Hey, this is John Galantis from the Cleaview Today Show checking in with you guys to plug our new show, How to Read Biblical Hebrew with Dr. Abadan Shah. It's a video podcast. You can watch it right from your favorite podcasting app, and we're releasing new episodes every single week. You don't have to be intimidated about learning Biblical Hebrew.
We're going to start with the alphabet. We'll start with sounds, basic grammar. We'll work our way up. But our guarantee is this. If you follow this podcast and put in the work, you will be reading the Old Testament in its original language in no time.
Again, that's how to read biblical Hebrew with Dr. Abadan Shah. Links in the description.
Now let's start the show. You know who the biggest consumer of Christian media is? Old people, me-mas and papas. But guess what? The new research indicates that may not be the case.
Unpacking all this and more coming up right now in the Clear V Tonation. Yeah. You're listening to Clearview Today with Dr. Abadan Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Ryan Hill.
I'm John Galantis. Welcome to another episode of the Clearview Today Show, right here in North Carolina, with our host, Dr. Abadan Shah. For those of you guys who are listening for the very first time, Dr. Shah is a PhD in New Testament textual criticism, professor, author, full-time pastor, and the host of today's show.
Dr. Shah, welcome to the studio. It's good to be here. Good to see you. Starting another week off right.
Verse of the day this week is coming to us from an anonymous. Oh, no, it's not. It's from Candace Kay right here in North Carolina, 2 Corinthians 4:16. For which cause we faint not, but through our outward, through our outward man, Sorry. For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
I love it. Love that encouragement. Amen. Thank you so much, Candace, for submitting your favorite verse. You guys that are listening to, you can always submit your favorite verses for us to read live on the air at 252-582-5028.
Dr. Shaw, when we're looking at the show and we're strategizing and planning, you know, one of the most important things to us is analytics, figuring out who is listening, what are they listening for, and what kind of content are they resonating with. That's right. Our goal here is to engage everyone across demographics, across generational borders for the sake of the gospel, engaging hearts and minds for the sake of the gospel. But we're not the only ones who look at analytics.
There are lots of companies, there are lots of media producers, there are lots of Christian media outlets that look at the analytics of who it is that are consuming their media. And recent research is pretty interesting. Yeah, because, you know. We're in Christian radio, right? And you've been in Christian radio since you've been college.
You've been doing broadcast journalism. You worked on a radio station. And as we all know, the only people who listen to Christian radio are old people. I mean, am I right or wrong on this? You're wrong.
Turns out, you might just be wrong. What did he say? No. No, that's not true. I mean, there's people who are now, the young generation is turning towards this.
And so when I say young generation, I'm talking about emerging adults who are in their 20s, 30s. They are listening to radio again because the content in some ways is getting better and better. Yes. And so they are listening. We did an episode on this right after Donald Trump's second election, after he won the second presidential election, that we saw a massive, massive, like genuinely.
Startlingly massive sweep of young Conservatives turning to Christianity, young men turning to conservative values and evangelical Christianity. Like, I mean, it was something where the entire nation took notice. And so I guess it's not surprising that they are now. Consuming different and various forms of Christian media.
Well, research has been done about Gen Z and Gen Alpha for a while. And that research has suggested and is continuing to support that these generations are turning to the gospel. They're turning to the gospel in record numbers, something that wasn't seen in millennials, that wasn't seen in previous generations. They're hungry for the truth. And it turns out through Christian media, through different radio sources, through podcasts, they're finding it.
And when you're hungry for the truth, you don't want surface stuff. You don't want just a meme here and there. You don't want just some social media quip. You want good content. And where are you going to find that good, solid content?
Right. But on radio.
Okay.
So that's why I think you see people, young people, turning towards radio again. Yes, I think you're right. Because about 20 years ago, everybody was talking about the. You know, the death of radio. It's as we know it, the internet is here, everything's going to be on the web, and now we don't need radio.
