Stand to Reason Weekly Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Man’s Free Will Doesn’t Determine the Course of the Universe Sep 05, 2025

Show notes

Greg adds another thought to the objection he addressed in the last episode, then he answers questions about possible proof Proverbs 21:30 is objectively true, drawing lots to get a message from God, grace for sanctification, and blaming God for bad things that happen. Topics:

Commentary: Man’s free will doesn’t determine the course of the universe. (00:00)
Does the fact that reason, logic, and deduction seem to be irreducibly complex prove that Proverbs 21:30 is objectively true and not just religious jargon? (06:00)
How should we take the Acts 1:23–26 passage, where they drew lots to get a message from God about who should replace Judas, and when is it our place to challenge leaders who are teaching something that isn’t biblical? (14:00)
Does the Bible teach that grace is required for sanctification? (29:00)
Why does God get the credit for all good things but doesn’t get the blame for bad things (like natural disasters or disease)? (47:00)

Mentioned on the Show:

Upcoming events with Stand to Reason speakers
Reality Student Apologetics Conference – September 12–13 in Atlanta, GA; October 17–18 in Seattle, WA; November 7–8 in Minneapolis, MN; February 20–21, 2026 in Dallas, TX; March 13–14, 2026 in Philadelphia, PA; April 24–25, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA
Greg’s response to the challenge that it’s arbitrary for God to limit our opportunity to repent and believe to this lifetime
Greg’s illustration in last week’s episode about a man stealing the planks from his neighbor’s porch one by one
The Enemy Within: Straight Talk about the Power and Defeat of Sin by Kris Lundgaard

Related Links:

How Can We Condemn Evil if God Is Sovereign? by Amy Hall

Why Does God Limit Our Opportunity to Repent and Believe to This Lifetime? Sep 03, 2025

Show notes

Greg responds to the challenge that it’s arbitrary for God to limit our opportunity to repent and believe to this lifetime, then he talks to callers about a contradiction in Genesis, the lack of spiritual growth in babies who are never born, and whether God or parents create souls. Topics:

Commentary: Why does God limit our opportunity to repent and believe to this lifetime? (00:00)
How would you respond to an atheist who claims Genesis 1:11–12 and 1:26–27 conflict with Genesis 2:4–9? (28:00)
If our spiritual growth happens here, what does that mean for babies who die in the womb? (47:00)
Does God create souls and set them in bodies, or do parents create the souls of their children? (51:00)

Mentioned on the Show:

Donate to Stand to Reason

Related Links:

Why Did God Create People if He Knew So Many Would Go to Hell? by Amy Hall

Challenges to Greg’s View That God’s Voice Can’t Be Missed Aug 29, 2025

Show notes

Greg responds to objections to his view that God’s voice can’t be missed, then he answers questions about thanking God for his goodness when something bad doesn’t happen, defending penal substitutionary atonement, Iran and the Ezekiel 38 prophecy, and the nature of identity. Topics:

Commentary: Challenges to Greg’s view that God’s voice can’t be missed (00:00)
Am I wrong to object when people say God is good when something bad almost happens but doesn’t? (19:00)
How should I respond to my deconstructing friend’s objections to penal substitutionary atonement? (32:00)
What are your thoughts on the theory that the Iran bombing in June was the start of the prophecy in Ezekiel 38? (45:00)
If a man switches the boards in his porch with the boards in his neighbor’s porch one at a time until he has all of his neighbor’s boards, has he stolen his neighbor’s porch? (48:00)

Mentioned on the Show:

Be One of the 100 – Become a strategic partner
When God Speaks by Greg Koukl
Reality Student Apologetics Conference – September 12–13 in Atlanta, GA; October 17–18 in Seattle, WA; November 7–8 in Minneapolis, MN; February 20–21, 2026 in Dallas, TX; March 13–14, 2026 in Philadelphia, PA; April 24–25, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA
The Legend of the Social Justice Jesus by Greg Koukl
Why the Blood? by Greg Koukl
Precious Unborn Human Persons by Greg Koukl

Related Links:

Does God Whisper? Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 by Greg Koukl
Isn’t God Faithful Even if He Doesn’t Give Me What I Prayed For? – Greg and Amy respond
The Danger of Building Your Theology on Anything Other Than the Bible by Amy Hall (on why deconstructionists who reject penal substitutionary atonement end up in legalism)
The Deconstruction of Christianity: What It Is, Why It’s Destructive, and How to Respond by Tim Barnett and Alisa Childers

We Have a Relationship with God on His Terms, Not on Ours Aug 27, 2025

Show notes

Greg explains that a relationship with God doesn’t look the same as one with a human being, then he talks to callers about an apologetics approach, why Jesus seems to downplay being called the Son of God, and why God doesn’t always answer prayers for someone’s salvation. Topics:

