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Do you have a question that you’d like to ask Pastor Wilson? If so, we’d love to hear it. While we don’t anticipate being able to get to them all, we’ll grab selected questions each week and see what he has to say. The more your question asks for principals (rather than situation specific advice), the more helpful it will be to a broad audience and therefore the more likely we are to throw it at Doug. So go ahead, ask by submitting a comment to this post (and feel free to leave the contact info blank – it is not required)…
796 Comments
Why should I NOT be Roman Catholic? What is wrong with Roman Catholic theology, insofar as it contradicts scripture. The various traditions aside, concerning Marian theology and sacraments and whatnot, because they do not actually contradict scripture per se, so long as you listen to their explanations. So what’s the problem? Why not be Roman Catholic?
Thanks
In the Gospel of Mark the word “immediately” is clearly a theme. What is author saying by it? What does it say to us today? How do we apply it? Bill
Just listened to your response on death metal and Christians. I have heard the argument made that death metal is not forbidden because it is a wisdom issue, as in “all things are lawful but not all things are advantageous (or wise)”. How would you respond to this?
There are certain camp(s) within the Reformed community whose churches rarely see growth by way of conversions. Without falling into the trap of reading the tea leaves exclusively by such considerations, what do you make of this common observation? In general, how should those churches evaluate themselves in light of the relative lack of growth?
In John 14:12-14 Jesus says that those who believe in Him will do even greater works than He did. Is He speaking to Christians today and if so what does He mean?
Our daughter was raised in reformed theology. She has been dating a non-believer for 2 years and now they’re talking marriage. She knows what the Bible says about being unequally yoked be she said she’s going to win him over. This has been the cause of many verbal altercations over the past 2 years and now she expects me to give her away. Can I, in good conscience give her to a man that does not call Jesus his Lord and Savior? DO we not attend our daughters wedding?
HELP!
What do you think of old earth creationist such as Hugh Ross?
Can a Christian, in good conscience, have a career in government? Not politics, per se (though that would be included), but for a government agency (eg. FBI, Veteran’s Adminstration, Dept. of Agriculture, or localized versions such as public schools, county government, etc.)
How would you advise a believer who is a member of a biblical local congregation of a denomination that seems to be going astray. Should a believer ever leave a local congregation because of decisions made by the denomination’s government, even if the local congregation’s leaders are not agreeable to the decisions of the denomination? The current direction of many denominations has left countless believers in this situation.
Thanks, Jay
Do you think business and commerce will continue to exist in the New Heavens and New Earth? And to what extent?
Does Genesis demand a young earth position??? If so then how are we to address the Astronomical data combined with what the Bible says in Psalm 19 which says “the the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.”
Doug Wilson is a man of God that I greatly respect and admire for several different reasons. I value his input on any topic even if I disagree with him. So in that vein I have a question for him. What are your thoughts regarding the notion that women should bear as many children as God allows and not using any form of birth control, whether it be chemical or some natural planning method. Currently, we have 7 children and have read about the quiverfull “movement” but haven’t really done a lot of study into. We just were convinced from passages like Psalm 127 and 128 and from God’s original command of being fruitful and multiplying. We are trying to work through this issue biblically and would greatly value Pastor Wilson input. I searched blog and ma blog to see if I could find anything and this issue is not addressed in of his familial stuff, which we probably have mot of his work in that area. Thanks in advance and keep up the outstanding work…
I don’t think I’ve heard any really clear advice on the subject of dealing with children/friends who have abandoned the faith. Other than to love the unconditionally and ignore all the bad things they do. It seems like this blanket approach isn’t good enough and there should be a path of wisdom chiseled out in the middle. For instance, I have gone to several church baby showers for the fornicating children of believing parents – in an attempt to welcome them into the faith with a plethora of onesies. And I have a number of faithless friends on facebook whose mothers continually grin and bear their faithless remarks and status updates referencing their late night drinking binges. How should people in the church and parents deal with those that are close to us but at the same time are mocking the faith and throwing their lives away? Because I just want to smack them.
