Category: Difficult Biblical Questions

Why Christians Should Not Worry About The Plain Reading

Jim Boucher

It can be tempting for Christians to defer to the plain meaning of a verse in the Bible. That concept emerges in blogposts, small groups and internet discussions about various doctrines. The idea of a plain meaning is basically to say that if you read a text, you should be able to understand it immediately without additional interpretation or jumping through exegetical loops. Casual readers can just glance a passage over and immediately infer what the author is trying to communicate, sort of like having a conversation with another person.…

How The King James Version Teaches Evolutionary Biology

Jim Boucher

King James Onlyism is the idea that the King James translation of the Bible is divinely inspired. Advocates will suggest that God preserved his word through the effort of these great translators. But KJV-Onlyism is usually associated with other fundamentalist ideas, including notions about the age of the earth. KJV-Onlyists are often Neo-Ussherians, meaning that they believe in the young earth model. But a consistent KJV-Onlyist should believe in the Theory of Evolution, because the KJV seems to teach it. If you are wondering how the King James Version teaches…

Why Charismatics Should Cut Glossolalia (Tongues) Out of Their Theology

Jim Boucher

There is no doubt that there is some form of tongues in the Bible. But typically, when people refer to tongues, they think of ecstatic speech or the “language of the angels” that is common in Pentecostal churches. It might be surprising to learn that there are actually different ways that people understand tongues. The word tongues just means languages. In that sense, English is a tongue. Many theologians think that this is the best way to understand the biblical data concerning tongues. God would equip believers with new languages…

Are Pentecostal Tongues Biblical?

Jim Boucher

Non-Pentecostal Christians who visit a Pentecostal church will usually be very confused by their practice and behavior. Their church services are not solemn, and they leave little room for quiet contemplation. The parish is encouraged to shout with joy, dance, and run laps around the room. As the shouting commences, it quite often trails off into incomprehensible speech that sounds something like a zombie’s favorite song. This phenomenon is otherwise known as glossolalia, or speaking in tongues. Some Pentecostals use tongues as a measurement of spiritual maturity or an advanced…

Was Mary A Sinner?

Jim Boucher

Throughout the centuries, Roman Catholic theology has maintained what is known as high Marian theology. That is to say that they have a high view of Mary. As the mother of God, she has a special relationship with Christ and therefore, she has a special relationship with the church. Many Roman Catholics believe that Mary is the path the Jesus. They believe that she can hear and answer prayers, and they even believe that she was without sin. Of course, the Bible teaches that Mary was a virgin when she…

What Is Christianity?

Jim Boucher

Throughout their lives, people have different experiences of Christianity, and these experiences tend to paint their interpretation of what Christianity is. Whether it was represented properly or not, people carry around images of Christian belief that do not necessarily represent historic or biblical Christian belief. People will reject a Christianity that is foreign to the Bible. They will reject a Christianity that was represented to them by men who, themselves, did not know what Christianity was. I want to represent Christianity as it truly is for people who have never…

How Do I Know If I Am Saved?

Jim Boucher

People are fond of misrepresenting their opponents. They will quickly and eagerly find opportunities to slander those with whom they disagree, or take their writings out of context to make it seem as though they were saying something that they were not. Many people accuse Martin Luther of denying the inspiration of the book of James. They will also charge he and other reformers with antinomianism. This is a position that suggests that Christians have no moral duties, that they can live however they want, indulging in every manner of…

What Is The Point Of Prayer?

Jim Boucher

Christians are called the pray, adopting the model of the Lord and the apostles. When Jesus had a heavy decision to make, he would slip away in prayer. When crowds of people were storming the doors of the place that he was staying, seeking him, he would go off to the wilderness to be alone with God. Jesus loved prayer. He loved to commune with his Father. Likewise, the apostle Paul tells us, “pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). That command of Paul and example that Christ has provided often…

Was Jesus’ Resurrection Only Spiritual?

Jim Boucher

Some have adopted what is known as the metaphorical approach of interpreting the Bible. That is, rather than looking at certain stories with miraculous overtones as actual history, they look at them as mere metaphors, symbols of what actually happened. Consequently, the resurrection of Jesus (the center of the Christian faith) would be rendered a myth. It was a metaphor for his ascending into Heaven. All Christians will find this view to be abominable, and it is only represented by a few of the radical Jesus Seminar, who are known…

Would A Loving God Send Anyone To Hell?

Jim Boucher

As Christians present the gospel, they are often confronted by difficult philosophical quagmires that they cannot find their way to wriggle out of. Not the least of these is the issue of Hell. Would a loving God send anyone to Hell? So the skeptic will ask. For the Christian, when presenting the gospel message will emphasize two things: God’s love. He loves you so much that he sent his Son to be the sacrifice for your sins. Yet out of the other side of their mouth, they will emphasize that…

Who Is The Suffering Servant? Israel Or Jesus?

