Category Archives: Answering Your Questions

Why does God allow evil?

Leave a reply

Question: “If God is real, and He is good, then why does He allow evil to exist in the world?” P in Virginia.

My Answer: This is probably one of the most frequently asked questions in the fields of philosophy or theology. It is a major obstacle to many people in their seeking after religious truth. It is an argument often used by skeptics, agnostics and atheists to question the goodness and/or reality of God Himself. Why is there is evil? And how can a good God allow it?

This is not a question that can be answered fully in this short space. However, we can give a partial answer that will hopefully offer some insight to anyone wrestling with this issue. Continue reading →

Is It Okay to Charge Interest?

Leave a reply

Question: “Is it okay for Christians to charge interest, especially in business loans?” R in Virginia

My Answer: The question of whether or not a Christian should charge interest on a loan is one that has been debated in the church for quite a long time. The Bible does speak to this issue in a number of places. The matter basically turns on how one is to interpret the relevant passages of Scripture. Opinions vary from those who believe that it is absolutely wrong for Christians to charge any interest at all, to those who assert that it is okay to charge interest of non-Christians but not fellow believers, to those who believe it is okay as long as the interest is not exorbitant or unfair. What are we to make of this issue? Continue reading →

Praying to Saints

Leave a reply

Question: Why do some people pray to saints? Where did this practice come from? And is it okay?

My Answer: Jesus taught us that prayer is appropriately offered to God the Father. He taught us to pray, “Our Father…” (Matthew 6:9). He told us to ask the Father, in the name of the Son (John 16:23, 14:13-14). Jesus Himself demonstrated to us this pattern of praying to the Father (see John 17:1, Matthew 26:39, John 11:41-42, etc. Also cf. Hebrews 5:7). Therefore, we see that the proper way to pray is to the Father. We do this through the Son, which is the only way that we approach God (John 14:6, Hebrews 14:14-16). Jesus is the mediator, the intermediary, between man and God (1 Timothy 2:5). Continue reading →

Are Birthdays Pagan?

Leave a reply

Question: “Are birthdays pagan? Birthdays are mentioned three times in the Bible: In Genesis 40, and Pharaoh’s chief baker was killed; in Matthew 14:6-11 on Herod’s birthday, and John was beheaded; and how many children, including babies that were boy’s and two years old and under had to die at Christ’s birth. Yes, this is in the Bible. It seems that in the Bible bad things are associated with celebrating birthdays?” (R. in Virginia) Continue reading →