Point of View October 15, 2024 – Hour 2 : Gen Z Radio

[00:00:04] Across America, Live, this is Point of View, Kirby Anderson.

[00:00:20] We're going to spend some time first of all talking about Gen Z Radio and then we'll get back to some issues in the news.

[00:00:25] And many years ago we came up with the idea of creating a Millennial Roundtable.

[00:00:30] Now in the previous studio we began that with a number of experts that went on to bigger and better things.

[00:00:38] I was kind of the host and soon then we turned it over to others and then decided that old guys like me don't need to be a part of it.

[00:00:44] So we've been doing this Millennial Roundtable for some time.

[00:00:48] Well it turns out that this has been a model that others have decided to follow.

[00:00:54] And when we were with our good friends up there in Peoria, Illinois, WPEO,

[00:00:59] Paul Scott who is the general manager there was telling me about the fact that they do a Gen Z Radio, a Gen Z Roundtable,

[00:01:05] which I think is outstanding.

[00:01:08] And I thought first of all you'd like to hear from one of the participants,

[00:01:11] but also again I want to encourage you that if you think something we have been doing here on Point of View would make some sense in your local radio station,

[00:01:20] I would encourage you to mimic it and find other voices in your community to really address these issues

[00:01:28] because we have very talented people, as you'll find out in just a minute, of different ages who actually can articulate very significant biblical perspectives on radio.

[00:01:40] But what I want to do first of all is bring to the microphone Alyssa Sonnenberg.

[00:01:45] She is the executive assistant to David E. Smith.

[00:01:48] He's the executive director of the Illinois Family Institute.

[00:01:52] I've been on the mailing list of the Illinois Family Institute for years.

[00:01:55] I'm very familiar with what they have been doing there in the state of Illinois.

[00:01:59] And she is the host, writer and manager of the Self Evident Podcast,

[00:02:05] which is where she really wants to point her generation to the truth.

[00:02:09] And we have a link to self-evident podcast dot com.

[00:02:14] And self-evident talks about the fact that based upon Ephesians 4 15 speaking the truth in love,

[00:02:20] they say speaking truth that were once self-evident and doing so in love.

[00:02:26] I might just mention Alyssa is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute,

[00:02:30] also is working to continue her education in the area of biblical counseling.

[00:02:35] So Alyssa, welcome to Point of View.

[00:02:38] Yeah, thank you so much for having me.

[00:02:40] It's an honor to talk to you today.

[00:02:41] Well, again, I appreciate what you and your other co-hosts are doing.

[00:02:46] But give us a little bit of the background for the podcast, because some people might say,

[00:02:51] well, it's great that you do this sort of Gen Z roundtable, but I can't listen to WPEO.

[00:02:57] By the way, you can.

[00:02:57] You can go to WPEO and click on the button that says listen now and get it at the right time.

[00:03:01] You could actually hear what you do.

[00:03:03] But most of our radio stations are not in Illinois.

[00:03:06] As a matter of fact, I think only one or two are.

[00:03:08] And so people around the country might learn from you about what they could do something like what you're doing in Illinois,

[00:03:15] maybe in their local community.

[00:03:17] So give us some background, if you might.

[00:03:20] Yeah, so a couple of years ago, me and some really good friends of mine who are all like-minded, both theologically and politically,

[00:03:27] we got together and we were really analyzing the cultural landscape.

[00:03:31] We were really looking at what our generation struggles with.

[00:03:35] And like any generation, there's nothing new under the sun.

[00:03:38] Generation Z is not some new warped version of adolescence.

[00:03:43] We saw that the issue is that we don't know Christ.

[00:03:46] So we started Self Evident to be a platform that, yes, we talk about political issues.

[00:03:51] Yes, we talk about marriage.

[00:03:52] We talk about gender.

[00:03:54] We talk about policies.

[00:03:56] But more than that, we point our generation to the truth.

[00:03:59] We point them to Jesus, who says he is the way, the truth, and the life.

[00:04:04] And ultimately, politics are not Democrat versus Republican.

[00:04:09] Ultimately, these aren't Bible issues.

[00:04:11] This is good versus evil.

[00:04:12] We do not wrestle against flesh and blood.

[00:04:14] So that is the heartbeat of our platform.

[00:04:18] So again, your goal is to just really try to give a slightly different perspective because, if nothing else,

[00:04:24] Gen Z is looking at a world which, for again, the generation are those individuals that have been through everything from a downturn in 2008,

[00:04:34] economically, the pandemic and lockdown, some of the tensions today.

[00:04:39] So in some respects, your generation has been influenced by different factors than previous generations, haven't they?

[00:04:47] Absolutely.

[00:04:47] Absolutely.

[00:04:48] That is 100% true.

[00:04:49] COVID-19 era in 2020 to 2022 was very difficult for our generation to navigate for a multitude of reasons.

[00:04:59] And I think, in a way, we're still recovering a lot mentally and emotionally and especially spiritually from that time.

[00:05:06] You know, again, one of the things I want to encourage our listeners is to make this as a platform to develop others.

[00:05:13] If you think about that, our first millennial roundtable, one of those participants is Allie Beth Stuckey.

[00:05:19] I bet you know who she is now because she went on, of course, to the blaze and all sorts of international fame.

