The Christian Worldview

GUESTS: TWILA BRASE, president, Citizens Council for Health Freedom JESSE JOHNSON, pastor and author, City of Man, Kingdom of GodGovernment mandates during the Covid pandemic—“wear a mask, get vaccinated, shut down your church or be fined and arrested”—caused Christians to consider the Biblical line between submission to governing authorities and resisting when the commands go beyond the sphere of their authority.Over the last several months, we have heard from guests such as pastor Travis Allen and journalist Alex Newman on the increasing authoritarianism in our nation and how Christians should respond.This weekend in the opening segment, we will be joined by Twila Brase, president of Citizens Council for Health Freedom (CCHF), to discuss rumblings of Covid mandates being instituted this fall and what was behind the mechanisms governing authorities put in place during the pandemic.Then, Jesse Johnson, pastor of Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, VA and author of City of Man, Kingdom of God: Why Christians Respect, Obey, and Resist Government, joins us for the remaining two segments to explain how Christians need to clearly understand the differing spheres of authority for government and the church.This will get you thinking Biblically in advance of our upcoming listener event, The Christian Worldview Movie Night on Saturday, September 9 at Fourth Baptist Church in Plymouth, MN where we will show The Essential Church documentary film, which chronicles how the pastors of Grace Community Church in Los Angeles and two churches in Canada were fined and/or arrested for gathering their churches to worship during Covid.The film also shows how Christians throughout history have understood the spheres of authority between the church and the state, and when there was a conflict, they concluded, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).--------------------------------------RELATED LINK: Twin Cities area listeners may be interested in attending Citizens Council for Health Freedom annual gala on Thu, Sept. 7 in St. Paul, MN.REGISTER  for The Essential Church Movie NightWe are excited to offer a viewing of this compelling 2-hour documentary for our listening audience on Sat. Sept 9 starting at 6:30 PM at Fourth Baptist Church in Plymouth.  A live panel discussion will immediately follow the film.Learn more: https://overcomerfoundation.kindful.com/e/movienightOrder DVD: https://store.thechristianworldview.org/collections/dvds/products/newoffer

GUEST: Matt Morrell, pastor, Fourth Baptist Church (Plymouth, MN)In a way, one could call Satan’s rebellion against God the original sin for Satan was the one who tempted the first humans, Adam and Eve, to rebel against God as Satan had done.Ever since, Satan and the angels who joined him in his rebellion have been waging spiritual war for the souls of men and women. The Bible says Satan “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5). He has one purpose—to keep the unsaved from being saved and the saved from being sanctified.Jesus put it this way: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).Satan and his demons, while powerful, are not all-knowing, all-present, and all-powerful like God. If not personally attacking the believer, Satan and his minions count on the sinful allures of the world and the sinful desires of our flesh to tempt the believer out of obedience to God.Last week in part 1 of Spiritual Warfare Requires Spiritual Armor, Matt Morrell, pastor of Fourth Baptist Church and School in Plymouth, MN and president of Central Seminary, explained the first three pieces of spiritual armor—the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet shod with preparation of gospel of peace—that the apostle Paul exhorted Christians to “put on” in his letter to the Ephesian church.This week in part 2, Matt will explain the final three pieces of armor—the shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God—and the “supply line” of the spiritual armor—prayer.We hope you will better understand the spiritual war taking place for your soul and the spiritual armor and weapons God has provided for you to overcome.--------------------------------------------Related Sermon Series:The Believer’s Unseen BattleThe Belt of TruthThe Breastplate of RighteousnessThe Gospel of PeaceThe Shield of FaithThe Helmet of SalvationThe Sword of the SpiritPower Through PrayerRadical Redemption from Demon PossessionSecrets of Spiritual WarfareRegister for The Essential Church Movie NightWe are excited to offer a viewing of this compelling 2-hour documentary for our listening audience on Sat. Sept 9 starting at 6:30 PM at Fourth Baptist Church in Plymouth.  A live panel discussion will immediately follow the film.Learn More / RegisterPurchase DVD/Blu-Ray Combo

