Stand to Reason Weekly Podcast

Should You Tell Your Children Your Spouse Has Left Christianity?

Greg responds to a question about whether you should tell your children your spouse has left Christianity, then he takes Open Mic calls about why John was called the greatest “among those born of women,” transgender children, and whether taking fertility drugs would interfere with God’s timing and plan.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Should you tell your children your spouse has left Christianity? (00:00)
2. How should I understand the saying in Matthew 11:11 and Luke 7:28 that John was the greatest “among those born of women” if Jesus was also born of a woman? (27:00)
3. Would this question help a parent realize what’s best for their child? “If you could snap your fingers and get the best outcome for your child, would you choose for your child’s body to match their mind or to not match?” (38:00)
4. Is it okay to take fertility drugs, or would that be interfering with God’s timing and plan? (47:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• #STRask podcast with Greg and Amy
• Record an Open Mic question

Related Links:

• When Transgender Children Are Harmed by the People Who Intended to Help Them by Amy Hall
• How to Help Transgender Children by Amy Hall
• The Tragic Consequences of the IVF Industry by Amy Hall
• How IVF Is Changing Our View of Human Beings by Amy Hall
• The Black Box of IVF by Alan Shlemom
• What You Might Not Know about IVF – Alan Shlemon and Amy Hall

When a Good Man Says Something Foolish

Greg discusses Alistair Begg’s advice about attending the wedding of a transgender person, then he answers a question about how Jeremiah 31:31 can apply to Christians when it says the promise is for “the house of Israel” and “the house of Judah.”

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: When a good man says something foolish (09:00)
2. How can I say Jeremiah 31:31’s words about the New Covenant apply to me if it says the promise is for “the house of Israel” and “the house of Judah”? (39:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Desert Apologetics “Anchored” Conference
• 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
• Interview: Justin Brierley – The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God
• Record an Open Mic question
• The Bible: Fast Forward – DVD (Also available as a digital download)

Greg Answers Questions from an Atheist

In this compilation of calls from an atheist, Greg answers questions about the nature of objective morality, who goes to Hell, and how one can move from the cosmological argument for the existence of God to the God of the Bible.

 

Topics:

1. If we can unify our understanding of morality by agreeing on a common goal, then isn’t that objective morality? (02:00)
2. Who goes to Hell? (18:00)
3. How do we move from the need for a first cause to the existence of the God of the Bible? (42:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Conversations with an Atheist – Download the compilation of Greg’s discussions with Ian (includes an additional question)

Related Links:

• #STRask: Why conclude the beginning of the universe points to the Christian God rather than one of the other explanations people offer?
• A Simple Explanation of the Cosmological Argument – Short video from Reasonable Faith

What Is the Nature of Consciousness?

Greg talks about the soul, then he answers questions about why God made it so hard for humans to know he exists, the informal fallacy of special pleading, and how Christians can effect positive change in states where the culture is opposed to a biblical worldview.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: What is the nature of consciousness? (00:00)
2. If God made humans, why did he make it so hard for them to know he exists? (21:00)
3. Can you explain the informal fallacy of special pleading? (45:00)
4. How can Christians effect positive change in states where the culture is opposed to a biblical worldview? (54:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Does God Whisper? Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 (online articles) by Greg Koukl
• The Ambassador’s Guide to the Voice of God (booklet) by Greg Koukl
• STR U Online Training

Related Links:

• Psychologist Recommends Intentionally Suppressing Intuition of Design by Amy Hall (on atheists needing to suppress the natural intuition children have that nature was designed)

There’s No Sense in Which You Can Bless a Sinful Relationship

Greg discusses the Pope’s statement on how Roman Catholic priests can give blessings to same-sex couples, then he talks to callers about a tactical way to tell people who think they’re Christians that they aren’t and what Jesus meant when he said in Mark 13:32 that only the Father knows “that day or hour.”

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: There’s no sense in which you can bless a sinful relationship. (00:00)
2. What’s a tactical way to tell people who think they’re Christians that they aren’t Christians? (26:00)
3. What does Jesus mean when he says in Mark 13:32 that only the Father knows “that day or hour,” not the Son? (47:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Doctrinal dicastery explains how, when gay couples can be blessed by Cindy Wooden
• 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
• The Deconstruction of Christianity by Tim Barnett and Alisa Childers

 

An Assertion Isn’t an Argument

Greg responds to a video by Dan McClellan that claims the Bible has no authority, then he answers questions about the extent to which Satan influences non-believers and how we can know when we should continue witnessing to someone and when we should move on.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: An assertion isn’t an argument. (00:00)
2. To what extent does Satan influence non-believers? (26:00)
3. How do we know when we should continue witnessing to a person and when we should move on? (46:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• 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
• The Bible Has No Authority – Video by Dan McClellan

Related Links:

• A Response to Atheistic Moral Platonism by Amy Hall (quoting William Lane Craig)

Don’t Be Surprised When You Have to Fight Spiritual Battles

Greg explains the biblical understanding of spiritual warfare, then he talks to callers about concerns about how a pastor is presenting the Lord’s Supper and how to navigate conversations with friends and family who are following false teachers and false teachings.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Don’t be surprised when you have to fight spiritual battles. (00:00)
2. How concerned should I be about how a pastor is presenting the Lord’s Supper? (36:00)
3. How should I navigate conversations with friends and family who are following false teachers and false teachings? (48:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• STR U Online Training
• The Deconstruction of Christianity: What It Is, Why It’s Destructive, and How to Respond by Tim Barnett and Alisa Childers

Related Links:

• Seeing the Unseen: The Nature of Spiritual Warfare by Greg Koukl

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