Stand to Reason Weekly Podcast

Keep Gardening

Greg talks with Amy about an update she received from someone she had an interaction with a few years ago and reminds us to keep gardening, then he answers questions about whether we can thwart God and whether the scientific method and empathy can ground morality.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Keep gardening. (00:00)
2. Can man thwart God? (18:00)
3. Can the scientific method provide a basis for morality and empathy provide an obligation for morality? (35:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• #STRask podcast with Greg and Amy (archives here)
• C.S. Lewis: The Most Reluctant Convert – Film
• Be One of the 100
• Record a question for Greg to answer

Can You Lose Your Salvation?

Greg explains why he thinks a saved person can’t lose his salvation, then he answers questions about the last verse of John and whether evolution could have given us a common set of moral rules.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Can you lose your salvation? (00:00)
2. What do you think of the last verse of the book of John? (32:00)
3. Is there a common set of moral rules that evolution could have tricked us into? (46:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Be One of the 100
• Upcoming events with Stand to Reason speakers
• Reality Student Apologetics Conference – September 23–24 in Orange County, CA; October 14–15 in Seattle, WA; November 11–12 in Minneapolis, MN; February 24–25, 2023 in Dallas, TX; March 24–25, 2023 in Philadelphia, PA; April 21–22, 2023 in Augusta, GA
• STR Outposts
• C.S. Lewis: The Most Reluctant Convert – Film

Related Links:

• Losing Your Salvation in Ephesians 1:14–3 by Amy Hall

Stand with Courage and Grace

Greg talks about our need to have courage and grace as we stand in the truth, then he answers questions about how we know the devil didn’t raise Jesus, whether the Holy Spirit can use descriptive passages to affirm a decision, and Christians’ involvement in politics.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Stand with courage and grace. (00:00)
2. How do we know it wasn’t the devil who raised Jesus? (20:00)
3. Can the Holy Spirit use descriptive passages (as opposed to prescriptive) to affirm a decision? (29:00)
4. Regarding Christians’ involvement in politics, how should I respond to the claim that Christians can’t expect non-believers and their cultures to conform to Christian values before they have been made new in Christ? (46:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Be One of the 100
• Jaelene Daniels refuses gay pride jersey, sits out NWSL game
• Live Not by Lies by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

How Can I Go about Writing a Book?

Greg talks to a student about STR’s “Be One of the 100” campaign, corrects a stat he gave about slavery, talks about how to go about writing a book, then talks to a caller about how to find a good church.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Be one of the 100. (00:00)
2. Commentary: Greg corrects a stat he gave about slavery. (16:00)
3. Commentary: How can I go about writing a book? (17:00)
4. How can I find a good church? (42:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Be One of the 100
• STR Outposts
• Apply to Launch an STR Outpost at Your Church

Is There Really a Difference between Microevolution and Macroevolution?

Greg answers questions about whether there’s a legitimate difference between microevolution and macroevolution, concern about a pastor’s response to the reversal of Roe v. Wade, whether it’s wrong to take contraceptives, and why God doesn’t get rid of Satan immediately.

 

Topics:

1. How should I respond to someone who says there’s no difference between microevolution and macroevolution and that it’s just an illegitimate distinction made up by Christians? (04:00)
2. What do you think about my pastor’s response to the reversal of Roe v. Wade, and should I not stay at this church? (29:00)
3. Is taking contraceptives wrong like abortion is wrong, or is it okay to prevent pregnancy before conception? (45:00)
4. Why doesn’t God just rid of Satan immediately? (52:00)

