#STRask

Questions about why we should love and thank God for creating a world where pain and sin exist and then fixing it by sending his son.

• Why should I love and thank God for creating a world where pain and sin exist and then fixing it by sending his son?

Questions about whether spending time defending Christianity in chat rooms where atheists and Christians debate is a worthy endeavor and whether it’s better to choose a church you agree with theologically or one that provides community.

• Is spending time defending Christianity in chat rooms where atheists and Christians debate a worthy endeavor?
• What are your thoughts on finding a church you agree with theologically versus finding one that provides community?

Question about how to respond to someone who says the laws of causality and logic depend on time, that there was an eternal singularity, and time and logic only began at the Big Bang.

• How would you respond to someone who says the laws of causality and logic depend on time, that there was an eternal singularity, and time and logic only began at the Big Bang?

Questions about why God expects us to be perfectly moral if he doesn’t expect us to be omnipresent, omniscient, or omnipotent and tips for interacting with someone who asks a lot of questions but then wants a sound-bite answer.

• If God doesn’t expect us to be omnipresent, omniscient, or omnipotent to gain eternal life, why does he expect us to be perfectly moral?
• What are your tips for interacting with someone who asks a lot of questions but then wants a sound-bite answer?

Questions about how to respond to a meme that says, “If Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world, I doubt he sent you to,” and whether it’s common for God to prepare us for a specific purpose that never actually happens.

• How would you respond to the meme stating, “If Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world, I doubt he sent you to”?
• Is it common for God to prepare us for a specific purpose that never actually happens?

Questions about the biblical approach to deciding if eating meat is ethical and how much influence demons can have on our lives.

• What’s the biblical approach to deciding if eating meat is ethical?
• How much influence can demons have on our lives?

Question about how to respond to someone who dismisses the Bible’s divine authority on the grounds that it was “written by mere men” and “is a bunch of unreliable translations of translations of translations.” 

• How would you respond to someone who dismissed the Bible’s divine authority on the grounds that it was “written by mere men” and “is a bunch of unreliable translations of translations of translations”? 

Question about whether praying an imprecatory prayer like Psalm 5 today would violate the New Testament commands to “put aside all anger,” to “forgive or you won’t be forgiven,” and to “bless and not curse.” 

• If imprecatory prayers like Psalm 5 are allowable today, how does that square with the command in Colossians 3:8 that we are to “put aside all anger,” the command to “forgive or you won’t be forgiven” in Matthew 6:15, and the command in Romans 12:14 to “bless and not curse”?

Question about why God killed so many people in the Old Testament if he’s a God of love.

• If God is love, why did he kill so many people in the Old Testament?

Questions about how to respond to someone who says she would only consider Christianity if it weren’t patriarchal and had a goddess to worship and how a husband could persuade his wife, who is extremely pro-choice due to significant trauma, to see the truth of pro-life arguments.

• How should one respond to someone’s assertion that she would only consider Christianity if it weren’t patriarchal and had a goddess for her to worship?
• How can I persuade my wife to be pro-life when she’s extremely pro-choice due to significant trauma?