Question: Why did Jesus curse a fig tree for not bearing fruit when the Gospel text explicitly notes that “it was not the season for figs” (Mark 11:13)? This appears to be Jesus’ outburst of uncharacteristic, irrational anger. Your response? Answer: I have one article on this passage at the web site. Here is the […]
Question: If Jesus is God, to whom was He praying? Also, why didn’t Jesus leave behind writings of His own? Answer: One of the great mysteries, if not THE great mystery of the Christian faith is that there is one God, yet three “persons” in that one God. This is the idea of the Trinity. […]
Question: If Jesus cannot sin, was His temptation genuinely possible or merely theoretical? Answer: That is a good question. The answer is that his temptation was absolutely real. Just because we do not give in to a temptation does not mean that we were not tempted. In fact, as a Christian, I only give in somewhat […]
Question: I was recently listening to a debate on the Trinity and I heard someone explain the relationship between the Father, Son and, Holy Spirit. In this explanation, I heard them say that though God the Father is eternal, and the Son is also eternal…only the Father is un-begotten while the Son is begotten. I […]
Question: I came across this biblical argument for the papacy and was wondering if you have heard it before and if you had any thoughts on it. As I’m sure you know, the typical passage that is often cited in support of the papacy by Roman Catholics is Matthew 16:17-19. However, in more more recent […]
Question: How would you respond to people who say “Jesus never claimed to be the Messiah”? Answer: Whoever says this does not know what he or she is talking about. Either that, or possibly they are making a very narrow statement in order to make a bogus point. Jesus said in John 5:39-40 to the […]
Question: According to the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies (4th Century), the Torah was altered (Homily 3.47), God did not ordain sacrifices (Homily 3.45), and salvation is based on obeying the True Prophet’s uncorrupted laws rather than a singular, atoning death on a cross (Homily 8.5-7). This hits the foundations of Christianity. How would you respond to this […]
Question: How would you respond to people who say “The divinity of Jesus was made up in the Council of Nicaea”? Answer: This is an oft-repeated claim which is not supported by the evidence. It is true that the idea of Jesus’ divinity was in question at the Council of Nicaea, because a faction had […]
Question: In Judaic terminology, the phrase “Son of God” often signifies closeness to God rather than a literal or exclusive divine status. Given that the Bible frequently uses such language—and that both Jews and Christians address God as “Father”—it becomes difficult to see how this title alone justifies a unique claim to divinity for Jesus. […]
Question: Why do Catholics use a rosary? Is this unbiblical? Answer: To be honest, I am not aware of the precise history by which what we now call the “rosary” developed. What we can say for sure is that it emerged out of a Catholic Church which had already firmly committed to the semi-deification of […]
Question: Did females have leadership role over grown men in the churches (not private settings) during the 1st century AD? Answer: That is a debatable point, depending on your definition of leadership roles. There is no evidence that women were preaching or teaching the entire, assembled church, and there certainly were no women elders. But […]
Question: If Jesus was predestined by an all-knowing God to be sacrificed for humanity’s sins, what was the purpose of sending prophets beforehand to call people to repentance? Many righteous men and women believed these prophets and were forgiven long before Jesus, so would they not have already entered God’s Heaven? Answer: Good point. Like […]
Question: How would you respond to females who say “Christianity causes me to feel guilty. Therefore, I want nothing to do with Christianity”? Answer: I am not sure how to think about this question, as you specify a female questioner, but the actual question does not reference anything which is gendered. So… I will answer […]
Question: Why did David write in Psalm 51:5, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”? Answer: We need to recognize first the genre of literature of the Psalms. These are poems. These are people talking to God, rather than God talking to people. For this reason, we should […]
Question: Scholars say that the concept of hell in the Bible developed throughout time . Hell as a place of eternal suffering didn’t exist in the Old Testament, only the New Testament, which has led scholars to draw the conclusion that early Christians took the idea of hell being a place of eternal suffering from […]
Question: Is it sinful to call Mary “The Mother of God”? If Christ is fully God and Jesus was fully his mother should this be a problem? On a deeper level if Christ’s natures are inseparable and Mary bore and birthed someone who is fully human and fully God (The God-Man) then it should make […]
Question: I understand many believe that Jesus is speaking metaphorically in John 6 about eating his flesh and drinking his blood. There are two different verbs used in John 6: “phagein”: the common verb “to eat” (used broadly in Greek), and “trōgō”: a more graphic verb, meaning “to gnaw, chew, munch, crunch.” Early in the chapter, Jesus […]
