Category Archives: Crosstalk

Foundational Truths

Date: January 16, 2024 Host: Jim Schneider ​Guest:  Israel Wayne MP3 | Order

It’s not unusual to hear about entire homes that have collapsed due to an insufficient foundation.  So here’s a question: As it applies to your life, how strong is your spiritual foundation?  What about the spiritual foundation of your family?  Sadly, there have been tragedies due to a lack of a sure foundation even in Christian homes.  

Joining Jim to discuss a resource that can help you develop a strong foundation was Israel Wayne.  Israel and his wife Brook are homeschooling parents to eleven children. He is also an author and conference speaker who has a passion for defending the Christian faith and promoting a biblical worldview. He’s the author of several books including: Education: Does God Have an Opinion?; Pitchin’ A Fit! Overcoming Angry and Stressed-Out Parenting; Raising Them Up – Parenting for Christians, and other titles as well. Since 1995, Israel has traveled the nation speaking on family, homeschooling, revival, discipleship, and cultural issues. He’s been a keynote speaker at numerous conferences. Israel also serves as the Director of Family Renewal.  He appeared on Crosstalk to discuss his latest book, Foundational Truths: A Modern Catechism Answering the Essential Questions of Christianity.

Conversation began with Israel describing the foundation of the majority of Christian homes today.  He noted how he had the chance to interview Dr. George Barna, the leading researcher on all things related to the church in the U.S.  Barna’s latest research shows that only 1% of people under the age of 29 in the U.S. have a basic, foundational, biblical worldview.  This shows that Christian families and churches have not been effective when it comes to passing on the Christian faith and its values to the next generation.

So why all the biblical illiteracy when copies of the Bible are plentiful and we’re inundated with Christian literature, Christian broadcasting, podcasts, etc?  Israel believes it’s because parents have not taken their biblical mandate to disciple their children seriously.  They’ve left it up to the church to do that for them and that hasn’t worked.  In addition, churches have increasingly moved toward an entertainment focus in attempting to reach children rather than preparing them through sound biblical doctrine or theology.

So listen as Israel explains why his book is needed for such a time as this. He defined the word, “Catechism” and its relationship to Scripture, he explained why a catechism can help people when they’re confronted with questions they can’t answer, he noted the difference between his catechism and other historic catechisms, there’s the life application aspect of this book, and so much more to take in.

More InformationSpecial Offer: Foundational Truths: A Modern Catechism Answering the Essential Questions of Christianity.  It’s being featured this month as one of our books of the month.  This book was newly released at the regular retail price of $24.99.  However, through January 31st, our bookstore is offering this book at 40% off for just $14.99 plus any applicable tax and or shipping.  It’s available 24/7 at vcy.com or call 1-888-722-4829.

Christian Persecution Abounds

Date: January 15, 2024 Host: Jim Schneider ​Guest:  Todd Nettleton MP3 | Order

From Stephen to the Apostle Paul to a man named Jason who assisted Paul, for 2,000 years, followers of Jesus Christ have been persecuted.  Paul told Timothy that those who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

What we must realize is that persecution isn’t simply something that happened during biblical times.  Right now, in 2024, there are those who are suffering on account of their faith, but often we become so caught up in the activities and concerns of our everyday life that we lose sight of this reality. 

Returning to Crosstalk to once again open our eyes to the reality of Christian persecution, Jim welcomed Todd Nettleton.  Todd is the Chief of Media Relations and Message Integration for the Voice of the Martyrs-USA and is also the host of The Voice of the Martyrs Radio. He serves as a voice for persecuted Christians, inspiring Christians with the faithfulness of Christ’s followers in over 70 nations where they face persecution for being a follower of Jesus Christ.  Todd is author of Forbidden: 40 Days on the Frontlines with Persecuted Christians.

Todd presented much information during this update dealing with numerous nations. Particularly notable are those that for some reason failed to make the State Department’s list of nations of particular concern.  Review this program and you’ll hear the following:

The nation of India has been reclassified to “restricted nation” status.

The attacks against Christians in Nigeria.

The Taliban and their persecution of Christians as they rule Afghanistan.  

Todd communicated that North Korea is probably the most closed nation on earth where Christians are singled out for the greatest persecution.

Why Chinese pastors are being accused of crimes unrelated to religion. 

Should we be concerned about Europe?

Listeners were given an opportunity to air their questions/concerns as well.

