Crosstalk America

Today Dalton Windsor did us the honor of sharing several news stories. Here is a sampling of the various topics: • Federal law enforcement officials are concerned that the U.S. will come under attack much like Israel has • Dearborn MI: Protestors shout 'death to America' and 'death to Israel' in addition to 'America is the most rotten country on the earth' • FBI arrests 18 year old in Idaho after uncovering a truly horrific and violent plot to attack churches on behalf of Isis • Milwaukee WI school receives second bomb threat in 5 days • Watertown WI police respond to threat on local church • Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu will invade Rafah despite international objections, one of which is from President Biden • Three sons of Hamas leader killed in air strike in Gaza • Hungary has condemned plans for NATO military alliance mission in Ukraine • Christians in Ukraine face torture and destruction of churches at the hands of Russia • Biden Administration still hasn't set a trial date for the man who planned to kill Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh • Clinton Administration had 9 opportunities to take out Osama bin Laden

Many people are in distress as they see America as a nation in decline. However, if you could go back to the early 20th century, Germany didn't look like a nation that was on the brink of world-shaking terror. It looked like many of us have known the U.S. to be. The guest on this edition of Crosstalk wrote a book in 2010 and it's as relevant today, perhaps even more so, than it was then. It warns us of a nation and its future that none of us wants to see. So what can we do in times like these? Joining Jim to answer that question was Dr. Erwin Lutzer. Dr. Lutzer is Pastor Emeritus of The Moody Church where he served as the senior pastor for 36 years. He is the speaker on three radio programs that are heard on more than 750 outlets. Is America currently experiencing a political problem or a spiritual one? Dr. Lutzer believes it's both. He contends that there are problems that Washington cannot solve, yet in spite of that, he still believes that politics is very important. After all, as he noted, "Would you rather live in North Korea or South Korea?" On the other hand, for those of us as Christians, politics, as important as it is, is not supremely important. What's supremely important is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Dr. Lutzer brought up numerous critical points. The first concerned laws. He noted that if you don't have transcendent values when you make your laws, you have Hitler's laws. Another critical point concerned propaganda. He indicated that it's very powerful and it's used on both sides of the aisle. The result is that there are cultural streams that few people are willing to stand against.

Mat Staver is founder & chairman of Liberty Counsel. Mat is a constitutional attorney with three landmark cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He is an author and the host of the radio broadcasts Faith & Freedom and Freedom's Call. Since the Dobbs decision was released that overturned Roe v. Wade, a battle has been underway in many states in the matter of either protecting human life or targeting it. One of the more ironic happenings in this battle occurred in the state of Florida. On April 1, on the same day and by the same court, two different decisions came about. One affirmed no right to abortion in the Florida constitution, taking Florida from being the most liberal state on abortion to being the most pro-life state. However, within moments of that decision, the same court released a 4-3 decision that allows a Planned Parenthood/ACLU-backed abortion amendment to move forward and possibly be placed on the ballot in November. If it gets on the ballot and passes, it would undo that previous life affirming decision and make Florida more liberal than it's ever been concerning abortion. Jim also had Mat comment on other states that will have abortion on the ballot in November. Listeners wrapped up the program with their comments.

Increasingly, energy is being used as a weapon against the American people. Some are being denied the use of energy or there are curbs, penalties or denials on the use of energy. Couple this with the attack on personal property rights and you can see that we have a government that is overreaching and simply out of control. Returning to Crosstalk to discuss the weaponization of energy and property rights was Tom DeWeese. Tom is president of American Policy Center. Tom began by noting that when you don't have your own property to stand on, how do you declare your independence, such as your freedom of speech. More and more property is becoming government property where they dictate to you what you're going to say and if you violate that you're in big trouble. Don't believe that? Tom said he's asking people around the nation to go to one of their city council meetings and ask the following question: What can I do on my property without your permission? Tom went on to describe a situation in Pataskala, Ohio, where the Chinese are moving in to build a "monster" solar panel assembly plant. He believes the lead company in the project is merely a "shell" designed to get around U.S. regulations that would otherwise prevent a foreign company from owning property. Local activists that are trying to fight back are up against a mayor and city council that are seeing dollar signs. Hence, those that are fighting back are being referred to as "radicals" to be ignored.

Dr. Jimmy DeYoung, Jr. is speaker, teacher, Mideast guide, videographer and speaker on Prophecy Today. He lived and worked in Jerusalem for many years before returning to the U.S. for continued ministry. He's a fully credentialed journalist and has led numerous tours to Israel. He is one of the speakers on Prophecy Today. 6 months ago yesterday, Hamas launched its deadly attack on Israel. More Israeli's were killed on October 7th, 2023, than at any time since Israel became a nation. Dr. DeYoung noted that the Biden administration is definitely making its presence felt in the decision making process concerning what to do next. He believes the Israeli people are in it for the long haul. That means finishing the job at hand. President Netanyahu and the war cabinet have pulled a key division out of southern Gaza to re-arm in order to do just that and finish the next stage of the battle which is in Rafah. In addition, Dr. DeYoung believes the step after that would be to wipe out Iran. He also indicated that 600 plus Israeli soldiers have been killed, 97 hostages are still alive and 36 bodies are being held by Hamas. Complicating matters is Iran as Israel has killed one of their generals and Iran has yet to retaliate. This is a subject with a lot of variables and Dr. DeYoung attempts to touch on all of them on this important edition of Crosstalk.