[00:05:25] Of course, right now, one of the hosts of the millennial roundtable is Chelsea Uelman.

[00:05:30] And again, we have seen some individuals start with one of these platforms, one of these roundtables,

[00:05:37] and go on to some very significant things.

[00:05:39] And Alyssa, I think that might happen to you too because you certainly bring a lot to the table.

[00:05:44] But let's talk about a couple of the issues.

[00:05:46] And one that I wanted to focus on is your most recent issue, if I can remember.

[00:05:51] And that is, quote, Christian, it is your duty to vote.

[00:05:55] Now, one of the pieces of material that I've made available to our listeners comes from our good friend George Barna at the Cultural Research Center.

[00:06:04] And I know this is going to give you a headache, but let's just be honest.

[00:06:09] His latest survey by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University indicates that voting enthusiasm is much lower in 2024 than it was in 2020.

[00:06:20] And as a result indicates that as many, are you ready for this number?

[00:06:25] One hundred and four million people of faith are unlikely to vote in the upcoming election.

[00:06:32] That would include 32 million self-identified Christians who regularly attend church.

[00:06:38] And so what you are finding is, is first of all, there is less enthusiasm among the Christian community to vote.

[00:06:46] And then the surveys have also found that large numbers of Christian churches have distanced themselves from the election,

[00:06:55] not necessarily even being willing to encourage people that are in the congregation to vote and avoid teaching some of those issues.

[00:07:03] And you might get into, and when we come back from the break, we're going to talk with Alyssa about some of those reasons that maybe she's seen.

[00:07:11] Some just said there was a lack of interest.

[00:07:13] Some thought that maybe they didn't feel they could find a candidate that reflected their most important views.

[00:07:19] Sadly, some of them actually said that they were convinced that their vote would not make a difference.

[00:07:25] Again, I will hold up our booklet that I just produced a while back and we've been sending out boxes of these.

[00:07:33] The importance of voting, which reminds us again of the fact that we've had lots of very close votes.

[00:07:39] And more importantly, that if voters were educated, it would have even changed the 2020 election.

[00:07:45] And it gives you all the facts and figures about that as well.

[00:07:48] But recognize that when we talk about how close even the presidential election is, we are dealing with something that was remarkably close.

[00:07:58] Because if you change about 42,844 votes in three states, then you would be talking about the end of the second administration of Donald Trump,

[00:08:11] rather than, of course, Joe Biden finishing his and Kamala Harris now running as the Democratic nominee.

[00:08:17] So, again, we have to recognize that some of the presidential elections are very close.

[00:08:23] But even more so, by the time you get to these senatorial elections, congressional elections, even statewide elections,

[00:08:30] all the way down to school board and city council, one vote really does make a difference.

[00:08:36] But we'll come back and I want Elissa to talk about what she sees among her generation, why they don't want to go out and vote.

[00:08:43] We'll talk about that right after this.

[00:08:58] This is Viewpoints with Kirby Anderson.

[00:09:02] Yesterday, I talked about the book The Sovereign Individual that decades ago predicted the death of the nation state.

[00:09:08] To paraphrase Mark Twain, the rumors of the demise of the nation state are greatly exaggerated.

[00:09:13] Governments may still exist and exercise their power, but we can see how the power and influence of some governments are in decline.

[00:09:19] And there are many reasons for this trend.

[00:09:21] First is geography.

[00:09:23] The information revolution has made it possible for many people to make a living online or working remotely.

[00:09:29] A factory has a more difficult time changing locations, though many have done so by even leaving the United States.

[00:09:35] By contrast, an individual participating in the cyber economy can pick up and leave a jurisdiction if taxes, regulations or even climate is unfavorable.

[00:09:43] Second is the reality of a government monopoly.

[00:09:47] When we go into a store or a coffee shop, we expect customer service.

[00:09:51] But governments take us for granted and rarely treat us like customers.

[00:09:54] The authors use this example.

[00:09:56] If you went into a store to buy furniture and the salespeople took your money, but then proceeded to ignore your request and consult others about how to spend your money, you would quite rightly be upset.

[00:10:07] The fact that something like this happens in dealings with governments show how little control its customers actually have.

[00:10:13] A third reason not mentioned in the book is the sad reality that governments are broke.

[00:10:18] You could argue that the United States has $31 trillion past broke.

[00:10:22] Put another way, the U.S. national debt is significantly more than the GDP, and there are a dozen other countries in the world with higher debt loads.

[00:10:32] This is not sustainable.

[00:10:34] Nation states are not dead, but most of them are dying.

[00:10:37] I'm Kirby Anderson, and that's my point of view.

[00:10:46] For a free booklet on biblical reliability, go to viewpoints.info slash biblicalreliability.

[00:10:58] You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth.

[00:11:04] Continue our conversation today by Gen Z Radio and Alyssa Sonnenberg with us.

[00:11:08] And Alyssa, I thought I would come to you because we have posted a couple of things.

[00:11:12] First of all, underneath your bio is actually the article of George Barna, in which he again just makes my hair hurt.

[00:11:19] 104 million people of faith are projected to decide not to vote in November when all sorts of things are at stake.

[00:11:28] But also, I might just mention next to your picture there, of course, we have a link to the website, which we just talked about a minute ago, which again is selfevidentpodcast.com.

