Gregory Koukl's Blog, page 44
July 30, 2015
July 29, 2015
Links Mentioned on the 7/29/15 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: The Unseen World (0:00)
Harry Potter Is a Danger to Modern Society (In a Good Way) by Amy Hall
Why Jerram Barrs Read "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" Six Times in Six Months by Justin Taylor
J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter by Jerram Barrs
Parables: The Mysteries of God's Kingdom Revealed Through the Stories Jesus Told by John MacArthur
Living Waters: Intelligent Design in the Oceans of the Earth ��� Video by Illustra Media
Upcoming STR events
Questions:
1. Were there two authors of Isaiah writing 150 years apart? (0:19)
STR Cruise to Alaska ��� August 6-13, 2016
The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell
2. How do you communicate with a generation that doesn't use logic and critical thinking? (0:28)
The Fallacy Detective by Nathaniel and Hans Bluedorn
The Thinking Toolbox by Nathaniel and Hans Bluedorn
Last week's special edition podcast responding to Matthew Vines's 40 Questions
Bad Reasons to Adopt Pro-Gay Theology by Alan Shlemon
A Reformation the Church Doesn't Need: Answering Revisionist Pro-Gay Theology (Part 1) by Alan Shlemon and Greg Koukl
What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? by Kevin DeYoung
3. What if God doesn't call some people? Isn't that an excuse? (0:42)
The Heathen and the Unknown God (Audio) by Greg Koukl
What We Believe about the Five Points of Calvinism by John Piper
Sinners in the Hands of a Good God: Reconciling Divine Judgment and Mercy by David Clotfelter
4. How do you explain the long lives of people in the early Old Testament books? (0:51)
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.
July 28, 2015
Challenge: Either Accept All the Miracles, or Reject Them
This atheist thinks you���re committing a ���logical and hypocritical fallacy��� by believing Christian miracles and rejecting the miracles of other religions:
Christians accept without reservation that the miracles described in the Bible were actual historical events. However, at the same time they discount the miracle stories of other religions, such as:
Mohammed���s night journey to Jerusalem and then to heaven
Mohammed splitting of the moon
Mohammed���s food and water multiplication
The spider web protecting Mohammed in the cave���.What should be evident to an objective person is that the evidence for the Christian miracles is no more convincing than the evidence for non-Christian miracles. To selectively believe one religion���s miracles while discounting all of the others is a logical and hypocritical fallacy. It is highly unlikely that all of the world���s proclaimed miracles are true, still unlikely that the miracles of one religion are true and the others false, but otherwise it is very likely that they are all false.
How would you answer this objection? Give it a try in the comments below, and we���ll hear Alan���s answer on Thursday.
Give Greg a Call Today
Greg is live on the broadcast today.
Ask your question. Share a piece of your mind. Call with your question or comment at (855) 243-9975, outside the U.S. (562) 424-8229. The broadcast is live today 4-6 p.m. P.T. - commentary and your calls. Streaming live online.
Listen live online. Join us on Twitter during the program @STRtweets.
The program is two hours now, and one hour podcast episodes are posted on Wednesday and Friday.
July 27, 2015
Christians and Material Possessions
The Bible puts an emphasis on generosity and heavenly treasures rather than earthly ones. So how can we as Christians justify owning and enjoying material possessions? Greg explains:
July 25, 2015
July Newsletters
Brett���s, Tim���s, and Alan���s July newsletters are now posted on the website:
Relativism Undermines the Mission of the Church by Brett Kunkle: ���[I]f religious claims turn out to be subjective, they are merely preferences of individuals, just like our preference in ice cream flavors. Does this idea have consequences? Absolutely. Think about it. How much passion do you feel for your favorite flavor of ice cream? Would you attempt to convince customers inside the local ice cream parlor they should only choose your favorite flavor? Would you stand in front of the parlor, handing out brochures listing five arguments why your favorite flavor of ice cream is the one true flavor? Of course not. We don���t take preferences that seriously. But if religion is like a preference in ice cream, wouldn���t we approach it the same way?��� (Read more.)
Two Things to Remember When Discussing Creation with Other Christians by Tim Barnett: ���When it comes to this issue there are two key principles that all Christians should keep in mind. The first principle is that Christians gather truth about creation from two sources: general revelation and special revelation. Nature is God���s general revelation and Scripture is God���s special revelation. God communicates through both sources of revelation, and both need to be studied and interpreted. This leads to the second principle: everyone interprets.��� (Read more.)
