Educate For Life with Kevin Conover

Anxiety is on the rise. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population every year. Anxiety disorders develop from a complex set of risk factors, including genetics, brain chemistry, personality, and life events. It is also not uncommon that those who suffer from anxiety also suffer from depression.

To help untangle the web of anxiety, Kevin has as his guest, Dr. Esther Yi. Dr. Yi earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology with a minor in Asian studies (emphasis in Korean) from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She received both her Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology and Doctorate in Psychology from Southern California Seminary Graduate School of Behavioral Sciences.

She has experience working with adolescent and adult survivors of sex trafficking.  She currently works with domestic violence offenders and provides therapy to those that are struggling with drug and alcohol addictions. She also understands anxiety.

She will present some simple techniques to help short circuit anxiety and help minimize its effects on you and those around you. To learn more, visit rhombuscounseling.comTune in for a great episode.

This episode first aired on Apr 21, 2019

We make video lessons to raise up confident Christians: https://educateforlife.org/

“Religion is for the weak minded.” That is the mindset among many who are non-religious or atheist. Kevin’s guest, Mary Jo Sharp, thought exactly that. But then she discovered otherwise. How does that happen?

Mary Jo is a former atheist from the Pacific Northwest, who thought religion was odd at best. But then she went looking for answers to her questions and she found the answers in the Bible.

She now holds a Masters in Christian Apologetics and is an assistant professor of apologetics at Houston Baptist University. Several years ago, a friend asked her,”Why would a woman want to go to a session on apologetics?” Her question hit me like a load of bricks. She was so excited about finding answers to her doubts that she had never considered there was a lack of women in this field (or, as the question implies, a lack of interest from women). She came to discover, however, it is not so much a lack of interest as it is a lack of acquaintance. 

She finds that apologetics serves us in three ways: it answers doubts, builds confidence and changes our lives. Apologetics is a field that handles the difficult questions people have regarding belief in God. Some of those questions include: 1) How can anyone say God is good, when there is so much evil in the world? 2) How do I know that Jesus rose from the dead? 3) Why should I trust the Bible? and 3) How do I know God exists? Unanswered questions may eventually lead to doubt. Those doubts, after festering for many years, can lead a person to live a defeated life; one that lacks the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Further, a person cannot reasonably trust God if they do not know whether or not He exists: in bigger things such as salvation, or even in smaller things found in daily living. Yet, when a person begins to answer their doubts those answers can build their confidence in what they believe. As a person gains confidence in their faith, that confidence can begin to change their lives.

Tune in for a great show!

This episode first aired on Apr 14, 2019

We make video lessons to raise up confident Christians: https://educateforlife.org/

In 509 BC, the Roman Republic was born. The Romans established a republic, a government in which citizens elected representatives to rule on their behalf. A republic is quite different from a democracy, in which every citizen is expected to play an active role in governing the state. This is the governmental model America’s Founding Fathers chose to emulate.

Because of the close similarities between Rome and America some use it as a model to predict what the fate of America may be. Is America fated to fall and repeat the same mistakes as those of the Roman Republic? Here today on Educate For Life, Kevin has as his guest Professor Edward Watts.

Professor Watts received his PhD in History from Yale University in 2002. His research interests center on the intellectual and religious history of the Roman Empire and the early Byzantine Empire. His first book, City and School in Late Antique Athens and Alexandria (University of California Press, 2006), explains how the increasingly Christian upper class of the late antique world used a combination of economic and political pressures to neutralize pagan elements of the traditional educational system.

His second book, Riot in Alexandria: Historical Debate in Pagan and Christian Communities (University of California Press, 2010), uses Greek, Latin, Coptic, and Syriac sources to reconstruct an Alexandrian riot that erupted in 486 AD. Riot received a 2010 PROSE Award Honorable Mention in Classics and Ancient History. His third book, The Final Pagan Generation (University of California Press, 2015) offers a generational history of the men born in the 310s that traces the experience of living through the fourth century’s dramatic religious and political changes. It was awarded the 2015 Phi Alpha Theta Best Subsequent Book Prize. His fourth book, Hypatia: The Life and Legend of an Ancient Philosopher (Oxford University Press, 2017) recounts the life of an important female philosopher whose work redefined philosophy and whose death resonated as a symbol of dramatic religious and social change in the early fifth century. He is also the author of Mortal Republic: How Rome Fell into Tyranny (Basic Books, 2018).