Just to clarify my previous question a tad bit more… In the good old days people were disowned and cast off from decent society for their unmentionable acts. In Jane Austin, the knocked up unwed daughters were packed off to the country with the obnoxious aunt. And never spoken of again. Nowadays these scenarios are reversed – we welcome ne’er-do-wells with open arms in the hope to cozy them back. How much of this is Christian progress and how much of this just isn’t helping? We know our role when it comes to unbelievers and people outside the church, but it gets a lot stickier when it hits closer to home. Should I go to baby showers for the unwed daughters of church members and act like everything is fine…what kind of relationship should I have with the childhood friend on facebook who just recently denied the faith, “Hey, how’s it going? You’re looking great, haven’t seen you in forever…” And should the mother a few questions back attend the wedding of her daughter who has disregarded her advice on the most important decision she will ever make?
It seems that one of the primary jobs of a society is to set tone. How should Christians start to step up to the plate in this area without being jerks? To me it seems like a very important job description. Society makes rules before anyone else bothers to codify them. But if we no longer take this job seriously, my rules only apply to me you know, so what should we start to expect? And most helpfully, what does this start to look like practically? Or are we truly supposed to keep mum and smile, waiting for our chance to sneak up on the fornicators, scoffers and sexually ambiguous with a toasty casserole?
What are some ways that a young man can mortify sexual sin? How can honor God with all my heart, mind, body and strength?
What advice do you have to a christian woman who is married to a non-believer?
It seems like a pre-millenial or a-millenial approach toward vocation or work might encourage a ‘just live with it’ sort of attitude. Should post-millenial optimism foster a different (maybe entrepreneur like) attitude towards work and building culture? Why?
and also…
You seem to have a keen ability to see a lot of the undergirding idols behind a lot of contemporary culture. This seems like an essential tool for Christians hoping to work within culture. What principles and/or resources have helped you to develop that ability and how can others develop that ability?
What do you think of the free grace vs. Lordship salvation controversy?
What are ways that I can build better study habits?
What are your thoughts on Haiti and what is Christ Church doing in response to the crisis?
What are you thoughts on the members of the baptist in Idaho that tried to illegally take children out of Haiti?
How are you able to produce so much material at such a constant right? Any tips for Christians that would like to write more but have trouble producing.
Will you produce educational small group study materials on apologetics, logic, philosophy, and theology?
Do you have any favorite podcasts that you would recommend listening too?
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the church in America?
Movies, theater, television – the imitation of life through art – all are gifts from God (TV – eh, maybe not so much). What are your thoughts about when the actors are married and they engage in scenes that contain intimacy – both physically and emotionally? Is there a point where it becomes adultery?
In John 14:12-14 Jesus says that those who believe in Him will do even greater works than He did. Is He speaking to Christians today? I can’t imagine that you or I would be capable of doing the works Jesus did, its unthinkable. So what does this passage mean for Christians today?
Can you offer any encouragement to older (mid-30′s) parents, but young Christians, who have become convicted of the necessity of a Christian education but do not have the financial resources to provide that for their children. It almost feels as though, and I mean this with all charity, that Christian education is only for the well-to-do Christian families. Or would this simply be a matter of reaping what one has sowed?
My family and life has been impacted by this ministry, thank you guys for this!!
You stand as a great example of a man who is a pastor/scholar or scholar/pastor. What would you say to the young man who feels the tension between moving to the life of a scholar in academia and the life of a pastor in the local church? How do you reside in that tension and fruitfully shepherd and lead your people, passionately and intellectually?
My question feels complex, but is actually fairly simple: When Christian families acquire nonChristian members, what is to be done in regard to church attendance? To give a couple examples, a family in our church, who have taken in another family member, a widow and her teenaged son. Or in my own case, we we consider having my husband’s 20-something sister live with us. Do we require church attendance? It seems strange to require it and strange to NOT require it. What is to be done? We are seeing this issue coming up more frequently in our area due to massive foreclosures and job losses. How do these families welcome in nonChristian members? What does it mean to consider the gospel “for us and for our household” in regard to these new members?