[00:11:39] And then we also have a link so that if people would like to contact you, maybe even schedule it to speak, we have a link to your Facebook page and X.

[00:11:47] But what about this?

[00:11:48] I think it is fair to say that it has always been true.

[00:11:51] The younger you are, the less likely you are to be registered to vote, the less likely you were to vote.

[00:11:57] But I think also there are some other factors.

[00:12:01] And so give us a Gen Z perspective on why some of your peers say, I'm just going to sit it out during this election.

[00:12:09] Yeah, ultimately, I would say largely the reason for my generation sitting out on voting is due to spiritual apathy.

[00:12:18] We have a tendency, especially in America, to allow things to just go the way they go, to not think that politics really matter, especially in Christian spheres, because we're going to heaven anyways.

[00:12:29] And unfortunately, that bleeds down heavily into the younger generation because they look at older generations with that mindset.

[00:12:38] And they say, oh, okay, well, I don't need to vote then because we're all going to heaven.

[00:12:43] And ultimately, my citizenship is in heaven.

[00:12:45] So what happens here on earth doesn't really matter.

[00:12:49] And that's a really big issue.

[00:12:50] That is a big theological issue.

[00:12:53] God in Jeremiah 29, he tells his Israel exiles to seek the welfare of Babylon, a very evil nation.

[00:13:02] And yet they were commanded to do good there.

[00:13:05] We see Daniel and his friends being elevated to places of authority in the government and doing good in the government.

[00:13:11] And now we transfer that to America.

[00:13:14] And we, the people, are the rulers.

[00:13:17] We are the ones that are able to make decisions.

[00:13:19] So for you as a Christian, for you as a young person, to think that you have no responsibility before God for how you place your vote is a big theological issue.

[00:13:29] You know, one of the things I've said before is that Gen Z is different than the previous generation, sometimes in a positive way.

[00:13:37] This last week I was speaking at a Bible school and everybody in the room was Gen Z.

[00:13:43] And instead of sometimes having students kind of sit back and say, okay, entertain me, these kids were very much involved.

[00:13:49] They were asking really good questions because they, I think, understand what's at stake.

[00:13:54] Like Vivek Ramachwamy has actually sometimes said, they think Gen Z is the one that's going to save this nation.

[00:13:59] So I'm not giving up at all on the younger generation.

[00:14:02] And when I meet people like you and your peers, I'm encouraged.

[00:14:06] But I think for a minute it would be helpful if you were to speak to the pastors.

[00:14:10] Because one of the other things that came out of this research by George Barna is,

[00:14:15] is that most of the people sitting in the pews would like pastors to address some of those issues.

[00:14:22] The younger you are, the more likely they are to say, I really am kind of confused about this.

[00:14:27] And yet they found that less than half of those individuals that were interviewed said they'd ever received a teaching on abortion.

[00:14:35] Less than 45, about 45% on crime.

[00:14:39] Almost about 40% on things like same-sex marriage.

[00:14:42] Only about 27% on transgenderism.

[00:14:45] These are issues your generation is dealing with.

[00:14:48] And if the church does not address it, if pastors don't speak about it,

[00:14:53] and they're getting their only information from the secular media,

[00:14:56] that's not going to be good for the future of this nation, don't you think?

[00:15:01] Oh, absolutely.

[00:15:02] You're totally correct.

[00:15:04] Yeah, it's a big issue with pastors.

[00:15:06] And I think pastors, especially in America,

[00:15:08] I'm thinking of America primarily, have a big issue.

[00:15:12] With preaching the Bible.

[00:15:14] And I think there is a misunderstanding of you not being allowed to publicly endorse a candidate

[00:15:22] to I can't talk about politics at all.

[00:15:26] Where when we see in Scripture that God has a lot to say about politics,

[00:15:30] he has a lot to say about how the government treats its citizens.

[00:15:34] He has a lot to say about abortion.

[00:15:36] He has a lot to say about marriage and gender.

[00:15:38] He has a lot to say about protecting children.

[00:15:41] And these are the issues that are on the ballot.

[00:15:43] The ballot that we are facing this November is not tariff versus tax.

[00:15:48] These are issues concerning whether or not a little girl can decide if she can become a boy.

[00:15:53] These are really big theological issues.

[00:15:56] These are Genesis 1 issues.

[00:15:58] And pastors have the responsibility to preach the gospel, the whole counsel of God.

[00:16:04] And that includes touchy political subjects.

[00:16:08] Well, I think it also involves some of the mainstream issues.

[00:16:12] Like, first of all, when people have asked what are the most important issues,

[00:16:16] at the top of the list usually inflation or the economy.

[00:16:19] Well, we are where we are right now because of past decisions made by my parents' generation,

[00:16:26] by my generation, even underneath me as well, the next generation,

[00:16:30] about not willing to balance a federal budget.

[00:16:34] And thus, the only way you can keep funding a government which spends more than it takes in in taxes

[00:16:41] is by printing money, and thus you have inflation.

[00:16:43] And your generation is saying, will I ever be able to afford a house?

[00:16:48] Will there even be Social Security there for me in the future?

[00:16:52] The next one is immigration.

