Gregory Koukl's Blog, page 37
October 7, 2015
Links Mentioned on the 10/07/15 Show
The following is a rundown of today's podcast, annotated with links that were either mentioned on the show or inspired by it:
Commentary: Devotion on Psalm 130 (0:00)
Do You Have This Kind of Confidence? by Greg Koukl (Greg's mentoring letter)
Free to Say We've Sinned by Amy Hall
Commentary: Bill Nye the Science Guy on Abortion (0:06)
A Response to Bill Nye's Statement on Abortion ��� Greg's interview on Issues, Etc.
Back to Science Class for the Science Guy by Robert George and Patrick Lee
Bill Nye's Unscientific Tirade on Abortion by James Agresti (Includes Nye's video)
Questions:
1. What is the historical case for Paul's apostolic authority? (0:27)
Ten Basic Facts about the NT Canon that Every Christian Should Memorize by Michael Kruger
2. How can my daughter opt out of a school trip that involves participating in a Native American spiritual ritual? (0:44)
Listen to today's show or download any archived show for free. (Find links from past shows here.)
To take part in the Twitter conversation during the live show (Tuesdays 4:00���6:00 p.m. PT), follow @STRtweets and use the hashtag #STRtalk.
October 6, 2015
Challenge: Isn���t Selling Organs for Research a Good Thing?
Today���s challenge is from a question Alan received on Facebook:
Even though abortion is wrong, isn���t selling the tissue and organs to further medical research a good thing? Aren���t we at least making something good out of a bad situation?
How would you respond to this? Let us know in the comments below. To hear Alan���s answer, be back here on Thursday to see his video.
October 5, 2015
Are Atheists Just Suppressing the Truth in Unrighteousness?
Greg talks about Romans 1:18-19.
October 3, 2015
Alan Chambers���s View Is Clear
If you doubt whether Alan Chambers has abandoned the biblical view of sex, homosexuality, and marriage, then read this interview. Here are a few excerpts, but you can read the whole thing (which is rather short) for context and more.
���As a man who has same-sex attractions who has an orientation that is gay������
���I do not think changing your orientation is something anyone experiences.���
���If your biblical understanding of sexuality is such that gay is not something that you can reconcile, I don���t think that straight is better.���
���I do believe that same-sex relationship [sic] can be holy.���
���I think same-sex marriages can reflect, and often do, God���s image.���
This post is not a refutation of his views. I���ve made my concerns about this kind of thinking clear in this and this Solid Ground. My point here is to make believers aware of his views as media attention will increase now that his book is out.
October 2, 2015
Links Mentioned on the 10/02/15 Show
The following is a rundown of today's podcast, annotated with links that were either mentioned on the show or inspired by it:
Commentary: How Greg became a Christian (0:00)
The Magic Prayer by Greg Koukl
Questions:
��� Announcements:
#STRask Podcast with Greg Koukl and Melinda Penner
Upcoming events with STR speakers
reTHINK Student Apologetics Conferences ��� Dallas on October 23���24
STR Cruise to Alaska ��� August 6-13, 2016
1. What is the biblical view of UFOs? (0:33)
Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Greg Koukl
Lights in the Sky & Little Green Men: A Rational Christian Look at UFOs and Extraterrestrials by Hugh Ross, Ken Samples, and Mark Clark
The rUFO Hypothesis (Video) ��� You can purchase the DVD here
2. What's the role of the Holy Spirit if it's not to speak to us? (0:48)
Does God Whisper? Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 by Greg Koukl
If the Holy Spirit Doesn���t Speak to Us, What Does He Do? (Video) by Greg Koukl
From Truth to Experience: Why the Church Is Losing Its Vitality in the 21st Century (Audio) by Greg Koukl
The Ambassador's Guide to the Voice of God by Greg Koukl
The Morning I Heard the Voice of God by John Piper
Listen to today's show or download any archived show for free. (Find links from past shows here.)
To take part in the Twitter conversation during the live show (Tuesdays 4:00���6:00 p.m. PT), follow @STRtweets and use the hashtag #STRtalk.
