Deborah_

The Creator became a creature. The Eternal One entered space and time. Almighty God became a newborn baby.

Personally. I think they will, and I have Biblical reasons for this belief. I've written a long article on this. I won't post it here (because it's long), but you can read it here (it's in two parts): https://deborahsbiblestudies.wordpress.com/2015/02/14/do-our-pets-go-to-heaven/ https://deborahsbiblestudies.wordpress.com/2015/02/18/do-our-pets-go-to-heaven-2/

Teaching and witnessing/evangelism are not the same thing. Any of us can be a witness to the gospel - in fact, we all are, whether we like it or not! The only question is whether we're good witnesses or bad ones! It's James who says (James 3:1) that not many Christians should aspire to be teachers. Teachers are these who explain doctrine to and instruct other Christians (eg preachers, Bible study leaders). In order to be a teacher you first have to learn - you need a firm understanding of Christian doctrine, and you have to practise what you preach. Bad teaching is very damaging to a church.

You have very little choice or control over who you work with. Proverbs isn't talking so much about your work colleagues as your friends - the people you hang around with, respect, and who have a large influence on your attitude and opinions.

What's "appropriate" for men and women depends on culture. In the USA and Europe it's perfectly normal for women to have short hair and men long. Scotsmen have always worn kilts. The point is that one's appearance shouldn't be deceptive. With regard to the details, our appearance doesn't "matter" to God, but it does give out a message to other people. How I dress tells you what kind of person I am (or if I'm wearing a uniform, it tells you what job I'm doing). And as Christians we do need to think about our impact on other people.

Really? I never pray like that!

The name Abram means 'exalted father'. Abraham means 'father of a multitude'. God re-names Abram in Genesis 17 (He also changes the name of Sarai to Sarah), to mark the imminent fulfilment of His promise to give them many descendants. The name change also symbolises God's "ownership" of them (because you can only name what belongs to you). Just as later on He will change Jacob's name to Israel.

I'm not gluten-intolerant myself, but in the UK most churches are very accommodating. You just need to let the leadership know that they need to provide gluten-free bread or wafers at communion. (Again, in the UK most churches have gluten-free available at every communion service, because intolerance is so common). It's the same with church lunches - any decent church should be aware of common dietary problems. It's not difficult to ensure that there's at least one gluten-free dessert on offer, just like offering vegetarian options.

Our modern culture is pretty well obsessed with time - to the extent that we feel things must be set down in chronological order in order to be 'accurate'. In ancient times, people just didn't think that way. The writers of the Biblical books didn't feel obliged to put everything in the order in which the events happened (this is why Jesus cleanses the Temple at the beginning of John's Gospel but at the end of the other three gospels). They often felt that other things were more important. In some of the other prophetic books (especially Jeremiah and Ezekiel) where the prophecies are dated, they are often not in date order but all jumbled up. Unfortunately, it's often far from clear to us what their reasoning was! So if you ask the question, "why is the beginning of Isaiah's ministry in chapter 6?" you may find several possible answers and none of them may actually be the 'right' one. Personally, I think the best approach is to just accept it, and not judge ancient literature by modern standards. But it's worth looking at the context of each section (what comes before and after) to see if there might be some link between them that helps with interpretation. For instance, there are three 'Messianic' prophecies in the early chapters of Isaiah (chapters 7,9 & 11) that are probably all connected with the story of King Ahaz in chapter 7.

Different churches have different rules. You should be aware of the rules of your own church, so as not to cause anyone embarrassment. It would be wrong, I think, to 'interrogate' visitors to know where they stand before allowing them to take communion. It's a matter for one's own conscience. But most churches that I have been involved with have had the practice of inviting "all who love Jesus" (whether or not members of that particular church or denomination) to share communion, to make clear that it is for believers only. Communion isn't just a little bit of ritual. Taking it is a personal statement of faith (like baptism). Ideally, one should be baptised before taking communion, but not all churches insist on that.

As already pointed out, I John 3:12 is very helpful inspired commentary. Try an alternative (slightly less literal) translation: "Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it." (NIV) Cain's anger will lead to murder, if not dealt with at this stage (Matthew 5:22). The path of sin leads inexorably downwards – unless we resist it (I Peter 2:11). No matter how badly we feel we have been treated, no matter how much other people have provoked us (either in our imaginations or in fact), we always have a choice – to sin or not to sin. Our destiny is in our own hands: we can choose to yield, or to fight (Galatians 5:16). In order to break the power of sin, we must make a deliberate choice to submit to God (Romans 6:12-14). The application is simple: "Do not be like Cain." (I John 3:12)

I've met a lot of individual Christians who never read the Old Testament - because it's "too difficult", or "too gory", or "irrelevant". I've never come across a church that avoided it as a matter of policy - but I'm sure there are many preachers who don't preach on the OT because the NT just seems so much easier and more accessible.

