Questions about whether churches ought to be taxed if holy people are so interested in politics and how to respond to the claim that conservative Christians changed their minds about slavery and segregation and will eventually also change their minds about LGBTQ+ rights. They ought to tax churches. If holy people are so interested in politics, government, and public policy, let them pay the price of admission like everyone else. Conservative Christians were once for slavery and segregation and a...
Sep 12, 2024•23 min
Questions about why anyone should think the evidence for the resurrection is strong if Saul and the majority of first-century Jews found it insufficient, why Jesus came to to the Jews rather than another nationality, and how other nationalities came about through Noah. Why should educated non-Christians today trust apologists’ claims that the evidence for the resurrection is strong if Saul and the overwhelming majority of first-century Jews found it insufficient? Why did Jesus come specifically ...
Sep 09, 2024•24 min
Questions about where the essence God is composed of came from, whether God has the same choices other beings have and could choose not to exist, and how to convince a non-believer God matters if he’s undetectable and a non-interventionist. If things have to have a beginning, and God is something and not nothing, then where did the essence he is composed of come from? Can something create itself? Does God have the same choices other beings have, and could he could choose not to be, like other be...
Sep 05, 2024•21 min
Questions about it being better to do good for goodness’ sake rather than to earn approval and avoid punishment and a good initial approach to take with someone who rejects God based on his “violent” and “oppressive” character in the Old Testament. I want my children to do good for goodness’ sake. Doing it to earn my approval and avoid my punishment is the absolute worst outcome I can imagine, as is requiring them to relentlessly thank me for helping them find it—and I’m just a human! What's a g...
Sep 02, 2024•26 min
Questions about how access to God through Jesus in the New Covenant differs from access in the Old Covenant, whether the salvation of Gentiles is just a means to the end of making Israel jealous, and the idea that theology is only personal and contextual, not objective. How is access to God through Jesus in the New Covenant different from the access Jews had to God in the Old Covenant? Is the salvation of Gentiles just a means to the end of making Israel jealous (see Romans 11:11–16)? How is thi...
Aug 29, 2024•26 min
Question about how to respond to a meme that says, “Your religion does not prohibit me from anything. It prohibits you. Learn the difference.” How should I respond to a meme that says, “Your religion does not prohibit me from anything. It prohibits you. Learn the difference”?
Aug 26, 2024•24 min
Questions about why evangelism is emphasized above other commands in the Bible, what to do when speaking the truth in love hurts someone’s feelings, and how to best love and share the gospel with a friend who rejects it because of bad experiences with Christians. Why is it hammered into us that Christians need to go out and evangelize when the Great Commission is mentioned only four times in the Bible and other commands spoken of throughout the Bible (love, servitude, humility, etc.) seem to get...
Aug 22, 2024•23 min
Questions about whether it’s circular reasoning to say the Bible is true because God says it’s true, how we can know when sarcasm or some other relevant tone is being used in the Bible, and whether tithing results in God’s faithful provision and financial blessings. Is it circular reasoning to say the Bible is true because God says it’s true (in the Bible)? How can we accurately read stories like 2 Chronicles 18:12–16, where it seems as if Micaiah was using sarcasm? How do we know when there is ...
Aug 19, 2024•23 min
Questions about how to respond to someone who rejects God because he didn’t save her from her childhood trauma when she prayed for help and whether it’s wrong to respond to the psalm that says, “What can man do to me,” by thinking, “They can do a lot!” Can you help me respond to someone who rejects God because he didn’t save her from her childhood trauma when she prayed for help? Is it a sin that when I read the psalm that says, “What can man do to me,” my response is to think, “They can do a lo...
Aug 15, 2024•25 min
Question about whether or not we would kill a baby if God commanded us to do it. If God commanded you to kill a baby, would you do it—yes or no?
Aug 12, 2024•27 min
Questions about Christians making use of the concept of meditation, advice for discussions with panentheists, and how to not be discouraged when pastors don’t use apologetics when it would be the perfect time to do so. How might Christians appropriately make use of the concept of meditation, or should this sort of thing be avoided? Do you have any tips or questions for discussions with New Age spiritualists—in particular, panentheists? How can we not become discouraged when pastors or teachers d...
