Tag Archive for: Greg Koukl

Do you ever get the sense that there’s growing confusion among Christians on issues we should all agree on? Young Christians today seem especially vulnerable when it comes to discerning right from wrong according to God’s Word. What’s causing this gap between biblical Christianity and how it’s lived out in the modern world? And what does the Bible REALLY say about the most controversial issues that our culture faces today?

This week, the great Greg Koukl, President of Stand to Reason and bestselling author of ‘Tactics‘ and more recently ‘Street Smarts‘, sits down with Frank during CIA 2024 to explore why so many Christians (both young and old) are struggling to answer EASY questions about the faith, the pro-life position, and sexual morality. During their conversation, Frank and Greg will answer questions like:

  • Why does Christianity fit reality better than any other worldview?
  • Can you be pro-life and pro-capital punishment?
  • How are people attempting to sanitize immorality?
  • Why have gender norms become such a controversial issue and how did Jesus address marriage and sexuality?
  • Why are so many young Christians compromising on sexual ethics and what sexual norms are on the horizon?

Greg leaves absolutely no room for confusion on any of these hot-button topics as he allows the Scriptures to speak loud and clear. So sit back and enjoy this insightful podcast episode where Frank and Greg will encourage you to stand strong in your faith and not fall along the wayside in response to peer pressure from secular culture. Rest assured that faithfulness to Christ still matters!

Did you enjoy this episode? HELP US SPREAD THE TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY BY SUPPORTING THE PODCAST HERE.

Greg’s Ministry: Stand to Reason
Greg’s Q&A Podcast: #STRask
BOOK: Tactics
BOOK: Street Smarts

 

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Do you know how to have meaningful conversations with atheists or how to answer their concerns when it comes to science, morality, and evil in the world? Navigating through faith conversations with non-Christians is hard enough, and you don’t want to make them even more difficult by putting yourself in the hot seat. So what’s the best strategy for Christians to use when defending the faith in a culture that is so hostile towards a biblical worldview?

Christian apologist, author, and founder of Stand to Reason, Greg Koukl, has spent the last 50 years finding and exposing the flaws in secular worldviews and showing Christians how to be intentional in leading evangelical discussions. This week, Greg joins Frank to talk about his brand-new book ‘Street Smarts: Using Questions to Answer Christianity’s Toughest Challenges‘, a follow-up to his best-selling book ‘Tactics‘. During the episode, Frank and Greg answer questions like:

  • Why isn’t the problem of evil a good argument against God?
  • What is the Overton Window and how is it affecting Christians today?
  • Did the Obergefell Decision in 2015 actually legalize “gay marriage”?
  • How should you respond if someone asks you to provide your preferred pronouns?
  • How does Greg approach the “God of the Gaps” fallacy and slavery in the Bible?
  • How can we know that materialism is false?

‘Tactics’ taught Christians how to regain control of conversations. ‘Street Smarts’ will go a step further, using the same tactical game plan to tackle today’s most complex issues surrounding sex, gender, and atheism by leading skeptics to acknowledge their own misconceptions through asking a series of thought-provoking questions. Be sure to pre-order your copy of ‘Street Smarts’ today!

To view the entire VIDEO PODCAST be sure to join our CrossExamined private community. It’s the perfect place to jump into some great discussions with like-minded Christians while simultaneously providing financial support for our ministry.

You can also SUPPORT THE PODCAST HERE.

Pre-Order Greg’s book: https://a.co/d/cWRtKsS

 

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What is the true meaning of Christmas? As Christians, we know it has little to do with trees, presents, and reindeer. But what is it really about? Why is there a Christmas at all? Frank goes to an unlikely place to highlight why Christmas exists — the book of Galatians. There, the Apostle Paul fights for the truth of the gospel — the “good news”— the news that Christ has come to take our sin upon Himself and offer us forgiveness and righteousness for free. The greatest news in the history of the world is that God saves us by grace. Christianity would not be unique if it was just another works-based way to get to God. Grace sets people free from guilt, from rituals, from anxiety, and, most importantly, from our sins. Join Frank as he unpacks this from the first book of the Bible Paul ever wrote, with the most important message he ever wrote.

If you want to send us a question for the show, please email us at Hello@CrossExamined.org.