GUEST: MATT MORRELL, pastor, Fourth Baptist Church (Plymouth, MN)The Bible clearly teaches that Satan was created by God as the preeminent angel before Satan arrogantly desired to be like God (Isaiah 14), rebelling against God and persuading, as some interpreters believe, one third of the angels to join his rebellion.For this, God cast Satan out of his high position in heaven. Satan and his demons now engage in relentless warfare against God, leading non-believers into sin and away from being reconciled to God and tempting Christians to compromise their service to God.Satan is mentioned all over Scripture. 1 Peter 5 says: “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 John 5 says “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”In short, there is a great spiritual war taking place for the souls of men. This is why the apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 6, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”So how can Christians defend themselves in this war? How is the war manifested—is everything difficult that happens to us because of Satan? And what is the “spiritual armor” that Paul describes that Christians are to “take up”—the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit?Matt Morrell, pastor of Fourth Baptist Church in Plymouth, MN and president of Central Seminary and the radio station it operates in Minneapolis (WCTS AM1030), as well as Fourth Baptist Christian School, joins us to discuss his 10-part preaching series this summer on Spiritual Warfare from Ephesians 6:10-20.We hope you benefit from understanding how the spiritual armor God provides for the Christian is fully effective to “stand firm” and “resist” the wicked one.-----------------------------RELATED SERMON SERIES:The Believer’s Unseen BattleThe Belt of TruthThe Breastplate of RighteousnessThe Gospel of PeaceThe Shield of FaithThe Helmet of SalvationThe Sword of the SpiritPower Through PrayerRadical Redemption from Demon PossessionSecrets of Spiritual WarfareRELATED VIDEO:Tucker Carlson Is Changing…

GUEST: JAMES SPENCER, President, D.L. Moody Center You’ve no doubt heard about “artificial intelligence” also known as “AI”. Simply put, artificial intelligence is when a computer program, designed by humans, collect vast amounts of data on a given subject, then sort through and learn trends from that data far faster than any human mind, and then make recommendations or even take action based on analysis of the data.You likely are already using AI even if you don’t know it. For example, AI programs are tracking the websites you visit, the products you research, the content you search for online. Once the AI program collects this date about you and compares it with the patterns of others, product ads or content recommendations start appearing on the Internet pages you visit because AI has concluded that you want or need something and so it takes action to meet that want or need. This is why when you do a search for new car tires, all of a sudden ads for tires start appearing on every website you visit.If you were to get cancer, AI can analyze everyone in the world who has the same cancer, narrow the field to those of similar biological makeup, and then recommend treatments that were successful in others similar to you. No doctor could process all the health data on millions of people and offer such a data-based recommendation.AI is powerful because of its ability to collect, process, and learn from vast amounts of data and then provide recommendations or solutions it deems best.But “best” according to whom? What happens when government or the CIA uses AI to identify those who oppose the people and policies of those in power and then takes away your ability to buy, sell, speak, or travel? What happens when the military uses AI to conduct war, allowing computer programs to make decisions? These and countless other scenarios have the potential for leading the world right into authoritarian rule…right where Scripture states it will under the Antichrist.And finally, AI is already impacting the church. From using language AI programs like ChatGPT to generate newsletters, worship service format, and even create the sermon, it doesn’t take much imagination to see how data-driven computer programs will drive the church rather than Spirit-filled qualified men.James Spencer, president of the DL Moody Center, joins us on The Christian Worldview to discuss How Artificial Intelligence is Changing the World…and the Church.---------------------------------James Spencer has written a free guide for the Moody Center titled, “Twenty Questions: Christian Resistance, Technology, and Artificial Intelligence.”New Featured Resource: The Essential Church movie now on DVD/Blu-ray for a donation of any amount to TCW.

GUEST: TRAVIS ALLEN, pastor, Grace Church (Greeley, CO)The church is the body of true believers across the world that Christ redeemed for eternity through the shedding of His own blood in order to represent and proclaim the excellencies of Christ to a rebellious world.The church and its message of salvation through faith in Christ is the only hope for sinners. This is why the church is essential.Referring to Himself, Christ told the apostle Peter, “upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matthew 16:18).Christ promises to build His church, to grow His body of believers, and that the powers of death and darkness (i.e. Satan) will not overpower it.The Bible says that Satan is the god of this world and he is active in deceiving nations, governing authorities, and peoples. The church is the primary obstacle for his deceit, which is why he incites governing authorities to persecute the church and introduces “tares” (false Christians, see Matthew 13) to lead it to compromise.This weekend on The Christian Worldview, pastor Travis Allen of Grace Church in Greeley, CO joins us to discuss the just-released documentary film, The Essential Church, which chronicles how three churches—Grace Community Church in Los Angeles and two churches in Canada—defied government mandates during the Covid pandemic, continuing to gather to worship because they understood that government does not have the God-given authority to dictate how a church worships.We will play audio clips from the film and then discuss some current events, including how a young believer was arrested in Wisconsin without warning for preaching on the street at a “drag queen” event, while other Evangelical churches are dressing themselves up in Star Wars, Barbie, or Toy Story themes for “At the Movies” sermon series.--------------------------------The Essential Church movie:When COVID-19 restrictions force Grace Community Church to close its doors indefinitely, the Los Angeles-based congregation takes a courageous stance and sues the government. This feature-length documentary explores the Church’s unwavering determination to exercise its constitutional rights and ecclesiastical authority to serve its assembly through faith and fellowship amidst government restrictions and global lockdowns.Find a theater near you

