Lighthouse Faith

It may seem like two totally different topics, Memorial Day and scientific discoveries. And for the most part they are. But for Memorial Day it's good to remember what this holiday really means. And also, when Historian William Federer writes a book about humanity's scientific discoveries and the faith of those who discovered them, it's good to talk about that too. So, on this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Federer gives us a two-fer: Memorial Day and the Miraculous Milestones of science. Federer is a walking, talking encyclopedia of history and faith. He knows about how faith has brought us this far and how faith continues to be the foundational stronghold of this country and the historical faith that compelled people to honor the men and women who lost their lives fighting for the freedoms we enjoy in this Republic called the United States of America. But the larger picture is that we live in world, a universe, a created order that is not of our making. And it's precisely that ordered nature that gives us a clue to who God is. The Psalmist writes, "The heavens declare the glory of God." What better motivation to explore how the heavens work? That is what brought Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler to their greatest discoveries. Listen and find out how faith played a part in man's greatest scientific achievements.

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On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Voddie Baucham talks about the 'critical' challenges now facing the Christian Church in its quest to be racially compassionate, and that evangelicals are teetering close to denying the authority of Scripture. Being a Black male who grew up in the gang-infested area of Los Angeles, Baucham has a unique perspective on this current cultural moment of Critical Race Theory, Critical Social Justice, and the Woke ideology. In his new book, "Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism's Looming Catastrophe", Baucham does more than ruffle a few feathers. He plucks the fowl of all its plumage, exposing the false narratives of the movement that is fast encroaching on the Church. For example, the oft repeated statistic that Black men are killed by police 2.5x more than White men is statistically unfounded. Baucham sites two studies, one by a Harvard professor and another by the National Institute of Sciences, which found it to be false. But Baucham's real point is that these false narratives conflict with the Bible. He says in "Fault Lines", "I believe the current concept of social justice is incompatible with biblical Christianity," and warns that "the current cultural movement is at best precarious."  Baucham could almost be considered a walking and talking enigma, whose life today is in stark contrast to his early upbringing. Raised by a single mother in the gang and drug ladened world of Los Angeles' Watts neighborhood, Baucham was steeped in his identity of being Black. He played college football and considered an NFL career. Malcolm X was his hero, until he met Jesus Christ. Now the conservative Christian, father of nine children, who is the Dean of Theology at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia, is on the verge of becoming a household name. His new book lays out a scenario by which all will be challenged to check their prejudices at the door, and that racial reconciliation is not just about White's making reparations for the past crime of slavery, but a collective effort of all of God's children, made in His image.

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There's a crisis in the world today; the rise of angry protests and the primal scream of politics are evidence. Yet, while it's easy to identify the problem, it's difficult to find a solution. Ah, but the solution has always been with us. It's God's truth and God's love  perfectly bound together in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many theologians say Christianity is what built America, and its truths are what has sustained it. However, today's culture has let the passions of self, dictate its laws. Identity politics is where we are today. As one great theologian said, "fire makes a great servant, but a bad master." On this episode of Lighthouse Faith, Dr. Michael Youssef talks about what is lacking in this world, faith in God's authority. He offers a solution in his new book, "Hope for This Present Crisis." He makes the bold statement that America's turning from the Christian faith has been its undoing. And one of the main causes is happening right in the Church. Pastors themselves are watering down the Gospel to make it more user friendly to a secular society that is clamoring against its truths about gender, family and marriage. Listen to Dr. Youssef, founder and senior pastor of The Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, talk about the problem of cancel culture, indoctrination of students, and finally, the "Seven-step Path to Restoring a World Gone Mad."

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Boston College philosophy professor Dr. Peter Kreeft, is well known for his candid approach to Christianity and culture. He's an octogenarian who has his hand on the pulse of today's younger generations. That's because he's been teaching them for decades. This conservative, Catholic convert, speaks openly about what's wrong with the world. And his latest book zeros in on the foundational cause of our dilemma, that is the cause after the Fall from Grace. It's the fact that we're not having children. And it IS a fact because census figures show the birth rate is at its lowest since the Great Depression. But that's not the only issue Kreeft is griping about. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Kreeft talks about his newest book , "How To Destroy Western Civilization: And Other ideas from the Cultural Abyss". It's a sober look at how we in the West are destroying ourselves through abortion, yes, but also by ignoring God's truth about why we're here and our purpose in life. But not to dwell on the negative, he then takes a look at some of the most beautiful and heartfelt poetry in the Bible, the book of Psalms. In his book, "Wisdom of the Psalms," Kreeft takes a deep dive into ten of the 150 Psalms that have the greatest meaning to him. For the second half of the podcast he talks about how these ancient writings that both Jews and Christians use for worship, can be understood more fully by today's modern minds.

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So you'll have to wait to the latter part of the podcast to get the answers to "Who Made God?" and whether aliens have anything to do with the origins of life. But it's well worth hearing anything Hank Hanegraaff has to say in the meantime. Hanegraaff is the Bible Answer Man who caused a minor quake within Evangelical circles a few years ago when he converted to Orthodox Christianity. It exposed two Millenia of growing fissures within the Church that Jesus Christ bled and died for. So, it's good to talk about why there are these divisions within Christianity. And a blatant one is the date of Easter. Most years the Western and Eastern churches celebrate Easter within a week or two of each other, but this year, Orthodox Easter is May 2nd, four weeks after Roman Catholics and Protestants celebrated it. And it's not what the Church Fathers wanted. If there's one thing that should unite all Christians, it's their worshipping of the Risen Savior together on Easter Sunday. The Resurrection defines Christianity, and while the date of Easter may seem like a small difference (as long as we're all living in the transforming power of the event) it is one of many divergences that together has cut a wider chasm. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Hanegraaff explains why people who worship the same God, could have such different views of that same God and still call themselves by the same name. And yes, he will tell you, "Who made God?"

