Watch Culture Warrior today for free to help Christians win the cultural war

>> Don Wildmon: If we lose this cultural war, we're going to have a hedonistic, humanistic society.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Discover the story of the culture warrior Don Wildmon and how he went head to head with Hollywood playboy, the homosexual agenda and the Disney empire. The movement Don started paved the way for Christians to boldly stand for truth and righteousness in a hostile culture. Watch Culture Warrior today for free. Visit culturewarrior movie.

Today's Issues offers a Christian response to the issues of the day

Welcome to Today's Issues, offering a Christian

>> Tim Wildmon: response to the issues of the day.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Huh?

>> Alex McFarland: Here's your host, Tim Wildmon, president of

>> Ed Vitagliano: the American Family Association.

>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, good morning, everybody, and welcome to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Today's Thursday, March 19, 2026. I'm Tim Wildmon, as the announcer just told you. And joining, me in studio is Ed Batagliano. Good morning, Brother Ed.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Good morning, Tim and Fred Jackson.

>> Tim Wildmon: Hi there, Tim and Krish Woodward. Good morning.

American Family Radio is gathering listener stories to play during Spring Share a Thon

So Dr. Alex McFarlane, long lost the Bible Answer Man.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Although there was a show, a radio show, I think, called the Bible Answer Man.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, it was Hank Hannegraaff, wasn't it?

>> Tim Wildmon: Yep.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Was that a radio show or something that's still around?

>> Fred Jackson: Not sure.

>> Tim Wildmon: We don't air it on afr, but

>> Ed Vitagliano: I don't, I don't think so.

>> Tim Wildmon: We've got our own Bible Answer Man.

>> Ed Vitagliano: We do Bible Answer Men. Brent. I mean, yeah, Brent.

>> Tim Wildmon: Brent Creeley, our producer.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And, you're going to throw an

>> Tim Wildmon: eschatology question over at Brent Freely, our producer.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I can just, just to see him panic.

>> Tim Wildmon: I think we all panic when.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Thrown an eschatology question.

>> Ed Vitagliano: That's right.

>> Tim Wildmon: For the most part, it doesn't matter

>> Ed Vitagliano: whether you have an answer.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: If you do answer, you're going to make somebody mad.

>> Tim Wildmon: All right, so Dr. Alex McFarland will be on with us. He's co host of Exploring the Word. That's why I called him Answer Man. Bible Answer Man. Coming up at the bottom of the hour, Alex will be with us as he is ever so often. You got the same, old announcement. I haven't given last.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I think I didn't give it last, yesterday.

>> Tim Wildmon: Did you not?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, well, we, you remember yesterday on the show, we started off with about a five or seven minute, bender or whatever you want to call it. We were just joking around for the first. So I didn't want to.

>> Tim Wildmon: Which we don't like to do much.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, we do. We don't. And so, I do have a commercial, folks, for you.

>> Tim Wildmon: We're not selling anything.

>> Ed Vitagliano: We're not selling Anything. Hey, we're selling you. We are selling your testimonies. No, we're not selling anything. We have Spring Share a thon coming up, April 7, 8 and 9. And what we're doing in advance of that is gathering listener stories to play during our Spring Share a Thon. We'd like to hear from you. And here's the question we're asking. Has the Lord used American Family Radio in your life to bless you, bless others through the programming, that you know of? And we would like, if you, if you are wanting to do this, share your story, and here's how you do that. you call this number with your listener testimony. 877-876-8893. Call that number. I'll give it again in a second. Call and share for a minute or two. Keep it short and sweet and you might hear yourself during Share a Thon. It could be a blessing and encouragement to others, as I always mention it is a blessing and encouragement to those of us who work at American Family Radio to hear how God is using this ministry to bless people. So the number to call, you won't get a person answering. It'll be like the old fashioned, answering machines. You'll be given some prompts and some instructions and then I guess you hear the beep and then you share. The number to call again is 877-887-6-8893. And we pick some of those out to play during Sheriathon and on programming like, today's issues.

>> Tim Wildmon: What is it?

>> Ed Vitagliano: 877-What? 877-876-8893.

>> Tim Wildmon: I'm going to call it and see what happens here.

>> Ed Vitagliano: You're going to call it and see what happens here.

>> Chris Woodward: I want my money and I want it now.

>> Tim Wildmon: We'll see if it's a, what kind of prompt it gives you here.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay, you want me to continue or are you going to put it on your, on the speaker?

>> Tim Wildmon: Here we go. In your life. We'll be sharing many of these stories on the air during our upcoming sheriffon. Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Please include your first name and the city and state you're calling from.

>> Tim Wildmon: All right. At the tone, please take a moment to share your story.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Thank you. Okay, there it is.

Tim Wildman: We hear stories about how people get saved listening to AMR

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, hold on. Hello, this is Tim Wildmon, American Family Radios. Bless me with a job,

>> Ed Vitagliano: a platform, a platform for your sometimes wacky ideas.

>> Tim Wildmon: Many, many wonderful co workers. not all, but many wonderful co workers. Thank you. So I left my testimony. Is that good enough?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, no, that's good. So somebody Somebody's gonna. Somebody's gonna get that. Did you hang up? okay. Somebody's gonna. Someone in the ministry is going to get that and probably going to wonder, is that really him or is that AI?

>> Tim Wildmon: That was under a minute, though. I think they might use that.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: All right, so there you go. So what we use, we use those little short testimonies during our sheriff on, and they're always a blessing to hear.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Sometimes we. So sometimes we get. We hear stories about how people get saved listening to American Family Radio. And I can't tell you folks how much that charges our batteries.