This episode first aired on Mar 2, 2019

We make video lessons to raise up confident Christians: https://educateforlife.org/

 Recently in the news there has been the story of the ISIS bride. Hoda Muthana left Alabama at the age of 19 to join ISIS of her own free will. Now she wants to come home, with her young son, but whether she will be able to get back into the United States is completely out of her hands.

Muthana, now 24, insists she has the right to come back, and she's pleading for a second chance. The Trump administration, however, does not consider her a U.S. citizen.

So, should she be allowed to return to the US? Here today on Educate For Life is Pastor George Saieg to provide a unique perspective on this story.Born and raised in Sudan Pastor George Saieg is all too familiar with Islam. Now the founder and director of Ministry to Muslims, his lifelong experiences with Islam have given him a burden to reach Muslims with  the truth of the Gospel.

God revived Saieg’s passion in 2001, with a vision. While Saieg stood in a shopping center parking lot in Southern California, he envisioned a tent over flowing with Muslims that needed to hear the truth. Saieg immediately asked the parking lot owner for some space to hold a book fair. The man granted his request and went a step further – he provided a location for an Arabic Christian bookstore.

Just a few weeks later the attack on 9/11 occurred and George realized his calling to expose Islam’s deceptive teachings while also mobilizing American Christians to reach out to their Muslim neighbors. Soon after, he began a Weekly Outreach to Islamic Centers and has been training Christians to share their faith ever since. God has given George a platform speaking in churches and at conferences all across the US. In 2006,  George was ordained as a pastor.

To learn more about Pastor Saieg’s ministry and how to reach out to Muslims, check out https://www.ministrytomuslims.com.

This episode first aired on Feb 27, 2019

We make video lessons to raise up confident Christians: https://educateforlife.org/

Teachers in America are under attack by the very organization that was set up to protect them. There are stories nation wide of teachers who have been harassed and intimidated by the Teachers Unions. But now that the Janus Case has passed, those teachers now have the freedom to leave the union but still many do not.

Here on Educate For Life today Kevin has as his guest Rebecca Friedricks to help break it all down and explain what is actually going on. Rebecca Friedrichs has been an elementary school educator in Southern California for 28 years.  Since the first day of her career in 1988, she’s been concerned about the policies and politics of the teachers’ union she’s forced to financially support.

Although she “opted out” of the political dues for the first ten years of her career, she later joined as a full member in order to gain a voice because “agency fee payers” lose all rights of membership, including the right to voice their opinions and vote within collective bargaining.

She served on her local union board for three years with hopes that union representatives would listen to common sense and reason in order to bring about positive change in her district and in union expenditures of members’ dues.  She discovered that many union representatives agreed with her concerns, but to her disappointment, she was unable to make any positive impact because even the union representatives were afraid to speak up to union bosses.  Rebecca knows from personal experience that even union representatives have no real voice in union policies, and are bullied and silenced if they dare to question the unions’ narrow views.

To learn more go to http://ForKidsandCountry.org

This episode first aired on Mar 9, 2019

We make video lessons to raise up confident Christians: https://educateforlife.org/

Polls suggest that 45% of Americans believe in ghosts. Around the world there is rich lore of people encountering entities or the spirits of loved ones long gone. Yet in today’s culture of materialism and science, the majority of people believe that the paranormal does not exist.

So, what, if any, is the evidence that the paranormal exists? Today on Educate For Life, Kevin talks with Nichole Strickland, a paranormal researcher. She founded the San Diego Paranormal Research Society. They investigate and research happenings in the San Diego area to determine whether or not it can be paranormal.

Nicole Strickland currently resides in San Diego, California, and has been innately intrigued with the paranormal since childhood and has studied the field for many years.  She has been actively investigating historical landmarks and private residences for paranormal activity since the early 2000s, after a profound experience with the spirit of her beloved grandmother.  She is the Founder and Director of the San Diego Paranormal Research Society (SDPRS); and serves as the team’s EVP Specialist and historical locations case manager. Nicole has worked with various Southern California paranormal research teams prior to developing SDPRS in 2009. She was also a core member of the Ghost Research Society holding the GRS Southern California Area Research Director position from 2009 - 2017.  Nicole also serves as a consultant to World Paranormal Investigations as well as a California Representative for the American Spectral Society. Furthermore, she is an area representative to various Pacific Northwest paranormal research teams.

