Stand to Reason Weekly Podcast

Darwinism Can’t Account for Objective Morality

Greg explains why Darwinism can’t account for objective morality, then he answers a question about whether our sins are covered or washed away and takes a follow-up call from a caller about the origin and development of the cosmos.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Darwinism can’t account for objective morality. (00:00)
2. Are our sins covered or washed away, or is there a difference? (24:00)
3. A follow-up on a previous conversation about the origin and development of the cosmos. (38:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents by Rod Dreher
• Totalitarianism: Can It Happen in America? by Rod Dreher
• We’re Living in a War on Reality with Rod Dreher

Related Links:

• 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

Be Faithful to the Truth

Greg talks about our need to be faithful to the truth, then he answers questions about reconciling texts about apostasy with texts about perseverance and how we can evaluate whether or not a prophet is from God if prophecies sometimes take centuries to come to pass.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Be faithful to the truth. (00:00)
2. How can we reconcile texts about apostasy in the church with texts that teach perseverance of the saints? (14:00)
3. Since prophecies sometimes take centuries to come to pass, how can we ever evaluate whether or not a prophet is from God? (50:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Reasons to Believe
• Seeing the Unseen: The Nature of Spiritual Warfare by Greg Koukl
• Submit a question on the Open Mic Line

Interview: Sean McDowell – A Rebel’s Manifesto

Greg interviews Sean McDowell, author of A Rebel’s Manifesto: Choosing Truth, Real Justice, and Love amid the Noise of Today’s World, about helping students understand the moral issues of our day so they can think biblically and act justly as they seek to love their neighbor and do good in the world.

 

Topics:

1. Interview: Sean McDowell, author of A Rebel’s Manifesto (00:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Sean McDowell
• A Rebel’s Manifesto: Choosing Truth, Real Justice, and Love amid the Noise of Today’s World by Sean McDowell
• Alliance Defending Freedom
• 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

How Do We Close the Gap between Who We Are and Who We Should Be?

Greg answers questions about living consistently with who we should be as new creations in Christ,  Johns Hopkins reversing their position on transgender surgeries, advice for a returning missionary on whether or not to start a home church, and using a person’s own values to persuade them to adopt your position.

 

Topics:

1. How do we close the integrity gap between who we are and who we should be as new creations in Christ? (06:00)
2. Johns Hopkins reversed their position on transgender surgeries. (24:00)
3. Do you have any advice on whether or not to start a home church as a returning missionary who is seeking deeper fellowship? (41:00)
4. How can you use someone’s own values to persuade them to adopt your moral position? (50:00)

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Mentioned on the Show: 

• Upcoming events with Stand to Reason speakers
• #STRask: What Questions Should I Ask Pastors When Looking for a New Church?

Related Links:

• What Motivates Sin (and How to Fight It) by Amy Hall
• When Spiritual Heroes Fall by Greg Koukl
• Long shadow cast by psychiatrist on transgender issues finally recedes at Johns Hopkins by Amy Ellis Nutt

Besieged by a Worldview Foreign to Jesus’ View of Reality

Greg talks about the policies concerning transgender students in his local school district, how the worldview being promoted conflicts with Jesus’ view of reality, and our need to uphold the truth, then he answers a question about how Orthodox Jews atone for sin.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Besieged by a worldview foreign to Jesus’ view of reality (00:00)
2. A caller talks to Greg about his commentary. (41:00)
3. How does an Orthodox Jew atone for sin? (48:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• CVUSD Allows Boys in Girls’ Bathrooms, Punishes Students for Using ‘Wrong Pronouns’ by Joel Kilpatrick
• #STRask podcast with Greg and Amy (archives here)

Does Loving Our Neighbor Entail Facilitating Abortions?

Greg discusses harmonizing our observations of nature with Scripture, talks about a billboard that uses a Bible verse to advertise getting an abortion in California, then answers questions about David saying he sinned only against God and whether desires can be sinful, not just actions.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: All truth is God’s truth. (00:00)
2. Commentary: Does loving our neighbor entail facilitating abortions? (09:00)
3. Why does David say, “Against you only have I sinned,” in Psalm 51? (31:00)
4. What do you think of the phrase “Attractions are not actions”? (42:00)
5. Is it really the case that if you don’t act on homosexual feelings, then they’re not sinful, or are thoughts sins? (42:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Billboard in Mississippi advertising getting an abortion in California

Related Links:

• Have Grace for Fellow Christians on the Age of the Earth by Amy Hall
• Are We Accountable for Unchosen Sinful Desires? by Alan Shlemon

When Is It Appropriate for Christians to Resist Those in Authority?

As a follow-up to a previous question, Greg talks about how some Christian thinkers in the past have resolved the question of when it’s appropriate for Christians to resist those in authority, then he answers a question about whether we should use the Big Bang theory if parts of it contradict Scripture.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: When is it appropriate for Christians to resist those in authority? (00:00)
2. Should we use the Big Bang theory for arguments like the kalam cosmological argument if parts of it contradict Scripture? (36:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• 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
• Upcoming events with Stand to Reason speakers
• #STRask podcast with Greg and Amy (archives here)
• The Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrates by Matthew J. Trewhella
• Crimson Tide film
• Listen to the original question: Should a Christian Take up Arms to Defend Himself against Physical Persecution?

Related Links:

• Have Grace for Fellow Christians on the Age of the Earth by Amy Hall

Is Science Incompatible with Faith in God?

Greg responds to the claim that science is incompatible with faith in God, answers a question about ideas for an apologetics topic for a school research project, then talks to a caller about why God allows evil to exist.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Is science incompatible with faith in God? (00:00)
2. Do you have any suggestions for an apologetics topic that would work for a research project at school? (26:00)
3. Why does God allow evil to exist? (39:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• The Story of Reality: How the World Began, How It Ends, and Everything Important that Happens in Between by Greg Koukl

Is It Suspicious That Jesus Only Appeared to His Followers?

Greg responds to the idea that we shouldn’t trust the testimony about Jesus rising from the dead since the testimony came from his followers, shares a listener’s thoughts on Christians defending themselves, then answers questions about James vs. Paul and praying to the Son and Holy Spirit.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Is it suspicious that Jesus only appeared to his followers? (06:00)
2. Commentary: A response to Greg’s thoughts on Christians defending themselves (16:00)
3. How would you respond to someone who said James’s understanding of justification was different from Paul’s because his was the earliest epistle and he didn’t yet understand? (29:00)
4. Is it appropriate to pray to the other persons of the Trinity? (50:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• 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

Related Links:

• Faith and Works: Paul vs. James by Greg Koukl

Should a Christian Take up Arms to Defend Himself against Physical Persecution?

Greg answers questions about whether it would be okay for a Christian to defend himself against physical persecution, how to determine if a child is ready to be baptized, responding to the claim that people are born gay, whether Adam and Eve would have faced more tests if they had passed the first one, and more.

 

Topics:

1. If I were a Jew living during the Holocaust, would I have been justified in getting an AK-47 to defend myself, and during the tribulation, would we lose our martyr’s crown if we were to die fighting back rather than just allowing them to kill us? (05:00)
2. What’s the best way to determine if my 12-year-old grandson is truly a Christian and should get baptized? (19:00)
3. How should I respond to the claim that people are born gay? (36:00)
4. Would Adam and Eve (and/or their children) have had other tests if they had passed the first test in the garden? (43:00)
5. How should I respond to a Catholic friend who says only Catholic priests have the ability to read the Bible? (48:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• The Magic Prayer by Greg Koukl