Lighthouse Faith

Today unmarried 'parenthood' is so passe it barely raises an eyebrow. In fact, it is oftentimes more celebrated than censured. And it's not just single motherhood, but divorce, serial monogamy, and various other forms of lifestyles that create instability for impressionable young souls that crave love and acceptance. But in the rush to 'cancel' and malign the culture or traditional family values, many people ignore the truths about how children thrive. Enter Mary Eberstadt, a Senior Research Fellow at The Faith and Reason Institute. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, she talks about her article in First Things magazine titled, "The Fury of Fatherlessness," and how she believes it is behind the rage erupting against established institutions like the Church, the Police Force, and the political protests witnessed over the last few months. In the article she says,"The riots amount to social dysfunction on parade." Eberstadt doesn't mitigate the causes behind the protests and is quick to agree they were legitimate reasons to protest. It's only the level of rage that seems off the charts. This dysfunction tied to fatherlessness has manifestations on the political left and right; behind Black Lives Matter and White Supremacy. And it's also linked to the growing separation from God, the One in whose image we are made.

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Freedom of religion and freedom of speech are having a hard time pushing back against the Cancel Culture these days. Aided by social media behemoths like Google and Twitter, the Cancel Culture has become the new way to keep certain voices from being heard in the public square. In all its vagaries and impulses, it is essentially an alternative religion. It stands up as the voice of objective morality and truth but is itself subject to the political winds of group think. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Dr. Jeff Meyers, president of Summit Ministries, talks about how he works with 16-to-25-year old's, teaching them to live out their lives in defense of a biblical world view. The bottom line for him, is that the Cancel Culture is not just differences of opinions in a heated clash, no, this spirit of evil says emphatically, "You don't have a right to think that way if it offends me. Therefore, your voice must be silenced. It must not be heard."  And Meyer says, although the Cancel Culture is known to go after many different positions, religious voices are the most maligned and most attacked.

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Around the world, millions of Christians are celebrating the birth of Jesus this Christmas. It's a time of light shining in a darkened world, of a star, of a tiny baby swaddled in a manger, and of a promise of hope that the world will become a better place. In this Fox News Radio Christmas special, Chief Religion Correspondent Lauren Green takes you on a slightly different journey of Christmas in order to look at the origin stories of some of the holiday's most beloved traditions. The Christmas story itself and its beginnings in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, for instance. Also our tradition of Christmas Trees, Santa Claus, The Star of  Bethlehem, carols and singing... What started them? Plus, a look at the faith foundations of Charles Dickens' classic story, 'A Christmas Carol.' It is a special that will captivate and inform, and will help you celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, with Rev. Cheryl Kincaid, theologian Tim Keller, best-selling author William Federer, and director of I.S.M.I.L.E. New York Renae Baker.

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There's plenty of snowmen, candy canes and elves to go around to help celebrate Christmas. But this year that's been darkened by a pandemic, there's a greater need to dive deeper into the true meaning of Christmas; to know that Light truly has come into the world. And we're not talking about vague hopes for peace on Earth or joy filled greetings. It's about the truth of Immanuel, "God with us," and what that actually means. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. As one pastor put it, Jesus didn't come to give us good advice, to show us the way to God. His being born was "Good News," of what has happened, that God has come to us. It is the sign that the Creator of the universe, who is outside of time and outside of space, wrote himself into the story of humanity, becoming 'one of us', in order to save us. On this Episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Dr. Jim Denison, founder of The Denison Forum, talks about Christmas during hard times. That, "Even amidst the pain and tragedies of the pandemic and the uncertainties of our political future, the essential truth of Christmas remains unchanged. Jesus is still Immanuel, 'God with us.'"

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For centuries, both the faithful and science-based folks have wondered about the Star of Bethlehem. What was it? From where did it come? Is it a myth, a miracle, or was it natural occurring astronomical event? The Star, as told in the Gospel of Matthew, led the Magi to a little town called Bethlehem, about five miles south of Jerusalem. It was a sign in the heavens that told them a King was born, a King that would be in the line and lineage of King David. Many astronomers believed it was a conjunction of planets. German scientist Johannes Kepler believed it was the conjunction of three planets, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus. But while astronomers today use Kepler's exact mathematical calculations to map the motion of the planets, lawyer and Star enthusiast Rick Larson has taken it many steps further, and has found the link between the Bible's prophecies, the motion of the planets, and the signs in the sky. The heavens do indeed "declare the glory of God," as Psalm 19 announces. In this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Larson gives a synopses of his findings, which are in his film Star of Bethlehem, and his website bethlehemstar.com, which gives even more details of tying God's message to us, to the motion of the planets.

