#STRask

Questions about the top five things to consider before joining a church when coming out of the NAR movement, and thoughts regarding a church putting on a production of Jesus Christ Superstar as a means to draw non-Christians into the church. I’m coming out of the Word of Faith and New Apostolic Reformation movements. What are the top five things I need to consider before joining a church? What are your thoughts regarding a church putting on a production of Jesus Christ Superstar as a means to draw non-Christians into the church?

Questions about whether faith is the evidence or the energizer of faith, and biblical support for the idea that good works are inevitable and always demonstrated in the life of someone who has true faith. Works appear to be the “engine oil” that keeps faith alive. Without them, faith is dead. Therefore, aren’t works the energizer of faith, not the evidence? Can you please provide biblical support that “good works” are inevitable and always demonstrated in the life of someone who has true faith?

Questions about how to respond to someone who says morality is determined by society, whether our evolutionary biology causes us to think it’s objectively wrong to torture babies for fun, and whether someone with multiple personality disorder could both trust and reject Christ. How should I respond to someone who is unpersuaded by the moral argument for God, who insists people just do what makes them happy and doesn’t offend people or the law, and who says morality is determined by social structures that have evolved? Can the idea that it’s objectively wrong to torture babies for fun actually be explained by our evolutionary biology making us want to protect the babies in our group? Would it be possible for someone with multiple personality disorder to trust Christ with one personality and reject him with another? If so, how would we make sense of their eternal state?

Questions about how to respond to someone who’s asking for evidence for objective morality, what to say to atheists who counter the moral argument for God by rejecting the necessity of objective morality, and the definition of intuition. An atheist who’s debating me about objective morality ignores what I say about our just knowing it deep inside and keeps pressing me for evidence. What should I do? What should I say to atheists who counter the moral argument for God by rejecting the necessity of objective morality? What is intuition?

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?