Questions about whether our physical ailments are caused by spiritual warfare, how much agency demons have in light of the fact that God sometimes sends them to do things, and how they can be both evil and under God’s command. What do you think about my pastor and his wife attributing any physical ailments they have to spiritual warfare? In light of the fact that God is sometimes said to have sent an evil spirit to do something, how much agency do demons have? How can they be both evil and under...
Dec 05, 2024•23 min
Questions about whether evil spirits can come into our lives through openings like certain music and movies and whether putting Bible verses under your pillow to stop nightmares is a legitimate form of spiritual warfare. What do you think about the idea that evil spirits can come into our lives through different openings like certain music and movies? My friend said her nightmares stopped after she wrote Bible verses on cards and placed them under her pillow. Is this over-spiritualization, or is...
Dec 02, 2024•22 min
Questions about whether a lack of persecution means you’re not living a godly life, what to think about your faith if your suffering doesn’t bring you closer to God, whether we need to nurture the fruit of the Spirit, and characteristics that separate a disciple from a new convert. Second Timothy 3:12 says that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” so if I’m not being persecuted, does that mean I’m not living a godly life? I often hear that people wouldn’t trade thei...
Nov 28, 2024•24 min
Questions about why Ezekiel 36:31–32 would say, contrary to Ezekiel 39:25–26, that putting God’s Spirit into people will cause them to loathe themselves and be ashamed and whether or not it’s biblical to say that the closer you are to God, the more sinful you feel. Why would Ezekiel 36:31–32 say that after God puts his Spirit in his people, they will loathe themselves and be ashamed for their sins when his Spirit is supposed to give us hope and joy in Christ as children of God, and doesn’t this ...
Nov 25, 2024•21 min
Questions about why we should treat everyone respectfully, how to reconcile Jesus calling the Pharisees a brood of vipers with the instructions in 1 Peter 3:15 to treat people with gentleness and respect, and the charge that Christians have no evidence for God. How would you explain to a believer why we should treat everyone respectfully when Hitler shouldn’t have been treated respectfully? How do we reconcile Jesus calling the Pharisees a brood of vipers with 1 Peter 3:15, which says we should ...
Nov 21, 2024•28 min
Questions about how to respond to the current mainstream view of the historical Jesus and the allegations that Jesus just ripped off material from ancient religions that preceded him. How would you respond to the current mainstream view of the historical Jesus? How should I respond to the allegations that Jesus just ripped off material from ancient religions that preceded him?
Nov 18, 2024•22 min
Questions about how to convince a former Christian that Jesus is God, whether Jesus’ human nature was created, and what the Bible means when it says Jesus is the firstborn. How do you convince a former Christian that Jesus is God? Is it wrong to describe Jesus’ human nature as created, and how should I respond to a Jehovah’s Witness who says that a firstborn, if not the first to be born, must be a member of the group he is preeminent over?
Nov 14, 2024•21 min
Questions about whether we ever need to forgive God in order to heal our emotions, whether it’s unbiblical to tell someone he needs to forgive himself, why poor people were allowed to offer a flour sacrifice without blood, and whether it’s wrong to call out one another’s sins. Is it true that sometimes we need to forgive God in order to heal our emotions? Is it unbiblical advice to tell someone he needs to forgive himself? If there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood, why were poor p...
Nov 11, 2024•24 min
Questions about what progressive Christian teachings one should look out for and whether John 16:12–13 provides justification for the views of progressive Christians. I’ve been hearing about progressive Christianity and wondering what I should look for when it comes to unbiblical teaching. Some progressive Christians and churches cite John 16:12–13 as justification for their views. If that passage doesn’t mean what they say, what does it mean?
Nov 07, 2024•29 min
Questions about how we know the biblical authors (Moses, etc.) interpreted their subjective experiences of receiving revelation from God correctly as opposed to Mohammed or Joseph Smith and how to respond to the idea that we can have different truths and both be right. All supposed revelation of religions involves a subjective experience of receiving that revelation, so how do we know the biblical authors (Moses, the prophets, etc.) were interpreting their experiences correctly as opposed to Moh...
Nov 04, 2024•28 min
Questions about how biblical inspiration differs from automatic writing, whether or not we don’t know who wrote 74% of the New Testament, signing a man-made statement of faith, and how, if the Word of God is powerful, someone who taught it faithfully can go rogue theologically. How is divine inspiration of the Scriptures different from the automatic writing they have in cults? It really does not bother you that you don’t know who wrote 74% of the New Testament? It could have been anybody. Is it ...
