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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
What should motivate someone to come to Christ? Can someone come to Christ because they want some earthly situation to be put right or does their motivation need to be eternal-minded?
What are your thoughts on AA and the 12-step addiction recovery program?
I actually have a question for Nancy… I’m wondering what the Bible has to say about placentophagy (encapsulated or otherwise). Here is a link to a blog post describing the benefits of it, but I just don’t know if the practice (leaving aside the ick factor!) is Biblical.
What do you think about demonic possession and exorcism?
How do you personally approach Scripture memorization? Do you have a method you’d recommend?
What is the biblical role of civil government? What books would you recommend on this topic?
I don’t know what Wilson would recommend, but Gary North as several books on the topic available for free:
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/
Is the practice of “Lectio Divina” something that you would endorse? Should it be practiced in the Reformed Church? I have heard it characterized as, ”Hey, You got Buddhism in my Christianity!”, Hey you got Christianity in my Buddhism!” Two great faiths in one candy bar!
Enjoyed your series on academics and work. Would you suggest Christian Classical higher education for those young people who know that they want to learn a trade like carpentry or construction to prepare for their future vocation? Should they ideally study, if they capable of the work, at a Classical Christian College like NSA? What about young people who aren’t cut out for the academic rigors of this kind of higher education, how would you advise them to gain life formation during these crucial years between 18-22, if they aren’t capable of the kind of Christian higher education you are talking about. This should be a concern for parents and the church since if your estimates are right, this is 80% of our students ( since only 20% should go on to Christian higher education).
I ask as a father of 5, some moving son into high school.
Thank you
Is there a good work out there that shows how the serpent’s lie of “autonomous free will” in the garden has affected all of society? I want to be able to better explain that “Arminian vs. Calvinist” should not be considered merely a second tier church debate that we’ll get to know who was right when we get to heaven.
I don’t think working out is a special form of revelation.
How can I better articulate God’s trinitarian existence to my children? They are very inquisitive regarding this and I am unsure how to help them develop a category to understand this? Also, what materials would you suggest I read?
Pastor Wilson,
Can you give a brief history of the FV controversy for those of us who are just getting acclimated to the whole thing?
Thank you!
Pastor Wilson,
If I am not mistaken, most Reformed Presbyterians would agree with John MacArthur’s teaching of “Lordship Salvation”. What similarities AND dissimilarities do you see between the FV expression of justification and MacArthur’s? Do you believe they are essentially saying the same thing (minus the covenantal emphasis)?
Thank you!
What is the reformed view of hypnosis?
The Academics and Work videos were very interesting. Doug said in one part that he believed only about 20% of the population should go to college. I agree with this.
However, if the vast majority of people do not attend college and want to work a trade, what happens when most of the manufacturing jobs in this country go overseas due to the cheap labor costs in China and throughout Asia. Is it wrong for the government to have a flat tariff on imports to make offshoring manufacturing jobs unprofitable? Would not such a tariff provide a larger supply of jobs domestically for those without college degrees?
Most of America’s economic history before Woodrow Wilson involved high tariffs. We had more freedom then and no IRS. If not tariffs, then what? Does the government have any role at all in protecting manufacturing type jobs?
Chapter 19 of the WCF says that God gave Israel ceremonial laws, which consist “partly of worship, prefiguring Christ, his graces, actions, sufferings, and benefits; and partly holding forth divers instructions of moral duties.”
What composes the former category is plain, but the latter is less clear.
How are we to distinguish between these ‘instructions of moral duties’, and the ‘moral law’?
Dear Mr Wilson,
Last Christmas our small group at church went carol singing in what we call in the UK a ‘multicultural area’ (significant number of Muslims). We had some bottles thrown at us by some local youths. We later received an apology from them and we were able to share the Gospel with them. This year our small group leader is reluctant to go Carol singing again as he says that it is “culturally inappropriate” and one of our other small group members thinks that Christmas Carols “don’t have much Gospel content in them anyway”. I think that this is a “public square” issue and have made this clear. I also think that Christmas is a great opportunity to witness in a manner which is different from “private” conversations (I am not against this form of witnessing). I am somewhat frustrated by this situation, but don’t want to irritate folk any more than is necessary. What would your advice be? I am pinching myself as I ask this question, but this is the UK in 2011 and one day it won’t be like this!
