Stand To Reason

Greg talks about a gift sent to STR, gives an update on Melinda, and talks about theistic evolution, then he answers questions about evolutionist’s presuppositions and eternal punishment. Topics: Commentary: Problems with theistic evolution (:00) Are evolutionists presupposing that it’s a good thing to survive? (34:00) Is eternal punishment necessary in order for God to be just? (48:00) Download the mp3... Mentioned on the Show: Melinda’s Caring Bridge page with updates on her...

Greg reflects on gratitude from an apologetics angle, then he gives some principles for dealing with criticism and answers questions about why God created sharks and how we can know the Old Testament is history. Topics: Commentary: How gratitude points to God (00:00) Commentary: Principles for dealing with criticism (19:00) Why did God make bad things like snakes, sharks, and mosquitoes? (29:00) How can we know the Old Testament is really history? (39:00) Download the mp3...

Greg talks about the new edition of Tactics, then he answers questions about whether the Holy Spirit knew the day and hour in Mark 13:32, ethical problems with health insurance, and reaching an ex-Christian. Topics: Commentary: A new, expanded edition of Tactics (00:00) Wouldn’t the Holy Spirit have known the unknown day and hour in Mark 13:32? (20:00) Are there ethical problems with purchasing health insurance from a company that pays for things I disagree with? (32:00) After using...

Greg reflects on what he saw and experienced on his recent trip to Israel. Download the mp3...

Greg reflects on a Pew Research study about Americans leaving the church, then he answers questions about evangelism strategies, Jesus’ temporal death paying for an eternal punishment, and whether the fine-tuning argument is disprovable. Topics: Commentary: The Chaff Is Blowing Away (:00) How should I respond to an evangelism group that wants me to be aggressive and get people to pray the sinner’s prayer? (19:00) How can Jesus’ temporal death pay for an eternal punishment? (31:00) Is...

Greg talks about advice he gives to people who want to be apologists, then he answers questions about declining to fulfill puberty blocker prescriptions and whether the fact that we’re personal argues for a personal God. Topics: Commentary: Bloom where you’re planted and be a student of your craft. (10:00) As a pharmacist, how can I winsomely navigate conversations with parents coming for puberty blockers for their children? (24:00) Does the fact that we’re personal argue against a deist...

Greg talks about souls and gives reasons why we should think we have one. Topics: Commentary: What is a soul, and why should we think we have one? (00:00) Download the mp3... Mentioned on the Show: What is the Soul? Recovering Human Personhood in a Scientific Age by J.P. Moreland Beyond Death: Exploring the Evidence for Immortality by Gary Habermas and J.P. Moreland

Guest Host: Alan Shlemon Alan talks to Tim Muehlhoff, author of Defending Your Marriage: The Reality of Spiritual Battle, about spiritual warfare. Download the mp3... Mentioned on the Show: Tim Muehlhoff Defending Your Marriage: The Reality of Spiritual Battle by Tim Muehlhoff Winsome Persuasion: Christian Influence in a Post-Christian World by Tim Muehlhoff reTHINK Apologetics Student Conference – November 8–9 in Minneapolis, MN

Guest Host: Alan Shlemon Alan talks about Ellen DeGeneres’s statement about being friends with people she disagrees with, answers questions about evidence vs. Holy Spirit and submitting to authority, then talks to Scott Symington about science and faith. Topics: Commentary: Be friends with people who disagree with you (00:00) Would we ever be justified in saying the evidence proves Christianity false if we have the testimony of the Holy Spirit inside us? (23:00) When should we not...

Greg talks about an email he received from an atheist then answers questions about God creating people He knew would go to Hell, arguing against a flat earth, and “listening prayer.” Topics: Commentary: Atheists on a mission (:00) If God is good, then why did He create a world where He knew humans would sin and have to be punished? (13:00) How should I argue against someone who believes in a flat earth? (34:00) What are the pitfalls of “listening prayer,” and how do we reconcile...

