Point of View June 18, 2026 – Hour 2 : Jesus Will Meet You There

[00:00:04] Across America, live, this is Point of View. And now, Liberty McArtor.

[00:00:20] The second hour of Point of View today and got another wonderful book to talk about on the line with me right now with Sarah Walton. She is the co-author with Kristen Wetherill of the book, Jesus Will Meet You There, Finding Strength and Comfort in the Savior Who Understands. Sarah, thanks so much for being with us on Point of View today. Thank you so much for having me. It's a joy. So I really appreciated this book. I think it is so needed for a lot of people.

[00:00:48] But in the introduction, you and your co-author write about how you became friends in the difficult season that brought you together and ultimately to co-authoring this book together. So could you kind of set that up for us? Yeah, of course. So she and I actually are both originally from the Chicagoland area. I am now out in Colorado. But we initially met kind of around the shared challenge of Lyme disease.

[00:01:15] So she had just recently been diagnosed and I was dealing with health stuff for years. And she had she actually had heard kind of I was struggling with a lot of chronic stuff. And so she recommended her doctor to me that I really think this doctor could find some help for you. And so long story short, I did end up getting diagnosed with Lyme disease as well, along with all four of our children who I had given birth to while I was sick.

[00:01:43] And so that kind of became a shared struggle that we were able to relate to with one another. And we both loved writing. And so that was kind of a process for both of us to be able to work through the challenges we were facing, what God was teaching us through it. So gradually we we started to write together. She actually asked me how she came back from a conference one day and was like, Sarah, I just I can't shake the thought that we should write a book on suffering together.

[00:02:10] And I remember looking at her and being like, no, I don't think that's going to happen. I don't think I can. My life is way too crazy. It's way too hard. But the Lord just started to press on my heart kind of the gift and being able to share and walk with others who are also hurting and how this is an isolating road for a lot of people in various forms of suffering.

[00:02:33] And so that's what began our writing journey together. And then we came out with a book, Hope When It Hurts, about nine years ago. And then we kind of teamed up again a year and a half or two years ago and started to write on a topic that just felt very something that we both were really relating to, of needing to be reminded of the compassion of Jesus and how he draws near to our humanity in the challenges we walk through.

[00:03:00] And so it's been a joy to work together. Yes, I love that story and God's providence and bringing you together and and that connection, because I know that it can be so isolating and feel so lonely, whether you're walking through chronic illness or some other type of suffering or grief. And so on one level, this book is encouraging, I think, for people to realize just because you're going to realize that if you are having doubts or struggling in your faith or just very discouraged,

[00:03:30] you are not alone. There are other people and other Christians who understand. And of course, ultimately, as you your point in writing the book is Jesus understands. But you do kind of have a theme where you write about how this is from Scripture. We are dust and in a fallen world as humans, we have frailties and weaknesses. Mm hmm. But our culture despises those.

[00:03:53] And I think this is so timely because we see all of these things that are trying to prevent aging and really like help us ignore the fact that we are fragile human beings. Why do you think we despise our weakness so much? Yeah, I love that question. You know, I think there's probably a lot of levels to that. But I think primarily we were made with eternity in our hearts.

[00:04:23] We were made to be lasting. And so God created this world in perfect harmony in a way that was meant to be before sin corrupted it. And so I think because we were created to live eternally and he has put eternity in our hearts, we have this longing to to not pass away. I mean, death is an enemy. Right.

[00:04:44] And so everything we experience in this life that that is a sense of loss is a sense of experiencing pain or grief. In a way, it's like a taste of death of what we were never meant to experience until sin corrupted this world. And so I think we're running from that. We're running from the fact that we are not God. We are running from the fact that we are not independent beings, that we have limitations.

[00:05:12] And honestly, if we think about it, what does our culture really elevate? It elevates people who are competent, people who are successful, who are not needy or needing other people. We tend to praise those characteristics. And so I think even as Christians, we can have this false view of weakness as though something's wrong with us. Like what happened to me? Where am I falling short that I'm not stronger than I am or not more unlimited than I am?

