Lighthouse Faith

The man at the forefront of finding a vaccine for the COVID-19 pandemic, is man of science AND faith. Dr. Francis Collins is the head of the National Institutes of Health which is racing to develop treatment options and a vaccine for the Coronavirus. He is also this year's winner of the prestigious Templeton Prize, awarded to those making great strides in the area of science and faith. And Collins is in fact a walking embodiment that faith and science are a good team. He says while science has the tools to be able to dissect and observe the working of a cell or the age of the universe, it is not so good at answering questions that start with "why?" like "why am I here?" Dr. Collins is the author of several books including the best-seller "The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for God. (2006)" He also led the team of the National Genome Project, that 20 years ago mapped out the human genetic code, a 3 billion letter DNA sequence living in each human cell. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Collins talks about the urgency of finding a vaccine for the Coronavirus, as a second wave of cases emerge and spike. But Collins has good news. He says, "We now have a number of those [vaccines] that look pretty promising" in early phase one trials with a small number of people, and "we're ready to start in July, the large scale trials to find out whether these really are protective and safe." And he says he would like to offer people hope about the pandemic: "God is still in charge. And we're going to get through this."

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The protests and riots following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer have made many people question, why is it we have a hard time getting along with people who are different from ourselves? What is the driving force behind the conflicts we've seen these last few weeks? Theologians will say that at the root of all our problems is sin. But surely there's more to it than that. Nearly 30 years ago Dr. Miroslav Volf wrote a book that explored the vagaries of our mistrust and malevolent actions towards our fellow human beings. The book is called "Exclusion & Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation." It could have been written about what's happened today, but he wrote it for himself following the Croatian War in the 1990's, and the violence, destruction and killing that occurred between people who were once neighbors. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Volf, the Director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture, explains how the book came about; that he was asked after a lecture he gave if he could forgive the soldiers who murdered and destroyed his community. He answered truthfully that his faith said, "I must," but that his heart said, "I can't." This is our dilemma today. While civil authorities work to create new laws to try to restore a semblance of order and protect citizens from rogue cops and systemic injustices, people like Dr. Volf are calling for us to find a path to reconciliation, a path that begins with all of us seeing first how our own identities can unknowingly exclude people we are called to love, and embrace.

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We've not eradicated "Sin".  It's very much still with us; events of the past couple of weeks should make that obvious. But the problem is to not recognize sin's destructive powers is the reason we're in this mess. It was sin that compelled a white Minneapolis Police officer to brutally restrain an African American man, killing him. It was sin that compelled protesters to morph into an angry mob bent on looting and destroying. It is a sin to not see that all life is valuable and sacred, that all of us are made in God's image. Sin is a disease common to all of humanity from the beginning time, and yet, while we tend to see it in others we rarely see in ourselves. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Sam Rohrer, head of the American Pastors Network, expands on his OpEd, "In The Absence of Moral Restraint, Sin Begets Sin." In today's modern, technology-heavy world, sin is rarely talked about, it's even laughed at. Yet there's no better way to explain the evil of what has unfolded in America and around the world. Sin isn't just breaking the rules, although it is that. It is putting ourselves in the place of God; of believing we have the right to determine right or wrong for ourselves instead of acknowledging an objective standard of right and wrong, of justice and morality existing outside of each individual. Laws can only do so much. It may give you the absence of violence but not necessarily the presence of peace. Moral restraint comes from fealty to a Higher Calling. Sin isn't just breaking God's commandments, it's breaking God's heart.  

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Last week, the world lost one of the greatest theological minds, Ravi Zacharias, after a battle with cancer. In Ravi's last Lighthouse Faith interview from June of 2019, he talks about his book, "The Logic of God." In so many ways this title typifies how Ravi defended the Christian faith. He based his beliefs in revelation, but also on reason and knowledge, taking on the most difficult questions because he knew that behind each question was a questioner seeking to understand the world and its meaning. His goal was not to win an argument, but to draw people to the saving grace of Jesus Christ. This podcast is a tribute to Ravi.

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Listening to Ravi Zacharias will make you see a whole different way of looking at faith. First and foremost he helps people understand that everyone, even an atheist, has faith. Ravi is the founder of the international ministry, RZIM. His latest book, The Logic of God, is a 52 week devotional that asks the question, "is it logical to even believe in God?" And then he answers it by revealing what is in us, who are made in God's image. Ravi points out that while there is a coherence to God, that there are no contradictions in Him, there is plenty of contradiction in us. And there lies the quandary for humanity.  Ravi challenges people of all different faiths on what they actually believe. To me he was one of those people who is wickedly ( in a good way) smart.  In a room full of great minds, Ravi could be considered today, the greatest among equals. He understands humanity through science, sociology, psychology, physiology, and just about any other -ology you can name. Can we live without God? It's not about whether God exists, but rather to what do we look to find our purpose and meaning in life.

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It was a clash of cultures, bound to cause friction despite the overarching need to save lives. Samaritan's Purse set up a field hospital in New York City's iconic Central Park to help treat victims of the coronavirus. It was the first time the humanitarian aid organization set up one of its field hospitals on the U.S. mainland. You got the feeling that any other aid organization would have been heralded as heroic. But because Samaritan's Purse is run by the very conservative Rev. Franklin Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham, its presence in one of the most liberal cities in the country and the world, was for the most part just tolerated. The governor of the state refused to waive state taxes for the medical staff's meager salaries. There were protests from civil rights groups. And the City Commission on Human Rights launched an investigation to make sure all people were treated equally; spurred by the fact that the Christian-run organization requires all its staff operate on biblical principles. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Rev. Graham speaks to the controversy, and answers his critics.

