>> Today's Issues continues on AFR with your host, Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association.
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, welcome back, everybody, to Today's Issues. That's the name of this here show on the American Family Radio Network. Thanks for listening to AFR. we got 24 and a half more minutes of education and news and information. And you see what I did there? It was a rhyme. You didn't see what I did there.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I wasn't listening or I came in.
>> Tim Wildmon: I can't recreate that moment of magic, you know, you just have to pay attention. Yeah. Ed Battagliano with me with my colleague, and my son and my brother in Christ, Wesley Wildmon. Hello. And so, Fred left the room and income. Steve Paisley Jordal. Good morning, Steve.
>> Steve Jordahl: Morning, everybody.
>> Tim Wildmon: What's going on, Steve?
>> Steve Jordahl: Well, I. I'm breathing a sigh of relief right now. until this is 20 minutes ago, something broke that. I just. I was kind of worried in the future. Here I'm years down the road when my fingers give out, and I need to retire from being a reporter at afa. I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but now I know.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Steve Jordahl: I'm going to be an NHL coach. Oh, I didn't know that was an option until a couple minutes ago.
>> Tim Wildmon: National Hockey League.
>> Steve Jordahl: Yes, National Hockey League.
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, Ed's listening.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, sure am.
>> Steve Jordahl: Because I didn't know, that I could coach just using Chat GPT.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Oh, I didn't know you could either.
>> Steve Jordahl: Well, apparently, because, So the Calgary. Calgary Flames are coached by a guy named Ryan Huska. Right. You know that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I. I don't know. I don't pay attention to that team.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Unless it's the Bruins.
>> Ed Vitagliano: They're pretty bad.
>> Steve Jordahl: Well, and this is the thing, they are bad. So Coach Husk. Jaska decided he needed to think outside the barn. This is his talking, and this is what he came up with. Cut 19.
>> Charlie Kirk: So I went down a rabbit hole.
>> Steve Jordahl: Last night after watching this game here, and I put in Fizzy's Chat GPT. I put in five games, goals that we've scored. I've given a bunch of different things to go in there. People's career shooting percentage, the amount of shots they've taken in those five games projected over the course of the year. That's where we end up. Which leads to that, on the year, 2.36 goals for during the year. So, you know, he's. His team isn't very good. So he goes and figures out what to do using Chat GPT. And if it's that easy. I mean, they make good money, so that's what I'm going to do when I retire.
>> Tim Wildmon: If I ever.
>> Ed Vitagliano: They don't make as good, money as a college football coach who gets fired, but now you. If. Unless Chad GBT can yell and scream during intermission and toss over tables, I'm not sure how good a coach that would be.
>> Steve Jordahl: I can do that.
>> Tim Wildmon: You can do that. Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Hey, before we go to further stories, we do need to talk a little bit about, what's coming up. And I've turned Wesley loose on this.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Just turn me loose.
>> Tim Wildmon: So we're, we're.
>> Steve Jordahl: Buckle up, everybody.
>> Wesley Wildmon: We haven't announced.
>> Tim Wildmon: Different topic. Yes, we're leaving, GTP chat.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And melanin supplements, you know, and all that.
>> Tim Wildmon: And the gt, that was quite a car for those of us who lived through the 70s and 80s.
>> Wesley Wildmon: And we're, we're moving on from Insta Face.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And Snap Face Chat.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, you Snapchat that and send it out to people.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Hey, can we get serious, guys?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, that's why I'm here.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Okay.
>> Steve Jordahl: I really doubt it.
National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child runs from now through November 24th
All right.
>> Wesley Wildmon: All right. Ladies and gentlemen, those that are listening, we have National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child. From now all the way through November 24th, we're asking you to participate. Samaritan's Purse, Operation Christmas Child. It's something that we've done each and every year. I'll just summarize what it is, and then I'll point you to where you can get more information and questions asked. It is where you go. I'm pretty sure they want you to use their boxes now, but, but, pack a shoebox with materials, that can be used in areas where kids are less fortunate. and you can go to samaritan's port, samaritans purse.org or, samaritanspurse.org occ and there you can find more information about what you can put in the shoebox. These shoeboxes will go to different parts of the world. Operation Christmas Child is hoping to reach 12.6 million children. With the gospel through these shoeboxes that we're describing, we're asking you to participate in it. So there at the website, that I just gave, and I'll give it again here in a second, you can find out what you can put in the shoebox and you can find the drop locations. Most local churches in your area is going to have a drop locate, are going to be able to receive your shoebox and then from There, they'll get them where, they are supposed to go. So go to samaritan's purse.org occ I.