More Information

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News Roundup & Comment

Date: January 12, 2024 Host: Jim Schneider MP3 | Order

From war in the Middle East to Hunter Biden, Crosstalk covers it all. Here’s a sample of what Jim presented this week from the news desk:

—Tomorrow, in Washington, D.C., Hamas supporters are planning a big jihad jamboree at the National Mall called, “The March on Washington for Gaza.” It’s being sponsored by every jihadi partner of the Muslim Brotherhood in America.

—325 pro-Palestinian protestors were arrested after blocking 3 bridges and a tunnel in New York City on Monday, blocking lanes bound for New Jersey on the Holland Tunnel along with blocking traffic on the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges.

—Wednesday was the first day of a new session of the Colorado State House and immediately, pro-Hamas demonstrators set the tone by disrupting the proceedings as Colorado House Speaker Julie McCluskie did nothing.

—Over the weekend, pro-Palestinian demonstrators defaced the Los Angeles National Cemetery.

—The Justice Department has effectively issued a stand-down order to federal law enforcement and U.S. attorneys to stop them from investigating incitement, violence and vandalism committed by Hamas supporters who hold U.S. visas, according to a complaint filed with the Justice Department.

—A member of Congress investigating the January 6th, 2021, protests at the Capitol estimates that the FBI had 200 undercover assets both inside and outside the building.

—Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, suggested that law enforcement will soon target those who merely stood outside the Capitol on January 6th.

—The United States and Britain carried out a series of air strikes on military locations belonging to Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen earlier today.

—President Biden said he authorized the strikes in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea, including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history.

—The Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi vowed in a televised speech that any U.S. attack on Yemen’s Houthis would not go without a response.

—U.S. officials said there’s an escalating risk that Lebanese Hezbollah militants will strike Americans in the Middle East, but more concerning is that they could hit inside the United States.

—Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin went missing for 4 days this month, apparently for hospitalization, and most of Washington, including President Biden, had no idea who was running the Pentagon. In addition, his deputy who’s required to step in was at a beach in Puerto Rico where she was on vacation.

—Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said he has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population.

—The Israel Defense Forces admitted that damage was caused to a sensitive air traffic control base in northern Israel following a Hezbollah missile attack a day earlier which the terror group said was a response to the alleged Israeli killing of senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri in Lebanon last week.

—Yesterday, Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to federal tax charges brought by Special Counsel David Weiss. Biden entered the plea during his arraignment at a Los Angeles courthouse on 9 felony and misdemeanor tax charges that Weiss filed in December.

Jim presented other stories looking at the Russia/Ukraine war, President Trump, China and more!

The Border:  Trafficking, Terrorism and Trauma

Date: January 11, 2024 Host: Jim Schneider ​Guest:  Mark Krikorian MP3 | Order

Last week, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson led the largest congressional delegation ever to the border.  It consisted of 64 House Republicans representing 26 states and one U.S. territory.  He said that there’s no order at the border. It’s completely open and what was seen was so alarming, it would break the hearts of every American and infuriate them as well.

Returning to Crosstalk with an update on this vital issue was Mark Krikorian.  Mark is a nationally recognized expert on immigration issues serving as the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies.  They are an independent, non-partisan research organization examining and critiquing the impact of immigration on the United States.  He’s testified numerous times before Congress and has published articles in many outlets.

How bad is the immigration problem?  According to Mark it’s really bad.  It terms of numbers, he indicated it’s at almost 300,000 illegals entering the U.S. per month.  This has occurred because both during the campaign and through almost 3 years of his policies, President Biden basically invited people who have no right to come here to cross the border and turn themselves in, at which point they’re let go.

Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas admitted that over 85% of those who show up at the border are let go.  Mark believes it’s almost certainly over 90%.  They’re here, they’re not going to leave on their own, and Mark feels this administration isn’t going to make sure that they do leave.  The result is historically unprecedented numbers of individuals crossing the border.  They’re not fleeing war, prosecution or climate change as the administration tries to say. Instead, they’re trekking through up to five different countries to arrive here because they know they can get away with it.

Mark explained that we need to have a combination of physical barriers along with legal and policy barriers.  This means that the people that do get through don’t succeed and don’t get away with it.  In other words, under bad policies, all the walls in the world don’t matter.  This is why he believes the root cause of this is President Biden and not some exterior force that’s happening to the U.S.  His administration is unwilling to enforce immigration law because it believes that such law is immoral.