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A very wise woman once said, "You can become bitter or better from the things that happen to you." It's your choice. Pastor Keion Henderson chose the latter. His dreams of an NBA contract were snapped in a few seconds during a college basketball game after a career ending injury. At age 11 he learned that the man who fathered him turned out to to be a respected Pastor of the church he attended. He was raised by a single mother who worked at Taco Bell for $7 an hour. These are not the tools of success, and many times become an arsenal of anger. And yet, Keion has made the proverbial lemonade out of lemons. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Pastor Henderson, founder of the ten thousand member Lighthouse Church in Houston, TX talks about the cathartic process of writing his new book "The Shift," about the unexpected shifts and interruptions in our life. It's a book that took more than a decade to write. In that tome, Henderson vents all of his pent up adolescent anger saying, "I tried to figure out where in the world do you put this pain?" But by God's grace he grew to become the man his father could not be, and also the Pastor his father should have been. Henderson says, "To resolve our problems and deal with our mistakes, we must be willing to be transformed by God’s process of healing and strengthening. The beauty of a gracious and merciful God is that He will use our mistakes as an opportunity to help us unlearn some bad behaviors, gain some new insights, and shift us into our destiny." Henderson's mentor is the well known Bishop T.D. Jakes, and like Jakes, he educates his flock on how to be fiscally successful as well as spiritually faithful. His book and words are for anyone who's felt sidelined or hurt by life's left turns and unexpected challenges.

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Combining End Times biblical prophecy and current events is a precarious endeavor. But Dr. Mark Hitchcock has been reading the biblical tea leaves for decades now and written thirty books on the subject. He will tell you that coming up with precise dates and times of the Last Days and Jesus's return, is not only irresponsible, it is not even accurate. Jesus Himself said no one "but the Father knows." Still, one of the looming questions for many people around the world is whether or not the Coronavirus pandemic is a sign the end is near. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Hitchcock, a pastor and professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, explains how the Covid-19 pandemic fits into the Bible's prophecies, or whether it does at all. He'll explain the difference between The Rapture, The Tribulation, and what are the key verses in the Bible that prophecy what God has in store for His creation. All of it is explored as well in his latest book, "Corona Crisis: Plagues, Pandemics, and the Coming Apocalypse." It is getting top billing over his other timely book about the Iranian nuclear threat, "Showdown with Iran: Nuclear Iran and the Future of Israel, the Middle East, and the United States in Bible Prophecy." Both Covid-19 and Iran's nuclear ambitions present perilous warnings for us and our mindsets and beliefs about God.

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Christianity is a global religion. It is a faith for all races, languages and cultures. Yet it is viewed as a religion of the West, of Europe and America. However, its roots are in the East. And so much about its nuances of meaning are lost when the Eastern and Middle Eastern mind-set is not properly understood. So says, Abdu Murray, a former Muslim turned Christian apologist (defender), who has co-written a book with internationally renowned theologian Ravi Zacharias called, "Seeing Jesus From The East: A Fresh Look At History's Most Influential Figure." Both men were raised in Eastern cultures; Ravi in India, and Abdu in the Middle East. Both understand Jesus through the lens of their cultural heritage, which is closer in fact to the one in which Jesus lived out His ministry. For instance the East is a shame and honor culture while the West is mainly a guilty or innocent culture. The first is more communal, the second is more individualistic. What that means for how one views Scripture, the parables of Jesus, and all the beloved Bible stories, is huge! On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Abdu breaks it down and reveals realities that were hiding in plain site.

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What might be surprising to know is that viruses are essential to life. However, about 1% at most, are what's called 'pathogenic', they are harmful; they can cause everything from the common cold to the Coronavirus. So why did God make a world in which what can be so good for us, can also potentially bring our death? On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, noted Mathematician and Christian apologist Dr. John Lennox, talks about that very question. He has written a small but powerful (and timely) book, called "Where is God in a Coronavirus World?" Lennox says that things like Covid-19 are what's known as 'natural evil'. They are part of the brokenness in this natural world, like tsunamis and tornadoes. There is no human agent, as with 'moral evil'. There's no one to blame or judge. But what these natural evils force us to do is to come to terms with death; our own as well as those whom we love. But it's not just about doom and gloom. God has, and always did, have a plan for the world He created. Dr. Lennox looks to the joy and the hope that God has promised as well.

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There are two varieties of evil in this world, say Theologians. One is "moral evil", like the 9/11 terror attacks, caused by a human agent. The other is "natural evil", the kind with no human intent, but the sort of plagues like the Coronavirus existing in the world since the original fall of Creation. Christina Stanton has the unique experience of surviving them both. In this episode of Lighthouse Faith, Christina talks about her relationship with God during 9/11, and compares it to today nearly 20 years later, as she battled the Coronavirus in a Florida Hospital for seventeen days. In both cases she nearly died, but she faced them in totally different ways because of her relationship with God then, and now. She was originally a guest on the podcast last September when she released her memoirs of surviving the terror attacks, of how she and her husband fled their Lower Manhattan apartment with the clothes on their backs. Then she felt utterly alone, that she really had not known God, and did not understand the tumult he was allowing her to face. But today, as she lay in her ICU bed physically alone, she didn't feel alone. That God was with her, that His promises are real. As she says in her diary, "The name of Jesus is powerful, and I know that. I invoked that power in a way I never have in the past. I really feel God is answering all the prayers that have gone up for me and my prayers to Him."

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