>> Steve Jordahl: Got a question for you there. Wesley.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yep.
>> Steve Jordahl: I. I want to participate. I'm not feeling all that much motivated though to go shopping. So I think I'd like to put. To give the kids some shoes. Do you think I could just buy some shoes and send the box on over?
>> Wesley Wildmon: What I know what you can do is you can go to that website and I'm pretty sure you can purchase a box that they will fulfill for you.
>> Steve Jordahl: oh, that's.
>> Wesley Wildmon: But as far as shoes goes, I.
>> Steve Jordahl: Don'T think they fit the box.
>> Wesley Wildmon: They just. Then that's all that would fit in there.
>> Steve Jordahl: Well, I mean, you know.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Hey, some. Somebody needs shoes over there.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Steve, are you on some kind of med something today?
>> Tim Wildmon: Melatonin.
>> Steve Jordahl: You're mellow.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You're a wild man.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's my name.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Wesley Wildmon: The most important information is the deadline and which is November 24th.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. So we support the Operation Christmas Child shoebox campaign. And we're telling you that the last day to do that is November 24th, right, Wesley? Is that what you're saying?
>> Wesley Wildmon: That's correct.
>> Tim Wildmon: And turn them in so that they have time to ship them out before Christmas.
>> Wesley Wildmon: That's right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yep.
>> Tim Wildmon: And they go all over the world.
>> Wesley Wildmon: What an easy way that we can spread the gospel and fulfill Matthew 28.
>> Tim Wildmon: You know what we need to do one year. And I'm not suggesting we do it this year, but we've done it before. Some of our team has go over to North Carolina to their, international distribution center where they collect all these shoeboxes. I think it's in one place.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Maybe they, they all end up in one place in North Carolina. Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: I mean, that's the home offices for Samaritan's Purse. That's why I'm guessing it's there. Maybe it. Maybe they. It's in another city. Maybe it's in Minneapolis, Minnesota. you know what? I see what I did there.
>> Steve Jordahl: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. It was a terrible Billy Graham impersonation.
>> Ed Vitagliano: It was. But I got it.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, you got. I did it enough to where you understood?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: so, find out where they're. Well, anyway, I think it would be. I think it'd be like a live remote interesting for us to do our show from there. One year.
>> Steve Jordahl: Yeah.
>> Speaker F: Okay.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Live broadcast.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Not a dead one. No, no, you don't want a dead broadcast. Who wants to listen to that?
>> Steve Jordahl: No, I remember back in the day when I was working at Focus, they actually offered to take me on the big Antonov plane that they. Where they deliver all these boxes to wherever they were going. It was somewhere in Eastern Europe. I couldn't. Couldn't do it. But they were going to take me as a journalist.
>> Tim Wildmon: Walker, Wildmon did that, and J.J. jasper's done that.
Great. That's a great idea. I'd just like to see how it works
>> Steve Jordahl: Great.
>> Wesley Wildmon: John Boone, North Carolina is the headquarters where they, where they bring all the shoeboxes to one location. And they also have to double check them. They make sure that they're safe. Yeah. And fit. Fit. The qualifications that they have set for a shoebox.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That would be. That's a great idea. We could interview people who work there, volunteer there, people who are behind it, you know, in terms of executive leadership. That would be a,
>> Tim Wildmon: I'd just like to see how it works.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: You know, physically see how it works. Pretty amazing operation.
Steve Kroger: The FBI is looking into what happened at UC Berkeley
You're listening to today's issues on American Family Radio. First story.
>> Steve Jordahl: Steve, we talked yesterday, I believe it was a Monday, I guess it was, to, Frank Turek about the Turning Point USA event that was going to be happening at UC Berkeley. And it happened, but it wasn't without, some controversy. there was. They put the protesters right outside the front door of the meeting hall where, tp, USA was going to hold its event. Which means that everybody who wanted to attend had to go through this little, narrow passageway past all these protesters. There was fights. it seemed that UC Berkeley was making it as difficult as possible on everybody. one of the things that happened was that there was a Christian man who was outside. he was wearing a red shirt that said Freedom. You remember the shirt that Charlie Kirk was wearing when he was killed was a white shirt with freedom. His was red, but it said Freedom. He had a necklace with a cross on. And he was out there saying, Jesus is Lord. And, and he was attacked by a man, strangely enough, whose name was Jihad. And Andrew Colvett, who's TP, USA's chief of staff there and helping take over, and help, Charlie's wife run the. Run the place was with Jesse Waters and kind of talked about what happened. Cut 14.
