#STRask

Why Weren’t the Israelites Explicitly Forbidden to Practice Polygamy?

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?

What Should I Say to a Reformed Christian Who Dismisses Many Non-Believers as Lost Causes?

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?

What Should I Say to a Reformed Christian Who Dismisses Many Non-Believers as Lost Causes?

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?

Is Church Just a Man-Made Way to Control People?

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”?

Is It Okay to Cover a Coworker’s Shift so They Can Officiate a Same-Sex Wedding?

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?

Can Christians Who Have Died Hear Our Requests for Prayer?

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”?

What Apologetics Strategies Can We Use with Agnostics?

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?

What Does a Personal Relationship with God Look Like on a Practical Level?

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?

What’s the Best Evidence for the Reliability of the Old Testament?

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?

Why Would You Say Evolution Has No Purpose?

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?