When is a child old enough to explain concepts like rape that appear in a story?
Question: I have a 10-year-old son who is being homeschooled. He is in a Medieval, Reformation, and Renaissance unit and will be reading a version of The Canterbury Tales that has been translated into modern English by Barbara Cohen. In this book, specifically in “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” there is a knight who rapes…
Read MoreWhat should be the punishment for breaking a window accidentally?
Question: I have two twin boys, both aged 15. My wife and I both agree that the right way to parent is to spank when necessary with the rod. Recently they have been getting into a lot of trouble together, and yesterday they broke a window (whilst playing ball inside — forbidden in the house…
Read MoreMy daughter is moody and depressed
Question: I am in desperate need of information to help my teenage daughter. She is struggling with self-esteem issues and the like — all of your normal teenage troubles. Now she is showing some signs of depression. She is 13. I have just spent the last two hours talking with her, and I thought it…
Read MoreWhat is mammon?
Question: What is ‘mammon’? In Luke 16, it is talking about the steward who wasted his master’s goods. I don’t fully understand this chapter. Please help. Also, I would like to say that I truly appreciate your website. I am a person who fell away from the church a very long time ago, and now…
Read MoreShould we tell our children not to mention to other people that they get spanked?
Question: I have greatly enjoyed all the information and insights that you share on this page. My husband and I are raising three sons. We use spanking as one of our disciplinary tools with the boys, especially for the 3 Ds – deliberate disobedience, disrespect, and dishonesty. Recently one of my sons was in some…
Read MoreMy 11-year-old son is becoming overly dramatic and moody
Question: I am emailing you because you always have great advice for so many situations. I am having a hard time with my 11-year-old son. I am beginning to contemplate sending him to public school. Last year was the worst year we have had. I am fearing this year is going to be just as…
Read MoreOur nine-year-old is seeking boys’ attention by letting her underwear show
Question: We are a dresses-only family. My daughter is (deliberately?) not careful when running and playing and her underwear is showing. She has lost some of her treasured outfits. We raise her to dress very modestly. Last time she was on the swings during a church picnic seeking the boys’ attention. Other parents noticed. I’m…
Read MoreThings are improving in our home, but it is going so slowly!
Question: Thank you! Our home is slowly changing from a battle zone to a loving home. We still struggle, basically, since our 9-year-old acts like a 3 to 5-year-old, then I think she should have 3 to 5-year-old freedoms and choices. These will be earned back as she learns self-control and respect. I’m really needing…
Read MoreShould I force my 14-year-old son to work even if he doesn’t feel comfortable?
Question: Should I force my 14-year-old son to work even if he doesn’t feel comfortable? Answer: Oh, the poor thing! It is so hard to be motivated when you don’t feel like working, isn’t it? Why don’t you set him a great example: when the alarm clock rings tomorrow morning, instead of dragging yourself out…
Read MoreShould spankings only be done on the bottom?