Question: How would you respond to a females who says “Christianity causes me to feel guilty. Therefore, I want nothing to do with Christianity”? Answer: I am not sure how to think about this question, as you specify a female questioner, but the actual question does not reference anything which is gendered. So… I will […]
Question: Is this evidence for infant baptism being practiced in the early church? Hyppolytus: “Baptize first the children, and if they can speak for themselves let them do so. Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them” (The Apostolic Tradition 21:16 [A.D. 215]). Origen: “The Church received from the apostles the tradition of […]
Question: In a post on original sin, you claim that the Roman Catholic Church teaches that we inherit sin that God must judge us for (I will leave the link of the article below for context.) however, it is my understanding that this is false. It seems to me that the Catholic Church teaches that […]
Question: Dear doctor I wanted to ask you about morality laws of Jews and Christians, and how they compare to other religions. A lot of hardcore atheists ascertain that Christians during the spread of Christianity destroyed and erased cultures from existence and replaced them with Christianity. They lament that so much culture was lost. On […]
Questions: Dr. John, I would love to hear your insights on the following questions: 1. How could Jesus die for the future sins of people who hadn’t even been born at the time of His crucifixion? We can easily understand the ransom being paid for all the past and present sins. But how could we […]
Question: According to the Qur’an (sura 2:83), God made a covenant with the Israelites: “Worship none but God; and be good to parents, relatives, orphans, and the needy; and speak nicely to people; and pray regularly, and give alms.” But no mention of sin-offering sacrifices as having God’s sanction. The Qur’an says (sura 22:37): “Neither […]
Question: Is water baptism (immersion) essential for salvation ? Answer: Yes, it certainly is. Biblically, baptism is WHEN one is forgiven of sins and receives the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38-41). Acts 22:16 provides further evidence, as Paul is told, “And now, what are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized, and […]
Question: It’s is common knowledge that the early church held to what is called baptismal regeneration. We can find this through quotes and epistles from the fathers. What about quotes on infant baptism? I’m sure you’ve read a few that can supported infant baptism. What is your response to these quotes? Also, if we are […]
Question: I have a Catholic vs. Orthodox Church-based question… Does the Holy Spirit proceed from the Father or the Son and the Father? Where in scripture can we find an answer and what are your thoughts on this? Answer: It is not my job, or even my desire, to clear up a controversy between these […]
Editor’s note: This is a long but important question with an even longer answer! Question: Kind of a tough question here that has been on my mind for a couple years now… I’ve been reading up about free will, philosophy of mind, and neuroscience and am having trouble reconciling these things with the Christian faith/ […]
Question: Some Apostolic-Pentecostal Christians claim that being baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38) is the correct form of baptism, and disregard baptism in the name of the Trinity (Matt. 28:18-20). They claim that there is a great importance concerning what you are baptized into. My question is this: are these baptisms the […]
Question: When Jesus was called Son of God, was it meant literally or in metaphorical sense? Muslims argue that Jesus was called Son of God in metaphorical sense because of his close relationship with God or so and I want to refute that idea (That it was metaphorical) from Biblical and Historical view on Jesus […]
Question: I read several early church father quotes on baptism, A Baptist’s view on this would simply be that baptism is a metonymy. [Editor’s note: A metonymy is a smaller thing used as a symbol of a greater thing. For example, “bread” is used as a metonymy for all food in Deuteronomy 8] In the […]
Question: I read your post on original sin and have several issues/questions on the matter. No offense but I don’t believe that your interpretation of original sin is accurate. It seems to me that original sin is more of a human nature issue. Adam sinned, we all have the desire to sin, or we all have […]
Question: Why do we consider God perfect and that God’s plan is perfect if we have the example of Noah’s ark? He claims to know that he has a plan for all of us but was it part of his plan to wipe out humanity in Noah’s ark? And if he knew that that would […]
Question: Are you a believer in Christian Universalism (restoration of ALL) Apocatastasis rather than Unitarian Universalism? I believe the Bible in the original writings support this. You mention in some of your writings you believe in heaven but don’t mention hell. Hell–meaning eternal, conscious torment for all who don’t believe in Christ. To me that […]
