Stand to Reason Weekly Podcast

Two Historical Films Worth Watching

Greg talks about how House of David  and The Most Reluctant Convert bring elements of those historical accounts to light, then he answers questions about the consequences of not attending a same-sex wedding and applying passages with first-person pronouns to ourselves.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Two historical films worth watching (00:00)
2. If you don’t attend a couple’s same-sex wedding, why would they ever consider Christianity after what you did? (35:00)
3. Why do we apply passages with first-person pronouns to ourselves (e.g., in Ephesians 1)? (49:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• House of David series
• C.S. Lewis: The Most Reluctant Convert
• The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien (A Graphic Novel) by John Hendrix
• Reality Student Apologetics Conference – February 20–21 in Dallas, TX; March 13–14 in Philadelphia, PA; April 24–25 in Los Angeles, CA

Related Links:

• Should You Accommodate an LGBT Person’s Requests? by Alan Shlemon
• Love Doesn’t Trump God’s Moral Commands by Amy Hall

How Different Will Our Resurrected Bodies Be?

Greg answers questions about how different our resurrected bodies will be, whether something is good so long as someone thinks it brings them closer to God, justification by allegiance alone, and the rationale for saying the human spirit doesn’t have a spatial location.

 

Topics:

1. If we’re not going to marry in Heaven, doesn’t that suggest that our resurrected bodies will be very different than they are now? (02:00)
2. Should something be considered good so long as someone perceives it as bringing them closer to God? (12:00)
3. Have you heard of “justification by allegiance alone,” and what do you think of it? (30:00)
4. What’s the biblical and philosophical rationale for saying the human spirit doesn’t have a spatial location? (43:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Submit a question on the Open Mic Line
• Darkest Hour – Film

Is This Similar to Learning to Hear God’s Voice?

Greg answers questions about an analogy to learning to hear God’s voice, taking communion after arguing with a Christian, the point of praying when God’s will is already set, apologetics curriculum for teens, and why one should pray in front of an abortion clinic instead of at home.

 

Topics:

1. How would you respond to someone who says that a baby hears a bird but doesn’t know it’s a bird until he grows and learns that it’s a bird, and this is like learning to hear God’s voice? (01:00)
2. Is it okay to take communion after arguing with a Christian? (22:00)
3. What’s the point of praying for protection if it’s already God’s will whether we will be protected or not? (33:00)
4. Can you recommend a discipleship and apologetics curriculum for teens along with a conference in our area to cap off our school year? (42:00)
5. Why would we have to pray in front of the abortion clinic and not at home? (50:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• When God Speaks by Greg Koukl
• STR U Online Training
• Reality Student Apologetics Conference – February 20–21 in Dallas, TX; March 13–14 in Philadelphia, PA; April 24–25 in Los Angeles, CA
• Red Pen Logic with Mr. B

Related Links:

• Does God Whisper? Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 by Greg Koukl

A Legitimate Slippery Slope

Greg discusses IVF’s slippery slope, then he talks to callers about a strategy he could have used on Diary of a CEO, and how to know when to stay in a church to try to change what’s happening and when to leave.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: A legitimate slippery slope (00:00)
2. How fruitful would the DOAC conversation have been if Greg had just said, “I’ve got the answer.” (26:00)
3. When do you stay in a church to try to change what’s happening, and when is it time to leave? (47:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• After-birth abortion: why should the baby live? by Alberto Giubilini and Francesca Minerva
• Reality Student Apologetics Conference – February 20–21 in Dallas, TX; March 13–14 in Philadelphia, PA; April 24–25 in Los Angeles, CA
• Greg on The Diary of a CEO

Related Links:

• The Black Box of IVF by Alan Shlemon
• What You Might Not Know about IVF – Podcast episode by Alan Shlemon and Amy Hall
• The Tragic Consequences of the IVF Industry by Amy Hall
• How IVF Is Changing Our View of Human Beings by Amy Hall
• Embracing the Absurd by Amy Hall

Is This a Flaw in the Moral Argument?

Greg answers questions about responding to someone in ministry who’s avoiding controversial truths with the students, suggestions for witnessing to a brother after his stroke, whether God sees salvation as a single moment in time, a possible problem with the moral argument, and the flood.

