worldviews. * I’m at a loss as to how to go about teaching my students about worldviews. What is a worldview, how do you identify one, how do you show that the Christian worldview is better than others, and what are your recommended resources on this topic?
Questions about reasons to think human beings are the most valuable things in the universe, how terms like “identity in Christ” and “child of God” can help someone who feels like a failure, and how to “give it to God” when you’re being consumed by worry. * Can you expand on your belief that human beings are the most valuable things in the universe? * People use terms like “identity in Christ” and “child of God” to help me in my struggle with low self-esteem and feeling like a failure. Can you help me understand what those terms mean? * How do you lay something at God’s feet? When I'm being consumed by worry, how do I “give it to God”?
Questions about what to ask someone who believes merely in a “higher power,” how to make a case for the existence of the afterlife, and whether or not we can use Revelation 22:18 as evidence that the Book of Mormon isn’t divinely inspired. * What questions should I ask someone I’m working with to help him think beyond a belief in a “higher power”? * How would you make a case for the existence of the afterlife, and is it necessary to use the Bible in order to do so? * How would you respond to Mormons who objected to my using Revelation 22:18 to explain why I don’t think the Book of Mormon is divinely inspired?
Questions about the point of getting baptized after being a Christian for over 60 years, the difference between a short prayer and an eloquent one, and disciplining yourself to read the Bible whether you feel like it or not. * I’ve been a Christian for over 60 years, graduated from seminary, briefly pastored, and am currently an elder in my church, but I was never baptized. At this point in my life, what would be the point of getting baptized? * What difference, if any, is there between a short and to-the-point prayer and a wordy, eloquent prayer if both truly come from the heart? * I love studying apologetics, but when it comes to reading my Bible, I find it difficult to want to do so. Is there a way to increase my desire to read it, or is this something I just have to discipline myself to do anyway?
Questions about how to recognize prophecies about the Messiah in the Old Testament and whether or not Paul is just making Scripture say what he wants it to say when he appears to use Old Testament passages out of context. * I heard a pastor connect Psalm 69:21 with John 19:28–30, saying it was Old Testament prophecy being fulfilled, but it doesn’t look like prophecy to me. How is prophecy about the Messiah recognized? * How do we know Paul is not just making Scripture say what he wants it to say when he appears to use Old Testament passages out of context?
Questions about how God became so judgmental if he didn’t do anything to become God, and how we can think the flood really happened if no definition of a god includes the idea that he can get so angry he drowns every dog on earth. * God didn’t do anything to earn being God, did he? How did he become so judgmental? * We don’t think the flood really happened, do we? No definition of a god includes emotion, let alone getting so angry he drowns every dog on earth.
Questions about whether a deceased person’s soul can live on in the recipient of his heart, whether 1 Corinthians 15:44 confirms that babies in the womb have a soul, why bodies are important, how to explain the soul to a child, and how the spirit relates to the soul. * Could the stories about recipients of donated hearts acting like the donors mean that if a person dies and his heart is donated to someone else, his soul lives on in the recipient? * Does 1 Corinthians 15:44 confirm that babies in the womb have a soul when it says that if there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body? * In light of your article “The Invisible Man,” why are bodies important? * How would you explain the existence of a soul to a child or someone who has never heard of this idea? * How does a person’s spirit relate to his soul?
Questions about what to say to someone who believes in “healing frequencies” in fabrics and music, whether Christians should use Oriental medicine that’s based on the concepts of qi, and how to respond to someone who says he’s sending “good vibes” your way. * What would you say to someone who believes in “healing frequencies” in fabrics and music and claims there is biblical support for it? * What are your thoughts on Christians using Oriental medicine specialists, who base their techniques on the concepts of qi, to diagnose and treat allergies? * How would you respond to someone who sends “good vibes” your way when you ask for prayers?
Questions about why some churches say you need to keep the Mosaic Law and the gospel of Christ to be saved, and whether or not it’s inappropriate for Christians to celebrate Passover since it’s a celebration from Judaism and the Messiah has already come. * Why do some churches say you need to keep the Mosaic Law and the gospel of Christ to be saved? * Is it inappropriate for a Christian to celebrate Passover since it’s a celebration from Judaism and the Messiah has already come?
Questions about a resource for learning the vocabulary of apologetics, whether to pursue a PhD or another master’s degree, whether to earn a degree in general apologetics or to pick a specific topic to study, and how tactics can be used in written communication. * I feel like I need a vocabulary lesson in Christian apologetics just to be able to keep up. Is there a reference guide you could suggest? * I’m finishing up my MA in apologetics, and I’m not sure whether to pursue a PhD or another master’s degree. * Do you recommend earning an advanced degree in apologetics or choosing a specific lane (theology, philosophy, science, etc.)? * How can tactics be used in written communication? Is it possible to use your tactics in a digital written age?
Questions about whether the fact that some people go through intense difficulties and suffering indicates that God hates some and favors others, and whether someone is being abused because God doesn’t think she’s worshiping him enough. * I constantly feel like God hates me because of a congenital defect that affects my career choices, my self-worth, and my bitterness towards God. Why does it seem like God hates some and favors others? * If God lets Satan live to bring God glory and to test us, does that mean my friend is being abused by her mom’s boyfriend because God doesn’t think she’s worshiping him enough?
Questions about asking God for the repentance of someone who has passed away, how to respond to a request to pray for a deceased person, reconciling Hebrews 9:27 with people who have died twice, and whether we’ll be judged according to the revelation we received. * What are your thoughts on asking God for the repentance of someone who has passed away? * When asked to pray for a friend’s deceased mother’s soul, what is a compassionate response that may lead to an opportunity to share the gospel? * How do we reconcile Hebrews 9:27, which says it’s appointed for each of us to die once, with people being raised from the dead by Jesus, Peter, and Paul and then dying a second time? * Are people judged differently by God according to the revelation they received?
Questions about whether one can legitimately say evil is a privation of good, how the Bible can say sin and death entered the world at the fall if angels rebelled before man, and why God would judge Israel with a famine so great they would eat the flesh of their children. * Saying that evil is a “privation” is simply wordplay. How is the privation of a thing not creating the result of that privation? If one is denied oxygen, he will die, but you would blame the one denying the oxygen for that death. * Scripture says sin and death entered the world at the fall, but didn’t angels rebel before man? Wouldn’t sin have been introduced then? * Why would God judge the Israelites for sacrificing their children to idols by pronouncing upon them a famine so great that they would eat the flesh of their children?
Questions about how secular books assist our Christian walk and how Greg studies the Bible. * How do secular books like Atomic Habits assist our Christian walk? * How do you personally study the Bible?
Questions about the Catholic Bible versus the Protestant Bible, whether or not the original New Testament manuscripts exist somewhere and how we would know if we found one, and the implications of not having the original manuscripts of the Bible. * How do you know you have the right version of Christianity? The Catholic Bible was assembled closer to the time of Jesus, and your church just took books out of that Bible. If an all-powerful God can’t maintain the truth over time, he probably isn’t real. * Do you think the original New Testament manuscripts still exist somewhere, and if we ever found one, how would we know it was the original? * What do we mean when we say we don’t have an original copy of the Bible? Which parts aren’t right, and how would we ever know?
Questions about disappointment that the sign gifts of the Spirit seem rare, non-existent, or fake, whether or not believers can squelch the Holy Spirit, and whether 2 Peter 1:21 points to the Holy Spirit “impressing” us during prophecy. * I came to faith because the gifts of the Spirit that seemed integral to church life in the Bible made God so real and personal, but now that I’ve found the gifts to be rare, non-existent, or fake, I have doubts I know anything about God. * Can the squelching of the Holy Spirit be supported biblically, and can we, as believers, squelch the Holy Spirit? * Does 2 Peter 1:21 point to the Holy Spirit “impressing” us during prophecy?
Questions about whether or not someone can impart the gifts of healing, prophecy, words of knowledge, etc. to others and whether being an apostle necessarily means one is part of the foundation of the church according to Ephesians 2:20. * Can someone impart the gifts of healing, prophecy, words of knowledge, etc. to others? * Is being the foundation of the church (see Ephesians 2:20) a necessary or accidental property of being an apostle?
Questions about what discernment skills we should develop to make sure we’re getting wise answers from AI, and how to overcome confirmation bias when evaluating claims related to theism and Christianity. * What discernment skills should we develop to make sure we’re getting wise answers from AI when asking the question “What would Jesus have me do in this situation”? * How do you overcome confirmation bias when evaluating claims related to theism and Christianity, and is it possible to have strong beliefs and still be objective?
Questions about how to respond when someone says, “Just follow the science,” and whether or not it’s a good tactic to cite evolutionists’ lack of a good biogenesis theory in support of the teleological argument. * How should I respond to the phrase “Just follow the science?” * Is it a good tactic to cite evolutionists’ lack of a good biogenesis theory in support of the teleological argument?
Questions about how to respond to someone who thinks we shouldn’t say anything against Voodoo since it’s “just their culture” and arguments to refute a proponent of the African traditional religion as a means of worshiping the almighty God. * When I expressed concern about a movie dealing with Voodoo magic, one of the students said that it’s “just their culture,” as if we shouldn’t say anything against voodoo since it’s a cultural practice. How should I have responded? * What arguments would you present as a polemic to refute a proponent of the African traditional religion as a means of worshiping the almighty God?
Questions about why it was necessary for Jesus to come if people could already be justified by faith apart from works, and what the point of the Old Covenant was if God was going to make the New Covenant. * Since Old Testament Jews and Gentiles could be justified by faith apart from works, it seems there was already a path for salvation in place, so why was it necessary for Jesus to come? * What was the point of the Old Covenant if God was going to make the New Covenant?
Questions about whether or not pornography is really wrong and whether or not AI-generated pornography is a sin since AI women are not real women. * I’m a 13-year-old boy who has been struggling with pornography—and with my faith as a whole—for a while now, and I’ve been wondering: Is it really wrong? * Jesus said that if you look at a woman in lust, you have already committed adultery with her in your heart, but AI women are not real women, so is AI-generated pornography a sin?
Questions about whether God is just a way of solving a mystery by appealing to a greater mystery, whether subjective experience falls under a category of knowing, why people in the Bible got to hear and see God but we don’t, and an analogy between God and Hitler. * How would you respond to Matt Dillahunty, who says that God is just a way of solving a mystery by appealing to a greater mystery? * Does my undeniable, subjective experience of God fall under a category of knowing in epistemology? * Why did the people in the Bible get to hear and see God while they were alive, but we have to die first? * How would you respond to someone who asked, “If a Jew during the Holocaust was spared the gas chamber in favor of spending the rest of his life with Hitler, would he call that Heaven?”
Questions about what to say to longtime, active churchgoers who don’t believe in the Trinity or the deity of Christ, and a challenge to the idea that it’s possible for someone to have a relationship with Jesus today. * What should I say to family members who have been active churchgoers for 40 years, but who don’t believe in the Trinity or the deity of Christ? * Do you claim to have a relationship with Jesus—someone you never met—who died 2,000 years ago and hasn’t been seen since? That seems like the definition of a delusion, an imaginary friend in the sky.
Questions about initiating conversations with someone who thinks he’s going to Heaven but who isn’t showing any signs he’s following God, how to talk to unsaved friends and family who identify as Christians, and resources to help someone learn what true Christianity is. * How can I initiate a conversation with my brother who thinks he’s going to Heaven because he has an intellectual belief that Jesus is the Son of God, but who doesn’t really show any signs that he’s following God? * How would you suggest talking to friends or family who identify as Christians despite strong evidence they’re merely nominal or cultural Christians? * Are there resources I can share with my brother that will help him learn what true Christianity is?
Questions about whether “repent from your sin and believe” describes a works salvation and Greg’s stance on the idea of “easy beliefism”—i.e., the idea that all one must do to be saved is believe in God. * I do not agree with the “repent from your sin and believe” salvation, which seems to be a works salvation. How can someone repent without faith? * What is Greg’s stance on the idea of “easy beliefism”—i.e., the idea that all one must do to be saved is believe in God?
Questions about whether Jesus’ commands in the Gospels were for the Jews only or for the present-day body of Christ, whether God chose to be illiterate when he came to earth, and whether we should only pray for the specific items mentioned in the Lord’s Prayer. * Were Jesus’ commands in the Gospels only to be followed by the Jews back then and not the present-day body of Christ? * Why do you think God chose to be illiterate when he came to earth? * When Jesus taught the Lord’s Prayer, did he mean we should only pray that way and not ask for any other specific items?
Questions about whether the concept of God’s omniscience is just a fear tactic to control your mind and what to say to someone who thinks it’s possible for God to lie and that Jesus’ coming might have been an elaborate scheme to make us think he loves us. * I would love to hear your thoughts on God’s omniscience. God uses fear tactics to control your mind. He loves you so much that he’s watching your every move and knows your every thought? Is this good? * What do I say to someone who thinks it’s possible for God to lie, that he treats us like his playthings, and that Jesus’ coming might have been some elaborate scheme to make us think he loves us?
Questions about how God could be perfect if he regrets something he did, whether there’s a difference between God’s sovereignty and God’s providence, and what Nehemiah meant when he said God “put it into his heart” to do certain things. * Does Genesis 6:6 mean God made a mistake since it says he regretted that he had made humans? How could God be perfect if he regrets something he did? * Is there a difference between God’s sovereignty and God’s providence? * When Nehemiah says in 2:12 and 7:5 that God “put it into his heart” to do certain things, is this just another way of describing God’s guidance?
Questions about what the absence of marriage in Heaven will mean for you and your spouse, thoughts regarding two Christians signing a prenup, whether it’s okay to want to get married because you want to have sex, and a wife taking over spiritual leadership. * My pastor said marriage won’t be necessary in Heaven anymore, so where does that leave me and my wife? The thought of my wife of eight years and mother of my child being “just a friend” makes my heart hurt. * What are your thoughts on two Christians signing a prenup before getting married? * Is it okay for me to want to get married because I want to have sex a lot? * Does the spiritual leader role fall on my shoulders when my husband is not spiritually leading our family?
Questions about the definition of inerrancy, whether or not Mark and Luke were associates of Jesus, and whether or not Mark and Luke wrote Mark and Luke. * What is the definition of Bible inerrancy? * Were Mark and Luke associates of Jesus, and did Mark and Luke write Mark and Luke?
Questions about why Christians buy health insurance if they really believe God answers prayer and whether or not one should end all prayers about desires for a spouse with “If it be your will.” * Why do Christians buy health insurance? Don’t Christians believe God answers prayer? If God loves you and cares about you, then he certainly wants you to be healthy, correct? * Should I end all my prayers about desires for a spouse with “If it be your will”? Should I consider the possibility of God not giving me the spouse?
Questions about whether God creating everything means he created evil too, and how a grief counselor can answer a question about whether God causes or allows death and sickness. * How should my daughter answer a friend at school who said, “If God created everything, he must have created evil too, like cancer, right?” * As a grief counselor, how should I answer this question I’m often faced with: Does God cause or allow death and sickness?
Questions about whether there’s Scripture to support a Christian church joining in worship services with an LDS church, whether it’s a genetic fallacy to say we shouldn’t sing any songs created by bands from NAR churches, and whether it’s a sin not to fast. * Is there any Scripture that would support a Christian church joining in worship services with an LDS church? How would you handle this situation if it were happening in your small community? * Is it a genetic fallacy to say we shouldn’t sing any songs created by bands from NAR churches, even if they’re biblically sound? * Is it a sin not to fast?
Questions about whether it’s a sin to remove someone from life support, whether it would be morally wrong to attend a legal assisted suicide of an unbelieving loved one, and what to say to a pregnant Christian who is justifying choosing abortion by saying God’s grace will cover it. * Is it a sin to remove someone from life support who has been declared clinically dead and has lost brain function? * Would it be morally wrong to attend a legal assisted suicide of an unbelieving loved one? * How would you recommend handling a situation where a pregnant Christian is justifying choosing abortion by saying God’s grace will cover it?
Questions about whether pretending to denounce your faith to save your life will cause you to lose your salvation, whether lying to save others’ lives is comparable to lying about your faith to save yourself, and advice for someone struggling with crippling intellectual doubts. * Can a Christian pretend to denounce his faith to save his life so that he can continue to live his life for God, or will he lose his salvation? * If lying to save others’ lives is acceptable, is denying your faith to save yourself or your family acceptable when you don’t mean it? * Do you have any advice for someone struggling with crippling intellectual doubts?
Questions about whether Greg and Amy are illegitimately claiming they’re the experts on what makes someone a Christian and a tactic to use with someone who counters any evidence offered by saying that other experts disagree. * Who made you the experts on what makes someone a Christian? * What tactic can I use with someone who counters any evidence I offer by saying that other experts disagree with me?
Questions about whether God created other human beings not described in Genesis 1–2, whether the children of Adam and Eve had to commit incest, and whether women are more naive or less intelligent than men since Eve was deceived and not Adam. * Did God create other human beings not described in Genesis 1–2? * If all humans came from Adam and Eve, wouldn’t that mean early humanity was forced to commit incest? * Are women more naive or less intelligent than men in general since Eve was deceived and not Adam?
Questions about a good approach to take with someone who says the Trinity isn’t biblical, how to respond to Jehovah’s Witnesses who say Jesus received authority to forgive sins in Luke 4:18–19, and whether God “was looking for friends to collaborate with on running the world.” * What’s a good tactical approach to take when in conversation with someone who says the Trinity isn’t biblical but was adopted much later in church history? * How would you respond to Jehovah’s Witnesses who say Jesus didn’t have authority to forgive sins because he was God, but rather he was given that authority as part of his anointing in Luke 4:18–19? * How would you respond to the claim that “from the beginning of time, God was looking for friends to collaborate with on running the world”?
Questions about how those who are happy with the election results can show compassion to those who are devastated, navigating a relationship with an adult child who’s angry about the way you voted, and whether there’s more virtue in overcoming sin or not being tempted by it. * How can those who are happy with the election results show compassion to those who are devastated by it, such as those who are gay or trans? * How do we navigate a relationship with an adult child living at home who is angry with us because of who we voted for and feels the need to pull back from our relationship? * Would you say there’s more virtue in overcoming stubborn sin after a significant struggle or in never having a struggle with that sin in the first place?
Questions about whether the disciples would die for a lie if they believed it was for the greater good, how to start a conversation with an Uber customer who’s on his way to a Hindu temple, and what to say to someone who thinks there’s no way to know if God exists. * Would the disciples die for what they knew to be a lie if they believed the lie was essential for persuading the world to morally reform itself for the greater good? * What would have been a good way to start a conversation with an Uber customer who told me he was on his way to the local Hindu temple? * What would you say to someone who thinks God is a personal belief in your head and that there’s no way to know if there is a God or not?
Questions about whether God looks at all sins as being equally severe, how to reconcile Jesus’ statements that judgment will be degreed with the idea that everyone who rejects Christ will spend eternity in Hell, and an objection to Christians warning people about Hell. * Are all sins equal to God—one isn’t more severe than another? * How can I reconcile Jesus’ statements that judgment will be degreed with the idea that everyone who rejects Christ—from defiant murderer to “moral” secular humanist—will spend eternity in Hell? Wouldn’t that make all judgments equally severe? * I love a good eternal threat if I don’t agree with how you choose to live your life.
Questions about what the Bible says about not doing anything that’s out of God’s timing and whether Amos 4:13 and Isaiah 30:21 point to our hearing special messages from God. * Does the Bible talk about not doing anything that’s out of God’s timing? * Do Amos 4:13 and Isaiah 30:21 point to our hearing special messages from God?
Questions about how we should pray about big decisions if we can’t expect to hear a “yes“ or “no” from God, what Greg means by “listening prayer,” and why he thinks the call of Samuel in 1 Samuel 3 isn’t an example of it. * In light of Greg’s teaching on decision making and the will of God, when I’m making a big decision and I’m told to “pray about it,” what does that mean if I shouldn’t expect to hear a “yes” or “no” from God? * What do you mean by “listening prayer,” and why do you think the call of Samuel in 1 Samuel 3 isn’t an example of it?
Questions about what the laws of the immaterial are if immaterial things exist and how to use the third Columbo question in the Tactics material. * If immaterial things exist, what are the laws of the immaterial, and where are they? * How do you use the third Columbo question in the Tactics material?
Questions about how to respond to friends who say that Jesus’ words take precedence over everything else in Scripture and anything he didn’t speak on isn’t worth discussion, what to do with the Old Testament, and how to tell which of its promises are for us. * How should I respond to friends who say that Scripture is all true but Jesus’ words take precedence over the rest, and that anything he didn’t speak on isn’t worth discussion? * If the Old Testament isn’t written to us, what do we do with it? Why use it? Are any of the promises of the Old Testament for us, and if so, how can you tell the difference?
Question about what words of encouragement Greg and Amy would give to men in prison who love the Lord. * I go into prison as an outreach of my church. What words of encouragement would you give “my men” in prison who love the Lord?
Questions about how so many professing Christians can support things that are anti-Christian, such as LGBTQ issues and abortion on demand, and how to work with Christians who have views that seem to contradict things stated in the Bible. * How can so many professing Christians support things that are clearly anti-Christian, such as LGBTQ issues and abortion on demand? Are they really believers? * How do you work with Christians who have views that oppose the Christian faith and seem to contradict things stated in the Bible, especially if they are close friends?
Questions about how to respond to someone referring to God as “she” during a church service, how to handle the tension between respecting the authority of church leaders and keeping them accountable, and how to distinguish between wolves and misled lambs. * How would you respond to someone referring to God as “she” in a prayer during a church service and a leader telling people to use whichever pronoun they’re comfortable with? * How do we handle the tension between respecting the authority of church leaders and keeping them accountable, and how do we tell the difference between misled lambs and wolves in disguise?
Questions about whether Jesus ever experienced fear, why Jesus would pray three times for something he already knew he would be denied, and a song that seems to state that Jesus paid the price for all in the garden of Gethsemane rather than on the cross. * Jesus came to earth and experienced the same things we go through—hunger, thirst, weariness, anger, sorrow, etc.—but did he ever experience fear? * Why did Jesus pray three times, “Let this cup pass from me,” when he already knew he would die? * I recently heard the song “Gethsemane,” which seems to state that Jesus paid the price for all in Gethsemane and doesn’t mention the cross. This feels off, but how can I explain why it matters?
Questions about whether a woman who had an abortion as a teen and later became a believer will have to give an account to Jesus for it when she stands before him. * I had an abortion as a teen and became a believer in my twenties. I am racked with guilt I still can’t get past in my forties. The Scriptures say we will all give an account of our actions. I lose sleep over the thought of standing before Jesus for this. I cry often. Will I be held accountable?
Questions about whether our physical ailments are caused by spiritual warfare, how much agency demons have in light of the fact that God sometimes sends them to do things, and how they can be both evil and under God’s command. * What do you think about my pastor and his wife attributing any physical ailments they have to spiritual warfare? * In light of the fact that God is sometimes said to have sent an evil spirit to do something, how much agency do demons have? How can they be both evil and under God’s command?