Statistics Show LGBTQ Lifestyles Are Harmful

Greg discusses the fact that even though our culture glorifies LGBTQ lifestyles, the statistics show these lifestyles are actually harmful to people, then he answers a question about the timeline for end-time events.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Statistics show LGBTQ lifestyles are harmful. (09:00)
2. You’ve convinced me about the rapture being post-trib, but what is the timeline for the rest of the end-time events? (41:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Thinking About God: First Steps in Philosophy by Greg Ganssle
• Reasonable Faith by William Lane Craig
• Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview by J.P. Moreland and William Lane Craig
• STR Outposts info
• Straight & Narrow? Compassion & Clarity in the Homosexuality Debate by Thomas Schmidt
• The Rap on the Rapture by Greg Koukl

An Example of the Helpfulness of Tactics

Greg talks about the helpfulness of tactics, even for those who are new to using them, tells about hearing from a pastor that virtually all of the junior high girls in their youth group identify as bisexual, and talks to a caller about Trinitarian vs. Unitarian views of God.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: An example of the helpfulness of tactics (00:00)
2. Commentary: Virtually all of the girls in a junior high youth group are openly identifying as bisexual. (36:00)
3. Follow-up call regarding last week’s question about the number of persons in the Trinity—comments on a video debate between William Lane Craig (Trinitarian) and Dale Tuggy (Unitarian) (47:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• #STRask podcast with Greg and Amy (archives here)
• Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Greg Koukl
• The Story of Reality: How the World Began, How It Ends, and Everything Important that Happens in Between by Greg Koukl
• Upcoming events with Stand to Reason speakers
• Reality Student Apologetics Conference – September 23–24 in Orange County, CA; October 14–15 in Seattle, WA; November 11–12 in Minneapolis, MN; February 24–25, 2023 in Dallas, TX; March 24–25, 2023 in Philadelphia, PA; April 21–22, 2023 in Augusta, GA
• Last week’s call about the Trinity
• William Lane Craig and Dale Tuggy Dialogue Opposing Views – Video

Should the Church Be Celebrating the End of Roe v. Wade?

Greg answers questions about whether the church should be celebrating the end of Roe v. Wade, the idea that people with same-sex attraction are “born that way,” whether it’s possible there are more persons in the Trinity, and discerning whether a spiritual gift is from God or some other source.

 

Topics:

1. Should the church be celebrating the end of Roe v. Wade, and what should I think of my church remaining silent about it? (06:00)
2. How can I argue that gay people aren’t “born that way” if I seem to have been born with the desire for premarital sex? (19:00)
3. Is it possible there are more than three persons in the Trinity? (39:00)
4. How can I determine if a spiritual gift is coming from God or some other source? (49:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Upcoming events with Stand to Reason speakers
• Submit a recorded question to the show

The Fight against Crisis Pregnancy Centers

Greg talks about Senator Warren’s call to shut down crisis pregnancy centers and Jane’s Revenge’s attacks against them, then he talks to a caller about his experience volunteering at a CPC and answers questions about our nation vs. Sodom and Gomorrah and how to respond to someone who’s walking away from Christianity because God didn’t protect him from abuse.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: The fight against crisis pregnancy centers (00:00)
2. A former crisis pregnancy center volunteer explains why these centers wouldn’t dare to mislead people. (28:00)
3. What are the differences between our nation and Sodom and Gomorrah, and why is God not destroying us? (39:00)
4. What should I say to someone who is walking away from Christianity because God didn’t protect him from abuse? (49:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• #STRask podcast with Greg and Amy (archives here)
• Elizabeth Warren Wants to Shut Down All of the Country’s Crisis Pregnancy Centers by Liz Wolfe
• Elizabeth Warren Exposes Very Scary Pregnancy Center – Parody video by Allie Beth Stuckey

A Moral Perspective on Abortion

Greg discusses the moral argument against abortion and answers questions about how to respond to “God made me this way” and how to make a case for Jesus’ deity to a Muslim.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: A moral perspective on abortion (00:00)
2. What is a proper, biblical understanding of “God made me”? (29:00)
3. How can I expand upon the argument that since the Quran affirms the New Testament, Muslims should worship Jesus? (47:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Faithfulness Is Not Theologically Complicated by Greg Koukl