Questions about the point of getting baptized after being a Christian for over 60 years, the difference between a short prayer and an eloquent one, and disciplining yourself to read the Bible whether you feel like it or not. I’ve been a Christian for over 60 years, graduated from seminary, briefly pastored, and am currently an elder in my church, but I was never baptized. At this point in my life, what would be the point of getting baptized? What difference, if any, is there between a short and ...
May 22, 2025•23 min
Questions about how to recognize prophecies about the Messiah in the Old Testament and whether or not Paul is just making Scripture say what he wants it to say when he appears to use Old Testament passages out of context. I heard a pastor connect Psalm 69:21 with John 19:28–30, saying it was Old Testament prophecy being fulfilled, but it doesn’t look like prophecy to me. How is prophecy about the Messiah recognized? How do we know Paul is not just making Scripture say what he wants it to say whe...
May 19, 2025•20 min
Questions about how God became so judgmental if he didn’t do anything to become God, and how we can think the flood really happened if no definition of a god includes the idea that he can get so angry he drowns every dog on earth. God didn’t do anything to earn being God, did he? How did he become so judgmental? We don’t think the flood really happened, do we? No definition of a god includes emotion, let alone getting so angry he drowns every dog on earth.
May 15, 2025•19 min
Questions about whether a deceased person’s soul can live on in the recipient of his heart, whether 1 Corinthians 15:44 confirms that babies in the womb have a soul, why bodies are important, how to explain the soul to a child, and how the spirit relates to the soul. Could the stories about recipients of donated hearts acting like the donors mean that if a person dies and his heart is donated to someone else, his soul lives on in the recipient? Does 1 Corinthians 15:44 confirm that babies in the...
May 12, 2025•24 min
Questions about what to say to someone who believes in “healing frequencies” in fabrics and music, whether Christians should use Oriental medicine that’s based on the concepts of qi, and how to respond to someone who says he’s sending “good vibes” your way. What would you say to someone who believes in “healing frequencies” in fabrics and music and claims there is biblical support for it? What are your thoughts on Christians using Oriental medicine specialists, who base their techniques on the c...
May 08, 2025•24 min
Questions about why some churches say you need to keep the Mosaic Law and the gospel of Christ to be saved, and whether or not it’s inappropriate for Christians to celebrate Passover since it’s a celebration from Judaism and the Messiah has already come. Why do some churches say you need to keep the Mosaic Law and the gospel of Christ to be saved? Is it inappropriate for a Christian to celebrate Passover since it’s a celebration from Judaism and the Messiah has already come?...
May 05, 2025•25 min
Questions about a resource for learning the vocabulary of apologetics, whether to pursue a PhD or another master’s degree, whether to earn a degree in general apologetics or to pick a specific topic to study, and how tactics can be used in written communication. I feel like I need a vocabulary lesson in Christian apologetics just to be able to keep up. Is there a reference guide you could suggest? I’m finishing up my MA in apologetics, and I’m not sure whether to pursue a PhD or another master’s...
May 01, 2025•23 min
Questions about whether the fact that some people go through intense difficulties and suffering indicates that God hates some and favors others, and whether someone is being abused because God doesn’t think she’s worshiping him enough. I constantly feel like God hates me because of a congenital defect that affects my career choices, my self-worth, and my bitterness towards God. Why does it seem like God hates some and favors others? If God lets Satan live to bring God glory and to test us, does ...
Apr 28, 2025•25 min
Questions about asking God for the repentance of someone who has passed away, how to respond to a request to pray for a deceased person, reconciling Hebrews 9:27 with people who have died twice, and whether we’ll be judged according to the revelation we received. What are your thoughts on asking God for the repentance of someone who has passed away? When asked to pray for a friend’s deceased mother’s soul, what is a compassionate response that may lead to an opportunity to share the gospel? How ...
Apr 24, 2025•23 min
Questions about whether one can legitimately say evil is a privation of good, how the Bible can say sin and death entered the world at the fall if angels rebelled before man, and why God would judge Israel with a famine so great they would eat the flesh of their children. Saying that evil is a “privation” is simply wordplay. How is the privation of a thing not creating the result of that privation? If one is denied oxygen, he will die, but you would blame the one denying the oxygen for that deat...