Questions about whether evil spirits can come into our lives through openings like certain music and movies and whether putting Bible verses under your pillow to stop nightmares is a legitimate form of spiritual warfare. * What do you think about the idea that evil spirits can come into our lives through different openings like certain music and movies? * My friend said her nightmares stopped after she wrote Bible verses on cards and placed them under her pillow. Is this over-spiritualization, or is this actual spiritual warfare?
Questions about whether a lack of persecution means you’re not living a godly life, what to think about your faith if your suffering doesn’t bring you closer to God, whether we need to nurture the fruit of the Spirit, and characteristics that separate a disciple from a new convert. * Second Timothy 3:12 says that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” so if I’m not being persecuted, does that mean I’m not living a godly life? * I often hear that people wouldn’t trade their suffering because of the closer relationship with God it produced, but my relationship with God didn’t improve after I had cancer, and I wish it had never happened. Should I be worried about my faith? * Are the fruits of the Spirit automatically received, or do we get a seed of them that we’re supposed to nurture and grow to maturity? * What characteristics separate a disciple from a new convert?
Questions about why Ezekiel 36:31–32 would say, contrary to Ezekiel 39:25–26, that putting God’s Spirit into people will cause them to loathe themselves and be ashamed and whether or not it’s biblical to say that the closer you are to God, the more sinful you feel. * Why would Ezekiel 36:31–32 say that after God puts his Spirit in his people, they will loathe themselves and be ashamed for their sins when his Spirit is supposed to give us hope and joy in Christ as children of God, and doesn’t this contradict 39:25–26? * Is it biblical to say that the closer you are to God, the more sinful you feel?
Questions about why we should treat everyone respectfully, how to reconcile Jesus calling the Pharisees a brood of vipers with the instructions in 1 Peter 3:15 to treat people with gentleness and respect, and the charge that Christians have no evidence for God. * How would you explain to a believer why we should treat everyone respectfully when Hitler shouldn’t have been treated respectfully? * How do we reconcile Jesus calling the Pharisees a brood of vipers with 1 Peter 3:15, which says we should show gentleness and respect when defending the faith? * Religion is synonymous with pretending to know things you do not know. No man has ever seen God. No Christian has any evidence for God. Yet you claim authority based on a book and an invisible God. Talk about ego. Wow!
Questions about how to respond to the current mainstream view of the historical Jesus and the allegations that Jesus just ripped off material from ancient religions that preceded him. * How would you respond to the current mainstream view of the historical Jesus? * How should I respond to the allegations that Jesus just ripped off material from ancient religions that preceded him?
Questions about how to convince a former Christian that Jesus is God, whether Jesus’ human nature was created, and what the Bible means when it says Jesus is the firstborn. * How do you convince a former Christian that Jesus is God? * Is it wrong to describe Jesus’ human nature as created, and how should I respond to a Jehovah’s Witness who says that a firstborn, if not the first to be born, must be a member of the group he is preeminent over?
Questions about whether we ever need to forgive God in order to heal our emotions, whether it’s unbiblical to tell someone he needs to forgive himself, why poor people were allowed to offer a flour sacrifice without blood, and whether it’s wrong to call out one another’s sins. * Is it true that sometimes we need to forgive God in order to heal our emotions? * Is it unbiblical advice to tell someone he needs to forgive himself? * If there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood, why were poor people allowed to offer flour as a sin offering in Leviticus 5? * What would you say to a pastor who said we should let the Holy Spirit change people and not call out one another’s sins?
Questions about what progressive Christian teachings one should look out for and whether John 16:12–13 provides justification for the views of progressive Christians. * I’ve been hearing about progressive Christianity and wondering what I should look for when it comes to unbiblical teaching. * Some progressive Christians and churches cite John 16:12–13 as justification for their views. If that passage doesn’t mean what they say, what does it mean?
Questions about how we know the biblical authors (Moses, etc.) interpreted their subjective experiences of receiving revelation from God correctly as opposed to Mohammed or Joseph Smith and how to respond to the idea that we can have different truths and both be right. * All supposed revelation of religions involves a subjective experience of receiving that revelation, so how do we know the biblical authors (Moses, the prophets, etc.) were interpreting their experiences correctly as opposed to Mohammed or Joseph Smith? * How should I respond to a meme claiming that your truth is not my truth and we can both be right?
Questions about how biblical inspiration differs from automatic writing, whether or not we don’t know who wrote 74% of the New Testament, signing a man-made statement of faith, and how, if the Word of God is powerful, someone who taught it faithfully can go rogue theologically. * How is divine inspiration of the Scriptures different from the automatic writing they have in cults? * It really does not bother you that you don’t know who wrote 74% of the New Testament? It could have been anybody. * Is it okay for me to comply with a new requirement for clergy in my denomination to pledge fidelity in writing to its statement of faith? * If the Word of God is powerful, how can a preacher who once taught the Word faithfully go rogue theologically?
Questions about how God could be just if so many wrongs go unpunished, an objection to God punishing people in Hell, and whether God’s promise to meet all our needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus is referring to physical needs, spiritual needs, or both. * The cross only upholds justice between God and man, but where is justice among men? How is God just if so many wrongs go unpunished? * An infinite being existing outside of the time and space he created will set us on fire if we don’t let him be called King of our planet? Is that usual behavior for deities? * Is God’s promises to meet all our needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus referring to physical needs, spiritual needs, or both?
Questions about the legitimacy of the principle of double effect when it comes to abortion and saving the mother’s life, whether laws should protect the unborn baby at the expense of the mother’s life, laws for non-viable pregnancies, and changing pro-choice areas vs. leaving. * Is it just a cop-out to cite the principle of double effect when the unborn baby dies as a result of saving the mother’s life? * What should lawmakers do when it comes to situations where the mother has to choose between her life and her baby’s life? Should she be forced to carry the baby and die as a result? * Do pro-life abortion policies make it difficult for doctors to assist pregnant patients because they have to wait until the mother is in danger to address non-viable pregnancies? * Is it better to stay in an area that’s historically pro-choice and try to change it or move to a pro-life area?
Question about what biblical principles should guide how we vote. * What biblical principles should guide how we vote?
Questions about whether we should only study the truth in the Bible and not learn about other beliefs, whether the apologetics approach is contrary to the warning in 2 John 10, and the biggest change STR has seen in the types of questions asked over the years. * If people who are trained to identify fake currency only study the real currency, should we therefore only study the Bible and not learn about other beliefs? * Isn’t the apologetics approach contrary to 2 John 10, which tells us not to let anyone in our home who has an opposing view? * What’s the biggest change STR has seen in the types of questions asked over the years?
Questions about when a human receives a soul and how to respond to someone who rejects science, reason, philosophy, and objective morality in her effort to defend abortion, saying that pro-lifers just want to control women. * When does a human receive a soul? In the zygote stage, the cells haven’t differentiated yet, and some become the placenta, but the placenta doesn’t have a soul, so why would the zygote? * Should I give up trying to persuade someone who rejects science, reason, philosophy, and objective morality in her effort to defend abortion, saying that pro-lifers just want to control women?
Questions about how to respond to someone who says that maybe God intended for her daughter to transition from a girl to a boy and how kids in a small youth group with a child who identifies as non-binary can navigate that situation with respect and allegiance to the Word of God. * How do I respond to my sister who says that God doesn’t make mistakes and maybe he chose for her daughter to be trans as a challenge for her to overcome (i.e., he intended for her daughter to transition from a girl to a boy)? * How can my 10- and 12-year-olds, who are in a small youth group with a child who identifies as non-binary, navigate this situation with respect as well as allegiance to the Word of God?
Questions about how we know if the good things we experience are the result of God’s actions, whether something can be considered a miracle if it can be explained scientifically, and how to respond to atheists who are mocking a Christian’s prayers for rain. * Believers credit God for the good things that happen to them, but good things happen to non-believers also, so how do we know if the good things we experience are the direct result of God’s actions or would have just happened anyway without his involvement? * Can something still be considered a miracle from God if it can be explained scientifically? * Recently, a Christian who said he was praying for rain in a drought was mocked by atheists who said prayer won’t create rain. How does one respond to this when the drought continues despite many prayers?
Questions about how one would argue that a particular truth is self-evident, the biblical justification for the claim of our Founding Fathers that God gave us the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and the right to liberty vs. submitting to governing authorities. * How would one argue that a particular truth is self-evident? * What is the biblical justification for the claim of our Founding Fathers that God gave us the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and what are the limits of our right to liberty in light of our command to submit to our governing authorities?
Questions about whether the Bible explicitly forbids premarital sex and whether Song of Songs 2:4–6 promotes premarital sex. * How should I respond to someone who says the Bible never explicitly forbids premarital sex? * Does Song of Songs 2:4–6 promote premarital sex?
Questions about whether Christians can simply say that God’s moral requirements are a show of loyalty to him rather than argue they’re the best way to live, whether references to unforgivable sins contradict the idea that all our sins are forgiven, and praying for Satan. * Christians often try to make the case that Christian morality is the best way to live, but at some point could we simply say God’s requirements are a show of loyalty to him irrespective of any possible impact on society? * How does the idea that all our sins have been forgiven align with the many references to mortal sins that can’t be forgiven? * How would you respond to Mark Twain’s question about why no Christian has had the common humanity to pray for Satan?
Questions about how to help a friend move away from his belief that objective facts about religious issues, unlike scientific facts, are “just someone’s belief” and how to respond to an atheist who keeps dismissing every argument and demanding “verified” evidence. * How can I help a friend who thinks objective facts about religious issues are, unlike scientific facts, “just someone’s belief” move away from the fact-value split? * How should I respond to an atheist who keeps demanding “verified” evidence and dismissing every argument I offer by saying it’s not verified?
Questions about what to tell a child who feels guilty for not wanting to read the Bible because he finds it boring and confusing, what Bible was printed before King James published his version, and whether or not the original versions are available in English. * What do I tell a child who feels guilty for not wanting to read the Bible because he finds it boring and confusing? * Was King James greedy and power-hungry, and did he have a version of the Bible written to support the royal kingdom? What was printed before King James published his version, and are the original versions available in English?
Questions about what we would say in a high school graduation speech if given the opportunity, how to talk to talk about eternity with a six-year-old who is disturbed by the thought of Heaven never ending, and where Jesus is now if he has a body. * If you had the opportunity to give the high school graduation speech, what would you say? * How should I talk to my six-year-old about eternity when she struggles with the thought of it never ending and says she wishes she would have never been born so she didn’t have to live in Heaven forever? * If Jesus has a body, where is he?
Questions about whether churches ought to be taxed if holy people are so interested in politics and how to respond to the claim that conservative Christians changed their minds about slavery and segregation and will eventually also change their minds about LGBTQ+ rights. * They ought to tax churches. If holy people are so interested in politics, government, and public policy, let them pay the price of admission like everyone else. * Conservative Christians were once for slavery and segregation and against women’s suffrage, but they’ve changed their minds now, and they’ll eventually change their minds about LGBTQ+ rights too.
Questions about why anyone should think the evidence for the resurrection is strong if Saul and the majority of first-century Jews found it insufficient, why Jesus came to to the Jews rather than another nationality, and how other nationalities came about through Noah. * Why should educated non-Christians today trust apologists’ claims that the evidence for the resurrection is strong if Saul and the overwhelming majority of first-century Jews found it insufficient? * Why did Jesus come specifically to the Jews rather than to a Chinese family or African or any other nationality, and how did those other nationalities come about through Noah?
Questions about where the essence God is composed of came from, whether God has the same choices other beings have and could choose not to exist, and how to convince a non-believer God matters if he’s undetectable and a non-interventionist. * If things have to have a beginning, and God is something and not nothing, then where did the essence he is composed of come from? Can something create itself? * Does God have the same choices other beings have, and could he could choose not to be, like other beings can, or is he somehow outside of being and non-being, thus not being a being at all? * If God is undetectable and a non-interventionist, then how do I convince a non-believer he matters? Does he only matter because of the afterlife?
Questions about it being better to do good for goodness’ sake rather than to earn approval and avoid punishment and a good initial approach to take with someone who rejects God based on his “violent” and “oppressive” character in the Old Testament. * I want my children to do good for goodness’ sake. Doing it to earn my approval and avoid my punishment is the absolute worst outcome I can imagine, as is requiring them to relentlessly thank me for helping them find it—and I’m just a human! * What's a good initial approach to take with someone who rejects God based on his “violent” and “oppressive” character in the Old Testament, regardless of good arguments about his being objectively moral?
Questions about how access to God through Jesus in the New Covenant differs from access in the Old Covenant, whether the salvation of Gentiles is just a means to the end of making Israel jealous, and the idea that theology is only personal and contextual, not objective.* How is access to God through Jesus in the New Covenant different from the access Jews had to God in the Old Covenant? * Is the salvation of Gentiles just a means to the end of making Israel jealous (see Romans 11:11–16)? How is this supposed to make us Gentiles feel? * How would you respond to someone who said, “Theology is personal and interpersonal work, so don’t believe claims that any theology is objective; it’s all personal and interpersonal and contextual”?
Question about how to respond to a meme that says, “Your religion does not prohibit me from anything. It prohibits you. Learn the difference.” How should I respond to a meme that says, “Your religion does not prohibit me from anything. It prohibits you*. Learn the difference”?
Questions about why evangelism is emphasized above other commands in the Bible, what to do when speaking the truth in love hurts someone’s feelings, and how to best love and share the gospel with a friend who rejects it because of bad experiences with Christians.* Why is it hammered into us that Christians need to go out and evangelize when the Great Commission is mentioned only four times in the Bible and other commands spoken of throughout the Bible (love, servitude, humility, etc.) seem to get less exhortation? * How should I deal with someone saying, “You hurt my feelings,” when I’m speaking the truth in love? What do I do when preaching the gospel hurts someone’s feelings because it exposes their sin, and how can I debunk the current worship of feelings? * How can I best love a friend who has repeatedly rejected the gospel because of negative experiences she’s had in hostile Christian circles?
Questions about whether it’s circular reasoning to say the Bible is true because God says it’s true, how we can know when sarcasm or some other relevant tone is being used in the Bible, and whether tithing results in God’s faithful provision and financial blessings.* Is it circular reasoning to say the Bible is true because God says it’s true (in the Bible)? * How can we accurately read stories like 2 Chronicles 18:12–16, where it seems as if Micaiah was using sarcasm? How do we know when there is an important tone in play? * Is it biblical for someone to say, “I’m so thankful for tithing and knowing God faithfully meets our needs because of our faithfulness”? * Does the pouring out of blessings from Heaven when we test God with the tithe, spoken of in Malachi 3:10, refer to financial blessings?
Questions about how to respond to someone who rejects God because he didn’t save her from her childhood trauma when she prayed for help and whether it’s wrong to respond to the psalm that says, “What can man do to me,” by thinking, “They can do a lot!”* Can you help me respond to someone who rejects God because he didn’t save her from her childhood trauma when she prayed for help? * Is it a sin that when I read the psalm that says, “What can man do to me,” my response is to think, “They can do a lot—rape, torture, kill, abuse, manipulate, and intimidate.”
Question about whether or not we would kill a baby if God commanded us to do it.* If God commanded you to kill a baby, would you do it—yes or no?
Questions about Christians making use of the concept of meditation, advice for discussions with panentheists, and how to not be discouraged when pastors don’t use apologetics when it would be the perfect time to do so.* How might Christians appropriately make use of the concept of meditation, or should this sort of thing be avoided? * Do you have any tips or questions for discussions with New Age spiritualists—in particular, panentheists? * How can we not become discouraged when pastors or teachers do not use apologetics when it would be the perfect time to do so?
Questions about whether it’s okay to pray for the destruction and downfall of our enemies, how to reconcile the idea that God doesn’t tempt people with the fact that he led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted, and why believers need to ask forgiveness for their sins.* We use psalms in worship and model our prayers after them, but is it okay to pray for the destruction and downfall of our enemies like we see in the imprecatory psalms? * How do we reconcile the idea that God doesn’t tempt people and isn’t the “author of evil“ with the fact that he led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted in Luke 4? * If God sees believers as blameless, why do we need to ask forgiveness for our sins?
Questions about whether you can be acting on godly wisdom if your choice is giving you deep pain, how a combat vet who has difficulty going to church due to PTSD can find peace with who he is, and whether a Christian can be a public defender and represent criminals.* Can I be acting on godly wisdom if my choice is giving me deep pain? * I am a combat vet with PTSD who has difficulty connecting with people and doesn’t do well in crowds, which makes it difficult to go to church and have friends and fellowship and leads me to question my faith. How can I find peace with who I am? * Can a Christian be a public defender and represent people charged with a crime?
Questions about whether humanity’s justice is better than God’s, what to say to a Muslim who asks why God’s justice requires him to punish sin instead of just forgiving without punishment, and why so much blood, torture, and slaughter for Jesus.* God is not just. Humanity’s justice attempts to fit a punishment to the crime and aims for rehabilitation and restoration to the community rather than eternal damnation. * What would you say to a Muslim who asks why God’s justice requires him to punish sin instead of just forgiving without punishment? * Why so much blood, torture, and slaughter for Jesus?
Questions about why God didn’t start humanity over right away by destroying Adam and Eve instead of waiting for the flood, whether another fall will be possible in the new creation (and what that means for our free will), and why God didn’t make us “fall-proof” from the beginning.* Why didn’t God start humanity over right away by destroying Adam and Eve if he knew he was going to have to destroy an evil generation with the flood later on? * In the new heavens and earth, will another fall of humanity be possible, and could this create an infinite loop of creation and fall? If not, does this mean there will be a lack of free will in the new creation, and why wouldn’t this “fall-proof” design have been God’s original choice for creation?
Questions about what the Bible means by “boasting in our weaknesses” (2 Cor. 12:7–10), what it means to “sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts” (1 Pet. 3:13–15), and whether giving our lives to Christ means we can’t have other interests besides God.* What does the Bible mean by “boasting in our weaknesses,” and what does this look like in our lives? * In 1 Peter 3:15, what does it mean to “sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts”? * We’re to give our lives to Christ, but how much living do we get to do outside of Christ? Can we have hobbies, jobs, relaxation time, further education, or other interests besides God?
Questions about how God could kill all the firstborn babies in the tenth plague, how to respond to someone who says God committed genocide when he destroyed the earth during the flood, and whether God still creates calamity today as it says in Isaiah 45:7.* How could God kill all the firstborn babies in the tenth plague? * How should I respond to someone who says God committed genocide when he destroyed the earth during the flood? * Does God still create calamity today as it says in Isaiah 45:7?
Questions about whether the Bible says that someday everyone in the world will worship God, the purpose of worshiping God, and whether it might be the case that God has created another universe where that creation also gives him glory.* Does it say anywhere in the Bible that someday everyone (all the world) will worship God? [Note: after recording this episode, we also came across Psalm 66:3–4, which says that “all the earth will worship” God, but also that his enemies will give him “feigned obedience.”] * What is the purpose of worshiping God? * If God maximizes his glory in this universe, is it reasonable to think he’s maximized his glory in another universe or in some other creative act that involves his creation giving him glory?
Questions about whether post-mortem salvation is an orthodox doctrine, reconciling a verse about God removing our transgressions from us with verses about each of us having to give an account to God on judgment day, and how to recognize true conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit.* Is post-mortem repentance and salvation an orthodox doctrine? * How do we reconcile Psalm 103:12, which says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us,” with Matthew 12:36 and Romans 14:12, which speak of each person having to give an account of himself to God on the day of judgment? * How do we tell the difference between conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit and feelings that are just either scrupulosity or the devil’s accusations?
Questions about why we should think the new believers in Acts 5:14 received the Holy Spirit when Acts seems to argue that not all believers necessarily receive the Spirit and whether “Holy Ghost” is a degrading term for the Holy Spirit.* Why should we think the new believers in Acts 5:14 received the Holy Spirit when it doesn’t say so? Doesn’t Acts argue that not all believers necessarily receive the Holy Spirit, especially given 8:9–17? * Is “Holy Ghost” a degrading term for the Holy Spirit?
Questions about how to show someone that relying on AI for answers is a flawed way of finding truth, the role personal testimony should play in apologetics, and whether it’s sinful to not be more like Ray Comfort when talking to people you might not see again.* How can I show someone that entirely relying on AI for answers is a flawed way of finding truth? * What role, if any, should personal testimony play in apologetics? * I feel convicted that I’m not sharing the gospel enough. Is it sinful that I can’t be like Ray Comfort when I’m talking to people I might not see again?
Questions about whether you should stick with a decision you made that didn’t work out as you hoped if you prayed about it beforehand and how you can know for sure if God is calling you to do something.* If a decision you made after much research and prayer didn’t work out as you hoped, is it okay to change direction, or should you stick with it since you prayed about it beforehand? * How do you know for sure if God is actually calling you to do something?
Questions about how being with Jesus continually will be the highlight of eternity if he’ll only be able to interact with one person at a time since he has a physical body and how a scholarly Jewish rabbi would defend his position that Jesus is not the Messiah.* It seems like being in Jesus’ presence continually will be the highlight of eternity, but since he has a physical body, won’t he only be able to interact with one person at a time? * How would a scholarly Jewish rabbi defend his position that Jesus is not the Messiah?
Questions about why God the Father required a sacrifice (and whether Jesus’ short-term death was really a sacrifice), whether Jesus’ disciples ever offered sacrifices at the temple, and what it means to say that sin causes separation from God if God is omnipresent.* Why did God the Father require a sacrifice, and if Jesus knew he would rise again in three days, was his death really a sacrifice? * Did Jesus’ disciples ever offer sacrifices at the temple, and if not, why not? * How can I explain the idea that “sin causes separation from God” to someone who believes that it denies God’s omnipresence and denies Jesus interacted with sinners?
Questions about how to reconcile the biblical model of marriage with polygamy in the Old Testament, why the Israelites weren’t explicitly forbidden to practice polygamy, and how we can gain wisdom from Solomon about marriage when he had 700 wives and 300 concubines.* How can we reconcile the biblical model of marriage (one man, one woman, one flesh, one lifetime) with the deviations from this model in the Old Testament, especially involving polygamy? * What are your thoughts on why the Israelites were not explicitly forbidden to practice polygamy? * How is it that we gain so much knowledge and wisdom from Solomon regarding marriage and relationships when he had 700 wives and 300 concubines?
Questions about the best way to respond to someone who believes in double predestination and who dismisses many non-believers as lost causes and whether someone who believes they need faith plus works for salvation can still be saved by their faith.* What’s the best way to respond to someone in the double predestination camp who vocally dismisses many non-believers as lost causes? * Can someone who believes they need faith plus works for salvation still be saved by their faith?
Questions about the best way to respond to someone who believes in double predestination and who dismisses many non-believers as lost causes and whether someone who believes they need faith plus works for salvation can still be saved by their faith.* What’s the best way to respond to someone in the double predestination camp who vocally dismisses many non-believers as lost causes? * Can someone who believes they need faith plus works for salvation still be saved by their faith?
