#STRask

Does the Bible Explicitly Forbid Premarital Sex?

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?

Do We Always Need to Make the Case that Christian Morality Is the Best Way to Live?

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?

How Can I Help Someone Move Away from the Fact-Value Split?

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?

What Do I Tell a Child Who Feels Guilty for Not Wanting to Read the Bible?

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?

What Would You Say in a High School Graduation Speech?

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?

If Holy People Are So Interested in Politics, Shouldn’t Churches Be Taxed?

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.

Why Think the Evidence for the Resurrection Is Strong if Saul Wasn’t Convinced by It?

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?

Where Did the Essence God Is Composed of Come From?

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?

Isn’t It Better to Do Good for Goodness’ Sake?

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?

How Is Access to God in the New Covenant Different from the Old Covenant?

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”?