#STRask

Questions about responding to an atheist who asks what it would take to convince you God doesn’t exist and problems with the idea that we should live however we want as long as we don’t hurt anybody.

• What would you say to an atheist who asked what it would take to convince you God doesn’t exist?
• Are there any logical or moral issues with the idea that people should live their lives however they want as long as they don’t hurt anybody?

Questions about how some lifestyles could keep you out of the kingdom of God if salvation is by faith alone, whether Romans 14:23b means that if you have doubt about an action it automatically becomes sin, and the order of the punishments given in Genesis 3.

• If salvation is by faith alone, why do some lifestyles keep you out of the kingdom of God (per 1 Corinthians 6:9–10)?
• Does Romans 14:23b mean that if you have any doubt in anything you do, that action automatically becomes sin even though without the doubt it wouldn’t be sin?
• Is there any significance to the order of the punishments given by God in Genesis 3 (serpent, woman, man)?

Questions about whether using a transgender person’s preferred name conveys an acceptance of the idea that our gender is changeable and how to respond when we’re asked to state our pronouns in an email signature or refer to transgender students by their preferred pronouns.

• If you use don’t use people’s preferred pronouns, but you do use their preferred names, aren’t you being disobedient by conveying an acceptance of the idea that gender is changeable?
• As a second grade teacher, what is the appropriate response if I’m asked to state my pronouns in my email signature or refer to transgender students by their preferred pronouns?

Questions about whether Jesus is talking about literally eating his flesh and drinking his blood in John 6:53–58 and thoughts on participating in the Lord’s Supper virtually.

• Can you help me understand John 6:53–58, where Jesus appears to be talking about literally eating his flesh and drinking his blood?
• What are your thoughts on participating in the Lord’s Supper virtually?

Questions about the difference between David having many wives and someone practicing homosexuality today, whether one should have children and risk their going to Hell, and questioning the Father’s purposes in the Old Testament “atrocities.” 

• Why could David and Solomon practice lives of adultery and still be considered saved, but a person who practices unrepentant homosexuality is not?
• Should I not have children in case they go to Hell?
• If Jesus didn’t question his Father’s purposes in the “atrocities” of the Old Testament, shouldn’t people who like Jesus quit questioning them, too?

Questions about carrying over Roman Catholic traditions into evangelicalism and why someone like Bart Ehrman isn’t transformed by all the time he spends in Scripture.

• How can one judge which Roman Catholic traditions are good to carry over into evangelicalism?
• Why isn’t someone like Bart Ehrman, who has invested so much time in Scripture, transformed by its power?

Question about how we should treat remarriages after a non-biblical divorce and how that situation compares to other non-biblical marriages.

• How should we treat remarriages after a non-biblical divorce, and how does this situation compare to other non-biblical marriages, such as LGBTQ?

Questions about the Old Testament Scripture Paul is referencing when he says Jesus was crucified and buried “according to the Scriptures” and whether it’s biblical to say, “I’ve made Jesus Lord of my life.” 

• What Old Testament Scripture is Paul referencing in 1 Corinthians 15 when he says Jesus was crucified and buried “according to the Scriptures”?
• Is it biblical to say, “I’ve made Jesus Lord of my life,” and what does it mean?

Questions about whether stoning to death was too harsh a punishment for breaking the Sabbath in Numbers 15:32–36 and whether one can divorce a non-adulterous spouse if he has broken all of his other wedding vows.

• Isn’t stoning to death too harsh a punishment for breaking the Sabbath by gathering wood in Numbers 15:32–36?
• If I break all of my modern wedding vows to my wife but remain faithful by never committing adultery, would it be a sin for her to divorce me?

Questions about responding to the idea that since we’re all energy, we can influence lives by having good energy, whether Paul’s command to “have nothing to do with silly myths” pertains to learning about other beliefs, and the American five-day workweek.

• What’s a good response to the idea that since the universe is energy and we are energy, we can influence people’s lives by having good energy and sending good vibes?
• Could the exhortation in 1 Timothy 4:7 to “have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths” be used to argue against learning about other beliefs to do apologetics?
• Do you think the biblical model of six days work, one day rest, is a better model than the American workweek?