Isn’t It Better to Do Good for Goodness’ Sake?
September 2, 2024
#STRaskStand to Reason
Questions about it being better to do good for goodness’ sake rather than to earn approval and avoid punishment and a good initial approach to take with someone who rejects God based on his “violent” and “oppressive” character in the Old Testament.
* I want my children to do good for goodness’ sake. Doing it to earn my approval and avoid my punishment is the absolute worst outcome I can imagine, as is requiring them to relentlessly thank me for helping them find it—and I’m just a human!
* What's a good initial approach to take with someone who rejects God based on his “violent” and “oppressive” character in the Old Testament, regardless of good arguments about his being objectively moral?
More From #STRask
Where Did the Essence God Is Composed of Come From?
#STRask
September 5, 2024
Questions about where the essence God is composed of came from, whether God has the same choices other beings have and could choose not to exist, and
Why Think the Evidence for the Resurrection Is Strong if Saul Wasn’t Convinced by It?
#STRask
September 9, 2024
Questions about why anyone should think the evidence for the resurrection is strong if Saul and the majority of first-century Jews found it insufficie
If Holy People Are So Interested in Politics, Shouldn’t Churches Be Taxed?
#STRask
September 12, 2024
Questions about whether churches ought to be taxed if holy people are so interested in politics and how to respond to the claim that conservative Chri
How Is Access to God in the New Covenant Different from the Old Covenant?
#STRask
August 29, 2024
Questions about how access to God through Jesus in the New Covenant differs from access in the Old Covenant, whether the salvation of Gentiles is just
Your Religion Prohibits You, Not Me
#STRask
August 26, 2024
Question about how to respond to a meme that says, “Your religion does not prohibit me from anything. It prohibits you. Learn the difference.”
* How
Why Emphasize Evangelism When the Bible Only Mentions the Great Commission Four Times?
#STRask
August 22, 2024
Questions about why evangelism is emphasized above other commands in the Bible, what to do when speaking the truth in love hurts someone’s feelings, a
More on OpenTheo
How Can I Explain Modesty to My Daughter?
#STRask
November 27, 2025
Questions about how to explain modesty to a nine-year-old in a way that won’t cause shame about her body, and when and how to tell a child about a pre
How Can We Know Who Is Teaching the Same Gospel Paul Taught?
#STRask
February 16, 2026
Questions about how we can know who is teaching the same gospel Paul taught, and whether or not Jeremiah 1:5 supports the idea that we pre-existed in
How Would You Convince Someone That Evil Exists?
#STRask
November 17, 2025
Questions about how to convince someone that evil exists, whether Charlie Kirk’s murder was part of God’s plan, whether that would mean the murderer d
How Do I Determine Which Topics at Work Are Worth Commenting On?
#STRask
January 5, 2026
Questions about how to determine which topics at work are worth commenting on, and a good way to respond when you’re in a group Bible study and hear e
Protestants and Catholics: What’s the Difference? With Chad Van Dixhoorn, Blair Smith, and Mark McDowell
Life and Books and Everything
November 26, 2025
How should Protestants think about the Catholic Mass? About the Eucharist? About the history and development of the papacy? In this panel discussion,
Is It Possible There’s a Being That’s Greater Than God?
#STRask
February 5, 2026
Questions about whether it’s possible there’s a being that’s greater than God and that’s outside of God’s comprehension and omniscience, and how to ex
Sense, Sensibility, and Adam Smith with Jan Van Vliet
Life and Books and Everything
February 16, 2026
This year is a special anniversary for the United States as Americans celebrate 250 years of independence. But 1776 was an important year in more ways
Can Two Logical People Come to Conflicting Conclusions Without Committing a Fallacy?
#STRask
January 8, 2026
Questions about whether two logical people can come to conflicting conclusions on a topic without committing a fallacy, how Greg, as a public figure,
Can You Provide Verifiable, Non-Religious Evidence That a Supernatural Jesus Existed?
#STRask
November 10, 2025
Question about providing verifiable, non-religious evidence that a supernatural Jesus existed.
* I am an atheist and militantly anti-god-belief. Ho
What Tools of Reasoning Help You Know What’s True, Right, and Good?
#STRask
December 4, 2025
Question about what tools of reasoning help us determine whether something is true or false, right or wrong, good or bad before bringing Scripture int
Are You Accursed If You Tithe?
#STRask
December 15, 2025
Questions about whether anyone who tithes is not a Christian and is accursed since Paul says that if you obey one part of the Mosaic Law you’re obliga
Is Greg Placing His Faith in the Wrong Thing?
#STRask
February 12, 2026
Questions about Greg placing his faith in his personal assessment of which truth claims best match reality rather than in the revelation of God in Jes
Conservatism and Religious Freedom with John Wilsey
Life and Books and Everything
October 27, 2025
What is conservatism? And why does it go hand in hand with religious freedom? How should we think about the American experiment of ordered liberty? Ha
How Do We Advocate for Christian Policy Without Making the Government Interfere in Every Area of Life?
#STRask
November 20, 2025
Questions about how to advocate for Christian policy without making the government interfere in every area of life, and the differences between the mo
Why Would Any Rational Person Have to Use Any Religious Book?
#STRask
December 8, 2025
Questions about why any rational person would have to use any religious book, whether apologetics would be redundant if there were actually a good, un