Then there’s the issue of drug cartels and smugglers who rent out children because under President Biden’s policies, if someone has a child with them, while not 100% certain, it’s very likely that they’ll be let go.  

They’re also trafficking kids.  While there will always be some activity of this kind, certain immigration policies make this possible.  Biden’s policies are particularly problematic because there’s no DNA testing to make certain that if you bring a child with you it can be shown that you’re telling the truth.  This and other things under the Biden administration have facilitated what Mark described as, “large scale human trafficking, especially of children; sometimes sex trafficking, sometimes labor trafficking.”    

This is an overview of just the first quarter hour of information.  Mark presented much more, and listeners added their thoughts, on this edition of Crosstalk.

More Information

cis.org

Globalist Agenda:  Looking Back, Looking Forward

Date: January 10, 2024 Host: Jim Schneider ​Guest:  Gary Kah MP3 | Order

The globalist agenda never gives up.  It backs off for a while only to be repackaged in another wrapper.  However, its goals always remain the same because it strikes at national sovereignty, taking every opportunity to gain central power in its desire to dominate the lives and liberties of people around the world.

To prove this point via the latest news on this subject, Jim welcomed back Gary Kah.  Gary is founder and director of Hope for the World.  Gary is Editor of Hope for the World Update.  He’s an author and former Europe & Middle East Trade Specialist for the Indiana State Government.

Gary began with comments concerning Israel’s war with Hamas.  He believes that the timing of this war is not coincidental and that it’s intended to set the stage, through fear and panic, for a lunge into a more globalist system. 

This war has a lot of “moving pieces” and Gary shared what they’re up to as he noted that 10 top Iranian generals took up positions in Syria, so Iran is basically running things there.  Also, unlike Hamas, Hezbollah has over 120,000 precision guided rockets and missiles to launch at Israel.  So right now all the weapons are coming from Iran, through Syria, and into southern Lebanon and if Hezbollah ramps up their efforts, Israel is going to have to respond and that might mean going after Syria.

Complicating matters are the Russian advisers that Gary indicated have been there all along.  This means that if Russia and Iran become part of the war, while simultaneously you have the Russia/Ukraine war taking place, this could grow into something much larger than a regional conflict.

Another major point of conversation concerned COP28 that was held in Dubai in November/December.  The name comes from the fact that it was the 28th meeting of the “Conference of the Parties.”  This dealt with the environment which is part of the larger one-world agenda.

Gary explained that many people aren’t aware of the fact that the UK played a major role in this and that King Charles is seen as the de-facto leader of the global environmental movement.

The official COP28 global mandates were to go into effect on December 13, the day after the Dubai meeting ended.  That launched a 7 year plan for full implementation by the the end of 2030 in line with the U.N.’s 2030 agenda.   

Gary shared much more including details on the U.N. Summit of the Future, slated for September, that seeks to put forth a stronger international response to global shocks.  They want emergency powers to become a governing global body and any member nation of the World Health Organization would be obliged to go along with whatever the U.N. does.

Stay on the cutting edge as Gary brings you the latest news concerning U.N. world health, environment and world government activities.    

More Information

garykah.org

2024 Presidential Election:  Voting Begins

Date: January 9, 2024 Host: Jim Schneider MP3 | Order

This Monday, January 15, the Republican caucus gets under way in Iowa.  After that comes the New Hampshire primary on January 23rd.  That is followed by the Democratic primary in South Carolina on February 3rd.  Nevada is next with their caucus and then Michigan votes on February 27th.  Super Tuesday is March 5th, the Republican convention is in July, the Democrats have their convention in August and it all wraps up on election day which is November 5th.

Jim indicated he believes that as Christians and citizens of the United States, we have been granted a stewardship.  We have what many people in other nations do not have.  It’s the right to vote and we can either squander it or use this stewardship for the glory of God.  Also, with that vote we can either uphold biblical truth or vote to work against it.  So how will you use the stewardship of your vote?

As Samuel Adams once said:

“Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual—or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.”

Also, consider this from Proverbs 21:1:

“The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”

It’s with these thoughts in mind that Jim opened the phone lines to allow listeners from across the nation to express who they’re voting for to be president and why.

COVID Shots & Vaccination Safety Concerns

Date: January 8, 2024 Host: Jim Schneider ​Guest:  Barbara Loe Fisher MP3 | Order

From the earliest months of the release of the COVID vaccine, promises were made that if you were vaccinated, you would not get COVID.  We all know now that this isn’t true.  In spite of that, various mandates came forth along with a lot of “arm-twisting” to get people vaccinated.

