Stand to Reason Weekly Podcast

Were Portions of the Gospels Made up to Match Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53?

Greg talks to callers about what to say to a skeptic who claims portions of the Gospels were made up to match Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53, whether Hell is something we choose or an enforced punishment, and how to convince another Christian of how important it is to read the Bible and make it part of their life.

 

Topics:

1. What should I say to a skeptic who claims portions of the Gospels were made up to match Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53? (06:00)
2. Is Hell something we choose (i.e., the doors are “locked on the inside”), or is it a more a matter of just judgment (i.e., like prison)? (28:00)
3. How can I convince another Christian of how important it is to read the Bible and make it part of their life? (44:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• God Reforms Hearts: Rethinking Free Will and the Problem of Evil by Thaddeus Williams
• Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth: 12 Questions Christians Should Ask About Social Justice by Thaddeus Williams
• Upcoming events with Stand to Reason speakers
• Reality Student Apologetics Conference – September 22–23 in Los Angeles, CA; October 13–14 in Seattle, WA; November 10–11 in Minneapolis, MN; February 23–24, 2024 in Dallas, TX; March 22–23, 2024 in Philadelphia, PA; April 19–20, 2024 in Augusta, GA
• The Story of Reality: How the World Began, How It Ends, and Everything Important that Happens in Between by Greg Koukl
• Bart Ehrman on the Existence of Jesus by Amy Hall – Video clip of Bart Ehrman
• Be One of the 100

Related Links:

• You Want to Be a Good Apologist? by Amy Hall (about reading the Bible)
• James Gray on Mastering the Bible by Fred Sanders
• The Simple Way to Know and Be Shaped by Your Bible by Amy Hall

Are You Discipling Someone?

Greg talks about the need for churches (and Christian individuals) to disciple other Christians, then he answers a caller’s questions about Reformed theology.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Are you discipling someone? (00:00)
2. Why do you believe in Reformed theology? (34:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Upcoming events with Stand to Reason speakers
• The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman
• Reality Student Apologetics Conference – September 22–23 in Los Angeles, CA; October 13–14 in Seattle, WA; November 10–11 in Minneapolis, MN; February 23–24, 2024 in Dallas, TX; March 22–23, 2024 in Philadelphia, PA; April 19–20, 2024 in Augusta, GA
• Summit Ministries
• God Reforms Hearts: Rethinking Free Will and the Problem of Evil by Thaddeus Williams
• Be One of the 100

Related Links:

• Grace Defined and Defended: What a 400-Year-Old Confession Teaches Us about Sin, Salvation, and the Sovereignty of God by Kevin DeYoung – A book about the Canons of Dort (Reformed theology)
• “Forced Love” Is the Wrong Way to Look at It by Amy Hall

The Church Is for Anyone, Not Everyone

Greg talks about Calvary Church Albuquerque’s “cultural axioms” and encourages churches to likewise be “more concerned with reaching the lost than pacifying the critics,” then he answers questions about how AI relates to the image of God in people and attending a church that affirms one’s sin.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: The church is for anyone, not everyone (00:00)
2. Considering AI’s unsettling human-like ability to process language and complex ideas, how does the current AI relate to the image of God in people, and could it ever become truly self-aware? (26:00)
3. Am I right in thinking a person with same-sex attraction shouldn’t attend a church that affirms their sin, and what’s the difference between someone who is practicing homosexuality and someone who is living in any other sin? (45:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• CrossExamined Instructor Academy
• Calvary Church Albuquerque’s “cultural axioms”

Christians Should Be Able to Recognize Jesus’ Voice

Greg talks about the positive response of some Christians to an imitation of a Bible passage supposedly created by AI about transgenderism, then he answers questions about what the word “worship” should refer to and whether it’s possible to tell if the congregation is truly worshiping.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Christians should be able to recognize Jesus’ voice. (00:00)
2. Am I too concerned about people using the word “worship” to refer only to the music portion of the service? (42:00)
3. Is it possible to tell if the congregation is truly worshiping? (47:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• STR U Online Training
• Street Smarts: Using Questions to Answer Christianity’s Toughest Challenges by Greg Koukl
• Be One of the 100

Communicate Truth in a Way People Can Understand

Greg talks about our need to communicate truth in a way people can understand, then he answers questions about evangelizing people in AA and whether the sins of divorce and homosexuality will keep a person out of Heaven.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Communicate truth in a way people can understand. (00:00)
2. Can you give me wisdom about when to encourage spirituality in people in AA and when to confront them about the fact that they don’t yet know the true God? (27:00)
3. Are divorce and homosexuality the same in that we can’t go to Heaven if we’ve committed either of those sins? (43:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Street Smarts: Using Questions to Answer Christianity’s Toughest Challenges by Greg Koukl
• Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Greg Koukl

Interview: Frank Turek – Correct, Not Politically Correct

Greg talks to Frank Turek, author of the newly re-released Correct, Not Politically Correct, about the worldview behind same-sex marriage and transgenderism, the damage caused by transgender surgeries, how parents should respond to children who say they’re transgender, and more.