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How do you find God’s will for your life? God sends you hints and nudges so you know what school to go to, what job to take, and who to marry. After all, God’s sheep “hear his voice”, we are “led by the Spirit”, and God gives us “peace” when we discover his will through “a still, small voice”.

That’s the traditional Christian view. But is that view biblical? Sorry, but the answer is no!

Greg Koukl, president of Stand to Reason and CIA instructor, joins Frank to show us why this view is wrong, and to offer us the true biblical view of finding God’s will for your life. Along the way, Greg addresses all the scriptures typically used to defend the traditional view and shows why they don’t work.

While some people may be upset because they think the true biblical view takes God away from them, the biblical view is actually liberating and will help you become a more mature disciple of Christ. This podcast is certainly one of the most practical and important we’ve done recently, so please don’t miss it!

For much more on this topic, be sure to read Greg’s three-part series called Does God Whisper?

If you want to send us a question for the show, please email us at Hello@CrossExamined.org.

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Greg Koukl, the author of the great book Tactics (the 10th Anniversary edition), joins Frank to discuss tactical ways you can have conversations with people who won’t listen— people who claim that they reject the use of reason.  In fact, if you use reason, that’s just a cover for your racism!   They also discuss the hazards of using the term “social justice”, and how to respond to those who do. As always, Greg provides helpful insights on how a Christian can effectively navigate this increasingly hostile culture.

If you want to send us a question for the show, please email us at Hello@CrossExamined.org.

Subscribe on iTunes: http://bit.ly/CrossExamined_Podcast rate and review! Thanks!!! Subscribe on Google Play: http://bit.ly/CE_Podcast_Google Subscribe on Spotify: http://bit.ly/CrossExaminedOfficial_Podcast Subscribe on Stitcher: http://bit.ly/CE_Podcast_Stitcher

There are many places you can learn evidence for Christianity.  There are very few places you can learn easy ways to share that evidence.   Greg Koukl’s classic book Tactics is simply the best place to go to learn how to share the hope you have within you.  Now, ten years after the first edition, Greg has rewritten, updated and expanded Tactics, and it just became available this week. Join Frank as he interviews Greg and they reveal some of the new Tactics that will help you move people closer to Christ in a way that takes all the pressure off of you.

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By Greg Koukl

Why did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? Was it really because of the sin of inhospitality and not because of homosexuality, the greatest judgment found in the Bible outside of the book of Revelation?

People find what they want in the Bible. But if you look hard enough, you can find “biblical” support for reincarnation, Eastern religions, Jesus as a guru, divorce for any reason, and flying saucers. Every sect of Christianity uses the Bible to validate its claims, as do some who practice the occult.

It is not surprising, then, that a recent trend among biblical scholars holds that a careful reading of Genesis in its historical context provides no solid basis for concluding that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah has anything to do with homosexuality.

This view may seem far-fetched to biblical conservatives, but it is taken very seriously in academic circles. It represents a significant challenge to the average Christian who finds in the Genesis account a direct condemnation of homosexual behavior.

My goal is to provide an answer to that challenge. I have no interest in defaming, insulting, offending, attacking, lashing out, denigrating, much less belittling a group of people. I just want to determine one thing: why did God destroy those two cities? Did it have anything to do with homosexuality itself? Simply put, what was the sin (or sins) of Sodom and Gomorrah?

Genesis 18:16-19:29

Although the context of the story in question begins in Genesis 18:16 during God’s conversation with Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, the details of the encounter in Sodom are found in Genesis 19:4-13:

They had not yet gone to bed, when the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people without exception. And they called to Lot, and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out so that we may know them.” Then Lot went out to them at the entrance and shut the door behind him, and said, “My brothers, I beg you not to do wickedly. Behold, I have two daughters who have not known a man; let me bring them out to you and do with them as seems good to you; but do not do anything to these men, for they have come under my roof.” But they said, “Stand aside!” And they said, “This man came as a stranger, and is already acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.” And they rushed at Lot and were about to break down the door, but the two men put out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. And they struck the men who were at the entrance of the house with blindness, from the smallest to the greatest, so that they were wearied trying to find the entrance.

