Since coming to Lake Avenue Church, people ask me questions that I myself have wondered about before. But, just as often, here in Southern CA I’ve found that some of the questions are about matters I had never really considered. Tattoos? Ancestor boxes? Cremation? Following Jesus without dishonoring parents when turning to Jesus from Buddhism? These are just a few of the issues the people at LAC write me about. So, I look at God’s Word and seek to provide some guidance and direction. I have wondered whether others have questions about related matters – though they have never asked. Finally, my Executive Assistant convinced me to post parts of my responses via this blogging medium.
Perhaps you are searching for answers to the issues that others have brought to me. My hope is that what you read in my blog will, at the very least, send you to God’s Word to discover wisdom and direction beyond anything a blogger might offer. If you don’t find your issue addressed here, feel free to ask it. I may not be able to get to it immediately – but, of course, if you do not ask then I will never get to it.
I especially enjoy communicating with people who desire to do what is biblical, loving, and right. Together, we might be able to seek principles from scripture and discern a good path forward.
To His Glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
“They took down the bodies…and went to Jabesh, where they burned them” 1 Samuel 31:12 
Christians disagree about whether cremation is an appropriate way to deal with a body after death. The Bible, however, nowhere answers the question specifically as to the method of disposal. Some people have raised moral and religious questions about whether Christians should “destroy” a body through cremation of the remains. Occasionally, even the procedure of autopsy has been challenged on religious bases when the cause of death required further investigation. These questions, ultimately, can only be answered in an individual’s or family’s conscience. The Bible does not require one technique over others.
"Where does the Bible stand on getting a tattoo?..."
"...I was told that there is a verse in the Book of Leviticus that teaches it is wrong. But, what if the tattoo is a verse from the Bible? Mostly, what if the big problem is that my father disapproves even though I am over 30. I want to show him respect but wonder if I have freedom in spite of his viewpoint. My wife loves the idea."
Statements that Seem to Undermine Christian Faith
Written by Greg Waybright June 08, 2010 Read 353 times
I had a Jewish friend tell me his religion is more intellectually and historically sound than Christianity. His main point was that Jewish oral tradition is the source that gives insight into interpreting the Scriptures accurately and that, since Jewish oral tradition contradicts Christian interpretations, then the Christian faith must be wrong. I had never heard anything like this so I’ve been somewhat shaken by it. Where is a Christian to start when faced with this kind of daunting search for truth?
All through my doctoral studies at Marquette and Cambridge, I was confronted with challenges to my thinking – and that included challenges to the very source of my understanding of God, i.e., the Bible. Sometimes, I would think, "Well, my faith must not be true..." (And then in the next breath) "But it is real!" Then, "But, what about...?" On and on it goes while we live by faith and not yet by sight.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” Matthew 7:7
Since coming to Lake Avenue Church, people ask me questions that I myself have wondered about before. But, just as often, here in Southern CA I’ve found that some of the questions are about matters I had never really considered. Tattoos? Ancestor boxes? Cremation? Following Jesus without dishonoring parents when turning to Jesus from Buddhism??? These are just a few of the issues the people at LAC write me about. So, I look at God’s Word and seek to provide some guidance and direction. I have wondered whether others have questions about related matters – though they have never asked. Finally, my Executive Assistant convinced me to post parts of my responses via this blogging medium.