Greg talks about the meaning of Proverbs 29:18 and its relevance to boundaries and virtue, then he takes calls about arguing against evolution, how God can be eternal and temporal, and using marijuana. Topics: Commentary: The importance of boundaries (00:00) Is it a logical fallacy to argue against evolution by saying there’s a lack of evidence for it? (22:00) If an eternal universe is impossible because it’s temporal, how can God be eternal and also temporal? (35:00) Is using marijuana...

Greg talks about an interaction he had with a student about the existence of the soul, comments on materialism’s inability to address the problem of evil, and answers questions about the meaning of 1 Timothy 4:1 and reconciling prayer with God’s omniscience. Topics: Commentary: No evidence for the soul? (00:00) Is 1 Timothy 4:1 about people losing their faith or just adding behaviors that aren’t supposed to be part of the faith? (26:00) Commentary: Materialism can’t address the problem...

Greg answers a challenge about killing the unborn to send them to Heaven, then he takes calls about responding to warning signs in a church and whether or not Kanye West should be holding private worship services. Topics: Commentary: Should we kill the unborn to send them to Heaven? (00:00) How can I tell the difference between gossip about my church that I should ignore and warning signs that I should look into? (26:00) Is Galatians 2:2 relevant to whether or not Kanye West should be...

Greg describes a strange post on Planned Parenthood’s Instagram, then he talks about God and time and answers questions about tactics for reaching apathetic people and the Orthodox Church vs. the Catholic Church. Topics: Commentary: The size of your body doesn’t define your worth (00:00) Commentary: The difference between knowing something will occur and experiencing it (08:00) What are some tactics I can use to reach apathetic people? (20:00) What are your thoughts on the authority...

Greg talks to Justin Brierley about his upcoming apologetics conference, updates listeners on what happened with his school board, then answers questions about proving Christianity false, biblical inerrancy, and unanswered prayer. Topics: Commentary: Greg talks to Justin Brierley about his upcoming “Unbelievable? Live” Conference (00:00) Commentary: Greg gives an update on what happened with his school board (21:00) If Christianity were to be conclusively proven false, would that be a...

Guest Host: Jon Noyes Jon Noyes fills in for Greg and talks about how to recognize and respond to relativism. Topics: Recognizing and responding to relativism (00:00) Download the mp3... Mentioned on the Show: Stand to Reason’s YouTube channel reTHINK Apologetics Student Conference – September 27–28 in Orange County, CA; November 8–9 in Minneapolis, MN Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Greg Koukl Related Links: Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in...

Greg talks about the problem of evil, explaining why the existence of evil is actually evidence for God, and that there’s no contradiction between the existence of God and the existence of evil. Download the mp3... Related Links: What You Need to Know about Evil and Suffering by Amy Hall Hitchens’s Challenge Solved by Amy Hall

Guest Host: Jon Noyes Jon talks about suicide and how it relates to worldview ideas, and then he answers a question about how to reconcile Jesus having a body with God being omnipresent. Topics: Commentary: Thinking biblically about suicide (00:00) How do I reconcile God being omnipresent with Jesus having a body in a localized space? (44:00) Commentary: Can a Christian commit suicide and still go to Heaven? (53:00) Download the mp3... Mentioned on the Show: The Story of Reality by...

Greg examines the reasoning used by Bill Nye the Science Guy on abortion a few years ago, and then he explains how you can make a simple, clear argument against abortion. Download the mp3... Mentioned on the Show: Life Training Institute The S.L.E.D. Test Related Links: Pro-Life Crash Course by Amy Hall The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture by Scott Klusendorf

Greg talks about an announcement by Marty Sampson about losing his Christianity, then he answers questions about why head injuries affect personality, Old Testament stoning laws, teaching people tactics, and repentance. Topics: Commentary: How to think about people leaving Christianity (:00) How do you explain the personality and behavioral changes that occur with head injuries if the mind is different from the brain? (23:00) What was the balance between enforcing the Old Testament...