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"Is suffering the price we pay for loving?" It's a question author Amy Orr-Ewing explored from personal grief, as she tried to understand, "Why, if there's a loving God, would we experience misery and misfortune? Are love and pain forever woven together in an eternal fabric?" Ewing says, that when believers in God go through pain and suffering it causes them to doubt that God really loves them, that God cares. The question is, "How could God let this happen?" Many people are asking that question today in the midst of a pandemic that has taken millions of lives. Ewing is the President of Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics, and is the author of, "Where is God in all the suffering?" She wrote the book after a close friend, a young mother of three, died of the coronavirus. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Ewing explains that hardship is not an interruption, but a reality in life; and that we only have two choices in how to react to it; we can either run away from God, or towards God. She contends that only a loving God can make sense of the suffering and the brokenness in this world. She says, "It's only with love as part of our mindset that we actually even really ask the question at all, 'how can this be happening?' The question itself actually points us towards God, not away from him."

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It's not about reinventing yourself, because you already have within you all the gifts and talents you need. What you need is faith to develop them, nurture them, and watch them grow. That is the message of Kathie Lee Gifford: talk show host, singer, composer, actress, author, and theologian. She is a one-woman whirlwind of possibilities and accomplishments. But it's her life-long faith in Jesus Christ that stands out as the real fuel igniting her boundless energy. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, the iconic, Kathie Lee talks about her just-released book, "It's Never Too Late," and the next phase of her life: after Regis, after Frank, after NBC and so on. Now living in Nashville, she reflects on the great times in her life and also the moments of darkness, but the light is always with her. And she has advice on how even when life seems over, you can begin again and thrive!  

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The Christian Church is built on the foundation of forgiveness; of Jesus Christ's death on the Cross to atone for the world's sins. Yet many Christians are not really schooled in the mechanics of forgiveness. It is quite vital not only for health and mental stability, but also as a tenet of the faith. It is the Lord's Prayer that asks God, "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those..." While we say the prayer often, we still harbor un-forgiveness to those who have hurt us, maligned us, divorced us, the list is seemingly endless. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, best-selling author and President of Proverbs 31 Ministries, Lysa Terkeurst talks about her new book, "Forgiving What You Can't Forget," just in time for Holiday gatherings and the old family conflicts that may flare up. Lysa speaks from experience. Hurt by her husband's infidelity, she had to learn what it really meant to forgive. She answers the questions, "What do you do about the people who never say they are sorry?" and, "Is there anything that is unforgiveable?" Lysa helps people understand that "Forgiveness is more satisfying than revenge," and that "Your offender is also suffering from pain." It is time to be grateful for the power to Forgive.

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He used to hustle his way through life. Had his first drink at 8 years of age and it was downhill from there for the next decade and a half. Jim Wahlberg is not nearly as famous as his actor brothers, Mark Wahlberg (Boogie Nights, Deepwater Horizon) and Donnie Wahlberg (Blue Bloods), but he is just as driven. And his zeal has taken him from the very depths of life's darkest moments in jail, to the heights of the light of faith. The Boston native is one of nine children of an Irish Catholic family; but didn't know what real faith in Jesus Christ meant until he met a priest while in prison. Jim thought he could con the priest, turns out the priest conned him. In this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Wahlberg talks about his new book, "The Big Hustle," and his path from drugs and jail to his work now as a filmmaker, writing and producing short films about drug addiction and how faith in God is truly the only way to a drug-free life.

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Theodore McCarrick was one of the most powerful priests in American Catholicism, rising to the rank of Cardinal and Archbishop of Washington, D.C. But now in the wake of the Vatican's two-year investigation into his sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable Seminarians, it's clear that this darling of the Church was really a demon. He was a 'predator and pathological liar", to quote eminent scholar George Weigel. But what's also clear from the report, is that McCarrick did not rise in a vacuum. He had help, unwitting partners in his quest for prestige and position. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Dr. Matthew Bunson, executive editor or EWTN News, dissects the Vatican report and unravels the painful truths about how McCarrick's charm and good nature, masked a more sinister, and really sinful part of his personality. But now that McCarrick's deadly deeds have been exposed, what now for the Catholic Church? How do bishops move forward? Bunson breaks it all down, as well as wraps up a post-election analysis on the second Catholic ever elected President of the United States; but one who is advancing agendas that are against Church teachings.

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