Q&A
Would God Kill a Baby To Teach Parents a Lesson?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Cruciform Theology, Jesus, Non-Violence
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, The Problem of Evil
Question: We have a group of guys that are going through your book “Is God to Blame” and a question came up that I would be curious how you would look at it. In the beginning…
Shouldn’t preachers rally Christians to fight political injustice?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Kingdom Living, Politics, Social Issues
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Question: My pastor has publicly supported your book The Myth of a Christian Nation. But he’s recently called on the church to take a stand against the injustice of our local government cutting funding for inner…
I have forgiven, but how do I trust again?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Forgiveness, Relationships
Topics: Relationships
READER: A while back, a friend of mine seriously hurt and betrayed me. After three years of not seeing one another (her choice), she humbly repented, told me she was sorry, and asked for my forgiveness. I have forgiven her and we are starting to be friends again. But now what? How do I open my heart to her again? How do I start “testing the waters” to see if I can trust again?
How can prayer change God’s mind?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, God, Open Theism, Prayer, Theology
Topics: Apologetics, Open Theism
You’ve argued that since God is all-good, he’s always doing the most he can do in every situation to bring about good. But you have also argued that prayer can change God’s mind. How are these two beliefs compatible?
Are angels involved in answering prayer?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Prayer, Spiritual Warfare
Topics: Hearing God, Prayer, Spiritual Warfare, Cosmic Conflict
READER: In Daniel 10 we read of an angel telling Daniel that he was delayed from giving him the answer to his prayer because of spiritual warfare going on. My question is, are angels always involved in answering our prayers?
I believe Christianity is true, but how do I feel it?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Spiritual Formation
Topics: Hearing God, Prayer
READER: Reading your Letters From a Skeptic recently helped me conclude that Jesus really is Lord and that he died for me, so I decided to become his follower. But for some reason I don’t…
Isn’t it contradictory to say Jesus is “fully God” and “fully human”?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Incarnation, Jesus, Q&A, Theology
Topics: Christology, Jesus: Lord or Legend
READER: God is, by definition, eternal, having neither beginning nor end. Human beings are, by definition, finite, beginning at a certain point in time. How, then, can Jesus be both God (eternal) and human (finite)?…
Answering an Objection to a Cross-Centered Approach to Scripture
Category: Q&A
Tags: Bible, Cruciform Theology, Inerrancy, Q&A, Scripture
Topics: Christus Victor view of Atonement
Through Greg’s Facebook and Twitter, we’ve been getting some great feedback and questions regarding his cross-centered approach to Scripture. Several have voiced questions similar to the reader’s (below), so we thought it would be helpful to post Greg’s answer here on his blog.
If God is already doing the most he can do, how does prayer increase his influence?
Category: Q&A
Tags: God, Prayer, Problem of Evil, Providence, Q&A
Topics: Defending the Open View, Hearing God, Prayer, Providence, Predestination and Free Will
Question: If God always does the most that he can in every tragic situation, as you claim in Satan and the Problem of Evil, how can you believe that prayer increases his influence, as you…
If God anticipates each possibility perfectly, how does he differ from the “frozen God” of classical theism?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Foreknowledge, God, Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Attributes and Character, Defending the Open View
Question: If God anticipates each and every possibility as if each were only possibility, how does God ever experience novelty and adventure? It seems that a God who perfectly anticipated (from all eternity) every single…
If God shouldn’t get blamed when free agents do evil, why should he be thanked when they do good?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Free Will, Predestination, Q&A
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, The Problem of Evil
Scripture tells us that every good gift comes from God the Father who “does not change like shifting shadows” (Ja 1:17). I interpret this to mean that God is always good and that he’s always…
How Does God Hear All Our Prayers?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, God, Prayer, Q&A
Topics: Hearing God, Prayer
Q: At any given moment there are millions of people praying to God. How is it possible for God to pay attention to my little, silent prayer amidst all the chatter? The reason you or…
Why Did Jesus Curse The Poor Fig Tree?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Bible, Jesus, New Testament, Q&A
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
Why Did Jesus Curse The Fig Tree? One of the strangest episodes recorded in the Gospels is Jesus cursing a fig tree because he was hungry and it didn’t have any figs (Mk 11:12-14; Mt…
What about the thief on the cross?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Afterlife, Heaven and Hell, Q&A
Topics: Death and Salvation, End Times
Question: You hold that most people who are saved will nevertheless have to go through a “purging fire” to have their character refined and fit for heaven. Whatever is unfinished in our “sanctification” in this…
When Did Jesus Bind the Strongman?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Bible, New Testament, Q&A
Topics: Atonement and The Cross, Spiritual Warfare, Cosmic Conflict
Question: In Luke 11:21-22 Jesus said: “When a strong man, with all his weapons ready, guards his own house, all his belongings are safe. But when a stronger man attacks him and defeats him, he…
Is Open Theism Incompatible With a Chalcedonian Christology?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Incarnation, Q&A
Topics: Christology, Defending the Open View
Question: The Chalcedonian Creed says Jesus was “fully God and fully human” and that these “two natures” remained distinct in the Incarnation, even though Jesus was one united person. I’m told that part of the…
How do I avoid feeling like God is absent?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A, Warfare Worldview
Topics: Hearing God, Prayer
Question: I used to see God involved in everything and used to believe every event expressed God’s will. After my wife and I lost our child in a tragic accident, and as a result of…
What is the difference between “libertarian” and “compatibilistic” freedom?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Free Will, Predestination, Q&A, Responding to Calvinism
Topics: Free Will and the Future, Providence, Predestination and Free Will
Question: I often hear philosophers and theologians talk about “libertarian” and “compatibilistic” freedom. What do these terms mean? Answer: A person who holds to “libertarian” freedom believes that an agent (human or angelic) is truly free and morally…
Will people get married in heaven?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Afterlife, Heaven and Hell, Q&A
Topics: End Times
Question: I lead a Bible study group for teenagers. One recently asked a question: “Will there be marriage in Heaven? And if not, why? God created marriage when He created the perfect earth, so why…
Does religious faith make someone a better politician?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Politics, Q&A, Social Issues
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Question: A recent poll showed that a majority of Americans agreed with the statement: “Religious faith makes someone a better politician.” In fact, a majority said they would never vote for a candidate who had…