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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.
640 Episodes
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Questions about whether references to demon possessions and exorcisms in the New Testament are literal, how to talk to young children about ghosts, and whether it’s arrogant to think Satan knows your name when he’s a single entity with bigger fish to fry.
Are references to demon possessions and exorcisms in the New Testament literal, or are they cultural references to physical or psychological conditions that they didn’t understand?
How do you talk to young children about ghosts? It’s tempting to say they aren’t real, but I don’t want to deny the reality of “spiritual forces of evil” (Eph. 6:12).
Is it misguided or arrogant to think Satan even knows my name when he’s a single entity with bigger fish to fry than me and can only be in one place at a time?
Questions about why any rational person would have to use any religious book, whether apologetics would be redundant if there were actually a good, unrefuted argument, and how to get enough people interested in apologetics to start an apologetics group.
Why would any rational, thinking person have to use any religious book, including the Bible, unless they don’t really think with reason or comprehend logic and logical fallacies such as circular reasoning?
If there were a single good, unrefuted apologetics argument, then apologetics would be redundant. Outside of faith, can we really say we know? If we can’t, then why do apologetics?
If, as Greg says, “you can’t start a fire with wet wood” when starting an apologetics group, how can someone keep “wet wood” from putting out their fire?
How can I get others interested in apologetics and the importance of being able to have fruitful conversations with anyone who disagrees with their Christian beliefs?
Question about what tools of reasoning help us determine whether something is true or false, right or wrong, good or bad before bringing Scripture into it.
How do you determine whether something is true or false, whether an action is right or wrong, or whether something is good or bad? Before you bring in Scripture, what tools of reasoning help you recognize these categories in daily life?
Questions about whether having a recurring thought is an indication God is speaking to you, what to say to someone who says they sinned because “God told them to do something” and they didn’t do it, and whether God speaks to us through premonitions.
Would you characterize not being able to stop thinking about something as God speaking?
What would you say to someone who says they sinned because “God told them to do something” and they didn’t do it?
Does God speak to us through premonitions?
Questions about how to explain modesty to a nine-year-old in a way that won’t cause shame about her body, and when and how to tell a child about a previous marriage and divorce.
How can I explain modesty to my nine-year-old daughter without causing shame about her body?
When and how should I tell my son about my previous marriage and divorce?
Questions about why we say someone was saved on a particular date if it was part of an eternal plan, the Roman Catholic view of the gospel vs. the Bible’s, and why Paul circumcised Timothy but rebuked the Galatians for saying Gentiles needed to be circumcised.
Since God had a plan from all eternity to redeem a people for himself, why do we say someone was saved on a particular date or moment in time?
Can you suggest some tactical questions to ask a Roman Catholic relative who doesn’t see the distinction between the Catholic view of the gospel and the one in the Bible?
Why did Paul circumcise Timothy but rebuke the Galatians for saying the Gentiles needed to be circumcised?
Questions about how to advocate for Christian policy without making the government interfere in every area of life, and the differences between the modern environmental movement and the Christian perspective on caring for the earth.
How do we advocate for Christian policy without making the government interfere in every area of life?
Can you compare and contrast the modern environmental movement’s view with the Christian view regarding caring for the earth?
Questions about how to convince someone that evil exists, whether Charlie Kirk’s murder was part of God’s plan, whether that would mean the murderer didn’t have free will, and whether or not God is responsible for that plan.
How would you respond to an atheist friend who doesn’t believe evil exists and thinks “evil” actions are done by people who are just trying to get by with the circumstances they’ve been given?
If God is sovereign and has a plan, then he knew Charlie Kirk would be murdered. But if it was God’s plan, does that mean the murderer didn’t have free will, and is God not responsible for his plan?
Question about why it seems like the Bible teaches you how to be a proper slave owner rather than than saying, “Stop it. Give them freedom.”
It seems like the Bible teaches you how to be a proper slave owner rather than saying, “Stop it. Give them freedom.”
Question about providing verifiable, non-religious evidence that a supernatural Jesus existed.
I am an atheist and militantly anti-god-belief. However, I do have an open mind, so could you please provide verifiable, non-religious evidence that a supernatural Jesus actually existed?
Questions about whether it’s a sin to feel let down by God and whether it would be easier to have a personal relationship with a rock than with a God who hasn’t spoken in over 2,000 years.