Questions about what to say to someone who believes the Bible and church are man-made ways to control people who don’t want to think for themselves and how to respond to the claim that Christianity “might be true for you, but not for me.”* What do you say to an agnostic who believes the Bible and church are man-made and a way to control people who don’t want to think for themselves? * How do you answer the claim that Christianity “might be true for you, but not for me”?
Questions about whether it would be wrong to knowingly cover a coworker’s shift so they can officiate a same-sex wedding and whether it’s okay for a Christian to work for a company whose work is transitioning to support gender identity, transgenderism, etc.* Would it be wrong to knowingly cover a coworker’s shift so they can officiate a same-sex wedding? * As a conservative Christian with a biblical worldview, should I feel guilty for working for a company whose work is transitioning to support sexual orientation, transgenderism, and gender identity?
Questions about whether those in Heaven have a limited omniscience that enables them to hear our requests for them to pray for us, why Scripture comes before tradition for Protestants, and what people used for Scripture before Genesis was written.* If moral perfection is a communicable property given to those in Heaven, wouldn’t it be reasonable to also speculate that limited omniscience is a communicable property, and so we can ask Christians who have died to pray for us? * Why does Scripture come before tradition for Protestants? * What did people before Genesis was written (Noah, Abraham, etc.) use for “Scripture”?
Questions about apologetics strategies to use with an agnostic who says it’s pointless to worry about whether there is a God because we can’t know if he exists and whether it’s a bad strategy to debate things like miracle claims with someone who rejects them.* What apologetics strategies can we use with an agnostic who says we can’t know whether there is a God, therefore it’s pointless to worry about it and you should just live your best life? * If someone thinks the stories of the Bible can’t be true because there isn’t enough evidence to support things like the Nephilim or miracle claims, should you debate them about these things?
Questions about how to explain what a personal relationship with God looks like on a practical level and whether it’s okay to pray to Jesus and to the Holy Spirit.* How do I explain to my 20-year-old son what a personal relationship with God looks like on a practical level? * What are your thoughts on praying to Jesus and to the Holy Spirit?
Questions about the best evidence for the reliability of the Old Testament, whether Greg subscribes to the idea of four independent Gospel accounts or two-source theory, and why the apostle Paul wrote so much of the New Testament.* What’s the best evidence for the historical reliability of the Old Testament? How do we know that what the Old Testament writers wrote back then is what we have today? * Does Greg subscribe to the idea of four independent Gospel accounts or something more like the two-source theory? * Why do you think the apostle Paul was commissioned to write so much of the New Testament explaining Christian theology when he wasn’t present for Jesus’ teachings during his earthly ministry?
Questions about the claim that evolution has no purpose and whether the fact that people who have aphantasia are unable to form mental images shows that the ability to picture something is based in chemistry rather than a soul.* Why would you say evolution has no purpose when it’s a fine-tuned process that ensures the propagation of life and is anything but random since it’s controlled by a survival-fitness feedback loop? * Since people who have aphantasia are unable to form mental images, doesn’t that mean the ability to picture something is based in chemistry rather than a soul?
Questions about how to respond to someone who says the Crusades are proof Christians are evil, the facts around the church burning people at the stake for saying the world is not the center of the universe, and whether that history damages the witness of the church.* How do you answer someone who says the Crusades are proof that Christians are evil? * What are the facts around the church burning people at the stake for saying the world is round and not the center of the universe? Does this prove the unreliability of biblical authority and damage the historic witness of the church?
Questions about how to respond to someone who uses Matthew 23:23 as an argument for social justice and what to say to a family member who argues that Christians are not being persecuted but are only losing their privilege.* How would you respond to someone who uses Matthew 23:23 as an argument for social justice? * What should I say to a family member who argues that Christians are not being persecuted but are only losing their privilege?
Questions about responding to someone who says the Bible teaches reincarnation when it says John the Baptist “is Elijah who was to come” in Matthew 11:14 and whether Matthew 24:36–44 is referring to the rapture.* How should I respond to someone who says the Bible teaches reincarnation in the verse about John the Baptist being Elijah (Matt. 11:14)? * Is Matthew 24:36–44 referring to the rapture, and if not, what’s the best way to convince someone it isn’t about the rapture?
Question about whether Stand to Reason accepts the doctrine of biblical perspicuity (the idea that the Bible is clear in what it teaches about essential doctrines).* Does Stand to Reason accept the doctrine of biblical perspicuity, and if so, how would it be verified or falsified?
Questions about whether the fact that you can freeze an embryo but not a baby proves an embryo isn’t a baby and whether it would be wrong to use IVF with genetic testing to avoid carrying a baby with an inherited genetic disorder that always results in stillbirth.* Putting a baby in a freezer would kill it, but freezing an embryo would keep it alive. Does that prove an embryo isn’t a baby? * Would it be wrong to use IVF with genetic testing to prevent carrying a baby with an inherited genetic disorder that always results in stillbirth?
Questions about what the Bible means when it says Jesus will sit at the right hand of God if Jesus is God and why the writers of the Synoptic Gospels didn’t write about Jesus claiming to be God.* If Jesus is God, what does the Bible mean when it says Jesus will sit at the right hand of God? * Why didn’t the writers of the Synoptic Gospels pick up on Jesus speaking of himself as a divine deity, as God himself?
Questions about how to respond to someone who is Word-Faith and believes in a second baptism of the Holy Spirit and what the Bible is saying about how we experience the Spirit when it says we know we’re in Christ because he has given us of his Spirit.* How should I respond to my sister who is Word-Faith and believes in a second baptism of the Holy Spirit? What’s the best Scripture to use? * The Bible says we know we’re in Christ because he has given us of his Spirit (1 John 4:13), who is a pledge of our inheritance (Eph. 1:13–14), but what does that mean? How do we experience the Spirit?
Questions about how a dad should talk to his children about attending their mom’s same-sex wedding, how a veterinarian should respond if someone who suffers from species confusion asks for medical care, and how to manage anger when arguing for the lives of the unborn.* How should a dad talk to his children (ages eleven, nine, and seven) about attending their mom’s same-sex wedding? * How should a veterinarian respond if someone who suffers from species confusion asks him to provide medical care? * Greg says if you get angry in an argument, you’ve already lost, but I get so angry when I think about the evil of abortion. How do I balance this anger with the desire to argue for the lives of the unborn?
Questions about what to do when you don’t know how to respond to someone’s answer to your question and you feel unsafe in the conversation and how to go about witnessing to and discipling a transexual who is open to following Christ but has practical concerns.* How do I gracefully move from a position in a conversation in which I’ve asked a question but then get stuck after hearing the answer and don’t feel safe? * How would you go about witnessing to and discipling a transsexual who is open to repenting and following Christ but who has concerns like how to practically live out his new faith and whether it’s too late to inherit the kingdom due to past decisions?
Questions about the need to prove evil exists before arguing for the existence of God from the existence of evil and what to say to an eleven-year-old boy who lost his dad and brother to a lightning strike that he survived.* Before you argue for God from the existence of evil, you have to prove the entity or force “Evil” exists. * What do you say to an eleven-year-old boy who lost his dad and brother to a lightning strike that he survived?
Questions about whether it’s okay to be part of a music ministry that’s led by a professing Mormon, whether a woman should date a man who isn’t as spiritual mature as she is or doesn’t take his faith as seriously, and the misuse of Matthew 5:38–42 to manipulate others.* Is it biblical for me to be part of a music ministry with a group of Christian women that is headed up by a professing Mormon? * Should a woman date a man who isn’t as spiritually mature as she is or doesn’t take his faith as seriously as she does? * How would you interpret Matthew 5:38–42 in the context of a friend who could be manipulating and taking advantage of you for resources?
Questions about believing God is always good to his children while rejecting prosperity teaching, how God can be jealous if he is love and love is not jealous, and whether God changing his mind in Exodus 32 indicates he gained knowledge and is not all-knowing.* How can I maintain balance in my belief that God is always good to his children and not believe too much in prosperity teaching? * If God is love, then how could he be jealous if the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:4 that love is not jealous? * How would you respond to someone who said that God changing his mind in Exodus 32 indicates he was gaining knowledge and means he is not all-knowing?
Questions about whether apologetics has had a positive effect on people and our culture, whether the longtime privatization of our Christian faith has led to churches becoming apathetic to the culture, and C.S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer book recommendations.* Do you believe apologetics has had a positive effect on people and our culture? * Has the longtime privatization of our Christian faith led to local churches becoming apathetic to the surrounding culture, and if so, what is the solution? * What top two books by C.S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer would you recommend for getting started with each one?
Questions about how to articulate the beauty of the Christian worldview in a nutshell and whether “separation of church and state” requires public school teachers to not reference the Bible and government employees to remove anything Bible related from their offices.* People are upset because a politician said he has a biblical worldview. How can we articulate the beauty of our worldview to others in a nutshell? * What should I say to people who think public school teachers shouldn’t reference God or Scripture because of “separation of church and state”? * What should we do when upper management in local government tells employees they need to remove anything Bible related from their offices?
Questions about how to know if we’re a “gardener” or a “harvester,” how to engage an apathetic person who says “I don’t know” to everything, and whether Christians are making an unfalsifiable claim and fruitlessly discussing something that can’t be proven or disproven.* How do I know if I’m a “gardener” or a “harvester”? * How do you engage an apathetic person who says “I don’t know” to everything? * Are Christians committing a fallacy by making an unfalsifiable claim? What value is there in discussing something that can be neither proven nor disproven?
Questions about how to start conversations with postmodernists about the need for repentance and what question one can use to put a stone in the shoe of a Buddhist friend.* In a postmodern world, what tools can believers use to start a conversation about the need for repentance? * What question can I use to put a stone in the shoe of my Buddhist friend?
Questions about what constitutes a marriage, at what point God considers a committed relationship to be a marriage, whether the freedom to pursue marriage is a natural right (and what restrictions would be inappropriate), and how to decline an invitation to an unbiblical wedding.* What constitutes a marriage? * At what point does God consider a committed relationship to be “marriage”? * Is the freedom to pursue marriage a natural human right, and are there any any inappropriate restrictions that should not be placed on marriage? * Should I explain my reason for declining an invitation to a marriage ceremony that doesn’t reflect the biblical order or just address it when asked?
Questions about how to reconcile Romans 6:12–14 (where Paul talks about victory over sins) with Romans 7:21–25 (where Paul bemoans sins he still commits) and why Paul uses the Mosaic Law as a starting point for moral instruction if believers aren’t under any part of the Law.* Please help me reconcile Romans 6:12–14 (where Paul seems to be saying we can have victory over our sins) with Romans 7:21–25 (which sounds like Paul is bemoaning sins he still commits). * How do you reconcile Paul’s use of the Mosaic Law as a starting point for moral instruction with the idea that believers aren’t under any part of the Mosaic Law?
Questions about whether there is something a person can do to develop love for Christ if they are emotionally detached and whether one should stay in a church that is slowly drifting away from historic Christianity.* How is a person supposed to love Christ if they are emotionally detached? Is there a way to do something about it? * Should I stay in a church that is slowly drifting away from historic Christianity and seems to question basic beliefs such as the authority of the Old Testament, Heaven, Hell, evangelism, etc.?
Questions about why atheists get angry when someone brings up belief in God, how to reconcile God’s sovereignty and Satan being the prince of the world, and why the Lord’s Prayer says, “Lead us not into temptation,” when God would never lead us into temptation.* What is the source of the anger I encounter from atheists when I bring up belief in God? * How does one reconcile God’s sovereignty and Satan being the prince of this world? * Why does the Lord’s Prayer say, “Lead us not into temptation,” when leading us into temptation isn’t part of his nature?
Questions about whether we’re only interpreting the Bible according to authorial intent because of our post-Enlightenment way of thinking and whether Zephaniah 3:17 is being taken out of context when someone takes comfort in it.* How should I respond to someone who says, “The only reason you interpret the Bible by going back to authorial intent is that you live in a post-Enlightenment way of thinking, and others might interpret it differently”? * Am I taking Zephaniah 3:17 out of context when I take comfort in it?
Questions about how to defend the claim that marriage was created by God and what to say to someone who doesn’t want her daughter to grow up Christian because she thinks Christianity is harmful to women.* How can we defend the claim that marriage was created by God if marriage has been in non-Judeo-Christian civilizations throughout time? * What should I say to someone who doesn’t want her daughter to grow up Christian because she thinks Christianity is harmful to women?
Questions about whether the existence of evil points to the existence of multiple gods and why God needs to slowly improve our character here on earth if he’s going to make every Christian sinless at the resurrection regardless of how long each one was a Christian.* Would the existence of multiple gods, some good and some evil, explain the existence of evil better than the existence of one God who allows evil? * If, after death, God will give the thief on the cross the same sinless character as the Christian who lives to be 100, why does he need to slowly change us over time here on earth? Why doesn’t he just make us sinless immediately instead of at the resurrection?
Questions about how to make sure we will honestly consider people’s arguments and why God doesn’t give more evidence to the “non-resistant non-believers” who are seeking truth.* It’s frustrating when someone doesn’t seem to be honestly considering a persuasive argument. How can I make sure I don’t make that same mistake? * Why doesn’t God give more evidence to the “non-resistant non-believers” who are seeking truth?
Question about advice for debating an atheist.* If I were to debate an atheist one day, what advice would you give?
Questions about whether one can argue from the existence of evil straight to the Christian God or if more arguments are required to get there and whether Abraham sacrificing Isaac would be considered a good action since God commanded it.* Does the existence of evil argue for the God of the Bible or only for a monotheistic God in general? * If Abraham sacrificed Isaac, would the action be considered good since God commanded it?
Questions about whether sin still would have entered the world if only Eve had eaten the fruit, the theological explanation for why Jesus did not inherit a sinful nature from Mary, and what the idea that nothing good can come from evil would mean for children born as a result of rape.* If only Eve had eaten the fruit and Adam refused, would sin still have entered the world? * What is the theological explanation for why Jesus did not inherit a sinful nature from Mary? * If nothing good can come from evil, how can we justify children born as a result of rape, incest, out of wedlock, etc.?
Questions about how to evaluate whether you are “doing enough for the Lord,” whether Ezekiel 3:18 indicates you will be in trouble on judgment day if you didn’t tell someone the gospel before they died, and whether it’s okay for a Christian to use Latter-day Saint resources to do family research.* What advice would you give me as an average believer to evaluate whether I am doing enough for the Lord and serving him enough? * Since God tells Ezekiel in Ezekiel 3:18 that if he doesn’t warn people, and they die in their sin, their blood will be on his hands, does that mean I’ll be in trouble on judgment day because someone I used to help died in a fight before I could talk to him about Christ? * Is it okay for a Christian to use Latter-day Saint (Mormon) resources to do family research, or would he be opening himself up to LDS theology by spending time there?
Questions about how to discern between our own inner voice and the Holy Spirit telling us what we are supposed to say if, according to Matthew 10:20, “it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you” at the right moment and whether Acts 11:17 indicates we can get in God’s way when he is speaking to us.* If “it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you” at the right moment, as Matthew 10:20 says, how do we discern the difference between our own inner voice of our previous training and the Holy Spirit telling us what we are supposed to say? * In terms of God speaking to us, can we get in God’s way (see Acts 11:17)?
Questions about how to apply the Bible to our lives if we’re supposed to read it in context and not insert our circumstances into it and how to respond to someone who says the Great Commission was given to the apostles and not to the church writ large (similar to how Jeremiah 29:11 was given to the exiles).* If we’re supposed to read the Bible in context and not insert our lives or circumstances into it, how do we then apply the ancient Word to our current lives? * How would you respond to someone who said that the Great Commission was given to the apostles and not to the church writ large (similar to how Jeremiah 29:11 was given to the exiles)?
Questions about whether Christianity is about following Jesus rather than a story of reality, what John the Baptist meant when he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease,” and why John the Baptist seemed confused about whether or not Jesus was the Messiah after he had already confessed he was.* You said Christianity is a story of reality, and I agree that the Bible is a story of reality (it helps lead our lives), but isn’t Christianity about following Jesus? * What did John the Baptist mean when he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease,” and how does that apply to us? * In John 1:34, John the Baptist acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God after baptizing him, so why does he seem confused in Luke 7:19 and Matthew 11:3?
Questions about how one can use the moral argument and also say we can’t impose a moral standard from one period of time on another and responding to someone who says she would never follow a God who killed his own son.* If you say we can’t impose a moral standard from one period of time on another, then how does the moral argument fit into this way of thinking? * How would you respond to someone who says she would never follow a God who killed his own son?
Question about an objection to grounding objective morality in God that states that if God has a morally perfect nature, and he either engaged in or directly allowed genocide, slavery, and torture, then that means genocide, slavery, and torture are objectively good.* How would you address this atheist challenge to grounding objective morality in God: If God has an unchanging, morally perfect nature, and he either engaged in or directly allowed genocide, slavery, and torture, then doesn’t that mean genocide, slavery, and torture are objectively good?
Questions about how concerned one should be and what to do about a spouse who now believes in annihilationism and how to navigate differences in doctrine with those who take strong stands on their distinctives.* My wife has changed her view on Hell to annihilationism, and I feel betrayed and worried for her and how she’ll influence our kids. How should I think about this and deal with it? * How do you navigate differences in doctrine with those who take strong stands on their distinctives?
Question about whether Romans 5:18, 1 Corinthians 15:22, and 1 John 2:2 support the idea that everyone will be saved (universalism) as a New York Times opinion piece by David Bentley Hart claims.* Do Romans 5:18, 1 Corinthians 15:22, and 1 John 2:2 support universalism (i.e., the idea that everyone will be saved and the doctrine of Hell is incorrect) as a New York Times opinion piece by Dr. David Hart claims?
Questions about how to respond to the claim that consent to sex is not consent to pregnancy and what to say to a Christian who argues that the law should give women a choice about abortion because God allows us to have free will and doesn’t force us to follow his commands.* How would you respond to the claim that consent to sex is not consent to pregnancy? * How should I respond to a Christian who argues that the law should give women a choice about abortion because God allows us to have free will as human beings and doesn’t force us to follow his commands?
Questions about how to respond to someone who says we should stop saying that attempting to speak to ancestors is demonic, how to answer a Sikh who doesn’t understand why a Christian wouldn’t marry a non-Christian, and a response to the claim “God is not out there; he is in here.”* How would you respond to someone who says from an African spirituality perspective we should stop saying that listening to or attempting to speak to ancestors is demonic? * How would you answer a Sikh who is questioning why a Christian wouldn’t marry a non-Christian if all gods are the same? * What would be a tactical way of responding to someone who says, “God is not out/up there; he/it is in here” (pointing to himself)?
Questions about whether we should provide our preferred pronouns during jury duty when a judge asks for them and how to respond to a Christian who says it’s kind to use a person’s preferred pronouns and that not using them is unkind, unloving, and judgmental.* When a judge asks me to provide my preferred pronouns in a courtroom during jury duty, is that the wrong place to resist providing them? * How should I respond to a Christian who says it’s kind to use a person’s preferred pronouns, that by not doing so I’m being a hypocrite, unkind, unloving, and judgmental, and that not all translations of the Bible say God made male and female?
Questions about whether the Christian liberty described in Romans 14 is the same thing as making up our own rules, weaker and stronger Christians in Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8, and the claim that once a person accepts Jesus as Savior, he is redeemed and no longer a sinner.* How can we explain the idea of Christian liberty as found in Romans 14 to someone who claims it’s just the same thing as making up our own rules? * Regarding the “weaker” and “stronger” Christians Paul talks about in Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8, should weaker Christians eventually mature in their faith and understanding, and is it the stronger’s job to help correct the weaker’s theology? * How should I respond to the claim that once a person accepts Jesus as Savior, he has been redeemed and is no longer a sinner?
Questions about whether Jesus thought Moses was wrong for giving a law to accommodate the hard hearts of the people, whether our civil laws should reflect the ideal or take into account man’s brokenness, and how to counsel someone who has “lost his joy in the Lord” because of sin.* In Mark 10:2–9, is Jesus reprimanding Moses or claiming Moses was wrong for giving a law regulating divorce to accommodate the hard hearts of the people? Should civil laws reflect God’s good will or take into account man’s brokenness? * How would you counsel someone who made some poor choices recently and “lost his joy in the Lord”? He is repentant and is fervently seeking to restore his relationship with God, but he has not regained his joy.
Questions about whether feelings should have any epistemological weight in our decision making and how to interpret several verses in Acts in light of Greg’s views on being led by the Spirit. Should feelings have any* epistemological weight in our decision making? For example, should a pastoral candidate who has a “check in his spirit” reject a church job even if there are no objective biblical or wisdom reasons to do so? * In light of your views on being led by the Spirit in your decision making material, how would you interpret the following verses: Acts 8:29, 10:19–20, 11:12, 13:2, 13:4, 16:6, and 20:22? Are we to follow these by example, and what does that look like?
Questions about how to respond to a formerly Muslim friend who is unwilling to pay the price for becoming a Christian and doesn’t want to respond to challenges or discuss differences and whether Acts 17:23 implies that people who never hear the gospel will be judged differently.* How should I respond to a formerly Muslim friend who is unwilling to pay the price for becoming a Christian and doesn’t want to respond to challenges because his philosophy in life is to love and help, not discuss differences? * Does Acts 17:23 imply that people who never hear the gospel will be judged differently?
Questions about what to ask a strict empiricist who claims he only believes in things he can see, the purpose behind God making people with senses that can’t find him, and thoughts on whether a particular way of introducing the topic of objective truth is adequate.* What questions should I ask someone who claims he only believes in things he can see? * What is the purpose behind God making animals and people with senses that can’t find him? * Does my way of introducing the topic of objective truth encompass the main idea enough?
Questions about whether we should call a man’s partner his husband if they’re legally married and whether it’s appropriate to remove kids from a middle school youth group where a male high schooler who has socially transitioned to female is serving.* What are your thoughts on calling a man’s partner his husband or a woman’s partner her wife if they have had a same-sex wedding? * A male high schooler who has socially transitioned to female is serving in our church’s middle school ministry. If I pull my kids from their youth group, am I punishing them for someone else’s error?
Questions about why no one besides Matthew mentioned the resurrection of multiple people after the crucifixion, whether there were rainbows before Noah, and why Jesus told the restored demon-possessed man to tell people about his healing but commanded the formerly deaf man not to tell anyone.* Why are there no extra-biblical accounts of the resurrection of multiple people described in Matthew 27:52, and why isn’t it mentioned elsewhere in the Bible? * Do you think the mechanics for the creation of a rainbow did not naturally exist before God put it in the sky for Noah? * Why do you think Jesus told the restored demon-possessed man in Mark 5 to go tell his people what the Lord had done but commanded the deaf man he healed in Mark 7 not to tell anyone about the healing?
Question about the hardest aspect of Christianity to defend.* What is the hardest aspect of Christianity to defend?