>> Tim Wildmon: Amen.

>> Ed Vitagliano: If you know what I mean.

>> Tim Wildmon: Amen. All right, you're listening to today's issues. where's Ray? Ray quit. Ran Creely, our producer.

>> Ed Vitagliano: You.

>> Tim Wildmon: You talked to Ray? Where's Ray Pritchard been?

>> Ed Vitagliano: I don't know exactly where he is, but he's off preaching the Bible.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.

>> Ed Vitagliano: That's what he says. Well, that's why we say, ray, you off preaching? You're doing your little Bible preaching thing, right?

>> Tim Wildmon: One of those casino noises we're hearing in the background. No, I'm kidding.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Of seagulls.

>> Tim Wildmon: Where are you? Brother Ray is, ah, he's a great Bible teacher. Keep Believing Ministries. And he travels the country to go to conferences and he speaks on. On books of the Bible. I mean, this guy.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And spring and summer is busy for him because that's when a lot of, churches and stuff are having conferences.

>> Tim Wildmon: And also he and Marlene are moving back from Florida to Kansas City now that the winter's over.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, okay. But they're going to still have part of the year in Florida, right?

>> Tim Wildmon: They go back when it gets cold in Kansas City, starts getting cold. They don't even wait anymore.

>> Ed Vitagliano: What. What are they doing with their place now while they're gonna be in Kansas City? I'm just asking for a friend.

>> Tim Wildmon: I don't get into their personal lives. I said, what are they doing

>> Ed Vitagliano: with their place when they're moving back to Kansas City? Their Florida place? I was just, asking for a friend.

>> Tim Wildmon: They verbo it.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, okay.

>> Tim Wildmon: I'm not sure. No, I. I think they live on the grounds of a, ministry down there called Word of Life.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: So I don't know if they rent it out or.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Or what? I don't know.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I was just.

>> Tim Wildmon: I don't know what raised credit rating is. Could be in the tanks.

>> Chris Woodward: I have an idea.

>> Tim Wildmon: But, you know, there's certain personal things you don't ask, you don't.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And really, you shouldn't mention on air.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right. And we're not going to. We would, except for this little moment right here.

>> Chris Woodward: I have an idea.

>> Tim Wildmon: What?

>> Chris Woodward: We could check out a van and drive down there when Ray and his wife are not at the Florida, residence. and we could do a live show from there.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: From his place.

>> Chris Woodward: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Then when he comes on, hey, Krish

>> Tim Wildmon: thinks we're in spring break here.

>> Ed Vitagliano: We're all see this yesterday. Yeah, we got, we got rolling.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, we were trying to avoid talking about the news. It's not all happy, but. Go ahead, Krish, get us started.

Joe Kent resigned as director of the National Counterterrorism center over Iran controversy

>> Chris Woodward: All right, so Joe Kent, the guy that resigned, recently as director of the National Counterterrorism center, saying things like Iran pose no threat, he's now doing, the media circuit with people that take issue with Israel.

>> Tim Wildmon: Excuse me for interrupting. Just so people are clear, he worked for, the administration. He did up until two days ago, yes. Okay. What department did he work in?

>> Chris Woodward: He worked for the director. He worked for the National Counterterrorism center, as director. So he would have fallen under the Gabbard.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Tulsi Gabbard.

>> Tim Wildmon: So he resigned. It was kind of a shocker. Because why did he resign?

>> Chris Woodward: Well, he resigned. He said on X, I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation. And it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby. So people that want to bring him on their show or podcast, including Tucker Carlsen and other anti Israel types, they now want to, have a moment where they sit and talk with Joe Kent. And I have some audio of Joe if you want to play that.

>> Tim Wildmon: First of all, let me just say this. he did the right thing by resigning. I will give him credit for that. Because if you can't execute, if you have a, Well, if you have a difference of opinion, that substantial and you're in the position he's in, you don't need to be in that position because your job is to support whatever the president position is and even if it goes against your own personal opinion. But it's something like that is so conflicting to him. He did the right thing by resigning. I don't agree with what he said there, the substance of what he said, but I do agree with that he should have resigned. Fred, what do you know about this?

>> Fred Jackson: Oh, absolutely. And, what's coming out, ah, right now about Joe Kent, he went and did a podcast with Tucker Carlsen and we have talked about this before.

>> Tim Wildmon: Within a day of resignation.

>> Fred Jackson: Within a day of resignation. and from what I've read, they're two peas in a pod when it comes to the allegation that President Trump was drawn into this war in Iran by Israel. They believe that Israel has too much influence in Washington and President, Trump shouldn't be listening to them. That's kind of the basics of where they are. There's a story out there this morning that this is all part of, of a. At least we're becoming more aware that amongst people who would describe themselves as politically conservative, there is a growing problem of anti Semitism. So, that's where the story is now. The story that's out there this morning is that the FBI is now investigating Joe Kent. And the allegation there is that he's been leaking information even while he was

>> Ed Vitagliano: in even his position.

>> Fred Jackson: In his position. That's the allegation.

>> Tim Wildmon: That's a pretty serious allegation. It's almost falls into the category of treason. If that were to. If that were to be true. Yes, of course he's denying this. It also. Okay, this depends on which team you're on, so to speak. When you bring up something like this, you could go the direction of saying, well, he's being, he's being persecuted by the administration because he went public with his disagreement on the war, so they're using lawfare against him. that's what some people would say.

