#STRask

Stand to Reason•str.org

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.

Follow on

Episodes

Is Post-Mortem Salvation an Orthodox Doctrine?

Questions about whether post-mortem salvation is an orthodox doctrine, reconciling a verse about God removing our transgressions from us with verses about each of us having to give an account to God on judgment day, and how to recognize true conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit. Is post-mortem repentance and salvation an orthodox doctrine? How do we reconcile Psalm 103:12, which says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us,” with Matthew 12:36 and ...

Jul 11, 2024•22 min

Doesn’t Acts Argue That Not All Believers Receive the Holy Spirit?

Questions about why we should think the new believers in Acts 5:14 received the Holy Spirit when Acts seems to argue that not all believers necessarily receive the Spirit and whether “Holy Ghost” is a degrading term for the Holy Spirit. Why should we think the new believers in Acts 5:14 received the Holy Spirit when it doesn’t say so? Doesn’t Acts argue that not all believers necessarily receive the Holy Spirit, especially given 8:9–17? Is “Holy Ghost” a degrading term for the Holy Spirit?...

Jul 08, 2024•22 min

How Can I Convince Someone They Shouldn’t Rely on AI to Find Truth?

Questions about how to show someone that relying on AI for answers is a flawed way of finding truth, the role personal testimony should play in apologetics, and whether it’s sinful to not be more like Ray Comfort when talking to people you might not see again. How can I show someone that entirely relying on AI for answers is a flawed way of finding truth? What role, if any, should personal testimony play in apologetics? I feel convicted that I’m not sharing the gospel enough. Is it sinful that I...

Jul 04, 2024•26 min

Should I Stick with My Decision if I Prayed About It Beforehand?

Questions about whether you should stick with a decision you made that didn’t work out as you hoped if you prayed about it beforehand and how you can know for sure if God is calling you to do something. If a decision you made after much research and prayer didn’t work out as you hoped, is it okay to change direction, or should you stick with it since you prayed about it beforehand? How do you know for sure if God is actually calling you to do something?

Jul 01, 2024•21 min

Won’t Jesus Only Be Able to Interact with One Person at a Time?

Questions about how being with Jesus continually will be the highlight of eternity if he’ll only be able to interact with one person at a time since he has a physical body and how a scholarly Jewish rabbi would defend his position that Jesus is not the Messiah. It seems like being in Jesus’ presence continually will be the highlight of eternity, but since he has a physical body, won’t he only be able to interact with one person at a time? How would a scholarly Jewish rabbi defend his position th...

Jun 27, 2024•24 min

Was Jesus’ Death Really a Sacrifice if He Knew He Would Rise Again?

Questions about why God the Father required a sacrifice (and whether Jesus’ short-term death was really a sacrifice), whether Jesus’ disciples ever offered sacrifices at the temple, and what it means to say that sin causes separation from God if God is omnipresent. Why did God the Father require a sacrifice, and if Jesus knew he would rise again in three days, was his death really a sacrifice? Did Jesus’ disciples ever offer sacrifices at the temple, and if not, why not? How can I explain the id...

Jun 24, 2024•23 min

Why Weren’t the Israelites Explicitly Forbidden to Practice Polygamy?

Questions about how to reconcile the biblical model of marriage with polygamy in the Old Testament, why the Israelites weren’t explicitly forbidden to practice polygamy, and how we can gain wisdom from Solomon about marriage when he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. How can we reconcile the biblical model of marriage (one man, one woman, one flesh, one lifetime) with the deviations from this model in the Old Testament, especially involving polygamy? What are your thoughts on why the Israelites w...

Jun 20, 2024•22 min

What Should I Say to a Reformed Christian Who Dismisses Many Non-Believers as Lost Causes?

Questions about the best way to respond to someone who believes in double predestination and who dismisses many non-believers as lost causes and whether someone who believes they need faith plus works for salvation can still be saved by their faith. What’s the best way to respond to someone in the double predestination camp who vocally dismisses many non-believers as lost causes? Can someone who believes they need faith plus works for salvation still be saved by their faith?...

Jun 17, 2024•21 min

What Should I Say to a Reformed Christian Who Dismisses Many Non-Believers as Lost Causes?

Jun 13, 2024•23 min

Is Church Just a Man-Made Way to Control People?

Questions about what to say to someone who believes the Bible and church are man-made ways to control people who don’t want to think for themselves and how to respond to the claim that Christianity “might be true for you, but not for me.” What do you say to an agnostic who believes the Bible and church are man-made and a way to control people who don’t want to think for themselves? How do you answer the claim that Christianity “might be true for you, but not for me”?...

Jun 10, 2024•26 min

Is It Okay to Cover a Coworker’s Shift so They Can Officiate a Same-Sex Wedding?

Questions about whether it would be wrong to knowingly cover a coworker’s shift so they can officiate a same-sex wedding and whether it’s okay for a Christian to work for a company whose work is transitioning to support gender identity, transgenderism, etc. Would it be wrong to knowingly cover a coworker’s shift so they can officiate a same-sex wedding? As a conservative Christian with a biblical worldview, should I feel guilty for working for a company whose work is transitioning to support sex...

Jun 06, 2024•21 min

Can Christians Who Have Died Hear Our Requests for Prayer?

Questions about whether those in Heaven have a limited omniscience that enables them to hear our requests for them to pray for us, why Scripture comes before tradition for Protestants, and what people used for Scripture before Genesis was written. If moral perfection is a communicable property given to those in Heaven, wouldn’t it be reasonable to also speculate that limited omniscience is a communicable property, and so we can ask Christians who have died to pray for us? Why does Scripture come...

Jun 03, 2024•21 min

What Apologetics Strategies Can We Use with Agnostics?

Questions about apologetics strategies to use with an agnostic who says it’s pointless to worry about whether there is a God because we can’t know if he exists and whether it’s a bad strategy to debate things like miracle claims with someone who rejects them. What apologetics strategies can we use with an agnostic who says we can’t know whether there is a God, therefore it’s pointless to worry about it and you should just live your best life? If someone thinks the stories of the Bible can’t be t...

May 30, 2024•26 min

What Does a Personal Relationship with God Look Like on a Practical Level?

Questions about how to explain what a personal relationship with God looks like on a practical level and whether it’s okay to pray to Jesus and to the Holy Spirit. How do I explain to my 20-year-old son what a personal relationship with God looks like on a practical level? What are your thoughts on praying to Jesus and to the Holy Spirit?

May 27, 2024•21 min

What’s the Best Evidence for the Reliability of the Old Testament?

Questions about the best evidence for the reliability of the Old Testament, whether Greg subscribes to the idea of four independent Gospel accounts or two-source theory, and why the apostle Paul wrote so much of the New Testament. What’s the best evidence for the historical reliability of the Old Testament? How do we know that what the Old Testament writers wrote back then is what we have today? Does Greg subscribe to the idea of four independent Gospel accounts or something more like the two-so...

May 23, 2024•25 min

← Prev

For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android

Open in Metacast