With every blessing, and many thanks,
Andrew Thorpe
Pastor Wilson, I greatly appreciate and enjoy C.S. Lewis. I’d like to know how you work through some of his questionable theology (possible hints of universalism, ransom theory, etc.)
Should churches and Christian individuals donate money to organizations that do good work, but do not also proclaim the Gospel?
How literally should Christians read Romans 9:3? Is Paul’s desire in this verse supposed to be imitated by us today? Are we supposed to actually WANT to be damned for the sake of someone else, even though we know that God is powerful enough to save both of us? How can a faithful Christian actually WANT to be cut off from Christ?
good question.
Can you give some real, down to earth examples of how Christians are to live in sacrificial love? I have heard the phrase tossed around a lot, but can you define it? What exactly does it look like? And what drives it?
OK. I know that you have talked about anglican/episcopal church before but I want to ask you this. I know that there is a rift between Lutheran and Reformed camps. What are your thoughts on the Lutheran expression of faith and how it relates for good or ill with the Reformed. The reason I ask is that there are no reformed churches in our area but there are several great conservative Lutheran churches. I would highly value your opinion on this matter if you so choose to address it.
I just read the book “Heaven Misplaced”. Learning about postmillenialism for the first time was mind bending — it altered the way I see everything. Being new to it, though, I’m wondering how to understand the time we’re currently in. Does the postmillenial perspective see it as a kind of “two steps forward, one step back”?
If I may, a good analogy of the millennium is likening it to the process of genuine individual sanctification. We all have good days and bad days, hills and valleys, but the general trend is one of growing ever upwards.
I hope you find this helpful!
m
That is helpful. It looks like it’s working up to be one seriously bad day. Ha! Thank you.
Ive heard you mention before that you grew up as. Baptist and are now a Reformed Paedobaptist. I am a current ordained Baptist minister serving as a pastor of a Reformed Baptist church. I have also come to believe and accept the Reformed understanding of infant baptism, but I don’t really know what to do. Do you have any advice for considering a next step? I would love to serve in pastoral ministry in a reformed/Presbyterian church but do not know how to go about making a transition.
I’m sure Pastor Wilson can advise you and take care of you. Consider also contacting pastor Tim Bayly ( http://www.baylyblog.com , there’s a Contact Tim link on the left). He delights in helping pastors that need help.
Pastor Wilson,
I have been listening to your and Joshua Appel’s discussions on academics and work, and with the recent popularity of Tim Tebow in the NFL, was wondering what you thought of a Christian man going into the field of professional sports? Should he? Can he morally? And, of course,what are your thoughts on Tim Tebow?
Dear Pastor Wilson,
Does Proverbs 6:31 mean that if a thief is not found then he doesn’t have to voluntarily give himself up? What (if any) kinds of sin against your neighbor do not require restitution?
What is your response to these scientists that have supposedly created a virus that removes the “God gene” in people? Is that possible? Would God allow this to be successful? How should a Christian react to this type of scientific technology?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nADFJlAggnY&sns=fb
Do you believe in ghosts?
Drunkenness is clearly a sin. Is it also a disease?
What did you think of the Rick Perry political ad on homosexuality that sparked so much backlash?
Can adopted children be “children of the covenant” even if their biological parents are pagans? What about children raised by faithful grandparents?
Doug,
Can you please comment on how Christians should view secular psychology in relation to advice for marriage, family relationships and raising of kids? If the presuppositions of secular psychologists are flawed, does this mean there is no common good/wisdom in what they teach? Or does common grace allow that they might have some wise things to say? How do we go about thinking this one through?