Apr 21, 2025•25 min
Questions about how secular books assist our Christian walk and how Greg studies the Bible. How do secular books like Atomic Habits assist our Christian walk? How do you personally study the Bible?
Apr 17, 2025•21 min
Questions about the Catholic Bible versus the Protestant Bible, whether or not the original New Testament manuscripts exist somewhere and how we would know if we found one, and the implications of not having the original manuscripts of the Bible. How do you know you have the right version of Christianity? The Catholic Bible was assembled closer to the time of Jesus, and your church just took books out of that Bible. If an all-powerful God can’t maintain the truth over time, he probably isn’t rea...
Apr 14, 2025•24 min
Questions about disappointment that the sign gifts of the Spirit seem rare, non-existent, or fake, whether or not believers can squelch the Holy Spirit, and whether 2 Peter 1:21 points to the Holy Spirit “impressing” us during prophecy. I came to faith because the gifts of the Spirit that seemed integral to church life in the Bible made God so real and personal, but now that I’ve found the gifts to be rare, non-existent, or fake, I have doubts I know anything about God. Can the squelching of the...
Apr 10, 2025•25 min
Questions about whether or not someone can impart the gifts of healing, prophecy, words of knowledge, etc. to others and whether being an apostle necessarily means one is part of the foundation of the church according to Ephesians 2:20. Can someone impart the gifts of healing, prophecy, words of knowledge, etc. to others? Is being the foundation of the church (see Ephesians 2:20) a necessary or accidental property of being an apostle?
Apr 07, 2025•25 min
Questions about what discernment skills we should develop to make sure we’re getting wise answers from AI, and how to overcome confirmation bias when evaluating claims related to theism and Christianity. What discernment skills should we develop to make sure we’re getting wise answers from AI when asking the question “What would Jesus have me do in this situation”? How do you overcome confirmation bias when evaluating claims related to theism and Christianity, and is it possible to have strong b...
Apr 03, 2025•23 min
Questions about how to respond when someone says, “Just follow the science,” and whether or not it’s a good tactic to cite evolutionists’ lack of a good biogenesis theory in support of the teleological argument. How should I respond to the phrase “Just follow the science?” Is it a good tactic to cite evolutionists’ lack of a good biogenesis theory in support of the teleological argument?
Mar 31, 2025•22 min
Questions about how to respond to someone who thinks we shouldn’t say anything against Voodoo since it’s “just their culture” and arguments to refute a proponent of the African traditional religion as a means of worshiping the almighty God. When I expressed concern about a movie dealing with Voodoo magic, one of the students said that it’s “just their culture,” as if we shouldn’t say anything against voodoo since it’s a cultural practice. How should I have responded? What arguments would you pre...
Mar 27, 2025•24 min
Questions about why it was necessary for Jesus to come if people could already be justified by faith apart from works, and what the point of the Old Covenant was if God was going to make the New Covenant. Since Old Testament Jews and Gentiles could be justified by faith apart from works, it seems there was already a path for salvation in place, so why was it necessary for Jesus to come? What was the point of the Old Covenant if God was going to make the New Covenant?...
Mar 24, 2025•23 min
Questions about whether or not pornography is really wrong and whether or not AI-generated pornography is a sin since AI women are not real women. I’m a 13-year-old boy who has been struggling with pornography—and with my faith as a whole—for a while now, and I’ve been wondering: Is it really wrong? Jesus said that if you look at a woman in lust, you have already committed adultery with her in your heart, but AI women are not real women, so is AI-generated pornography a sin?...
Mar 20, 2025•24 min
Questions about whether God is just a way of solving a mystery by appealing to a greater mystery, whether subjective experience falls under a category of knowing, why people in the Bible got to hear and see God but we don’t, and an analogy between God and Hitler. How would you respond to Matt Dillahunty, who says that God is just a way of solving a mystery by appealing to a greater mystery? Does my undeniable, subjective experience of God fall under a category of knowing in epistemology? Why did...