Questions about whether Jeremiah 10:1–5 speaks against having a Christmas tree, whether celebrating Christmas is extra-biblical and we should be celebrating Israelite feasts and festivals instead, and why Zechariah was was disciplined for questioning the message he received from an angel but Mary wasn’t.* Does Jeremiah 10:1–5 speak against having a Christmas tree? * Is celebrating Christmas and Easter extra-biblical? Are Christians grafted into Israel and should therefore be celebrating the Israelite feasts and festivals? * Why was Zechariah disciplined and made mute for questioning the angel’s message about his wife conceiving due to her age, but Mary wasn’t disciplined for questioning her pregnancy due to her virginity?
Questions about how persecuted Christians would have understood Psalms promising protection and rescue, whether it’s a contradiction for Jesus to say that some will be put to death but also that not a hair of your head will perish, and whether the Bible has been added to throughout the years.* How would Christians under persecution (such as those in Rome) have understood verses like Psalm 34:19–20 that promise protection and rescue by God for righteous people? * Is it a contradiction for Jesus to say both that some will be put to death and that not a hair of your head will perish (Luke 21:16–19)? * Is there evidence that would contradict my coworker’s claim that the Bible has been added to throughout the years?
Question about how to respond to a teenage daughter who walked away from God because she cried out to him for years and he didn’t answer, and because she didn’t feel any different after accepting Christ as her Savior.* How should I respond to my teenage daughter who walked away from God because she cried out to him for years and he didn’t answer, and because she didn’t feel any different after accepting Christ as her Savior?
Questions about sins of action vs. sinful character flaws and whether continued sin makes Christians hypocrites, whether Ananias and Sapphira were saved, and whether Christians aren’t practicing what they believe if they’re spending time and money doing anything but evangelize.* What’s the difference between sins of action and sinful character flaws, and does continued sin of either form make Christians hypocrites? * Do you think Ananias and Sapphira were saved if they had accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, despite their massive blunder/punishment? * Given the stakes of temporary time to choose an eternal destination, why do any Christians do anything but evangelize? Why do churches have state-of-the-art equipment and buildings for a temporary time when they preach an eternal reality? It seems like they’re not practicing what they believe.
Questions about whether it’s possible Jesus has already come in a fashion similar to Elijah coming as John the Baptist, whether Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet who was wrong about the kingdom coming in his disciples’ lifetime, and what part Jesus’ resurrection plays in salvation.* Is it possible Jesus has already come in a fashion similar to Elijah coming as John the Baptist? * What are the arguments opposing the current view of New Testament scholars that Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet who was ultimately wrong about the kingdom coming within his disciples’ lifetime? * What part does Jesus’ resurrection play in salvation?
Questions about whether we’re limiting God by putting him in the “box” of the 66 books of Scripture and how to respond to someone who continually talks about missing verses in the Bible and the idea that the Bible is owned by a corporation and isn’t trustworthy.* How would you respond to someone who says we’re limiting God by putting him in the “box” of the 66 books of Scripture and we have no way of knowing all he has done or said because we’re human and can only know so much about God? * What would you say to someone who claims to be a Christian but continually talks about missing verses in the Bible and the idea that the Bible is owned by a corporation and is not trustworthy?
Question about how Christians should view surrogacy.* My sister is considering surrogacy, and it makes me feel uncomfortable as I don’t know what God’s stance would be. What is the Christian view of surrogacy?
Questions about whether we’re responsible for enjoying prayer, worship, and Bible reading or it’s up to God to ignite those joys in us and whether sharing about things that cause grief, pain, or discontent is a form of complaining.* Are we responsible for enjoying prayer, worship, and reading the Bible, or is it up to God to ignite those joys in us? * Is it okay for Christians to share about things that cause grief, pain, or discontent, or is that a form of complaining?
Questions about how to start up a conversation with Jehovah’s Witnesses who are handing out information at temporary kiosks around town, witnessing to New Age siblings who misquote the Bible and Jesus, and non-Christians who are experiencing answered prayers or prophetic dreams.* Do you have any advice for starting up a conversation with Jehovah’s Witnesses who are handing out Watchtower information at temporary kiosks around town? * How do I witness to and answer the questions of my three New Age siblings who are misquoting the Bible and Jesus? * How should I address non-Christians having experiences where God seemingly answers their prayers or their prophetic dreams come true?
Questions about the biblical definition of God’s wrath and how Christians can process the heartbreaking idea of decent Jewish people going to Hell because they don’t have Christ.* Many people think of wrath as blinding, uncontrolled rage leading to violence or as one of the seven deadly sins, so what is the biblical definition of God’s wrath? * How should we as Christians process the heartbreaking idea of decent Jewish people going to Hell because they don’t have Christ?
Questions about whether two men who are legally married and have an adopted daughter should divorce and break up their family if they choose to follow Christ and how Christians can be compassionate on topics like homosexuality, abortion, and other religions.* If two men who are legally married and have an adopted daughter choose to follow Christ, should they divorce and break up the family? * As Christians, how can we be compassionate on topics like homosexuality, abortion, and people of other religions?
Questions about what to say to a Christian who doesn’t think it matters which higher power a person believes in, how to help friends see they’re attending an unhelpful or heretical church, whether it’s wrong to wish a dead loved one happy birthday, and when to leave a parachurch organization over theological differences.* What should I say to a “lukewarm” Christian who says people need to believe in a higher power “even if it’s Buddha or something”? * How do I help a Christian friend see that the church she’s attending is actually hindering her rather than helping? * What would be a tactical approach to helping friends and family members realize they’re attending a church of a false teacher/heretic? * Are Christians crossing a line into talking to the dead when they wish a happy heavenly birthday to their dead loved ones? * How do I know when it’s time to leave a parachurch organization with which I disagree theologically?
Questions about whether we should hold God morally accountable for knowingly creating a world where people would sin, whether the crucifixion of Jesus was God’s way of taking some personal responsbility for his part in bringing about sin through creation, and why God creates people he knows will go to Hell.* If we would hold someone morally accountable for giving a suicidal person access to a loaded gun, shouldn’t we hold God morally accountable for creating a world where he knew people would sin? * Was the crucifixion of Jesus God’s way of taking some personal responsibility for his part in bringing about sin he knew would take place if he created Adam and Eve? * Why would God create a person he knows will go to Hell?
Questions about how to respond to teens who are asking whether God is good, a good way to respond to coworkers who joke that they would burst into flames if they entered a church, how to engage with an apathetic person, and evangelism tips for a high school freshman who has non-Christian friends.* How would you respond to teens whose questions are about whether or not God is good? * What’s a good way to respond to coworkers who joke that they would burst into flames if they stepped into a church? * How would you engage with an apathetic person who keeps saying they “don’t know” in response to everything? * Do you have any evangelism tips for a high school freshman who has made new friends who aren’t Christians?
Questions about why we can euthanize pets to end their suffering but we can’t do the same for people, how to talk to a six-year-old about biblical marriage when she’s been told same-sex marriage is okay, and thoughts on the phrase “biological sex.”* What is the biblical position on euthanizing pets that are old or sick, and if it’s okay, why doesn’t the same principle apply to people? They shouldn’t have to suffer either. * How should I talk to my six-year-old granddaughter about biblical marriage when her parents tell her same-sex marriage is okay and she brings it up often because she’s confused? * What do you think of the phrase “biological sex”? What other kind of sex is there?
Questions about whether there’s such a thing as an atheist argument, whether one can ask a nonbeliever to prove a negative, and how to respond to an atheist who says morality is determined by consensus in a society and may change over time.* There’s no such thing as an atheist argument. We don’t have to make an argument against the Loch Ness Monster either. * Is it a fallacy to ask a nonbeliever to prove a negative? How much time would I have to spend disproving flying pigs if someone believed in them? Isn’t it that person’s burden to argue for them? * What do you say to an atheist who says morality is determined by consensus in a society and may change over time?
Questions about how we know the universe isn’t eternal and whether there are theological implications to evolution being true or false.* If you think God wasn’t created and is eternal by nature, how do we know the universe isn’t eternal by nature and men just created God because they were struggling to understand the eternal nature of the universe? * Are there theological implications to evolution being true or false?
Questions about whether most Christians are only Christians because they were indoctrinated at a young age, whether getting pregnant out of wedlock was “just God’s plan,” underlining text in books, and whether we should always find something new in the Bible when we read it.* How would you respond to someone who argues that since 60% of American Christians came to their faith between the ages of four and fourteen, that means most people in the church are only Christians because parents and churches indoctrinated them at a young age? * How should one respond when someone who got pregnant out of wedlock says, “I guess it was just God’s plan”? * Do you ever underline or highlight text in a book you’re reading, or do you always use pencil to allow for changes? * Preachers say the Bible is a living book wherein you always find something new, yet I seem to only keep hearing the same thing.
Questions about how to navigate a conversation with someone who insists “faith” is not based on proof, how to use apologetics without sounding like you’re avoiding the question being asked, and how to respond to the statement “Certainty is a sin” logically and tactically.* How do I navigate a conversation with my friend when we can’t agree on what “faith” means? He’s using a dictionary definition that says it’s not based on proof. * How can I use apologetics without sounding like I’m avoiding answering the question being asked? * How can I analyze the statement “Certainty is a sin” logically and respond tactically?
Questions about whether we can conclude from John 10 that Jesus speaks to us today, whether 1 Samuel 3 means we have to learn to hear God’s voice, and how to respond to someone who says God communicated a message to him when he saw clouds cover the moon and then dissipate.* Can we conclude from John 10, where Jesus speaks about his sheep hearing and knowing his voice, that he speaks to us today? * What would you say to someone who uses 1 Samuel 3 to show that we have to learn to hear God’s voice? * How should I respond to someone who says God communicated a message to him when he saw clouds cover the moon and then dissipate?
Questions about what to do about a friend who is actively serving in his church but is living with a married woman and says he has peace about it and whether Matthew 19:27–29 incentivizes leaving your spouse if you feel “called” for the kingdom.
- What should I do about a friend who is actively serving in his church but is living with a married woman and says he has peace about it?
- Does Matthew 19:27–29 incentivize leaving your spouse if you feel “called” for the kingdom?
Greg and Amy chat about Greg’s new book, Street Smarts: Using Questions to Answer Christianity’s Toughest Challenges, discussing the goal of the book, how this new material differs from and adds to the original Tactics book, how using tactics will help you have clearer, more personalized conversations with others about what they believe, and more.
Questions about whether atheists read the Bible more literally than Christians because they don’t have to make up excuses for what it says and how to make a case for the attributes of God by arguing from cosmology rather than the Bible.* How would you respond to an atheist who says nobody reads the Bible more literally than atheists because they don’t have to make up baloney excuses when it says something they can’t allow it to mean? * When arguing from cosmology, how do you show what attributes God has without using the Bible?
Questions about what to do if someone uses the Columbo tactic against you, why some Christians say that only some doctrines matter and should be defended, and whether the extent to which one spends time and resources looking for answers to apologetics questions can become wrong.* What should we do if someone uses the Columbo tactic against us? * I have a high respect for truth, but my Christian friends tell me that only some doctrines matter. Why not defend all that has been taught for the past 2,000 years? * Can the extent to which one spends time and resources looking for answers to apologetics questions become wrong if other parts of one’s spiritual life are beginning to suffer?
Questions about whether the aliens people encounter are really evil spirits, whether the supposed biological pieces of crashed UFO pilots could be biological evidence of demons or angels, and what impact true evidence of aliens would have on the faith of Christians.* What are your thoughts on aliens? Are they really evil spirits of Satan? * Could the supposed biological pieces of crashed UFO pilots be biological evidence of demons or angels? * What impact would true evidence of the existence of aliens have on the faith of Christians?
Questions about whether Christians should really be so concerned about homosexuality, abortion, and science when Jesus doesn’t seem to care about those things and thoughts on AI leading a congregation in prayer or giving a sermon.* Are gays, abortion, and science really the foremost concerns of Christianity, or have politicians figured out how best to herd us? I can’t picture those things making the top 50 things out of Jesus’ mouth when he returns. * What do you think about the fact that AI can now lead a congregation in prayer and even give a sermon? It doesn’t feel right to me.
Questions about how we know the Protestant canon of Scripture is the correct one, how we can know the New Testament books are inspired if we don’t know who the authors were, and how to talk to a friend who denies Paul’s apostleship and writings.* How do we know the Protestant canon of Scripture containing 66 books is the correct one as opposed to the Catholic canon? * If the authors of 20 of the 27 books of the New Testament are unknown, how do we know those books are inspired if nobody knows who wrote them? * I have a friend who claims to be a Christian but who believes the earth is flat and denies Paul’s apostleship and writings. How should I discuss these matters with him?
Questions about what to do when the people you’re teaching don’t find apologetics interesting or relevant, resting one’s faith on experience vs. objective evidence, and an elevator speech answer to the question “What do you believe, and why do you believe it?” * What should I do when the people I’m teaching don’t find apologetics interesting or relevant? * My faith rests on a dramatic experience I had rather than objective evidence for Christianity, and I’m scared to throw out my “blind faith” for fear of falling away. How should I navigate this? * What’s your elevator speech answer to the question “What do you believe, and why do you believe it?”
Questions about how to respond to the claim that it’s okay to judge someone who is hurting another person by judging them and good ways to respond to the claim that we are just animals. * How should I respond to someone who claims it’s okay to judge me because I’m hurting another person by judging them first? * What are good ways to respond to the claim that we are just animals?
Question about whether there’s anything in the Gospel of John that a Bible study leader should be prepared to discuss with a Mormon who is interested in attending the study. * Is there anything in the Gospel of John that I should be prepared to discuss with a Mormon who is interested in attending my Bible study?
Questions about whether the fast rate at which Christianity spread is evidence it’s true, whether a true, loving Christian would refuse to leave people behind in Hell by accepting Heaven, and challenging someone who favors religions that pre-date Christianity because they’re older. * If the fast rate at which Christianity spread is evidence it’s true, how do I square that with the fact that there will be as many Muslims as there are Christians in 2050? * Would not a true, loving Christian say that if anyone has to experience eternal torment, then they have to as well? Is it possible God is testing whether some of us will accept Heaven and leave others behind? * How would you go about challenging a person who favors religions that pre-date Judaism and Christianity because they’re older?
Questions about how to respond to Christians who disbelieve your faith because you still experience homosexual temptations, whether Christians are morally obligated to refuse to do business with LGBT customers, and principles for determining what kind of proofreading jobs to accept or reject. * How should I respond when other Christians disbelieve my faith and repentance solely because I still experience homosexual temptations? * Are Christian business owners morally obligated to refuse to do business with LGBT customers? * Can you offer any moral principles that can help someone determine what kind of proofreading jobs to accept or reject?
Questions about whether the Bible considers medicine to be sorcery, making the case for the existence of God to someone who believes in the spirit realm, whether religion was made up for people who don’t have the psychological strength to face life without it, and parenting advice for Christian fathers. * Does the fact that the Greek word for “sorcery” is pharmakeia imply that Western medicine is sorcery? * How would you make a case for the existence of God to someone who believes in the spirit realm (angels, demons, magic, etc.) but doesn’t believe there’s a God above it all? * How would you respond to someone who thinks the soul and the afterlife are made-up constructs for people who don’t have the psychological strength to face life without the hope religion gives them? * What parenting advice would you give Christian fathers who hope their children will become Christians?
Questions about a public school library that wants to remove the Bible because of a state law prohibiting “pornographic or indecent material,” what to tell children who ask if art pieces that contain nude figures are inappropriate, and whether it’s inappropriate to pray in the shower or bathroom. * What argument should I make against a school library that claims a state law that prohibits “pornographic or indecent material” in public schools should be applied to the Bible because it contains descriptions of incest, prostitution, rape, and infanticide? * What should I tell my children when they ask if art pieces that contain nude figures are inappropriate? * Is it inappropriate to pray when you’re in the shower or bathroom?
Questions about why God commanded Israel not to eat pigs if it wasn’t an issue of morality and why Jesus said his yoke is easy and his burden is light when we know how difficult it is to take up our cross and fight our sin. * If the Old Covenant law forbidding the eating of pigs wasn’t a matter of morality and isn’t part of the New Covenant, why did God command Israel not to eat pigs in the first place? * It’s not easy to take up your cross and fight your sin, so why did Jesus say his yoke is easy and his burden is light?
Questions about how grounding morality in God’s nature solves the Euthyphro dilemma and whether we only have moral values because our culture has learned over time what does and does not benefit society. * How does grounding morality in God’s nature solve the Euthyphro dilemma? * How would you respond to someone who claims we have moral values because our culture has learned over time what does and does not benefit society?
Questions about how to proceed with someone who isn’t sure what she’s unsure of about Christianity, whether not having a near-death experience proves there’s no life after death, why Jesus is waiting so long to return, and whether it’s shameful for a boy to have long hair. * How should I proceed with someone who says she wants to continue reading the Bible but isn’t ready to accept Christ and isn’t sure what she’s unsure of about Christianity? * What should I say to an atheist who says the fact that he died for a few minutes and had no awareness at all proves there’s no life after death? * Why has it been such a long time since Jesus promised to return? * According to 1 Corinthians 11, is it shameful for my son to have long hair?
Questions about how to respond to someone who says he believes God made humans flawed as a result of his lack of power and why worship is good for us. * How would you respond to someone who says he believes God made humans flawed as a result of his lack of power? * Can you explain why worship is good for us?
Questions about the acceptability of attending a Pride-themed happy hour at work and how to respond to two phrases heard at a Pride event: “Love is love” and “We’re here to be with ‘family.’” * Would attending “Pride Month Happy Hour” at work be more like dining with sinners (something I should do) or attending a same-sex wedding (something I would not do)? * How would you respond to the phrases “Love is love” and “We’re here to be with ‘family’”—slogans I encountered while sharing the gospel at a local Pride event?
Questions about how to use Columbo questions with someone who is nonreligious but “spiritual,” what to say to someone who “followed Jesus out of the church” and now doesn’t believe spiritual truth is knowable, and how to respond to health and wealth preaching. * How would you use Columbo questions with someone who isn’t religious but believes in divine power and describes his closeness to that power as “spiritual”? * What should I say to my sister who “followed Jesus out of the church” and now calls herself a “spiritual agnostic” and doesn’t believe spiritual truth is knowable? * How should I proceed with a friend who has gotten into health and wealth preaching?
Questions about why we’re supposed to love as God loves but not condemn as he condemns, whether Jesus would have issued a command like 1 Samuel 15:3, whether it would be kinder to not tell people the gospel so they can be judged by their hearts and works, and why God destroyed the world in the flood if he knew there was a salvation plan. * If we’re supposed to love as God loves, loving those who do us wrong, why don’t we follow his example when he eternally damns those who hate or reject him? * Would Jesus have issued a command like 1 Samuel 15:3? * If those who haven’t heard of Jesus get judged on their hearts and their works, then wouldn’t it be kinder to not tell them the gospel so it’s easier for them to qualify for the afterlife? * Why did God choose to destroy the world in the flood so early on when he knew the salvation plan from before the beginning?
Questions about how to respond to the claim that “all faith-based religions will one day be proven wrong by science” and whether or not students will continue to show up to youth group if you start training them by role-playing objections against the faith. * How would you respond to the claim that “all faith-based religions will one day be proven wrong by science”? * Will students continue to show up to youth group if we start training them by role-playing objections against the faith?
Questions about ways to respond to the pro-choice slogan about “not getting between a woman and her doctor,” how we can blame a woman who aborts her own child if God is sovereign over miscarriage, and how to reconcile Psalm 139:13–16 with congenital disorders in babies. * What are some good ways to respond to the pro-choice slogan about “not getting between a woman and her doctor”? * If God is sovereign over miscarriage, then how can he blame a woman who aborts her own child? * How can we reconcile Psalm 139:13–16 with the presence of congenital disorders in some babies?
Questions about the difference between trusting your heart and trusting your human faculties to evaluate evidence, whether having a fear of death means you’re not a true Christian, and whether believers will spend eternity with the Lord on the new earth rather than in Heaven. * What’s the difference between trusting in your heart, which Scripture says not to do, and trusting your human faculties to evaluate evidence and determine what is true? * If the idea of death scares me, does that mean I’m not a true Christian? * Is it true that believers will spend eternity with the Lord on the new earth rather than in Heaven?
Questions about whether it’s a bad sign when a church’s statement of faith says they believe the Bible is inerrant “in the original manuscripts,” how the Gospel of Mark can be inerrant if someone else added 16:9–20, and whether the Gospels were meant to be complementary. * Is it a red flag when a church’s statement of faith says they believe the Bible is inerrant “in the original manuscripts”? * How can we say the Gospel of Mark is the inerrant Word of God if someone added 16:9–20 into it? * Were the Gospels meant to be complementary? Did the writers intend for us to harmonize them?
Questions about how to answer someone who says Jesus’ fulfillment of the Law means that loving God and loving others are the only rules Christians have to follow and fulfilled prophecies in the Bible. * How would you answer someone who says Jesus’ fulfillment of the Law means there are no rules Christians have to follow other than to love God and love others? * Can you give more details about fulfilled prophecies in the Bible?
Questions about the best way to tactically and tactfully respond to those who claim God told them to do something and how to get one’s emotions under control when talking to a friend who joined a heretical group that preaches another gospel about her false doctrines. * What’s the best way to tactically and tactfully respond to someone’s claim that God spoke to them or told them to do something? * My friend has joined a heretical group that preaches another gospel, and I have sufficient knowledge to talk to her about her false doctrines, but how do I get my emotions under control?
Questions about whether it’s okay to pray with a Christian who believes his words create things and how to be sure we don’t cross the line into performing sympathetic magic when engaging in spiritual warfare. * Would you have a problem praying with a Christian who believes his words create/manifest things? * How can we be sure we don’t cross the line into basically performing sympathetic magic when engaging in spiritual warfare?
Questions about why God requires sacrifice after sin, why God had to adhere to sin’s death penalty such that he had to devise a plan of substitutionary atonement, and how we’re able to grieve the Holy Spirit with our sin if God doesn’t see our sin. * Why does God require sacrifice after sin, and is Genesis 3:21 an example of this? * Why does sin have the power of death, and why did God have to adhere to sin’s death penalty such that he had to devise a plan of substitutionary atonement? * If God doesn’t see our sin because of the blood of Jesus, how are we still able to grieve the Holy Spirit when we sin?
Questions about how to respond to the pro-choice objections that unborn babies have no rights, that abortion is not a black or white issue, that other people having abortions won’t affect your life personally, and that abortion is a culture-war issue, not a biblical one. * How would you respond to the pro-choice objections that unborn babies have no rights, that abortion is not a black or white issue, and other people having abortions won’t affect my life personally? * Is abortion a culture-war issue, not a biblical one?
Questions about how to respond to the idea that anyone worthy of worship wouldn’t want it and anyone requiring worship doesn’t deserve it and whether it’s appropriate to do good deeds with the intent of earning a reward in Heaven. * How would you respond to the idea that anyone worthy of worship wouldn’t want it and anyone requiring worship doesn’t deserve it? * If our good deeds on earth earn us a reward in Heaven, is it appropriate to do such deeds with the intent of earning a reward in Heaven, or should our intent be focused on making a difference here on earth?
