Be ready always to give an answer — 1 Peter 3:15
Answers Index
A growing index of careful responses to the objections and questions people raise, with links to the sermons and articles behind it.
The Existence of God
Arguments and objections about whether there is a God at all.
-
Does design in nature point to a Creator?
“The order we see in nature may only look designed. Given enough time, chance, and natural law, complex things can arise without anyone planning them, and our universe may simply be one lucky outcome among many. Inferring a Designer from apparent design, the skeptic says, is reading intention into processes that have none.”
-
Who Made God?
“Christians say everything must have a cause, then exempt God. If God created the universe, what created God?”
Suffering & Evil
Why a good and powerful God would permit pain, evil, and loss.
-
How Can a Loving God Send People to Hell?
“Christians say God is love, yet they also say he will send people to a place of eternal punishment. A God who would do that to anyone, let alone forever, cannot really be loving. Either hell is not real or God is not good.”
-
Why Does a Good God Allow Suffering?
“If God were both all-powerful and all-loving, he would stop the pain, disease, disasters, and cruelty in the world. Since he does not, either he cannot, or he does not care, or he is not there at all.”
Reliability of the Bible
Text, transmission, translation, and claims of contradiction.
-
Do Matthew and Acts contradict each other about Judas’s death?
“Matthew says Judas hanged himself, while Acts says he fell headlong and his body burst open; how can both accounts be true?”
-
Do Paul and James contradict each other about faith and works?
“Paul says justification is by faith apart from works, while James says a person is justified by works and not faith alone. Do Romans 4, Ephesians 2 and James 2 disagree?”
-
Does fulfilled prophecy show the Bible is from God?
“Skeptics say biblical 'prophecies' are either vague enough to fit almost anything, were written or edited after the events they describe, or were deliberately acted out by people who knew the texts. On that view, fulfilled prophecy proves nothing about divine origin or about Jesus being the Messiah.”
-
How Do We Know the Bible Has Not Been Changed?
“The Bible was copied by hand for centuries and translated over and over. Whatever the original authors wrote, what we have now is a corrupted, edited text that cannot be trusted to say what they said.”
-
Is the Bible Full of Contradictions?
“Skeptics circulate long lists of passages that supposedly contradict each other. If even one of them is a real contradiction, the Bible cannot be the word of a God who does not lie, so the honest thing is to admit the book is full of errors.”
-
Who Decided Which Books Belong in the Bible?
“The Bible's table of contents was settled by politics. Constantine and church councils centuries after Christ picked the books that suited them and suppressed the rest, so the canon is a human invention.”
-
Why do Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus?
“Matthew names Jacob as Joseph’s father and traces Jesus through David’s son Solomon, while Luke names Heli and traces the line through Nathan; how can both genealogies be true?”
Jesus & the Resurrection
The historical case for Jesus, his death, and his resurrection.
-
Did Jesus Really Exist?
“Jesus is a legend stitched together from older myths. There is no real evidence outside the Bible that a man named Jesus of Nazareth ever lived, let alone did what the Gospels claim.”
-
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
“Dead men do not come back to life. The resurrection story is more likely the product of grief, hallucination, a stolen or misplaced body, a man who only fainted on the cross, or a legend that grew over time among devoted followers.”
-
Was Jesus Really God?
“Jesus was a good teacher and maybe a prophet, but he never claimed to be God. The idea that he was divine was added later by his followers and the church.”
Science & Faith
Origins, miracles, and whether science displaces belief.
Morality & Meaning
Moral objections to God and questions about purpose and value.
Christianity & History
Hypocrisy, violence done in God's name, and the church's record.
Common Misconceptions
Claims about the faith that mostly need untangling, not debating.
Bible Questions
Puzzling passages, honest questions, and what Scripture actually teaches.
-
Are people born guilty of Adam’s sin?
“If Adam’s sin affected everyone, and David says he was conceived in sin, does that mean people inherit Adam’s guilt and are sinners from birth?”
-
Can I be forgiven and still feel guilty?
“If I have repented and God has forgiven me, why do I still feel guilty about my past sins?”
-
Can a Christian fall from grace?
“If someone has truly been saved, can that Christian later turn away from God and lose salvation?”
-
Do miraculous spiritual gifts continue today?
“The New Testament describes prophecy, tongues, and miraculous healing. Were these gifts intended to continue throughout the Christian age?”
-
Does Christian unity allow denominational division?
“Many denominations claim to follow Christ while teaching different doctrines. Does the unity described in the New Testament permit this division?”
-
Does God unconditionally predestine individuals to salvation?
“Do passages about God choosing and predestining people mean that he decides which individuals will be saved without regard to their faith, choices, or obedience?”
-
Does the thief on the cross show baptism is unnecessary?
“Jesus promised the thief Paradise without a recorded baptism; does that mean people today can be saved without being baptized?”
-
Does ‘Judge not’ forbid all moral judgment?
“Does Jesus’ command “Judge not” mean that Christians must never identify wrongdoing or false teaching?”
-
If my prayer isn’t answered, does that mean something is wrong with my faith?
“I pray sincerely, but the things I ask for still do not happen. Does that mean my faith is too weak, God has not heard me, or I have done something wrong?”
-
Must I Resolve Every Doubt Before I Can Have Faith?
“I still have questions about God and the Bible; must I settle every doubt before I can honestly believe?”
-
Should infants be baptized?
“Some churches baptize infants to remove inherited sin or admit them to the covenant. Do household baptisms, circumcision, or the promise to children justify this practice?”
-
What is the difference between feeling sorry and repenting?
“If I feel sorry for what I did and ask for forgiveness, is that repentance, or does repentance require something more?”
-
Why sing without musical instruments in Christian worship?
“Musical instruments were used under the Old Testament and are common in churches today. Why do some Christians sing without them?”
-
Will Jesus reign over an earthly millennial kingdom?
“Will Christ return to establish a political kingdom on earth and reign there for a literal thousand years?”
Membership opens the full answers
Objections and teasers stay free for everyone. Supporters ($25/yr) choose 3 full Answers and get 25 index searches a day; Researchers ($50/yr) read every Answer and search without limits.