STR Cruise to Alaska in 2016
We���re headed to Alaska August 6-13, 2016. Come join Greg Koukl and Stand to Reason, along with J. Warner Wallace from Cold Case Christianity and John Stonestreet from The Chuck Colson Center, for an invigorating, revelatory adventure. You���ll study fascinating topics relevant to your faith and experience unique fellowship with kindred believers. You���ll get equipped to positively represent your faith and enjoy the magnificent Alaska coastline. We hope you���ll join us for this enriching getaway.
See here for details and registration.
October 1, 2015
Deeper Teaching in Apologetics and Theology for Youth
My passion has always been youth. Ever since my days as a youth pastor in the local church, I've sought out ways to more effectively reach students and offer them serious teaching and discipleship. That's why I started and developed Stand to Reason's apologetics mission trip to Berkeley and our theological mission trip to Utah. Of course, those trips require some serious effort. There are lectures, reading, studying, tests, and more, and that's before we ever go on the trip. Then there's the actual trip, with engagements with atheists, agnostics, skeptics, Mormons, and anyone else we can throw at the students, all day long. But most Christian kids won't have the opportunity or the maturity to attend a mission trip like this, so I've thought a lot about the best way to reach larger numbers of students. How do we get that typical evangelical student, who is sitting in our youth groups week in and week out, exposure to deeper teaching in apologetics and theology?
Three years ago, we tried out one of my ideas: an apologetics conference specifically designed for youth. I called it the reTHINK Conference, and our tagline was, "Stand to Reason Student Impact exists to provoke a new generation to rethink their worldview, recapture the truth, and then reengage the world for the cause of Christ." We had about 400 students, youth workers, and parents attend that first conference, and we were ecstatic. We did it again in 2013 and more than 600 showed up. Last year about 1,100 came out, and last weekend 1,500 people (most of them students) came out for our fourth annual reTHINK Student Apologetics Conference in Southern California. We've clearly seen the success and impact of this conference on the lives of young people. But why? What has made reTHINK successful? Of course, it's ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit, but what have we done on our end to facilitate God's work? Here are a few thoughts that might help you as you try to reach your own young people:
(1) Our communicators must be able to connect with youth. This is absolutely key. Kids don't care much about your Ph.Ds, the books you've written, or your scholarly accomplishments. They're not going to listen to you simply because of your credentials. If you don't grab them in your talk in the first few minutes and then hold them throughout, they'll tune out. Unfortunately, that's just the reality of modern youth. So we bring in speakers who can speak to youth exceptionally well. Not only are they humorous, not only do they tell good stories, not only do they illustrate well, they also don't dumb down the truth, while still making it accessible to young minds.
(2) Our conference must be filled with fun and laughter. I'm tired of apologetics being saddled with a reputation for being stodgy, always serious, angry, argumentative, somber, etc. Yes, we want to be serious about God's truth, and our speakers do a great job with that. However, we want to model a Christian life that is filled with joy and laughter. So we intentionally plan for it. For example, as the MC, I do not get up and introduce the speakers by reading through their list of accomplishments. Instead, we joke around, tease each other, or even play a little competitive game to get the audience laughing. In the process, the speakers are introduced in a more personal way, making them more relatable. Indeed, I had many attendees applaud us for the humor and laughter. Who thought you could laugh so much at an apologetics conference?!
(3) Our content must be focused on worldview, apologetics, and theology. The content of most youth teaching and curriculum can be summed up in two phrases: love Jesus and be good. Sadly, that's about as much depth as they go into. We make sure students are being exposed to the evidence for Christianity, that they see life Christianly, and that they come to understand the great theological truths about our great God. And we've seen students rise to the occasion, telling us how much they learn and grow at each conference.
So those are some of the things we do to tailor this conference for youth, and it seems like God is using it to reach them. This was some of the best feedback we received this weekend, from a dad: "The quality of every aspect of the event that my son and I experienced was awesome. The topics were engaging, relevant and diverse. As the dad of a 17 year old boy, I can't tell you how satisfying it was to hear him say the very best part of his week was going to reTHINK. Thanks for putting together such a powerful event that I know strengthened both mine and my son's faith. You guys killed it!"
We're taking this show on the road too, hosting our first reTHINK Conference in Dallas on October 23-24. Come join us!