Jim Boucher

Christians who want to defend their faith often will appeal to fulfilled prophecies in the Old Testament, knowledge of New Testament revelation that would not be there absent divine inspiration. Of course, the Jews often stand ready to take the Christians to task, because they do not believe in the inspiration of the New Testament. So many of their interpretations are specifically opposed to Christian theology. In particular, I have Isaiah 53 in mind, which, if somebody with any knowledge of Christianity read, they would assume that it was referring…

What Is The Unforgivable Sin?

Jim Boucher

What is the unforgivable sin? When Jesus encountered the Pharisees, they accused him of being filled with demons, to which he replied that anyone may blaspheme the Son of Man, and it is possible for them to be forgiven. However, if they blaspheme the Holy Spirit, that person may never be forgiven (Matthew 12:31-32). This is a topic that burdens Christians, and that they struggle with, because it raises certain philosophical questions. Why does there need to be an unforgivable sin? Why is it blasphemy to an unforgivable extent to…

What Happens To Those Who Have Never Heard About Jesus?

Jim Boucher

A first-century Jew is living very far from Jerusalem and never heard of Jesus during his living ministry. Jesus died for the sins of the world and was raised from the dead, and this particular Jew did not even hear that message. Jesus tells us that if one does put their trust in him, they will die in their sins (John 3:18). Does that include that man? What about his children, who never hear about Jesus? Suppose they immigrate somewhere even further away, and an entire generation of people never…

Does Matthew 28:19 Contradict Acts 2:38?

Jim Boucher

There is a slight divide within Christendom about minor issues such as the baptismal formula. When I say the baptismal formula, I mean the words that one recites just before they baptize a person. The super-majority of Christians will argue that when a person is water baptized, the baptizer must recite the words of Matthew 28:19, that is, baptism “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Less than one percent of Christendom, namely the Oneness Pentecostal movement, will argue that according to Acts 2:38, we…

Is Religion Ridiculous?

Jim Boucher

Often when a secular minded person describes religion, or thinks about religion, it becomes evident that they have created a caricature in their mind. They conceive of religion in a way that those who believe in it would not. Then when they share their sentiments with those who are religion, their bias and lack of critical thinking will emerge. People do not care to be engaged with sophisticated philosophy of religion, instead, they only conceive of it in a way that best suits them. They only criticize their caricature of…

Why Can’t I Understand The Bible?

Jim Boucher

People often complain that they cannot understand the Bible, that perhaps it does not even apply to them. They may say that they think they do understand it, but that they find contradictions within. They may say that they understand the Bible, but have come to the conclusion that Jesus is not really God, that salvation comes by works and not grace, or that Jesus is merely one way to God. People may say that they read the Bible and determine that Muhammad is in it. Why do people come…

5 Commonly Misused Bible Verses

Jim Boucher

As we interact with our brothers in Christ, we may hear them reciting verses from the Bible, and we begin to think that what they are saying does not really sound right. They have just sort of gotten caught up in a cultural interpretation of this particular passage. But when we look more closely, it is revealed that the Bible is not saying what they want it to say at all. It is important that we look closely at the Scripture, to see if we have gotten caught up in…

5 Disagreements Christians Shouldn’t Condemn Each Other Over

Jim Boucher

There is a reason that taboo topics are taboo. People are so sensitive about them, they are so dear to their heart, that when somebody disagrees with them, they behave comparably to children. Adults essentially begin to throw temper tantrums. They also begin to condemn each other over issues for which, people should not be condemned. People are taught from childhood that everybody who holds to a particular view is wrong. With that ingrained in their mind, there is little room for edification or growth. I attempt to expose 5…

Does God Love Everybody?

Jim Boucher

It seems to be almost a form of pride that people take in their theological stances, in that they begin to say that they alone have the truth, and everybody else is wrong. They alone have the correct interpretation, and everybody else is wrong. But this extends even further when people begin to say that because they alone have the correct interpretation, that therefore, God loves them alone, and does not love everybody else. This sort of pride is represented best by the certain cult groups, who I do not…

What Is The Church?

Jim Boucher

It is interesting to see how previous thinkers and scholars have formed the way that we perceive the world, and have formed our concepts and even the language that we use. If we study the history of epistemology, one will quickly realize that many scholars have birthed a great deal of the things that we say and do. So the same within the body of Christ. Theologians of old have formed many of the ideas that modern Christianity has. The majority of Christians hold to a libertarian view of free…