Questions about how to begin one’s journey to become an apologist and whether, in light of Jesus driving people who were buying and selling out of the temple in Matthew 21:12, it’s okay for speakers to sell their books in churches. * How do I begin my journey to become an apologist? * In light of Jesus driving people who were buying and selling out of the temple in Matthew 21:12, is it okay for speakers to sell their books in churches?
Questions about whether the view that Jesus didn’t know the time of his return because he limited his omniscience is the same as Open Theism, when Jesus became aware he was the Son of God, and whether Jesus wants to be “served.” * Is the view that Jesus didn’t know the time of his return because he limited his omniscience the same as Open Theism? How can God not know what he’s chosen not to know? * When did Jesus become aware he was the Son of God? * You really believe Jesus wants to be “served”?
Questions about how to explain God’s omnipresence to a six-year-old, how it could make sense for God to identify as male if the definition of “male” is rooted in biology, why the thief’s statement to Jesus on the cross got him into the kingdom, and a program for teaching logic.* How would you explain God’s omnipresence to a six-year-old? * If the definition of male and female is rooted in biology, how does it make sense for God to identify as male? * What is it in the statement the thief on the cross makes to Jesus in Luke 23:42 that triggers his entry into the kingdom? * What’s a good program to teach logic with a Christian flavor to high school students?
Questions about why God would harden Pharaoh’s heart against the Israelites and how to reconcile what modern science says about human nature being inherently good with the Bible’s claim that we’re born inherently evil.* Why would God harden Pharaoh’s heart against the Israelites? * Is there a way to reconcile what modern science says about our being born good with what the Bible says about our being born inherently evil?
Questions about whether the gospel would be good news if Hell didn’t exist and what to say to someone who responds to evidence for Christianity by saying, “The Bible’s bad for society,” and doesn’t seem to be interested in the evidence.* Would the gospel be good news if Hell didn’t exist? * What should I say to someone who responds to the evidence I offer for the truth of Christianity by saying, “The Bible’s bad for society,” and doesn’t seem to be interested in the evidence?
Questions about what questions to ask someone who claims to be a Christian but doesn’t seem to have true, saving faith and when to stop trying to convince someone who denies some essentials of the faith that he needs to be saved. * What questions could I ask someone who seemingly has a said faith rather than a true, saving faith? * At what point do I stop trying to convince my grandfather, who denies some essentials of the faith, that he needs to be saved?
Questions about whether Genesis 1–11 is historical or mytho-history, why Jesus referenced people “we know never existed” like Adam and Eve, Noah, and Moses, and whether there’s a method by which we can establish which things we can agree to disagree on.* Is Genesis 1–11 historical or mytho-history, and aren’t there significant theological implications if the Fall as described in the Bible didn’t happen? * Why did Jesus reference people we know never existed like Adam and Eve, Noah, and Moses? * Is there a standard method by which we can establish which things we can agree to disagree on and which things we can’t?
Questions about whether Numbers 12:6–9 indicates that people don’t always hear God clearly when he is speaking and how one should approach the staff of a Christian school that’s promoting mindful meditation and teaching “how to hear from God” using mystical methods.* Does Numbers 12:6–9 indicate that sometimes people don’t hear God clearly when he is speaking? * How would you approach the school staff at a Christian high school that’s promoting mindful meditation and teaching “how to hear from God” using mystical methods?
Questions about in what way Jesus has “overcome the world” (John 16:33) if we still have tribulation, suffering, and moral decay here and whether John’s falling in fear at Jesus’ feet in Revelation 1:13–18 indicates Jesus severed his personal, earthly relationship with John.* In what way has Jesus “overcome the world” (John 16:33) if we still have tribulation, suffering, and moral decay in many countries? * John was one of Jesus’ best friends, so why does he fall in fear at Jesus’ feet in Revelation 1:13–18? Has Jesus severed his personal, earthly relationship with John?
Questions about how Romans 13:3 can be true when some governments imprison and kill Christians and whether it’s better for high schoolers to go to a Christian school with hypocritical Christians or a public school where people reinforce an ungodly worldview.* How can Romans 13:3 be true when some governments imprison and kill Christians? * Is it better for high schoolers to go to a Christian school where hypocritical Christians are hurting their walk with the Lord or to go to a public school where people will reinforce an ungodly worldview?
Questions about how to explain the Trinity to a Muslim in a way that helps him understand the oneness of God, whether one could say the Trinity is similar to a person who has multiple personalities, and whether God ever demonstrates the virtues of hope and thankfulness. * How can I explain the Trinity to a Muslim in a way that helps him understand the oneness of God? * Could one explain the Trinity by saying it’s similar to a person who has multiple personalities? * God both encourages and demonstrates most virtues, but does God ever hope, and is he ever thankful?
Question about the greater message Jesus meant to convey when he healed the blind man at Bethsaida in two stages in Mark 8:22–26.* What greater message did Jesus mean to convey when he healed the blind man at Bethsaida in two stages in Mark 8:22–26?
Questions from non-believers about why we need to work so hard to defend Christianity if it’s true, whether we’re just pushing the truth we chose on others while keeping them from evaluating it, and how many other gods we ruled out when determining Christ is the one true God.* Why would you need to put all this work into apologetics if this were really the one truth? * If Christianity were true, would you have an apologetics website? * I don’t feel like your material brings me closer to truth; I feel like you’re picking truth without me and then making a profession out of cleverly keeping me from evaluating it. * In determining Christ is the one true God, how many others did you rule out?
Questions about how to handle being aware of people misusing Scripture or misunderstanding how God works during corporate prayer, whether Jesus’ followers would have understood his references to the cross and being crucified, and whether it’s sinful to debate extra-biblical speculations.* When praying corporately, how do I handle being aware of people misusing Scripture or misunderstanding how God works now that I’ve learned where they’re going wrong? * Would Jesus’ followers have understood his references to the cross and being crucified before it happened? * Is it sinful to think about or debate extra-biblical speculations about things like whether or not life exists on other planets?
Questions about whether miscarriage is manslaughter, the implications of removing explicit pro-transgender books from the children’s section of a library, and responding to an evolutionist who rejects Jesus because believing in creation would “add incoherence to the universe.” * If abortion is legally deemed to be murder, then shouldn’t miscarriages be considered manslaughter? * If we removed explicit pro-transgender and pro-homosexuality books from the children’s section of a library, wouldn’t we have to accommodate those asking for the removal of religious books? * What would you say to a friend who won’t follow Jesus because believing in creation would “add incoherence to the universe”?
Questions about whether God could reach a second-century Shinto monk who desired redemption and whether it’s possible for someone to put their faith in Jesus for salvation but not have eternal life because they weren’t chosen.* Could God reach a second-century Shinto monk who was dissatisfied with his religion and desired redemption? * Is it possible for someone to put their faith in Jesus for salvation and do their best to live a Christian life but not have eternal life because they weren’t chosen?
Questions about how to respond to a friend who says she doesn’t like the God of the Old Testament and is glad she has Jesus who forgives and whether Romans 1:26–28 indicates homosexuals are harder to reach with the gospel.* How would you respond to a friend who says she doesn’t like the God of the Old Testament (referring to the Levitical laws and God’s immediate discipline of those who break those laws) and is glad she has Jesus who forgives? * Does the “reprobate mind” referred to in Romans 1:26–28 refer specifically to homosexual acts or to sins in general? Does this passage mean homosexuals are harder to reach with the gospel?
Questions about how to show someone who thinks any spirit being is good that only Jesus is good and whether inner healing prayer is biblical.* How would you show someone who thinks any spirit being is good that only Jesus is good? * Is inner healing prayer biblical?
Questions about how to argue in favor of an “authorial intent” hermeneutic and why we don’t see more demon-possessed people today.* How would you argue in favor of an “authorial intent” hermeneutic as opposed to others? * Why don’t we see more demon-possessed people today?
Question about whether a person is at risk of losing her salvation if she repents daily from various eating disorders but still sins daily.* Am I at risk of losing my salvation if I repent daily from my various eating disorders but still sin daily?
Questions about whether God is more likely to answer prayer if more people pray, whether it’s biblical for a Christian to say he can “feel” someone’s prayers for him, and whether prayer is more effective if one prays at the particular time the event being prayed about is occurring.* Is God more likely to answer prayer if more people pray? * Is it biblical for a Christian to say he can “feel” someone’s prayers for him? * Is prayer more effective if you pray at the particular time the event you’re praying about is occurring?
Questions about what to say to coworkers who are convinced Christianity is factually true but are apathetic about actually becoming Christians and arguments for those with a Reformed view who think apologetics isn’t necessary and is a waste of time.* How do I do apologetics evangelistically, particularly for some coworkers who are convinced Christianity is factually true but are apathetic about actually becoming Christians? * What are some good arguments for those who think apologetics isn’t necessary and is a waste of time, especially for those with a Reformed view?
Questions about why Greg says that adding any adjective to the word “justice” corrupts it, whether a Christian should consider accepting an invitation to join the DEI committee at their workplace, and how a Christian can best serve as a DEI committee member.* What do you mean when you say, “Whenever you add any adjective to the word ‘justice,’ you corrupt it”? * Should a Christian consider accepting an invitation to join the DEI committee at their workplace, and how can a Christian best serve as a DEI committee member?
Questions about how people can praise Abraham for being willing to kill Isaac when God told him to and whether that account of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22 contradicts the idea that God won’t tell you to do anything that goes against his commands in Scripture. * How can people praise Abraham for being willing to kill Isaac to prove his devotion? If God told me to kill my son, I’d think this wasn’t the God for me. * Does the account of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22 contradict the idea that God won’t tell you to do anything that goes against his commands in Scripture?
Questions about whether Hebrews 1:5 indicates Jesus was created and the difference between the sinful way of testing God (e.g. Matthew 4:5–7) and the right way of testing him (e.g., Psalm 34:8 and John 7:17).* How should I respond to a Jehovah’s Witness who points to Hebrews 1:5 (“I have become your father,” in the New World Translation) as evidence Jesus was created? * Matthew 4 says it’s a sin to put God to the test, but isn’t there another sense in which we’re supposed to test him (e.g., Psalm 34:8 and John 7:17)? What’s the difference between the two?
Questions about how to reply when atheists respond to the evidence you offer by saying, “That’s not evidence,” and how Christians can say we have free will to choose God when we’re threatened with Hell if we don’t choose God.* How should I reply to atheists who respond to any evidence I offer by saying, “That’s not evidence”? * How can Christians say we have free will to choose God when we’re threatened with Hell if we don’t choose God?
Questions about how to talk to someone who claims to be a Christian, but doesn’t live like it, without pushing her away and what a church should do about a “married” LGBTQ couple that’s been attending.* How can I talk to my cousin, who claims to be a Christian but doesn’t live like it, without pushing her away? * What should my church be doing about a “married” LGBTQ couple that’s been attending?
Questions about the best way to talk to Mormon missionaries about their view of baptism and their belief that only they have the authority to baptize. * What’s the best way to talk to Mormon missionaries about their view of baptism and their belief that only they have the authority to baptize?
Questions about what Christians should think about the death penalty, how it can be moral if it’s not applied fairly across people groups, whether Matthew 6:25–34 is a promise given to all believers, and whether we should pray for friends who have died and were not believers.* What should Christians think about the death penalty? * How can capital punishment be moral when we know it’s not applied fairly across people groups and some innocent people have been sentenced to death? * Is Matthew 6:25–34 a promise given to all believers or just to the ones Jesus was speaking to? * Should we pray for friends who have died and were not believers?
Questions about whether deconversion is grounds for divorce, why non-Christians misuse the Lord’s name, whether the sower in the parable deliberately sowed seed upon the hard ground and into thorns and weeds, and the meaning of the parable of the foolish virgins.* If a spouse deconverts, is that grounds for separation or divorce? * Why do non-Christians say the Lord’s name in vain? * Do you believe the sower in the parable deliberately sowed seed upon the hard ground and into thorns and weeds, or was he just trying to fully cover the good soil? * Are the foolish virgins in the Matthew 25:1–13 parable faux believers or non-believers, and what does it mean to “be ready”?
Questions about why some passages about salvation in the New Testament (e.g., Matthew 25:31–46) seem to focus on works rather than trust in Jesus and whether the symmetry between Adam and Jesus described in Romans 5 indicates everyone will be saved from Hell.* Why are there so many passages in the New Testament that seem to focus on works rather than trust in Jesus when it comes to dividing the saved from the unsaved? * Doesn’t Matthew 25:31–46 sound like we’ll be saved by our deeds rather than grace? * Since Romans 5:18–19 talks about the symmetry between being condemned in Adam and righteous in Jesus, would that mean that just as we don’t opt into Adam’s sin, so we don’t opt into Jesus’ salvation, and therefore everyone will be saved from Hell?
Questions about whether there’s any issue with responding to “I’m a woman trapped in a man’s body” with “How do you know you’re not a man trapped in a woman’s mind” and how to respond to a meme that says God makes transsexuals so they can share in the act of creation.* Is there any issue with responding to “I’m a woman trapped in a man’s body” with “How do you know you’re not a man trapped in a woman’s mind?” * How should I respond to a meme that says, “God blessed me by making me transsexual for the same reason God made wheat but not bread and fruit but not wine—so that humanity might share in the act of creation.”
Questions about a response to the claim that Christians are not supposed to judge, what John 7:24 means when it says we are to “judge with righteous judgment,” and advice about how to choose between a few different ministry job offers.* Can you give a response to the claim that Christians are not supposed to judge and touch on what John 7:24 says about “judging with righteous judgment”? * Do you have any advice about how to choose between a few different ministry job offers?
Questions about why we should love and thank God for creating a world where pain and sin exist and then fixing it by sending his son.* Why should I love and thank God for creating a world where pain and sin exist and then fixing it by sending his son?
Questions about whether spending time defending Christianity in chat rooms where atheists and Christians debate is a worthy endeavor and whether it’s better to choose a church you agree with theologically or one that provides community.* Is spending time defending Christianity in chat rooms where atheists and Christians debate a worthy endeavor? * What are your thoughts on finding a church you agree with theologically versus finding one that provides community?
Question about how to respond to someone who says the laws of causality and logic depend on time, that there was an eternal singularity, and time and logic only began at the Big Bang.* How would you respond to someone who says the laws of causality and logic depend on time, that there was an eternal singularity, and time and logic only began at the Big Bang?
Questions about why God expects us to be perfectly moral if he doesn’t expect us to be omnipresent, omniscient, or omnipotent and tips for interacting with someone who asks a lot of questions but then wants a sound-bite answer.* If God doesn’t expect us to be omnipresent, omniscient, or omnipotent to gain eternal life, why does he expect us to be perfectly moral? * What are your tips for interacting with someone who asks a lot of questions but then wants a sound-bite answer?
Questions about how to respond to a meme that says, “If Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world, I doubt he sent you to,” and whether it’s common for God to prepare us for a specific purpose that never actually happens.* How would you respond to the meme stating, “If Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world, I doubt he sent you to”? * Is it common for God to prepare us for a specific purpose that never actually happens?
Questions about the biblical approach to deciding if eating meat is ethical and how much influence demons can have on our lives.* What’s the biblical approach to deciding if eating meat is ethical? * How much influence can demons have on our lives?
Question about how to respond to someone who dismisses the Bible’s divine authority on the grounds that it was “written by mere men” and “is a bunch of unreliable translations of translations of translations.” * How would you respond to someone who dismissed the Bible’s divine authority on the grounds that it was “written by mere men” and “is a bunch of unreliable translations of translations of translations”?
Question about whether praying an imprecatory prayer like Psalm 5 today would violate the New Testament commands to “put aside all anger,” to “forgive or you won’t be forgiven,” and to “bless and not curse.” * If imprecatory prayers like Psalm 5 are allowable today, how does that square with the command in Colossians 3:8 that we are to “put aside all anger,” the command to “forgive or you won’t be forgiven” in Matthew 6:15, and the command in Romans 12:14 to “bless and not curse”?
Question about why God killed so many people in the Old Testament if he’s a God of love.* If God is love, why did he kill so many people in the Old Testament?
Questions about how to respond to someone who says she would only consider Christianity if it weren’t patriarchal and had a goddess to worship and how a husband could persuade his wife, who is extremely pro-choice due to significant trauma, to see the truth of pro-life arguments.* How should one respond to someone’s assertion that she would only consider Christianity if it weren’t patriarchal and had a goddess for her to worship? * How can I persuade my wife to be pro-life when she’s extremely pro-choice due to significant trauma?
Questions about how someone in the Old Testament could have believed without first being regenerated and why the devil would need to blind anyone (as referred to in 2 Corinthians 4:3–4) if total depravity is true and people already aren’t able to choose God on their own.* How could someone in the Old Testament (or any time period) have believed without first being regenerated? * If total depravity is true in the sense of people being hardened and not being able to choose God without being changed prior to conversion, then why would the devil need to blind anyone as it says in 2 Corinthians 4:3–4?
Questions about whether Christians are obligated by Matthew 6:19 to meet in the most practical, economical space possible and whether playing music too beautifully during worship can actually become a distraction.* Are Christians obligated by Matthew 6:19 to meet in the most practical, economical space possible, or is it preferable to construct buildings like cathedrals that are outwardly beautiful and reflect God’s glory? * At what point does playing music beautifully during worship actually become a distraction?
Questions about why it’s said that Jesus was the first to rise from the dead if he already raised Lazarus and how to explain how Judaism and Christianity are related to someone who doesn’t know much beyond the fact that they’re two religions.* Why is it said that Jesus was the first to rise from the dead if he already raised Lazarus? * How would you explain how Judaism and Christianity are related to someone who doesn’t know much beyond the fact that they’re two religions?
Questions about what to read to take your apologetics knowledge up a notch, how to reconcile friends’ experiences encountering ghosts with what the Bible teaches, whether you should give charitably without taking a deduction on your taxes, and whether God has moods.* For those who have a good grasp of the basics of apologetics, what would you recommend reading to take things up a notch? * How can I reconcile friends’ experiences encountering ghosts in a house that was used in the Underground Railroad with the Bible’s teaching that dead people can’t come back to haunt the living? * Should I give charitably without taking a deduction on my taxes so “my left hand doesn’t know what my right hand is doing”? * What do you think of the idea that God has moods?
Question about the most important distinction one can make between Christianity and the Book of Mormon when talking to a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.* When ministering to a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, what’s the most important distinction I can make between Christianity and the Book of Mormon?
Questions about why Hebrews is included in the New Testament canon if the author is unknown and whether God won’t answer your prayers if you’re doubting he will.* If apostolic authority was an important factor in deciding which books to include in the New Testament canon as Scripture, then why was Hebrews included if the author is unknown? * I’m beginning to doubt the efficacy of prayer since so many of my prayers don’t seem to be answered. Will God now not answer my prayers if I’m doubting he will?
Questions about whether the fact that the apostles baptized people in Jesus’ name supports a oneness understanding of God and how to reconcile the laying on of hands to receive the Holy Spirit in Acts 8 with the idea that we receive the Holy Spirit simply by believing.* Does the fact that the apostles baptized people in Jesus’ name support a oneness understanding of God? * How can I reconcile the fact that the Samaritan believers in Acts 8 didn’t receive the Holy Spirit until the apostles laid hands on them with the idea that we receive the Holy Spirit simply by believing, as it says in Galatians 3:2?
Questions about why God’s rescue plan wasn’t more immediate and peaceful and whether God wants us to be gullible and doesn’t provide hard evidence as proof of his claims that he’s different from all the other false religions and charlatans out there.* Why wasn’t God’s rescue plan more immediate and peaceful? * Does God want us to be gullible? If he knows how many false religions, charlatans, and liars there are, why can’t he give us hard evidence as proof of his claims so he’ll stand out from the others?
Questions about how to respond to a friend’s enthusiastic news of a same-sex marriage, whether one should send a gift to a same-sex wedding, and whether there’s any merit to Christians withdrawing from “the world” and congregating together for the purpose of safety and shared community standards.* What’s a winsome way to respond to a relative or friend who enthusiastically tells you their child recently married in a same-sex marriage? * I won’t be attending my cousin’s same-sex wedding, but would not sending a gift be unnecessary and rude? * Is there any merit to Christians withdrawing from “the world” and congregating together in their own areas for the purpose of safety and having shared community standards?
Questions about whether the victims of a murderer who later accepts Christ will never receive justice for their suffering and whether or not it can be said a person is “forgiven” if the debt was fully paid by another.* If a murderer accepts Christ, then doesn’t that mean his victims will never receive justice for their suffering? * If Christ paid the price for our sin, then how can it be said we’re “forgiven” since the debt has been fully paid by another and the obligation has been fulfilled?
Questions about whether preventing a woman’s access to abortion violates her religious freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment, whether the fact that God doesn’t have parts now applies only to two persons of the Trinity, and what it means to seek the presence of God.* How should I respond to a Jewish person who claims that preventing her access to abortion in cases where her mental or physical health would be at risk is a violation of her religious freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment? * If God does not have parts, does the fact that Jesus is now forever incarnated in a glorified body mean that this aspect of theology proper now applies only to the other two persons of the Trinity? * What does it mean to seek the presence of God?
Questions about how to respond to someone who doesn’t see how Jesus could be God, who wants every question answered before believing Christianity is true, and how to keep from looking legalistic when sharing one’s faith on social media. * How would you respond to someone who doesn’t see how Jesus could be God and wants every question answered before he can fully commit to believing Christianity is true? * As I share my faith on Instagram, how can I respond to claims that standing on biblical truth amounts to legalism and also guard myself from real legalism?
Questions about how to decide which ministry or organization to donate to and whether one should support ministries and non-profits that do good work but treat their employees and volunteers horribly. * With all the ministries, organizations, and needs out there, if you had $100 to donate to something, how would you decide who to give it to? * What do you think about supporting ministries and non-profits that do good work but treat their employees and volunteers horribly?
Questions about how to decide which ministry or organization to donate to and whether one should support ministries and non-profits that do good work but treat their employees and volunteers horribly. * With all the ministries, organizations, and needs out there, if you had $100 to donate to something, how would you decide who to give it to? * What do you think about supporting ministries and non-profits that do good work but treat their employees and volunteers horribly?
Questions about how to decide which ministry or organization to donate to and whether one should support ministries and non-profits that do good work but treat their employees and volunteers horribly. * With all the ministries, organizations, and needs out there, if you had $100 to donate to something, how would you decide who to give it to? * What do you think about supporting ministries and non-profits that do good work but treat their employees and volunteers horribly?
Questions about why Jesus left earth and how it’s possible that two Christian leaders, who both have the Holy Spirit, can have a contradicting witness about whether or not one can lose one’s salvation. * Why did the historical Jesus supposedly leave earth? (The Jesus of the Gospels doesn’t seem to know this when questioned.) * How is it possible that two Christian teachers, who both have the Holy Spirit, can have a contradicting witness about whether or not one can lose one’s salvation?