Then the two men said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? Your sons-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whoever you have in the city—get them out of this place, for we are going to destroy this place, for its outcry has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”

What was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah? Why did God destroy the two cities? The traditional view is that homosexuality was the primary offense (“I beg you, my brothers, do not act wickedly.”).

Yale historian John Boswell offers four possible reasons for the destruction of Sodom:

(1) The Sodomites were destroyed because of the general wickedness that prompted the Lord to send angels into the city to investigate in the first place; (2) the city was destroyed because the people of Sodom had attempted to rape the angels; (3) the city was destroyed because the men of Sodom had attempted to engage in homosexual relations with the angels…; (4) the city was destroyed because of the inhospitable treatment of the visitors sent by the Lord. [1]

John Boswell thinks that explanation (2) “is the most obvious of the four,” although it has been “widely ignored by biblical scholars” [2] . Boswell expands on explanation (4), which he seems to favor as the most consistent with “modern scholarship” since 1955:

Lot was violating the custom of Sodom… by welcoming unknown guests into the city walls at night without obtaining permission from the city elders. When the men of Sodom gathered together to demand that the strangers be brought out before them “so that they might know them,” it only meant that they wanted to “know” who they were, and consequently, the city was destroyed not because of sexual immorality, but because of the sin of inhospitality to strangers [3] .

The Englishman D. Sherwin Bailey also makes this argument in Homosexuality and the Western Christian Tradition (1955). The men of Sodom only wanted to question Lot’s guests to see if they were spies. The sin of gang rape was also in view, not homosexuality. In a broader sense, the men of Sodom were inhospitable to Lot’s guests.

Apparently it did not occur to Boswell that possibilities (2) and (4) seemed to be in conflict. If “meeting” the angels basically means questioning them, then there is not an attempt at rape, but an attempt at interrogation. If, on the other hand, the men intended to have sexual relations with the visitors (according to the traditional view) and are guilty of attempted rape, then the interrogation explanation must be abandoned (as the interpretation of Boswell’s above summary with respect to the views of modern scholarship is somewhat incoherent).

Some of these explanations, however, are not mutually exclusive and may have been influenced differently. For example, the general wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah (1) may have included rape (2) and/or inhospitality (4).

My primary interest here is to determine whether the biblical record indicates that (4) homosexuality was a significant factor.

Text clues

Why did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? We can find clues not only in the Genesis account, but also in the books of the prophets and in 2 Peter and Jude in the New Testament. These give us insight into the way ancient Jewish thinkers, steeped in Jewish culture, understood these texts.

First, Sodom and Gomorrah were judged for a serious sin. Genesis 18:20 says, “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and their sin is exceedingly grievous.” In fact, not even ten righteous people could be found in the city.

Second, it seems that the judgment of these cities was to serve as a lesson to Abraham and others that wickedness would be punished. In 2 Peter 2:6 we see that God condemned and destroyed the cities as an “example to those who would live ungodly afterward.”

Third, Jude and Peter describe the unique qualities of sin. Jude 7 portrays the activity as “they became corrupt” and went after “strange flesh” [4] . Peter wrote that Lot was “overwhelmed by the sensual conduct of unchaste men,” and “from what he saw and heard as he lived among them, he was daily tormented in his righteous soul by their unrighteous deeds.” They are “those who walk after the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority” (2 Peter 2:7-10).

Fourth, there are 27 references outside Genesis to the city of Sodom. It is the emblem of gross immorality, the deepest depravity, and great judgment.

Gathering the biblical evidence gives us a picture of the offense of Sodom. The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was a grievous, continual, debauched, sensual act that Lot saw, heard, and was tormented by as he witnessed it day after day. It was an act in which the inhabitants gave themselves over to their corrupt desires, going after strange flesh, ultimately bringing upon themselves the greatest judgment found in the Bible outside of the book of Revelation.

What do we know about the behavior of the men of Sodom and Gomorrah that fits this description?

Just a couple of questions

Was the city destroyed because the men of Sodom attempted to rape the angels (option (2) above)? The answer is obviously no. God’s judgment could not have been for the rapacious attempt itself, since His decision to destroy the cities was made days before the encounter (see Genesis 18:20). Furthermore, Peter makes it clear that the evil acts were ongoing (“day after day”), not a one-time incident. The cry had already gone up before God for some time [5] .