And all of a sudden, things are shifting and people are going back to the radio. Why? Because the content is better. That's right. No amount of TikTok videos, like five-second things, can really satisfy you when you're really hungry.
And I'm not talking about just any hunger, real hunger. To understand the issues, to understand doctrine, to understand values. Why things matter, why Christianity matters, why the Bible matters. Is the answer for humanity in 2026? That's right.
You know, what makes Jesus Christ different than any So-called God, or historical figure, or some mythological person, what makes Christ different? Where are you going to find people talking about it? And talking about it in depth and talking about it with expertise, but on radio, because they have been doing that for a while. Right, that's right. Unfortunately, with the coming of Internet and those kind of things, the young generation sort of fell away from there.
Oh, I don't even listen to radio anymore, man. I haven't listened to radio in a long time. But now they're like, where can I find good, solid content? Oh, wait, it's on the radio. Yeah, because with, I think what we've seen is just like with anything that happens on the internet, there's a lack of standards, right?
Anybody can upload a YouTube video, anybody can have a podcast. I remember when podcasts became a big thing, like in the early 2000s, I think it was like 2005, 2006, podcasts started happening. And then it was like, oh, this is this really cool new thing where people are not really kind of sure what it is. We're all figuring it out. And then there was a big boom of podcasting.
But over time, you start to realize anybody can have a podcast. It's not a, I mean, nowadays, anybody does have a podcast. Right. There's no standard. Whereas on a radio, you know, you can't just get up on a radio on the radio and just say whatever you want.
I think it's interesting because, John, you and I are falling that millennial bracket.
So we very much gravitate toward the podcast side of things. I mean, I look for a podcast, I listen to podcasts, but. You're 100% right. There's no standard for podcasting. Anyone just jumps on there.
So, what's interesting about the internet is it's actually made radio more accessible because lots of radio stations now have an online component where you can live anywhere in the country, and you might not be able to tune into an FM station or an AM station, even depending on the radio that you're listening to. but you can find that content online. And I think one of the traps, and Dr. Shah, I think you taught me this. One of the traps that young people fall into is when you get sucked into podcasting or when you get sucked into internet personalities, I'm really falling in love with a personality.
They're funny. They're young. They're like me. They're relatable. They like video games.
They talk about Star Wars. Then when they start trying to, as all influencers do, when they start trying to spread quote unquote truth and they start trying to teach you things, you're more likely to listen to them. And so one of the things that you taught me was like, well, who is this guy? It's like, oh, he's this really popular podcaster. Like, yeah, but what's his background?
What's his degree? What's his education? What's his qualifications? And me, I'm like young, 23, 24. I'm like, I don't know.
He's got a lot of followers. The older you get, you start to realize that doesn't make you wise, and that's not credentials to be listened to. Yeah. That's right. Why, now maybe we need to read some of that research that we were discussing earlier today.
But why is that not happening with television? Because television has been different. Since the 80s, I would say, television has been captured, and I'm talking about religious television, Christian television, unfortunately, has been captured by people who are showmen. They're trying to get you to send them money. Send us money and we will pray for you.
Send us money and sow the seed. And so. Mm. This it hasn't been the same with radio. Yes, there have been people on radio doing that, but.
Nothing like what television has done since the 80s. Yes. Yes. So this report. The TV evangelists.
That's exactly right. This report that you sent us this morning, we've been talking about it all day. It says, and I mean, I'm reading straight from it. It says, while evangelicals are nine times more likely to rate Christian radio as sincere than insincere, they're only five times more likely to rate Christian television as sincere than insincere. And 16% say it falls right in the middle.
So there's this idea that what I hear on the radio, I can trust. What I hear on the TV, maybe, maybe not. Because already that ground has been corrupted for the past 20, or I would say in the 80s and 90s. In the 2000s on, something shifted when it comes to television and TV evangelists, you know, begging for money and sobbing up there. Because people were like, they became a joke because once you saw them, seeing radio, you're not seeing the person.
