I wrote the following to a sister in Christ who submitted answers to the questions posed.

One of the purposes I proposed this exercise is to see whether the saints can give a defense of the Scriptures. It is my hope that in doing so Christians might be challenged to consider whether they have "studied to show themselves approved unto God, a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." It is to demonstrate whether the saints can handle the arguments and opposition of unbelievers…

We should strive to speak with intelligence and wisdom, skillfully using the Scriptures to refute those who stand in opposition to the truth.
[End Excerpt]

Brother Wayne, it has been my observation that most Christians do not study the word of God. They are falling short of the standard of being a skillful workman. How will such ones stand in a day of great deception where we are told that “if possible even the elect will be deceived”? The purpose of my invitation is NOT to engage the saints in vain discussion, but rather to reveal their ability to answer relatively simple objections to the Scriptures. I would suggest that being able to do so holds great value.

The recent series I am posting on homosexuality reveals how few Christians are properly grounded in the Scriptures. Many have been swayed by the arguments of the unregenerate, concluding that Christians should not judge, and that love requires that Christians embrace unrepentant sinners and tolerate all manner of wicked behavior. Christians should be able to see the error of such arguments, and be able to refute them using the Scriptures as their authority. Yet, few are able, or willing, to do so.

If this little exercise can reveal to some believers that they lack the ability to refute a skeptic who is raising trite, or petty, arguments based upon the testimony of the Scriptures, and stimulate some to stir themselves up to pay greater heed to gaining skill in handling the word of truth, then I will deem it to have been profitable.

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.

Your have raised a valid objection to answering the questions of the unlearned and ignorant. Christ exhorted His disciples to not give what is holy to dogs, nor to cast pearls before swine. Swine have no appreciation, or desire, for pearls, even as some men have no appetite for truth. They will merely trample truth under foot, and engage in vain wrangling over words.

At the same time, there is a very real place for apologetics, and for answering the arguments of those who oppose the truth. We read of Christ doing so in the Gospels. An example is when the Sadducees asked Him who a woman would be married to in the resurrection since she had several husbands while on earth. We also read of numerous men in the New Testament who were praised for being able to use the Scriptures powerfully to refute those who opposed the truth.

Acts 6:9-10
But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen. And yet they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.

Acts 9:19-22
Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Yahshua in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God…" Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Yahshua is the Christ.

Acts 18:24, 28
Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures… for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Yahshua was the Christ.

Continued…

My point is why even ask or respond to such questions – ultimately one must come by faith, as a little child, then yes perhaps the Lord will grant insight into such difficult matters.

The ark points spiritually to Christ, to being in the One that can save us from the death outside, it is no less a miracle when a human being comes into Christ than when Noah and his family entered the ark.

Once in Christ, we cannot even breathe without Him, He is now our sustenance and vitality in the New Creation. To live is Christ, said Paul. He is the light entering into our soul from the heavenly window, He is our fortress and protection from the judgment of God being wrought outside the door. "I am the gate" He told us. "Abide in Me"

Any attempt to answer these questions without pointing to their ultimate spiritual meaning is a fools game. Such questions are designed to reduce us to mere natural arguments and reason, which can never be the basis of coming to Christ and entering into Him as life.