>> Ed Vitagliano: How about this guy? Jihad? Can you believe this guy's name is Jihad?
>> Wesley Wildmon: What was he trying to. He was trying to snatch that guy's, what, his cross off his neck?
>> Speaker F: Yeah, yeah, that's exactly what he was trying to do. This was a, peaceful guy. We have video from, well before this altercation took place. He was just out there with his red freedom shirts, and he kept saying, jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord. And they were agitating, they were attacking him, jeering, and he just remained peaceful until Jihad came up, grabbed his cross off his neck, and that poor gentleman went to go collect it, and the guy started, attacking and assaulting him. And to his credit, he kept going. He wanted his cross back before the police. They obviously didn't know who started or what was going on. Both of them got cuffed. But ultimately it was Jihad that, is getting arrested and he's getting charged, thankfully.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, of course we want to say allegedly until this goes to trial or whatever, but let me just say that allegedly this is a perfect demonstration of what's happening all over the world in terms of Muslims and Christians. M. And in some countries, they're not just trying to snatch a cross off their neck, they are trying to cut it, cut off, kill these people. And. And the fact that his name, the alleged assailant is named Jihad is a perfect, perfect, almost like a whole. Is their kid Jihad People who are all in. Yes, they're all into the worldwide,
>> Steve Jordahl: Faith that is Will.
>> Tim Wildmon: Or maybe he changed his name.
>> Steve Jordahl: No, I think. Well, I don't know. I don't know about that. I do know that the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Civil Rights, whose name is Harmeet Dillon, has decided, that they are going to open an investigation into what went on at Berkeley cut 13.
>> Charlie Kirk: It is not a both sides problem. when a violent mob like Antifa comes in, attacks like this, it's what we call a Heckler's veto in first amendment jurisprudence.
>> Tim Wildmon: And given the fact that there has.
>> Charlie Kirk: Now been a terrorist designation here, the Joint Terrorism Task Force is going to be looking into this.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, So I was going to.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Say that's why it's good that we have, Is it's the FBI that pronounces a group being the terrorist group, is that correct?
>> Ed Vitagliano: I think it's the Department of Justice.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Department of Justice. Okay. So the Department of Justice just recently, I believe in the last couple of months, announced Antifa as a terrorist group.
>> Steve Jordahl: Yes.
>> Wesley Wildmon: So now you can prosecute, prosecute them accordingly. And you can, you can, do investigations like you just heard and where.
>> Ed Vitagliano: They get their money and who's. Who's backing them and who's organizing the protests. Because these things, these aren't like somebody you see down at Kroger and say, hey, I hear the TCP USA is having a, having a meeting. Let's get, get our buddies together. This is on social media. Some of these people apparently are paid to do it. Yeah. And so this, this will. This investigation. And let me tip of the hat once again to the Trump administration doing this because it was the Biden administration, I think, that kind of turned these folks loose, at least allowed them to operate in a wide open space. The Trump administration, going after these people, investigating them, maybe prosecuting. We may find that there are money ties and organizational ties to other countries trying to undermine our if your freedoms.
>> Wesley Wildmon: To your point, if you remember during, when, when they, they, the Democrats, elected or picked Kamala Harris to run and play. So Joe Biden, I'll never forget. Remember that?
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Remember where I was?
>> Wesley Wildmon: Yeah, I bet you do. When she, when she was the. One of her. Within, within one of her few, first few interviews, she was asked about the the riots and that were taking place and she said, quote, they, they shouldn't. I support them and they shouldn't stop and they should continue and they will continue. She was in 100% support of the riots and the violence.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Wasn't Joe Biden the one who said there's no such thing as antifa as a organization?
>> Wesley Wildmon: Yeah, he did.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Antifa as an idea.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Yeah, that's right.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. And then he, by the way, then, Kamala Harris, then vice president, she paid money out, ah, of personal money to bail out the some of the rioters in Minneapolis. Remember that story?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: so anyway, what were we gonna.
Antifa and the DOJ are designated as terrorist groups under the Trump administration
What was the other.
>> Wesley Wildmon: The point was is that now, now they are, because of the Trump administration, are now our desert and the DOJ are designated as a terrorist groups and therefore they can be prosecuted accordingly.