Thanks.
Doug, I am forty years of age. I will begin my doctoral studies soon. Incidentally I feel as if I know nothing at all and am trying to play catch up with all that I should know but don’t. Is it too late for an “old guy” like myself to begin a self-directed study in classical education with the long term goal of establishing a school for the same purpose? What is the learning curb and where should I begin? Thank you for your time.
What are your thoughts on the Christian Reconstructionist view of the law? Specifically as espoused by Rushdoony, Bahnsen, et al.
What is meant in Luke 21 and Romans 11 by the time of the gentiles.
In your book, ‘Future Men,’ you state that, “we must return to a world of vigorous singing, vibrant anthems, more songs where the tenor carries the melody, open fifths, and glory.”
When I read this quote aloud to a musician friend of mine, she took offense at the “open fifths” comment. She said that this stemmed from the archaic idea that certain elements in song were “more holy” than others, and implied that Western music has moved-on “since the days of Gregorian chant.” She refused the idea that this has any relevance to masculinity. (This is, of course, simply my understanding of what she was talking about; indeed, I admittedly don’t even know what an open fifth is!)
A response will be most helpful. Thanks!
If the church is to use discernment of false teachers such as Rob Bell, are we to do the same for political candidates? Isn’t misleading when Christians only look at a candidate’s salvation testimony and their abortion stance? They are not just asking for a vote from Christians; they’re asking to be followed.
*Isn’t it…
*Oh wait…never mind. (sigh)
What are some the distinctions between merely subscribing to “TULIP” and subscribing to Reformed theology?
If for Christ’s death to be effectual for our salvation he was truly forsaken on the cross, what was the nature of his “forsakenness?” Was Christ separated from God in his death? Was he still God while he was forsaken? What implications does his “forsakenness” have for the Trinity?
What makes the books which we call the Bible authoritative (as opposed to other texts)? Why are the texts in “the apocrypha” not considered authoritative? Who decided which were inspired by the Holy Spirit and when?
Robert, this is a very good Ask Doug question! I’ll make sure it gets in soon!
Blessings,
Daniel, Producer
Is it irresponsible for me not to buy health insurance?
Would like Doug Wilson to comment on the Driscolls’ book Real Marriage.
would like Doug Wilson’s take on the Criscolls’ book Real Marriage.
Is it a sin to have a vasectomy?
I would love to hear Doug’s thoughts on whether he would conduct a wedding for unbelievers, and why or why not?
Taking a post millenial perspective, what does it mean that there will be no marriage or giving in marriage in heaven? If everything is getting better, and if heaven is not like the Far Side cartoons, but the heavens and the earth will be recreated more gloriously so that even our cats and dogs and pigs will be recreated gloriously, why is there no marriage?
What do you think of the “Catholics Come Home” commercials? Will they be effectual for anything? Will there be a set of “Calvinists Come Home” commercials anytime soon?
Hello,
I was wondering if you could explain your understanding of 1 Timothy 2:15, the verse in which Paul discusses the salvation of women through childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with propriety?
thanks,
What’s your view on Horror fiction?
The one guy that I believe truly encapsulates the book, Angels in the Architecture, is Martin Luther, which has lead me to explore the Lutheran church. What is your view on Lutheranism?
Pastor Wilson, you have a large audience and great influence in the Church and aparently strong conviction regarding the need for another Church translated and printed Bible. Will you please initiate movement toward that goal and initiate the opening of an account for those of us who are unable to be otherwise involved in that endeavor to donate money? Even if the project is one that will take years, a lifetime, or generations, it seems to be one worth pursuing. It seems that before the Church can begin a long work of raising the great cathedral of scriptural translation, we must raise the money required. If no one else in the Church will begin the movement, can it begin in Moscow (which seems to be a center of academia and Christianity)? If not, where else should we look in the Church to begin this project?
Robert, I will pass this message along directly to Doug Wilson.
Thanks,
Daniel
Thank you Daniel!
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