Being a pretty avid camper, I want to go out and enjoy God’s magnificent creation, but I know that (rejecting the individualistic attitude that me and my Bible in Yosemite is just the same as me and my Bible sitting in church) I need to be in church praising, confessing, hearing, and partaking. What wisdom can you offer to people who love experiencing creation (hiking, biking, camping, mountain climbing, fishing) but want to make sure they aren’t “forsaking the assembling of themselves together.”
I grew up a conservative evangelical pastor’s kid, attending church meetings multiple times each week and often benefiting from visiting evangelists, missionaries, and speakers such as Corrie Ten Boom, Richard Wurmbrand, Brother Andrew and others with stories of how repressive regimes of the left and right treated scapegoats and dissenters. These were stories of people being whisked away to prison with false charges or no charges, where they were then subject to treatment that boggled our minds to hear about. How could civilized modern cultures treat their fellow man this way? Please know that what follows is a serious, crisis-of-Christian-conscience sort of question and not a political diatribe. I am a conservative, not a liberal. But I am a Christian first, trying to live and think very intentionally and wisely. I really want to know the answer, because I want to know if my thinking on this is muddled, and I want to think and act in righteousness, not self-righteousness. How can American Christians ignore and keep silent about what has gone on at Guantanamo Bay: first of all, the questionable basis for the detainment of most of the detainees; second, the ignoring of the rule of law “because these are unprecedented times”; and third, the treatment that is clearly torture. Is there some way that all of this really can be justified that I am missing, even for those prisoners who really are terrorists?
As a witnessing opportunity, how would you reply to this email I received? (It is a response to viewing the Cruel Logic video at http://www.vimeo.com/5355398) The key question being how does a Christian respond to the belief that human reason is all that’s needed to discern truth.
“However, like all clever straw-man vignettes, it relies more on logical
legerdemain than on logic. I refuse to play.
A proposition can never be expressed as a negative. One needs a reason to do
something. One does not need a reason not to do something. And, the
proponent has to justify his proposition.
Like all torturers the antagonist characterizes his victim as responsible
for the torturer’s actions. Sorry, you can’t get off that easy.
As for your other point, the foundation of Deist/Humanist/secularist moral
and ethical thinking is that every principal of morality is discoverable
through the application of human reason. I really can’t ask for any firmer
foundation than that.
The prohibition against in-group killing (murder) is cross-cultural and
universal. Human beings regard the killing of other human beings with
abhorrence and tolerate it only in “last resort” type circumstances. I
acknowledge that there exists some variety in various cultures and
historical periods about what constitutes a justification for killing and/or
a human being. But, in general, killing is prohibited unless it can be
justified or excused.
Further, humans seem to share this abhorrence of like-kind killing with
other denizens of the planet, so I think the prohibition extends across
species as well.
I induce from this that there is an innate propensity in human beings to
avoid killing other human beings except to save their own or other lives or
where justified or excused by law or necessity. Whether this propensity has
a biological, chemical, psychological, spiritual, magical, fictional, or
astrological basis is entirely irrelevant to me. It is enough for me that it
is a discernable truth.
That, for me, provides all that is needed for a foundation for the moral
imperative, “Thou shalt not kill.” “
The short sermon snippets, full sermons, hymn singing, and these short answers are great! Thank you for expanding in these areas.
What you said at the tail end of the second answer regarding ‘death metal’ music with regard to the difference between real cultural differences and sub-cultural differences in the US is intriguing. Could you expand on that theme, perhaps with regard to ‘street ministry’ or Christian social action?
We are a Christian family living in Yorkshire, England. We are committed to Christian education and, as a consequence, are home schooling our three children. What should we be looking for in church? What things are non-negotiable and what things are not? We are thinking in terms of doctrine, conduct, fellowship, youth ministry (or not), qualifications of elders. To be fair,here in the UK (we live in Yorkshire, England), there are quite a few “reformed” (mostly Baptist) churches, but there is a lot of slackness in terms of family life and Christian education.