The result is growing skepticism toward government agencies and now, 3 years since the COVID vaccine was released, there are more concerns including the lack of timely transparency on the part of pharmaceutical companies.

To bring listeners an update on these issues, Crosstalk welcomed Barbara Loe Fisher.  Barbara is president of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), a non-profit charity she co-founded with parents of DPT vaccine injured children in 1982.  NVIC is a national, grassroots movement and public information campaign to institute vaccine safety reforms and informed consent protections in the public health system.  She has researched, analyzed and publicly articulated the major issues involving the science, policy, law, ethics and politics of vaccination to become one of the world’s leading non-medical, consumer advocacy experts on the subject.

Barbara began by noting there’s a lot of push-back on the mRNA vaccines.  She described how last month, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Pfizer over its mRNA COVID vaccine, saying that the company misled the public by claiming that it had an efficacy rate of 95% against the SARS CoV-2 virus.  Barbara and her organization knew that the FDA had only required Pfizer and Moderna to show that there was a reduction in symptoms of COVID, not actual prevention.  Instead the public was told that if we got the vaccine, we wouldn’t get COVID nor would we transmit the infection to others.  

So the Texas lawsuit is seeking 10 million in fines against Pfizer for willfully and unlawfully committing false, unsupported and misleading acts, practices and claims and misrepresenting the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Then there’s the issue of the censoring of public discussion about the vaccine that’s also a part of this lawsuit.  All along there’s been concerns regarding the response policies by government (lock-downs, social distancing, masks, etc.).  People and organizations that questioned the vaccines and these policies were basically muzzled.  In fact, when the NVIC attempted to inform the public concerning the truth behind the mRNA vaccines, they were taken off of all four major social media platforms in 2021.

Barbara conducted a 3 month investigation as to who was involved in this effort.  She found that the agencies involved run much deeper than the Department of Health and Human Services.  Also involved in the censorship campaign were the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the CIA, the FBI, as well as the governments of other nations.

Barbara shared much more on this issue, while callers had their opportunity to respond as well.    

More Information

nvic.org

nvicadvocacy.org

News Roundup & Comment

Date: January 5, 2024 Host: Jim Schneider MP3 | Order

Coast to coast and around the globe, Jim wrapped up the week by presenting key news stories, some of which are listed below:

–Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine banned transgender transition surgeries on minors today with an executive order.  The move comes just a week after he vetoed a bill that would have banned the practice and required single-sex sports teams to be established at schools, colleges and universities throughout the state.   

–More information is coming out concerning the school shooting that took place in Perry, Iowa, yesterday morning.  The alleged shooter had posted on Tik Tok.  Those that were able to obtain screen shots of his online presence shows he had a pride flag in his Tik Tok bio and has allegedly participated in a transgender Reddit group.

–Hamas fired at least 27 rockets at the south and center of Israel as the nation attempted to celebrate the start of the New Year.

–Israeli Defense Forces announced Monday the killing of Hamas Commander Adil Mismah who took part in the October 7th invasion of Israel. 

–Saleh L. Arouri, Deputy Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, was killed in an explosion in Southern Beirut on Tuesday.

–Israel began withdrawing thousands of troops from Gaza as prolonged fighting is expected to continue. 

–Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas’s Political Bureau, said that they’re open to the idea of a national unity government to run the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

–ISIS is claiming responsibility for the suicide bomb attacks in Iran this week.  

–More than a dozen nations have issued an ultimatum to Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis after the militant group fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles in the Southern Red Sea.

–The TSA is monitoring a potential terror threat against the U.S. from an affiliate of Al Qaeda known as the AQAP.

–Over 100 anti-Israeli protesters shut down the California Assembly on Wednesday during its first legislative session of the year.

–Hundreds of godless Marxists and pro-Palestinian protesters took over historic Boston Common on New Year’s Eve chanting, “Biden, Biden, pick a side.  Cease-fire or genocide.”

–Many Texans living at the border say they are fed up and want Congress to shut down the border.

–The Justice Department is suing Texas over Governor Abbott’s new law that authorizes state authorities to arrest and deport illegal immigrants, arguing the state is overstepping its bounds by implementing immigration policy which only the federal government has the authority to do. 

–Republicans are taking the first steps to formally impeach Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas for his handling of the southern border crisis.