September 30, 2015
Links Mentioned on the 9/30/15 Show
The following is a rundown of today's podcast, annotated with links that were either mentioned on the show or inspired by it:
Commentary: reTHINK Student Conference Update (0:00)
reTHINK Student Apologetics Conferences ��� Dallas on October 23���24
Questions:
��� Announcements:
Upcoming events with STR speakers
#STRask Podcast with Greg Koukl and Melinda Penner
1. Bill Nye's video on abortion and self-defeating statements (0:14)
Back to Science Class for the Science Guy by Robert George and Patrick Lee
Bill Nye's Unscientific Tirade on Abortion by James Agresti (Includes Nye's video)
Issues Etc. Podcast
2. What's the roadmap to be equipped to defend the faith? (0:25)
Ligonier National Conference in Orlando ��� February 25���27, 2016
Bloom Where You're Planted by Greg Koukl
Frank Beckwith on Truth
A Plan to Begin a Year of Learning by Amy Hall
3. Is there a wrong way to pray? (0:46)
Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? by Philip Yancey
Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God by Tim Keller
Praying the Bible by Donald S. Whitney
Get this Prayer App by Amy Hall
Prayer Begins with Hope in God by Amy Hall
S.I.P. by Melinda Penner (Greg's recommendation for prayer���pray specifically, intelligibly and persuasively.)
Listen to today's show or download any archived show for free. (Find links from past shows here.)
To take part in the Twitter conversation during the live show (Tuesdays 4:00���6:00 p.m. PT), follow @STRtweets and use the hashtag #STRtalk.
September 29, 2015
How Did You Get a Soul? Creationism versus Traducianism
It's not a question most of us have thought very much about. How did you get your soul? Even to ask the question is a little awkward since ���you��� are your soul.
There are two basic perspectives held by orthodox theologians on the origin of each human soul: creationism and traducianism. The creationist view (not to be confused with scientific creationism) holds that God directly creates a new individual soul for everyone born into this world. Even though the soul is supernaturally created by God, the body for every new human is generated by the parents. The exact moment the soul is created is debated amongst creationists. However, most evangelical creationists maintain that the soul is created by God at the moment of conception. Others have attempted to argue that the creation of the soul doesn���t come until implantation, or after implantation, or even at birth. All three of these views are fraught with difficulties.
The Bible supports the argument that the soul exists at conception. David wrote, ���Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me��� (Psalm 51:5). We are also told that Jesus existed in Mary���s womb at conception. An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, ���Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit��� (Matthew 1:20).
There are also scientific arguments demonstrating that every individual human life begins at the moment of conception. The most important is that all the genetic information is present at conception. There is nothing added (genetically speaking) from that moment on. Given proper health and safety, the human zygote will develop into a newborn around nine months later.
The word traducian comes from the Latin tradux, which means ���branch of a vine.��� This means that every human being is a ���branch��� off of his or her parents. Both soul and body are generated by father and mother. This is in opposition to the creationist view that says God creates every new soul directly.
Traducianism seems to have overwhelming support from Scripture. First, God said that He had finished His work of creation on day six (Gen. 2:2) and is resting from His work (Heb. 4:4). Therefore, it would contradict Scripture if He is creating souls today. Second, the creationist perspective doesn���t make sense of the fallen nature of man, while traducianism does. Creationists must suppose that God creates each soul with a sinful nature. However, the best explanation of inherited original sin is that both fallen soul and body are generated by the human parents. Romans 5:12 appears to indicate that we all sinned ���through one man,��� which points to everyone���s connectedness to Adam and his original sin.
Now, it must be stated that on the traducian view, the parents are only the instrumental cause of the new human soul. God is still the efficient cause. Therefore, both creationists and traducianists believe that God creates all souls; creationists claim God does it directly, while traducianists believe He does it indirectly through parents. That is to say, God causes being, while parents cause becoming.
In addition, the creationist view holds that man is a soul, but man has a body. Traducianists would push back and say that man is a unity of soul and body. As a result, traducianists take the image of God to include the soul and body, while creationists take only the soul to be the image of God.
September 28, 2015
Mormonism: Same Language, Different Meanings
Brett explains how to navigate in conversation with your Mormon friends when the language is the same but the meanings are different.