GUEST: DARRELL HARRISON, co-host, Just Thinking Podcast“Environmentalism” then “global warming” now “climate change” (or “creation care” to some Christians) is one of the most useful means to achieve humanistic ends of global control.Energy is a fundamental aspect of life. Our bodies need energy to survive and therefore we eat animals and plants, which require energy to farm and harvest, which require energy to transport to markets, which require energy to build and cool and heat, which need power plants to produce, which need people to operate, who need energy to live, and well, you get the circular cycle.So if “the science” can be “settled” that humans’ use of fossil fuels (like coal, natural gas, and petroleum) are harming the earth and threatening our very existence, then the powers that be “must act” to save us from self-annihilation through restricting the energy we use to live, eat, travel, work, and more.This is why dire predictions of climate catastrophe are constantly peddled—to create fear so that people will accept the control governments seek to impose on their lives.Climate change is about control, power, money, and global governance (otherwise the scaremongers wouldn’t be hypocritically living in large, energy-sapping estates and flying here and there on private jets).But there’s something even deeper—climate change is, at its core, a religion which rejects worship of the Creator and instead worships the creation and the creature (man).This is exactly what the Bible says about the God-rejecting: “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25).Ideologies like climate change that seek to mislead Christians to gain their support will invariably use language and concepts of Scripture to entice them to their side. Climate change plays into Christians’ desire to care for God’s creation, to have compassion on those ostensibly harmed by climate change (“to love our neighbors”), to “do good” in our world, and to not be outsiders by questioning “the experts”.This weekend on The Christian Worldview, Darrell Harrison, co-host of the Just Thinking podcast, “a long-form, expository podcast that boldly confronts cultural, social, political, and theological issues through an orthodox biblical worldview”, joins us to discuss How the “Empty Deception” of Climate Change Entices the Christian Mind.---------------------Related Podcast:  Darrell and his co-host, Virgil Walker, just did an episode on “A Biblical Theology of Climate Change” that reveals how climate change is a religion that Christians need to discern as unbiblical.Related Resource: Global Warming Skepticism for Busy People

GUEST: CAL THOMAS, Journalist and Author, A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on AmericaCal Thomas is a radio and television commentator and one of the most widely syndicated columnists in America. Cal is also a Christian who seeks “to serve God first and then my country.”Now 80 years old and still going strong (as you will hear in his voice), Cal has seen and commented on an era of major transforation in our country. In his new book, A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America, Cal starts in 1984 and goes year-by-year to 2022, providing insight on the major events that have shaped our nation.The book provides an interesting and helpful arc of perspective on the worldview transformation that has taken place in our country, proving what the Bible says: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).Cal Thomas is our guest this weekend on The Christian Worldview, and much like listening to past interviews with my parents, who are slightly older than Cal, you will hear a similar type of insight and conviction that is anchored in the truths of Scripture.ANNOUNCEMENTS:The Essential Church in Theaters Starting July 28!The Essential Church is a feature-length documentary that explores the struggle between Church and government throughout history. This story takes us to multiple countries and uncovers those who have sacrificed their lives for what they believe in.Journey with us as we rediscover why the Church is essential and how we prove that our stand remains true from a scientific, legal, and most importantly Biblical perspective.... Find a Theater Near You!Salem Media Announces the Passing of its Co-founder Stuart Epperson Sr.Salem Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SALM) with a heavy heart, announced today the passing of co-founder, Stuart Epperson. He was 86. Stuart, along with his brother-in-law, Edward Atsinger, founded Salem Communications (now Salem Media Group) in 1986 and expanded Salem’s influence with Christian and politically conservative News Talk formatted radio stations and media assets nationwide… read more

