Transcript

Today's Issues continues on AFR with Steve Jordo and Ed Vitagliano

>> Ed Vitagliano: Today's Issues continues on AFR with your host, Ed Vitagliano. And welcome back to Today's Issues. Ed Vitagliano sitting in for Tim Wildmon this week, joined in studio by Tony Vitagliano. from South Carolina, Dr. Alex McFarland. And now joining us in studio, Steve Jordo. Steve Paisley. Jordo.

>> Steve Jordahl: Good morning, everybody.

>> Whitney Vitagliano: Paisley today. Yeah, I didn't get the memo. Everybody's got blue shirts on. Yeah, me, I got set up.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, it's, the better to mock you. That's what we do. We. We don't give you the memo and then mock you for not having the memo.

>> Steve Jordahl: Right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: So, nobody cares. Nobody cares how we dress. Except, Steve, they do care about, about the paisley. But you just.

>> Steve Jordahl: I want to tell you, I. I dispelled a, A. A, error this. This weekend. what's a conspiracy theory?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Gotta. Gotta dispel them, brother.

>> Steve Jordahl: I saw the Philadelphia Eagles do two offsides during their tush push thing. That has been a setup. Offside, offsides, the line move before the ball was snapped. Both times, the O line moves. The O line moved before the ball was snapped. So I think they've been cheating on this whole unstoppable play. Of course it's gonna be unstoppable.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I had not heard of the, I know what. I know what a tush push is.

>> Steve Jordahl: But I have solved the. I've solved it. The mystery of the tushbush.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, that. That is a mystery that has long plagued American culture.

>> Steve Jordahl: Yes.

>> Ed Vitagliano: So I don't even like saying it.

>> Steve Jordahl: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: so. All right, so, welcome.

>> Steve Jordahl: Thank you.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And, you brought some good stuff in. I think our folks are going to be blessed by a lot of the stuff we're going to talk about.

Where does the assassination take us from the assassination? How are we responding

But still kind of sticking with the very sad and shocking story last week of the assassination of Charlie. Kirk. Kirk, what have you got?

>> Steve Jordahl: Well, so the question is, where does it take us from the assassination? What cultural relevance does it have? How are we going to respond as a nation? you and I were talking before we went on the air. Is there a revival going on? Is this going to be kind of a push towards that? I believe, yes. I've kind of noted, a revival. It's been in the back of my mind, and I see evidence of it under the, kind of uncovered, below the headlines. So you had that whole Asbury thing for.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Steve Jordahl: Last year. Right. And then every time somebody from Asbury went to a different college, the same thing broke out at that college.

>> Ed Vitagliano: They Also had the baptisms on the West Coast.

>> Steve Jordahl: Baptisms on the West Coast. they had Ohio State. They had a huge awakening. Tuscaloosa at Alabama. The same thing happened at several colleges, and these were all preceded by somebody from Asbury walking and giving a testimony on that campus.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Wow.

>> Steve Jordahl: It's amazing how that happened. But, yeah, something is happening out there, and I wanted to share a couple things. So, over the weekend, they had a memorial service at the Kennedy Center. Several people, were there. Robert Kennedy was there. I believe J.D. vance was there. a lot of people spoke, and I wanted to play a couple things, that I heard there. The first thing, we're going to start with Robert F. Kennedy, who, I guess was, Robert Kennedy. Charlie Kirk was the guy that started the Trump Robert Kennedy relationship. He's the one that said, you got to look at Robert Kennedy told the President.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Steve Jordahl: So Robert Kennedy and, Trump Charlie Kirk have a history. And I want you to hear what Robert Kennedy said about the death of Charlie Kirk at this particular event. Cut 11.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: And I had a conversation once with Charlie where we were talking about the danger that we both face from challenging entrenched interests. And he asked me if I was scared to die. And I said to him, there's a lot worse things than dying, and one of the chief among us is losing our constitutional rights and having our children raised in slavery. And I said to him at that time, I said, sometimes our only consolation is that we can die with our boots on. We can die fighting for these things. Charlie gave his life so that the rest of us would not have to suffer those fates worse than death. Now it's our job. He's no longer there to lead us, rush in and fill the breach and win this battle for our country, for God, and for our families. Thank you.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Alex.