[00:16:54] And, again, you may feel it a little less in Illinois than some of our listeners in California and Arizona,

[00:17:01] New Mexico and Texas, but I think all of us are starting to feel that as well.

[00:17:06] And then the increase in crime, dare I need to say, that since you're in Illinois,

[00:17:10] look at what's going on in Chicago.

[00:17:12] And so these top issues are of real concern, I think, to Generation Z.

[00:17:19] And I think you have a reason to be outraged that the previous generations have not dealt with those effectively.

[00:17:26] Oh, absolutely.

[00:17:27] It breaks my heart a little bit.

[00:17:30] You know, my husband and I were going house hunting this spring,

[00:17:32] and we live in a more expensive area of Illinois.

[00:17:35] And so we're looking at the housing market, and we're thinking, you know,

[00:17:39] it's going to be really challenging to find a good home for us.

[00:17:43] But ultimately, our hope is not in our bank account.

[00:17:47] Our hope is not in how much money we have and what kind of house we have.

[00:17:51] And I think there's a tendency to hyperfixate on everything that's wrong,

[00:17:57] and that causes us into inaction, whereas it should spur us on into action to do something about it,

[00:18:04] to elect politicians that care about the budget, that care about life spending,

[00:18:09] that care about following scriptural principles when it comes to money.

[00:18:13] And as it relates to immigration, same thing.

[00:18:17] This is what we as American citizens, this is what we as Christians can do to promote godly principles.

[00:18:23] We can vote.

[00:18:25] And to go back to the Barna research that you were referencing,

[00:18:28] this is why it's so devastating when we see Christians being apathetic in the voting polls,

[00:18:34] that quite frankly, if you don't vote, you don't have a right to complain,

[00:18:38] because you're part of the problem.

[00:18:41] We as American citizens have the ability to dictate what kind of government,

[00:18:46] what kind of lifestyle we want.

[00:18:48] And as you've said with the past generation, they have chosen poorly, but you know what?

[00:18:52] We can take our country back.

[00:18:54] I have hope in that.

[00:18:55] I do too, and I think I really want to put the hope ultimately in the Lord,

[00:19:00] but the Lord depends upon us to be the hands and feet,

[00:19:03] and I think this generation has the ability to do so.

[00:19:07] Let me just, before we take a break and let you go,

[00:19:08] mention that some of the recent ones have been on the episodes on the dark side of the transgender debate,

[00:19:16] and actually one on economics.

[00:19:19] Kamala Harris's policies will make all of us poorer.

[00:19:22] You have one on no LA times.

[00:19:25] It's not shameful to want kids.

[00:19:27] And the most recent one, Christian, it is your duty to vote.

[00:19:30] So if people would like to get your podcast, there's a way in which they can subscribe.

[00:19:35] If people would like to contact you, I think we might have some individuals that would love to maybe share their own insights on your podcast,

[00:19:44] or maybe even schedule you and some of your colleagues to come and speak or to get involved.

[00:19:49] And who knows, this has been a platform to really launch some national careers,

[00:19:53] and maybe that would be another one.

[00:19:55] So I appreciate you joining us today here on Point of View.

[00:19:59] Thank you so much for having me.

[00:20:01] It was an honor to speak to you today.

[00:20:03] I think we will have you on the Millennial Roundtable.

[00:20:05] We're going to have to call it something else if we start getting some Gen Zs there, but that is no problem at all.

[00:20:10] First of all, I want to thank our good friends up at WPEO and Paul Scott and everybody else up there.

[00:20:14] I certainly appreciate what you are doing,

[00:20:16] and I think this idea of bringing some Gen Z into the conversation, a very good idea.

[00:20:22] If you'd like to know more about the Generation Z, we have, of course, that booklet, as you might imagine,

[00:20:27] one on the next generation, and I talk about both the Millennial Generation, Generation Y, and, of course, Generation Z.

[00:20:34] And if you would like to know more, that all is available through our website, pointofview.net.

[00:20:39] As you go there, one last time, I thought I'd just mention,

[00:20:42] if you think it's really a better idea for citizens to vote rather than letting non-citizens to vote,

[00:20:50] then you might want to take an action.

[00:20:52] Yes, it's a small first step, but it's a first step,

[00:20:55] and that is to stop non-citizen voting in the District of Columbia,

[00:20:59] and that has already passed the House of Representatives.

[00:21:02] So click on the button that says Take Action, put in your zip code,

[00:21:07] and it will pop up a sample letter.

[00:21:10] You can modify it if you'd like,

[00:21:11] and then just put in the information and send it to your two United States senators.

[00:21:17] Pretty simple.

[00:21:17] So let's take a break.

[00:21:19] We have a lot to cover.

[00:21:20] We'll do that right after these important messages.

[00:21:31] Many years ago, they began saying that we live in the information age.

[00:21:36] Well, today, there is so much information coming at us from every direction.

[00:21:41] The hardest thing is to discern which issues are really important,

[00:21:45] and how can I make a positive impact without wasting my time trying to figure out accurate information.

[00:21:52] Let me give you a suggestion to help with that.

[00:21:55] Visit pointofview.net, look at the tabs across the top, find the one named Viewpoints.

[00:22:02] Kirby Anderson and others on our team are constantly watching for news to identify those issues that you really need to know about.