Is it a sin to feel let down by God?
It would be easier to have a personal relationship with a rock than with a God who hasn’t actually spoken in over 2,000 years. What kind of God would be that way?
Questions about whether God created us so he wouldn’t be alone, what he had before us, and a comparison between the Muslim view of God and the Christian view of God.
Did God create us so he wouldn’t be alone, and what did he have before us?
Can you compare and contrast the Muslim view of God with the Christian view of God?
Questions about how to start a conversation about God with non-Christian family members, how to keep from becoming emotional when discussing faith issues with family, and the best way to alert people to the fact that they’re members of a cult.
What are some good ways to begin (and have) a conversation about God with non-Christian family members?
How can I keep from becoming so emotional when discussing faith issues with extended family members whose salvation is at stake?
What is the best way to alert people to the fact that they’re members of a cult rather than a church that follows Jesus?
Questions about whether the claim in 1 Corinthians that “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit” is a black-and-white tool for discernment, and how to have a better relationship with Jesus when reading the Bible feels like a chore and you can’t remember to pray.
Since First Corinthians 12:3 says that “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit,” if TV evangelists who seem to preach another gospel and act overtly un-Christlike claim Jesus is Lord, is that evidence the Holy Spirit dwells in them? Is this a black-and-white tool for discernment?
How can I have a better relationship with Jesus when reading the Bible feels like a chore and I can never remember to pray? I feel like I don’t know him at all.
Questions about whether or not it’s reasonable to worry that some of our current doctrines were influenced by the fallen nature of the apostles, and how to defend sola Scriptura to Roman Catholics who argue that oral tradition carries as much weight as Scripture.
How much of the apostles’ fallen nature influenced their choice of words and how they communicated? Is it reasonable to worry that some of our current doctrines came from their just getting annoyed or impatient with someone and wording something too harshly?
How do I defend sola Scriptura to my Roman Catholic family members in light of passages like 1 Thessalonians 2:13 and 2 Thessalonians 2:15, which seem to imply that oral tradition carries as much weight as Scripture?
Questions about how to reconcile the image of God as a judge with his love, grace, and kindness, why our sins are considered to be sins against God, and whether the idea that our debt was paid by Christ means we escape the penalty for our sins by right, not grace.
For most of my life, God has been portrayed to me primarily as a judge—watching closely, ready to point out where I fall short. But I’m learning there’s more to him than that. How do I begin to reconcile that image with the reality of his love, grace, and kindness?
If I commit a sin against someone but then make amends and ask for forgiveness, how is it that I’ve also sinned against God, and why would God still need to punish me?
If Christ was literally punished for our sins and our debt was paid, then how can it be said we are “forgiven”? Wouldn’t we escape the penalty by right, not grace?
Questions about how to respond to someone who asks, ”How does it affect you if a gay couple gets married, or a woman makes a decision about her reproductive health, or someone chooses a different faith system than yours?”
How would you respond to someone who asks, ”How does it affect you if a gay couple gets married, or a woman makes a decision about her reproductive health, or someone chooses a different faith system than yours?”
Questions about how to respond to the critique that Christians care more about ideology than people, and whether we have freedom in America because Christians are more civilized or because the Constitution doesn’t allow Christians to enforce their laws.
Can you respond to the critique that Christians care more about ideology than people?
Do you think we enjoy freedom in America because Christians are more civilized or because the Constitution doesn’t allow Christians to enforce laws like in Saudi Arabia?
1Questions about how the similarities between Krishna and Jesus could be a coincidence and whether there’s any proof to substantiate the idea that Jesus studied Buddhism during his “missing years.”
How could the similarities between the Krishna story and the Jesus story (e.g., a star at his birth, his father traveling to pay taxes, a transfiguration, etc.) be a coincidence?
Is there any proof to substantiate the idea that Jesus studied Buddhism during his “missing years”?
Question about how you can improve your informal writing (e.g., blog posts) when you don’t have access to an editor.
Do you have any thoughts or advice on how best to improve my informal writing (e.g., blog posts) when I don’t have access to an editor?
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I recommend this podcast. It is full of great information to use on atheists 🙏
🙏Thank you Mr Koukl. Your answers are always enlightening. You are a great teacher. I really appreciate you.