Tony Shapiro: RFK Jr says our liberties are in danger from Trump

do you think, this is. I'm just playing devil's advocate here. It's not really difficult. Devil's advocate, because I believe that the situation is as serious as, RFK Jr just laid it out. But let me get your take. Is. Is the situation that dire where Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Is saying, of course, in the context of Charlie Kirk and what he was doing? are we m. Are you and I, we making more of this than it really is? Is our country in danger, our liberties actually in danger of slipping away, or is this just hyperbole?

>> Alex McFarland: No, our liberties are absolutely in danger of being stolen away from us. And, yes, the situation is. Is dire.

>> Steve Jordahl: Look, we all.

>> Alex McFarland: We're believers here. We trust in God. But do you know, so many of our leaders early on said, like James Madison, October 11, 1789. James Madison, he said that, you know, posterity. You have no idea the price that was paid by my generation to win your freedom. I hope you make good use of it. And George Washington, the, I believe, the first words he said upon being inaugurated as our first president. George Washington said, quote, the sacred fire of liberty has been entrusted to the American people. And so we've got to preserve it. and, yes. What's interesting. Well, I mean, it's, unsettling. There are those that. They think they are, like, global, you know, globalist. And they don't like our Judeo Christian constitutional republic because it stands in the way of like, some global, you know, utopia. But here's the thing. The devil hates America because for two centuries plus, America has been at the absolute forefront of the fulfillment of Christ's great commission. So there are players and pawns that are against America, and they don't even know why. But ultimately, the fight for our future is a fight about, light versus darkness, the souls of people, and it's a spiritual battle. Ed. I really believe that.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Tony, what are your thoughts on what, Alex is saying and what RFK Jr is saying about the, existential threat to our liberties, which I will admit many Americans have just simply taken for granted, as if they cannot be lost?

>> Whitney Vitagliano: Yeah, it's, to me, the most disturbing, aspect of what happened to Charlie Kirk was that all. He took a stand for, his biblical, worldview and for Christian values and his faith. And he was.

>> Ed Vitagliano: He was combative.

>> Whitney Vitagliano: And. He was combative. Right, we. We get that. But he just engaged in civil discourse, cordial, respectful. I've seen clips of him, showing. Demonstrating compassion towards people who are, you know, start out, you know, combative and aggressive. and it just kind of starts to turn. To turn them and that you could see their demeanor even turn m. So that was all he. He did. And if you're. If you're. If you're shtick. So. So to speak. It's. The only way I can think of to describe it is. Is just having open dialogue with people, bringing people who disagree with you to the front so you can discuss ideas. If, if that. If that was all you were doing and that got you murdered, then it is a. We're.

>> Steve Jordahl: We're.

>> Whitney Vitagliano: We're already probably one or two steps ahead of where we thought we were. You know, where even I thought we were, yeah. You know, obviously people protesting and interrupting that's been going on. You know, people burning, burning city blocks, taking over city blocks. That kind of stuff has been going on. But this happening kind of demonstrated to me that we are a lot closer than what we thought before. And so warnings from RFK are, are absolutely warranted.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, because I saw in the aftermath of a lot of people did on social media and I use X, this wasn't so much on Facebook, but on I saw people posting comments.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Just dozens and dozens. Dozens. I, I don't know how much this went on, but people saying, okay, do Ben Shapiro next. Yeah, do President Trump next. And I was just thinking, are you kidding me? Are you, are you, you're saying that the assassinations should continue and these are people who not only have the right to vote.

>> Steve Jordahl: Right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: But they are certainly going to be the other side when it comes to our liberties.

>> Steve Jordahl: You guys might remember last week we talked, we played a clip of Virginia Senator Tim Kaine being astonished that someone would actually think that our rights did not come from our laws, that they come from God. That's what the Islam, that's what the Iranians think, that their rights come from God.

>> Ed Vitagliano: He was calling that a theocratic idea.

>> Steve Jordahl: Yeah, he was shocked that anybody would believe that. Now. Ah, as Ted Cruz pointed out, that is literally the founding principle of our nation. Yeah, but how close are we to losing rights when a US Senator thinks that he has a right to give them and take them away from the state of Virginia. Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: The state where Thomas Jefferson of all people was from. Who wrote the sentiments.

>> Steve Jordahl: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: that Tim Kaine was saying don't really exist except in theocracies later on.

>> Steve Jordahl: Exactly.

Play clip of RFK Jr talking about niece going to college in Europe

>> Ed Vitagliano: All right, so we also have in, in terms of what kind of Alex was talking about too, in terms of the way back from where we are. RFK Jr this, I'll admit I, I got a little choked up when I, when you played this, this morning in our story meeting. Play this clip, about RFK and the reaction of a family member to what happened.

