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#STRask

Stand to Reason

Stand to Reason’s Greg Koukl and Amy Hall answer questions on ethics, theology, apologetics, and culture from a Christian perspective. Submit your questions on Twitter using the hashtag #STRask.

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  • 23 episodes
  • a few times a week
  • Avg 24 min
  • English

Episodes 23

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  • Yesterday · 20 min

    Is the Belief That We’re All Broken and Need a Savior a Sad Way to View Life?

    Questions about how to respond to an unbeliever who says the belief that we’re all broken is a sad way to view life, how to reconcile Zechariah and Elizabeth being blameless with Jesus being the only sinless man, and whether the psalms about delighting in God’s Law are outdated and legalistic. What’s the best way to respond to an unbeliever who says the belief that we’re all broken and need a Savior is a very sad way to view life? If Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous and observed all the the Lord’s commands blamelessly (per Luke 1), how can we say Jesus was the only sinless man? Is all the talk in the Psalms about delighting in God’s Law and meditating on it and doing things to help you follow it better outdated and legalistic?

  • Thursday · 25 min

    How Do You Know There Aren’t Three Distinct Divine Beings?

    Questions about how we know that God is one being instead of three distinct divine beings in perfect unity, and why God would give notable miracles to Oneness Pentecostals if their theology is truly heretical. I see real distinctions between the persons of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Spirit interacting, speaking, and acting in different roles—but what specifically makes God one being instead of three distinct divine beings in perfect unity? Why would God give such notable miracles to Oneness Pentecostals if their theology is heretical? I can’t help but wonder if they’re seeing this kind of power because they know who Jesus really is.

  • September 14 · 28 min

    What Book Should I Give a Strong Pantheist?

    Questions about suggestions for a book to give a strong pantheist who’s a fan of Neale Donald Walsch, and how karma is different from the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 or the teaching about reaping what you sow in Galatians 6. My neighbor, who is a strong pantheist, gave me Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch. Do you have any suggestions for what I could give him in return? How is karma different from the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 or the teaching about reaping what you sow in Galatians 6?

  • September 10 · 23 min

    How Would You Argue That the Unity of the Bible Is Evidence It’s from God?

    Questions about how the unity of the Bible can be evidence it’s from God if the books could have been cherry-picked later, whether the fact that some passages in our Bibles aren’t canonical means every part of the Bible can be called into question, and why the Gospels don’t tell who wrote them. How would you argue that the unity of the Bible is evidence it’s from God? Couldn’t a skeptic object that one could come up with any unified story given enough ancient sources and a good deal of cherry-picking? If certain passages in our Bibles are not true, canonical, or inspired, doesn’t that mean every part of the Bible can be called into question? When I’m asked why the Gospels don’t tell who wrote them, what is the best way to answer?

  • September 7 · 24 min

    The Reason Why Science Can’t Explain the Supernatural Is That the Supernatural Doesn’t Happen

    Questions about the claim that science explains things that happen and that’s why it can’t explain the supernatural, whether there will be morality in Heaven, and reconciling the idea that we all intuitively know morality with the argument that Christianity gave our culture its morality. If science explains things that happen, then the reason it can’t explain the supernatural is that the supernatural doesn’t happen, for if the supernatural happened, then science would explain it. Will there be morality in Heaven? If there are no bad choices, would it only be free will and not morality? How do we reconcile the idea that morality is objective and we all just know it with the idea that Christianity gave us our Western moral values—i.e., if we all intuitively know morality, why do we argue Christianity gave it to our culture?

  • September 3 · 28 min

    Are Other Religions Different Expressions of the Same God?

    Questions about whether other religions are different expressions of the same God, and how to reconcile the idea that people who have never heard the gospel are guaranteed to go to Hell with the fact that God is a good judge who shows mercy on whom he chooses to show mercy. Are other religions different expressions of the same God? If the Bible centers on one region, how did isolated people come to know him? Could their native religions have been another way God revealed himself? How do you reconcile the idea that people who have never heard the gospel are guaranteed to go to Hell (per Romans 10) with knowing God is a good judge who shows mercy on whom he chooses to show mercy?

  • August 31 · 24 min

    Why Is It Okay for God to Keep a Record of Wrongs?

    Questions about how to reconcile 1 Corinthians 13:5, which says that love doesn’t keep a record of wrongs, with God keeping a record of everything we have done and judging us by it, and how the idea that people are condemned for their sin, not for lack of belief in Jesus, squares with John 3:18. How do we reconcile 1 Corinthians 13:5, which says that love doesn’t keep a record of wrongs, with Revelation 20, which says that God keeps a record of everything we have done and will judge us by it? How does your idea that people who haven’t heard of Jesus are condemned for their sin rather than for not believing in Jesus square with John 3:18, which says that anyone who does not believe in him is already condemned?

  • August 27 · 26 min

    How Can God Lump Non-Criminals in with Murderers and Rapists?

    Questions about what to say to someone who finds it hard to believe in a God that lumps non-criminals in with murderers and rapists when he sends them to Heaven or Hell, and whether all receive the same punishment in Hell. What could you ask a non-believer who finds it hard to believe in a God that lumps non-criminals in with murderers and rapists when he sends them to Heaven or Hell? Do all receive the same punishment in Hell? Does Hitler receive the same eternal punishment as a Buddhist?

  • August 24 · 20 min

    Why Did God Give Moses the Ten Commandments Instead of Sending Jesus?

    Questions about why God gave Moses the Ten Commandments instead of sending Jesus, and what it means to call Jesus Christ the “Lamb of God.” What are your thoughts on why God gave Moses the Ten Commandments instead of sending Jesus? What does it mean to call Jesus Christ the “Lamb of God”?

