#STRask

How Can We Know Jesus Is the Messiah?

Questions about how we can know Jesus is the Messiah when so many Jews claim passages such as Isaiah 53 and Isaiah 7:14 are not Messianic prophecies and what appropriate comfort a Christian can offer at a funeral when a non-Christian passes.

• How can we know Jesus is the Messiah when so many Jews claim passages such as Isaiah 53 and Isaiah 7:14 are not Messianic prophesies?
• What is appropriate comfort a Christian can offer at a funeral when a non-Christian passes?

Why Doesn’t Every Bible Version Include Matthew 17:21?

Questions about why some Bible versions include Matthew 17:21 and part of Mark 9:29 and some don’t and how Jesus’ instruction not to hinder someone casting out demons in his name applies to the situation with the sons of Sceva in Acts.

• Can you explain why some Bible versions include Matthew 17:21 and part of Mark 9:29 and some don’t?
• How does Jesus’ instruction not to hinder someone casting out demons in his name in Luke 9:49–50 apply to the situation with the sons of Sceva in Acts 19:13–16?

What’s the Controversy if Aborted Fetuses Go to Heaven?

Questions about why abortion is controversial if aborted fetuses go to Heaven and whether Americans will become largely pro-life after Roe v. Wade is reversed since they tend to connect legality with morality.

• Do aborted fetuses, no matter the stage of embryonic development, go to Heaven, and if so, what’s the controversy?
• Will Americans become largely pro-life after Roe v. Wade is reversed since they tend to connect legality with morality?

Are You Really Being Unfaithful to Reality if You Use Someone’s Preferred Pronouns?

Question about the idea that you’re not being unfaithful to reality by using someone’s preferred pronouns since those pronouns correspond to the person’s actual gender identity.

• How would you respond to the idea that you’re not being unfaithful to reality by using a preferred pronoun because that is the pronoun that corresponds to the person’s actual gender identity?

Why Didn’t God Answer My Prayer for Guidance?

Questions about why God didn’t answer prayers for guidance regarding a major life decision and whether there’s evidence that God is more likely to say yes to a prayer request made while fasting.

• When facing a major life decision, I prayed daily for guidance and for the Holy Spirit to order my steps, but I didn’t get an answer, and my decision turned out to be the wrong one. Why?
• Is there evidence (biblical or extra-biblical) that God is more likely to say yes to a prayer request made while fasting, and if not, then why fast?

How Can God Be Omniscient about Never-Ending Future Events?

Questions about how God can be omniscient about never-ending future events, whether the salvation of a man who comes to Christ after being dramatically changed by a brain injury “counts,” and whether one should feel at peace dating another believer who differs on whether or not one can lose one’s salvation.

• Since our time in Heaven will be endless, how can God be omniscient, knowing everything that will happen, when there isn’t a finite amount of knowledge to be known?
• If a cruel, abusive man becomes kind and gentle and comes to Christ after a traumatic brain injury, which is the real version of him, and does his salvation “count”? 
• Should I feel at peace dating another believer who differs with me on whether or not one can lose one’s salvation?

Is the Movement to Ban Abortion Really about Babies?

Questions about why pro-lifers don’t support making everything that has to do with having and raising a baby free if the movement is really about babies and whether there are times when Christians should use rhetoric as a tool of persuasion.

• If the movement to ban abortion were really about babies, wouldn’t pro-lifers support making everything involving babies free (prenatal care, delivery, medical care, and schooling)?
• Are there times when Christians should use rhetoric as a tool in a situation where giving a detailed answer wouldn’t have as powerful an impact?

What if Someone Says He Believes in Science, Not God?

Questions about what to say to someone who says he “believes in science, not God” and how to respond to the slogan “Love Is Love” without using the Bible.

• How would you respond to someone who says he “believes in science, not God”? 
• How would you respond to the slogan “Love Is Love” without using the Bible?

What Happens to People Who Never Heard of God or the Gospel?

Question about what the Bible has to say about the eternal destiny of people who never got the chance to know the God of the Bible and had no access to the salvation message.

• What does the Bible have to say about the eternal destiny of people who never got the chance to know the God of the Bible and had no access to the salvation message?

Aren’t Some Unbelievers Sincerely Seeking Truth?

Questions about whether there are scriptural explanations for why people don’t think God exists other than that they’re “suppressing the truth in unrighteousness” and how to make the case for apologetics to a pastor who uses 1 Corinthians 2 to argue against it.

• Are there scriptural explanations for why some people don’t accept the existence of God other than that they’re “suppressing the truth in unrighteousness” or “fools saying in their hearts there is no God”? 
• How can we make a case for apologetics to a pastor who uses 1 Corinthians 2 to say it isn’t necessary and we should only be sharing the simple gospel?