This is a re-broadcast of a previously aired program on 05/12/2022.GUEST: Dr. GEORGE BARNA, Cultural Research Center, AZ Christian UniversityA true follower of Christ has the indwelling Holy Spirit to discern that the professed Bible-believing church in America has drifted. The lights go down and the “worship arts team” spends 30 minutes or more performing the audience into an emotional, quasi-spiritual experience. Then the pastor takes the “stage” and roams, gesticulates, and emotes his (or her) way through a 25-minute “sermon” of life-coaching with personal stories, humor, props and a few quasi-Christian principles mixed in.So it makes perfect sense why well-known researcher Dr. George Barna finds that…Only two percent of professed Christian parents have a Biblical worldviewJust one-half of self-described Christian parents accept the Bible as the true and trustworthy words of GodOne out of every four do not bother to praise, worship, or thank God during a typical week.This is a death spiral for the church, families, and even our country. And yet, Christ continues to build His church—not necessarily the visible brick-and-mortar church but the invisible remnant of true believers.Dr. George Barna, director of research and cofounder of the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, joins us this weekend on The Christian Worldview to discuss his most recent studies along with an exhortation for each of us to examine ourselves, repent, and revive.

GUESTS: ABRAHAM HAMILTON III, General Counsel and Public Policy Analyst, American Family Association and SOEREN KERN, Writing Fellow for Middle East ForumThis week on The Christian Worldview, we are going to examine some current events taking place in America and Europe. First, Abraham Hamilton, General Counsel and Public Policy Analyst for American Family Association, will join us to analyze three decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court:Affirming the right of a Colorado website designer to not be compelled to design a site for a homosexual weddingOverturning affirmative action at colleges and universities where a prospective student’s minority racial profile gained them merit for entryOverturning President Biden’s executive order to “forgive” hundreds of millions of dollars of federal student debt.Then, Soeren Kern, Christian geopolitical analyst and Writing Fellow for Middle East Forum, will join us from Europe to discuss how the widespread, destructive riots and rage by Muslims in France after a 17-year-old Muslim was killed by police is indicative of an intractable immigration and assimilation problem that bodes darkly for the future of Western Europe.

GUEST: SCOTT ANIOL, Professor of Pastoral Theology, Grace Bible Theological SeminaryAs we celebrate Independence Day, which commemorates the signing in 1776 of the Declaration of Independence, the founding document of our nation, when the original 13 colonies declared their autonomy from British colonial rule.John Adams was a signer of the Declaration, one of the framers of the U.S. Constitution (1789), and the second President of the United States. Likely not a born-again Christian but rather a deist (a believer in a supreme being who is uninvolved in the affairs of mankind), Adams wrote the following about the link between morality and civil society:“…should the people of America once become capable of that deep simulation [pretending] towards one another…which assumes the language of justice and moderation while it is practicing iniquity and extravagance…while it is rioting in rapine [violent seizure of property] and insolence [rude behavior], this country will be the most miserable habitation in the world; because we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”We are seeing John Adams’ warning prove true in America today. We are at a low point in our nation when laws are passed granting the “freedom” to kill a child anytime during the nine months of pregnancy, when the “degrading passions” of homosexuality are normalized and codified as “marriage”, when adults parade openly and lewdly down the streets in front of children, and when children are led into the sin of cross-dressing and physical mutilation in the name of “gender affirming care”.Wicked depravity is now tolerated and affirmed in our nation and the predictable results are division, confusion, chaos, violence, harm, and hatred.So what are Christians to do, who like Lot living in Sodom “felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds” (2 Peter 2:8)?Most Christians would say that our nation desperately needs to reclaim our Biblical foundations and establish laws and policies based on the truths of Christianity. But how would that take place? Is that Scripture’s call for Christians and the church to work to “Christianize” government?This weekend on The Christian Worldview, Scott Aniol, editor-in-chief of G3 Ministries and professor of pastoral theology at Grace Bible Theological Seminary, joins us to discuss “Christian Nationalism”, a term that means different things to different people.To some Christians, it means electing representatives who advocate for biblical principles in government. Other believers see it as a biblical mandate to work toward Christian rule over government and all institutions in society. While non-believers view it as religious extremists trying to institute a theocracy and oppress non-believers.Join us for a discussion on Christian Nationalism and what Bible says about Christians and government.-----------------------RELATED ARTICLES:The Mixed Blessings of a Christian NationChristian Faithfulness: The Biblical Alternative to Christian NationalismWhat if We Win? A Brief Response to Doug Wilson