[00:05:41] When the reality is we were created to be dependent beings on our creator. And so I think if we realize God doesn't, God is not disappointed in our weaknesses often like we are. I think we're more frustrated by and disappointed in our limitations than God himself who created us. But the reality is, is he knows that we are dependent beings.

[00:06:04] And so those weaknesses, those limitations, those things that make us feel our humanity, they're not meant to be things that bring shame and disappointment to us. They are meant to be things that drive us to our creator, drive us to the one who has what we ultimately need the most to walk through this life with the strength and with the help of the Lord. And so it doesn't have to be something I think that deters us.

[00:06:31] In fact, it's the very thing that I think God knows will be the source of bringing us the greatest strength. Because when he becomes our strength, right, Paul talks about his strength is made perfect in weakness. And so I think the more we run from our weaknesses, we're really just fooling ourselves. That's so wise. So again, we're talking with Sarah Walton, new book, Jesus will meet you there, finding strength and comfort in the Savior who understands.

[00:07:00] So when we get back from a break, which we're coming up to, there are so many wonderful chapters in this book, both that you, Sarah, and your co-author, Kristen Wright, will talk about the relationship between anxiety and control. When you feel like you don't measure up.

[00:07:19] Also talking about when we can't make sense of our circumstances and when we want to be healed, but we feel like God is not answering the questions that the way in the way that we want. And so how we can often wear masks as Christians to cover up the fact that we are struggling with doubt or that we are struggling with faith and how other people who maybe we're looking at and they seem very spiritual. We may not realize that they're struggling with the same questions and the same things that we are.

[00:07:48] So this is, again, such an encouraging book. You open up with some questions for people to ask to know, is this a book for you? So if you've ever related to any of these questions, then I think you're going to want to get a copy. Do I despise my failures? Do I fear letting go of control? Does my sense of worth ebb and flow with others' opinions? Do I struggle to believe that God cares about the details? I mean, who hasn't asked at least a couple of those questions at one point or another?

[00:08:17] So we'll get into some more of those and cover as much as we can when we get back from this break again, talking with Sarah Walton. Jesus will meet you there, finding strength and comfort in the Savior who understands. You can find more information about Sarah and the other books that she's written at pointofview.net. And, of course, find a link to get this book as well. Much more to discuss coming up, so don't go anywhere. We'll be right back after this break.

[00:09:00] This is Viewpoints with Kirby Anderson. Jason Reilly begins his editorial on the dwindling American work ethic with a joke from comedian Chris Rock. He says if you're in any neighborhood in America in 1215 on the afternoon on Wednesday and you see women with sweatpants on coming out of the gym, pushing babies, riding bikes, chances are you're in a nice neighborhood.

[00:09:23] However, if you see men in sweatpants smoking cigarettes, hanging with their boys, lifting weights in the yard, riding children's bicycles as their actual transportation, then you're in danger. He uses it to focus on the latest job numbers that demonstrate that the American work ethic has gone out of style. According to the Department of Labor, one in three men were neither working nor looking for a job in April.

[00:09:48] In previous commentaries, I've quoted Nicholas Eberstadt and his statistics, many of which are found in his book, Men Without Work. It is worth mentioning again, these men are not only not working, they aren't even looking for work. If you dig into the numbers, you realize that male joblessness doesn't stem from an inability to find employment. There are many jobs available in our economy. It results from a complete unwillingness of able-bodied men to search for work.

[00:10:13] Jason Reilly reminds us that we have a social safety net full of generous government benefits that allow men who won't work to subsist. Many have learned to game the system and have become a significant source of income. But political or economic reform are only part of the solution. Five years ago, I wrote a booklet on a biblical point of view on work to encourage pastors and church leaders to start talking about this issue biblically. They need to preach and teach about a Christian work ethic. I'm Kirby Anderson, and that's my point of view.