That's a good point. Content is so much more important. On TV, it's not as much about the content, but it's your personalities, your ability to persuade people. The audience. Oh, I didn't even think about that.
Yeah, yeah.
So that's.
So we cannot just say TV and radio. No, they're two different mediums. Mediums. They're different. They have different appeals.
So television has already been corrupted.
So when the young people, Especially in the Western world, when I talk about Western, I'm talking about England, I'm talking about America, Canada as well. Christians. Or young people who are turning towards Christianity, they're not going to television because television, unfortunately, Has had a bad rap. It's kind of funny, and I think you're right on that. It's kind of funny because a lot of times I think people who are in ministry.
Would rather be on television because they see that television is seen as more legitimate, but that's not actually the case. That's not happening. Yeah. That's not happening. Wow.
That's an interesting perspective because TV does seem like the. The benchmark. Like, if I'm broadcast on television, that's like I've made it. But the data shows that people are gravitated toward truth. They're gravitating toward the actual content of the message.
And that comes through much more so in radio. We were pitched this show as a, as a, like, like the Truth Network. I mean, we've told this story on the air, and Stu Epperson himself has told the story. We were pitched this show as a 30-minute radio show. And I wonder if back then, if it had been pitched as a television show, I feel like I would have been more excited.
Now I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. I genuinely don't know. We've had people contact us about possibly getting on television.
And we have considered that, and we haven't taken it off the table, but again, there is that element of how much will this uh the content we put out on television Not well we do have video on YouTube. Yes. We do have um uh video blogs. Yep, TBN. Right, those all have videos.
Yeah, they have live videos or, you know, our video shows. But TV, that's a different animal. Yeah, syndicated television is a different. And I haven't even told Dr. Shah this, but I actually got an email today.
Oh, really? Yeah. To get on TV? To get on TV, yeah.
Okay.
I got an email today. Yeah. And I mean, we will not take it off the table. I mean, we're still considering that prayerfully. If this is the direction God wants us to do, if he does, of course we'll go.
But right now But radio is the thing. It is. And we've fallen in love with radio duck show. Why do you? I mean, I guess that's one of the things we've talked about, just this focus on truth and content.
But are there any other reasons that you just prefer being on the radio? I mean, for one, people can be driving and listen to the radio. They can be at work and it's playing in the background. Like we have a local radio station.
So same 30-minute radio show five days a week. It's not only broadcasted on pray.com. On Truth Network, on TBN Plus, but also on some other radio stations, particularly our own in our hometown of Henderson, North Carolina. It's W I Z S and Our show is played every morning. I don't know what time it comes on because we have so many different 10 o'clock in the morning.
And I have a lot of people who will see me around town and say, hey, we listened to it in our shop. Or we listen to it in our office. Yeah. And that's Wonderful because they don't have to look at it But they can be listening to it. Yeah.
Yeah. Television, since it's visual, you have to stop doing certain things. Right. Of course, somebody can compare that to YouTube and all that stuff too. Yeah, but TV has a certain time when it's going to come on.
That's right. Now we can get on. Writing our media and other places, or Netflix, or something, but that's a whole different ballgame. Yeah. And one of the things that I think being on the radio has helped me is: see, when you have a podcast, right?
You can talk as long as you want. You can ramble until you're just tired of talking, and then you can edit whatever you want, post it up there. But with radio, there's, like we said, there's standards. You've got 29 minutes and 30 seconds to say what you've got to say. And a lot of times I have found in my case, being restricted.
Makes you really think about what you're trying to say, what you're trying to communicate. Yeah. You know, if I've got an unlimited amount of time, oh, I'll fill that time with just rambling and talk.
Well, I think, I think it's good too to be, you know, to diversify, especially where we are now, the types of platforms that we're on.
So we are on radio, but it is also a podcast. Yeah. It's also a video.
So there's different ways that you can access it that best fits your needs.