[00:22:11] They boil things down in a brief summary,

[00:22:13] and then you can decide if it's something on which you want to learn more and get involved.

[00:22:17] Again, when you go to pointofview.net, click on Viewpoints, you'll see exactly what I mean.

[00:22:24] You'll see the issues that we are covering right now.

[00:22:27] And when you like what you see, I honestly think you will,

[00:22:31] you can slide on over, enter your email, and get them automatically sent to your inbox each day.

[00:22:37] That's it.

[00:22:38] Take a minute now.

[00:22:40] Be informed.

[00:22:41] Pointofview.net.

[00:22:43] Click on Viewpoints.

[00:22:49] Point of View.

[00:22:50] We'll continue after this.

[00:22:58] You are listening to Point of View.

[00:23:03] The opinions expressed on Point of View do not necessarily reflect the views of the management or staff of this station.

[00:23:10] And now, here again, is Kirby Anderson.

[00:23:14] Final half hour.

[00:23:15] Let me just mention that tomorrow we're going to have Dr. Michael Brown with us,

[00:23:19] and we'll be talking about his new book, Hearts of Compassion, Backbones of Steel.

[00:23:24] I think we have him for the entire hour, although sometimes he has to run off early to do his own show.

[00:23:29] But love all the perspective he provides, so I think you'll enjoy that as well.

[00:23:34] By the way, open up the phones.

[00:23:36] Perhaps you've appreciated some of the things you've already heard from Eric Wallace or Walter Kim.

[00:23:40] Of course, more recently, Alyssa Sonnenberg.

[00:23:43] And that number is 1-800-351-1212.

[00:23:46] If you just want to sit back and listen, that is the case.

[00:23:49] I have talked a little bit about podcasts today.

[00:23:51] We had a podcast, of course, on difficult conversations from NAE, Walter Kim.

[00:23:57] Of course, they have the podcast, The Self-Evident Podcast.

[00:24:01] If you'll permit me, let me mention we do have a podcast here at Point of View.

[00:24:05] First of all, you can, of course, listen to the program anytime or later if you would like.

[00:24:09] And we have a place where you can click on Listen to Apple Podcasts right next to it.

[00:24:13] Listen to the Point of View highlights.

[00:24:15] And that is done by Megan, who is our engineer, pulls together some of the best pieces and clips and things of that nature.

[00:24:23] Of course, we have some other podcasts we've talked about with Liberty McCarter.

[00:24:27] So please take the time to go to the website pointofview.net.

[00:24:31] Recognize that, yes, we are a live radio program.

[00:24:34] But, yes, you can listen to it anytime on podcast, as we also encourage you to listen to some other podcasts as well.

[00:24:42] And, again, this article that came out from the Cultural Research Center done by our good friend George Barna just, again, reminds us that we are in a very close election.

[00:24:55] And the Christian vote could make the difference.

[00:24:58] And it is, I think, troubling to realize that even if you just look at the self-identified Christians who regularly attend church, that's still 32 million.

[00:25:10] I've heard some people use the 40 million figure in my booklet here.

[00:25:13] I talk about a better way to look at it is in a typical church, usually about 15% are not registered to vote.

[00:25:20] But then of those registered to vote, you're lucky if two-thirds of them go out and vote.

[00:25:25] Well, it's too late to register to vote, for sure.

[00:25:28] We know that.

[00:25:29] As a matter of fact, some people have already cast a vote, which, again, early voting is something that we can have a conversation about sometime in the future.

[00:25:37] But you can find some individuals you know who aren't thinking about voting and helping them understand the importance in this booklet on the importance of voting,

[00:25:46] which I'm holding up right now, would be significant.

[00:25:48] Unless you want to get another piece of statistics or information, George Barna put it this way,

[00:25:56] quote,

[00:25:57] The 32 million Christians who regularly attend church services but are not likely to vote represents a far larger margin than the combined number of votes that decided the 2020 election in key battleground states,

[00:26:11] which is an overstatement because I just told you it was 42,000 and a little bit more.

[00:26:16] And again, went on to explain that the gap in votes for the swing states determine 104 out of the 538 electoral votes.

[00:26:25] Basically, you need 270 electoral votes, but almost half of those, in a sense, are due to the either Christians voting or, in this case, not voting.

[00:26:36] Which is interesting because even with those numbers, there are some really interesting things starting to surface.

[00:26:45] And one of those is the fact that perhaps some of those states that Kamala Harris was sure she was going to win might not win.

[00:26:55] One of those is the state of Virginia.

[00:26:58] So those of you in Virginia who in the past have said, why can't we seemingly, since we find so many like-minded people, elect more Republicans?

[00:27:09] Of course, you did elect a Republican governor and lieutenant governor.

[00:27:12] But Matt Vespa puts it this way.

[00:27:15] Democrats are panicking.

[00:27:16] He says you can see this with the Department of Justice under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris suing Virginia for purging illegals after the voter rolls,

[00:27:28] a conversation we just had a minute ago, and the ramping up of in-media appearances,

[00:27:33] and then even the attacks on Jill Stein because it's possible they would think that she's taking some votes away from Kamala Harris.