Critical Court Cases on the Horizon

Date: January 4, 2024 Host: Jim Schneider ​Guest: Mat Staver MP3 | Order

There are some very significant matters facing appellate courts as well as the U.S. Supreme Court for 2024.  With a review of the past year as well as what’s ahead, Crosstalk welcomed Mat Staver.  He is founder & chairman of Liberty Counsel.  Mat is a constitutional attorney with three landmark cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.  He’s an author and the host of the radio broadcasts Faith & Freedom and Freedom’s Call.

Discussion began with Mat commenting on the case of Ermold v. Davis.  In this case, Liberty Counsel will be filing a motion to set aside the jury verdict against former Rowan County Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis who was sued by two same-sex couples for not issuing them marriage licenses.  Mat believes there was insufficient evidence to award damages to the plaintiffs.  If the motion is denied, Liberty Counsel will also file an appeal which would take it to the Court of Appeals.  Mat believes this case could rise to the level of overturning Obergefell.

Other critical cases Mat referred to involved one where the court shut down the affirmative action for college admissions.  This overruled a precedent that goes back to 1978.  There was also the overruling of a 1977 case (Trans World Airlines) regarding religious discrimination in the workplace.  There was the overturning of both the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and also the 1971 Lemon v. Kurtzman decision, the latter of which did immense damage to the First Amendment.  

Mat also sees action at the appellate and Supreme Court levels with cases that began in 2023.  One is in regard to the government’s coercion of private, social media entities, requiring/forcing them to censor the private speech of individuals.  This involves speech concerning COVID-19 shots, the lock-downs, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the elections, etc.

Another big case from 2023 that will spill over into 2024 is the abortion pill decision from the Court of Appeals. 

The cases mentioned here are just some of what was discussed in the first quarter hour.  There’s much more for you to consider when you review this important edition of Crosstalk.

More Information

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Answers in Genesis:  30 Years-Upholding Biblical Authority!

Date: January 3, 2024 Host: Jim Schneider ​Guest: Ken Ham MP3 | Order

Today there are numerous attacks taking place upon the authority of God’s Word.  The mantra in society today is often what we see communicated by Satan in Genesis 3:1–”Yea hath God said?”  The result is that many are turning their backs on God’s Word and the result is that great efforts have been underway to remove God from the halls of government and academia.  However, even more alarming is the increasing number of churches and other Christian institutions that are doing much the same thing.  This merely echoes the words of the serpent from Genesis 3.

Joining Jim to bring his perspective on this battle as he looked back at 30 years of ministry, Crosstalk welcomed Ken Ham.  Ken is the founder and CEO of Answers in Genesis-US, and the highly acclaimed Creation Museum, and the world-renowned Ark Encounter.  Ken is a biblical apologist and is one of the most in-demand Christian speakers in North America.  He became internationally known for his 2014 creation/evolution debate with Bill Nye “the Science Guy.”  He’s the host of the daily radio broadcast, Answers…with Ken Ham heard on stations across the country.  He is the author of more than 30 books including Creation to Babel: A Commentary for Families, Divided Nation, Six Days, Will They Stand? and numerous others.

Ken moved to the U.S. in 1987 and he compared the spiritual atmosphere then in the U.S. with what it’s like now.  He described America now as “…very, very secularized and anti-Christian.”  The result, as Ken noted, is that Christians have become the enemy in American culture.  So if you stand for God’s Word in regard to marriage, pro-life or male/female genders, you’ll be accused of hate speech, intolerance, misogyny and homophobia.  This has even impacted the church as many have gone “woke” and become soft on such issues.

Ken described how this goes hand-in-hand with the generational loss in the church.  Less than 9% of Generation “Z”  attends church whereas if you go back to the 1700’s, 75-80% of the population attended church in America. 

So it was December of 1993 that Answers in Genesis became legally incorporated due to the concern from Ken and his co-founders over the spiritual erosion that was taking place and the attack upon the authority of God’s Word.

Listen and discover how Answers in Genesis, the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum are uniquely positioned to uphold the authority of God’s Word as Ken describes how the life-size Noah’s Ark was built, Bill Nye’s reaction when going through the ark, the new executive CEO of Answers in Genesis, the burden Ken has regarding the state of today’s church, Ken’s rebuttal of statements from Pastor Andy Stanley and much more.

More Information

arkencounter.com

creationmuseum.org

answersingenesis.org