Inoculate, Don't Isolate by Alan Shlemon: ���Abortion-choice advocates. Angry college students. Graphic pictures of abortion. Not really what you want to expose your ten-year-old son to. That���s what I did, though. I took my son to the center of UCLA���s campus during an abortion protest and had him engage abortion-choice advocates that were twice his age.��� (Read more.)
You can subscribe to their newsletters here.
July 24, 2015
Links Mentioned on the 7/24/15 Show
The following is a rundown of today's podcast, annotated with links that were either mentioned on the show or inspired by it:
Questions:
1. Doesn't the terminology of the same-sex marriage debate change the discussion? (0:00)
2. Is there an approach to the Bible that leads to concluding it supports Marxism and same-sex marriage? (0:10)
Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty ��� Economics and the Christian worldview
Acton lectures on sale (including some by John Stonestreet, Jay Wesley Richards, and J. Budziszewski)
Politics According to the Bible by Wayne Grudem
3. What's your view on presuppositional apologetics? (0:18)
4. Did Jesus' suffering on the cross add to its salvific effect? (0:27)
5. What do you think of James Boccardo's method of evangelism? (0:40)
STR podcast ��� J. Warner Wallace interviews James Boccardo on Unsilenced
What if Christians Were "Unsilenced"? by J. Warner Wallace (review of Boccardo's book)
Unsilenced: How to Voice the Gospel by James Boccardo
The Best Question to Ask When Starting a Conversation about God by J. Warner Wallace
A Stone in His Shoe by Greg Koukl
6. When is a donor so tainted that a church should not take a donation? (0:48)
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.
Praying the Bible
Crossway published a terrific little book on prayer that can have a big impact on your prayer life. Donald S. Whitney's book, Praying the Bible, is under 100 pages. It'll take no time to read, but it'll give you plenty of practical, insightful counsel on how to enrich your prayer life by praying through Bible passages. Whitney says that this is how we can learn a biblical way of praying and it provides fresh content for our prayers so that it doesn't become routine and dull. Praying the Psalms is how we learn to pray, he states. The Psalms are the Bible's prayer book so it's a particularly good place to start. Praying Scripture keeps us engaged in prayer in a more meaningful and motivating way than the routines we tend to get into.
The book (let me say again, it's under 100 pages) walks through the method so it's easy to grasp how it's done. To supplement the book, Crossway has a five-day email series of videos featuring Whitney teaching and modeling how to pray the Bible.
July 23, 2015
Communicate a Pro-Life Argument in Two Minutes or Less
Here���s a helpful video from Scott Klusendorf:
If you were asked to develop a pro-life argument that could be communicated in two minutes or less, could you do it? Could you make a case that a secular person would accept���a person who doesn���t want religious arguments for the pro-life view? I���m going to show you how to do that.
(HT: Justin Taylor)
July 22, 2015
Links Mentioned on the Special Edition 7/22/15 Show
Links mentioned on (or inspired by) today's special edition podcast on Matthew Vines's 40 Questions:
The Reformation Project
40 Questions for Christians Who Oppose Marriage Equality by Matthew Vines
A Reformation the Church Doesn't Need: Answering Revisionist Pro-Gay Theology (Part 1) by Alan Shlemon and Greg Koukl (PDF)
Alan Shlemon: Matthew Vines's Reformation Project Conference ��� STR podcast
The Reformation Project website
Homosexuality and Theology
Bad Reasons to Adopt Pro-Gay Theology by Alan Shlemon
Kevin DeYoung: What the Bible Teaches about Homosexuality ��� STR podcast
What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? by Kevin DeYoung
Did Paul Know about Homosexuality? by Amy Hall (Quoting Kevin DeYoung)
A Response to Matthew Vines: The Bible Doesn't Support Same-Sex Relationships by Amy Hall (Includes a link to a five-hour refutation of Matthew Vines by James White)
Worshipping Images of Ourselves by Amy Hall (Quoting John Piper)
Gay or Straight, We All Must Decide if We Love Jesus above All Else by Amy Hall
Books by Christians Who Have Experienced Same-Sex Attraction
Is God Anti-Gay? And Other Questions about Homosexuality, the Bible, and Same-Sex Attraction by Sam Allberry
The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield
Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality by Wesley Hill
Miscellaneous
The Church and Slavery by Melinda Penner (Quoting Rodney Stark)
Did God Condone Slavery? by Amy Hall
Responding to Transgender Suicide by Alan Shlemon
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.