Was it merely an interrogation? Although the Hebrew word “yada” (“to know”) [6]  has a variety of nuances, the New Living Translation appropriately translates it as “to have sex” [7] . Although the word does not always have sexual connotations, it often does, and this translation is more consistent with the context of Genesis 9:5. There is no evidence that a harmless interview was what the men of the city had in mind. Lot’s response—“I beg you, my brothers, do not act wickedly”—makes it clear that they had other intentions.

Furthermore, the same verb is used in the immediate context to describe daughters who have not “known” a man and who were offered to the crowd instead of the visitors. Are we to understand Lot here as saying, “Please do not question my guests, but rather speak to my daughters who have never been interviewed”?

Did God judge Sodom and Gomorrah because of inhospitality? Is it true that God’s judgment was not because of homosexuality per se, but because the men of the town were not courteous to the visitors, violating sacred customs by attempting to outrage them? Serious questions arise if we make a couple of observations.

First, the implication itself is strange. To say that the men of Sodom were inhospitable because of the attempted rape is like saying that a husband who has beaten his wife is an insensitive spouse. That may be true, but it is hardly an important observation given the seriousness of the crime.

Second—and this has more to do with textual evidence—it does not fit the collective biblical description of the behavior that provoked God’s wrath: perverted, lawless, sensual behavior that Lot saw and heard day after day, in which men went after strange flesh.

Third, are we to believe that God wiped out two entire cities just because they had bad manners, even granting that such manners were more important then than now? There is no textual evidence that inhospitality was a capital offense. Yet homosexuality was punishable by death in Israel (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13). Did God overlook the capital offense, and yet wipe out two entire cities for an evil that is nowhere listed as a serious offense?

The only reason that fits

The prevailing modern view of the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is that the attempted rape of Lot’s visitors violated the high code of Middle Eastern hospitality (19:9). However, this inhospitality is an inference, not a specific point made in the text itself.

Moreover, the charge of inhospitality depends on—and is overshadowed by—the grave crime of rape, though neither of these could be the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah because God had decided to judge the cities long before they were committed. What choice is left? Only one.

We know that the men of Sodom and Gomorrah were homosexuals, “both young and old, all the people without exception” (19:4), to the point of despising available women (19:5-8). They even persisted after being struck with blindness (19:11). These men were totally given over to an overwhelming passion that did not abate despite being supernaturally blinded by angels.

Homosexuality fits the biblical details. It was the sin that represented the flagrant wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah—the “gross,” “ungodly,” “wicked,” “sensual conduct of the profligate men” that tormented Lot as he “saw and heard” it “day after day,” the “perverse desire” of those who followed “strange flesh.”

In their defense, some might cite Ezekiel 16:49-50: “Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: Arrogance, plenty of bread, and complete idleness were her and her daughters; yet they did not help the poor and needy, but they were haughty and committed abominations before me [8] . And when I saw it, I put them to death.” There is no mention of homosexuality here.

Clearly, the overall wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah was great. That is not in question. Our interest here is whether homosexuality was part of that wickedness. Our analysis of Genesis reveals that homosexuality was the primary behavior in question in that passage. Ezekiel simply lists additional sins. The prophet does not contradict Moses, but rather gives more details.

Pettiness and arrogance alone did not attract God’s wrath. Ezekiel headed the list of crimes with the word “abominations.” This word brings us back to homosexuality. The behavior that Moses refers to in Genesis 18 and later describes in Leviticus as “abomination” in the eyes of God.

Levitical

The Mosaic Law has two explicit citations regarding homosexuality. Leviticus 18:22 says, “You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a woman; it is an abomination” [9] . It is an abomination [toebah] [10] . Leviticus 20:13 says, “If a man lies with a male as one lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination [toebah]; they shall surely be put to death; their bloodguilt is upon them.”

John Boswell offers the most common rebuttal to what appears to be the obvious biblical prohibition of homosexuality:

The Hebrew word “toebah,” here translated as “abomination,” typically does not mean something intrinsically evil, such as rape or theft… but rather something that is ritually unclean for Jews, such as eating pork or engaging in sexual relations during menstruation, both of which are prohibited in these same chapters. [11]

As implied, Leviticus is not where we generally go for moral instruction. The sections cited deal with the worship service: sacrifices, priesthood, ceremonial washings, etc. These instructions have to do with ritual purity, not moral purity. A Jew who observed these laws could not worship after ceremonial defilement until he had cleansed himself to perform the ritual.