[00:10:49] Go deeper on topics like you just heard by visiting pointofview.net. That's pointofview.net. You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth. We're talking about the book, Jesus Will Meet You There, Finding Strength and Comfort in the Savior Who Understands. Sarah Walton, an author of the book, is with us.

[00:11:15] And, Sarah, anxiety is something that a lot of people are dealing with today, a lot of young people. We've seen those rates of anxiety skyrocket. And, of course, you address this in one of the chapters in the book. And so can you talk about that a little bit? And, again, one of those questions that you asked at the beginning, do I fear letting go of control? We may not always realize this, but anxiety and desire for control are often linked, aren't they? Oh, yes. Yeah, they really are.

[00:11:45] And I think by our nature, our human nature, I think we have this idea that if I can just control my circumstances, my environment, then I can prevent these things that cause anxiety from happening. It's this false sense of being actually in more control than we are. But I think deep down we all really know how little we can control, right?

[00:12:10] Like, we don't have to look far in our world to realize there is a lot that feels like it's spinning out of control. And I think that anxiety that's even more perpetual today is because we have access to this information at such incredible pace that we're surrounded by constant reminders of the things that are out of our control. And, honestly, they're scary. There's a lot to fear in this world.

[00:12:34] If we just look at what can happen potentially, the immediate response we typically have is either a sense to run in fear or to try to control our situation, but neither of which really calm that sense of anxiety because really deep down we know, ultimately, I really can't control what comes at me. I can try, but we are so limited in that.

[00:12:57] And so I think the thing that's been helpful for me in terms of anxiety is thinking about we can't really always control what comes into our minds. I think there is an aspect. Some people even deal with this on a more severe level because of things they experience in their bodies that kind of contribute to this perpetual sense of anxiety. But even just the average person who is dealing with all the things that there are to be concerned about in their lives,

[00:13:23] we can't always control the thoughts that come into our minds, but we can control how we respond to them. So one of the things I do talk about in the book is how do we speak to ourselves? How do we, in a sense, speak back to the anxieties rather than letting them just kind of cycle in our minds to where they start to take root? How do we take those thoughts captive and think, okay, what is this anxious thought rooted in? So, like, for example, I tend to deal with people-pleasing.

[00:13:51] So if I fear what others are thinking of me, what's the thing I'm not believing there? The unbelief is something along the lines of God's opinion doesn't matter as much as the opinion of others. Or, therefore, I am just the sum of my choices. So everything I do, everything I say, I second-guess, and I can maybe feel anxious about how do people respond to that? What are they thinking about me now? But what's the truth?

[00:14:16] Because my identity, my value, they aren't determined by the opinions of others or my successes and failures. So if Jesus loves me enough to die for me and to provide for me, I can rest my identity in him. And so it's flipping the script when those anxious thoughts come into our minds of recognizing what is causing me this feeling? What am I not believing? And what is the truth to replace it? Yes, I love that. That is so helpful.

[00:14:44] It is renewing our minds and speaking that biblical truth to ourselves. And to kind of stay with that track, another chapter in part two is titled When Fear Consumes You. And you talk about God's redemption in that chapter. But, again, like you said, whether somebody maybe is dealing with more severe clinical anxiety or not, we all have moments of fear of the unknown or thinking about those what-ifs.

[00:15:13] And so how can we find and experience God's redemption in that so that we're not living in fear? Yeah, well, I mean, I think that's one of the most important reasons why we need to be in God's word is to be able to know what is true. If we're not grounded on the truth, we will be sucked into all that there is to fear in this world. I mean, there's a lot to fear. I personally, I have chronic health. All my kids deal with sicknesses.

[00:15:43] There's so much I could fear on a daily basis of what if, right? That's usually where our mind goes is what if. But what we're doing there is we're in a sense borrowing troubles from tomorrow. That God has, before God's met us with the grace we need for that situation, we've already put ourselves there. And so, of course, we don't feel the comfort and the strength of the Lord that he promises when things happen that are hard.