>> Tim Wildmon: Antifa we're talking about.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Yep.
>> Tim Wildmon: all right. You're listening to today's issues on American Family Radio. Thanks for listening to afr where we're here every day Monday through Friday. Tim, Wesley and Ed, we're here today with Steve Paisley Jordan, our newsman.
Steve Martin: Christian nationalism is antithetical to values of early church
So if you've maybe you didn't follow Charlie Kirk and you wondered, well, why did so many people follow his organization and his his ministry, so to speak, or his calling. We're gonna. We have a clip now, Steve, that that gives people a taste of what Charlie Kirk would do on college campuses all over America and also, encourage people to engage people themselves. Go ahead.
>> Steve Jordahl: Yeah, so this is a longer cliff than we should play and it is Charlie Kirk at one of his. Changed my mind. He was in the tent like he was at the University of Utah. and, this is a gentleman who's a Christian, said he's a Christian and challenged, Charlie on his government involvement, called him a nationalist. They had that debate. It's longer than usual. But, we wanted to give this to you because it kind of gives a flavor of how Charlie would interact with people. The tone, the mode, the politeness, that kind of a thing. So listen to this and we can talk about it at the end. 12.
>> Speaker G: So I'm particularly concerned about your brand of Christianity. As a Christian myself, Christian nationalism I do not agree with at all. I think it's antithetical to the values of the early church. And I think. How do you reconcile the especially white Christians in this America marrying politics and power with their faith in this country?
>> Charlie Kirk: There's a lot there. I've never described myself as a Christian nationalist. So I'm a Christian and a nationalist, so I've never used those two.
>> Speaker G: And then right there. That and nationalist. Where in the Scriptures does a Christian.
>> Charlie Kirk: Thank you. Jeremiah 29:7. Demand the welfare of the nation that you are in, because your welfare is tied to your nation's welfare. Let me continue. Daniel fasted and prayed for his nation. Esther and Mordecai cared for their nation. They were counsel to the king. Nehemiah, Jeremiah, Joseph, Jacob. I can keep on going. Moses, Eryn. In fact, Moses was so political that he wrote an entire book of the Torah, all about how to set up a government. It's the book of Deuteronomy. So, in fact, the Bible is an explicitly political text, amongst many other things.
>> Speaker G: Now, can we interpret those texts in the light of the revelation of Christ? Because you just cited all Old Testament texts, but you have not once cited St. Paul.
>> Charlie Kirk: Okay, yeah. if you want me to also, by the way, just so we are.
>> Speaker G: Cite St. Paul about the kingdom of heaven and the government.
>> Charlie Kirk: Just so we're clear, do you think that the New Testament is greater than the Old Testament?
>> Speaker G: It is. It is greater because the revelation of Christ dictates how we interpret the Old Testament.
>> Charlie Kirk: So you think that all of a sudden, like Genesis 1 is not as great just because the New Testament, the.
>> Speaker G: Old Testament was a type and shadow of the things to come. And now we live in the full revelation of Christ again.
>> Charlie Kirk: So it is by definition such a dangerous theological.
>> Speaker G: That's not true. That's Christological theology.
>> Charlie Kirk: Hold on. Of course I believe in the resurrection, but to all of a sudden say that, like in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Is like somehow in like lesser because of the revelation in the New Testament, Christ even said, I did not come to abolish the law of the prophets. I came to fulfill the law. In fact, he said, all the laws of the prophet hang on the two teachings, Leviticus 19 and Deuteronomy 3:5. However, to use a New Testament example, as you asked, says in first Timothy, pray for your leaders in authority by name that they might make great decisions. I'm going to continue. Christ our Lord said, on this rock build my what?
>> Speaker G: Church.
>> Charlie Kirk: Wrong. Ecclesia. It's not the word church.
>> Speaker G: Translations of common Bible say church. So my.
>> Charlie Kirk: Well, actually it shouldn't because the original Greek term says, on this rock build my government structure. Ecclesia was a secular word used in that time which was all about the advancement of freedom and liberty, which are the two words in Greek. Ella, utheria, isonomia, which are the two words there. So the point being Christ called us to be salt and light. We as Christians should change the environment that we come in contact with. That's what salt, might do. So why should we then not care about changing government to be more Christ like.
Charlie Kirk debated on college campuses and developed a huge following
>> Wesley Wildmon: All right, so the program, that's where you hit the end of the break. In all seriousness, that's a mic drop. Oh yeah, for sure.