 

Topics:

1. Interview: Frank Turek, author of Correct, Not Politically Correct: About Same-Sex Marriage and Transgenderism(00:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Frank Turek
• CrossExamined Instructor Academy
• Correct, Not Politically Correct: About Same-Sex Marriage and Transgenderism by Frank Turek
• #STRask podcast with Greg and Amy
• #STRask: Is It Okay to Attend a Pride-Themed Happy Hour at Work?
• What Is a Woman? – Watch the full documentary for free at that link.
• Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters by Abigail Shrier
• Sex Change Regret website
• Legislating Morality: Is It Wise? Is It Legal? Is It Possible? by Frank Turek and Norm Geisler

Related Links:

• You Can’t Tear Down the Norm and Then Be Surprised by What Comes Next by Amy Hall
• Understand the Same-Sex Marriage Issue by Amy Hall
• It’s About the Difference between Men and Women by Amy Hall
• #STRask: Why Is It Wrong to Have Surgery to Alter Your Sex? by Amy Hall
• Don’t Assume We Should Change the Body to Match the Mind by Amy Hall

Are We Now Made in the Image of Adam Rather Than God?

Greg talks to callers about the extent of Satan’s influence, whether we’re now made in the image of Adam rather than God, the test for infidelity in Numbers 5, whether the right to life is truly unalienable, and a possible interpretation of “this generation not passing away” in Matthew 24:34.

 

Topics:

1. What’s the extent of Satan’s influence? (02:00)
2. Does Genesis 5:1–3 indicate we’re no longer made in the image of God but are now in the image of Adam? (13:00)
3. Does the test for infidelity in Numbers 5 assume the woman is guilty before proven innocent? (27:00)
4. Is the Declaration of Independence’s claim that our God-given rights are unalienable correct? The Bible seems to indicate we can lose our right to life. (35:00)
5. Is it possible Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:34 about “this generation not passing away” were referring to the record of that generation in Scripture not passing away? (45:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Reality Student Apologetics Conference – September 22–23 in Los Angeles, CA; October 13–14 in Seattle, WA; November 10–11 in Minneapolis, MN; February 23–24, 2024 in Dallas, TX; March 22–23, 2024 in Philadelphia, PA; April 19–20, 2024 in Augusta, GA

We Should Address God the Way He Wants to Be Addressed

Greg talks about the Archbishop of York’s statement that referring to God as “Father” is problematic, then he answers questions about how to treat kids who claim to be other species, a possible contradiction in Exodus 9, and the existence of neutral supernatural beings.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: We should address God the way he wants to be addressed. (00:00)
2. Should we treat kids as if they’re the species they say they are in order to highlight the absurdity of their claims? (29:00)
3. If God killed all of the Egyptians’ livestock in Exodus 9:6, why did he warn the Egyptians to bring their livestock indoors to avoid the hail in 9:18–21? Is this a contradiction? (37:00)
4. Are there any neutral supernatural beings? (46:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Lord’s Prayer opening may be ‘problematic,’ says archbishop by Harriet Sherwood
• Street Smarts: Using Questions to Answer Christianity’s Toughest Challenges by Greg Koukl
• Upcoming events with Stand to Reason speakers
• Schools let children identify as horses, dinosaurs...and a moon by Gordon Rayner

Related Links:

• The Beauty of Submission by Amy Hall
• The Beauty of Leadership by Amy Hall

Does God’s Will Affect Everything That Happens in Our Lives?

Greg responds to a question he received about the legitimacy of churches requiring people to be baptized in order to receive communion, then he answers questions about whether God’s will affects everything that happens in our lives and Bible references for Greg’s view on tithing.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Is it okay for churches to require baptism before communion? (00:00)
2. Does God’s will affect everything that happens in our lives? (13:00)
3. Do you have Bible references and other resources to explain your views on tithing? (43:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Sacred Marriage: What If God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy? by Gary Thomas

Related Links:

• Providence by John Piper
• #STRask: Is Every Decision We Make Part of God’s Will?
• How Can We Condemn Evil if God Is Sovereign? by Amy Hall
• Excusing Sinners and Blaming God: A Calvinist Assessment of Determinism, Moral Responsibility, and Divine Involvement in Evil by Guillaume Bignon
• Making Sense of Unanswered Prayer by Amy Hall
• Christians, You Will Suffer by Amy Hall
• Why It Isn’t Naïve to Trust God in Your Suffering by Amy Hall
• Should Christians Tithe? by Greg Koukl
• Why We’re Not Under the Mosaic Law by Amy Hall
• Should Followers of Christ Observe the Torah? by Amy Hall

The Logical Slippery Slope from Gender Fluidity to Species Fluidity

Greg talks about British schools allowing children to identify as other species, then he answers questions from callers about what worship music should be like and whether Jesus’ divine nature would have prevented him from incurring any guilt by becoming unclean.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: The logical slippery slope from gender fluidity to species fluidity (00:00)
2. What should worship music be like? (29:00)
3. How would the laws in Leviticus 5 that connect guilt with being ceremonially unclean have applied to Jesus as a Torah-observant Jew? Did his divine nature prevent him from becoming unclean? (52:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Schools let children identify as horses, dinosaurs...and a moon by Gordon Rayner
• STR U Online Training
• Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air by Greg Koukl and Frances Beckwith

Related Links:

• The Art of Leading Congregational Worship by Amy Hall
• At what point does playing music beautifully during worship actually become a distraction? – #STRask