[00:16:09] Because we've put ourselves into a future fear where God has yet to meet us. So I think it's helpful for me to think, one, is this a realistic fear? Am I creating fears that have not happened? Or two, do I believe, do I really believe that Jesus loves me and he has what is best for me in store?

[00:16:33] Because if I do, then I can know no matter what happens, rather than that fear of what might be gripping me and consuming me, I have the peace of knowing no matter what, I know the Lord is going to meet me in that moment and he will give me what I need to endure. I mean, it's why we look at other people around us who are walking through really hard things. And what we often think, oh, my goodness, I don't know if I could endure that.

[00:16:58] But, well, no, because the Lord has not met you with his grace and his sufficient strength for that particular trial. But he is needing that person in that place, which is why we can look at them and be like, wow. Often we see people walking through unimaginable suffering and we see a peace and a strength and an endurance that is otherworldly. And that's because we see Christ in that. That is what makes us lift our eyes and say, this is not just about this person.

[00:17:27] God is being glorified through it. And so I think we can, again, kind of like our anxiety, speak to our fears and know that if we truly know that God is for us, he is not against us. He's not trying to trick us. He's not far and distant, but he is present and with us and does truly know what's best for us. Then I can know no matter what happens in my life, he will meet me in that place with everything I need to be sustained with that exact trial. Yeah. Yeah. So good.

[00:17:57] Another thing that you write about a little later on is that it is really hard whenever you maybe are walking through a season of pain to maintain that faith, especially when you believe that God can do miracles, but you ask for healing or you ask and it's not answered the way you want. You're not receiving that healing. So how can we maintain trust in the Lord when it's just it seems like he's not doing what he could do? Yeah. Yeah.

[00:18:27] I love that question because I think there's a lot of confusion in even just the Christian culture of what has God promised us? I think there's times when, you know, we're hurting or we're sick or someone we love is sick. And we look to these verses in scripture that talk about by his stripes we are healed and we want to cling to that verse and be like, you've promised my healing.

[00:18:50] And yet we offer in a sense we're giving ourselves a false promise in terms of we're taking what God has promised eternally and turning it temporarily. And then we feel like God has disappointed us. God, you've let me down. You promised to heal me. Well, he did. But that promise is for an eternal healing in terms of our eternal souls. And he will one day fully heal us physically as well.

[00:19:17] But we live in a fallen world and he does not promise healing for every person on this earth because we are just living in the brokenness of a world. And so he can. I think we always need to hold on to that hope that God is able. God is always able to bring the answers to the prayers we desire. And so we pray that way. We pray boldly. We pray with confidence. But ultimately, our hope is not rooted in the answer of that prayer.

[00:19:47] It's in the goodness of God being able to say, but I know no matter what answer he gives me, he must know it is what is best for me. Because we are not made for this world. So there are many times he is withholding the immediate desire we want, healing, help, relief, because he has something deeper at work within us. He is preparing us for the world to come. He is shaping us.

[00:20:11] He is refining us to where we will be able to look back one day and be like, I did not want that suffering. I hated that suffering. But what he did within it, I would never want to be changed. Yeah, so good. So much wisdom, Sarah. We're talking with Sarah Walton, co-author of the book, Jesus Will Meet You There. This is so encouraging. So again, go to pointofview.net, click on the link, grab a copy of this book, grab an extra copy to give to somebody.

[00:20:41] Because the truth is, we know that in this fallen world, we will have trouble. We will have suffering. Not everybody is the same as everybody else's. And so it might be different, but it is normal in our walk of faith to question God, to have doubts, to wonder, is it okay for me to ask this question or to struggle in my faith or to feel like he's not answering my prayer? And so that's why this is such an encouraging book. And when we come back, we'll talk a little bit about that.

[00:21:11] And when you're asking yourself those questions and really taking off the mask and understanding why Jesus took on human form to walk and really understand and experience everything that we would go through. We'll continue talking with Sarah when we get back after this break. Have you ever met a child you knew would do great things?