Commentary: We have a relationship with God on his terms, not on ours. (00:00)
Am I committing any logical fallacies in the approach I’m using with skeptics? (25:00)
Why does Jesus seem to downplay being called the Son of God in John 10:33–36? (38:00)
In light of Ezekiel 18:32, 2 Peter 3:9, and Luke 18:1, why doesn’t God answer our consistent prayers for someone’s salvation? (45:00)

Mentioned on the Show:

Be One of the 100 – Become a strategic partner
When God Speaks by Greg Koukl
Reality Student Apologetics Conference – September 12–13 in Atlanta, GA; October 17–18 in Seattle, WA; November 7–8 in Minneapolis, MN; February 20–21, 2026 in Dallas, TX; March 13–14, 2026 in Philadelphia, PA; April 24–25, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA

Related Links:

#STRask: What Does a Personal Relationship with God Look Like on a Practical Level? – Greg and Amy respond
Does God Whisper? Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 by Greg Koukl

How Can I Believe in God or Anything Supernatural? Aug 22, 2025

Show notes

Greg talks to callers about a challenge to what he said about the transcendental argument last week, how someone can find his way to believing in God or anything supernatural, and a suggestion about how the life of Christ in us might relate to how God speaks to us. Topics:

Contrary to what you said last week, doesn’t the existence of a microphone require the existence of God? (04:00)
How would I find my way to believing in God or anything supernatural? (28:00)
What do you think about my understanding of how the life of Christ in us relates to how God speaks to us? (48:00)

Mentioned on the Show:

Be One of the 100 – Become a strategic partner
Red Pen Logic – YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook
Thoughts on the Transcendental Argument – Last week’s episode
Reality Student Apologetics Conference – September 12–13 in Atlanta, GA; October 17–18 in Seattle, WA; November 7–8 in Minneapolis, MN; February 20–21, 2026 in Dallas, TX; March 13–14, 2026 in Philadelphia, PA; April 24–25, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA
Upcoming events with Stand to Reason speakers

Related Links:

The Universe Had a Beginning: Why That Shook Einstein by Stephen Meyer
A Scientist’s Answers May Reflect His Worldview More than Science by Amy Hall
A Simple Explanation of the Cosmological Argument – Reasonable Faith video
Links to more short Reasonable Faith videos explaining some basic arguments for the existence of God

Alan Shlemon on the Topics of Jesus’ Deity in the Gospels and Transgenderism Aug 20, 2025

Show notes

Greg chats with Alan Shlemon about transgenderism and intersex conditions, then they talk about why the popular idea that Jesus’ identity was embellished over time and evolved in the Gospels is incorrect. Topics:

Greg talks to Alan Shlemon about transgenderism and intersex conditions. (00:00)
Alan Shlemon explains why the popular idea that the Gospel writers embellished Jesus’ identity over time is incorrect. (42:00)

Mentioned on the Show:

Be One of the 100 – Become a strategic partner
Reality Student Apologetics Conference – September 12–13 in Atlanta, GA; October 17–18 in Seattle, WA; November 7–8 in Minneapolis, MN; February 20–21, 2026 in Dallas, TX; March 13–14, 2026 in Philadelphia, PA; April 24–25, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA
Red Pen Logic – YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook
STR Outposts
What Is a Man? What Is a Woman? by Alan Shlemon
Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters by Abigail Shrier
What Is a Woman? – Documentary
Did the Disciples Embellish Jesus’ Identity over Time? by Alan Shlemon

Related Links:

The Date of John’s Gospel, Revisited by Shane Rosenthal

Thoughts on the Transcendental Argument Aug 15, 2025

Show notes

Greg answers questions from callers on the transcendental argument, the scapegoat theory of the atonement that’s popular in progressive circles, and an objection an atheist would make to Greg’s “blind beach-writer” argument for intelligent design. Topics:

What’s your opinion on the transcendental argument? (03:00)
What response can I give to the scapegoat theory of the atonement that’s popular in progressive circles, which is against penal substitution and is more political in how it frames the implications of the atonement? (30:00)
What objection would an atheist make to the comparison between Dawkins’s blind watchmaker and Koukl’s blind beach-writer, and how would you respond? (47:00)

Mentioned on the Show:

Be One of the 100 – Become a strategic partner
Reality Student Apologetics Conference – September 12–13 in Atlanta, GA; October 17–18 in Seattle, WA; November 7–8 in Minneapolis, MN; February 20–21, 2026 in Dallas, TX; March 13–14, 2026 in Philadelphia, PA; April 24–25, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA
Why the Blood? by Greg Koukl

Related Links: