Reader Correspondence

Q&As coming from correspondence with site readers.

List of reader correspondence questions and answers

intermediate On the Emotion of Anger
Some folks struggle with anger management more than others, although perhaps said others have different areas of weakness (like lust or pride, for example). If you are someone who struggles with your temper, what do you need to know about the emotion of anger from a biblical perspective? This page goes over this some.
advanced On the Possibility of Multiple Rahabs
Some people ask whether the prostitute Rahab who hid the Jewish spies is the Rahab in the lineage of Christ. There really is no problem in asking the question, as duplicate names are a real thing in scripture. (Compare keeping all the people named Mary straight). However, what is problematic is swearing up and down that the two Rahabs can't possibly be the same solely because a prostitute can't be in the bloodline of Christ (*gasp*). That's not a good argument based on evidence, but an unfounded prejudice based on legalism.
intermediate Sleep as a Euphemism for Death; Resuscitation; the Afterlife; and More
Lazarus and Jairus' daughter are two examples of people whom Jesus raises from the dead in what is typically termed "resuscitation" (as opposed to resurrection). In both cases Jesus uses language of these two individuals "sleeping", although I argue for completely different reasons. Understanding resuscitation properly requires first understanding what a more typical post-death path looks like for a human being (so this study covers that—as part of showing how resuscitation does not actually affect anyone's ultimate afterlife path, but is only a temporary deviation from the norm). We also examine how resuscitation does not contradict Hebrews 9:27, which says that "it is appointed for people to die once." If you take that "once" as meaning "once for all" rather than "one time," then there is no contradiction whatsoever.