[00:21:36] They displayed remarkable imagination, understanding, and a zest for learning. Now imagine someone takes that child and instead of fostering their potential with a real education, they feed them nothing but lies. You know, that scenario isn't so far from reality.

[00:21:52] From a young age, Americans are fed a consistent stream of distorted facts from the secular indoctrination they receive in many public schools to the biases presented as fact in many colleges and universities to the barrage of misinformation from the mainstream media and the lack of moral grounding in our society. It's not that Americans aren't capable of understanding the truth. It's that they aren't exposed to it enough.

[00:22:19] You can expose more Americans to the truth when you give to Point of View, where listeners receive facts, perspective, and biblical truth they don't get from society. As long as we have truth, we have hope. Give today at pointofview.net or call 1-800-347-5151. pointofview.net and 1-800-347-5151.

[00:22:46] Point of View will continue after this. You are listening to Point of View. The opinions expressed on Point of View do not necessarily reflect the views of the management or staff of this station.

[00:23:13] And now, here again is Liberty McArtor. We've been talking with Sarah Walton, author of Jesus Will Meet You There, Finding Strength and Comfort in the Savior Who Understands, a book she co-authored with her friend Kristen Wetherill. And in our last few minutes here, Sarah, I do want to talk about what you both call this veneer of acceptable Christianity.

[00:23:38] And we've talked about anxiety and fears and suffering and how it's hard whenever we are praying for healing. We're praying for relief and we're not giving the answers that we want. And so, some people, on top of the suffering that they're going through, may then feel guilty and like, I'm not even a good Christian because here I am doubting God or struggling to trust him.

[00:24:05] And so, what would you say to somebody who maybe is having that guilt or wondering if they're even allowed to ask these questions? Yeah. You know, it really comes down to the heart of the gospel. I think too often we get caught up in this self-righteous view of Christianity as though God's favor is poured out on us if we are good enough, if we're doing the right things.

[00:24:35] If we're not suffering, that must mean that he has his smiling face down upon us. This kind of idea, kind of in the sense of the prosperity gospel, that if I'm doing the right things, God will bless me in an earthly way. But, you know, if you look in scripture, you do not have to look far to realize that it's the opposite of the way the Lord often works. Because we aren't living for this world.

[00:24:58] And so, often he knows that if he gives us the comforts we desire, if he allows us to never be stretched, never be challenged, never to doubt, never to walk through pain, we're way too comfortable in this world. We don't feel a need for him. And so, that comfort is actually often a greater threat to our souls than the suffering he allows. But the reality is, is Jesus entered this world not to have a cushy life.

[00:25:27] He entered this world to walk in the pain of this world. If God of the universe did, why do we think we will be spared from it? And why do we immediately assume, looking at someone else who's hurting, they must be doing something wrong? That's not the God of the Bible. That is not his heart for us. And so, I think it's this kind of twisted view. I think often we are afraid of suffering ourselves.

[00:25:51] And so, it's a little bit of a self-comfort to assume that person must have done something wrong to be having to go through that. If I just keep my act together enough, God's not going to ask me to walk through pain like they are. But the truth really is, is we are promised in the Bible that in this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world.

[00:26:13] And so, I think I would want to encourage people to know that if you are hurting, if you are wrestling with faith, if you are struggling in this life, you are in good company with all the saints of Scripture. That does not put you outside of God's favor. That is what actually draws the heart of Christ to you, our suffering Savior. And so, there is so much to be gleaned.

[00:26:40] So much of who God used in the Bible were the weakest, were the ones that were struggling the most, the ones who were battling pride and heart issues. I mean, look at Job, who lost everything. That was not God who was disappointed in Job and brought that on him. And he was so proud of Job that he said to Satan, look at my child Job. Look at how he worships me.

[00:27:08] And Satan said, he won't if you take everything from him. But here God put Job as almost an example of who he was so proud of. And he allowed Satan to afflict him. But even in that, God was able to redeem Satan's evil intentions, to redeem that in Job's life, and to glorify himself. And so, really, my encouragement would be the heartache, the pain, even the doubts you are wrestling with, they are not the end of the story.

