Thinking Out Loud with Alan Shlemon

Short but very informative on questions I’ve thought a lot about but are rarely addressed straightforwardly. Learning from this podcast will make having discussions about difficult issues so much easier. Thank you Alan and Stand to Reason!

Alan reduces the most complex issues of our time into 5-20 minute sound bytes, because he bypasses any explanation of "X" belief/theology and jumps straight into practical application of "X" belief. Sound logic cannot be built on unexplained premises. But if you want to feel a sense of martyrdom, listen to the latest episode (3/14/24) in which Alan compares declining to attend a gay wedding to... refusing to worship idols? As in, the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who decided to die rather than publicly bow down to an idol. Not sure how that comparison follows.

I love Alan’s ability to take difficult, controversial issues and present them clearly, analyze them from a biblical perspective, and provide concise points to make his case. So helpful!

I love how Alan takes apart the rhetorical slight of hand and breaks it down so that we can clearly see the failures of bad thinking. I always start out thinking, “Ok, I know what they’re saying has to be wrong, but it sounds very persuasive. How can I understand this correctly?” And by the end I’ve said, “ Aha! That’s so simple!” I love this podcast, but I have to admit that I very often have to listen to an episode more than once or twice to fully understand what’s going on. What Alan lays out is important and I want to make sure that I really understand what he’s saying. Tl;dr: Alan Schlemon is a sharp cookie who is also winsome and friendly. He’s ruthless with ideas and gentle with people. I’ve met him. He’s just as nice in person.