>> Tim Wildmon: That was Charlie Kirk wanted to play that for you because I came across that clip on I think YouTube or something the other day and I was going, wow, no wonder the, no wonder the devil didn't like this guy.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Or hated this guy because, he was very, very effective. What you just heard, that's what he did all the time a week on college campuses. Now Frank Turek does it too. Brother Frank does Alex McFarland and there's some others. But Charlie had developed a big, following anyway. But he would go to these college campuses and just an all comers. It's amazing to me. It's one thing to you, know, as an intellectual myself. It's one thing what I didn't say.
>> Wesley Wildmon: No, I know you didn't but you held well. You held well.
>> Steve Jordahl: I did it for.
>> Tim Wildmon: So let's see, Steve, are about to burst out laughing here. Okay, so all right. As it would be.
>> Wesley Wildmon: And there you go.
>> Tim Wildmon: as I want to be intellectual myself.
>> Ed Vitagliano: We're all want to be intellectual.
>> Tim Wildmon: So it's one thing to prepare for a debate where you know the subject matter and you know who you're going to be debating against and you know, the time constraints and all those things. That's that, that's still very, challenging mentally to, do. And you know, you were on the debate team, so you know how that works. And, and I've been on radio and television interviews many times over my career with people on the left doing, Doing debates, doing discussions, doing disagreements. So. But to have the spontaneity that Charlie Kirk invited, where people come up to the microphone and one, one after another after another after another, ask questions and he doesn't know what they're going to ask.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: Necessarily, but he knows maybe they're going to be adversarial or they wouldn't be asking questions anyway.
>> Steve Jordahl: In fact, he asked people who disagreed with him to come to the front of the line.
>> Tim Wildmon: Can you. Putting yourself out there like that? And then that's why he developed, this huge following of people who wanted to go and watch him on college campuses and on, and on social media. Wesley, go ahead.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Yeah, and that was. I don't remember the exact date, but that goes back a couple of months. I've also seen one with him on the Second Amendment and he had a debate with a gentleman who is actually a. More of a moderate. He wasn't a far left, but he just also didn't agree with the way the current system set up. Anyways, I remember him debating, or having an exchange or debate, however you want to look at it, with this gentleman on the Second Amendment and the guy that he was that had the microphone actually posed a couple of questions or points. Points that, Charlie himself said, you know what? On that, that one, I, I could. It's not the way it currently set up, but I could agree with you that I, I could agree with you that we should make that change. And so there were times where in his, in his.
>> Ed Vitagliano: He.
>> Wesley Wildmon: In his debate or in his argument that he. Or they were in that same debate, he also said, I don't know about that, but let me get back with you on that. So there he was legit. He was, he was, he was genuine.
>> Ed Vitagliano: He was genuine. And I think that was part of what attracted young.
>> Wesley Wildmon: That's right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Is because if he didn't know, he'd say so.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yep.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And he was respectful. He was respectful in that exchange.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And, so listen, as. As we've said, as many people have said, there was one Charlie Kirk, God seemed to clearly have raised him up. But that doesn't mean there aren't more, if you will, more Charlie Kirk's out there.
>> Steve Jordahl: If you want to go down a rabbit hole, just go to YouTube and type in Charlie Kirk debate. There's hours of this stuff.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, and. And what's interesting is that a lot of people who had only heard of Charlie but had never seen him do these after he was assassinated, they went and started listening and watching these videos. So his impact continues.
>> Tim Wildmon: You know, Charlie Curtin, even, one of the ironies here is he never went to college.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's right. He went. And then.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, he may have went.
>> Wesley Wildmon: He may semester. He dropped out.
>> Tim Wildmon: He may have gone to college, but he didn't go to college or graduate from college, and yet he was known for going to college campuses, so.
Resources. aca. net working now; traffic had slowed it down
All right, my thanks to Wesley and Ed and Steve and Fred.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Folks, don't forget to take your melanin tonight.
>> Tim Wildmon: thank you, Ed. I almost forgot to mention that. And Brent, Creely, our producer, and brother, Jerry Lawson, was on with us.
>> Wesley Wildmon: Go get your Christmas buttons.
>> Tim Wildmon: working now. It's working where people go to get the Christmas.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Resources.aca.net I think traffic had slowed it down. Resources.aca.net it's up and running now.
>> Tim Wildmon: We'll see them. See you tomorrow, everybody.