Aug 08, 2024•27 min
Questions about whether it’s okay to pray for the destruction and downfall of our enemies, how to reconcile the idea that God doesn’t tempt people with the fact that he led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted, and why believers need to ask forgiveness for their sins. We use psalms in worship and model our prayers after them, but is it okay to pray for the destruction and downfall of our enemies like we see in the imprecatory psalms? How do we reconcile the idea that God doesn’t tempt people ...
Aug 05, 2024•24 min
Questions about whether you can be acting on godly wisdom if your choice is giving you deep pain, how a combat vet who has difficulty going to church due to PTSD can find peace with who he is, and whether a Christian can be a public defender and represent criminals. Can I be acting on godly wisdom if my choice is giving me deep pain? I am a combat vet with PTSD who has difficulty connecting with people and doesn’t do well in crowds, which makes it difficult to go to church and have friends and f...
Aug 01, 2024•22 min
Questions about whether humanity’s justice is better than God’s, what to say to a Muslim who asks why God’s justice requires him to punish sin instead of just forgiving without punishment, and why so much blood, torture, and slaughter for Jesus. God is not just. Humanity’s justice attempts to fit a punishment to the crime and aims for rehabilitation and restoration to the community rather than eternal damnation. What would you say to a Muslim who asks why God’s justice requires him to punish sin...
Jul 29, 2024•28 min
Questions about why God didn’t start humanity over right away by destroying Adam and Eve instead of waiting for the flood, whether another fall will be possible in the new creation (and what that means for our free will), and why God didn’t make us “fall-proof” from the beginning. Why didn’t God start humanity over right away by destroying Adam and Eve if he knew he was going to have to destroy an evil generation with the flood later on? In the new heavens and earth, will another fall of humanit...
Jul 25, 2024•24 min
Questions about what the Bible means by “boasting in our weaknesses” (2 Cor. 12:7–10), what it means to “sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts” (1 Pet. 3:13–15), and whether giving our lives to Christ means we can’t have other interests besides God. What does the Bible mean by “boasting in our weaknesses,” and what does this look like in our lives? In 1 Peter 3:15, what does it mean to “sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts”? We’re to give our lives to Christ, but how much living do we get to ...
Jul 22, 2024•30 min
Questions about how God could kill all the firstborn babies in the tenth plague, how to respond to someone who says God committed genocide when he destroyed the earth during the flood, and whether God still creates calamity today as it says in Isaiah 45:7. How could God kill all the firstborn babies in the tenth plague? How should I respond to someone who says God committed genocide when he destroyed the earth during the flood? Does God still create calamity today as it says in Isaiah 45:7?...
Jul 18, 2024•26 min
Questions about whether the Bible says that someday everyone in the world will worship God, the purpose of worshiping God, and whether it might be the case that God has created another universe where that creation also gives him glory. Does it say anywhere in the Bible that someday everyone (all the world) will worship God? [Note: after recording this episode, we also came across Psalm 66:3–4, which says that “all the earth will worship” God, but also that his enemies will give him “feigned obed...
Jul 15, 2024•26 min
Questions about whether post-mortem salvation is an orthodox doctrine, reconciling a verse about God removing our transgressions from us with verses about each of us having to give an account to God on judgment day, and how to recognize true conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit. Is post-mortem repentance and salvation an orthodox doctrine? How do we reconcile Psalm 103:12, which says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us,” with Matthew 12:36 and ...
Jul 11, 2024•22 min
Questions about why we should think the new believers in Acts 5:14 received the Holy Spirit when Acts seems to argue that not all believers necessarily receive the Spirit and whether “Holy Ghost” is a degrading term for the Holy Spirit. Why should we think the new believers in Acts 5:14 received the Holy Spirit when it doesn’t say so? Doesn’t Acts argue that not all believers necessarily receive the Holy Spirit, especially given 8:9–17? Is “Holy Ghost” a degrading term for the Holy Spirit?...