Others have pointed out that many details of the Mosaic law are archaic. Who cares about mixing wool with linen (Deuteronomy 22:11)? The death penalty itself does not mark homosexuality as particularly abhorrent. Disobedience to parents was also a capital offense, as was gathering firewood on the Sabbath, and yet no one considers these things punishable offenses today. [12]

This answer is riddled with inconsistencies. First, even if this prohibition were restricted only to ceremonial purity and worship, then it would apply only to Jewish clerics. However, many who use this approach see no problem with homosexual rabbis and defend such “diversity” as a religious virtue. On the other hand, if the Torah’s prohibitions no longer apply at all, then the difference between the ceremonial and moral aspects of Mosaic law is moot; none of it applies anyway.

Second, it is a grave mistake to conclude that if something in the Torah no longer applies, then nothing is applicable. Jewish thinker Dennis Prager observed: “It is one thing not to carry out a Torah punishment, and quite another to declare that a Torah sin is no longer a sin.” [13]  [emphasis in original]

Third, it is true that much of the law seems to deal with religious activity rather than universal morality. However, this observation alone is not sufficient to dismiss the Torah as a source of obligatory moral instruction altogether. Ceremonial and moral purity are not always distinct from one another.

Here, context is king. Note where the verses fit in. The “toebah” of homosexuality is found between adultery (18:20), child sacrifice (18:21), and bestiality (18:23). Was Moses saying that if a priest committed adultery, had sex with an animal, or burned his son on the altar to Molech, he must make sure to wash before coming to the temple?

More to the point, these sections were not addressed to the priests, but to all the “children of Israel” (18:2, 20:2). In addition to the prohibitions regarding adultery, child sacrifice, and bestiality already mentioned, Moses also prohibited spiritism (20:6) and incest (20:12).

The conclusion of Leviticus 18 contains these words:

Speak to [the “children of Israel” (v. 2)], but as for you, you shall keep my statutes and my laws and you shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native nor the stranger residing among you; for the men of this land who were before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become defiled. (18:26-27)

Moses spoke just as clearly as in Genesis. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were guilty of many things, but chief among them was the sin of homosexuality.

In this section of Leviticus, God gives instructions not only regarding ceremonial purity, but also commandments that were to be observed by every Jew and even by every visitor.

Homosexuality was a sin for Jews. It was also a sin for Gentiles who visited Jews (“strangers”). It was even an abomination that defiled the land when pagan inhabitants in Canaan practiced it long before the Jews arrived.

Homosexuality is a defiling sin, no matter who practices it. It has no place before God among any people, in any age, neither before nor now.

Grades

[1] John Boswell, “Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality” (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980), p. 93.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Some have suggested that the sin was seeking sexual union with angels (“strange flesh”). While this may be a possible interpretation, there is no indication that the men knew that Lot’s visitors were angels. Jude’s point is that the Sodomites, like the angels, “did not retain their original dominion, but abandoned their rightful dwelling” (v. 6). The “strange flesh”—the improper dominion—was not angelic flesh, but homosexual flesh.

[5] The answer that homosexual rape could still qualify as ongoing activity is unconvincing. Who would be the ongoing victims? They were not the men of the city.

Because of their sexual orientation, they were unlikely to be able to resist homosexual advances. Visitors would have to be targeted. But if those who did come were harassed “day after day,” I am sure that would put an end to the tourist business. The continuous supply of sexual candidates would quickly diminish once word got out, and many would avoid the area.

[6] Strong’s #3045.

[7] “To know” a person carnally, to have sexual relations… suj. and obj. Male (of sodomy) Gen. 19:5).” Brown, Driver and Briggs, The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and

English Lexicon (Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody ME: 1996), 394. See also Judges 19:22 ff.

[8] Curiously, this last sentence was overlooked in Boswell’s citation of the text.

[9] “Lie down” is the Hebrew word “shakab” and means “to lie down” (Strong’s #7901). In this case, it refers to sexual intercourse as in Genesis 19:32: “Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him, that we may preserve our family through our father” (Brown, Driver, and Briggs, 1012).