[00:27:37] That is exactly where Jesus wants to meet you. And he often does in a way that is so personal that you will look back and you will be amazed at the goodness of God. Not that he was looking down frowning upon you, but the privilege it was to walk near with your Savior. And so I think we need to be more encouraging to one another that you are in the wrong place because you are hurting. You are right where the Lord has you, and he's doing something in it that is of greater purposes.

[00:28:06] That is so encouraging. And it is so countercultural. And I think we need to remember that our faith is a countercultural faith. And whenever we're talking about things that we want to defend, maybe, or stand up for, then it can be, yes, okay, we're going to be countercultural. But suffering? Weakness? God working in us that way? That's not the fun way to be countercultural.

[00:28:34] But like you say, that is where he meets us. And so I do want to focus on that just for a minute more because Jesus, God did become human. And so we know that, especially if we're raised in church, we kind of get used to that. But talk a little bit more about why that is so significant for how God is able to relate to us. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:29:01] Well, you know, as we were writing, we were looking at just the humanity of Jesus. And I found it so refreshing, even just thinking about the fact that Jesus didn't come to earth and just start three years of his ministry and then die on the cross and return to heaven.

[00:29:18] And he lived for 30 years as a human being, having to go through everything we go through, having to be raised as a child, having to be experiencing sickness, having to go through skin needs, you know, a loss of people he loved, working day in and day out as a carpenter, like not glorious, glamorous things. And then even as he began his ministry, he was not, I mean, he was, he was betrayed.

[00:29:49] He grieved. He was, he involved himself in the lives of people who are the lowliest of society. And then he, more than anything, he bore the entire griefs and sorrows of the world. And you look at his humanity, even in the Garden of Gethsemane, and what does he do? He knows what he's doing. He's doing his life for the salvation of the world.

[00:30:14] And yet in his humanity, he cries out to his father, if it be your will, take this cup from me. In a sense, his humanity was saying, please rescue me from this pain. I cannot endure it. And yet, if it be your will, your will be done.

[00:30:29] And so you see here this contrast between his humanity, his limitations of a human being, and the pain that he had to endure, while also the spirit of God walking through and doing what only he could. And so it's because he walked this earth that he can be our great high priest. He, yes, is in heaven, but he has given us his spirit. And he says to us that he is our great high priest. He is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. Why?

[00:30:59] Because he experienced them firsthand. So he isn't this distant God that's just like patting us on the back, like, you're going to be okay. He lived it. He felt it. He pasted the pain of this world so that now he can say, I grieve with you because I know what that feels like. I feel that pain because I experienced it myself, and therefore I am the perfect one to give you what you need to endure it. Because not only does he understand, he has the power and the strength for exactly what we need.

[00:31:27] So he is the perfect savior because he is not just God. He is also God in the flesh who can enter into the real nitty-gritty of our humanity as one who's lived it. Wow. So good. This has been such a great conversation, Sarah. And, again, I encourage people to check out the book. You can find the link for JesusWillMeetYouThere at pointofview.net. We've got about a minute left before we go to a break.

[00:31:54] But, Sarah, I would love to just hear kind of closing thoughts or encouragements for people that are on your heart who may be walking through a season of suffering. Yeah. My just encouragement to you would be to know that it's okay that you don't know how the story is going to unfold. It's so hard to be in the in-between. When everything looks bleak, everything looks hopeless from an earthly standpoint, it just feels pointless.

[00:32:22] So often the pain we experience in this world feels so unbelievably pointless. And so my encouragement to you would be it's okay that you don't know how this story is going to end. It's okay that you don't have the answers. I would just challenge you to not turn from the Lord in your pain but run to him. He knows exactly what you need. He has exactly what you need.