Question: We have three boys 8,10 and 12. Of late they have become very defiant. We have read your web site and decided to spank. While being spanked they kick their legs and refuse to stay still. Should we swat them on the back of the legs to stop this, or is the bottom the…
Read MoreMy son continues to backtalk us and punches his younger brother
Question: I just wanted to say thanks for contending for the faith, in relation to the person who wrote you against the Bible. I need further help with my son, who is 14. My wife and I have set the punishment for disobedience for both our sons. In addition to moving along if there are…
Read MoreI discovered one of my stepsons is looking at pornography
Question: I recently discovered that at least one of my stepsons had downloaded pornography on their computer, which is in their shared bedroom. The fourteen-year-old seems to be the guilty culprit, but he won’t own up. The twelve-year-old says it wasn’t him, and I believe him. The law says I’m within my right to beat…
Read MoreMy fifteen-year-old lies so she can do what she wants
Question: My 15-year-old lies to me. I believe she does so in order to do what she wants. She shows a deliberate disrespectful presence. I have set boundaries for Internet usage and she has violated that boundary by talking to people she does not know, lying, and telling me they go to school with her.…
Read MoreWe are constantly having to nag our daughter to get her chores done
Question: I have a nine-year-old who is developing an attitude that we are always nagging and she can’t do what she wants. Every time I ask her to do a chore she says yes, I go away, come back later and it won’t be done. This can happen three or four times before she gets…
Read MoreI’m embarrassed that I spanked my daughter for skipping classes
Question: I am a recently separated mom of three children ages 13, 10 and 8. The older two are girls. My thirteen-year-old really started to act up this school year, only a few months after her father and I separated. She was caught skipping classes twice earlier in the school year. I had to take…
Read MoreThose with Positive Self-Esteem
Text: Romans 12:1-5 I. The concern for a person’s self-esteem continues to permeate the thoughts of our society. A. It is not unusual for a concept to be argued for or against based on its supposed impact on a person’s self-esteem. 1. Spanking, giving grades, or even keeping score during a game is considered bad for the…
Read MoreYour explanation of pharmakeia is poor
Question: Your explanation of the Greek word pharmakeia shows poor scholarship. I first heard of the “pharmakeia=drug use= sorcery” argument back in the early 1980s when I was involved with a Christian group. It never seemed right. The following is part of a word study I’ve done. According to “Divry’s English-Greek and Greek-English Dictionary” there are at…
Read MoreIs a sleeveless shirt or a knee-length dress immodest?
Question: Are sleeveless shirts that are covering everything immodest? I had a skirt that was right on my knee and I wore it to church. I had an older man come up to me and tell me how sinful I was for wearing such a thing. It revealed my knee he said and it could…
Read MoreAre children truly innocent?
Question: I am researching about sin and sin in children. I read your writings and agree with you for the most part, but I have a problem with the idea of children being innocent. If children are not sinful, wouldn’t that make them sinless and almost perfect? Christ was the only one I knew was…
Read MoreIs it wrong to read books about how Satan operates in the world?
Question: Thank you for your website. I enjoy reading the articles as well as the questions and answers. You have helped me in several areas of research. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find Christians who speak from a biblical perspective. I appreciate your candor and adherence to Scripture. My question relates to demonic warfare.…
Read MoreShould I co-sign a loan for a church building?
Question: I am a member of a fundamental Bible-teaching church and firmly believe in the “literal” Word of the Bible. But I find myself in a difficult situation. We are building a new Church building. The building project was kicked off using traditional construction bank financing. We had enough assets and membership support at the time to…
Read MoreWill God forgive me for doing something, knowing it was wrong?
Question: Will God forgive me for doing something, knowing it was wrong? Answer: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9). God does not seek to destroy any sinner. It…
Read MoreWho did Adam and Eve’s children marry?
Question: Just recently I have heard a question that has been circulated among many different mediums. Just the other night this same question came up in my history class and I would like to know how to answer it. Forgive me if I have somehow missed the logic in this question, but I am writing…
Read MoreIs a saved person still saved after stumbling?
Question: If a person is saved and then stumbles, are they considered a saved person? Answer: “And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a…
Read MoreCan I tell you about a way to get married without government involvement?
Question: I noticed a guy wrote a piece about marriage claiming he didn’t need a piece of paper. He is right by all means; all you need is two witnesses and you can be married by American law. But if you do get a marriage license, you put your kids under government authority in such a…
Read MoreWhat does “honor” mean in I Peter 2:17?
Question: Does the word honor (spelled “honour” in the King James Version) as used in I Peter 2:17 instruct followers of Christ Jesus to honor all men, implying that we are to separate the wrong that we maybe aware that a person does from the person and then honor the person but not the wrong…
Read MoreHappy to find the answers
Question: I just wanted to thank you for the response to the Iraq – Interesting article shown below. A friend who is still a newbie in Christ has asked me about this. She works a 10-hour job and I am retired so I proceeded to get on the Internet and try to find answers for…
Read MoreAn appreciative reader
Question: Thank you! Many times over, you have made your knowledge of these topics available to the world. I am an aspiring song leader in the church. I often have questions about my duties and role as a song leader. So often, my questions are answered but are not satisfactory I am thankful there are…
Read MoreHow could the Israelites have left Egypt if they crossed into the Sinai peninsula?