Dalton was at the helm this week, bringing news headlines of importance to Christians worldwide. Stories included: --Earlier today, New Jersey and New York suffered a 4.8 magnitude earthquake. --A 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan resulted in collapsed buildings, landslides and at least 9 deaths. --According to a Wall Street Journal poll, President Joe Biden is trailing Donald Trump in nearly all battleground states that helped decide the 2020 election regardless of whether 3rd party candidates are factored in. --President Biden finalized new civil service protections that are aimed at preventing the sort of bureaucratic house cleaning that former President Donald Trump plans should he win re-election. --A new poll indicates that over two-thirds of Americans disapprove of President Joe Biden's handling of the southern border. --Hundreds of thousands of immigrants have flown in to Texas and Florida as part of expanded immigration parole procedures. --Illegal immigrant deported 7 times arrested for murder in Butler County, Ohio. --Peter Doocy of Fox News presses the White House on release of migrants who allegedly beat Texas National Guardsman. --An alleged smuggler was arrested in Kentucky charged with bringing minors across the border and producing child pornography. --A federal judge ordered the U.S. government to expeditiously house migrant children who illegally enter the U.S. instead of allowing them to remain in open-air locations along the border. --Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law permitting immediate removal of squatters. --President Joe Biden is funding border security in foreign nations.

Dr. Tommy Ice is the director of the Pre-Trib Research Center which he co-founded in 1994 with Dr. Tim LaHaye. He has authored or co-authored over 30 books, written hundreds of articles and is a frequent conference speaker. He's also served as a pastor for 17 years. He appeared on Crosstalk to discuss his book, 'The Case for Zionism: Why Christians Should Support Israel'. According to Dr. Ice, Zionism involves people, including Christians, who believe that God has given Israel the land of Israel. There are Christian anti-Zionists. This goes back to the 2nd century of the early church when people began to say that the church was the new Israel. That developed into the belief that the church has replaced Israel (Replacement Theology or Supersessionism). This has been the majority view down through church history especially within the Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches. Dr. Ice disagrees with Replacement Theology. He noted that there are 3 chapters in Romans where Paul says that God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Paul then goes on to note that their hardness is temporary and that sometime in the future all Israel will be saved. For Dr. Ice, that means every Jew that's alive toward the end of the tribulation will become a believer. Dr. Ice's book teaches that the world has witnessed (in the last few years) the greatest increase of anti-Semitism since WWII. Dr. Ice believes this to be especially true when you factor in the Islamic world. Up to about 70 years ago when Israel became a nation, anti-Semitism involved hatred toward Jewish people. Today that includes hating the nation of Israel and Zionism.

The numbers of children dealing with gender dysphoria is off the charts. The result? A recent report out of the UK indicated over one-third of children on puberty blockers were experiencing worsened mental health. LifeSiteNews.com has reported on disturbing new data from the Canadian Institute for Health showing hundreds of minor girls from Canada have had their breasts removed in the past 5 years under the guise of treatment for gender confusion. The Washington Free Beacon reported that Planned Parenthood is helping teenagers transition after nothing more than a 30 minute consult, doling out prescriptions for estrogen and testosterone, including to special needs children. In response, the American College of Pediatricians has launched a new biological integrity initiative with the goal of exposing the dangers of transgender procedures on children. With more on this issue, Jim welcomed Dr. Jill Simons. Dr. Simons is executive director of the American College of Pediatricians. She is a Board-Certified Pediatrician and is in private practice in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and also a professional staff member of Children's Minnesota and Mercy Hospital. What is gender dysphoria? Dr. Simons noted this is a "catch all" phrase that refers to a person that is uncomfortable being the sex that they are. She believes social media is contributing to this problem, but the underlying problem for those suffering from gender dysphoria is mental health. Specifically, this can include anxiety, depression, poor self-esteem, abuse, or they may suffer from autism. In short, they're looking for answers as to why they feel the way they do.

With each passing day you can't help but wonder, what's next? The things happening in America are happening so quickly. For example, just a few years ago we had the most secure borders ever and we were energy independent. Evidence indicates that America is more divided than ever and from the highest office in the land, Resurrection Sunday was hijacked by a transgender day of visibility. So as you look at our nation from these facets as well as others, it's clear that America is "falling apart at the seams." Returning to Crosstalk to explain why was Alex Newman. Alex is an award-winning international freelance journalist, author, researcher, educator and consultant. He is senior editor for The New American. Alex began his analysis by describing his prognosis for the future of America. He believes that when you look at the situation objectively and honestly, we're a nation that is on the verge of collapse and that we're seeing the judgment of God due to wickedness that unfortunately pervades much of society. That is coupled with blatant rebellion that will only bring more judgment to our land. Our national debt situation topped the list of areas of concern. Jim indicated that the U.S. debt stands at 34.6 trillion dollars. That doesn't include what's been raided from Social Security and other funds. Alex responded by indicating that we're on the verge of "economic catastrophe." We have over 200 trillion in unfunded liabilities. That's about ten times the size of the national economy and what we produce in a year and there's no way that this figure could ever be paid off. Alex believes that this alone means certain economic doom.

Gene Sharp is a radio planting missionary serving with IBM (Independent Baptist Media) to carry the Gospel around the earth through technology. It all began from humble beginnings when starting a Christian radio station in Ohio in 1997. So join Gene as he presents his testimonial timeline describing the effect of lives that continue to be impacted by the Gospel via Christian radio around the world. Station locations he discussed included Paupa New Guinea, the Catholic-heavy Philippines, Uganda and even the Islamic stronghold of Iraq! Also included was discussion concerning video recording studios in Brazil, Egypt and India, as IBM provides assistance to local churches and missionaries not just with radio stations, but in the areas of audio, video and graphics. Listeners wrapped up the program with their comments.