>> Steve Jordahl: Yeah, he's talking about a niece that was going to college in Europe. And what happened with her. Let's listen to cut. 10.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Yesterday my 17 year old niece left for Europe to go to college. And while she was packing her mother, Amaryllis, my daughter in law, noticed that she had put a Bible in her suitcase. And Amaryllis was curious about it. She asked her and Zoe said to her, I, want to live like Charlie Kirk.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Wow. That's that's stunning. now we, we have all kinds of. We talked about, and we're. We are going to play something else along these same lines. I've been seeing several of these clips. I played one this morning, to our story meeting. We're not going to get to it. This young man, who was, making a video, was talking about it was he and his wife, their anniversary, and she had bought him a suit. He was thrilled. They. They don't come for means. It's kind of the opposite. This is striking. This is the opposite. RFK Jr talking about his niece going to college in Europe. Okay. So there is that set of people, okay? And she is interested in God. She, she wants to live like Charlie Kirk. The, the video I was watching was this young man who said, this is the most expensive. I've never had a suit before. And he was talking about, it's a 300 suit. He was proud of that. He said, we've never had much. I am starting to make some money now. We're glad for that. But he said, I wanna, I wanna live like Charlie Kirk. I'm gonna go to church. I'm wearing this suit to church for the first time. He said, I've never thought about God, and I'm, starting to think about God now. And he wants to go to church. So that's at the other end of the economic spectrum from the Kennedys, but the same impact. and this was a startling story, about, RFK Jr. S niece.

>> Steve Jordahl: Yeah. and it's not the only one.

At our church, our pastor referenced the Charlie Kirk death this weekend

I was wondering what the reaction at churches was going to be this weekend. At our church, our pastor referenced the Charlie Kirk death. And his point was, you may not be able to influence a nation for, God and stand up for truth for a nation, but you can influence your family, be the hero to your family and stand up for your family for truth. And, he invited anybody that wanted to come down to the front to kind of rededicate and to pray toward that end. And our church was flooded. Dozens and dozens of families and people came down to pray at the front. And I was wondering.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And that's unusual, right, for so many.

>> Steve Jordahl: It is, it is. I mean, it's a Southern Baptist church. We have an infinite invitation every week. And sometimes we'll have people, that come and want to join the church. Someone wants to get baptized. Every so often, someone will come and say they want to accept Jesus, but to have a crowded altar at the front, that it doesn't happen. Often.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Steve Jordahl: And it did for our. And I was wondering if maybe a lot of stuff happened. Here's another story that I found. And I, don't know. I can't verify. This one rang a couple bells somewhere. There's some background music to this that, you know, it looks. It sounds right, though. and this is a woman again on X, who was talking about how the assassination of Charlie Kirk affected her. And I want you to listen to cut 15.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: I've never, ever opened the Bible before. In fact, I know nothing about Christianity or Jesus. but yesterday, after witnessing the assassination of Charlie Kirk on the Internet, and it just being so normal to people, like watching this man get shot in the neck and everybody being so desensitized and just going on with life like it was normal. I. Something was calling me to my husband's Bible. But for the very first time yesterday, I grabbed the Bible. I don't know what I'm looking for in the Bible. I don't know why I felt like I needed to grab the Bible, but I grabbed my husband's Bible. And the page that I opened up to was the verse, John 8. 32. And it said, then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. And I feel like that changed me so much.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Alex, this, kind of stuff is. Is powerful. I'm with Steve. You don't. I don't know who this young lady is. It sounds sincere to me. I don't want to be a cynic, but at the same time, not. But at the same time, at the same time, the power of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit to change hearts. I remember. I don't remember whether it was Steve Saint or, one of those five missionaries that died, I think in. Was it Ecuador back in the 50s? Maybe it's Nate Saint.

>> Steve Jordahl: Nate Saint?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. I think Steve Saint was an athlete or something. But, anyway, one of them said prior to being martyred that the. The 20th century has no idea of the kind of power we're talking about and does not know how to reckon with the kind of power we're talking about in the gospel and God speak to that. I mean, I don't know whether it were. And as Steve said, I've been paying attention over the last several years, not just in this country, but in other parts around the world, in Iran and places like that, where God is moving. And you know what? He doesn't ask permission. He doesn't ask permission from mullahs or from presidents. Or, or, you know, university presidents. God does what he wants, but if we are in the midst of some sort of awakening in this country, God chooses his means and what he wants to use.