>> Ed Vitagliano: well, listen, there's so many undercurrents in all this. I personally don't think there's anything. I don't think it's anti Semitic to, Now I'm not in Tucker Carlsen's camp or anything like that. I don't think it's anti Semitic. No. Yeah, if you can imitate his voice like we had in Steve's segment yesterday, I don't think it's anti Semitic to say, Israel shouldn't have attacked Iran, and we shouldn't have gone to war beside them. I don't even think it's anti Semitic to, you know, to question about Israel's policies in, Gaza or those kind of things. I want to separate that out. There are legitimate political questions and foreign policy questions that members of an administration should be free to discuss. However, having said that, I do think there is an increasingly alarming move towards actual anti Semitism, which is anger and hatred of the Jewish people and the Jewish state, and the tendency because of that to ascribe sinister motives. This idea that Israel is tricking the United States into doing its bidding. I see on social media people saying we're the puppet of Israel. This is insanity. Tucker Carlsen and Candace Owen and some of these people. I don't know much about Joe Kent except when his name, you know, kind of bubbled up over the last week or so. But, and, but there is that in the political side of the conservative movement, even in maga, the Make. Make America Great Again movement, but also increasingly in the church where people. Now again, you can. I have been texted by people who listen to the show and they say, well, you guys are always talking about Israel, and the Muslims in Gaza, for example. What about the Christians, the Christian Palestinians? You never talk about them. Those are legitimate questions to raise. But there is a, an alarming increase in actual anti Semitism and all these things are overlapping. It's hard to figure out who's who.

Joe Kent resigned as director of the National Counterterrorism Center over Iran controversy

>> Tim Wildmon: All right, let me just say, here's what these people believe. And by these people, I'm talking about your Tucker Carlsen. Well, Joe, Kent, that fellow right there, he said it out loud.

>> Chris Woodward: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Did we have, do we have his. Do we quoting him or do we have an audience?

>> Chris Woodward: I have, I have both. I have his X post, which I read from a moment ago, and I have some audio of Joe Kent talking to Tucker.

>> Tim Wildmon: Carl. Okay, well, we'll just let, I'll just, I want to comment on this, this belief that they have. Okay. but, I do want to hear it from. So we're hearing Joe Kent, who, until two days ago was, ah, director

>> Chris Woodward: of the National Counterterrorism Center.

>> Tim Wildmon: Wow. It's a pretty big deal.

>> Chris Woodward: It is.

>> Tim Wildmon: Evidently very smart, very knowledgeable and very capable or he wouldn't be in, that position. But he's resigned and here's what he said to Tucker Carlsen. We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces. And we knew that if we didn't preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties. That's not, that's not Joe Kent.

>> Chris Woodward: Okay.

>> Tim Wildmon: I don't know what Joe sounds like, but that's, that's marker review there. So what happened right there was that. Is that Brent's yours or who,

>> Chris Woodward: who's the E on the team that puts the audio. I don't want to mention any names.

>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, okay. So anyway.

>> Ed Vitagliano: But it wasn't you, though, Krish.

>> Tim Wildmon: Somebody else. So forget that. Read it again. Read Joe Kent's quote Got you in his accent.

>> Chris Woodward: I'll post this, I don't know how he sounds. I'll post this on our, Facebook page as well. He says, after much reflection, I decided to resign from my position as director effective today. I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation. And it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby. It's been an honor serving under President Trump and DNI Gabbard and leading the professionals at nctc. May God bless America.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I think that's nonsense. I really do. I think that's nonsense to suggest that the President of the United States is being influenced, is a puppet of Israel and the, in the Israeli lobby in this country. And, and here's the thing, okay? That's my opinion.

>> Tim Wildmon: I share it.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Everybody else on, social media is allowed to have their opinion. So there are people saying, well, that's, maybe you're a puppet of the Israelis. Okay? The whole world. When I say anti Semitism, I'm saying there has been for thousands of years, okay, certainly a thousand years in Europe, a slanderous approach to the Jewish people, that they are always doing sinister things to undermine gentiles goyim. Okay? And it's a slander because you don't have to have proof. Why in the world would you think that the president of the most powerful country in the world has a hook in his mouth and is being led around by Benjamin Netanyahu? That makes no sense.

>> Tim Wildmon: Especially Trump.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Trump, he doesn't get led around by anybody.

>> Tim Wildmon: He marches to his. What is he all saying?

>> Ed Vitagliano: His own drum beat him.

>> Tim Wildmon: His own drum beat of his own drum. Yeah. So Trump, listen, the United States and Israel have been great friends since the inception of the state of Israel and has enjoyed bipartisan support. And I guess those people like Joe Kent and Tucker Carlsen would say, yeah, they've had great support because they bought off Republicans and Democrats. That's what they're probably going to tell you.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Without proof. They say that. Prove it.

>> Tim Wildmon: And they do have a powerful lobby in Washington D.C. and guess what? They're not the only country that has a powerful lobby in Washington D.C. to influence, or the only pressure group. Or the only pressure group. So I don't buy that. just like you're saying that they, these folks want us to buy the idea that Israel's, you know, wagging the dog.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, Tail wagging the dog.

>> Tim Wildmon: Tail wagging the dog.

Chris: I think Israel warned President Trump that Iran was close to nuclear weapons

>> Ed Vitagliano: Let me say, I Know, Krish, hang on just a second.

>> Tim Wildmon: And then Fred's joined the show today. He wants to talk over there.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I also want to say, I think the reason we went to war with Israel is that Israel said, no, we're going to war with Iran. We're going to war with Iran because we're tired of them trying to destroy us. We can't let them get nuclear weapons. Out of respect for you, President Trump, we're letting you know.