Tune in to hear some great and incredible evidence that the paranormal exists. If you want to check out more about Nichole and her work you can check out http://www.authornicolestrickland.com.

This episode first aired on Feb 22, 2019

We make video lessons to raise up confident Christians: https://educateforlife.org/

Ever think that sex education has a link directly to abortion? In the words of Planned Parenthood, “[We must] be ready as educators and parents to help young people obtain sex satisfaction before marriage . . .and we must be ready to provide young boys and girls with the best contraception measures available so they will have the necessary means to achieve sexual satisfaction without having to risk possible pregnancy.”

Today on Educate For Life, Kevin has as his guest Dr. Judith Reisman to illuminate the growing problem with abortion and sexual education. As a researcher and author, historian and teacher, Judith Reisman has focused on pornography as a pandemic, addicting men, women and children and upon exposing Dr. Alfred C. Kinsey's fraudulent sex science research and education.

Dr. Kinsey is considered one of the pioneers of the sexual revolution. Dr. Reisman’s research aims squarely at Dr. Kinsey’s research and demonstrates how it has degraded and damaged our society, particularly the impressionable minds of school children. To read much more on Dr. Judith’s research, check out https://www.thereismaninstitute.org

Tune in for a very informative episode.

This episode first aired on Feb 16, 2019

We make video lessons to raise up confident Christians: https://educateforlife.org/

 India is the second most populous country in the world and the seventh largest by land mass. The majority of the people practice Hinduism. A small minority of the people are Christians. As a mission field, India is extremely dangerous and in some areas it is a crime to convert to another religion.

Today on Educate For Life Kevin has as his guests Pastor Alexander John and John Mathai. They are with India Christian Fellowship in San Diego. ICF's beginnings can be traced to 2003, when three families began to come together regularly to pray. For many months, these gatherings took place on alternate Saturdays. The Lord directed more families to this fellowship from those migrating to San Diego for work. As the number of attending families increased, they began to meet in homes on a weekly basis.

They also support missionaries in India. India is an area with unique dangers and challenges and today you will hear all about. Tune in for a great episode

This episode first aired on Feb 9, 2019

We make video lessons to raise up confident Christians: https://educateforlife.org/

Ever wondered what Noah’s Ark looked like? These days you don’t have to wonder because it has been rebuilt to full scale! Ken Ham is the man who has rebuilt this marvelous structure and he is Kevin’s guest on the Educate For Life Radio Show.

The Ark Encounter features a full-size Noah’s Ark, built according to the dimensions given in the Bible. Spanning 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high, this modern engineering marvel amazes visitors young and old. Ark Encounter is situated in beautiful Grant County in Williamstown, Kentucky, halfway between Cincinnati and Lexington and right off I-75.

Ken Ham is a well known Christian Apologist. He founded the website Answersingenesis.org and has debated well-known atheists such as Bill Nye and many others all over the world. With the Ark Encounter he has attracted the attention of believers and non-believers alike. In fact, atheist groups have gone as far as to warn over 1,000 school districts not to take their students to the Ark Exhibit.

Tune in to hear more about the Ark and how it is an amazing testament to the accuracy and veracity of the Bible. You will learn more about the science behind this incredible story.

This episode first aired on Feb 2, 2019.

We make video lessons to raise up confident Christians: https://educateforlife.org/

Homeschooling is gaining popularity. Among many the reasons why parents choose to homeschool their kids are crowded classes and a decrease in the quality of education from public schools. But what if you’re not a teacher? That’s where homeschool platforms come in.

Today on Educate For Life Kevin has as his guests Christina Robinson and Julie Friesen. They are both involved with Classical Conversations Homeschooling. They are a Christian centered homeschooling program. The purpose of Classical Conversations® is to lead the home-centered education movement by teaching parents and students the classical tools of learning so that they can discover God’s created order and beauty— and as a result— enable others to do the same.

Classical Conversations fulfills its mission and purpose by establishing and supporting Classical Conversations communities across the United States and in several countries, and by empowering parents in the classical, Christian teaching of their children through Parent Practicums. They enable parents everywhere to equip their children with a Christ-centered worldview and the classical “tools of learning” in order to impact the world for God’s glory.

Tune in to learn more about Classical Conversations and the benefits of homeschooling.

We make video lessons to raise up confident Christians: https://educateforlife.org/