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When you think of victorious women in the Bible, the one that's usually NOT brought to mind is Eve, as in Adam and Eve in the Garden, as in the one responsible for the Fall from Grace and all the tumult that that unleashed on the world. Well, despite Eve's one mistake (and it was a huge one) Sarah Jakes Roberts has "fallen in love" with her. It wasn't always so. Three years ago, she began to focus on Eve after vilifying her saying, "You had one job!" and complaining that she should have known better than to be seduced by Satan into eating the forbidden fruit. But then Jakes Roberts began to look at her own life; pregnant at 13, married then divorced she realized, she should have known better. After all, her father is the well-known mega-church pastor and mega businessman, Bishop T.D. Jakes. Only through God's grace could Eve become the hero. And she did. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Sarah Jakes Roberts talks about her new book, "Women Evolve: Break Up with Your Fears & Revolutionize Your Life" and how Eve's story is the narrative of victory for all women whose pasts have crippled their view of the future. Jakes Roberts unearths an exegesis of Eve's Divine role in the narrative of redemption, and how it is a battle cry of triumph for all women. Jakes Roberts herself now co-pastors two churches with her husband Toure' Roberts, founded the new Women Evolve Lifestyle Movement, and explains that the Bible's mandate "to be fruitful and multiply" doesn't just apply to bearing children, but to the cultivating of talents and the gifts God has given you for the flourishing of family and community.

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Christianity and Judaism share a great deal of history and faith. Just look at how many times the dates of Passover and Easter coincide. It's because Jesus's Last Supper in the upper room, was in fact the Jewish Passover meal in which He makes a new covenant, through His anticipated sacrifice. Instead of the lamb's blood on the doorframes, it is Jesus's blood shed on the Cross.  But there's far more that Christians and learn by unlocking the numerical code that's all through the Bible and particularly the Old Testament. Rabbi Jason Sobel, a Messianic Jewish Rabbi, has explored and rolled away the stones of this mathematical mystery in his new book Mysteries of the Messiah: The Rock, The Road, The Rabbi. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Rabbi Sobel talks about how the Hebrew alphabet is key to understanding the numeric code (For example the number is of great significance as the number of new beginnings), that the five books of Moses-- the Pentateuch-- is immersed in figures of faith, knowledge and prophetic wisdom. He also talks about his spiritual mentorship of iconic actress, singer, author and talk show host Kathie Lee Gifford,  and how he himself, a Jewish boy from New Jersey, came to be a follower of Yeshua, aka, Joshua, aka... Jesus Christ, The Messiah.

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We are living in some of the most fractured and contentious times where religion has morphed into politics and politics has become a religion. And this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, is a living reality of that fact. Let me explain. On Easter Sunday, the newly elected Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock's tweeted a greeting that caused a storm of criticism because it trampled on the core tenet of Christianity, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It might be forgiven if Warnock were a run of the mill politician unschooled in theological doctrine. But Warnock is also an ordained minister who leads Ebenezer Baptist Church, the iconic house of worship where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr preached. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, two ministers were supposed to discuss the tweet: one Black the other White. And not just any two. Odell Cleveland and Alex McFarland have a podcast called "I Hear Ya!" where any and all controversial subjects about race, religion and culture could be discussed in a faithful way, true to the Gospel. But apparently there are some subjects too controversial or perhaps too close to offending racial strongholds. Only Alex (who is White) came on to discuss the situation. Listen to the podcast, and understand how deep the divide is between race, politics and the Christian faith.

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Easter celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; it is the cornerstone of Christianity. But what's more, it's what gives Christianity its power, 'incomparably great power.' For too long many Christian churches have treated the miracle of the Resurrection as something akin to the frosting on the cake or a high-five in the end-zone. It's celebrated once a year, but pastor and theologian Dr. Timothy Keller says the Resurrection is something we can and should live out daily. For if the Resurrection happened, it changes everything, "how we conduct relationship, our attitudes toward wealth and power, how we work in our vocations, our understanding and practice of sexuality, race relations, and justice." On this special Easter episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Keller, a best-selling author, talks about his new book, "Hope in Times of Fear: The Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter." In it, he explores why the Resurrection gives the world still suffering from a pandemic, a hope for the past, present and future; that it makes Christianity "a historical, reasonable, and gracious faith; and that it is Heaven come to earth to begin the 'restoration of the natural order,' the world that God intended. Keller writes, "The Bible's startling message is that when Jesus rose, he brought the future kingdom of God into the present. It is not here fully but it is here substantially." Listen and learn how Easter is cause for a tremendous, Hallelujah! The Lord is Risen!

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March is Women's History Month, so what better time to talk about the women of Bible. Popular culture would have us believe that the Good Book treats women as second-or third-class spiritual partners of their male counterparts. But the truth is women play pivotal roles in the redemptive narrative of the Holy Scriptures. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Fox News Anchor Shannon Bream talks about her new book, "Women of the Bible Speak: The Wisdom Of 16 Women and Their Lessons for Today. Bream shares her insights and new discoveries about women like Sarah and Hagar,  Leah and Rachel, and of course, Mary, the mother of Jesus. But what's more, these women and the others she writes about, have something vital for women of today to learn from. Throughout their struggles and sufferings, joys and triumphs, these women showed incredible faith, patience and sometimes boldness. God so often chose women to be at the center of His work to bring salvation to a hurting world. And it's no different today.

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