Someone might want to sit down and watch the video. I saw a thing that Patrick Bett David did. He's the owner of Value Taint and Valutainment. He's an Iranian entrepreneur, really, really good guy, Christian. Really cool guy.
And he said something similar: if you can ever do video, always do video. Because a video can become a podcast. And so we are doing that now with, you know, how to read, and this is not just a plug, but we're doing that with how to read biblical Hebrew. It started as these are videos for Dr. Shell's class that he's literally teaching a Hebrew class at Carolina University.
These videos are now a podcast. They're also a video series. And so all of these things are just diversifying your message, which is. engage with the Bible. Right.
When it comes to languages like Greek and Hebrew that I teach, you gotta have video. That's it. It's gonna be very hard for you to just hear me say, Okay, so go ahead and write alpha. Or if I'm teaching Hebrew, Aleph. I mean Yeah.
How do I want to do that?
Now, unless they already know how to write Greek and Hebrew, it's going to be tough. Yeah. Just by me describing it. Right. Can you move the pencil and loop it now?
That cannot be an audio podcast. Yeah. The diversity in different media forms actually works in our favor because, you know, this article goes on to suggest that younger evangelicals are more likely to engage in multiple forms of Christian media.
So it's not just TV, it's not just radio, it's not just movies. It's a variety. Because, I mean, think about a man who's born in 1970 or who's 65. He turned 18 in 79. In 1979, he was 18 years old.
That means he was probably listening to cassette tapes.
Well, he had, so he had television, printed media, so like the newspaper, radio, and cassettes. That's it. Those were the media forms that were available to him in 79. Dr. Xia, have you ever.
Have you ever sat down and read a newspaper? Yeah. For real? Oh, yeah. You haven't hung up?
No. Really? No. I've read a newspaper. Like, I don't think I've I don't think I've ever sat down.
I mean, I've gone and got like newspapers for like stuff at school, but like. I don't know that I've ever sat down and read a newspaper. Did your dad read the newspaper? Every morning. I remember seeing dad, you know, I would get up for school about maybe 6.45, leave the house about 7:30.
I'm just kind of remembering here. and get to school by Maybe 7:45, 7:50, assemblies at 8, something like that. But every morning when I would get up, And I'd be walking out the door. Dad would be reading the paper. I mean, he was done reading the paper in our garden.
We had a garden in front of our house. Did I cut off the point you were making?
Well, there's just a flip side of that.
So that's the 65-year-old. He was 18 years old and 79. But think about the 30-year-old woman who turned 18 in 2014. She was 18 years old in 2014. She had streaming audio and video.
Social media, podcasts, websites, in addition to all the legacy forms that the 65-year-old had, as well.
So, that media is just compounding in different formats, which means that if she's reading an article one day, maybe she wants to listen to it the next day, or then maybe she wants to watch a documentary about it the next day. There's just simply more forms of media for young evangelicals to engage with, and they are proving that by diversifying their tastes and media.
So, Dr. Shuck, can you give us a little guidance on this? Let's say there are young evangelicals right now who are in our shoes and they say, I want to have a show, I want to start impacting people with the gospel. I have lots of things to say. And, you know, one of the things that You know, we've talked about before is how are you getting your word out?
Are you in the newspaper? No, I'm not in the newspaper. That's for old people. They don't do that. That's not.
That's not impactful anymore. Are you on the radio? No, that's not impactful anymore. For people who are young and trying to get into this game or get into this ministry or business, what advice do you have for them regarding those advertising? I would say work on your content more than anything else.
Okay.
And you know, this whole idea that just all you need is a good microphone, open an account, and start small. No, I think you need to work on your content. Yeah know that Unless you have something worth talking about and you know what you're talking about it. Uh about it. uh what you're talking about, then you shouldn't be getting on on the air.
Yeah. Because you're just trying to get attention. And I get it. Everybody wants to get some attention, you know, start drum up some uh some noise so that uh people can come buy your products. And I think that's so so you just want to be rich.