[00:32:47] And I do truly believe he will meet you with what you need in this moment and carry you and give you the strength and the grace you need for every day, one day at a time. So instead of looking to the future of how this is going to play out, what if, what do I do, just draw an ear to him today, even in your weakness, in your doubt, and say, Lord, I have nothing to give. But I need you to give me what I need today to walk in your strength. So good. Sarah Walton, thank you for being with us on Point of View today.

[00:33:17] Thank you for having me. So, again, you can get the book that she is the co-author of, Jesus Will Meet You There, Finding Strength and Comfort in the Savior Who Understands. The second wonderful book that we have been able to highlight on Point of View for you today as a resource to equip you in your faith. Don't go anywhere, though, because we have a few more things to discuss when we get back from this break on Point of View.

[00:33:41] You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth.

[00:34:04] As so often happens on Point of View, when I have the opportunity to be here with you, a theme emerges. And the theme that I really see today is God's heart. Of course, we just talked with Sarah Walton in her book, Jesus Will Meet You There. That's all about the heart of God for those who are walking through difficult seasons and suffering. That was so encouraging.

[00:34:26] And in the first hour, I had a wonderful interview with Dr. Sandra Glahn on God's heart for women and what we can learn about that when we study Scripture and understand what Scripture is telling us. Well, God also has a heart for truth. And so I want to continue that thread of God's heart for women and also God's heart for truth to take the opportunity to talk about something that I think is a concern. And I don't want to give undue airtime to bad ideas.

[00:34:52] But when you see that they are starting to gain influence or maybe at a danger of deceiving people, it's important to address it from a biblical perspective. And we're all about that on Point of View. So just going back to Dr. Glahn's book, talking about a woman's place is in the story, understanding what Scripture actually says about women and God's heart for women. The only agenda in that is for us to have a better understanding of Scripture and a better understanding of our Savior.

[00:35:22] And she corrects some of the ways that we have applied modern biases and cultural misunderstandings in the way that we read Scripture today that actually are contrary to what we would understand if we were really taking the author and the context and the audience into consideration as we have to do when we study Scripture. Well, there's a real bad case of those kinds of misunderstandings going around and worse in a movement called biblical patriarchy and also the new Christian right.

[00:35:52] Now, as benign or simply traditional or conservative as these terms may sound, this is not your grandma's Christian conservatism. OK, this is something that I think is insidious and it's important to call it out. So I'm going to try to take us through some of these things that this movement is talking about.

[00:36:13] They even if you're in the DFW area, especially you may see a conference advertised on the new Christian right steer clear, because, again, this isn't just talking about Christian values and conservatism. This is actually very unbiblical. So let's set the stage a little bit, though, because we have to remember our fight is not against flesh and blood. As we've talked about so many times on point of view, regardless of whether you want to call it a revival or not, there is a spike in interest in Christianity among Gen Z.

[00:36:43] There is a rejection of many lies that our culture has preached to young people for a long time. So, again, these are good trends. You're seeing young adults who are interested in more traditional family values again. They want to go to church. These are all great things. So, of course, if you're thinking in spiritual terms, what would the enemy want to do? He would want to subvert that.

[00:37:08] He would want to exacerbate the divide that we often worry about between men and women. And at a time when Gen Z, who many have not, the most have not been raised in Christianity, are expressing interest in that, do something that we talked about with Dr. Golan, which is actually cause misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the scripture and what it says about women that would keep women away from coming to the church and coming to Christianity.

[00:37:36] So I think we have to keep that in mind here. And that's why it's important to refute these lies. So I posted an article on pointofview.net. This was published in the spring. But I think it's going to be really helpful because what the author does is go through and combat some of the lies of biblical patriarchy with what you actually find in scripture. So what we're talking about, some names you may know. If you aren't chronically online, you may not and good for you.

[00:38:03] But you may have heard, you know, Doug Wilson's probably the most popular one, but some others, Dale Partridge, Joel Webin. These are people who are really popular in like the podcast sphere. So you may have somebody who is a young adult in your life who's expressing interest in conservatism or Christianity. And this is where I think we have to be careful because they could get pulled into this sphere that is preaching unbiblical ideas.