[00:27:39] And yet you have the former MSNBC analyst Mark Halperin reported earlier that what he has seen in some of the private polling suggests that she probably could be losing all six,

[00:27:54] or six of the seven, I should say, swing states.

[00:27:58] That's not good because, again, those are important.

[00:28:03] And, of course, this did not sit well with some of the people in the media.

[00:28:05] But you might say, okay, well, who's Mark Halperin?

[00:28:09] Well, he's the one who got the scoop on the fact that Joe Biden would be dropping out in July and was dismissed.

[00:28:16] But he was right with that one.

[00:28:18] And also says, look, I'm not with a campaign, and I don't do spin for the Trump team, hardly anything but.

[00:28:25] But this is what I'm finding.

[00:28:26] He says one CNN pollster said that there's one state that Kamala isn't winning.

[00:28:31] And, of course, the implication now is it's Virginia.

[00:28:33] And if that is the case, it is hard to come up with too many paths to 270 electoral votes with Kamala Harris not winning Virginia.

[00:28:45] Now, on the other hand, as I've said before, it's hard to come up with too many paths by which Donald Trump wins without Pennsylvania.

[00:28:53] So, as a matter of fact, the assumption has always been that, let's face it, you're going to pretty much assume that Kamala Harris is going to win the West Coast, California, Oregon, and Washington.

[00:29:05] She's going to win all of the Northeast.

[00:29:07] As a matter of fact, there's no real indication that Trump could pick any of those states, even in New England, like New Hampshire, off.

[00:29:15] And then the battleground states, of course, are the ones we've talked about before, a lot of those in the Midwest.

[00:29:21] On the other hand, of course, you know that Donald Trump's going to win most of the South and much of the Midwest.

[00:29:25] So, it really gets down to a couple of swing states.

[00:29:29] But the assumption was always made that whether it's New Jersey or Virginia or a variety of others, that those would be solidly blue states for Kamala Harris.

[00:29:39] Not necessarily.

[00:29:40] So, kind of an interesting thing that we could certainly talk about.

[00:29:45] But let me get to a few of the articles I've posted.

[00:29:48] The first one has to do with the interchange the other day with J.D. Vance and Martha Raddatz.

[00:29:54] Now, Martha Raddatz, I have appreciated some of her commentary, but she was sitting in really for George Stephanopoulos and ABC News.

[00:30:01] And so, as a result, was really taking on the fact that there has been a real concern about the fact that there were gangs seemingly taking over what was happening in Aurora.

[00:30:16] And at one point, J.D. Vance said, we're hearing, Martha, that people are terrified by what's happening with some of these Venezuelan gangs.

[00:30:25] Well, at this point, you get a lot of crosstalk.

[00:30:28] And then Martha Raddatz insists, look, I'm going to stop you because I know exactly what happened.

[00:30:34] I'm going to stop you.

[00:30:36] Then goes on to say the incidents were limited to a handful.

[00:30:40] And she emphasized handful of apartment complexes.

[00:30:43] apartment complexes.

[00:30:45] And the mayor said that our dedicated police officers have acted on those concerns.

[00:30:50] It's a handful of problems, she says.

[00:30:53] Well, the quick response from J.D. Vance, he is good.

[00:30:57] Martha, do you hear yourself?

[00:31:00] Only a handful of apartment complexes in America were taken over by Venezuelan gangs.

[00:31:05] And Donald Trump is the problem and not Kamala Harris's open border.

[00:31:10] Other Americans, he says, are so fed up with what's going on and they have every right to be.

[00:31:15] Then he went on to make some points about the fact that they seem to be nitpicking everything Donald Trump has said

[00:31:21] while still acknowledging that we have apartment complexes in the United States being taken over by violent gangs.

[00:31:29] And he continued, I worry so much more about that problem than anything else.

[00:31:33] We've got to get the American communities in a safe space as well.

[00:31:38] Well, there's a little back and forth, but eventually he says, unfortunately, when you let millions of people in,

[00:31:43] most of whom are unvetted, most of whom you don't know who they really are,

[00:31:48] there are going to be problems like this.

[00:31:51] It goes on to say Kamala Harris's 94 executive orders that undid Donald Trump's successful border policies.

[00:31:58] We knew this stuff would happen.

[00:32:00] They bragged about opening the border and now we have the consequences.

[00:32:03] We're living in it.

[00:32:04] We can do much better.

[00:32:05] But frankly, we're not going to do better, Martha, unless Donald Trump calls this stuff out.

[00:32:10] I'm glad we did.

[00:32:12] And so again, it's interesting to see the back and forth unfolding there at, in this case, ABC.

[00:32:19] Just before we take a break, I thought I'd also mention something else, which I mentioned at the top of the broadcast.

[00:32:24] And that is, it's not been a good couple of days for CBS.

[00:32:27] CBS, first of all, was accused of re-editing and rearranging some of the interview that was done with Kamala Harris to make her comments sound better and actually mix one comment with another and really kind of misconstrue some of the things that were said in a way that made her answer look better.

[00:32:49] But now the reverse has also taken place in which they had an interview with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson in which they actually took out some very important points that he made.

[00:33:01] But wisely, he had a video running in his studio so that you can now go online and see what actually showed up on CBS and what actually he was saying and some very important points that just got left on the cutting room floor.