[10] Strong’s #8441.

[11] Boswell, 100.

[12] It is curious that some choose to conclude that homosexuality was a lesser crime since it was no more offensive to God than gathering sticks on the Sabbath. Both were considered capital offenses. If you want to know how God really felt about this, look at the punishment He exacts.

[13] Dennis Prager, “Homosexuality, Judaism and Gay Rabbis,” The Prager Perspective, 3/1/97.

 


Greg Koukl is a Christian apologist, radio host, author, speaker, and founder of the Christian apologetics organization Stand To Reason. Greg received his M.A. in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics from Talbot School of Theology, graduating with high honors, and his M.A. in Christian Apologetics with honors from Simon Greenleaf University. He is an adjunct professor of Christian apologetics at Biola University.

Original Blog: http://bit.ly/2IplYdi

Translated by Natalia Armando

Edited by Maria Andreina Cerrada

By Timothy Fox

I’ve waited for this book for a long time. I’ve been listening to Greg Koukl – one of my personal apologetics heroes – on the Stand to Reason podcast for years and he would occasionally mention this book he was working on, The Story of Reality (originally entitled Credo). I had been (not so) patiently waiting for it ever since.

In a sense, I felt like I’ve read the book before since it contains ideas Greg weaves throughout all of his podcasts and talks. But now we have a full survey of the Christian worldview in one location. And it’s fantastic.

Content

The Story of Reality is obviously about a story. But not just any story, the Story, with a capital S. Greg argues that Christianity is not just a mere religion; it is a complete understanding of all reality. And as any story is comprised of four major components – introduction, crisis, resolution, and ending – so does the Story: creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. If any of those pieces are missing from your understanding of the Story, you have an incomplete view of Christianity.

So what is the Christian Story? Greg explains it through the five parts of his book: God, Man, Jesus, Cross, and Resurrection. The Story begins with God because He is the main character, the creator of all things. This part explores competing explanations of what reality is composed of, Matter-ism (materialism) and Mind-ism (pantheism).

Part 2 tells how God crafts man in His own image, which makes humans beautiful and valuable. But man disobeys God, triggering the crisis of the Story and bringing pain and suffering into the world. So now mankind is both beautiful and broken. This explains what every human knows about reality: there is something deeply wrong.

Part 3 introduces us to the Hero, Jesus Christ, the God-man, who came to fix what mankind broke. It answers two important questions: Who is Jesus? and What did Jesus come to do? Greg also briefly discusses a common modern objection that Jesus never existed as an actual person of history.

Cross teaches how the Hero saves us, by sacrificing Himself through a brutal crucifixion. Jesus bears the punishment we deserve by making a divine trade with the Father. All we do is place our trust in Him and accept God’s saving grace.

In Part 5, Greg uses what is known as the minimal facts approach to show that Jesus’ resurrection is a true historical event. The resolution of the Story shows mankind’s two alternatives: perfect mercy or perfect justice. We can either accept God’s offer of salvation or face his wrath as a just God.

Assessment

In my opinion, The Story of Reality offers the best way of explaining Christianity: as a complete Story or worldview. You cannot take the parts you like and leave the ones you don’t. Similarly, there may be aspects of reality that are difficult to understand but best fit within the Christian Story and not into others, like the pieces of a puzzle.

Greg tells the Christian Story simply and thoroughly, packing a ton of truth in under 200 pages. Every part is divided into multiple chapters which span only a few pages each. If you have ever listened to Stand to Reason, you know how skilled Greg is at explaining complex topics, which also applies to this book, making it very readable. This book is appropriate for Christian and seeker alike, so buy a copy for yourself and your unbelieving friend.

Conclusion

Greg has created a hard decision for me. Whenever anyone asked for a recommendation for an apologetics book, my number one choice without hesitation was always his previous book, Tactics. That is the book to learn how to navigate any conversation with ease and grace. But now I’m torn because The Story of Reality is so foundational. It surveys the entire Christian worldview simply and thoroughly while handling common objections.

Maybe next time some asks for my number one apologetics resource, I’ll just flip a coin. But either way, the top honor belongs to Greg Koukl.

―Tim Fox (FreeThinkingMinistires.com)


To purchase “The Story of Reality” visit STR.org

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