#STRask

Are We Only Interpreting the Bible This Way Because of Our Post-Enlightenment Way of Thinking?

Questions about whether we’re only interpreting the Bible according to authorial intent because of our post-Enlightenment way of thinking and whether Zephaniah 3:17 is being taken out of context when someone takes comfort in it.

• How should I respond to someone who says, “The only reason you interpret the Bible by going back to authorial intent is that you live in a post-Enlightenment way of thinking, and others might interpret it differently”?
• Am I taking Zephaniah 3:17 out of context when I take comfort in it?

How Can We Defend the Claim That Marriage Was Created by God?

Questions about how to defend the claim that marriage was created by God and what to say to someone who doesn’t want her daughter to grow up Christian because she thinks Christianity is harmful to women.

• How can we defend the claim that marriage was created by God if marriage has been in non-Judeo-Christian civilizations throughout time?
• What should I say to someone who doesn’t want her daughter to grow up Christian because she thinks Christianity is harmful to women?

Does the Existence of Evil Point to the Existence of Multiple Gods?

Questions about whether the existence of evil points to the existence of multiple gods and why God needs to slowly improve our character here on earth if he’s going to make every Christian sinless at the resurrection regardless of how long each one was a Christian.

• Would the existence of multiple gods, some good and some evil, explain the existence of evil better than the existence of one God who allows evil?
• If, after death, God will give the thief on the cross the same sinless character as the Christian who lives to be 100, why does he need to slowly change us over time here on earth? Why doesn’t he just make us sinless immediately instead of at the resurrection?

How Can I Make Sure I Will Honestly Consider People’s Arguments?

Questions about how to make sure we will honestly consider people’s arguments and why God doesn’t give more evidence to the “non-resistant non-believers” who are seeking truth.

• It’s frustrating when someone doesn’t seem to be honestly considering a persuasive argument. How can I make sure I don’t make that same mistake?
• Why doesn’t God give more evidence to the “non-resistant non-believers” who are seeking truth?

What Advice Would You Give for Debating an Atheist?

Question about advice for debating an atheist.

• If I were to debate an atheist one day, what advice would you give?

Can You Argue Straight from the Existence of Evil to the Existence of the Christian God?

Questions about whether one can argue from the existence of evil straight to the Christian God or if more arguments are required to get there and whether Abraham sacrificing Isaac would be considered a good action since God commanded it.

• Does the existence of evil argue for the God of the Bible or only for a monotheistic God in general?
• If Abraham sacrificed Isaac, would the action be considered good since God commanded it?

If Only Eve Had Eaten the Fruit, Would Sin Still Have Entered the World?

Questions about whether sin still would have entered the world if only Eve had eaten the fruit, the theological explanation for why Jesus did not inherit a sinful nature from Mary, and what the idea that nothing good can come from evil would mean for children born as a result of rape.

• If only Eve had eaten the fruit and Adam refused, would sin still have entered the world?
• What is the theological explanation for why Jesus did not inherit a sinful nature from Mary?
• If nothing good can come from evil, how can we justify children born as a result of rape, incest, out of wedlock, etc.?

How Can I Evaluate Whether I’m Doing Enough for the Lord?

Questions about how to evaluate whether you are “doing enough for the Lord,” whether Ezekiel 3:18 indicates you will be in trouble on judgment day if you didn’t tell someone the gospel before they died, and whether it’s okay for a Christian to use Latter-day Saint resources to do family research.

• What advice would you give me as an average believer to evaluate whether I am doing enough for the Lord and serving him enough?
• Since God tells Ezekiel in Ezekiel 3:18 that if he doesn’t warn people, and they die in their sin, their blood will be on his hands, does that mean I’ll be in trouble on judgment day because someone I used to help died in a fight before I could talk to him about Christ?
• Is it okay for a Christian to use Latter-day Saint (Mormon) resources to do family research, or would he be opening himself up to LDS theology by spending time there?

How Do We Discern between Our Own Inner Voice and the Holy Spirit Telling Us What We’re Supposed to Say?

Questions about how to discern between our own inner voice and the Holy Spirit telling us what we are supposed to say if, according to Matthew 10:20, “it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you” at the right moment and whether Acts 11:17 indicates we can get in God’s way when he is speaking to us.

• If “it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you” at the right moment, as Matthew 10:20 says, how do we discern the difference between our own inner voice of our previous training and the Holy Spirit telling us what we are supposed to say?
• In terms of God speaking to us, can we get in God’s way (see Acts 11:17)?

How Can We Apply the Bible to Our Lives if We’re Not Supposed to Read Our Circumstances into It?

Questions about how to apply the Bible to our lives if we’re supposed to read it in context and not insert our circumstances into it and how to respond to someone who says the Great Commission was given to the apostles and not to the church writ large (similar to how Jeremiah 29:11 was given to the exiles).

• If we’re supposed to read the Bible in context and not insert our lives or circumstances into it, how do we then apply the ancient Word to our current lives?
• How would you respond to someone who said that the Great Commission was given to the apostles and not to the church writ large (similar to how Jeremiah 29:11 was given to the exiles)?