Questions: There are scriptures that seem to indicate that before we become Christians, it really doesn’t matter how much we sin–whether we sin much or little, we die spiritually, and become lost. For example: – Adam and Eve sinned only once and they died – Paul says in Eph 2:5 that “we were dead in […]
Questions: I am from India, which is the birthplace of Hinduism. I have some questions, Please kindly answer them 1. Hinduism says the incarnation of a human being in various forms occurs until he/she attains (moksha) heaven, Is not it a good idea, that it enables everyone to get into heaven? 2. What does the […]
Question: What would be your response to a JW who uses Proverbs 8 to justify claiming that Jesus as a created being? Answer: First of all, I believe that this is one example of many in which Jehovah Witnesses do eisegesis–which means reading a meaning into the text, rather than from the text. This is […]
Comment: I have been questioning reformed theology for a few years. I have many books with historical evidence to show others why it’s heresy. I am in need of a deluxe Deep Bible study to combat this disease called reformed theology. Historically, I have traced back to Zwingli as one of the main culprits in […]
Question: Adam’s sin was forgiven by God, according to the Koran (2:37), but Christianity says Jesus died for that sin. Does it mean Jesus’ sacrifice is meaningless? Answer: An interesting connection you have made! And a good question, I would say. Please understand that my answer is coming from a Christian, not a Muslim perspective. […]
Question; I have two questions that are troubling me. It concerns the passage from Deuteronomy 32:8-9. Please, answer if you can. 1. The ‘sons of God’—who are they in this passage? Are they divine beings, or are they Israelites? 2. Some critics say that this passage indicates that God El (the Most High in this […]
Question: NT writers contradicted the teachings of the Law & Prophets, and they have the nerve to say that they believe in Moses & Prophets. For e.g. NT directly contradicts with Deut. 24:16 and Ezekiel 18:20. If Jesus’ sacrifice was pre-destined, then why did God say this before? Was God double-minded or did the NT […]
Question: What is your take on Saturday being the Christian Sabbath, as taught by some Christian churches? Answer: Two things are true, which is that Saturday (actually, Friday sundown until Saturday sundown) is the Jewish Sabbath. The command for its celebration is found as one of the ten commandments (Deuteronomy 5:12). It is also true […]
Question: if Jesus is fully God and fully man at the same time right now in 2024 , do you mean for example that Jesus knows and does not know at the same time right now ? God knows everything but man does not know everything. If Jesus is fully God and fully human, do […]
Question: I am studying the Scriptures. Now, following your guidance, I am using a biblical dictionary, interlineal Greek-English Bible, and two Bibles (Scofield RV-1960 and Peshitta). I have a question. What is the difference between grace (xaris) and mercy (eleos)? I read someone (Danilo Montero, is an evangelist singer) who said: “Grace means to get […]
Question: What is it called when someone believes that God manifested himself in the Father, the Son and the Spirit, but that they are not separate persons? Answer: The most common technical name for this theology is Modalism, or the more technical name, which is Monarchical Modalism. It is called this because the teaching is […]
Question: The teachings of the Koran are not a new or strange thing. All former prophets and messengers have also taught the same, that real life is the life of the hereafter and no soul bears the burdens of another soul, and the same has been said in the former books, the books of Abraham […]
Question: God promised paradise to those in the Torah and the Gospel who are killed in a holy war, or who kill others in a holy war as stated by the Koran (9:111), but paradise is missing from the OT (including the Torah) and holy wars are missing from the NT (including the Gospels). Have […]
Question: If Jesus was God’s son in a metaphorical sense, then Jews also called themselves God’s children. Israel was called God’s firstborn, and David was called God’s son. Thus, the reason of Jesus’ crucifixion depicted in the NT gospels seems baseless. And if Jesus was God’s literal son through spirit, then Adam also had no […]
Question: If someone at birth is unable to comprehend anything at all or consider special ed will they be able to go to Heaven or Hell, considering they are unable to learn anything? Answer: It has always been my understanding that innocent children, who have not yet sinned, will be in heaven. Innocent people have […]
Question: What are your best biblical and historical arguments against the Roman Catholic doctrine of Purgatory? I am interested in hearing both sides and I would like to hear some insight from yourself as I do not believe you believe in Purgatory. Thank you for all you do and God bless. Answer: Honestly, you should […]
Question: In Genesis 18:21 towards the ending of the verse, God says “if not, I will know” when concerning the people of Sodom’s sin. Also, in Genesis 18:21 “I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.” Does […]
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