Stand to Reason Weekly Podcast

How Is God Not Partly Responsible for Our Sin?

Greg answers questions about why John always refers to himself as the beloved disciple, why God isn’t partly responsible for our sin if he’s sovereign and we didn’t choose our desires, and whether John 15:22–24 contradicts the idea that “no one is without excuse.”

 

Topics:

1. Why does John always refer to himself as the beloved? (02:00)
2. How is God not also in some measure responsible for our sin if he’s sovereign and we didn’t choose our desires? (16:00)
3. How does John 15:22–24 not contradict Paul’s claim that “no one is without excuse” in Romans 1? (37:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Submit a question on the Open Mic Line

You Can Learn from Christians with Whom You Don’t Agree on Everything

Greg answers questions about a church leader entering a physique show, learning from Christians with whom we don’t agree on everything, attending a baptism for a different religion, and how to respond to an argument for the importance of “Pride.”

 

Topics:

1. Would entering a physique show be considered worshiping the body and something a church leader shouldn’t be participating in? (11:00)
2. I appreciate that you don’t distance yourself from apologists who differ from you on soteriology. What is a good way to approach learning from other Christians with whom we don’t agree on everything? (28:00)
3. What is your stance on whether a Christian can attend a baptism for a different religion? (43:00)
4. How would you respond to the claim that “Pride is important because someone tonight still believes they’re better off dead than being gay“? (47:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God: Why New Atheism Grew Old and Secular Thinkers Are Considering Christianity Again by Justin Brierley
• Submit a question on the Open Mic Line

Related Links:

•   Does God Whisper? Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 (on decision making) by Greg Koukl

Christmas Spoilers

Greg chats about some Christmas myths, recommends two films that capture the nativity well, then answers questions about whether day trading is a form of gambling, being a gardener vs. a harvester, and reconciling Greg’s view on decision making with Romans 12:2.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Christmas spoilers (00:00)
2. Commentary: Films that capture the nativity well (15:00)
3. Is day trading a form of gambling? (24:00)
4. Is it okay to not evangelize like Ray Comfort? (39:00)
5. How can I reconcile your view on decision making with Romans 12:2, which talks about God’s perfect will? (44:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• The Nativity Story – Film
• The Christ Child: A Nativity Story – Film (Warning: The statement at the end of this short film reflects the Mormon gospel.)

Related Links:

• Does God Whisper? Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 (on decision making) by Greg Koukl

Should I Feel Guilty for Not Having the Joy of the Lord During a Dark Time?

Greg answers questions from callers about old earth vs. young earth and feeling guilty about not having the joy of the Lord during a long, difficult, dark time.

 

Topics:

1. What’s your opinion on old earth vs. young earth? (06:00)
2. Should I feel guilty for not having the joy of the Lord during a long, difficult, dark time? (37:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Donate to Stand to Reason by the 28th of this month and receive The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God: Why New Atheism Grew Old and Secular Thinkers Are Considering Christianity Again by Justin Brierley
• Seven Days that Divide the World: The Beginning According to Genesis and Science by John Lennox
• Reality Student Apologetics Conference – February 21–22 in Dallas, TX; March 21–22, in Philadelphia, PA; April 25–26 in Dayton, OH
• Spurgeon quote: “My witness is, that those who are honoured of their Lord in public, have usually to endure a secret chastening, or to carry a peculiar cross, lest by any means they exalt themselves, and fall into the snare of the devil.”

Related Links:

• Have Grace for Fellow Christians on the Age of the Earth by Amy Hall
• The Rightful Place of Suffering in the Life of the Christian by Amy Hall
• Christians, You Will Suffer by Amy Hall
• Why It Isn’t Naive to Trust God in Your Suffering by Amy Hall

Will There Be a Rapture?

Greg answers questions about his views on the rapture and whether there’s any middle ground between Reformed and Arminian theology.

 

Topics:

1. Can you elaborate on your views on the rapture? (02:00)
2. When it comes to salvation, is there any middle ground between Reformed and Arminian theology? (31:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• The Blessed Hope: A Biblical Study of the Second Advent and the Rapture by George Eldon Ladd
• The Church and the Tribulation: A Biblical Examination of Posttribulationism by Robert Gundry
• The Rap on the Rapture by Greg Koukl

Science Can’t Disprove the Virgin Birth

Greg talks about the claim that the virgin birth is disproved by science, then he talks to callers about when the New Covenant started, how Jesus could have paid the penalty of being separated from God, Bonhoeffer’s views on the Bible, and pragmatism.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Science can’t disprove the virgin birth. (00:00)
2. When did the New Covenant start? (14:00)
3. If the wages of sin is separation from God, how could Jesus pay that? (26:00)
4. What are your thoughts on Bonhoeffer’s views on the Bible? (43:00)
5. Is it ever okay to be pragmatic, or is it always wrong to say the ends justify the means? (49:00)

 

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Donate to Stand to Reason by the 28th of this month and receive The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God: Why New Atheism Grew Old and Secular Thinkers Are Considering Christianity Again by Justin Brierley
• Street Smarts: Using Questions to Answer Christianity’s Toughest Challenges by Greg Koukl
• Should Christians Tithe? by Greg Koukl
• Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas

 

Related Links:

• The Troubling Truth About Bonhoeffer’s Theology by Richard Weikart

Why Does God Allow Evil?