Many thanks.
In a recent sermon on Romans 12, you mentioned that the original biblical language rendered “reasonable service” could be (or is) worship. I was just reading Exodus 3 where God promises to be with Moses and that the Israelites would “serve” God on this mountain.
And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
This promise of coming to His holy mountain is throughout scripture. I was intrigued by its presence in the latter chapters of Isaiah. Recently, I am most convicted by it in Hebrews 12 and the passage where Jesus converses with the Samaritan woman. Long preamble to the question, how does the mountain of God relate with worshiping Him in spirit and in truth?
Kind Regards,
Derek
How can Christians reconcile a robust pro-life ethic with the statements of Psalm 137:9?
You’ve talked a lot about misplaced guilt and getting on the wrong bandwagon (ie being concerned about organics while legalized murder of infants goes on unabated). What practical steps can Christians take to stand firmly (and publicly) pro-life?
Can you comment on the use of technology in the classical education classroom? Should we be training our rhetoric students in the mediums of web-design (like all of the newly rolling out canonpress/credenda websites), graphic arts, film/editing (als Darren Doane), etc. as valid modes of rhetorical expression?
I had a follow up on the death metal questions. I’m not sure this was addressed or not, but do you think that “death metal” as a musical genre is beyond redemption? I am probably one of a small minority who knows both the ins and outs of the current indie music scene, including what someone on the outside might term “death metal,” as well as somewhat of a growing handle on theology, being a student in seminary working on a Th.M
The reason I ask is that the original Q&A’s did not seem to really have a clear understanding of what death metal is or is not. As a genre, it refers to the sub branch of the larger metal genre that is more technical in nature, requiring extreme precision on the part of the musicians. It originally included lyrics that dwelt on themes of death and doom and gore (as popularized by a band named Death, hence the name), but has since moved away from that a defining feature.
Further, I know of several very sound Christian metal bands who play music that would categorically fall into this distinction, but whose lyrics instead might look something like this:
“Your life is not your own! This life is not your own, you were bought for a price. Therefore honor our God with your body and mind. Before your own eyes this truth was present, yet you ignore it. Sin has taken hold of our world and all that is in it. A Saviour is required, blood is required. Wake up! You were bought for a price. Wake up! You were bought for a price. The king will say to those on His right, come you who are blessed by my Father. Take your inheritance. Those on his left shall hear these words: Depart from me I never knew you. Depart from me I never knew you. Descend into the fire. Descend into the fire. Do not let this be the end of you! Do not let this be the end of you!” – In the Midst of Lions (song: Paid in Full)
In this particular music scene, there is actually a strong Christian presence and a growing respect of Christian musicians by otherwise hardened non-believers who are exposed to their life and ministry. So, in that context, this is a different question than the wisdom issue. The question is, can a musical genre that has been a tool of Satan be legitimately used by Christian young men to carry the gospel into clubs and bars across the better part of the world?
There are more slaves to day than any other time in history, mostly due to the sex trade and the third world. How do you think this slavery is similar and different from historic American slavery and what to you think is the proper way to abolish it?
Is communion mandatory?
I have a friend who has fallen into Hyper-Preterism. What are your thoughts on HP and what arguments do you use to defeat it? I also would like to give a biblical argument to my friend rather than a historical one. Whenever I say “Momma Church says bad” I get a negative response!
Would you put together a list (sequential possibly) of must reads for the aspiring Christian historian? I use goodreads too to catalog books and have you as a friend. Should I just start with your 5-star books tagged history and work my way around using that list?
Why didn’t God just not categorically condemn all slavery in the OT? Are we wrong to say that a world in which he scripturally condemns every permutation of it would be superior?
