All Questions
31
votes
8answers
2k views
How did all the animals fit into Noah's ark?
During the great flood Noah was ordered by God to fetch two animals of each species and put them into his ark.
19 And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of
every kind ...
22
votes
3answers
1k views
How is ignoring clear Biblical instructions in Leviticus justified?
Leviticus 11:7-8
And the pig, though it has a split hood completely divided, does not
chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or
touch their carcasses; they are ...
17
votes
3answers
226 views
When are souls “received”?
(I'd prefer a Biblically-based answer, but if an early-church author or someone like C.S. Lewis needs to be referenced, that's fine.)
Few Christians will dispute that we humans have souls, but the ...
17
votes
9answers
2k views
If God controls our decisions, does this mean we don't have free will?
This was originally part of this question However, it's really a separate line of logic (and therefore a different question, imo). If others prefer, I can remerge this into the original.
God is ...
15
votes
5answers
439 views
Under what conditions can a “good” or “charitable” act actually be sin?
In spite of a prevalent cultural attitude towards sin that excuses misbehavior if a person had "good intentions", most Christian traditions do not seem to include the persons feelings in the matter ...
12
votes
1answer
319 views
What is the origin of the moral-civil-ceremonial distinction of the Old Testament law?
This distinction is often called tripartite division of the law.
I ran across this series of blog posts:
http://maelandcindy.blogspot.com/2008/06/is-mosaic-law-tripartite.html
...
11
votes
2answers
8k views
Where in the Bible does it say that Lucifer is an angel?
Where in the Bible does it say that Lucifer was one of the angels or an archangel?
9
votes
1answer
154 views
How do I track the history of changes to a given verse's actual text? How do I discover it's “lineage”?
Has there been a project that traces the genealogy of each verse of the scripture?
I.e., for each verse, it traces back through all the documents it was translated from, the default translations at ...
19
votes
5answers
740 views
Is murder allowed if God tells you to do it?
The Bible pretty clearly says not to murder (Exodus 20:13).
But if we examine Numbers 25 or 1Kings 18:40, we see God (or more accurately, his prophets) telling us to kill people. Indeed, entire ...
16
votes
3answers
364 views
Protestant arguments for perpetual virginity of Mary
It's common knowledge that Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodoxy have the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary. Protestants generally don't have that belief.
Less known is that Zwingli and ...
14
votes
6answers
819 views
What evidence exists for post-Biblical miracles?
I think any Christian will agree that real-life miracles happened at the time of the Old and New Testament. I've also heard that modern day miracles are more common in developing countries than they ...
12
votes
2answers
1k views
What happens to non-believers or believers of other religions after death?
What happens (according to Christians) to people who specificially rejected the idea of God, the Bible and the christian teachings after they die?
Is there a difference to people who believed in ...
8
votes
1answer
85 views
Rules behind resolving alleged Biblical discrepancies
One of the charges that is consistently leveled against Biblical reliability is that the Bible is "full of contradictions". This is certainly not a new charge, and the field of Apologetics, with its ...
8
votes
3answers
267 views
Sons of God begat famous people?
Genesis 6:1--4 tells about the "sons of God" marrying whomsoever they pleased, and the Nephilim---"the heroes of old, men of renown"---were begotten then. How is this to be interpreted?
5
votes
1answer
244 views
Why does the Bible say that people no longer need to ‘feel guilty’ under the gospel, as compared to the Old Testament?
There is the verse from Hebrews that makes me pose the question:
10 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the ...
5
votes
2answers
870 views
When did Christianity originate?
How long has Christianity been around? Not how or why -- just when did it start:
As a religion?
As a name?
23
votes
2answers
2k views
What did Paul mean by “women must be silent in church”?
In the Bible Paul says that women must be silent in churches and ask questions to their husband when they get home.
This is completely ignored in the modern day churches, with many women being ...
18
votes
3answers
478 views
What is the Roman Catholic view on Matthew 23:9?
In Matthew 23:9, Jesus says:
Matthew 23:9 (NIV)
And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.
What is the Roman Catholic view on this? In the Roman ...
14
votes
3answers
2k views
Crucifixion — torture stake or cross?
The Jehovah's Witnesses state that Jesus was not nailed on a cross, but on a torture stake. The New World Translation of the Bible is phrased accordingly. For example:
Matthew 10:38 (NWT)
And ...
13
votes
5answers
1k views
Under what conditions does the Bible support divorce?
It seems that Jesus talks out against divorce. But in other places, divorce is allowed. How does this all play out and where does the bible really stand on this? Is it a sin or is it just part of ...
7
votes
2answers
363 views
Is there any Biblical basis for hating homosexuals?
As I was raised: God is all-loving, and He wants us to be all-loving too.
But, as you may know, homosexuals—particularly in America—have been shown hatred, and even violence (1)(2)(3)(4) from some ...
6
votes
3answers
231 views
Do parts of Hebrews 3 and 4 imply that saved Christians can become unsaved?
A few nights ago, a friend and I were reading through Hebrews 3 and 4. A few verses in particular caught my attention...
Hebrews 3:11-13 (NLT)
11 So in my anger I took an oath,
...
18
votes
3answers
3k views
Is incest a sin?
If we all descended from one man and one woman then it's quite apparent that a third generation was not possible without the sexual union of close relatives.
Does the Bible (or other Christian ...
11
votes
2answers
439 views
Do Jehovah's Witnesses use different language for theological reasons?
They don't have churches: they have Kingdom Halls (though it's not wrong to refer to a Kingdom Hall as a type of church).
They don't have hymns: they have Kingdom Songs (though it's not wrong to ...
11
votes
3answers
248 views
Is repentance required for salvation?