Greg answers questions about why God allows evil, whether denominations really matter, whether Matthew 16 says Peter was the first pope, and how Greg’s view on decision making and the will of God fits with passages in James, Ruth, and Esther.

 

Topics:

1. Why does God allow evil? (00:00)
2. Does the denomination of a church really matter, and should Matthew 16 be interpreted as saying that whoever says Jesus is the Christ is part of the church, or is it saying Peter was the first pope? (24:00)
3. Can you explain how your view on decision making and the will of God fits with passages in James, Ruth, and Esther? (42:00)

 

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Donate to Stand to Reason by the 28th of this month and receive The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God: Why New Atheism Grew Old and Secular Thinkers Are Considering Christianity Again by Justin Brierley
• Submit a question on the Open Mic Line

 

Related Links:

• If God Is Good, Why Is There Evil and Suffering? by Amy Hall
• What You Need to Know about Evil and Suffering by Amy Hall
• One Way or Any Way? Part 1 and Part 2 by Greg Koukl
• Does God Whisper? Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 by Greg Koukl

What We Can Learn from the Account of David and Goliath

Greg talks about what we can learn from the account of David and Goliath, then he answers questions about the divide between men and women, whether a contractor should turn down work on a Buddhist temple, and determining if a passage is descriptive or prescriptive.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: What we can learn from the account of David and Goliath (08:00)
2. Why does it seem like there’s such a divide between men and women today? (19:00)
3. Do you think I was right to turn down a request to build a large water feature for a Buddhist temple, in which there will be a Buddhist statue in the center of a reflection pool? (47:00)
4. When should passages be interpreted as descriptive rather than prescriptive (e.g., when it comes to head coverings)? (53:00)

 

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Donate to Stand to Reason by the 28th of this month and receive The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God: Why New Atheism Grew Old and Secular Thinkers Are Considering Christianity Again by Justin Brierley
• Reality Student Apologetics Conference – February 21–22 in Dallas, TX; March 21–22, in Philadelphia, PA; April 25–26 in Dayton, OH

 

Related Links:

• The Beauty of Submission by Amy Hall
• The Beauty of Leadership by Amy Hall
• The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the Sexes by Nancy Pearcey

Are the Things We Claim Are Complex Really Complex?

Greg talks to callers about how, when it comes to the teleological argument, we know the things we claim are complex are really complex, how to witness to someone who has consulted a spiritualist, and whether God values results or growth more.

 

Topics:

1. When it comes to the teleological argument, how do we know the things we say are complex are really complex? (01:00)
2. How can I witness to someone at work who consulted a spiritualist? (27:00)
3. Does God value results or growth more? (36:00)

 

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Street Smarts: Using Questions to Answer Christianity’s Toughest Challenges by Greg Koukl

 

Related Links:

• Decision Making and the Will of God by Greg Koukl

How Can You Say God Is Pro-Life if He Kills Babies?

Greg talks to Robby Lashua about an announcement and discusses the value of saying “thank you” to everyone who does something for you, then he responds to a caller’s question about how God can be pro-life if he kills babies.

 

Topics:

1. Interview: An announcement from Robby Lashua (00:00)
2. Commentary: Say “thank you” to everyone who does something for you. (27:00)
3. Are Christians pro-life, and do they believe God is pro-life even though he kills babies? (46:00)

 

Mentioned on the Show: 

• STR Outposts
• Reality Student Apologetics Conference – February 21–22 in Dallas, TX; March 21–22, in Philadelphia, PA; April 25–26 in Dayton, OH
• New Testament Prayer

 

Related Links:

• Was God Pro-Life When He Sent the Flood? by Tim Barnett
• How Could God Kill All the Firstborn Babies in the Tenth Plague? – #STRask podcast
• Can God Kill the Innocent? by Greg Koukl
• If God Is Love, Why Did He Kill so Many People in the Old Testament? – #STRask podcast
• Be Careful with How You Define “Pro-Life” by Tim Barnett
• A God Who Told Me to Kill My Son Would Not Be the God for Me – #STRask podcast