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Matt and John discuss the risks and tradeoffs of antiquities collecting, including the recent scandal involving the Museum of the Bible.

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Links:

• Hobby Lobby, which smuggled antiquities for Bible Museum, will return the artifacts to Iraq - Vox
• Hobby Lobby President to Return 11,500 Antiquities to Iraq and Egypt - WSJ
• Jerry Pattengale on Dirk Obbink and the Mark Fragment | Variant Readings
• A Statement from Steve Green on Hobby Lobby Acquisitions | Variant Readings
• Josh Howerton on Twitter: ""Church as we know it is probably over." Guys, we've been doing this 2,000 years. In the words of GK Chesterton, "At least five times...the Faith has to all appearance gone to the dogs. In each of these five cases it was the dog that died."" / Twitter

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Matt and John catch up after a March spring break. John returns to the states after time abroad. As the Coronavirus Pandemic spikes around the globe, he has to navigate international travel to make it back to New York. The two cohosts compare how Christians and Muslims are, respectively, adapting to social distancing and government mandated "safe at home" policies.

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Links:

• Holy Land churches, mosques, synagogues close for coronavirus
• Does it violate religious liberty to close churches over coronavirus? | ERLC
• "Lost Cities with Albert Lin" Petra's Hidden Origins (TV Episode 2019) - IMDb
• Top Petra District Caves & Vacation Rentals | Airbnb®
• Simon of Peraea - Wikipedia
• South Korea's Cults and Conservatives Sabotaged Virus Response

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Matt and John talk Bernie Sanders. John retells a hot debate he got into with a millennial stranger in upstate New York.

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Links:

• Bernie Sanders's Religious Test for Russell Vought - The Atlantic

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Matt and John welcome Mustafa Akhwand is the founder and Executive Director of Shia Rights Watch. The trio discuss differences between Shia and Sunni Muslims, differences between Shia and Ismaili Muslims ("12ers" vs "6ers"), and the unique persecution face by Shia Muslims when a minority population. Matt and Mustafa share a common alma mater, each holding masters degrees from George Mason University.

Special Guest: Mustafa Akhwand.

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Links:

• About Us - Shia Rights Watch
• Mustafa Akhwand - Shia Rights Watch

Matt and John rattle off on some headlines involving religion and politics, and the 2020 election.

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Links:

• 2020 Election: Why Religious Conservatives Would Vote for Trump | National Review
• Impeachment leads to theological war of words among Trump critics and backers - Religion News Service
• Home - Old Sturbridge Village
• Pricketts Fort Memorial Foundation - Making History Living History
• Jerry Falwell Jr. Compares Mitt Romney to Lion King's Scar
• Susan Collins will run for reelection in Maine - POLITICO
• Crossing Faiths: Fake Muslim?
• Among Democrats, Christians lean toward Biden, while ‘nones’ prefer Sanders | Pew Research Center
• culinary pronunciation - Google Search
• Historic Huguenot Street

Matt and John scramble to remember what to talk about. Topics end up including:

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Links:

• Democratic presidential hopeful Tom Steyer on faith, climate change and who goes to heaven - Religion News Service
• The Atheist Muslim: A Journey from Religion to Reason - Kindle edition by Ali A. Rizvi. Politics & Social Sciences Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
• Q source - Wikipedia
• Marcan priority - Wikipedia

Shino Yokotsuka, a Tokyo native and a PhD student in Boston, joins Matt and John to compare school prayer practices in United States and Japan.

Special Guest: Shino Yokotsuka.

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Links:

• Embracing Religious Freedom?: A Battle Over Public School Prayer in the USA and Japan | Oxford Journal of Law and Religion | (Pay wall) — This article examines why the USA and Japan have different public reactions to the issues of public school prayer, despite the fact that the countries have almost identical constitutional frameworks on religious freedom. Recent religious freedom studies tend to centre around the debates that prioritize Western perspectives of religion in public schools. In contrast, this article focuses on the specific social and cultural contexts emphasizing their importance in understanding the governance issues arising from an ever-widening religious gap. This study particularly addresses the role cultural differences play in the unequal interpretations of religious freedom within different national backgrounds. Using a comparative case study analysis, I argue that these cultural differences directly impact the varying perspectives on religious freedom as applied in policy, law, and practice across the countries.
• Embracing Religious Freedom?: A Battle Over Public School Prayer in the USA and Japan (free, pre-revision)

So what about this the Bible verse about being "unequally yoked"? Does it have to do with egg cholesterol? Matt and John debate the meaning and application of 2 Corinthians 6:14 within and beyond Christian circles. Also, what foods can you get past DC security checkpoints?

Bonus: Matt and John riff on their favorite Chinese restaurants inside the beltway.

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Links:

• 2 Corinthians 6:14 ESV - "equally yoked"
• uneven yoke images - Google Search
• Acts 21 NIV - On to Jerusalem - After we had torn - Bible Gateway
• What’s the Significance of Simon Carrying Jesus’s Cross? | Desiring God
• BibleGateway - Keyword Search: simon of cyrene
• Hunan Gate - Google Maps
• One Fish, Two Fish - Google Maps
• Sichuan Pavilion - Google Maps

For a feature article in PASS USA's Vantage Points, Hashaw Elkins interviews Matt and John about the origins of Crossing Faiths.

Hashaw Elkins is a certified business analyst and project management consultant. Hashaw has led projects in operations, marketing, and human interest across multiple industries and sectors- ranging from the Fortune Global 500 to international nongovernmental organizations. She is passionate about inspiring and empowering people to sustainably bridge the gaps between assessment and execution. Hashaw studied International Security and Conflict Resolution, with secondary studies in religion, at San Diego State University. She holds a Master of Science in Project Management from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

VantagePoints is the thought-leadership platform for PASS, it is a digital publication focused on leaders making a social impact for good. Our content is editorial, and focused on interviews with exceptional individuals, groups, and initiatives from across the world.

Special Guest: Hashaw Elkins.

Support Crossing Faiths

Links:

• VantagePoints
• PASS, LLC (@passconsulting) / Twitter
• Season 1, Crossing Faiths
• Crossing Faiths Pilot: An evangelical walks into a wudu space (Pilot)
• Crossing Faiths: Jesus' nails?
• Crossing Faiths: Netflix's The Family

Matt and John preview their topics of focus for Season 2 in 2020, along with:

Support Crossing Faiths

Links:

• Home | Crossroads Christian Fellowship
• RNS reporters look ahead at 2020 - Religion News Service
• Current RPOCs | United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
• Crossing Faiths: Fake Muslim?