#STRask

Is It Okay to Attend a Pride-Themed Happy Hour at Work?

Questions about the acceptability of attending a Pride-themed happy hour at work and how to respond to two phrases heard at a Pride event: “Love is love” and “We’re here to be with ‘family.’”

• Would attending “Pride Month Happy Hour” at work be more like dining with sinners (something I should do) or attending a same-sex wedding (something I would not do)?
• How would you respond to the phrases “Love is love” and “We’re here to be with ‘family’”—slogans I encountered while sharing the gospel at a local Pride event?

Columbo Questions for Someone Who Says He’s Spiritual but Not Religious

Questions about how to use Columbo questions with someone who is nonreligious but “spiritual,” what to say to someone who “followed Jesus out of the church” and now doesn’t believe spiritual truth is knowable, and how to respond to health and wealth preaching.

• How would you use Columbo questions with someone who isn’t religious but believes in divine power and describes his closeness to that power as “spiritual”? 
• What should I say to my sister who “followed Jesus out of the church” and now calls herself a “spiritual agnostic” and doesn’t believe spiritual truth is knowable?
• How should I proceed with a friend who has gotten into health and wealth preaching?

Why Are We Supposed to Love as God Loves but Not Condemn as He Condemns?

Questions about why we’re supposed to love as God loves but not condemn as he condemns, whether Jesus would have issued a command like 1 Samuel 15:3, whether it would be kinder to not tell people the gospel so they can be judged by their hearts and works, and why God destroyed the world in the flood if he knew there was a salvation plan.

• If we’re supposed to love as God loves, loving those who do us wrong, why don’t we follow his example when he eternally damns those who hate or reject him?
• Would Jesus have issued a command like 1 Samuel 15:3?
• If those who haven’t heard of Jesus get judged on their hearts and their works, then wouldn’t it be kinder to not tell them the gospel so it’s easier for them to qualify for the afterlife?
• Why did God choose to destroy the world in the flood so early on when he knew the salvation plan from before the beginning?

Will All Religions One Day Be Proven Wrong by Science?

Questions about how to respond to the claim that “all faith-based religions will one day be proven wrong by science” and whether or not students will continue to show up to youth group if you start training them by role-playing objections against the faith.

• How would you respond to the claim that “all faith-based religions will one day be proven wrong by science”?
• Will students continue to show up to youth group if we start training them by role-playing objections against the faith?

Is It Wrong for Pro-Lifers to Get Between a Woman and Her Doctor?

Questions about ways to respond to the pro-choice slogan about “not getting between a woman and her doctor,” how we can blame a woman who aborts her own child if God is sovereign over miscarriage, and how to reconcile Psalm 139:13–16 with congenital disorders in babies.

• What are some good ways to respond to the pro-choice slogan about “not getting between a woman and her doctor”?
• If God is sovereign over miscarriage, then how can he blame a woman who aborts her own child?
• How can we reconcile Psalm 139:13–16 with the presence of congenital disorders in some babies? 

If I’m Scared of Death, Does That Mean I’m Not a True Christian?

Questions about the difference between trusting your heart and trusting your human faculties to evaluate evidence, whether having a fear of death means you’re not a true Christian, and whether believers will spend eternity with the Lord on the new earth rather than in Heaven.

• What’s the difference between trusting in your heart, which Scripture says not to do, and trusting your human faculties to evaluate evidence and determine what is true?
• If the idea of death scares me, does that mean I’m not a true Christian?
• Is it true that believers will spend eternity with the Lord on the new earth rather than in Heaven?

Is It a Bad Sign if a Church Says the Bible Is Inerrant “in the Original Manuscripts”?

Questions about whether it’s a bad sign when a church’s statement of faith says they believe the Bible is inerrant “in the original manuscripts,” how the Gospel of Mark can be inerrant if someone else added 16:9–20, and whether the Gospels were meant to be complementary.

• Is it a red flag when a church’s statement of faith says they believe the Bible is inerrant “in the original manuscripts”?
• How can we say the Gospel of Mark is the inerrant Word of God if someone added 16:9–20 into it?
• Were the Gospels meant to be complementary? Did the writers intend for us to harmonize them?

No Rules for Christians Other Than to Love God and Love Others?

Questions about how to answer someone who says Jesus’ fulfillment of the Law means that loving God and loving others are the only rules Christians have to follow and fulfilled prophecies in the Bible.

• How would you answer someone who says Jesus’ fulfillment of the Law means there are no rules Christians have to follow other than to love God and love others?
• Can you give more details about fulfilled prophecies in the Bible?

How Should I Respond to Those Who Claim God Told Them to Do Something?

Questions about the best way to tactically and tactfully respond to those who claim God told them to do something and how to get one’s emotions under control when talking to a friend who joined a heretical group that preaches another gospel about her false doctrines.

• What’s the best way to tactically and tactfully respond to someone’s claim that God spoke to them or told them to do something?
• My friend has joined a heretical group that preaches another gospel, and I have sufficient knowledge to talk to her about her false doctrines, but how do I get my emotions under control? 

Is It Okay to Pray with a Christian Who Believes His Words Create Things?

Questions about whether it’s okay to pray with a Christian who believes his words create things and how to be sure we don’t cross the line into performing sympathetic magic when engaging in spiritual warfare.

• Would you have a problem praying with a Christian who believes his words create/manifest things?
• How can we be sure we don’t cross the line into basically performing sympathetic magic when engaging in spiritual warfare?