>> Tim Wildmon: That's right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And President Trump said, we share the same goals. We'll do it with you.

>> Tim Wildmon: I think that's what happened at that meeting behind closed doors three weeks ago, Fred, don't you think so? For those who don't remember, President, Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of Israel, went to Washington D.C. it was an unusual situation. Not unusual for the leader of Israel to go to Washington D.C. but he flew there to talk to President Trump in person, sort of quote, behind closed doors. And it was a three hour meeting or more. And then Benjamin Netanyahu left without answering questions. There wasn't a joint press conference or anything of that nature. Correct me if I'm wrong if I remember this. And so he went back to Israel. So I think that, I think, I'm just speculating now, but I think that was a meeting that you're talking about, Ed. Which led to President. Yeah. Who's showing President Trump maybe all this evidence or saying, listen, we're, we don't, we can't wait. And if you, you know, you're our best ally, United States, and, we want you to be aware of this situation and if you want to join us, fine. If you don't, I'm speaking like Benjamin, if you. We would greatly appreciate your support because they think this is in your interest, but we wanted you to know that were going in. Fred, what do you think? That's kind of the way that went down.

>> Fred Jackson: I believe that that's the way it went down. I think Israeli intelligence had come to the conclusion that Iran was at the brink of having a nuclear weapon and that they couldn't wait any longer. So the meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu unscheduled meeting goes to Washington, has that three hour meeting behind closed doors. I became suspicious because anytime like today, the Japanese leader is meeting with President Trump. There'll likely be a news conference afterwards. This time. There was no news conference this time. And Benjamin Netanyahu kind of left through the back door at the White House.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: So you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure this out, this was a planning meeting.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right?

>> Fred Jackson: And at that point, and President Trump has said this in various news conferences, we, we came to the point, we gave Iran all the time that we felt was necessary to come to us and say, hey, we're going to stop the development of this, of nuclear grade weapons and we're just going to stop this. We won't do it. We promise. And President, Trump just figured out, no, they're lying because the negotiators, I think the negotiators, the two negotiators for the United States came to the conclusion these guys are just leading us on.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, their counterparts from Iran told them. Now that's what they said. Yeah, there are people probably like Joe Kent, who don't believe our negotiators, but they have said publicly, we were told by the Iranians, we are, you know, this close to getting, and we can make 16 weapons, nuclear weapons, and you can't stop us.

>> Tim Wildmon: That's right. Listen too here. When you're the President of the United States and you can go down through the history of our country, sometimes there are no good options left for you. And yet the weight of the world is on your shoulders. we can read a list of when these kinds of events have taken place down through our country's history and they have happened where a president, is left with a monumental decision. Here's the decision that President Trump was left with after the meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu and, and the dilemma facing him. If it's a dilemma. That's the right word. Okay. We know that Iran is led by mullahs and religious nutjobs that hate Israel and hate America. And they get up, they get up every morning and that's what they say to the world. The little Satan, the great Satan. We know that that's their ideology. They've said that they want to kill us and destroy us. They're about to get a weapon that could potentially kill millions of people in one shot and change, change our, change life forever. with Israel or maybe NewSong York City, who knows? I'm just saying, how long do you wait when somebody says they want to, they want to do you harm, and they're about to get a weapon that, that could, that could do. It could be catastrophic. Okay, so, all right then. You're President Trump. You're going, well, Pete Hexith and others come to him and say, we have the ability to, we have the ability to stop them, sir. Yeah, really we do. I'm, just role playing here. And yes, sir, we can execute a military, operation that may take weeks, but we can stop them if that's what you want to do. And Israelis are going to do everything they can. So at that point the president says, no, I do want to stop them with our military. I know I'll get condemned by the left and many world leaders. Or he could have said, you know what, I'm willing to roll the dice. I'm willing to, Iran get a nuclear weapon and potentially use it or at least use it as leverage against us and Israel and anybody else they want to, maybe Saudi Arabia. I'm willing to, I'm willing to chance that. And, and if it happens and people say, why didn't you do anything to stop it? I'll just say, well, because I was afraid of the criticism.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Tim Wildmon: Of going to war with, of Iran. That's so. So when I say choice, you have no good choices in the. So to speak. Nobody likes war. We're all paying attention to what's going on, hoping it's over quick. Let's get this over with and done with. No boots on the ground. No. No more Americans killed. We've already lost some lives, some of our great servicemen. But on the other hand, you have to be, you have to look out for the dangers in the world of evil people who want to wipe you out. And if they get a weapon that can wipe you out, you better pay attention to what they're doing.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Listen, they could have said at any time they wanted, guess what we're doing? We're closing down the Strait of Hormu. And then anybody who tries to reopen it, we will nuke them once they got nuclear weapons.

Joe Kent says Iran posed no imminent threat to America

You can't allow a country like that.

>> Tim Wildmon: This guy says, Excuse me for interrupting this guy. Go ahead and take the break. This fella says, Joe Kent says, and listen, he has more access to more knowledge and then more information. He says they pros, Iran, posed no imminent threat to America. My question would be, what do you mean by imminent? Right, Use that, use that. Are you talking about they, they, they're not going to attack us in the next week or two or three. That word, that's very.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Such a slippery statement.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, he needed, Joe Kent needed to define that and what, Tucker Carlsen, who I used to be a big fan of, as we, most of our listeners have, when he was on Fox News, I don't know what's happening to him on Israel and the Jews and he said that Christians who believe in what are the Worst that Zionism, Christian Zionists are the worst people on earth. And he later backtracked and apologized for that. But, I don't know. I don't know what's going on with him. We'll be back momentarily.

