#STRask

What Should I Do if I Don’t Know How to Respond to Someone’s Answer to My Question?

Questions about what to do when you don’t know how to respond to someone’s answer to your question and you feel unsafe in the conversation and how to go about witnessing to and discipling a transexual who is open to following Christ but has practical concerns.

• How do I gracefully move from a position in a conversation in which I’ve asked a question but then get stuck after hearing the answer and don’t feel safe?
• How would you go about witnessing to and discipling a transsexual who is open to repenting and following Christ but who has concerns like how to practically live out his new faith and whether it’s too late to inherit the kingdom due to past decisions?

Before You Argue for God from the Existence of Evil, You Have to Prove Evil Exists

Questions about the need to prove evil exists before arguing for the existence of God from the existence of evil and what to say to an eleven-year-old boy who lost his dad and brother to a lightning strike that he survived.

• Before you argue for God from the existence of evil, you have to prove the entity or force “Evil” exists.
• What do you say to an eleven-year-old boy who lost his dad and brother to a lightning strike that he survived?

Is It Okay to Be Part of a Music Ministry That’s Led by a Professing Mormon?

Questions about whether it’s okay to be part of a music ministry that’s led by a professing Mormon, whether a woman should date a man who isn’t as spiritual mature as she is or doesn’t take his faith as seriously, and the misuse of Matthew 5:38–42 to manipulate others.

• Is it biblical for me to be part of a music ministry with a group of Christian women that is headed up by a professing Mormon?
• Should a woman date a man who isn’t as spiritually mature as she is or doesn’t take his faith as seriously as she does?
• How would you interpret Matthew 5:38–42 in the context of a friend who could be manipulating and taking advantage of you for resources?

How Can I Stay Balanced in My Belief That God Is Always Good to His Children?

Questions about believing God is always good to his children while rejecting prosperity teaching, how God can be jealous if he is love and love is not jealous, and whether God changing his mind in Exodus 32 indicates he gained knowledge and is not all-knowing.

• How can I maintain balance in my belief that God is always good to his children and not believe too much in prosperity teaching?
• If God is love, then how could he be jealous if the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:4 that love is not jealous?
• How would you respond to someone who said that God changing his mind in Exodus 32 indicates he was gaining knowledge and means he is not all-knowing?

Has Apologetics Had a Positive Effect on Our Culture?

Questions about whether apologetics has had a positive effect on people and our culture, whether the longtime privatization of our Christian faith has led to churches becoming apathetic to the culture, and C.S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer book recommendations.

• Do you believe apologetics has had a positive effect on people and our culture?
• Has the longtime privatization of our Christian faith led to local churches becoming apathetic to the surrounding culture, and if so, what is the solution?
• What top two books by C.S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer would you recommend for getting started with each one?

How Can I Articulate the Beauty of the Christian Worldview in a Nutshell?

Questions about how to articulate the beauty of the Christian worldview in a nutshell and whether “separation of church and state” requires public school teachers to not reference the Bible and government employees to remove anything Bible related from their offices.

• People are upset because a politician said he has a biblical worldview. How can we articulate the beauty of our worldview to others in a nutshell?
• What should I say to people who think public school teachers shouldn’t reference God or Scripture because of “separation of church and state”?
• What should we do when upper management in local government tells employees they need to remove anything Bible related from their offices?

How Do I Know if I’m a Gardener or a Harvester?

Questions about how to know if we’re a “gardener” or a “harvester,” how to engage an apathetic person who says “I don’t know” to everything, and whether Christians are making an unfalsifiable claim and fruitlessly discussing something that can’t be proven or disproven.

• How do I know if I’m a “gardener” or a “harvester”?
• How do you engage an apathetic person who says “I don’t know” to everything?
• Are Christians committing a fallacy by making an unfalsifiable claim? What value is there in discussing something that can be neither proven nor disproven?

How Can I Start Conversations with Postmodernists about the Need for Repentance?

Questions about how to start conversations with postmodernists about the need for repentance and what question one can use to put a stone in the shoe of a Buddhist friend.

• In a postmodern world, what tools can believers use to start a conversation about the need for repentance?
• What question can I use to put a stone in the shoe of my Buddhist friend?

What Constitutes a Marriage?

Questions about what constitutes a marriage, at what point God considers a committed relationship to be a marriage, whether the freedom to pursue marriage is a natural right (and what restrictions would be inappropriate), and how to decline an invitation to an unbiblical wedding.

• What constitutes a marriage?
• At what point does God consider a committed relationship to be “marriage”?
• Is the freedom to pursue marriage a natural human right, and are there any any inappropriate restrictions that should not be placed on marriage?
• Should I explain my reason for declining an invitation to a marriage ceremony that doesn’t reflect the biblical order or just address it when asked?

How Can I Reconcile Romans 6:12–14 with Romans 7:21–25?

Questions about how to reconcile Romans 6:12–14 (where Paul talks about victory over sins) with Romans 7:21–25 (where Paul bemoans sins he still commits) and why Paul uses the Mosaic Law as a starting point for moral instruction if believers aren’t under any part of the Law.

• Please help me reconcile Romans 6:12–14 (where Paul seems to be saying we can have victory over our sins) with Romans 7:21–25 (which sounds like Paul is bemoaning sins he still commits).
• How do you reconcile Paul’s use of the Mosaic Law as a starting point for moral instruction with the idea that believers aren’t under any part of the Mosaic Law?