Question: I have a question regarding the map of your proposed route for the Exodus. You show the Israelites going south and crossing the Gulf of Suez. The problem I see is that this route invalidates Exodus 12:41 which states that the Israelites “left Egypt” on precisely the same day they entered 430 years earlier.…
Read MoreRedemption in Prophecy
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 24:44-48 I. The primary purpose of a prophet was to teach God’s word to people A. Without a revelation of God’s intention, mankind would be lost, for God doesn’t see the world the way man does – Isaiah 55:8-9 B. Thus, God explained His actions, His goals, and His requirements to…
Read MoreThe Apocrypha
I. When addressing what books are accepted into the Old Testament canon, you will run into a set of writings known as the Apocrypha A. “Apocrypha” means “doubtful writings” B. There are 15 books or writings which fall under this heading C. The Roman Catholic church accepts 12 of these books and calls them “deutero-canonical” books D. See chart for…
Read MoreThe Canon of the Old Testament – Part 2
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/CanonOfTheOldTestament2.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I. In our prior lesson, we established the acceptance of the writings of Moses by a large number of people over a wide range of history. A. The writings were not accepted because of some decree or because the documents were old, but because they were recognized as the works of Moses…
Read MorePersecution
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I. Justice Scalia made headlines a short while ago by attending a “prayer breakfast” and speaking about being a Christian A. I doubt Justice Scalia and I would agree about some aspects of what constitutes living a Christian life, but he did make some interesting comments. II. As Christians, we have had too easy…
Read MoreThe Bible Condemns Catholic Doctrine
by David J. Riggs from Catholic Teaching Examined Why would Catholics want to defeat the Bible as the only authority? The answer is: it is their way of trying to justify their own traditions. How else would they justify them? Furthermore, the reason Catholics try to discredit the Bible as the sole authority is that it…
Read MoreThe Bible and The Old Wicker Coal Basket
Revised by Kenneth E. Thomas The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His grandson who wanted to be just like him tried…
Read MoreThe Benefits of False Teaching
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton An old cliche says there is a silver lining in every cloud. In a sense, this is true for the follower of God. In Romans 8:18-39, Paul tells us that God can turn the wicked events that happen to Christians into an advantage for the righteous. Joseph’s life is an excellent…
Read MoreThe “Age” of Accountability
by Matt Hennecke published in Sentry Magazine, September 2005 I wrote the following when with the Sycamore, Illinois, congregation serving as an elder with Al Diestelkamp. We had lots of children and we were concerned some might be prematurely baptized. Parents in our congregation may be having some concerns about when a child is ready…
Read MoreThe Old Order Amish
by Royce Williamson The Mennonites and the Amish rose up out of the Protestant Reformation and find their roots in a man named Conrad Grebel who left Romanism and established the first congregation in January of 1525, in Zurich, Switzerland. They did not hold to the doctrine of infant baptism and re-baptized their members. Thus…
Read MoreAs Long as I Love …
by Keven A. Sulc via The Berean, Vol. 5, No. 6, August 1996 There are many concepts and beliefs that are held regarding salvation. We must never just accept something because it is commonly accepted or taught by religious teachers but see what the Scriptures say lest we be deceived. Let us examine the concept of…
Read MoreThe Appeal of Ketcherside’s Teachings
by Herschel Patton via Truth Magazine – April 1974 We have been saddened lately by a few brethren, mostly among the young, abandoning strict adherence to a “thus saith the Lord” and casting their lot with liberal brethren, even to the extent of “open fellowship” with the denominations – as advocated by Carl Ketcherside. Several young preachers,…
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