[00:33:19] So again, those are the reasons we say so often, just because you saw it on television, just because you read it in print, doesn't necessarily make it completely accurate.

[00:33:31] And I think the better scenario is when they're live, it's a lot harder for them to manipulate it.

[00:33:38] And that is something that CBS now has been caught doing once again.

[00:33:42] We'll be back right after this.

[00:33:56] You're listening to Point of View, your listener supported source for truth.

[00:34:02] Back for a few more minutes.

[00:34:03] Might just mention that, first of all, we have yesterday posted a very good piece by Christopher Ruffo on Kamala Harris's plagiarism problem.

[00:34:12] I posted another one for you to read today.

[00:34:15] Not going to make a big deal about this because for just a minute, let me say to our younger listeners,

[00:34:21] there was a time when if you were caught engaging in plagiarism, that in some respects that would actually have been a real concern and would have derailed your campaign.

[00:34:34] Just as in the 1980s, if you were caught in a sex scandal that derailed the campaign of Gary Hart by the 1990s,

[00:34:44] didn't seem to have as much of an effect on Bill Clinton.

[00:34:47] So you have a couple of those issues for sure.

[00:34:50] But that's the first thing to really talk about.

[00:34:53] And again, just to give you a little bit of history, back in 1987, when again there were people running for the presidency for 1988,

[00:35:03] that time Senator Joe Biden actually was accused of plagiarizing some of the not only phrases,

[00:35:11] but even the gestures of the British Labor Party leader, Neil Kinnock.

[00:35:17] Then when it came to light that also he plagiarized from a law review article during his first year of law school,

[00:35:25] 11 days later, that scandal was enough and he ended his campaign.

[00:35:31] Will the incidence of plagiarism end the campaign of Kamala Harris?

[00:35:38] I doubt it.

[00:35:39] It's just a different world.

[00:35:40] We just are so forgiving and sometimes that's good, but I don't know.

[00:35:45] But again, if you wanted to at least have the facts, we gave you the one yesterday by Christopher Rofo.

[00:35:51] This one today by Bradley Courtright goes into it and reminds us that she, in the book, Smart on Crime,

[00:35:59] quotes from Associated Press.

[00:36:02] She quotes from the Americans' Promise Alliance.

[00:36:06] She quotes from press releases from like the John Jay School of Criminal Justice.

[00:36:11] There's one section where she copies directly from Wikipedia, which I would not recommend for even my students.

[00:36:18] But nevertheless, that has been an issue that will probably not cause too many people to say,

[00:36:27] well, I just can't bring myself to vote for her because they're convinced that if they don't vote for her,

[00:36:34] abortion might become illegal in America.

[00:36:36] You know, as much as many of us would like to have a national abortion ban, it's not going to happen,

[00:36:41] or a variety of other issues.

[00:36:44] Those people probably are somewhat dedicated to her, but will it have some impact?

[00:36:48] Yes, it might have some.

[00:36:49] And it's been kind of interesting to see over the last couple of days,

[00:36:52] some of the almost bizarre statements being made by Barack Obama.

[00:36:56] Did you see the one the other day with Bill Clinton where he was even talking about the murder of the student in Georgia due to open borders?

[00:37:04] I thought you were out there actually trying to support Kamala Harris.

[00:37:07] Bringing that up, that's more like a Republican talking point.

[00:37:10] So there have been some that speculate.

[00:37:12] I don't happen to be one that believe it, that they're trying to remove her from the ticket.

[00:37:16] I'd love to see how that happens when we're now just three weeks away.

[00:37:20] But stranger things have happened in America, so I don't know.

[00:37:24] So, again, if you want to know anything about the plagiarism issue, I'm not going to make a big deal about it.

[00:37:29] I think it is a big deal.

[00:37:31] We have had the president of Harvard, a very prominent professor at Harvard,

[00:37:36] that both have stepped down over plagiarism.

[00:37:39] So I'm not taking it lightly.

[00:37:40] I'm just simply saying in this rough-and-tumble world,

[00:37:44] some people are just going to go, eh, whatever.

[00:37:46] However, she's still better than the alternative, they might say, and still vote for.

[00:37:50] But I suspect it might eat into her lead, and we will see how that plays out.

[00:37:56] So in case you wondered if there's any evidence to that,

[00:38:00] these two articles, I think, go in enough detail that you can read it for yourself,

[00:38:04] and that is on the website at pointofview.net.

[00:38:07] But as I started the program, let's come back to it.

[00:38:10] In a classic case of life-imitating art, or maybe in this case history-imitating art,

[00:38:19] archaeologists have found human skeletons and even a cup that sort of looks like the Holy Grail in Petra.

[00:38:25] And if you've ever seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,

[00:38:28] of course, that's Sean Connery and Harrison Ford.

[00:38:31] That's where they are.

[00:38:33] And, of course, they use the front of Petra.

[00:38:35] And yet, interestingly enough, they have found a previously unknown tomb

[00:38:40] containing 12 skeletal remains and some various goods and graves and things of that nature,

[00:38:47] and a cup that remarkably looks like the one.

[00:38:51] Obviously, this is more of a stone cup than the one in Indiana Jones.

[00:38:55] So I'll hold up our booklet on archaeology.

