Stand to Reason Weekly Podcast

The Birth Narratives

Greg talks about how to think about apparent contradictions in the Gospels, describes some relevant historical, religious, cultural, and geographical aspects of the birth narratives, and explains how Jesus’ birth fits into the unified story of the Bible and fulfills God’s covenants.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: The birth narratives (00:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Life of Christ by Greg Koukl
• The Bible: Fast Forward DVD by Greg Koukl (audio version is also available)
• The Legend of the Social Justice Jesus by Greg Koukl
• Donate to Stand to Reason

Why Does It Seem like Things Aren’t Working out for Good?

Greg reflects on the words in Christmas carols, talks about the promise in Romans 8:28 that “God causes all things to work together for good,” then answers questions about his process for reading books, a defense for Noah’s ark, and the Calvinist view of free will.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Why does it seem like things aren’t working out for good? (00:00)
2. What process do you use for reading books to get the most out of them? (16:00)
3. Do you have a good defense for Noah’s ark? (35:00)
4. Is the Calvinist view of free will correct? (45:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Reading Less, More—and Twice as Fast by Greg Koukl
• The Genesis Flood: The Biblical Record and its Scientific Implications by John Whitcomb and Henry Morris
• Grace Defined and Defended: What a 400-Year-Old Confession Teaches Us about Sin, Salvation, and the Sovereignty of God by Kevin DeYoung

Related Links:

• “Forced Love” Is the Wrong Way to Look at It by Amy Hall
• Excusing Sinners and Blaming God: A Calvinist Assessment of Determinism, Moral Responsibility, and Divine Involvement in Evil by Guillaume Bignon
• How Can We Condemn Evil if God Is Sovereign? by Amy Hall

A Christmas Poem

Greg reads a Christmas poem, then he answers questions about being required to ask patients for their pronouns and “sex assigned at birth,” a biblical perspective on extreme sports and dealing with the pitfalls of fame in a sports career, and whether people need to hear the gospel to be saved.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: A Christmas poem (00:00)
2. What should I do about the new patient intake forms at the Catholic hospital where I work that require me to ask people for their pronouns and “sex assigned at birth” and put the answers on their chart? (10:00)
3. Does the Bible have anything to say about participating in extreme sports? How should a person deal with the pitfalls of fame in sports, and would a career in sports be okay? (29:00)
4. If people in the Old Testament were saved by faith without hearing of Jesus, does that still occur today, and does Acts 17:30–31 address that? (46:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Life of Christ by Greg Koukl
• Donate to Stand to Reason
• Street Smarts: Using Questions to Answer Christianity’s Toughest Challenges by Greg Koukl
• Bye Bye Barry
• The Heathen and the Unknown God by Greg Koukl

Questions to Ask When Someone Accuses God of Genocide

Greg gives a series of questions you can ask when someone accuses God of genocide, then he answers questions about Operation Rescue, how we can know that the religious feelings we have are from the true God, and how important it is to have a clear position on Arminianism vs. Calvinism.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Questions to ask when someone accuses God of genocide (00:00)
2. You were completely wrong about Operation Rescue a couple of weeks ago. (31:00)
3. How do we, as Christians, know that what we’re feeling is from the true God as opposed to what people in other religions are feeling? (38:00)
4. How important is it that I have a clear position on Arminianism vs. Calvinism? (49:00)

The Problem Is Not with the Evidence

Greg encourages Christians not to be discouraged when people don’t respond to their arguments, then he answers callers’ questions about whether Christians should be involved in the stock market and whether Christians should be calling out sin in the culture as aggressively as Jesus did.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: The problem is not with the evidence. (00:00)
2. Should Christians be involved in the stock market? (33:00)
3. Should we be calling out sin in the culture as aggressively as Jesus did? (41:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Stand to Reason’s tweet summarizing some evidence for God, and the atheist’s response
• No Evidence for God? – Greg’s previous commentary on the atheist’s tweet
• You’ll Never Change Anyone’s Mind about God by Greg Koukl
• Donate to Stand to Reason
• Reality Student Apologetics Conference – February 23–24, 2024 in Dallas, TX; March 22–23, 2024 in Philadelphia, PA; April 19–20, 2024 in Augusta, GA

Are Christians Who Say There’s Only One Way to God Closed-Minded Religionists?

Greg responds to questions about why Christians recommend Dennis Prager when he teaches things antithetical to Christianity, whether Christians who say there’s only one way to God are closed-minded “religionists,” and a challenge to Greg’s response to the Euthyphro dilemma.