>> Don Wildmon: It's my turn.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Here is your host for my turn, Don Wilemon.

Father uses different media to speak to us, including Peanuts

>> Don Wildmon: Isn't it strange how the father uses different media to speak to us? His most perfect revelation, of course, was his son. And he speaks to us still through his written word. But this is not the only method he uses. He uses other means, such as a good book, a sermon or a friend. He even uses the funny papers occasionally. He spoke to me recently through Peanuts. In that Peanuts column, Lucy was shown at her wayside stand with a sign reading psychiatric help. 5 cents. The doctor is in. Well, old Charlie Brown comes along and says, I'm in sad shape. What can you do when you don't fit in? What can you do when life seems to be passing you by? To this Lucy replies, follow me. I want to show you something. See the horizon over there? See how big it is? See how much room there is for everybody? Have you ever seen another world? No, says Charlie Brown. As far as you know, this is the only world there is, right? Right, replies Charlie Brown. Lucy shouts, well live in it then. Whereupon Charlie Brown does one of his friends famous somersaults.

Many of us are like Charlie Brown. We think we are in sad shape

Many of us are like Charlie Brown. We think we are in sad shape. We mope along with our fears and worries. We go in for self pity. We look here and there for help without finding it. We think the world has given us a raw deal. We go around hunting only for the bad. We are in bad shape ourselves. We get to thinking that the faith of the Nazarene is dull and ordinary. To many who bear his name are down at the mouth. Then along comes the divine psychiatrist. He takes us by the hand and shows us the wide and wonderful world in which we live. This mystery and wonder of life, this sparkling bit of time and space that is all ours for a brief moment of history. He tells us that we are the salt of the earth, the light of the world. He tells us there is a father who knows us better than we know ourselves, a maker that is closer than the air we breathe. He says that our Father loves us beyond our comprehension even more than an earthly father loves his son. But he does more than this. He shames us for our timidity and our crankiness. He dissolves our guilt and restores our faith in God and ourselves. He himself is our key to abundant living. He shouts to us across the centuries to live in our world as though we were citizens of the eternities. It is he and he alone who puts meaning into our existence and purpose into our lives. He gives the ring of divine ordination to the most trivial of all occupations. Through his speaking we hear him saying that he came that we could find life, abundant life. Great is the number seeking for that abundant life. It's a pity that they think it can be found in rings and things. If we are in sad shape, we might not need to turn Charlie Brown's somersault, but we might need to take another look at our world and our God and ourself. Who knows, we might just want to turn that somersault with old Charlie Brown after taking that look.

American Family Radio broadcasts Today's Issues Monday through Friday at 3:05

>> Alex McFarland: This has been my Turn with Don

>> Tim Wildmon: Wildmon a production of the American Family Association. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

>> Alex McFarland: First Peter 1, 3American Family Radio

>> Tim Wildmon: this is Today's Issues.

>> Alex McFarland: Email your comments to commentsfr.net Past broadcasts

>> Tim Wildmon: of today's Issues are available for listening and viewing in the [email protected] now back to more of today's issues. Hey, ah, welcome back everybody to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Thanks for listening to AFR and I'm Tim with Ed, Fred and Krish. And now, joining us is our colleague and good friend Dr. Alex McFarland, co host of Exploring the Word with brother Bert Harper. Each afternoon right here on this, network, American Family Radio 3, 3:05 to 4:00 Central Time. That's each afternoon, Monday through Friday on American Family Radio. Good morning, Alex.

>> Alex McFarland: Good morning everybody.

>> Tim Wildmon: You at home in North Carolina, North

>> Alex McFarland: Carolina, where, spring is going to come eventually, we hope.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, I think you normally get the weather we get a day later. And let me just tell you, buddy, it's coming. Good things are going to happen.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, because it's, ah, sunny and 61 right now in Tupelo. Where do you live?

>> Alex McFarland: I live near Greensboro. It's really pleasant garden and this morning it is a little warmer. I'm gonna tell you. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, it was wicked cold.

>> Tim Wildmon: I know. So. But you're about to hit, you're. We're all about to hit springtime now. Ed doesn't like. Ed doesn't like to jump straight to summer.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I don't. I want to. I want some nice, pleasant spring weather.

>> Tim Wildmon: I usually don't stay indoors on Sunday. Then, I'm gonna tell you something.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Sunday, 85. Oh, come on. That's just not right.

>> Tim Wildmon: Maybe I got 87. Go ahead.

>> Alex McFarland: I grew up on a farm. I love hot weather. I love hot weather.

>> Tim Wildmon: I'm with you, brother. I don't care. But, 87 is fine with me. But. But, yeah, 87. Sunday, where we live.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, it's not all about you guys. Right?

>> Tim Wildmon: You're right. We can't all live in. We can't all live in Hawaii weather, can we? 75 every day. although they've been getting slammed with a lot of flooding and rain, so there's.

>> Ed Vitagliano: There's no perfect place except. Except in my recliner.

>> Tim Wildmon: That'll preach bada boom. bada boom. what are you and Bert going to talk about this afternoon? What part of the Bible are y' all on?