 

Topics:

1. What should I say to someone in ministry who is avoiding controversial truths with the students so that they’ll keep coming back? (00:00)
2. Do you have suggestions for witnessing to my brother after his stroke? (14:00)
3. Does God see salvation as a single moment in time or as the whole process of drawing, converting, and sanctifying? (27:00)
4. If Christianity put in place our ideas of what is truly good and what is truly evil, then how can we make the case for God using the moral argument? (36:00)
5. Do you think the story of Noah is historically true but the ark and the animals are allegorical? (48:00)

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
• The Story of Why God Died and Came to Life Again by Greg Koukl
• The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God: Why New Atheism Grew Old and Secular Thinkers Are Considering Christianity Again by Justin Brierley
• Noah’s Flood Revisited: New Depths of Insight from Science and Scripture by Hugh Ross

Related Links:

• Love Doesn’t Trump God’s Moral Commands by Amy Hall
• What Does God’s Love Look Like? by Amy Hall
• Should You Accommodate an LGBT Person’s Requests? by Alan Shlemon
• Jesus Built Western Civilization by Amy Hall (quoting Tom Holland)

Two Types of Legalism

Greg describes two types of legalism, then he answers questions from callers about overcoming anxiety about addressing controversial topics in the church, and how to tell the difference between claiming a legitimate promise of God and the prosperity gospel.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Two types of legalism (00:00)
2. How can I overcome my anxiety about saying something controversial in the church? (31:00)
3. Is there a way to tell the difference between claiming a legitimate promise of God and the prosperity gospel? (51:00)

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
• The Story of Why God Died and Came to Life Again by Greg Koukl
• Reality Student Apologetics Conference – February 20–21 in Dallas, TX; March 13–14 in Philadelphia, PA; April 24–25 in Los Angeles, CA

Related Links:

• Answering an Objection to Grace: Why Not Sin? by Amy Hall
• The Law Is Good by Amy Hall
• What Is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert
• How Can I Know Which Bible Promises Apply to Me? by Amy Hall
• Promises We Can’t Claim. Promises We Can. by Greg Koukl

One True Reality

Greg reflects on why our culture has difficulty with the idea that there can only be one true religion, then he answers questions about apologetics in the church, stories that make it sound like God does whisper to us, and the line between spiritual correction and spiritual abuse.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: One true reality (00:00)
2. How can I introduce apologetics and biblical ethics into my church? (10:00)
3. What do we do with stories that make it sound like God really did whisper to someone? (27:00)
4. When does correcting people in a congregation turn into spiritual abuse? (48:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• STR U Online Training – There’s a course on the idea that “truth is not ice cream”
• Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air by Francis Beckwith and Greg Koukl
• Does God Whisper? Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 by Greg Koukl
• When God Speaks by Greg Koukl

Related Links:

• One Way or Any Way? Part 1 by Greg Koukl
• One Way or Any Way? Part 2 by Greg Koukl

The Intersectionality Wheel of Privilege

Greg talks about the “Intersectionality Wheel of Privilege” his daughter had to place herself on as part of a school assignment, then he answers a question about how we can be sure there’s only one true religion.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: The Intersectionality Wheel of Privilege (00:00)
2. How can we be sure there’s only one true religion? (42:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• The Intersectionality Wheel of Privilege
• Greg on The Diary of a CEO

Descriptive vs. Prescriptive

Greg highlights the distinction between descriptive and prescriptive passages in the Bible then answers questions about a pro-choice challenge, helping someone in memory care, baptismal regeneration, responding to “Love is my religion,” animal blessings, and Bible translations.

 

Topics:

1. Commentary: Descriptive vs. prescriptive (00:00)
2. If someone says that if you’re pro-life then you should be against capital punishment, then couldn’t I flip that around and say that if a pro-choicer says a woman has the authority over her body to kill her unborn child, then he should be fine with her killing herself? (10:00)
3. What can I give a person in memory care to help them? (22:00)
4. Is it a dealbreaker if a church you’re going to believes in baptismal regeneration, and is this salvation by works? (28:00)
5. How would you respond to someone who said, “Love is my religion”? (36:00)
6. What is up with animal blessings? (44:00)
7. Is the New World Translation not called the “Holy Bible” because they changed too much in the text? (49:00)

Mentioned on the Show: 

• Submit a question on the Open Mic Line

Related Links:

• Further Reading on Bible Translations by Daniel Wallace

Is Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder?

Greg answers questions about beauty being “in the eye of the beholder,” what it looks like to follow the greatest commandment and how to teach it to students, and how to explain to a skeptic what we mean by “faith.”

 

Topics:

1. How could biblical writers talk about certain women being beautiful if beauty is in the eye of the beholder? (03:00)
2. What does following the greatest commandment—loving the Lord your God with all your heart—look like, what does it mean, and how should I teach it to students? (19:00)
3. Can you help me explain to a skeptic what we mean by “faith”? (41:00)

Related Links:

• You Don’t Have to Choose between the Head and the Heart – Greg Koukl discusses living “coram Deo.”
• Faith Is Not Wishing by Greg Koukl
• Faith Isn’t a Way of Knowing; It’s a Way of Trusting by Tim Barnett