Question about how a minister can comfort Christian families that have lost loved ones to suicide, are wrestling with thoughts that the suicide has resulted in a loved one possibly being a lost soul forever, and are close to walking away from God. * How can a minister comfort Christian families that have lost loved ones to suicide, are wrestling with thoughts that the suicide has resulted in a loved one possibly being a lost soul forever, and are close to walking away from God?
Questions about whether God is being a hypocrite when he commands us not to murder and then executes people himself and how a politically conservative Christian should respond to a medical school admission form that asks questions about political opinions. * Why is God a hypocrite, commanding us not to murder in Exodus 20:13 and then executing people in Isaiah 66:16? What kind of good leader says, “Do as I say, not as I do”? * What should someone who’s a Christian and a conservative do when filling out a form for medical school admission that asks questions about political opinions?
Questions about what to say to friends who have deconstructed and left the faith that will acknowledge their pain but also point them back to God and how to respond to someone who says Christians don’t think for themselves but only blindly follow. * What do I say to friends who have deconstructed and left the faith that will acknowledge their pain but also point them back to God? * How would you respond to someone who says that Christians don’t think for themselves but only blindly follow?
Questions about how to respond to someone who says the existence of good non-Christians is evidence that God isn’t required to live a satisfying, moral life, whether God can save someone convicted of treason, and when it’s time to leave a church that promotes itself more than it exalts God. * How do you respond to an atheist or agnostic young person who knows kind, loving non-Christians and believes that’s evidence that God isn’t required to be transformed to live a satisfying, moral life? * Can God save someone convicted of treason by the government? * When is it time to leave a church that spends more time promoting itself in the worship service than exalting God?
Questions about whether regeneration counters total depravity in the Reformed view and how it could be that we’ll truly love God when we’re in Heaven, where we can’t reject him, if real love requires the free will to reject him. * In the Reformed view, does regeneration counter total depravity, or is a regenerate person still totally depraved? * If we have free will to reject God because one cannot love someone without the choice to reject, wouldn’t we then not have the ability to truly love God in Heaven?
Questions about whether Christianity is only a brainwashing ritual involving rejection of the outside world, affirmation within the tribe, ritualistic chanting, etc. and whether denial of a biological man’s womanhood is comparable to an atheist denying someone’s belief in Christianity. * How do you respond to the claim that Christianity is only a brainwashing ritual, with rejection of the outside world, affirmation within the tribe, and ritualistic chanting in the form of prayer and worship music? * Is my denial of a biological man’s womanhood comparable to an atheist’s denial of my belief in Christianity?
Question about how we can know when commands and instructions given in the Bible are meant to apply to everyone and when they only apply to a specific people group at a specific time in history. * How do we know when commands and instructions given in the Bible are meant to apply to everyone and when they only apply to a specific people group at a specific time in history?
Questions about using a person’s preferred pronouns when we’re not sure of their biological sex and whether we should ask why our employer is requesting we use pronouns in our email signature in case the purpose is to help people who are unfamiliar with English names know what sex we are. * What should I do about using a person’s preferred pronouns when it’s not clear what that person’s sex actually is? * Since including pronouns may be helpful to immigrants who aren’t familiar with English names, if requested to include pronouns in an email signature, must we always ask why?
Questions about responding to the idea that God’s inability to change is an imperfection, why God loves us, and whether evil can “claim” a child. * If God is perfect, then he can’t change, but not being able to change is an imperfection, therefore God is not perfect. How would you respond? * Does God love me only because I’m in his image or because of my personality and who I am? * Can evil “claim” a child?
Questions about how to get into spiritual conversations with people and what to say to someone who says Jesus, the stories in the Bible, Heaven, etc. are all just metaphorical. * Greg’s tactics seem to be designed to react to something someone says, but how do you get into a conversation with someone to begin with? * What would you say to someone who says Jesus, the stories in the Bible, Heaven, etc. are all just metaphorical?
Questions about whether the Old Testament believers were regenerate, how the work of the Spirit is different in the New Testament, and why God didn’t explain the Trinity explicitly in Scripture. * Were Old Testament believers regenerate, and how is the work of the Spirit different in the New Testament? * I agree the Trinity best explains all the biblical data, but why didn’t God lay it out explicitly in Scripture?
Questions about how to determine which Christian moral principles should be made into laws and which shouldn’t and why Christ suffered a temporary punishment delivered by man while he was alive if the punishment for man’s sin is eternal and delivered by God after death. * Is there a clear principle that can be used to determine which Christian moral principles should be made into laws and which ones should be left out of the law? * If the punishment for man’s sin is eternal and delivered by God after death, why was the punishment Christ suffered temporary and delivered by man while he still lived?
Questions about how we ought to respond to the indefinite storage or death of human embryos after IVF, whether pregnant women should be able to use carpool lanes, and whether it follows that we ought to forgive Satan if we ought to forgive our enemies. * If life begins at conception, and all life is valuable, how do we respond to those who create human embryos and then leave them to die or remain in storage indefinitely following IVF? * Should pregnant women be able to use carpool lanes since their unborn babies are separate individuals? * If Jesus commanded us to forgive our enemies, does it follow that we are to forgive Satan?
Questions about how to respond to someone who refuses to accept the gospel because it would mean a loved one has likely gone to Hell, why we should think animals have souls, and how to differentiate between true Christian love and an indifference to social and political issues that are harming our communities. * How do you respond to someone who refuses to accept the gospel because it would mean their deceased loved one has likely gone to Hell? * Can you explain how you reached the conclusion that animals have souls? * How can we differentiate between true Christian love and an indifference to social and political issues that are harming our communities?
Question about what the Old Testament says about the nature and role of the Messiah and whether it leaves open the option that Jesus is God and a man can die for our sins. * In light of hearing a Jewish person say he isn’t a Christian because he doesn’t believe Jesus is God or that a man can die for our sins, what does the Old Testament say about the nature and role of the Messiah that the Jews are/were waiting for?
Questions about how to respond to someone who claims Jesus never taught against homosexuality, who also doesn’t consider anything outside the Gospels to be authoritative, and advice for befriending a lesbian couple without appearing to condone their lifestyle. * How should I respond to a friend who claims Jesus never taught against homosexuality and who also doesn’t consider anything outside the Gospels to be authoritative? * Any advice for befriending a lesbian couple without appearing to condone their lifestyle?
Questions about how to respond to someone who claims Jesus never taught against homosexuality, who also doesn’t consider anything outside the Gospels to be authoritative, and advice for befriending a lesbian couple without appearing to condone their lifestyle. * How should I respond to a friend who claims Jesus never taught against homosexuality and who also doesn’t consider anything outside the Gospels to be authoritative? * Any advice for befriending a lesbian couple without appearing to condone their lifestyle?
Questions about whether we should pretend to have a greater degree of conviction than we actually have in order to make our arguments more persuasive and whether the uptick in violence is a purely spiritual problem or is also related to other ideologies and practices in our society. * Should I pretend to have a strong degree of conviction I do not actually have on a matter in order to make my arguments more persuasive? * Is the uptick in violence and brutality in our society a purely spiritual problem with purely spiritual solutions, or do psychology, sociology, criminology, etc. have something to contribute to the solution?
Questions about whether we should pretend to have a greater degree of conviction than we actually have in order to make our arguments more persuasive and whether the uptick in violence is a purely spiritual problem or is also related to other ideologies and practices in our society. * Should I pretend to have a strong degree of conviction I do not actually have on a matter in order to make my arguments more persuasive? * Is the uptick in violence and brutality in our society a purely spiritual problem with purely spiritual solutions, or do psychology, sociology, criminology, etc. have something to contribute to the solution?
Questions about how Jews attained righteousness before Christ and what Romans 9:32 means when it says the Jews “did not pursue [righteousness] by faith, but as though it were by works.” * What does Romans 9:32 mean when it says the Jews “did not pursue [righteousness] by faith, but as though it were by works,” and how did Jews attain righteousness before Christ?
Questions about how Jews attained righteousness before Christ and what Romans 9:32 means when it says the Jews “did not pursue [righteousness] by faith, but as though it were by works.” * What does Romans 9:32 mean when it says the Jews “did not pursue [righteousness] by faith, but as though it were by works,” and how did Jews attain righteousness before Christ?
Questions about how a teen can reveal and defend her belief in the Trinity and leave her Oneness church and whether church memberships that exclude people living a homosexual lifestyle create a two-class system contrary to Jesus’ strategy of hanging out with sinners. * How do I, as a teen, reveal and defend my currently hidden Trinitarian belief to my Oneness parent and church friends and leave their church? * Do church memberships that exclude people living a homosexual lifestyle create a two-class system contrary to Jesus’ strategy of hanging out with sinners?
Questions about how a teen can reveal and defend her belief in the Trinity and leave her Oneness church and whether church memberships that exclude people living a homosexual lifestyle create a two-class system contrary to Jesus’ strategy of hanging out with sinners. * How do I, as a teen, reveal and defend my currently hidden Trinitarian belief to my Oneness parent and church friends and leave their church? * Do church memberships that exclude people living a homosexual lifestyle create a two-class system contrary to Jesus’ strategy of hanging out with sinners?
Questions about what to ask pastors and other church leaders when looking for a new church. * What questions would you ask pastors and other church leaders when looking for a new church?
Questions about what to ask pastors and other church leaders when looking for a new church. * What questions would you ask pastors and other church leaders when looking for a new church?
Questions about how to reconcile the unexpectedness of Christ’s second coming with passages that advise believers to pay attention to the signs of the times, why Christ hasn’t yet returned after 2,000 years, and whether a person who has died experiences time as a disembodied spirit. * How can we reconcile the unexpectedness of Christ’s second coming spoken of in 1 Thessalonians 5:2 with other passages that advise believers to pay attention to the signs of the times? * Though many early Christians thought Christ would return in their lifetimes, it’s been 2,000 years, so where is he? * When a person dies, is that person experiencing time as a disembodied spirit?
Questions about how to reconcile the unexpectedness of Christ’s second coming with passages that advise believers to pay attention to the signs of the times, why Christ hasn’t yet returned after 2,000 years, and whether a person who has died experiences time as a disembodied spirit. * How can we reconcile the unexpectedness of Christ’s second coming spoken of in 1 Thessalonians 5:2 with other passages that advise believers to pay attention to the signs of the times? * Though many early Christians thought Christ would return in their lifetimes, it’s been 2,000 years, so where is he? * When a person dies, is that person experiencing time as a disembodied spirit?
Questions about what approach to take with a professing Christian who is radically pro-choice and has rejected pro-life arguments, considering it all to be a matter of opinion. * What approach would you take with a professing Christian who is radically pro-choice and has rejected pro-life arguments, considering it all to be a matter of opinion?
Questions about what approach to take with a professing Christian who is radically pro-choice and has rejected pro-life arguments, considering it all to be a matter of opinion. * What approach would you take with a professing Christian who is radically pro-choice and has rejected pro-life arguments, considering it all to be a matter of opinion?
Questions about the ideology behind pro-prostitution advocates’ argument that using your body to do work in other jobs is the same as selling your body in prostitution and how to get through to a small group of young men who are addicted to pornography and have largely accepted it as normal. * What’s the ideology behind pro-prostitution advocates’ argument that prostitution is just like any other kind of work one uses one’s body to do, and how do we refute this? * What can I do to get through to my small group of young men who are addicted to pornography and have largely accepted it as normal?
Questions about how one can handle persistent feelings of guilt over past sins that remain despite repentance and forgiveness in Christ and how to help someone overcome her doubt that God can love her. * How can one handle persistent feelings of guilt over past sins that remain despite repentance and forgiveness in Christ? * What can I do to help my partner overcome her doubt that God can love her?
Questions about why it’s okay to have plastic surgery to alter your appearance but wrong to have surgery to alter your sex, whether a tactical, winsome approach is still viable in a non-civil culture, and whether the time for winsome Christianity has passed. * How is claiming to be a different gender different from claiming to be a blonde if you dye your hair, and why is it okay to have plastic surgery to alter your appearance but wrong to have surgery to alter your sex? * Can a tactical, “winsome” approach still be viable in such a non-civil culture? * Has the time for “winsome” Christianity passed, and is it now time for a more direct, hard-edged approach?
Questions about whether it’s possible God doesn’t create souls for those who won’t be born due to miscarriage, abortion, etc. and how to respond to someone who says, “An egg is not a chicken, so an embryo is not a human.” * Are souls individually created by God at conception, and if so, is it possible he doesn’t create souls for those who won’t be born due to miscarriage, abortion, etc.? * How would you respond to someone who says, “An egg is not a chicken, so an embryo is not a human”?
Questions about why the unity of the Bible would be evidence of divine authorship and whether one can say proverbs are suggestions, not commands, since they’re principles, not promises. * Why does the unity of the Bible qualify as part of the evidence that the Bible has a divine author? * Since proverbs are principles and not promises, can we say they’re suggestions and not commands?
Questions about how to respond to an employer who asks why you’re not wearing the pride pin he gave you to wear and whether 1 Peter 3:15 is about hope in times of suffering rather than apologetics. * How should one respond to an employer who asks why you’re not wearing the pride pin he gave you to wear on your lanyard? * Isn’t 1 Peter 3:15 about hope in times of suffering rather than apologetics?
Questions about how we determine which books are divinely inspired and how to explain inerrancy to a skeptic. * How do we determine which books are divinely inspired and which are not? * How do you explain inerrancy to a skeptic?
Questions about whether the fact that God gave the Hebrew midwives families because they feared him indicates that childlessness is a sign of not fearing God enough and whether it’s a genetic fallacy to point out the eugenics philosophy of the founder of Planned Parenthood when arguing against abortion. * Since God gave the Hebrew midwives families because they feared him, does my childlessness mean my husband and I aren’t fearing God enough? * Is it a genetic fallacy to point out the eugenics philosophy of Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, when arguing against abortion?
Questions about why it matters to Christians that Jesus was raised bodily and isn’t just living on as a spirit and whether Jesus had a fallen body while here on earth. * Why does it matter to Christians that Jesus was raised bodily and doesn’t just live on as a spirit? * Did Jesus have a fallen body while here on earth?
Question about making a case against homosexuality and transgenderism to non-believers who do not trust the Bible. * How can I justify making a biblical case against homosexuality and transgenderism to non-believers who do not trust the Bible?
Questions about whether it’s a sin to get a job for extra money instead of volunteering one’s time to help others and a biblical response to the phrase “I don’t want to put the Holy Spirit in a box.” * Would it be a sin to get a job for extra money instead of volunteering my time to help others? * What’s a good biblical response to the phrase “I don’t want to put the Holy Spirit in a box”?
Questions about whether we should patronize businesses that collide with our moral beliefs, promote the LGBTQ lifestyle, or pay for employees to travel to other states for abortions and why God makes us with certain desires if he calls those desires sin. * As a Christian, should I patronize businesses that collide with my moral beliefs, and what about businesses that have homosexual and transgender employees? * Do I have a moral obligation as a Christian to not go to Disney World because of how they promote the LGBTQ lifestyle? * How do I, as a minister, help people wrestle with concerns about doing business with companies that openly pay for employees to travel to other states for abortions? * Why does God make us with certain desires if he calls those desires sin?
Questions about why Jesus said it would have been better if Judas had not been born, the biblical definition of justice, and whether it’s “unloving” to point out the false teachings of a TV evangelist in a roundtable discussion at a church. * Why did Jesus say it would have been better if Judas had not been born, when his betrayal of Jesus was a necessary step for the salvation of mankind? * What is the biblical definition of justice? * Was it “unloving” when I pointed out the false teachings of a TV evangelist when his ideas were advanced in a roundtable discussion in our church?
Questions about how to respond to someone who says adhering to biblical inerrancy, studying Scripture, seeking to obey the Word, and adhering to its core truths is “bibliolatry” and how to explain the differences in the Gospel accounts to young children. * What would you say to someone who thinks adhering to biblical inerrancy, studying Scripture, seeking to obey the Word, and adhering to its core truths is “bibliolatry”? * What suggestions or perspective can you give for helping me explain the differences in the Gospel accounts to my young sons?
Questions about how to use the topic of natural rights with someone who believes in them to discuss the existence of God, and whether the saying that “we come from God, and we will go back to God” is an accurate statement or just a form of “mindism.” * How would you use the topic of natural rights to discuss the existence of God with someone who believes good and evil (and natural rights) exist but does not believe they have divine origins? * Is the saying that “we come from God, and we will go back to God” an accurate statement, or is it just a form of “mindism”?
Questions about whether naturalism necessarily leads to moral relativism and the ways naturalists try to ground objective morality. * Does naturalism necessarily lead to moral relativism, and what are some ways naturalists try to claim objective morality?
Question about how to reconcile the fact that there are things one can only know through experience with the idea that truth can be known apart from a person’s experiences. * “Woke” culture says, “Only I can know this because of my lived experience,” which seems to contradict the idea that truth can be known apart from those experiences, but I also find myself experiencing things and learning things as a parent that I couldn’t have otherwise known, so how do we reconcile this with the idea of objective, publicly accessible truth?
Questions about how we can know Jesus is the Messiah when so many Jews claim passages such as Isaiah 53 and Isaiah 7:14 are not Messianic prophecies and what appropriate comfort a Christian can offer at a funeral when a non-Christian passes. * How can we know Jesus is the Messiah when so many Jews claim passages such as Isaiah 53 and Isaiah 7:14 are not Messianic prophesies? * What is appropriate comfort a Christian can offer at a funeral when a non-Christian passes?
Questions about why some Bible versions include Matthew 17:21 and part of Mark 9:29 and some don’t and how Jesus’ instruction not to hinder someone casting out demons in his name applies to the situation with the sons of Sceva in Acts. * Can you explain why some Bible versions include Matthew 17:21 and part of Mark 9:29 and some don’t? * How does Jesus’ instruction not to hinder someone casting out demons in his name in Luke 9:49–50 apply to the situation with the sons of Sceva in Acts 19:13–16?
Questions about why abortion is controversial if aborted fetuses go to Heaven and whether Americans will become largely pro-life after Roe v. Wade is reversed since they tend to connect legality with morality. * Do aborted fetuses, no matter the stage of embryonic development, go to Heaven, and if so, what’s the controversy? * Will Americans become largely pro-life after Roe v. Wade is reversed since they tend to connect legality with morality?
Question about the idea that you’re not being unfaithful to reality by using someone’s preferred pronouns since those pronouns correspond to the person’s actual gender identity. * How would you respond to the idea that you’re not being unfaithful to reality by using a preferred pronoun because that is the pronoun that corresponds to the person’s actual gender identity?
Questions about why God didn’t answer prayers for guidance regarding a major life decision and whether there’s evidence that God is more likely to say yes to a prayer request made while fasting. * When facing a major life decision, I prayed daily for guidance and for the Holy Spirit to order my steps, but I didn’t get an answer, and my decision turned out to be the wrong one. Why? * Is there evidence (biblical or extra-biblical) that God is more likely to say yes to a prayer request made while fasting, and if not, then why fast?
Questions about how God can be omniscient about never-ending future events, whether the salvation of a man who comes to Christ after being dramatically changed by a brain injury “counts,” and whether one should feel at peace dating another believer who differs on whether or not one can lose one’s salvation. * Since our time in Heaven will be endless, how can God be omniscient, knowing everything that will happen, when there isn’t a finite amount of knowledge to be known? * If a cruel, abusive man becomes kind and gentle and comes to Christ after a traumatic brain injury, which is the real version of him, and does his salvation “count”? * Should I feel at peace dating another believer who differs with me on whether or not one can lose one’s salvation?
Questions about why pro-lifers don’t support making everything that has to do with having and raising a baby free if the movement is really about babies and whether there are times when Christians should use rhetoric as a tool of persuasion. * If the movement to ban abortion were really about babies, wouldn’t pro-lifers support making everything involving babies free (prenatal care, delivery, medical care, and schooling)? * Are there times when Christians should use rhetoric as a tool in a situation where giving a detailed answer wouldn’t have as powerful an impact?
Questions about what to say to someone who says he “believes in science, not God” and how to respond to the slogan “Love Is Love” without using the Bible. * How would you respond to someone who says he “believes in science, not God”? * How would you respond to the slogan “Love Is Love” without using the Bible?
Question about what the Bible has to say about the eternal destiny of people who never got the chance to know the God of the Bible and had no access to the salvation message. * What does the Bible have to say about the eternal destiny of people who never got the chance to know the God of the Bible and had no access to the salvation message?
Questions about whether there are scriptural explanations for why people don’t think God exists other than that they’re “suppressing the truth in unrighteousness” and how to make the case for apologetics to a pastor who uses 1 Corinthians 2 to argue against it. * Are there scriptural explanations for why some people don’t accept the existence of God other than that they’re “suppressing the truth in unrighteousness” or “fools saying in their hearts there is no God”? * How can we make a case for apologetics to a pastor who uses 1 Corinthians 2 to say it isn’t necessary and we should only be sharing the simple gospel?
Questions about piquing the interest of teenage daughters who believe the resurrection probably happened but don’t really care and whether a parent should speak up when a student in his fifth-grader’s class is handing out pro-gay stickers. * How can I pique the interest of my two teenage daughters who say they believe the resurrection probably really happened but that they don’t really care? * Should I speak up about a student in my fifth-grader’s class handing out pro-gay stickers?
Questions about whether God is against certainty because it breeds arrogance, the difference between fearing God and living in fear, and why Solomon, who was given wisdom by God, had so many wives. * What are your thoughts on someone who says that since God so clearly values humility, then he wouldn’t expect certainty from us because that would breed arrogance? * What’s the difference between fearing God and living in fear? * If God gave Solomon wisdom, then why did he have so many wives?
Questions about why Paul circumcised Timothy in Acts 16:1–3 after the judgment against requiring circumcision was given by the Council of Jerusalem and whether it’s wrong for Christians to expect other Christians to work for free since it’s “for the Lord.” * Why did Paul circumcise Timothy in Acts 16:1–3 after the judgment against requiring circumcision was given by the Council of Jerusalem? * Is it wrong for fellow Christians to expect me to work for free since it’s “for the Lord”?
Questions about how to engage someone who calls himself an “agnostic atheist” and how to deal with a parent contradicting you with heretical theology while you’re teaching students in a confirmation class. * What tactical questions would you ask to engage someone who calls himself an “agnostic atheist”? * How would you deal with a parent contradicting you with heretical theology while you’re teaching students in a confirmation class?
Questions about good ways to share the gospel with an animist or Buddhist, whether the mark of the beast could be a microchip, and whether a Christian could take the mark unwittingly. * What are some good ways to share the gospel with an animist or Buddhist? * Do you think the mark of the beast could be a microchip and that a Christian could actually take the mark unwittingly?