>> Alex McFarland: We are doing the second half of Ephesians 4. We, we spent a couple of months doing Isaiah, and Ephesians is a fairly short book. And then, so we're wrapping up Ephesians. And then tomorrow, every Friday is. We call it Fire Away Friday. We take all questions, all the hour, and, just such a blessing on exploring the Word. We've had people come to Christ on live radio, many times. But, I just got a letter about two days ago, a handwritten letter from a man. I read it on the air, and he said he was in a dark place. And he said he never listens to the radio, but just randomly. He turned on the radio one day. He said he was very down. He didn't explain what was going on, but he said it was just the darkest, lowest point of his life. And he listened to Exploring the Word for about three consecutive days, and he. He understood the gospel, and he gave his life to Christ.

>> Chris Woodward: Wow.

>> Tim Wildmon: Praise the Lord.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: This is why we do what we do.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Amen.

>> Tim Wildmon: Amen. So you're in Ephesians, Okay.

>> Alex McFarland: Yes, sir.

>> Tim Wildmon: There's Brother Bert walking down the hall right there. so, you're in Ephesians.

The relationship between the United States and Israel dates back to 1948

Let me ask you this, Alex. we were talking about Israel, and you and I are supposed to have been over there last week.

>> Alex McFarland: Exactly.

>> Tim Wildmon: With our tour group. we were supposed to go to Israel, but it's been postponed till this fall.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, because Israel dragged, America into a war. That's why.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. Tucker.

>> Alex McFarland: According to Joe Kent.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, Joe Kent and Tucker Carlsen. so, I want to ask you, Alex, our relationship, there's Two things at play here to me, in terms of our relationship with Israel and the Jewish people. at play. Maybe that's not the right way to phrase it, but, going on here, there's the historic. There's the, historic relationship between the United States and Israel dating back to the beginning of the state of Israel. Right.

>> Alex McFarland: That's true. 12 minutes. 12 minutes into the revived state of Israel, President Harry Truman to the world stage announced that the United States recognizes the sovereign nation of Israel.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, same. And that's been our policy ever since. Okay. And people may wonder, well, what was Israel before it became the, modern country? A explicitly Jewish state. It was under the control of the. Ed, you can jump in here too. You know a lot about the history of that region. But Alex, if you. If you know.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, we'll let Alex do it.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, it was called Mandatory Palestine.

>> Tim Wildmon: And wait, hold on, I'm writing this down. It was called what?

>> Alex McFarland: It was called Mandatory Palestine. I mean, for centuries it had been, in essence, a wasteland. And there had been, you know. Well, Islam started in 610 A.D. so by the way, I'm greeting you all from the Islamic, Republic of North Carolina. Our Democrat Governor Josh Stein, yesterday issued an official, official proclamation that North Carolina recognizes and celebrates Ramadan.

>> Fred Jackson: What?

>> Alex McFarland: Yes, you heard me. And I don't mean to get us off topic, Brother Tim, but

>> Tim Wildmon: the influence of Islam in America is growing,

>> Alex McFarland: I'm telling you, folks.

>> Tim Wildmon: But go ahead, go back to. Let's don't get off subject just yet here.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: but we're talking about. Because a lot of people wonder. Well, you know, they're fighting over there about land. Who controlled the land before Israel became a country in 1948?

>> Alex McFarland: Well, for 400 years, the Ottoman Empire Really? From, from the, from 1517 to 1917, the Ottoman Empire.

>> Tim Wildmon: Would that be the Turks?

>> Alex McFarland: The Turks, that's right. And they were Islamic, but really beginning around 1922, it was. Sometimes it was called Transjordan, sometimes it was just called Palestine. But it was under British rule.

>> Tim Wildmon: British Mandate. Right.

>> Alex McFarland: It was.

>> Tim Wildmon: So the Brits controlled it after the Turks.

>> Alex McFarland: They did.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Because the Ottoman Empire was part of the, alliance that opposed the west in World War I. They were on the losing side.

>> Alex McFarland: That's right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And so they lost control over that area as a result of losing.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, so go ahead.

>> Alex McFarland: But what was so interesting, In World War I, there was a chemist, a Jewish chemist named Chaim Weitzman, and he was knighted for helping. And here's the amazing thing. He helped synthesize acetone whereby Britain could make ammunition. And he prayed about it. And Churchill wanted to knight him and David Ben Gurion, for whom the airport is named, and Chaim Weizmann, Theodore Herzog. They went to Churchill and they said, help us re establish nation of Israel. Churchill said, we have 5 million acres in Uganda and we're going to call it the NewSong Jerusalem. And Ben Gurion and Kaim Weizmann said, no, if you are grateful for the Jews, help us re establish the nation of Israel in our ancestral homeland, the actual nation of Israel. And they did. And it was really. Honestly, guys, as I'm sure you all know, it was a miracle of God. May 14, 1948, the star of David was raised on a flagpole. And 1900 years of history were, changed as Israel was reborn. A nation was born in a day.

>> Tim Wildmon: So it was, it was Britain who controlled the land at the time. M. It was given to the Jews to form the nation of Israel.

>> Alex McFarland: Correct.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, so it was there. So it was a legal. I didn't say illegal. It was a legal operation. This was blessed and endorsed by the United nations, which may have been the League of Nations at the time. I'm not sure. maybe it was.

>> Ed Vitagliano: It was the United nations by then. Yeah. In 1948, the League of Nations collapsed soon, after World War I, I think.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. So it was, And the.