Young people, especially Gen Z, are spiritually hungry, Don says

Talk a little bit about the kind of power that, that military leaders and political leaders and economic leaders really have no idea how to reckon with when we're talking about the power of God.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, you know, Romans 1:16, the apostle Paul said, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. And of course, the church of Jesus Christ, we have prayer. And we, you know, it's been said prayer is the nerve that moves the muscle of God. And so we have a great opportunity here. folks, I will tell you people, but especially young people, are spiritually hungry. They really, really are. There was a Lifeway study like two years ago that said of, of like gen Z that 86% who have no church background said that they would, quote, be strongly, they would strongly consider attending a church service if somebody invited them.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, wow.

>> Alex McFarland: And I would suspect that number is even higher now. So let me just say to every, every Christian and pastor and church member, look, emotions are very raw. People, people are frankly afraid. And, you know, we just did, seven summer camps. We had 1200 teenagers. And I want to tell you, they're asking all the right questions. They're very spiritually hungry. So there are people all around you. I guarantee that if you invited them to church, they would probably say, sure. so, you know, we've got to maximize on this. But we can also remember, stronger than social media, stronger than the darkness of the world, is the prayer of God's people. And I just think that we need to seek revival like it's our next breath of oxygen. I got to say this, guys, Philip Yancey, do you remember, he's an author. At one time he was editor of Christianity Today, when it was actually a good Christian magazine. but Philip Yancey said, and I heard him give a speech about where God was at work all around the world. And somebody said, well, just summarize. Philip Yancey said, well, I'll summarize it this way. God goes where he's wanted.

>> Steve Jordahl: The polling suggests, in the United States right now that Gen X men, young men are coming back to the, faith. And a lot of people are saying that Charlie Kirk had a large influence on that. Part of the reason that the young men and Gen X are coming back to church and accepting religion and the faith are because of the efforts of Charlie Kirk. He, of course, is encouraging young Women to follow the lead. but there is a hunger among young people, like Alex is saying.

>> Whitney Vitagliano: Yeah. And to me, it drives. What really drives home, the responsibility and the privilege. What happened to Charlie Kirk drives home the responsibility and the privilege we have as believers to be the hands and feet of Jesus, to represent Jesus to the world. Because we can talk all we want to, but until our actions and our life reflects the character of Christ, people aren't really paying attention. And what's made people pay attention is that Charlie Kirk, he went around and talked a lot, talked a lot of people, had a lot of speeches. But giving his life for his faith, I think has had a huge impact on people because that is the ultimate demonstration of, a Christlike example. And to me, I think that's what's also making people pay attention. Wow. This man. Not only did he talk about his faith, but he was willing to, die for it.

>> Steve Jordahl: People are going to remember where they were when they heard the news. Charlie Kirk was killed. It's one of those cultural events, I think, that's gone, kind of viral.

>> Whitney Vitagliano: Absolutely.

>> Steve Jordahl: So, yeah, I think there's something happening, and I believe that we're, just seeing the beginnings of it.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, and folks, you may be out there listening, I just. Just want to maybe address this. You may be thinking, well, why are they talking about Charlie Kirk? Charlie Kirk. Charlie Kirk. Charlie Kirk. We. We're paying too much attention to a person's influence. Well, just remember, Billy Graham, and I'm not comparing the two. Charlie Kirk to Billy Graham, but God does sometimes raise up individuals. Don Wildmon. Out of the. Out of a small Methodist church. we. We've seen some, of those kinds of heroes pass away over the last, you know, several, several years. those. The group of individuals from the 70s and early 80s, whether it's, Jerry Falwell, d. James.

>> Alex McFarland: Kennedy Kennedy, James Dobbs, and Don Wildmon.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right. So these are. God raises up people and uses them as He. He will, as he wills. So we're not saying that Charlie Kirk is an apostle or anything. We're just making note of the impact he had. And, you know, Hollywood has spent decades and decades ridiculing Christians and creating a template that many of these young people thought all Christians were like. And yet they went to their campus and they watched Charlie Kirk, yes, firmly proclaim his faith, but also lovingly and charitably and reasonably interacting with people he disagreed with, politically. And I think people were touched by that because this was a real Christian, not a Hollywood cartoon. And maybe that's why God had used him, to impact him.

All right, folks, that's all the time we have. Alex. Thank you for listening to our show

All right, folks, that's all the time we have. Alex. Thank you, sir. Want to thank God, Steve and Chris Woodward. Lord willing, we'll see you right back here tomorrow for more.