Right. But there are other ways to be rich rather than doing Talk show. Podcasts, work on your content, educate yourself, read the right books. Don't read the latest buttons. Book that is hot off the press on lay level.
I mean, read it, don't get me wrong, read it. But make sure you look in the footnotes to see which book Or books is that good book referring to? I mean, that's what I look for. If somebody has a really good book out there, I want to see: okay, is this a good book that will. be beneficial to me in my library.
And if it's like on a beginner's level type, then I want to see what advanced level books are you basing your thesis on? And I'm going to get those books and read some of them. Not all of them, but some of them. Yeah. Educate yourself.
Know your convictions. Know your values. And then, when you speak, You have something worth talking about. I mean, I often listen to our own show, and I would be like, ah, I wish I could have gone more in depth. I wish I could have addressed that issue.
Mm-hmm. I wish I had more facts and figures on that subject, whether it's a biblical issue or current events. I wish I had a little bit more. Because I don't want to just waste people's time. I want to give them something solid.
So pastors, if you're out there, you're hoping to start a podcast or get on the radio, Work on your content. I think it would shock people to know how few pastors listen back to their own sermons. How few worship pastors listen back to their own live streams or their own sets. And I know it's a hard thing to do because you're constantly moving on to the next thing, but I think when I, the more people I've talked to, the more I've realized people are not doing that. They're not analyzing their work.
I mean, it's just that thing you have that moment, you're okay, on to the next thing. I've got to work on the next message. I've got to work on the next project. But you've got to take that time to look back and hone what it is that you're putting on your product because you may be doing things and communicating things that you're not aware of. Yeah.
Until you watch it back until you listen to it back, you're like, oh, do I sound like that? Do I move like that on stage? Oh, I need to fix that. Yeah. Or if you're focusing on the content.
Is it that week? I remember in the early days listening to my sermon and going, Thank God people Even listen to me. Yeah. They're like, why? Because I wouldn't.
Yeah. But I go to my church and sit there and listen to me talk. That's a terrible.
So in the early days, I was like, that's terrible. Yeah. I don't have a content. I'm not uh and even if I had something worth saying. I'm not staying on topic.
I mean, sometimes I even struggle with that. It's like I have an idea and I have a tangent and I go off. And I have to remind myself that's fine. Let's make sure That you don't go too far away, or make sure that the connection doesn't become so thin that people don't know why we're talking about this.
So Staying on subjects, staying logical, staying reasonable, staying engaging. Staying in depth, and at the same time. Accessible. People understand you. Work on your content.
Yeah. It's a tough thing to balance. I think you do a great job of keeping personality and content. On the same level, you know what I mean? Because especially with Christian media, people are tuning in because they want to hear the message.
But more or less, I know there's extreme cases, but more or less, we're all trying to get the same message of the gospel out there.
So, how do I know? Why about I listen to Dr. Abadan Shah versus listening to. I don't know, a John MacArthur or a John Piper or something. There's got to be these differences, and that's where personality comes in.
But I think a lot of young evangelicals who are looking to get in this game are thinking it's going to be personality-driven. And I think I was that way. And I think it gets to the point where you realize your personality is not. It's not sustainable. Yeah.
Yeah. Initially, it'll be like, oh, I love the body. He's funny, or he's or she's cool. Or I love the way they phrase things. And I love the way they wear their clothes or whatever if you're watching.
It's a YouTube-based show. But after a while, you're like, But it's nothing interesting. They don't even know what they're talking about. They're hardly into the subject.
So, okay. It's not like you're gonna shut it off, but you don't listen to it with that much diligence. You're not locked into the show because you're not getting much benefit from it. What's a show that you listen to daily that you feel like this is a great example? And like, why?
Because I know you listened to John Maxwell. What is it about his show that keeps you coming back?
Well, I like Jon Maxwell's podcast. It's a leadership podcast. Because on the first part of the podcast, they actually have a live recording of Jon Maxwell talking about a subject. And then the hosts will come and they will sort of flesh it out or give personal examples. And I listen to them sometimes.