 

Topics:

1. Why do so many Christians recommend Dennis Prager when much of what he teaches seems to be antithetical to Christianity? (00:00)
2. How do I respond to someone who says I shouldn’t be a closed-minded “religionist” who thinks there’s only one way to God? (17:00)
3. In light of the fact that it seems God has given conflicting commands in the past, if God were to do something evil but call it good, how could we make that determination? (47:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Greg Koukl
• Street Smarts: Using Questions to Answer Christianity’s Toughest Challenges by Greg Koukl
• The Story of Reality: How the World Began, How It Ends, and Everything Important that Happens in Between by Greg Koukl

Related Links:

• God Cares More about Behavior Than Most People Think by Amy Hall (responding to the idea that God cares about behavior rather than theology)

Is Jesus Dependent on the Father?

Greg answers questions about whether Jesus is dependent on the Father, whether he should be quoting someone who has a mistaken view on homosexuality, whether it’s ever okay for Christians to stand up for their rights, helping a non-believing couple move in together, and circular reasoning.

 

Topics:

1. Is Jesus dependent on the Father (which would mean he can’t be God), or is he independent (which would mean there are two Gods)? (08:00)
2. Should you be quoting Andrew Klavan given his views on homosexuality? (23:00)
3. As Christians, is it ever right to stand up for our rights, or should we always turn our cheek and suffer for Christ? (30:00)
4. What would you do if a non-believing couple asked you to help them move in together? (41:00)
5. Can you help me understand the fallacy of circular reasoning, and is saying “the Bible tells me so” an example of it? (49:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Donate to Stand to Reason
• Street Smarts: Using Questions to Answer Christianity’s Toughest Challenges by Greg Koukl
• Eternity Is Now: Just Ask Scrooge and George Bailey by Andrew Klavan

The Problem with Positive Rights

Greg talks about the difference between positive rights and negative rights, then he answers questions about how to respond when a spouse initiates divorce, whether it’s moral to kill abortionists, the biblical guidelines for putting yourself in danger, and the biblical way to pray and connect with God.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: The problem with positive rights (00:00)
2. Do you have any advice for how I should respond to my wife who has initiated a divorce? (27:00)
3. Is it morally wrong to kill abortionists? (40:00)
4. What are the biblical guidelines for putting yourself in danger? (49:00)
5. In light of your arguments against the common understanding of hearing the voice of God, what is the biblical way to pray and connect with God? (53:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Donate to Stand to Reason
• STR Violence Statement
• The Lord’s Prayer: Learning from Jesus on What, Why, and How to Pray by Kevin DeYoung

Related Links:

• Bomb Discovered at Abortion Clinic by Amy Hall

Interview: Jason Jimenez – Hijacking Jesus

Greg talks to Jason Jimenez, author of Hijacking Jesus: How Progressive Christians Are Remaking Him and Taking Over His Church, about what progressive Christians believe and why, why their theology is so popular right now, beliefs they reject, their view of the atonement, and more.

 

Topics:

1. Interview: Jason Jimenez, author of  Hijacking Jesus: How Progressive Christians Are Remaking Him and Taking Over His Church (00:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Hijacking Jesus: How Progressive Christians Are Remaking Him and Taking Over His Church by Jason Jimenez

Is Intelligent Design Pseudoscience?

Greg responds to the claim that intelligent design is pseudoscience, then he answers questions about preaching against abortion even though people in the congregation have had abortions, Bible translations, and the biblical definition of the image of God.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Is intelligent design pseudoscience? (00:00)
2. How can I make a biblical argument to help my pastor see that it’s okay to teach about the case against abortion even if there are people in the congregation who have had abortions? (19:00)
3. What translation do you use and/or consider to be the best out there on the market? (34:00)
4. How is the image of God described in the Bible? (45:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Rock Solid Apologia
• Street Smarts: Using Questions to Answer Christianity’s Toughest Challenges by Greg Koukl
• Stephen Meyer’s books
• Submit a question on the Open Mic Line
• Making Abortion Unthinkable: The Art of Pro-Life Persuasion by Greg Koukl and Scott Klusendorf
• Scribes and Scripture: The Amazing Story of How We Got the Bible by John Meade and Peter Gurry
• STR Outposts

Related Links:

• How Can God Forgive Me? by Amy Hall (for people who are struggling to understand God’s forgiveness)