#STRask

Should Confidence in a Belief Be Informed by How Long the Belief Has Been Held?

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?

How Do You Tell the Difference Between Someone Who Is Righteously Offended by Homosexuality and a Bully?

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)?

What Would You Do If Your Child Came Home and Told You They Were Gay?

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?

If the Idea of Intrinsic Human Value Came from Christianity, Then What Happened with Germany in World War II?

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?

What Should a Christian Think About Capitalism?

Question about what Christians should think about capitalism.

 

• What should a Christian think about capitalism?

What Are the Benefits of Not Expecting to Hear Special Messages from God?

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?

What Does Hebrews 7 Mean When It Says Jesus Became a Priest Forever in the Order of Melchizedek?

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?

Why Does Jesus Compare Himself to Those Who Are Merely Called Gods?

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.

Where Does Scripture Teach Unambiguously That Jesus Is God?

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?

How Does the New Earth Tie in with Going to Heaven After We Die?

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?