How does God choose who will die a violent death, such as decapitation, stabbing, and rape on even people of christianity?  I don't understand this.  Does the Bible have an answer for this?

Sincerely,
Why Not Me?

Dear Why Not Me,

The Bible tells us that humans have the freewill to decide our own fates and that we are all affected by the choices we, and others, make.  In the Old Testament, God shows us that bad choices affect people as much as four generations later (Num 14:18).  If a man murders someone, it will have an impact upon him, the family of the deceased, his own children, those on the jury that convict him, etc.  Our choices have consequences, and they cause a ripple effect in the world we live in.  In short, we reap what we sow (Gal 6:7).  God knows our days upon this earth, but He also gives us the freewill to shape various aspects of the world that we live in.  Just because God has knowledge of how you and I will die does not mean that He causes your death to happen in a certain way.  Foreknowledge is not the same as causation.  A doctor may know that a patient is going to die of cancer, but that doesn’t mean the doctor caused the patient to die of that ailment.  God gives mankind the freedom to make decisions; it isn’t His fault when people die violent and horrific deaths.  That is caused by mankind and our decision to rebel and sin.  Remember, the world was made perfect – Adam & Eve destroyed the harmony of the Garden of Eden.  Mankind makes choices that affect the future and the lives of those who live on this planet.

If God knows our sinful nature, why did He destroy the earth and promise never to do it again?

Sincerely,
Strong Swimmer

Dear Strong Swimmer,

God made the promise never to flood the earth again because He had a different plan in mind.  Instead of leaving every man to do what was right in his own eyes until things got completely and totally depraved (as was the case before the flood – Gen 6:5-6)… He used one man to bring hope to all men.

After the Great Flood, God called Abraham to be His servant and the father of a great nation (Gen 12:1-2).  God made a promise to Abraham that through Abraham’s seed, all mankind would be blessed (Gen 22:18).  Jesus is the seed of Abraham (Gal 3:16).  After the Great Flood, God put into motion His plan to offer salvation to all mankind through Jesus Christ.  That road began with Abraham, and when the proper time came… Jesus was born (Gal 4:4).

I am an African American; I say this because I recently took a history class and found out that Christianity was used as one of the means of not only imposing slavery, but justifying it.  As someone who was brought up in the church, this has really disturbed me.  So I went to the Bible and began reading the laws of slavery in Leviticus 25, and there was also a particular verse in Colossians 3:22 which implies that slavery was not condoned by God but not frowned upon either.  Funny enough, all of my years being in the church, I have never heard any of these passages mentioned... I have two questions:

Where does God stand when it comes to slavery?  How come it is not allowed anymore if the Bible does not discourage it?

Sincerely,
Loosing Faith

Dear Loosing Faith,

Unfortunately, many horrendous things have been done in the name of Christ… but that doesn’t make them right.  God does address slavery in the Bible.  He makes it clear that it is better when people are free; freedom is what God desires for all men (1 Cor 7:21).  However, God also deals with how people can live in a world where slavery does exist… hence, verses like Col 3:22.  Slavery was, and is, a reality in many parts of the world, a reality that doesn’t go away once people become christians.  How a slave should behave toward their master is a down-to-earth, practical, moral question for many, many people.  The fact that we Americans don’t have to deal with such dilemmas anymore is a blessing indeed.

     I can't keep my faith in God.  I'm the only one at my school who believes in Him, and it's starting to feel stupid.  How can I keep my faith?

Sincerely,
Me, Myself, and I

Dear Me, Myself, and I,

The U.S. is struggling with losing its biblical ties, but it isn’t as bad as we perceive it to be.  Statistically, only about 4% of Americans categorize themselves as atheistic or agnostic.  That means that the vast majority of the United States believes in God.  Sadly, the voices most often heard in media, culture, and schools make it sound like only a fool would believe in God.

Ironically, the Bible says the opposite (Ps 53:1).  The responsibility that Christians have is to make the evidence of God’s existence clear in a culture that is opposed to God.  The evidence of God’s existence is staggering.  We recommend you read our articles “Does God Exist?” and “Who Wrote The Bible?” because both of those articles cover some of the evidence that will help you stand firm by your convictions – you might even share some of it with your brother.

Hang in there.  Elijah once felt like he was the only godly man left, and God told him there were 7,000 others in his small corner of the world who also were faithful (Rom 11:2-4).  Feeling like the last faithful person isn’t the same as actually being the last.

Something else to consider, it sounds like you could use a faithful congregation, so you don’t feel so alone.  The Bible says that is one of the purposes of the church (Heb 10:24-25).  Not all churches do this, but we would be happy to help you find a congregation near you that is faithful, gives Bible answers, and will help you to stand strong.  Just e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org.

I am in the process of moving out of my apartment and into a house I just bought.  It's well before my lease is up, and my landlord will not let me break the lease.  Because of this, I have been advertising to find someone to sublet the apartment from me.  An unmarried couple is interested in the apartment, and they appear to be planning to live together.  If I were to sublet to them, would I be sinning by enabling this unscriptural living arrangement?

Furthermore, I haven't been able to find a clear answer, but it seems that discriminating based on being an unmarried couple living together may be illegal under the Fair Housing Act.  If this is the case, how should it factor into my decision?

Sincerely,
Landlord?

Dear Landlord,

These are the type of predicaments that test our wisdom and personal judgment.  On the one hand, the argument can be made that you are not causing them to live in sin, and they would just live somewhere else if you don’t sublet your apartment to them.  On the other hand, it is very easy to come to the conclusion that you are yoking yourself to an ungodly lifestyle (2 Cor 6:14).  In short, we would not be too quick to judge another christian’s decision in this area.

However, we can say that it would be impossible for us to sublet this apartment in good conscience if it were our decision, and anything not done in faith is sin (Rom 14:23).  Furthermore, if something becomes an issue of morality, then that supersedes any legal issues.  We must always obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).  The cons of this situation seem to far outweigh the pros.  This couple is openly living an ungodly lifestyle, which sets you up for a potentially damaging relationship as per 2 Cor 6:14-18.  Not only are they harming themselves, but there is a good chance that subletting to them will harm you as well.