Oct 31, 2024•22 min
Questions about how God could be just if so many wrongs go unpunished, an objection to God punishing people in Hell, and whether God’s promise to meet all our needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus is referring to physical needs, spiritual needs, or both. The cross only upholds justice between God and man, but where is justice among men? How is God just if so many wrongs go unpunished? An infinite being existing outside of the time and space he created will set us on fire if we don’t let ...
Oct 28, 2024•23 min
Questions about the legitimacy of the principle of double effect when it comes to abortion and saving the mother’s life, whether laws should protect the unborn baby at the expense of the mother’s life, laws for non-viable pregnancies, and changing pro-choice areas vs. leaving. Is it just a cop-out to cite the principle of double effect when the unborn baby dies as a result of saving the mother’s life? What should lawmakers do when it comes to situations where the mother has to choose between her...
Oct 24, 2024•28 min
Question about what biblical principles should guide how we vote. What biblical principles should guide how we vote?
Oct 21, 2024•31 min
Questions about whether we should only study the truth in the Bible and not learn about other beliefs, whether the apologetics approach is contrary to the warning in 2 John 10, and the biggest change STR has seen in the types of questions asked over the years. If people who are trained to identify fake currency only study the real currency, should we therefore only study the Bible and not learn about other beliefs? Isn’t the apologetics approach contrary to 2 John 10, which tells us not to let a...
Oct 17, 2024•21 min
Questions about when a human receives a soul and how to respond to someone who rejects science, reason, philosophy, and objective morality in her effort to defend abortion, saying that pro-lifers just want to control women. When does a human receive a soul? In the zygote stage, the cells haven’t differentiated yet, and some become the placenta, but the placenta doesn’t have a soul, so why would the zygote? Should I give up trying to persuade someone who rejects science, reason, philosophy, and o...
Oct 14, 2024•21 min
Questions about how to respond to someone who says that maybe God intended for her daughter to transition from a girl to a boy and how kids in a small youth group with a child who identifies as non-binary can navigate that situation with respect and allegiance to the Word of God. How do I respond to my sister who says that God doesn’t make mistakes and maybe he chose for her daughter to be trans as a challenge for her to overcome (i.e., he intended for her daughter to transition from a girl to a...
Oct 10, 2024•22 min
Questions about how we know if the good things we experience are the result of God’s actions, whether something can be considered a miracle if it can be explained scientifically, and how to respond to atheists who are mocking a Christian’s prayers for rain. Believers credit God for the good things that happen to them, but good things happen to non-believers also, so how do we know if the good things we experience are the direct result of God’s actions or would have just happened anyway without h...
Oct 07, 2024•25 min
Questions about how one would argue that a particular truth is self-evident, the biblical justification for the claim of our Founding Fathers that God gave us the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and the right to liberty vs. submitting to governing authorities. How would one argue that a particular truth is self-evident? What is the biblical justification for the claim of our Founding Fathers that God gave us the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and what are the limit...
Oct 03, 2024•34 min
Questions about whether the Bible explicitly forbids premarital sex and whether Song of Songs 2:4–6 promotes premarital sex. How should I respond to someone who says the Bible never explicitly forbids premarital sex? Does Song of Songs 2:4–6 promote premarital sex?
Sep 30, 2024•20 min
Questions about whether Christians can simply say that God’s moral requirements are a show of loyalty to him rather than argue they’re the best way to live, whether references to unforgivable sins contradict the idea that all our sins are forgiven, and praying for Satan. Christians often try to make the case that Christian morality is the best way to live, but at some point could we simply say God’s requirements are a show of loyalty to him irrespective of any possible impact on society? How doe...
Sep 26, 2024•21 min
Questions about how to help a friend move away from his belief that objective facts about religious issues, unlike scientific facts, are “just someone’s belief” and how to respond to an atheist who keeps dismissing every argument and demanding “verified” evidence. How can I help a friend who thinks objective facts about religious issues are, unlike scientific facts, “just someone’s belief” move away from the fact-value split? How should I respond to an atheist who keeps demanding “verified” evid...
Sep 23, 2024•22 min
Questions about what to tell a child who feels guilty for not wanting to read the Bible because he finds it boring and confusing, what Bible was printed before King James published his version, and whether or not the original versions are available in English. What do I tell a child who feels guilty for not wanting to read the Bible because he finds it boring and confusing? Was King James greedy and power-hungry, and did he have a version of the Bible written to support the royal kingdom? What w...
Sep 19, 2024•21 min
Questions about what we would say in a high school graduation speech if given the opportunity, how to talk to talk about eternity with a six-year-old who is disturbed by the thought of Heaven never ending, and where Jesus is now if he has a body. If you had the opportunity to give the high school graduation speech, what would you say? How should I talk to my six-year-old about eternity when she struggles with the thought of it never ending and says she wishes she would have never been born so sh...
Sep 16, 2024•21 min
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