I know that through faith alone I am saved. But is repentance a requirement for that salvation as a part of my faith? Is repentance a single act, or should it be continuous?
10
votes
3answers
1k views
What does the Bible say about sex before marriage / premarital sex?
The title pretty much asks the question, but let's set the stage like this:
Two people meet in High School, have sex, then eventually get married.
What does the bible say about sex prior to ...
4
votes
3answers
241 views
Does my monk go to heaven? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What happens to people who have never heard about Jesus?
I have found this very basic question perplexing to different pastors, rectors, and members of churches: If ...
34
votes
8answers
3k views
The Bible seems to allow polygamy. Why doesn't the church?
In Exodus 21:10 and Deuteronomy 21:15-16 (among many other passages), it talks about polygamy as if it were acceptable.
Indeed, there are several holy men (Abraham and Solomon come to mind offhand) ...
57
votes
10answers
1k views
Can there be free will in heaven?
The most common explanation I heard from Christians for the theodicy is that suffering is caused inevitably by the free will of humans. The argument is essentially that a world without suffering is ...
42
votes
4answers
1k views
What is the biblical basis for the claim that abortion is immoral?
The Catholic church, as well as many other Christians, believes that abortion is inherently immoral, based on the belief that life begins at conception.
What is the biblical basis for this position?
...
27
votes
7answers
1k views
How can the sun be created after day and night?
"Light" was created on day 1 - Genesis 1:3-5. However the sun was created on day 4 - Genesis 1:14-19.
How is this possible?
16
votes
9answers
546 views
How can a Wholly Good God Deliberately Create Evil?
I think it's pretty universally accepted that God is wholly good. Indeed, many sources, including lots of answers on this website, are based on the belief that God is the perfect standard of ...
14
votes
6answers
435 views
Where was Jesus during the period from His death to resurruction? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Did Jesus spend time in Hell between the crucifixion and resurrection?
Jesus died and was raised from death on the third day.
Where did Jesus go during the period from ...
22
votes
5answers
2k views
Does God create some people Heterosexual and others Homosexual?
It is quite common for people who identify themselves as homosexual to say that God created them this way. Some way even go so far as to say it was a misfortune that they were born into:
...
22
votes
4answers
328 views
What is the Biblical basis for Total Depravity?
Calvin, among his other points starts with the point that we are totally depraved and sinful from birth. What is the Biblical basis for this point?
12
votes
5answers
1k views
Does the Bible support the idea of a temporary holding place?
A friend once talked about the idea that there are two temporary "holding places", so to speak. If a person died and would go to Heaven, but that time had not yet come, they would go to a temporary ...
8
votes
3answers
177 views
What is the doctrine of the Trinity?
What is the doctrine of the Trinity as defined by Christianity?
Obviously there are three entities involved: God the Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, but is there more to the definition?
8
votes
4answers
356 views
What evidence is there to support the position that the Bible is truly the Word of God to mankind?
Christianity generally accepts the Bible to be the Word of God, and the Bible itself makes this claim (i.e. 2 Peter 1:16-21).
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to
...
7
votes
7answers
394 views
Is there a way to prove the God of the Bible?
I understand that there is an element call faith to believe a system of belief. But my question is, are there valid arguments to prove God to someone who does not believe? Or at least to present God ...
3
votes
1answer
469 views
What is the Christian perspective on the description of God?
My pastor (Calvary Chapel) referred to God as His father, then once said that God is everywhere and in everything (i.e. - inside each person) and then that God is Love.
So now I am confused as to ...
15
votes
4answers
194 views
What is “faith?”
The Bible and Christians talk about faith a lot. Matthew 12:32 talks about "faith as a mustard seed" for instance.
I've heard many Christians say things like "I don't have enough faith," or "I want ...
13
votes
5answers
464 views
Did Paul write the Epistle to the Hebrews?
The authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews is an open question. The common scholarly opinion is that the author certainly wasn't Paul.
Most modern Bible translations make no mention of the author, ...
12
votes
10answers
413 views
Are there truths that can only be known through spiritual means?
The motivation for this question basically comes from reading the discussion around the question Is it necessary to Biblically support arguments within discussions about Christianity? and a question ...
11
votes
3answers
457 views
When talking about the Trinity, what does “persons” mean?
The triune God is defined as three persons equal in nature. What does "persons" mean in this statement? Can the word "persons" be replaced with "personalities" or "roles"?
10
votes
4answers
583 views
What is the biblical basis for salvation by faith alone (sola fide)?
One of the key issues in the Reformation was the doctrine of Sola Fide, that is, that salvation is by faith alone, apart from works.
What, then, is the biblical basis for this belief?
9
votes
1answer
285 views
What distinctive kinds of Bible translations are there?
Obviously there is a lot decisions and elbow-grease that go into producing any Bible translation. I hear a lot of different terms used to describe the different methodologies that guide those ...
6
votes
2answers
412 views
What major discrepancies exist between “versions” of the Bible?
Based on a comment from @AndrewThompson,
'the' Bible (any one you care to name) is no more evidence of anything than the BOM is. You might take the numerous discrepancies between versions of ...
5
votes
3answers
280 views
How did God's morality not change between OT and NT times?
I really have a problem at times explaining to the unbelievers the fact that God wants all people to be saved. The problem is the difference between the morality seen in the OT and the morality seen ...
21
votes
7answers
664 views
What is God waiting for before He ends the world?
I probably have this question since I'm very young. Here are some few sample answers that I've got:
He's waiting for the right time
Until the whole world bow knees and worship only God
IMHO, the ...
16
votes
4answers
365 views
Does the Bible give us a purpose to life?
I'm not sure that I know of any place in the Bible that directly states, "this is the purpose to life." But does it give us any idea as the exact purpose as to why we were created.
If God is truly ...