Mar 17, 2025•23 min
Questions about what to say to longtime, active churchgoers who don’t believe in the Trinity or the deity of Christ, and a challenge to the idea that it’s possible for someone to have a relationship with Jesus today. What should I say to family members who have been active churchgoers for 40 years, but who don’t believe in the Trinity or the deity of Christ? Do you claim to have a relationship with Jesus—someone you never met—who died 2,000 years ago and hasn’t been seen since? That seems like t...
Mar 13, 2025•21 min
Questions about initiating conversations with someone who thinks he’s going to Heaven but who isn’t showing any signs he’s following God, how to talk to unsaved friends and family who identify as Christians, and resources to help someone learn what true Christianity is. How can I initiate a conversation with my brother who thinks he’s going to Heaven because he has an intellectual belief that Jesus is the Son of God, but who doesn’t really show any signs that he’s following God? How would you su...
Mar 10, 2025•23 min
Questions about whether “repent from your sin and believe” describes a works salvation and Greg’s stance on the idea of “easy beliefism”—i.e., the idea that all one must do to be saved is believe in God. I do not agree with the “repent from your sin and believe” salvation, which seems to be a works salvation. How can someone repent without faith? What is Greg’s stance on the idea of “easy beliefism”—i.e., the idea that all one must do to be saved is believe in God?...
Mar 06, 2025•21 min
Questions about whether Jesus’ commands in the Gospels were for the Jews only or for the present-day body of Christ, whether God chose to be illiterate when he came to earth, and whether we should only pray for the specific items mentioned in the Lord’s Prayer. Were Jesus’ commands in the Gospels only to be followed by the Jews back then and not the present-day body of Christ? Why do you think God chose to be illiterate when he came to earth? When Jesus taught the Lord’s Prayer, did he mean we s...
Mar 03, 2025•22 min
Questions about whether the concept of God’s omniscience is just a fear tactic to control your mind and what to say to someone who thinks it’s possible for God to lie and that Jesus’ coming might have been an elaborate scheme to make us think he loves us. I would love to hear your thoughts on God’s omniscience. God uses fear tactics to control your mind. He loves you so much that he’s watching your every move and knows your every thought? Is this good? What do I say to someone who thinks it’s po...
Feb 27, 2025•23 min
Questions about how God could be perfect if he regrets something he did, whether there’s a difference between God’s sovereignty and God’s providence, and what Nehemiah meant when he said God “put it into his heart” to do certain things. Does Genesis 6:6 mean God made a mistake since it says he regretted that he had made humans? How could God be perfect if he regrets something he did? Is there a difference between God’s sovereignty and God’s providence? When Nehemiah says in 2:12 and 7:5 that God...
Feb 24, 2025•25 min
Questions about what the absence of marriage in Heaven will mean for you and your spouse, thoughts regarding two Christians signing a prenup, whether it’s okay to want to get married because you want to have sex, and a wife taking over spiritual leadership. My pastor said marriage won’t be necessary in Heaven anymore, so where does that leave me and my wife? The thought of my wife of eight years and mother of my child being “just a friend” makes my heart hurt. What are your thoughts on two Chris...
Feb 20, 2025•25 min
Questions about the definition of inerrancy, whether or not Mark and Luke were associates of Jesus, and whether or not Mark and Luke wrote Mark and Luke. What is the definition of Bible inerrancy? Were Mark and Luke associates of Jesus, and did Mark and Luke write Mark and Luke?
Feb 17, 2025•25 min
Questions about why Christians buy health insurance if they really believe God answers prayer and whether or not one should end all prayers about desires for a spouse with “If it be your will.” Why do Christians buy health insurance? Don’t Christians believe God answers prayer? If God loves you and cares about you, then he certainly wants you to be healthy, correct? Should I end all my prayers about desires for a spouse with “If it be your will”? Should I consider the possibility of God not givi...
Feb 13, 2025•21 min
Questions about whether God creating everything means he created evil too, and how a grief counselor can answer a question about whether God causes or allows death and sickness. How should my daughter answer a friend at school who said, “If God created everything, he must have created evil too, like cancer, right?” As a grief counselor, how should I answer this question I’m often faced with: Does God cause or allow death and sickness?
Feb 10, 2025•25 min