Questions about whether it’s possible to go your whole life without sinning, why God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden, and how to “take the roof off” the claim that beauty is not objective. * Does Romans 9:11 lead to the conclusion that it’s possible to go your whole life without sinning if you try hard enough? * Why would God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden in the first place? * How would you “take the roof off” the claim that beauty is not objective?
Question about whether continuous sins of omission indicate that a person is actually unrepentant and not truly regenerate. * Do continuous sins of omission mean you’re actually unrepentant and your heart is not truly regenerate?
Questions about how a soldier in combat can reconcile killing his enemy with God’s command to love our enemies and whether or not it’s okay to pray for angels to be with and protect people. * How ought a soldier in combat to conduct himself in order to reconcile the directive to kill his enemy with God’s commandment to love and do good to those who hurt him? * What do you think about praying for angels to be with and protect people?
Questions about how Christians should approach the arguments in Richard Dawkins’s book The God Delusion and how to respond to the claims that the New Testament Gospels are flawed and unreliable and that Christianity isn’t based in science. * How should Christians approach the arguments in Richard Dawkins’s The God Delusion? * How should I respond to the claim that the New Testament Gospels are flawed and unreliable? * How should I respond to the objection that Christianity isn’t based in science?
Questions about how to respond to someone who says, “But this is who I am,” and who feels their existence is being invalidated by the Christian view of sexuality and whether Paul was wrong to encourage Christians to remain unmarried because “the time was short.” * How would you respond to someone who says, “But this is who I am,” and who feels like you’re invalidating their existence when you explain the Christian view on gender, sexuality and lifestyles? * Considering how long it’s been since Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, was he right to say the time was short and to encourage Christians to remain single rather than get married and build Christian families over the centuries?
Questions about whether the heresy of modalism prevents salvation and whether the greetings in the apostles’ letters that don’t reference the Holy Spirit are evidence the early church didn’t teach the Holy Spirit is a person. * Is modalism a heresy that prevents followers from being saved, and if so, what is it about it that is spiritually fatal to salvation, and what about those who don’t know it’s a heresy? * Do the greetings in the apostles’ letters that don’t include references to the Holy Spirit count against the idea that the early church taught the Holy Spirit is a person?
Questions about using the services of a Christian photographer who took professional photos for a divorce mediator, what is being symbolized by Jesus washing the disciples’ feet in John 13, and whether it’s okay to live with a member of the opposite sex if you’re not sexually active. * Should I not use the services of a Christian photographer who took professional photos for a divorce mediator? * What is being symbolized by Jesus washing the disciples’ feet in John 13, and what does he mean when he says we should wash one another’s feet? * Is it okay to live with a member of the opposite sex if we’re not sexually active?
Questions about whether it’s morally okay to join and pay dues to an organization that supports abortion in order to influence the organization, whether the verse that says people from “every nation” will be in Heaven includes the Canaanites, and how to respond to someone who says sexuality doesn’t need to be understood, just accepted. * Is it morally okay to join and pay dues to an advocacy organization that also supports abortion in order to influence the people and the organization? * Does the statement in Revelation 7:9 that says people “from every nation, tribe, people, and language” will be in Heaven include Canaanites, Hittites, Jebusites, etc.? * How would you respond to the claim “Sexuality isn’t something we need to understand; sexuality is something we need to accept.”
Questions about whether it’s okay for a Christian in prison to disobey the rules against fighting in order to protect himself, whether Jesus raised himself from the dead or was raised, if manna was really sap from the tamarisk tree, and the possibility of becoming a different kind of “soil” in terms of the parable of the soils. * Would it be wrong to tell an incarcerated Christian convert that it’s okay to disobey the prison rules against fighting in order to protect himself? * Did Jesus raise himself from the dead, or was he raised from the dead? * Was the manna from Heaven a miraculous event, or was it sap from the tamarisk tree? * Regarding the parable of the soils, can someone start as one type of soil but become another type later in their life?
Questions about whether logic and reasoning aren’t immaterial because they’re activities of a physical brain and whether the fact that some people have a “blind mind’s eye” counters the claim that the mind’s ability to visualize images is evidence for the existence of a non-physical self. * How would you respond to someone who claims logic and reasoning aren’t immaterial because they’re activities of a physical brain? * Does the fact that some people have a “blind mind’s eye” (aphantasia) effectively counter the claim that the mind’s ability to visualize images is evidence for the existence of a non-physical self?
Questions about the biblical position on physician-assisted suicide, whether Christians should say that “God is faithful” when he gives them what they asked for, and whether it’s okay to put Christian books into the little libraries people have on their property. * What’s the biblical position on physician-assisted suicide? * Christians say that “God is faithful” when he gives them what they prayed for, but isn’t God always faithful? * Do you think it’s okay to put Christian books into those little libraries people put on their property, and if so, which books do you think would be the most likely to be noticed and read?
Questions about whether it’s arrogant for people who believe in God to say they know for sure that God exists and the best way to explain the Trinity to a child. * Is it arrogant for people who believe in God to say they know for sure that God exists? * What is the best way to explain the Trinity to a child?
Questions about what topics to cover when presenting an apologetics series in a church and how to handle addressing people’s doubts in an apologetics class when discussing them can confuse others and cause more doubts. * What 4–6 topics would you recommend I cover in an apologetics series in my church? * In apologetics meetings at my church, some members are helped by publicly talking about doubts and core questions, and some find these same discussions confusing and even doubt-inducing. How can one deal with this in a proper way?
Questions about how to make the case that the Bible is the Word of God and how we can be “anxious for nothing,” as the Bible commands, when we know God allows bad things to happen to us. * How can we make the case that the Bible is the Word of God? * The Bible tells us to be anxious for nothing, but how can we not be anxious and stressed when we know God allows plenty of bad things to happen to us?
Questions about why Abraham is considered to be a great man of faith when God gave him so much evidence of his existence and a response to the idea that a person’s salvation is questionable because his faith is “all head and little heart.” * Since God appeared to Abraham several times, it seems he had more evidence than most to trust God, so why is he considered to be a great man of faith? * What do you think about people questioning my salvation because my faith seems to them to be “all head and little heart”?
Questions about how Greg can say something is evil “in itself” if evil is only a lack of good, how Jesus could have had a fully-human experience if he never doubted, and whether all bad things that happen to us are spiritual attacks. * How can Greg say something is evil “in itself” if evil is only a lack of good? * How could Jesus have had a fully-human experience if he never doubted God’s existence, never struggled to hear from God, and never grieved as he wondered if he’d see a loved one again? * Are all negative and bad things that happen to us spiritual attacks?
Questions about whether science can test supernatural worldviews and how to respond to the claim that the Bible isn’t against abortion since it contains a command to execute adulterous women without checking to make sure they’re not pregnant. * Can science test supernatural worldviews? If so, how? If not, why not? * How would you respond to the claim that the Bible isn’t against abortion since it contains a command to execute adulterous women without any provision to find out if they’re pregnant.
Questions about how you can know if something you’re doing is a sin, what the author of Ecclesiastes meant when he said, “There is nothing new under the sun,” and whether the possibility that Moses was a lunatic or liar brings the whole Tanakh and New Testament into doubt. * How do you know if something you’re doing is a sin? * Since there are new things every day, what did the author of Ecclesiastes mean when he said, “There is nothing new under the sun”? * If Moses could have been a lunatic/liar, does that start a chain reaction that brings the Tanakh and the New Testament into doubt?
Questions about why God would create animals and allow them to experience so much suffering and whether Christians should be content and accept their circumstances without fighting back no matter what. * Why would God create animals and allow them to experience so much suffering and gruesome deaths? * Should Christians be content and accept their circumstances no matter what, or are there times when they ought to fight back?
Questions about what to do if someone feels ashamed because he can’t answer the first Columbo question and whether there there are arguments we can use for God’s existence based on our experience of the transcendent when we create things or watch a great performance. * What if someone feels ashamed because he can’t answer the first Columbo question, “What do you mean by that?” * Are there any arguments we can use for God’s existence based on our experience of the transcendent and the desires we feel when we create things or watch a great performance?
Questions about whether Revelation 2:1–7 and Colossians 1:21–23 can be reconciled with a belief in “once saved, always saved.” * I’ve always believed “once saved, always saved,” but passages like Revelation 2:1–7 seem to say overwise. What am I missing? * How does one reconcile Colossians 1:21-23a with the teaching of “once saved, always saved”?
Questions about why one should conclude the beginning of the universe points to God rather than another explanation and whether logic is created or an aspect of God’s character. * Why conclude the beginning of the universe points to the Christian God rather than one of the other explanations people offer? * Is logic an aspect of God’s character, or is it a created dimension he is not bound by?
Greg responds to a request to hear his list of “pastorisms,” sayings Christians commonly repeat that have some truth to them but can be misleading. * Can Greg share his list of “pastorisms”?
Questions about whether intersex people get to decide what gender they are and whether or not that indicates gender is a matter of identity rather than biology and whether physical damage to our bodies could prevent us from experiencing a “sense of God.” * Do intersex people get to decide what gender they are, and if so, does that indicate gender is a matter of identity and not biology? * Since our spirits and bodies affect each other, could physical damage to our bodies prevent us from experiencing a “sense of God”?
Questions about whether saying a woman should stay pregnant is a body violation equal to rape and how someone whose emotional doubt causes him to struggle with trusting God can turn his distrust into trust. * How would you respond to a pro-choice person who says that saying a woman who is pregnant through consensual sex should stay pregnant is a body violation equal to rape? * How can someone whose emotional doubt causes him to struggle with trusting God’s control over his circumstances turn his distrust into trust?
Questions about whether praying once in faith for something is better than repeatedly requesting the same thing and how to read and apply psalms like Psalm 91 that say God will save us from “deadly pestilence” and other kinds of suffering. * Is praying once in faith for something and leaving it with God better than repeatedly raising up the same requests? * How should I read and apply psalms like Psalm 91 that say God will save us from “deadly pestilence” and other kinds of suffering?
Questions about whether it’s appropriate for us to cast lots in order to know God’s will today as the apostles did when they replaced Judas and whether the fact that Romans 3 references various psalms should change how we interpret those psalms today. * Was it necessary to cast lots to decide who should replace Judas, and is it ever appropriate to do something similar today? * Does the fact that Romans 3:9–20 has several references to psalms change how we read or interpret those psalms now that they’re part of Romans?
Questions about how to put a stone in the shoes of coworkers who blaspheme constantly and whether it’s reasonable to think Jesus only had 120 followers before Pentecost. * What’s a winsome way I can put a stone in the shoes of coworkers who blaspheme constantly to get them thinking about what they’re doing when they take the Lord’s name in vain? * Is it reasonable to assume that the 120 gathered in the upper room in Acts 1:15 were the only followers of Jesus at that point in time before Pentecost?
Questions about whether looking at pornography is the same thing as committing adultery (and therefore grounds for divorce) and whether hate crime laws, which define crimes based on the mind of the criminal, are different from other laws that determine the severity of a crime based on intent. * Is looking at pornography the same thing as committing adultery and therefore grounds for divorce? * If you’re against hate crime legislation because it defines crime based on what’s in the mind of the criminal, how is that different from laws that determine the severity of a crime based on the criminal’s intent (like murder vs. manslaughter)?
Questions about how to lovingly explain to someone that you will not be using their pronouns and how to explain to an employer that you will not be announcing your pronouns. * How can I lovingly explain to someone that I will not be using their pronouns? * How can I explain to my employer that I will not be announcing my pronouns?
Questions about whether atheism can be called a worldview and whether the idea of avoiding doing something “in your own strength” is a biblical concept and how one can tell if that’s happening. * How can you call atheism a worldview? Do you think “non-stamp-collecting” is a hobby? * Is the idea of avoiding doing something “in your own strength” a biblical concept, and how can I tell if I’m doing something “in my own strength”?
Questions about why God doesn’t destroy Satan now, Christians acting in scenes that contain R-rated elements, responding to someone who says, “God’s working on me,” and handling situations where people who ignore God’s standards have better lives than Christians who are trying to live for Christ. * Since Satan is real and creates such pain, suffering, and havoc in the world, why doesn’t God simply destroy him now? * In the secular movie industry, how should Christians respond when requested to act in scenes that have R-rated language, nudity, sex, etc.? * How would you respond to someone who says, “God’s working on me,” without any evidence to show for it? * How do you handle situations where loved ones, who aren’t acting like Christians, have lives that are going well, while you’re trying to live for Christ but are struggling financially and are alone?
Questions about how to know when we should fight evil and when we should resign ourselves to God’s judgment and how far we should go to end suffering through technological or financial means. * How do we know when to fight the evil we see around us and when to just resign ourselves to God’s judgment? * How far should we go to end or lessen suffering through technological or financial means (CRISPR, IVF, etc.)?
Questions about whether Hell is unjust because it doesn’t seek people’s rehabilitation and how to respond to someone who says we’re morally obligated as a society to have fewer children in order to reduce our carbon footprint. * Since justice should be restorative, providing the hope of rehabilitation, the concept of Hell is unfair. * How would you respond to someone who says we’re morally obligated as a society to have fewer children in order to reduce our carbon footprint?
Questions about whether the parable of the rich man and Lazarus teaches that Lazarus went to Heaven because of his poverty and how to respond when someone refuses to answer Columbo questions. * Does the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19–31 teach that Lazarus went to Heaven because of his poverty? * How should we respond when someone refuses to answer Columbo questions?
Questions about responding to someone who says a literal interpretation of the Bible led him to believe Arianism is true and how to respond when you hear people express bad theology. * How would you respond to someone who says a literal interpretation of the Bible led him to believe Arianism is true? * How do you respond when you hear people express bad theology?
Questions about whether it’s okay for Christians to read the writings of other religions in order to gain a better understanding of the people they’re evangelizing and whether a Christian who witnesses to Mormons should read the Book of Mormon. * Is it ever okay for Christians to read the writings of other religions in order to gain a better understanding of the people they’re evangelizing? * Should a Christian who witnesses to Mormons read the Book of Mormon in order to know what their book says?
Questions about how Christ’s “momentary ordeal” could equal the continuous torment of sinners for eternity and how the sun could have stopped shining while Jesus was on the cross when there couldn’t have been a solar eclipse that day. * How does Christ’s “momentary ordeal” equal the continuous torment of sinners for eternity? * How is it that the sun stopped shining while Jesus was on the cross when there couldn’t have been a solar eclipse that day?
Question about how to respond to someone who thinks we won’t recognize our loved ones in the afterlife because if we were to remember this life, then we would feel sadness in Heaven. * How do I respond to a friend who thinks we won’t recognize our loved ones in the afterlife because if we were to remember this life, then we would feel sadness in Heaven?
Questions about whether it’s a better apologetics tactic to begin with Jesus’ divinity or to argue for God’s existence, whether the story of Cornelius shows that God heeds the prayers of unbelievers, and how to encourage a family member to resume bringing his family to church. * Is it a better apologetics tactic to begin with Jesus or to argue for God’s existence? * Does the story of Cornelius in Acts 10 show that God heeds the prayers of unbelievers? * How can I encourage my brother-in-law, who is unequally yoked to an unbeliever, to resume bringing his family to church?
Questions about whether Christians should expect to receive all the blessings listed in the Mosaic Covenant and whether modern Christians over-emphasize the Ten Commandments. * Should believers in the New Covenant expect to receive all the blessings listed in the Mosaic Covenant? * Do modern Christians over-emphasize or idolize the Ten Commandments?
Questions about whether we will still be fallible and make mistakes in Heaven, whether the people who will never come to Christ are collateral damage in the best of all possible worlds where the most people will freely choose Christ, and whether a change in one’s theology is sufficient grounds for seeking a new church home. * Will there be football in Heaven? Will Russell Wilson throw interceptions there? Do our mistakes and fallibility in this world actually make it interesting, and will this change in the next world? * Are the people who will never come to Christ collateral damage in the best of all possible worlds where the most people freely choose the path to eternal life with Christ? * Is a change in one’s theology sufficient grounds for seeking a new church home?
Questions about how to tell someone about Jesus when her cultural heritage, including her belief in her tribe’s gods and goddesses, is her entire identity and whether one is morally required to use a defibrillator to restart a person’s heart after cardiac arrest. * When speaking to someone who believes in her tribe’s gods and goddesses and has made her cultural heritage her entire identity, how would you tell her about Jesus? * Are we morally required to use a defibrillator to restart a person’s heart after cardiac arrest?
Questions about how God could take Enoch away without death if the “wages of sin is death,” whether having a special service for vaccinated people threatens the unity of a church, and how to reconcile Jesus’ compassion with his harsh response to people who asked to follow him. * If the “wages of sin is death,” how is it that God took Enoch away without death? * Does having a special service for vaccinated people who haven’t been able to attend out of fear for their health threaten the unity of our church? * How can we reconcile Jesus’ harsh response in Luke 9:59–62 to people who asked to follow him with his being compassionate?
Questions about whether it’s biblical to refer to God as the Divine Mother and tactical ways to respond to someone who says he’s offended by your views. * Is it biblical to refer to God as the Divine Mother? * What are some tactical ways to respond when someone says he’s offended by my views?
Questions about whether Jesus is evil because he drowned babies in the flood, why Scripture talks about “innocent blood” being shed when no one is innocent, and whether the context of the Suffering Servant passage in Isaiah really points to Jesus. * How would you respond to the meme that claims Jesus is evil because he drowned babies in the flood? * Why does Scripture talk so often about “innocent blood” being shed when everyone is born in sin and no one is innocent? * How can Jesus fulfill the prophecies of the Lord’s Suffering Servant when it seems like Isaiah isn’t talking about something that far in the future?
Questions about whether demons and fallen angels are the same spiritual beings (and if so, why angels don’t possess people) and why Hell wouldn’t bring Satan pleasure. * Are demons and fallen angels the same spiritual beings, and if they’re the same, why don’t angels possess people like demons do? * If Satan is able to able to work evil in people’s lives in Hell, wouldn’t being in Hell be something that brings him pleasure?
Questions about how to tell the difference between the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the accusation of Satan and whether there’s a biblical argument for using violent force in defense of family and home. * How can I tell the difference between the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the accusation of Satan? * Is there a biblical argument for the use of violent force in defense of family and home?
Questions about whether killing skin cells (which have human DNA) is murder, how to know when to stop engaging someone who is antagonistic, how to graciously decline to engage in a discussion with someone who just wants to argue, and what to do when you hear Christians misinterpret and misquote Scripture. * If a human being begins at fertilization, and killing an embryo would be murder, then when I scratch my skin and kill human skin cells (which have human DNA and might develop into full human beings through cloning), is that also murder? * How do you know when to stop engaging someone who is antagonistic? * How do you graciously decline to engage in a discussion with someone who just wants to argue? * What do you do when you hear Christians misinterpret and misquote Scripture?
Question about whether or not there’s a conclusive way to differentiate designed things from undesigned if some designed things appear undesigned and some undesigned things appear designed. * Since some designed things appear undesigned, and some undesigned things appear designed, how can we reasonably conclude that what creationists interpret as design actually is design?
Questions about what to say to a Wiccan who says her beliefs are proved by the efficacy of her spells, how to explain people having spiritual experiences outside of Christianity, and recommended materials for teaching elementary-aged kids critical thinking. * What would you say to a Wiccan who says her beliefs are proved by the efficacy of her spells? * How do we explain the fact that people have had spiritual experiences outside of Christianity? * What materials would you recommend for teaching elementary-aged kids critical thinking skills?
Questions about how God guides, comforts, empowers, etc. through the Holy Spirit and advice for Christians who want to work in Hollywood. * What are the ways God guides, comforts, empowers, etc. through the Holy Spirit? * What advice would you give to Christians who want to work in Hollywood?
Questions about whether we should pray for our suffering to end or simply that it accomplishes its purpose, what kind of influence Satan has on our sin, and whether general revelation is enough to lead to salvation. * Since God has a good purpose for the bad things we’re going through, should we pray for those things to end or simply that they accomplish their purpose? * What kind of influence does Satan have on our sin? * Is general revelation enough to lead to salvation, or is putting your faith in Christ the only way to the Father?
Question about how to help a Mormon see that the works he does will not earn his salvation. * How can I help a coworker, who’s a former Catholic and now a Mormon, see that the works he does will not earn his salvation?
Questions about how, if the infinite has no beginning or end, we can “begin” to spend eternity with Jesus in Heaven and how to get over being harmed by another Christian. * If the infinite has no beginning or end, and we live in a finite universe, then how can we “begin” to spend eternity with Jesus in Heaven? * How do you get over being harmed by another Christian?
Questions about pulling the plug on life support, when it’s appropriate for Christians to stay and fight vs. leave, and whether vows of silence, poverty, and celibacy taken by Christian monks are morally praiseworthy. * Is it ever okay to pull the plug of someone on life support? * When is it appropriate for Christians to “stay and fight” versus “pack up and leave”? * Are vows of silence, poverty, celibacy, etc. taken by Christian monks morally praiseworthy?
Questions about whether we should command healing in Jesus’ name or ask for it and whether we need a physical Bible or a phone app is sufficient. * Should I command healing in Jesus’ name or ask for it? * Do I need a physical Bible, or is my phone app sufficient?
Question about whether God has a covenantal interest in the unbelieving Jewish people today, who are distinct from the believing Jewish remnant. * Does God have a covenantal interest in the unbelieving Jewish people today that includes the biblical homeland and the unbelieving Jews, who are distinct from the believing Jewish remnant?
Questions about a winsome response to someone who defends abortion by arguing that an unwanted pregnancy could lead to the mother’s suicide and why the world considers offending someone to be the greatest sin. * What’s a winsome response to someone who defends abortion by arguing an unwanted pregnancy may cause great suffering and/or lead to suicide? * Why do you think offending someone is seen as the greatest sin in the world’s eyes?
Questions about whether God considers a divorced couple to still be married and whether one can vote for a national political candidate who is openly transgender. * Since remarriage after a divorce is considered adultery, does this imply that God considers the couple to still be married? * Could you support and vote for a national political candidate who was most aligned with your political views but was openly transgender?
Questions about the alleged inconsistency between the harshness of the Old Testament vs. the New Testament (and why God would set up a system of Law and redemption) and why the command given to Noah and the New Testament believers against eating blood wouldn’t be binding on us today. * How can I best explain the internal inconsistency between the harshness of the Old Testament compared to the New Testament, and why wouldn’t a sovereign God set up a system that didn’t require a harsh Law and a system of redemption in the first place? * Wouldn’t the fact that the command to not eat blood was given both to Noah and New Testament believers mean it transcends the Mosaic Covenant and is binding on us today?
Questions about how the death of David’s son squares with Ezekiel 18:20, what 2 Chronicles 32:31 means when it says God tested Hezekiah’s to know what was in his heart, and financing the wedding of a child who may marry an atheist. * How does 2 Samuel 12:13–14, where King David is told his child will die because of his sin, square with Ezekiel 18:20, which says the one who sins will die and the child will not share in the guilt of the parent? * What does it mean in 2 Chronicles 32:31 when it says God left Hezekiah in order to “test him and know what was in his heart,” when God is omniscient? * Should we finance the wedding of our daughter who is not practicing her faith and may marry an atheist?