  • August 20 · 23 min

    How Do You Deal with Someone Whose Mission Is to Tear Down Everyone Else’s Belief in Jesus?

    Questions about how to deal with someone whose mission is to tear down everyone else’s beliefs about Jesus, how to help a child or teen who seems liable to turn away form God due to peer pressures, and how to reach a daughter who says she wouldn’t be a Christian even if it were true. How do you deal with a Christian who has deconstructed and whose mission is to try to tear down everyone else’s beliefs about Jesus? What should parents do to help a child or teen who seems liable to turn away from God due to peer pressures? How can I reach my daughter, who professed to be saved as a child but now is out of church, in a relationship with a trans man, and says she would not be a Christian even if Christianity were true?

  • August 17 · 28 min

    How Do We Know God Isn’t Lying About His Character?

    Questions about how we know God is who he says he is and isn’t lying about his character, how to trust God when it seems like he’s working against us, and how to respond when it feels like God hates you. How do we know God is who he says he is and isn’t lying about his character? How does a person trust God when it seems like he’s working against us? How should you respond when it feels like God hates you?

  • August 13 · 27 min

    What Does It Mean to Be Holy?

    Questions about what it means to be holy, how to fight your sins without slipping into a works-based mindset, and whether, as a Christian, it’s better to be humble, meek, and self-deprecating because none of us does good or bold and confident because we’ve been saved by the Creator. What does it mean to be holy, and why is this important? How do I rest in Jesus’ completed work and still fight my sins without slipping into a works-based mindset? As a Christian, is it better to be humble, meek, and self-deprecating since none of us does good, or can we be bold and confident since we are saved by and loved by the Creator of the universe?

  • August 10 · 20 min

    Does Genesis 1 Indicate That We Are Basically Good?

    Questions about whether Genesis 1 indicates that humans are basically good and that we’ve emphasized sin too much, and how, if the heart is “desperately wicked,” anyone could believe in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and be saved. Since, in Genesis 1, God made humans in his image and called us “very good,” does that mean humans are basically good and we’ve emphasized sin too much? If the heart is “desperately wicked,” why does God search the heart, and why does Romans 10:9 say, “Believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, and you will be saved”? How could a desperately wicked heart do this?

  • August 3 · 27 min

    Can You Explain Verbal Plenary Inspiration When the New Testament Writers Quote the Septuagint?

    Questions about inspiration when the New Testament writers quote the Septuagint rather than the original text, whether we could add books to the Bible if new letters from the apostles were found, and how to handle passages like John 7:53–8:11 that were added to the original biblical text. Can you explain verbal plenary inspiration with regard to the New Testament writers quoting the Septuagint in places where it’s different from the original Hebrew text? Would it be inappropriate to add books to the Bible if new letters from the apostles were found? How should we handle passages like John 7:53–8:11 and Mark 16:9–20 that seem to have been added to the original biblical text?

  • July 30 · 20 min

    How Are We Any Different from Christians Who Lived Near Concentration Camps and Failed to Resist Them?

    Questions about whether Christians are complicit in abortion if they shop at companies whose health plans cover it, the claim that putting up Christmas decorations at work discriminates against other religious holidays, and an employer that won’t work around an employee’s religious obligations. Many are appalled by Christians who lived near World War II concentration camps who failed to resist them or even profited from their evils, yet how are we any different if we invest in or use companies like Amazon that offer health care plans that cover abortion? What is a polite response to the claim that putting up Christmas decorations at work “discriminates” against other religious holidays? How do we navigate a hostile work culture that denies us the hours and funds we need simply because we have church obligations that limit our availability?

  • July 27 · 25 min

    Where Did Jesus Go When He “Ascended into Heaven”?

    Questions about where Jesus went when he “ascended into Heaven” in Acts 1, the idea that Jesus has already returned, whether we’ll see or hear from Jesus after we die, and whether Jesus would have ceased to exist at the cross if annihilation is the punishment required for our sins. Where did Jesus go when he “ascended into Heaven” in Acts 1? What do you think about the idea that Jesus has already returned? If I won’t see or hear from Jesus while I’m alive, is it going to be like that after I die too? If annihilationism is true, then wouldn’t Jesus have ceased to exist at the cross since he was receiving God’s judgment for us?

  • July 23 · 29 min

    What Do You Make of the Book of Mormon, and Why Do You Consider It “Another Gospel”?

    Questions about what we make of the eyewitnesses to Joseph Smith’s golden plates, our thoughts on the Book of Mormon itself, and why we consider Latter-day Saint theology to be “another gospel.” What do you make of the eyewitnesses to the golden plates, what do you make of the Book of Mormon itself, and why do you consider it “another gospel”?

  • July 20 · 21 min

    How Would You Respond to the Claim That the Bible Is Full of Contradictions?

    Questions about how to respond to the claim that the Bible is full of contradictions, and how to answer a Jewish person who knows and speaks Hebrew and says our Bibles weren’t translated properly and the New Testament is made up. How would you respond to the claim that the Bible is full of contradictions? How would you answer a Jewish person who knows and speaks Hebrew and says our Bibles weren’t translated properly and the New Testament is made up?

  • July 16 · 27 min

    Is “Satan” Merely the Propensity of Humankind to Commit Evil Acts?

    Questions about the idea that “Satan” is merely the propensity of humankind to commit evil acts, why Satan and the demons would want to keep storing up wrath for themselves if they know they’ll be defeated, and whether a “spirit of divorce” can be carried from generation to generation. What would you say to someone who believes that Satan is not a being but rather the propensity of humankind to commit evil acts? If Satan and the demons know they’ll ultimately be defeated and tormented, why would they want to keep storing up wrath for themselves? I’ve heard Christians talk about a “spirit of divorce," but is that biblical, could it be carried from generation to generation, and does Exodus 20:5 support that view?

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