[00:38:28] Now, I want to note that biblical patriarchy, of course, rejects egalitarian theology, but also complementarian theology. There's actually a whole episode where some of these people take a podcast on YouTube and actually talk about how complementarianism is wrong. So, again, this is not just typical conservative theology here. Biblical patriarchy does not just talk about women's roles in the church or within marriage and that beautiful servant leadership.

[00:38:58] Of the husband and mutual submission and things like that. They actually argue that women are not capable of any sort of leadership in any realm of society. In fact, some members of this, I don't know, ideology, I guess, have come out and said that this is from Dale Partridge.

[00:39:19] What he has said that we should repeal the 19th Amendment, which is what gave women the right to vote, because apparently women aren't intellectually smart enough to handle such a big decision on who to cast their ballot for. So, things that they are going through, again, are very unbiblical. So, let's just talk about being made in the image of God, first of all. They really do put a lot of weight on what we find in Genesis, which is Eve being created as Adam's helper.

[00:39:49] Well, what this article talks about is that that is being so misinterpreted by this movement to really relegate women to a perpetual servant's position. When in reality, men and women, especially if you are a complementarian, they complement each other. They work together. They are supposed to steward God's creation together. And so, what does that word helper mean? When you look in the original text, the word there is easier.

[00:40:15] Here's another example of that word being used in the Old Testament, which English translate as helper. This is Psalm 121, verses 1 through 2. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord. In this context, she writes, a helper is a warrior who champions, delivers, and rescues those under their protection. So, therefore, using that same word to talk about Eve being Adam's helper does not preclude all women from holding any sort of leadership position.

[00:40:45] They also really make a big deal of the curse post-fall of how God does give these curses and says that Eve's desire will be for her husband, but he will rule over her. And we could really get into a lot of the theology behind that. But in essence, what she argues is, are we supposed to be operating according to the curse, or are we trying to get back to God's original vision, which is unity between men and women?

[00:41:13] Some of the other things that she goes through and criticizes here, of course, we could talk so much about all of these examples, but they will cherry pick a scripture to try to really limit women's capability to do any sort of ministry work in church at all, even teaching theology to other women. And if you look at the whole of the New Testament, you see that that contradicts so many of the women that Paul praises throughout the New Testament.

[00:41:40] So, again, I think this is why resources like Dr. Galan's book are so important, because what she does is she takes a strictly scriptural view of what God tells us in his word and the stories of women that we see and the examples of God using women in his story. And that is such an encouraging thing for men and women, because God's kingdom is not just for one sex or the other.

[00:42:07] And, of course, Satan is the one who wants to drive a wedge between men and women. Satan's the one that wants to keep men and women divided. And so when we see people who purport to speak in the name of Christianity and in the name of God perpetuating that and actually perpetuating harm against women, we have to speak up and say that's not biblical. And we have to know our Bible and what the Bible says. So, again, we could talk about that a long time, but I don't want to just be a doomer.

[00:42:35] I wanted to just highlight something so that you can be aware, especially if you're online or if you hear people talk about this movement or these figures, to know what they actually are saying. You can read more about it if you click on the links at pointofview.net. We're already out of time for today. Don't forget to tune in tomorrow, because Kirby will be back on the weekend edition, and there will be wonderful discussions there. As always, I'm looking forward to tuning in, so I hope you do too. Thank you, Megan. Thank you, Steve. Thank you for listening to Point of View.

[00:43:14] America's founders called this nation an experiment. 250 years later, the question for us is, did the experiment work? Well, let's look at the history. Though not perfect, America has continued moving toward the promise of the declaration that all men are created equal. Our nation has enjoyed amazing success and providential survival.

[00:43:43] So has the experiment succeeded? Well, yes, but will it succeed going forward? That depends on you. At Point of View, we know the American experiment owes its success to the biblical values upon which it was founded. Join Point of View this month as we work to restore a biblical worldview in American culture.

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