Yes, you can do that if you're having a private conversation. But when they come door-knocking they are always in pairs, so neither will tell you anything outside the official JW 'line', even if they don't believe it all. I don't ask the question; I just assume that they aren't Christians and talk about whatever subject comes up (but try to steer away from non-essential doctrines).

The Jehovahs Witness movement is not Christian. However, there may be a few individuals within it who are. (I have heard that there are JWs who convert but are afraid to actually leave the organisation. I've also met one who alternated between the JWs and an 'ordinary' church). For that reason I would never tell a JW to their face that they are not a Christian - unless I knew them well. Because we know the Bible very well, when JWs knock on our door we always invite them in and offer them coffee. We've had a few good conversations over the years.

Christian forums are not really representative of Christianity. There are plenty of Christians who do believe in evolution, an old earth and dinosaurs. These are matters of personal interpretation of Genesis, not essentials of the faith. You might like to check out the Biologos website as well as the 'creationist' ones.

It's interesting that the English are more positive about the Harry Potter stories than the Americans. Even more interesting that when it comes to Halloween (also with occult associations) it tends to be the other way round. Is there a subtle culture difference here? And bearing in mind that J K Rowling is English, are we likely to understand her better on this side of the Atlantic?

I read all the books as they came out and loved them. The 'witchcraft' in them is nothing like real witchcraft; it's pure fantasy. It's like a parallel universe, where the problems that we have can be looked at from a different angle, which can be quite enlightening. Good and evil are clearly defined, and the many different forms that evil can take are dramatised. And what leads to the happy ending is not some dark or even 'light' magic, but the good old-fashioned virtues of love, courage, loyalty and teamwork - and even faith! I've seen some of the films, and they aren't as good - darker and less thoughtful. Film directors these days do seem to enjoy their special effects so much, the storyline often suffers. When it comes to the other spin-offs, I have nothing to do with them. It's the witchcraft side that gets commercialised (no surprises there), and there are no redeeming features to it.

Oh yes... how could anyone visit Jordan and not go to Petra? I personally wouldn't describe it as 'pretty' - but stunning, definitely.

We went earlier this year, and enjoyed it immensely. It gives you a much better appreciation of the geography and landscape of the Bible. It's often forgotten that Jordan also contains a large number of Biblical places. We went there about 15 years ago.

What do your parents think? Since you are underage, it will be their decision, not yours. But assuming that they will take your wishes into account, if you have been praying for something and God gives it to you, then accept it! He doesn't play mind games with us.

Why? In the book of Acts, we find that the custom of the early church was to baptise people on the day they became Christians! At that time, of course, there was no New Testament for them to read (because it hadn't yet been written). Reading the NT is a very good thing to do, but why put off your baptism until you have done it? Baptism is an initiation into the way of Christ, and it's therefore done right at the beginning. Full understanding isn't required, only commitment. If you wait until you've attained "spiritual maturity", you'll be waiting far too long!

We are given the Holy Spirit when we believe in Jesus. We don't have to ask - it's automatic. And we can't possibly earn such a momentous gift! I think so. When I became a Christian I knew nothing about the work of the Holy Spirit. I didn't even realise that I had become a Christian! But I very soon noticed that things in my life were changing, although it was only a few months later that I understood why. The Holy Spirit was at work in me, but without my knowledge. I'm sure that it is. When the Holy Spirit departed from Samson (Judges 16:20,21), he only became aware of it when he tried to exercise his gift of strength and discovered that he didn't have it any more. Also, those people who take spiritual gifts (e.g. tongues) as being incontrovertible evidence of the presence of the Spirit don't always realise that many of the gifts can be faked.

It sounds as though you have already done all you can to guard against unwanted spiritual influences. I wouldn't attach much significance to your son's chickenpox. It's so common, virtually every child gets it, so it could easily just be a coincidence (some things are just coincidences!). It's the unusual things that should raise suspicions.

The fact that we are debating this issue at all shows how deeply our contemporary culture has seeped into our churches. Not only is it becoming acceptable for couples to live together in an open-ended relationship (which may break up quickly or only after many years, just like a marriage), but an expensive wedding is deemed the most important thing about getting married. (In case you're wondering, my husband and I got engaged 6 months after meeting for the first time and "rushed into" marriage 6 months after that. That was 37 years ago) To hold to a 'traditional' Christian sexual ethic is now a powerful witness because it is so counter-cultural.

When it comes to Satanic powers and demons, I hesitate to say that anything is or isn't possible. We just don't know enough. There may well be some locations where demonic power is concentrated - either because people living there are particularly involved with the things of Satan, or because of what has happened there in the past.