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Engaging with the Big Questions

29/11/2011 |

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Engaging with the Big Questions

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1 Peter 3:15 says: 'always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that your have’.

We’ve put together a list of some of the most frequently asked apologetic questions. In time we hope to be able to provide sermons, talks, articles and other resources on each of these questions.

If you would like to attempt to answer any of the questions or would like to add your own question to the list, please use the comment box below.

1. Has science disproved God?
2. Does science contradict religion?
3. What does the Bible say about divorce?
4. What does the Bible say about homosexuality?
5. Is it ok for Christians to drink alcohol?
6. Does the Garden of Eden still exist?
7. Is smoking a sin?
8. Is it ok for a Christian to marry or date a non-Christian?
9. Should a Christian go to war?
10. Is it possible for God to hate?
11. If God knows our future then how do we have free-will?
12. What is speaking in tongues?
13. Will a Christian go to hell if they commit suicide?
14. Why is there suffering and evil in the world?
15. Is abortion wrong?
16. Are dinosaurs mentioned in the Bible?
17. Why doesn’t God heal everybody?
18. Can I believe in evolution and the creation?
19. Is the Bible literal?
20. Can the Bible be trusted as a historical document?
21. Do pets go to heaven?
22. If a baby or child dies will they go to heaven?
23. Why do bad things happen to good people?
24. Do all religions lead to God?
25. Aren’t all religions the same?
26. Does prayer really make a difference?
27. Does God still speak today?
28. If I am saved by grace can I keep sinning?
29. Isn’t the bible sexist and out of date?
30. Why is it wrong to have sex before marriage?
31. Is Christianity a psychological crutch?
32. Is the Bible out of date?
33. If God is good, why is there so much evil in the world?
34. Why does God allow suffering?
35. Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?
36. Is Christianity an ideology?
37. How do we know that Christianity is right?
38. Aren’t Christians responsible for most wars?
39. Was Jesus God?
40. Who is Jesus?
41. What’s the difference between Christians and Jehovah’s witnesses?
42. What’s the difference between Christians and mormons?
43. What’s the difference between Christians and jews?
44. What’s the difference between Christians and muslims?
45. What’s the difference between Christians and sikhs?

 

Comments

    3 months ago

    Joshua Witten

    1. There are numerous scientists who embrace both evolution and God. They believe not only that God created a universe in which evolution occurs naturally but that God works constantly in their and other people's lives.

    4 months ago

    Robert Archer

    Interesting to read some of a modern biologist's angle on evolution vs. creation. It is over 153 years since Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" was published. Quite a while! Yet the debate is still on-going. However, I think the majority of the population in the UK believe it is a done deal, and agree with Nietzsche, "God is dead." Evolution happened, so there is no space for God.

    I was excited to read Lee Strobel's book, "The Case For A Creator", where he suggests that alot of the latest findings of science actually point towards a God. Going to have a read of Francis Collin's work and a bit of St.Augustine as well!

    5 months ago

    Eamonn Kelly

    18. Can I believe in evolution and the creation?

    A growing number of Christians, including myself, have come to the conclusion that theistic evolution is likely to be the means by which God has brought human life into being on this planet (note that evolutionary theory does not cover the genesis of life, only the development of more complex forms of life from simpler ones). Dr Francis Collins, who headed the Human Genome Project and is a Christian, started a website (BioLogos) to discuss how Christians can accommodate evolution and a non-literal reading of Genesis 1 and 2 with their Christian faith. His book "The Language of God" is very easy to read also. However, I do realise that a sizeable number of Christians are opposed to this approach, mainly because it appears to undermine the authority of Scripture.

    I am a biological scientist by profession, and I have to say that the evidence to support evolution is compelling, with the molecular/genetic evidence being most compelling. To speak plainly, I do not see any other way at present to explain the data we have, and I would not be true to myself to pretend otherwise. Collins does a good job of summarising the genetic data in his book. This does not mean that my approach is problem-free; for example how does one understand Adam and Eve, original sin, and death from the standpoint of theistic evolution? But there are problems whichever way we approach this; in my view the idea that the world was created a few thousand years ago exactly as stated in Genesis is not intellectually tenable, given what we now know about geology, cosmology, the fossil record and molecular genetics. In my view Genesis is a theological statement, not a scientific recipe book. St Augustine of Hippo rightly recognised this sort of problem 15o0 years ago:

    "Often a non-Christian knows something about the earth, the heavens, and the other parts of the world, about the motions and orbits of the stars and even their sizes and distances,... and this knowledge he holds with certainty from reason and experience. It is thus offensive and disgraceful for an unbeliever to hear a Christian talk nonsense about such things, claiming that what he is saying is based in Scripture. We should do all that we can to avoid such an embarrassing situation, lest the unbeliever see only ignorance in the Christian and laugh to scorn."
    - St. Augustine, De Genesi ad litteram libri duodecim (The Literal Meaning of Genesis),

    It is interesting and not widely realised amongst evangelicals in particular, that Young Earth Creationism is a relatively recent movement, probably over the last hundred years or so, that actually has its origins in 7th Day Adventism.

    I would warn Christians who want to take this seriously to beware of the information that groups like "Answers in Genesis" publish. Their science is, to put is kindly, very poor. Contrary to what they say, I can assure people that evolutionary theory is not about to fall apart......but then again, I have probably been brainwashed by my scientific co-conspiritors........

    Eamonn

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