I have never figured out the right way to see ordination. It seems we can identify three views…
1) Ordination must come through bishops in the historic episcopate
2) Ordination may come through presbyteries and sessions
3) Ordination is a non-issue / a man can autonomously decide to pastor a church
#1 seems to be invalidated by bad doctrine in EO, RC, and even in Anglican churches (e.g. paedocommunion vs. confirmation). #1 seems to PREVENT reformation.
#2 seems to be questioned by history… was this view new in the reformation?
#3 seems to be contrary to a biblical sense of accountability and authority.
Theoretically, if a man doesn’t believe Rome is right about it’s authority and doctrine, then reformation is necessary and possible. If the historic episcopate is rejected, what is to prevent a man from starting his own church, or a group from starting their own denomination?
What ultimately legitimizes the authority of denominations (or Presbyteries) to ordain?
Why is it wrong, if it is, to have a small, made up house church?
There is a book out called “Divorce-A Gift of God’s Love’ by Walter Callison. A relative of mine is convinced she can divorce her husband after reading this book (published in 2002). I was wondering if you have heard of it or read it. Here is a few paragraphs from the book that she sent me – that divorce can be a precious gift from God.
“And he (Jesus) said, when you put away a wife (without written divorce), and marry another (while still married), you are guilty of adultery (Lk. 16:17)…
The distinction between “put away” and “divorce,” between the Greek “apoluo” and “apostasion” is critical. “Apoluo” indicated that women were enslaved, put away, with no rights, no recourse; deprived of the basic right to monogamous marriage. “Apostasion” ended marriage and permitted a legal subsequent marriage. The paper makes a difference. “Let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife” (Deut. 24:2). That was the law.
There are passages, other than Luke 16:17-18 (above) where Jesus spoke on this matter. They include Matt. 19:9, Mark 10:10-12 (where Mark records that Jesus laid down the same law for women as for men), and Matt. 5:32. Jesus used a form of the word “apoluo” eleven times in these passages. In every passage he forbade apoluo, putting away. He never forbade giving “apostasion,” written divorce, required by Jewish law…
We might be able to prevent some divorces by tightening our divorce laws or by religious prohibitions against divorce, but such actions would not prevent broken marriages. When couples stay together only because of fear of the notoriety required by divorce laws, or because of church prohibitions, or “for the sake of the children,”tragedy can result. Disastrous maritial triangles, domestic cruelty, child abuse, murder, and suicide are some of the documented consequences of marriage which had failed, but was not terminated. What a fearful choice! A broken home is a tragedy, but I will never forget a young man who put a gun barrel in his mouth and ended his marriage, his alternative to divorce. His church had forbidden divorce… (I have a friend who’s mother did the same!)
Divorce for just any cause? No! Divorce is serious business, but it was given by God as a humane solution to an intolerable situation, a matter of grace. We live in no utopian millennium now. Perfectly prepared Christian people who know and will always obey the will of God are not the only ones who marry. Marriage failure is a grim reality among both Christians and non-Christians. Divorce is still a necessity. God is a God of justice, and a basic sense of justice demands, if marriage fails, that the man and woman are to protect each other by the giving of a divorce. As Moses directed long ago, whether you are right or wrong, if you remove yourself from a marriage, you must free the other person, utterly and completely. God’s law and man’s agree here. Divorce is an instrument given by God through which the basic human right to be married is protected after a marriage has irrevocably failed; a tragic necessity and a precious gift.”
Is the King James translation of the Bible the only trustworthy one? Or the most trustworthy? Or just the preference for some for other reason? What is your opinion about what David Daniels says about this? (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn29T1aCiks) Thank you…
Will you give us a tour of your library and can you talk about some of the insights you have gleaned about reading and the Christian life?
As someone who is not in the ministry, how much of the Bible am I required to understand? There is only so much time in a day and to master the Bible seems like a full time job requiring knowledge of the original languages. Reading much of the Old Testament and Revelation is frustrating because there is so much history and context to understand. Other than reading the the Bible daily and going to church what ought to be the goal of the father of a family who is not in full time ministry?
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