Questions about God suddenly caring about unborn babies, whether it’s hypocritical to support freedom of choice for the vaccine but not abortion, and responding to the argument that an aborted fetus has not died because it doesn’t receive a death certificate. * After God murdered Bathsheba’s newborn, killed the firstborn sons of Egypt, sent bears to murder children, and commanded Joshua to kill the kids in Jericho, now he suddenly cares about unborn babies? * Is it hypocritical to support freedom of choice in the vaccine debate but be against freedom of choice in the abortion debate? * How can we respond to the argument that an aborted fetus has not died because it does not receive a death certificate?
Questions about responding to the objection that the New Testament mistranslated and misrepresented the Hebrew Bible and why the Sabbath isn’t a universal commandment like the other nine. * How can I overcome the objection from Torah-only people that the New Testament mistranslated and misrepresented the Hebrew Bible? * What about the Sabbath commandment makes it not a universal one like the other nine?
Questions about what parents can do to help ensure their children continue in the faith and whether Christians should be concerned by the fact that near-death experiences so often don’t seem to match Christianity. * What can parents do to help ensure their children continue in the faith? * Should Christians be concerned by how often near-death experiences don’t seem to match Christianity?
Questions about the claim that the point of Old Testament justice is the protection of the poor and powerless and whether Jesus being “woke” proves it’s a good thing. * What’s your response to a church bulletin that said, “The point of Old Testament justice is the protection of the poor and powerless; it recognizes that the rich and powerful never come to the table equal and neutral because they own the table”? * How would you respond to the claim that being “woke” is simply being aware of racial and social justice issues, and that Jesus was woke, therefore it’s a positive trait?
Questions about whether we will have individual preferences (i.e., things we don’t like) in Heaven and when it’s okay in apologetics to simply say, “I don’t know, but the Bible teaches it.” * Will we have individual preferences (i.e., things we don’t like) in Heaven? * When is it okay in apologetics to say, “I don’t know, but the Bible teaches it”?
Questions about how to steer the conversation in a Bible study towards discussing the text in context and whether there are things Greg and Amy wish they had known about apologetics work before getting into it. * Do you have tips on how to humbly steer the conversation in a Bible study towards properly discussing the text in context? * Are there things you wish you had known about apologetics work (or becoming a published author) before getting into it?
Questions about God wanting all to be saved, taking seriously a profession of faith from a child, whether it’s better to be in a church with good doctrine that lacks community or vice versa, and whether Christians should be looking for the signs in the stars mentioned in the Bible. * If God wants all to be saved, how does this square with Hell or annihilationism, and does his perfect justice prevent him from getting what he most desires? * When do you take seriously a profession of faith from a child? * All else being equal, is it better to be at a church where you agree with every single doctrine, but the community isn’t close-knit, or a church where the community is terrific, but you disagree on some non-essentials? * Are the signs from the stars (mentioned in Genesis 1:14, Jeremiah 10:2, and Luke 21:25) ever specified, and should we as Christians be looking for them?
Questions about whether God told Abraham to sin when he told him to sacrifice Isaac and how so many angels could fall if God is so loving and Heaven so great. * Did God tell Abraham to sin when he told Abraham to commit child sacrifice? * If God is so loving and Heaven so great, how is it possible that so many angels fell from Heaven to follow Satan?
Question about how to respond to the Kafka trap claim that denying you’re racist proves you’re a racist. * How would you respond to a “social justice warrior’s” Kafka trap claim that “any white man denying he’s racist just proves he’s a racist”?
Questions about how the “fat and happy” American church should prepare itself for persecution, whether the fact that Jesus only appeared to his followers renders their testimony suspicious, and whether it’s a sin to work for a Christian publisher that’s printing heretical books. * In what practical ways should the “fat and happy” American church prepare itself for the level of persecution spoken of in the book of Revelation? * If Jesus only appeared to his followers after his resurrection, isn’t their testimony suspicious? * Is it a sin for me to continue to work for a Christian publisher that has been printing heretical books, mixing spiritism with Christianity and promoting sin?
Questions about whether Christ’s work of salvation is supposed to give us spiritual, physical, financial (etc.) health and how to defend the idea of Heaven and Hell using only the Torah. * Is it biblically accurate to say the Father’s will for believers is to become whole and healthy in every area of life (spiritually, physically, financially, etc.) as part of Christ’s work of salvation on the cross? * How do I respond to a Jewish friend who says he doesn’t believe there’s an afterlife because there’s no mention of Heaven or Hell in the Torah?
Questions about whether every decision we make is part of God’s will and what people in Hell will do. * Is every decision we make part of God’s will, or does his will only apply to things that will impact eternity? * Will people in Hell be able to do things like commune with or prey on one another, build cities, etc.?
Questions about how there can be real love in Heaven if the possibility of evil is necessary for real love and whether God could have created a universe where no one would desire to sin and be lost to Hell. * If the possibility of evil is necessary for real love, then how will there be real love in Heaven? * Couldn’t God have created a universe where no one would desire to sin and be lost to Hell?
Questions about whether someone should talk to their ministry’s leadership about their practice of “hearing from God” in meetings and how we should label someone who believes the basic facts of the gospel but no other Christian doctrine. * Should I talk to the leadership of the ministry I work for about their practice of taking time in meetings to ask people to “hear from God” and then relay what they heard? * If someone believes Jesus is the Son of God who takes away the sin of the world, was crucified, buried, and raised on the third day, a free gift of grace to those who repent and believe, but he doesn’t believe any other Christian doctrine, what is he?
Questions about whether or not the sacrificial system in the Mosaic Law included sacrifices for intentional sins and how to respond to someone who says he isn’t a Christian because his prayers were never answered when he believed in God. * Leviticus 4 and 5 describe the sacrifices for unintentional sins, but were there sacrifices for intentional sins? * How would you respond to someone who says one of the reasons he isn’t a Christian (and has turned to tarot cards) is that his prayers were never answered when he believed in God?
Questions about whether it’s okay to invite those with different worldviews and different ideas about sexuality to church or a Bible study and a better way to explain why Jesus didn’t know the time of his return. * Can we invite those with different worldviews and different ideas about sexuality to church or a Bible study, and do we need to address those differences with them immediately? * Is there a better way to explain why Jesus didn’t know the time of his return other than to simply say Jesus was speaking from his humanity?
Question about how to respond to a progressive Christian who says one can “be the wrong gender” because we live in a fallen world, and it should be corrected just as we correct bad eyesight with glasses. * How would you respond to a progressive Christian who says one can “be the wrong gender” because we live in a fallen world, and it should be corrected just as we correct bad eyesight with glasses.
Questions about what Jesus meant when he said, “This generation will not pass away until all these things take place,” and why prayer seems easier for some people than others. * What exactly does Jesus mean when he says, “This generation will not pass away until all these things take place” (referring to the tribulation and signs of Christ’s coming)? * Why does prayer seem easier for my wife than for me?
Question about how a professional athlete should think about wearing pride-themed uniforms or jerseys. * How should a professional athlete think about wearing pride-themed uniforms or jerseys?
Questions about whether God, rather than being perfect, is simply the most powerful being and whether there’s any issue with watching ghost hunting videos. * What if God isn’t perfect or the truth but instead is just the most powerful being? * Do you think there’s any issue with watching ghost hunting investigation videos?
Questions about how to persuade a family member who responds to the Columbo questions with anger and what Christians should expect to experience when it comes to God’s discipline. * How can I persuade a family member I really care about when they respond to the Columbo questions with anger? * Can you give any examples of what Christians are to expect in terms of God’s discipline?
Questions about how genetic disorders relate to God knitting us together in our mother’s womb and how to find out if someone is truly saved. * How do genetic disorders relate to God knitting us together in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139)? * How do you find out if someone is truly saved or not?
Questions about what parents should do if their adult child threatens to cut off all contact with them if they don’t use his preferred pronouns and an appropriate response to the claim that “God made me gay.” * What should parents do if an adult child threatens to cut off all contact with them if they don’t use his preferred pronouns? * What’s an appropriate response to the claim that “God made me gay”?
Questions about whether becoming more convinced Christianity is true by immersing yourself in the Bible is an example of confirmation bias and how to respond to the claim that our God is “nothing more than the amplification of our own core ethics.” * What’s the difference between becoming more firmly convinced Christianity is true by immersing yourself in the Bible and confirmation bias? * How would you respond to the claim that “our personal deity is nothing more than the amplification of our own core ethics, the echo chamber of our own bias”?
Questions about how to respond to a Christian who says she’s now gay-affirming because she wants to be loving and whether believing in the earliest books of the Bible is blind faith because history can’t verify their stories. * How should I answer a Christian friend who says she’s now gay-affirming because even if she’s wrong, God will give her grace in the end and at least she will have been loving? * Is believing in the earliest books of the Bible blind faith because history can’t verify their stories?
Questions about whether there’s a question that should be asked before asking if there’s a God, whether Adam and Eve were amoral before eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the standard for prophets. * Is there a “first question” that should be asked before “Is there a God?” * Were Adam and Eve amoral beings before eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? * Does the prophetic office still exist, and is the New Testament standard for a prophet different from the standard in the Old Testament?
Questions about whether Jesus must have sinned because he was fully human, how to gracefully start a conversation about Christ with a Hindu who’s been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and how those who have been conditioned from birth to believe something other than Christianity will be judged. * How should I respond to Christians who think Jesus must have sinned because he was fully human? * How do I gracefully start a conversation about Christ with a Hindu friend who just got diagnosed with a terminal illness? * How will those who were conditioned from birth to believe in something other than Christianity be judged?
Questions about whether it’s biblical to believe that Christians no longer sin after being saved and whether the parable of the wheat and the tares means we’re not supposed to try to put a stop to the ministry of false teachers. * Is it biblical to believe that Christians no longer sin after being saved? * Is the parable of the wheat and the tares about false teachers, and does it mean we’re not supposed to try to put a stop to their ministry?
Questions about how to respond to a Oneness Pentecostal’s claim that you’re not saved if you believe in the Trinity and the purpose of having a perfected, resurrected body rather than just our soul being with God. * How can I best address a Oneness Pentecostal’s claim that I’m not saved if I believe in the Trinity? * What is the purpose of having a perfected, resurrected body rather than just our soul being with God?
Questions about whether there are standard ways we should expect God to answer prayers and what Greg thinks about instances when people “feel led” to do specific things that seem to answer specific prayers. * Are there standard ways we should expect God to answer prayers? * How would Greg categorize instances when people “feel led” to do specific things that seem to directly answer specific prayers?
Questions about how to convince a progressive Christian she has a gender, whether someone is not trusting God if he’s preparing for retirement, and how Melinda is doing. * How can you lovingly convince a progressive Christian that she has a gender? * How do you respond to Christians who say you’re not trusting God if you’re taking steps to prepare for retirement? * How is Melinda doing?
Questions about praying before eating when out to dinner with nonbelievers and whether Jesus could motivate someone to act truly righteously and be saved without any awareness of doctrine. * If you’re out to dinner with nonbelievers, do you pray out loud before you eat? * Is it biblically possible Jesus could motivate someone to act truly righteously without knowing any doctrine and thereby be saved?
Questions about whether it’s wise for a married man to build relationships with the opposite sex for the purposes of evangelism and how to respond to Christian relatives who say there’s nothing wrong with consensual same-sex relationships. * Is it wise for a married man to build relationships with the opposite sex in order to witness to them about Jesus? * What’s the best way to respond to Christian relatives who say there’s nothing wrong with consensual same-sex relationships?
Questions about whether it would be unwise for a Christian to pick a career where they might lose their job for their beliefs and advice for someone preparing to go into the mission field in Japan. * Is it unwise for a Christian to pick a career where they might lose their job for their beliefs? * Any advice for someone preparing to go into the mission field in Japan next year?
Questions about whether a Christian woman who was married and divorced at a young age when she was an unbeliever can remarry and who is called to interpret Scripture. * If a Christian woman was married and divorced at a young age while still an unbeliever, can she remarry? * Who is called to interpret Scripture?
Questions about whether the story of Jonah supports Arminianism or Calvinism and the role evangelism plays in Reformed doctrine. * Does the story of Jonah support Arminianism, Calvinism, or both? * What role does evangelism play in Reformed doctrine?
Questions about whether any form of art brings glory to God regardless of the intent of the artist and whether one should go to a baby shower for a same-sex couple having a baby via IVF. * Does any form of art (music, performing arts, etc.) bring glory to God even if the artist never intended to do so? * Should I go to a baby shower for a same-sex couple having a baby via IVF?
Questions about whether “staying in our lane” as Christians is an excuse to avoid responsibility and the difference between the LDS “burning in the bosom” and John Wesley’s “warming of the heart.” * It’s recommended that Christians “stay in their lane” to avoid feeling overwhelmed, but how do we judge between staying in our lane and using that as an excuse to avoid responsibility? * What’s the difference between the LDS idea of the “burning in the bosom” and John Wesley’s “warming of the heart”?
Questions about whether a person who makes a negative claim has the burden of proof and the top apologetic topics that are most relevant for the times we’re living in. * If someone makes a negative claim (e.g., “God does not exist”), do they have the burden of proof? * What would you say are the top three or four apologetic topics that are most important and/or relevant for the times we’re living in?
Questions about whether to engage controversial political statements from family members, where the Bible says drugs are wrong, and a book recommendation for discussing abortion in a group with varying views. * Should I use tactics to engage my family when they make controversial political statements? * Where does the Bible say drugs are wrong? * Is there a book you would recommend for discussing the topic of abortion in a men’s group where they may have varying views on the topic?
Questions about whether it’s okay for a church to hire a custodian who’s an unbeliever, how to account for the use of “led by the Spirit” in Matthew 4, and why Judas was called an apostle in Matthew 10 if he wasn’t saved. * Is it okay for a church to hire a custodian who is an unbeliever? * If being “led by the Spirit” refers to moral development in Romans and Galatians, how do you account for its usage in Mathew 4, where Jesus is “led by the Spirit”? * If Judas wasn’t saved, how can he be called an apostle in Matthew 10?
Question about how to respond to someone who cites the “paradox of tolerance” as a reason to not tolerate Christian views. * How would you respond to someone citing the “paradox of tolerance” as a reason to not tolerate Christian views?
Questions about what Hebrews 8:10 means when it says God will put his laws in our minds and hearts and whether God’s final justice for the evil in this world will be satisfying to us. * What does Hebrews 8:10 mean when it says God will put his laws in our minds and hearts? * Will God’s final justice for the evil in this world be satisfying to us, or is it not about us at all?
Questions about Greg’s opinion on extraterrestrials, what kind of humor God has, and whether humor is culturally determined or has objective rules behind it. * What’s your opinion on extraterrestrials? * What kind of humor does God have, and is humor contingent on subjective culture and context or are there objective rules behind it?
Questions about whether the lack of ability to sleep is the sin of anxiety and whether our having an account of the explanations Jesus gave only to his disciples gives us an unfair advantage over those who lived during Jesus’ ministry. * Is the lack of ability to sleep the sin of anxiety and a sign I don’t trust God? * Doesn’t our having an account of the explanations Jesus gave only to his disciples give us an unfair advantage over those who lived during Jesus’ ministry?
Questions about responding to an atheist who asks what it would take to convince you God doesn’t exist and problems with the idea that we should live however we want as long as we don’t hurt anybody. * What would you say to an atheist who asked what it would take to convince you God doesn’t exist? * Are there any logical or moral issues with the idea that people should live their lives however they want as long as they don’t hurt anybody?
Questions about how some lifestyles could keep you out of the kingdom of God if salvation is by faith alone, whether Romans 14:23b means that if you have doubt about an action it automatically becomes sin, and the order of the punishments given in Genesis 3. * If salvation is by faith alone, why do some lifestyles keep you out of the kingdom of God (per 1 Corinthians 6:9–10)? * Does Romans 14:23b mean that if you have any doubt in anything you do, that action automatically becomes sin even though without the doubt it wouldn’t be sin? * Is there any significance to the order of the punishments given by God in Genesis 3 (serpent, woman, man)?
Questions about whether using a transgender person’s preferred name conveys an acceptance of the idea that our gender is changeable and how to respond when we’re asked to state our pronouns in an email signature or refer to transgender students by their preferred pronouns. * If you use don’t use people’s preferred pronouns, but you do use their preferred names, aren’t you being disobedient by conveying an acceptance of the idea that gender is changeable? * As a second grade teacher, what is the appropriate response if I’m asked to state my pronouns in my email signature or refer to transgender students by their preferred pronouns?
Questions about whether Jesus is talking about literally eating his flesh and drinking his blood in John 6:53–58 and thoughts on participating in the Lord’s Supper virtually. * Can you help me understand John 6:53–58, where Jesus appears to be talking about literally eating his flesh and drinking his blood? * What are your thoughts on participating in the Lord’s Supper virtually?
Questions about the difference between David having many wives and someone practicing homosexuality today, whether one should have children and risk their going to Hell, and questioning the Father’s purposes in the Old Testament “atrocities.” * Why could David and Solomon practice lives of adultery and still be considered saved, but a person who practices unrepentant homosexuality is not? * Should I not have children in case they go to Hell? * If Jesus didn’t question his Father’s purposes in the “atrocities” of the Old Testament, shouldn’t people who like Jesus quit questioning them, too?
Questions about carrying over Roman Catholic traditions into evangelicalism and why someone like Bart Ehrman isn’t transformed by all the time he spends in Scripture. * How can one judge which Roman Catholic traditions are good to carry over into evangelicalism? * Why isn’t someone like Bart Ehrman, who has invested so much time in Scripture, transformed by its power?
Question about how we should treat remarriages after a non-biblical divorce and how that situation compares to other non-biblical marriages. * How should we treat remarriages after a non-biblical divorce, and how does this situation compare to other non-biblical marriages, such as LGBTQ?
Questions about the Old Testament Scripture Paul is referencing when he says Jesus was crucified and buried “according to the Scriptures” and whether it’s biblical to say, “I’ve made Jesus Lord of my life.” * What Old Testament Scripture is Paul referencing in 1 Corinthians 15 when he says Jesus was crucified and buried “according to the Scriptures”? * Is it biblical to say, “I’ve made Jesus Lord of my life,” and what does it mean?
Questions about whether stoning to death was too harsh a punishment for breaking the Sabbath in Numbers 15:32–36 and whether one can divorce a non-adulterous spouse if he has broken all of his other wedding vows. * Isn’t stoning to death too harsh a punishment for breaking the Sabbath by gathering wood in Numbers 15:32–36? * If I break all of my modern wedding vows to my wife but remain faithful by never committing adultery, would it be a sin for her to divorce me?
Questions about responding to the idea that since we’re all energy, we can influence lives by having good energy, whether Paul’s command to “have nothing to do with silly myths” pertains to learning about other beliefs, and the American five-day workweek. * What’s a good response to the idea that since the universe is energy and we are energy, we can influence people’s lives by having good energy and sending good vibes? * Could the exhortation in 1 Timothy 4:7 to “have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths” be used to argue against learning about other beliefs to do apologetics? * Do you think the biblical model of six days work, one day rest, is a better model than the American workweek?
Questions about when to fight or leave a church that has taken on progressive views, whether the offspring of regenerate Christians inherit a regenerated nature, and Jesus’ DNA. * How can you know when to fight back against a church leadership with progressive views and when to simply leave the church? * If the soul reproduced by parents who have a sinful nature inherits their sinful nature, wouldn’t that imply the offspring of regenerate Christians would inherit a regenerated nature? * Is Jesus’ DNA an exact match to Mary’s, or is his DNA like everyone else’s?
Questions about whether the Mosaic Law’s prohibition against eating blood was a moral or ceremonial law and how Jesus could be “the same yesterday, today, and forever” if he took on a human nature. * Is the prohibition against eating blood (e.g., rare steaks) a moral law or a Jewish ceremonial law? * If Jesus Christ “is the same yesterday, today, and forever,” how does that square with his taking on a human nature in the incarnation?
Questions about why sincere and unselfish prayers are unanswered and what a polygamous convert to Christianity should do about his wives. * Why do you think some prayers are unanswered despite their heartfelt, sincere, and unselfish motives? * If a man in a polygamous marriage converts to Christianity, what should he do about his wives given that the biblical ideal is one man and one woman?
Questions about why God doesn’t give grace to everyone, the fear that family members aren’t in the elect, and why God would condemn someone who doesn’t have access to the Bible or Jesus. * If God’s justice was sufficiently displayed on the cross, and God’s grace is irresistible, why doesn’t God give his grace to everyone if he wishes all to be saved? * What if my family members aren’t in the elect? * Why would a loving God condemn people to Hell who do not have access to the Bible or Jesus?
Questions about balancing “turning the other cheek” with having self-respect in the face of abuse, whether you can testify against someone you’ve forgiven, and whether or not we’ll study the Bible in Heaven. * Is there a balance Christians should strike between showing grace by “turning the other cheek” and having self-respect in the face of abuse? * If someone forgives the perpetrator of a criminal act, does that mean he can’t testify against that criminal? * When in Heaven with God, will we still study the Bible, or will it be old news at that point?
Questions about the appropriate age to get a child a smart phone and what pronouns to use when talking to a gender-confused person. * What is the appropriate age to get my child a smart phone? * When talking or referring to a gender-confused person, what pronouns should I use?
Questions about what the Bible says about astrology and whether Matthew 11:11 says John is greater than Jesus and is not in the kingdom. * What does the Bible say about astrology or anything related? * Does Matthew 11:11 teach that John was greater than Jesus and that he isn’t in the kingdom?
Questions about whether there could have been a better way for God to do things than to have us all inherit a sinful nature from Adam and whether Romans 5:15 implies the number of people saved through Jesus will be greater than those who died through Adam. * Couldn’t there have been a better way to do things than for us to inherit a sinful nature from Adam? * Does Romans 5:15 imply there will be more people saved through Jesus than those who died through Adam’s sin?
Questions about the New Apostolic Reformation, associating with Christian leaders who associate with false teachers, and how Proverbs 20:30 applies to life today. * Is the New Apostolic Reformation unbiblical, heterodox, or heresy? * Should Christian leaders associate, partner, or endorse those who associate, partner, or endorse false teachers or groups with heretical teachings? * How does Proverbs 20:30 apply to life today?
Questions about engaging people who use Jesus to promote liberal politics without delving too deep into politics and whether or not it’s a stretch to apply Jesus’ admonition to love others to government regulations. * How can I engage with a belief system that uses Jesus to promote liberal politics without delving too deep into politics? * Given that we have a say in our government, is it too far a stretch to apply Jesus’ admonition to love others to government regulations?
Some additional thoughts on whether or not step-siblings can marry and Bible reading, then a question about applying the “taking the roof off” tactic to our culture’s belief that we can choose our gender. * Additional thoughts on the question of whether or not step-siblings can marry and Bible reading * Would applying our culture’s standards of gender to race be a good way of using the “taking the roof off” tactic?