Lighthouse Faith

What will it take to rebuild Notre Dame? What caused the devastating fire in the first place? Randall Ott, the Dean of Architecture at Catholic University of America,  has lectured on the famed cathedral as an architectural masterpiece. But he also explains how the 850 year old Gothic style cathedral, was so vulnerable, particularly during attempts to renovate and rehabilitate. Ironically the two greatest dangers... the fire of course... but then the water used to douse the fire. Ott explains what the next steps will be in restoring the jewel of Paris.. and the soul of France... and whether it can even be done in the five years President Macron has vowed.

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There are still many Christians for whom Easter is about baskets, spring flowers and bonnets. But for former Muslim, Abdu Murray, Easter has become a revelation of God's Truth. Abdu set out to research the Resurrection to find its flaws, but instead found enough evidence to convince him to convert to Christianity, and now he is a staunch defender of the faith. We talk about the four pillars of the Resurrection called CASE,  1. Crucifixion 2. Appearance 3. Skeptics and 4. Empty tomb. And on top of  proof of the Resurrection, Abdu talks about why Jesus had to die in the first place. This is a conversation for anyone who wants to strengthen their faith, or those who have any doubts.

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Many stories of Muslim converts to Christianity are of people who already pose a devout faith in their native religion. But Sohrab Ahmari, the op-ed editor for the New York Post, has a much different story. Born in Iran just six years after the Islamic Revolution, he grew up with parents who were more influenced by the sixties and its secular questioning of authority, than the imposed order of the Khomeini regime. So Sohrab's nominal Muslim faith left him privately questioning Islam, while publicly professing belief just to guard against Iran's morality police. He moved to the U.S. as a teen and thoroughly embraced atheism. But over the next decade and a half found a spiritual path that lead to Catholicism.  His new book, "From Fire By Water: My Journey to the Catholic Faith," is a compelling story in its candid understanding of a universal need existing in all human souls. Listen to our talk and find out the unexpected way his conversion became known internationally, and why this book became necessary to set the record straight.

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This season of Lent leading up to Easter always brings questions about Christianity specifically, but religion in general. Is there proof of the existence of God? Can science prove God exists? What about morality, does that point us to an Omnipotent Being? Dr. Frank Turek, co-author of "I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist," talks about the highlights of his book and answers some of the probing objections to belief in God. You will find, as I have, that few of us ever ponder the real core philosophical questions to why we believe or don't believe certain things; that more times than not we prefer living in the gray areas. But Dr. Turek makes the case that most of the objections to God are not intellectual... they are emotional. And he states there is enough proof of God's existence to satisfying our minds, but it's a harder task to convince our hearts.

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Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cake shop in Colorado, has become the face of Religious Freedom after last year's Supreme Court ruling in his favor. He'd declined to make a wedding cake for a same sex couple and the case went all the way to the highest court in the land. But a second case was launched against him, one not as well known, but could have been just as devastating. A transgender woman filed a suit against Phillips because he refused to bake a cake celebrating the seventh anniversary of her transition from male to female. This time the Colorado Civil Rights Commission decided to drop the case. But some legal watchers believe this case was a set-up, launched only to make an example of Phillips. Hear what Jack and his attorney, Kristen Waggoner of Alliance Defending Freedom, have to say about this latest victory and the future of these kinds of cases.

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Abby Johnson worked for Planned Parenthood for eight years, rising to the ranks of a clinic director. But something happened in the clinic one day that turned her life around-- she witnessed an abortion through the lens of an ultrasound machine. The sight was so traumatic that within a few days she became a Pro-life Advocate and wound up on the sharp end of a Planned Parenthood legal battle. In this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Abby talks about her faith and the new feature length movie about her life that will be released at the end of March. The abortion debate has become an incendiary political topic, especially in the wake of more aggressive abortion bills being passed and debated nationwide. But Abby's story makes abortion personal. She understands the pain of women who choose to end a pregnancy, but she's even more aware of the God who has a purpose for every life.

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Some might call him candid while others would say cantankerous, but the intellectually sublime and cerebral Fr. George Rutler will always say what he thinks when it comes to politics, politicians, and the Pope. Fr. Rutler is the pastor of St. Michael's Church in New York City, has written several books, and is a lifelong student of history. He gives his take on the sexual abuse crisis, the pontificate of Pope Francis and New York's new abortion law.  Even though the Catholic Church is undergoing an intense trial by fire, Rutler believes it will be stronger and better. But he saves most of his criticism for New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state's new abortion law.

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Critics say it was a show of appeasement to the Islamic world. But make no mistake, Pope Francis's trip to the Arabian Peninsula was a monumental game changer in Christian-Muslim relations. Johnnie Moore, head of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and a member of President Trump's Evangelical Advisory Board, was on the ground in Abu Dhabi, The United Arab Emirates, and spells out exactly how historical this moment was for the leader of the world's Catholic Church, the Bishop of Rome, the Vicar of Christ to say a public Mass in a region considered to be the cradle of Islam.  So what will be the impact moving forward? What will be the overall effect on Islamic extremism and the Middle Eastern countries propping up extremists through funding and tacit approval? Moore states that the UAE has sent a powerful message to its neighbors, "Get on the right side of history. Religious tolerance is the future!"

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The power of politics and religion is front and center as many Catholic religious leaders call for the excommunication of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, over his signing and celebrating the state's new more aggressive abortion law. His actions have pitted the governor against New York's Archbishop, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, who says he's received tons of emails calling for the governor's ouster from the Church. David Gibson, Fordham University's director of Religion and Culture, breaks down the controversy, and explains the political and religious ramifications of what it means to be excommunicated from the Catholic Church.

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In the 46 years since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case that made abortion legal, the most vocal opposition has come from the Catholic Church. But in the last few years Evangelicals have begun to widen the ranks of the pro-life movement.  Why is this so odd? Traditionally Catholics and Evangelicals, although both are Christians, have historically been at odds doctrinally, and that's putting it mildly. But now they have found common ground, the Southern Baptist Convention has officially created their own pro-life wing. Daniel Darling is the Vice President of the SBC's public policy arm and now heads its 'Evangelicals for Life' movement.

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