#STRask

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?

How Can I Reveal and Defend My Belief in the Trinity and Leave My Oneness Church?

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? 

What Questions Should I Ask Pastors 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?

Will Christ’s Second Coming Be Unexpected?

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?

What Would You Say to a Professing Christian Who Is Radically Pro-Choice?

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? 

How Can I Help Young Men Who Accept Pornography Addiction as Normal?

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? 

How Can I Handle Persistent Feelings of Guilt over Past Sins?

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?

Why Is It Wrong to Have Surgery to Alter Your Sex?

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?

An Egg Is Not a Chicken, so an Embryo Is Not a Human?

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”?

Why Would the Unity of the Bible Be Evidence of Divine Authorship?

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?