Antisemitism and opposition to Israel is nothing new

There were some people living on the land who were Arabs. they call it Palestinians who didn't, you know, they would have said, it's our land.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Tim Wildmon: Some of this started.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah. And what's interesting, prior to Truman, I mean, there had been talk about a Jewish national home in Palestine. President FDR, in 1945, had promised the Muslims in the region that the US would not stand. This is an interesting thing. Democrat. Antisemitism and opposition to Israel is nothing new. And let me just say, between Teddy and fdr, there's a universe of difference. Just because Theodore Roosevelt, who was a devout Christian, and FDR share the same last name. Please do not confuse the two. But FDR had promised the Arab Muslims in that region that the U.S. would not support the rebirth of Israel. But thank the Lord for Harry Truman, a Democrat. kudos where they're due, Harry Truman. Although it did take a little bit of prodding from, Churchill. But eventually Harry Truman did come around and he said, if they re establish, we'll support. And as I said, it really is, I'm very proud as an American. Twelve minutes into the existence of the modern Jewish state. Truman recognized it, by the way.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I misspoke. I apologize. The League of Nations was founded after World War I. It ended as a result of the. The World War II conflict. But then was the United nations later? Yeah, I think in 46 or something. So, anyway, I don't know what I was thinking.

>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, me neither.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I wasn't.

>> Tim Wildmon: Huh?

>> Ed Vitagliano: I wasn't thinking.

>> Tim Wildmon: That's all right. It happens.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

Alex McFarland: Israel does a great job of protecting holy sites

>> Tim Wildmon: Abs to people sometimes. you're listening to today's issues on the American Family Radio Network. You know, one of the wonderful things about the modern state of Israel, and I've been there many times, and, you guys. Some of you guys have been. Have you been yet? You've been yet, too, have you?

>> Chris Woodward: To Israel? Yes, sir.

>> Tim Wildmon: Is that Israel does a great job of protecting the, holy sites of, Christianity, primarily, which allows pilgrims from around the world to visit their country and see the sites that they read about in the Bible and visit the land of the Bible. I think, tourism is probably the second largest industry in Israel behind technology. They're very, industrious when it comes to technology. Are the Israelis, Jewish people there? But, they always. Even though. And we work. When we go, we work with, Arabs and. And. And, Jews, you know, because for the most part, the Arabs and the Jews live peacefully in Israel. Now when they don't, it gets a lot of news. You know what I'm saying? But, if you were to. I remember reading a survey about three or four years ago of Arabs living in the Jewish state of Israel, where they. Yes, they are a minority, like 80, 20. But they said, would you rather live in Israel or live in a Muslim nation?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: And they said, no, we're living in Israel. You remember this survey?

>> Ed Vitagliano: I do, yeah.

>> Chris Woodward: Looking it up for you.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Can I. Can I ask, a question to Dr. McFarland? Alex? this goes along with what we've been talking about, but I increasingly hear people say, I don't know whether Joe Kent said this, but others are saying this. the argument is made, that the current nation of Israel either is not related to the 12 tribes of Israel, or you can't prove that it is. So they do not have, I guess, access to the promise of God to Abraham. How would you explain.

>> Tim Wildmon: Thanks for opening up that can of worms. There's no reason for us to stay around you. Alex. You and Alex can go.

>> Ed Vitagliano: No, it's a good question.

>> Tim Wildmon: I'm teasing.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. I just, What is a biblical response to that? Because you could say that about Jews anywhere.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: so what would you say?

>> Alex McFarland: about a year ago, I was on NPR Radio with someone from the National Jewish Federation and kind of have a friendship going. In fact, I'm going to be in Washington. it's really kind of, a little bit under the radar. But, in the next couple of months, there will be a meeting in Washington of evangelicals and Jews, together, in alliance to speak against antisemitism. And I feel very privileged that the National Jewish Federation has invited me to participate in this meeting to speak against antisemitism. But anyway, here's my point. every Jew on the planet right now is descended from either, Raechel, Leah, Sarah, or Rebecca. Four females. And, you know, even before ancestry.com and things like that, the Jews. There's probably no ethnicity in history that's been as meticulous as doctrine as the Jews when it comes to documenting their family lineages. And in fact, they have impeccably accurate records of family lineage going back to the time of Esther. So we're talking, you know, 486 BC. So here's my point. And I, rested. So Charlie Kirk. Charlie Kirk was a friend of mine, and I knew Charlie Kirk. I spoke for him at his events. He spoke for me two weeks before he was shot. He spoke, and we were. Charlie and I were in front of 3,000 people from 17 states. It was, I do a thing called Conversations that matter. Charlie and I were backstage, and, I had on an Israel pin. And I mean, I love Charlie. He was a dear, dear brother. But he said to me, he said, alex, why do you wear an Israel pin? And I said, because I stand for Israel. And we got into a discussion, and much to my surprise, he was a very vocal proponent for something called replacement theology. And I said, charlie, brother, now, keep in mind, we're five minutes from stepping out in front of females.

>> Tim Wildmon: That's the real can of worms. Not what Ed did.

>> Alex McFarland: Now, to his credit, the day before he got shot, he texted me, and he said, you make really good points about Israel. He said, I am teachable. Please help me out with some talking points on Israel. That was the day before he got shot. But here's what I said. I said, charlie, if the Jews in the land of Israel aren't the descendants of the biblical Jews, then pray tell, who is? Because the. And I shared a lot of what I've learned from working with the National Jewish Federation. And here's my point. Absolutely unequivocally. The Jewish people are the genealogical and frankly spiritual descendants of biblical Jews. And this, this is documentable back to the time of Esther and even before. So every Jew on the planet is, is genealogically related to Raechel, Leah, Sarah or Rebecca.

>> Tim Wildmon: Let me ask you this, is that a period there? Are you through with that thought?