[00:38:57] I don't think I'm going to modify our one on biblical archaeology

[00:39:01] because this doesn't necessarily relate to biblical archaeology,

[00:39:04] but it is archaeology because what we are seeing here is some evidence of what I would have to think would be the Nabataeans.

[00:39:14] You might say, I've never heard the term Nabataeans.

[00:39:16] First of all, here's my private theory, although we've talked about it on this program.

[00:39:20] I think the three magi, the three kings that came to Jesus were actually probably Nabataeans.

[00:39:27] When Matthew says these kings came from the east, what is directly east of Jerusalem?

[00:39:33] Well, that would be, of course, present-day Jordan, but that would be Edom at the time.

[00:39:37] The Edomites, the Nabataeans, the Nabataeans were traders.

[00:39:42] What did they trade?

[00:39:43] Oh, I think things like frankincense and myrrh and others.

[00:39:47] What did they bring to Jesus?

[00:39:49] But I'll leave that for maybe our conversation about the nativity when we get closer to December.

[00:39:56] But nevertheless, this is a monument in the Middle East near a part of kind of the, if you will, western part of Jordan called Al-Kazia,

[00:40:06] which is basically known as the treasury.

[00:40:09] And if you've ever seen the picture, of course, you have this elaborate tomb that's cut into the rock.

[00:40:16] And the sandstone rock face has been a crypt, and it was a mausoleum for the Nabataean king, King Aretas.

[00:40:26] And this is, of course, located there in Petra.

[00:40:29] Now, if you ever go to Jordan or to the Middle East, sometimes they will take you there.

[00:40:35] And you can actually drive, walk in.

[00:40:39] You can take camel in.

[00:40:41] You can do a number of other things.

[00:40:43] I know people that have actually gone off above that and found other parts of this.

[00:40:48] And this, of course, was the great capital of the Nabataean dynasty, which was about three centuries before the time of Christ.

[00:40:57] And it was really unseen for a long time by westerners and then was discovered and found.

[00:41:03] And, of course, what we're finding now are some tombs and some bodies of 12 complete skeletal remains,

[00:41:11] a number of artifacts of bronze and iron and ceramic.

[00:41:16] The fact that, again, that these individuals are buried there means they were probably very notable individuals.

[00:41:22] And, of nothing else, who would have guessed that at the place where we have seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,

[00:41:31] we actually did find skeletons and something that looks like the Holy Grail.

[00:41:36] I'm not going to make anything more of it than that, but I just thought it would be an interesting little side note,

[00:41:41] which we will maybe cover sometime in the future if they find something that has more significance to the biblical story.

[00:41:48] But as we wind down for today, let me mention, first of all, we had Eric Wallace with us talking about the Black Conservative Summit.

[00:41:57] Great videos there for you to watch.

[00:41:59] Then we had Dr. Walter Kim on as well, president of the National Association of Evangelicals.

[00:42:06] Both Dr. Wallace, Dr. Kim with us, and we talked about his podcast.

[00:42:09] And then we were privileged to have for a short period of time, and probably will bring back again,

[00:42:14] Alyssa Sonnenberg talking about the Self-Evident Podcast.

[00:42:19] We've been definitely promoting podcasts today.

[00:42:21] So take the time to find out about their podcast.

[00:42:24] Don't forget, of course, we have our own podcast as well, the Point of View Highlights,

[00:42:30] which certainly is something I would commend to you as well.

[00:42:33] You can find that on Spotify.

[00:42:35] Of course, listen to some of the podcasts we've mentioned on Apple and other places.

[00:42:39] Where you can get your podcasts.

[00:42:41] And don't forget, we also have an action item.

[00:42:44] If you think we should stop non-citizens from voting in the District of Columbia,

[00:42:49] click on that button that says take action and follow the prompts and express your opinion.

[00:42:55] Most importantly, I want to thank Megan for help producing the Point of View Highlights,

[00:43:01] Point of View Highlights, as well as Steve for his help producing the program.

[00:43:06] We'll see you back here tomorrow with Michael Brown right here on Point of View.

[00:43:11] It almost seems like we live in a different world from many people in positions of authority.

[00:43:17] They say men can be women and women men.

[00:43:20] People are prosecuted differently or not at all depending on their politics.

[00:43:25] Criminals are more valued and rewarded than law-abiding citizens.

[00:43:30] It's so overwhelming, so demoralizing.

[00:43:33] You feel like giving up.

[00:43:35] But we can't.

[00:43:36] We shouldn't.

[00:43:37] We must not.

[00:43:39] As Winston Churchill said to Britain in the darkest days of World War II,

[00:43:43] never give in.

[00:43:45] Never give in.

[00:43:46] Never, never, never.

[00:43:47] Never yield to force.

[00:43:49] Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

[00:43:53] And that's what we say to you today.

[00:43:56] This is not a time to give in,

[00:43:58] but to step up and join Point of View in providing clarity in the chaos.

[00:44:04] We can't do it alone,

[00:44:05] but together, with God's help,

[00:44:08] we will overcome the darkness.

[00:44:10] Invest in biblical clarity today at pointofview.net

[00:44:15] or call 1-800-347-5151.

[00:44:19] pointofview.net

[00:44:21] and 800-347-5151.

[00:44:28] Point of View is produced by Point of View Ministries.