You know, sometimes I have other things to do, so I have to go. Right. But if not, I like John Maxwell's podcast for the first 10, 15 minutes. It's great. Mm-hmm.
Solid content. It's like John Maxwell is just sitting there talking to me. And then I also will sometimes listen to the hosts who will give some. Practical wisdom. Gotcha.
So one of my favorites. Yeah. Dr. Shah, what advice would you give a young Young evangelical who is like, I want some form of encouragement, some form of media. And I want to encourage my friends to engage with Christian media.
I want to recommend: hey, you're listening to this podcast. Why don't you try this Christian podcast at the Cleaver Today Show? There you go. If you're watching this TV show, why don't you try this TV show? What tools would you give them to have that conversation?
Well, know where the conversation is right now. Where is it in our world today? Where is it in America today? Where is it in the church today? What is the conversation?
Yeah. And even if it's not like a hot topic that everybody's talking about, like immigration or Greenland or Save, what is it? Save the vote. Oh, yeah, the save the vote thing, yeah. Yeah, the voter ID issue going on.
What are some issues in biblical studies. Old Testament, New Testament, systematic theology, ethics, apologetics, that's going to um Uh really encourage someone's Intellectual understanding of the gospel of the Bible.
Okay.
I would say definitely um No These are the issues that we need to focus on. Find out what podcasts talk about it. I know clearly today we would like to pitch one. Yeah. Because we talk about current events, right?
We talk about. Uh biblical issues. We talk about leadership. We talk about family, love. Um, We talk about church life.
So it's a kind of a well-rounded show. Yeah, I would say so. It is. And it's a fun one. Yeah.
It's a fun show. It's a very fun one. We keep it enjoyable. We keep it moving and keep it light for you and get heavy when needed. But everything goes back to what Dr.
Shaw says at the end of every sermon, every episode. Everything goes back to the gospel. That's right. It goes back to Jesus. I would say, just keep in mind, you know, as Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2, he says, And you he made alive.
Who are dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world.
Now pay attention to this. according to the prince of the power of the air. What is air? The the Hebrew I'm sorry, the Greek word there is the word ayir. Ayer, that's where we get the English word air.
Yeah, ayer is Greek for. Air, it's like the place above. That's air. Satan is described as a prince of the power of the The above. The above.
Okay? The spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.
So. I'm hoping that as believers with solid content, a content that is prayed over, biblically based, gospel-centered. giving freedom to the Holy Spirit to use it. I think there is such a need for that because we are combating the prince of the power of the air in a way. That's right.
Of course, I understand what Paul meant by that, that he controls the spiritual realm of realms of wickedness. But I would like to look at it more as just the power of the airwaves as well.
So by spreading the gospel in these mediums, We can, in a sense, combat the power of the enemy with the power of the gospel. That's right. That's right. Amen. Guys, make sure you join us next time.
Same time, same place. We're going to be diving into another great topic here on the Clearview Today show. Thanks again to our sponsors for supporting today's episode. And if today was your first day listening to us, hey, we love you. We're glad that you're here and hope you join us for the conversation again tomorrow.
You can support us by subscribing to the show anywhere you can find podcasting content. And you can always support us financially at Abadansha.com forward slash give. That's right. We want to let you know we are coming to Nashville next week. In fact, actually, by the time you're listening to this, we will be on the way on the road again, as Willie Nelson says, heading to Nashville, Tennessee for NRB 2026.
We want to make sure you come and see us on the convention floor. We're going to be doing some shows. Dr. Shaw is going to be with Pray.com, Truth Network, TBN Plus, all of those great sites.
So we want to be able to meet you and learn more and more about your ministry. Also, big, big apologetics conference is coming to Clearview Church March 28th. Tickets are on sale in the description box below. And make sure you use that promo code T-O-D-A-Y for 20% off the checkout. That's right.
We love you guys. We'll see you tomorrow on Clearview Today.