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah, yeah. So you see, you see my point?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, absolutely.

Alex McFarland: Hear me out before you judge me

>> Tim Wildmon: Let me ask you this. by the way, you're listening to the radio program today's issues. That's Dr. Alex McFarland. He joining us from the Tar Heel state today. And we are in Mississippi, the four of us here on the show Today's Issues. You're listening to American Family Radio. You know. Yeah, some you Christians will like Charlie Kirk and you having that conversation there are. Hear me out before you judge me.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay, okay.

>> Tim Wildmon: Don't judge me. All right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I will withhold judgment.

>> Tim Wildmon: Can I share my heart?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, please do.

>> Tim Wildmon: I always like to use that expression because that means, you're about to hear what I say and you can't say anything back. You can't argue with me because I'm only sharing my heart. I just, I just know when I hear a Christian brother or sister say that I know, get ready for.

>> Ed Vitagliano: You're only asking questions.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right. I'm sharing my heart.

Alex: Fred says some replacement theology could be interpreted as replacement theology

All right, so here's the deal. To borrow from jj, Jasper, seems to me a simple man reading the Bible in the NewSong Testament and the story of the Jews all through the. And the. They're the Jews, they're the Israelites, they're the Hebrews, they're the, they're the Israelites, they're the children of. They're the chosen people, whatever you want to call them going on. That's the whole Old Testament.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right?

>> Tim Wildmon: The story of the Jews. Okay. I don't know when they started being called the Jews, but the Hebrews, so what happens when we get to the NewSong Testament is God himself decides and maybe people say he decided that since the beginning of time. Okay. I'm not gonna, I'm just saying God changes. Changes, from just a relationship with the Jews and yet. And opens up a relationship with all mankind including the, you know, which includes the Gentiles, which is everybody else but the Jews. Right. So to Jesus Christ. Right. But that doesn't. And there are verses in the NewSong Testament which. How would you say. I wouldn't say seem to indicate but could be interpreted, I guess some people as quote, replacement theology. Am I.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well if you interpret Those verses, in isolation. That's what I mean.

>> Tim Wildmon: You could. Do. People do that.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And I think that's part of the.

>> Tim Wildmon: So I would just say.

>> Ed Vitagliano: The confusion.

>> Tim Wildmon: I would just say. And Alex, to comment on this, Fred studied this forever. the relation, the opening up of God's relationship with gentiles doesn't negate his historic relationship and covenant with the Jewish people in Israel. Fred, how about what I've just said there?

>> Fred Jackson: That. Absolutely right. And the apostle Paul in Romans chapter 11.

>> Tim Wildmon: and he did his share of scolding the Jews.

>> Fred Jackson: Absolutely, yes. But Romans chapter 11, Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I'm paraphrasing here. Said, hey, you gentiles, don't get too arrogant about this.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen.

>> Fred Jackson: I'm paraphrasing. Don't you get too arrogant about this. Because salvation came through the Jews by way of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came into the world as a Jew.

>> Ed Vitagliano: So were all the apostles.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yes.

>> Fred Jackson: So, don't get arrogant. God is not through with his people. And then you can jump to revelation. And they're going to have 144,000 witnesses during the tribulation period. 12,000 from each tribe. All right?

>> Tim Wildmon: The tribes of Israel.

>> Fred Jackson: Of Israel. So for anybody to say, God's done. God's done with the Jewish people. I'm sorry, the Bible disagrees with you. Not just people gathered around this table. And Alex, the Bible disagrees with you.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right, Alex, Is that basically a teaching what friends just described within the evangelical church?

>> Alex McFarland: the teaching of replacement theology?

>> Tim Wildmon: No, no. what Fred just described, the understanding

>> Fred Jackson: of, Romans 11.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, evangelicals teach it, but I would say it's Christendom. It's true biblical exegesis that the covenant with Abraham is an everlasting covenant. I mean, just by definition, everlasting means it doesn't have a, termination. And so the one ver people use Galatians 6, 16, that says, you know, blessed be, quote the Israel of God. But we gentiles were grafted into the new covenant by believing in Messiah. But in, And I'll tell you this, guys, I really think had John Calvin and some of the reformers lived to May 15, 1948, replacement theology would have never existed. It was cobbled together to try to account for why there was no nation of Israel during the time of the Reformation.

>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, that's interesting. Yeah. Calvin and, who else? Luther. He was anti Semitic, wasn't he, at

>> Alex McFarland: the end of his life? Sadly, Very sadly, yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: all right, well, listen, thank you so much. Yeah. Great discussion. Thank you so much, Alex. We look forward to hearing you and Bert this afternoon, on Exploring the word.

Alex: How can you have a bad day in Pleasant Garden, North Carolina

And you have a wonderful weather day there. And what's the name of your town? Pleasant. What?

>> Alex McFarland: Pleasant Garden.

>> Tim Wildmon: How can you have a bad day?

>> Ed Vitagliano: What a great day.

>> Tim Wildmon: How do you have a bad day in Pleasant Garden, North Carolina? Hey, there's Andy and Oprah. You walking down? They're going fishing. Andy and Opie going fishing. All right. Thank you, Alex. See you.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Bye.

>> Tim Wildmon: Bye. All right, we'll be back with Steve Paisley Jordal in, five minutes. Thank you.

>> Alex McFarland: M. The views and opinions expressed in

>> Tim Wildmon: this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.

Tim, Ed and Fred talk with Chris on top news headlines of the day. Also, Dr. Alex McFarland joins the program and discusses the history of Israel.