Jul 08, 2024•22 min
Questions about how to show someone that relying on AI for answers is a flawed way of finding truth, the role personal testimony should play in apologetics, and whether it’s sinful to not be more like Ray Comfort when talking to people you might not see again. How can I show someone that entirely relying on AI for answers is a flawed way of finding truth? What role, if any, should personal testimony play in apologetics? I feel convicted that I’m not sharing the gospel enough. Is it sinful that I...
Jul 04, 2024•26 min
Questions about whether you should stick with a decision you made that didn’t work out as you hoped if you prayed about it beforehand and how you can know for sure if God is calling you to do something. If a decision you made after much research and prayer didn’t work out as you hoped, is it okay to change direction, or should you stick with it since you prayed about it beforehand? How do you know for sure if God is actually calling you to do something?
Jul 01, 2024•21 min
Questions about how being with Jesus continually will be the highlight of eternity if he’ll only be able to interact with one person at a time since he has a physical body and how a scholarly Jewish rabbi would defend his position that Jesus is not the Messiah. It seems like being in Jesus’ presence continually will be the highlight of eternity, but since he has a physical body, won’t he only be able to interact with one person at a time? How would a scholarly Jewish rabbi defend his position th...
Jun 27, 2024•24 min
Questions about why God the Father required a sacrifice (and whether Jesus’ short-term death was really a sacrifice), whether Jesus’ disciples ever offered sacrifices at the temple, and what it means to say that sin causes separation from God if God is omnipresent. Why did God the Father require a sacrifice, and if Jesus knew he would rise again in three days, was his death really a sacrifice? Did Jesus’ disciples ever offer sacrifices at the temple, and if not, why not? How can I explain the id...
Jun 24, 2024•23 min
Questions about how to reconcile the biblical model of marriage with polygamy in the Old Testament, why the Israelites weren’t explicitly forbidden to practice polygamy, and how we can gain wisdom from Solomon about marriage when he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. How can we reconcile the biblical model of marriage (one man, one woman, one flesh, one lifetime) with the deviations from this model in the Old Testament, especially involving polygamy? What are your thoughts on why the Israelites w...
Jun 20, 2024•22 min
Questions about the best way to respond to someone who believes in double predestination and who dismisses many non-believers as lost causes and whether someone who believes they need faith plus works for salvation can still be saved by their faith. What’s the best way to respond to someone in the double predestination camp who vocally dismisses many non-believers as lost causes? Can someone who believes they need faith plus works for salvation still be saved by their faith?...
Jun 17, 2024•21 min
Questions about the best way to respond to someone who believes in double predestination and who dismisses many non-believers as lost causes and whether someone who believes they need faith plus works for salvation can still be saved by their faith. What’s the best way to respond to someone in the double predestination camp who vocally dismisses many non-believers as lost causes? Can someone who believes they need faith plus works for salvation still be saved by their faith?...
Jun 13, 2024•23 min
Questions about what to say to someone who believes the Bible and church are man-made ways to control people who don’t want to think for themselves and how to respond to the claim that Christianity “might be true for you, but not for me.” What do you say to an agnostic who believes the Bible and church are man-made and a way to control people who don’t want to think for themselves? How do you answer the claim that Christianity “might be true for you, but not for me”?...
Jun 10, 2024•26 min
Questions about whether it would be wrong to knowingly cover a coworker’s shift so they can officiate a same-sex wedding and whether it’s okay for a Christian to work for a company whose work is transitioning to support gender identity, transgenderism, etc. Would it be wrong to knowingly cover a coworker’s shift so they can officiate a same-sex wedding? As a conservative Christian with a biblical worldview, should I feel guilty for working for a company whose work is transitioning to support sex...
Jun 06, 2024•21 min
Questions about whether those in Heaven have a limited omniscience that enables them to hear our requests for them to pray for us, why Scripture comes before tradition for Protestants, and what people used for Scripture before Genesis was written. If moral perfection is a communicable property given to those in Heaven, wouldn’t it be reasonable to also speculate that limited omniscience is a communicable property, and so we can ask Christians who have died to pray for us? Why does Scripture come...
Jun 03, 2024•21 min
