Thursday, November 23rd. | A Uniquely American Holiday

Hello, everyone. Today is Thursday, November 23rd, and Happy Thanksgiving from us here at the Clearview Today Show!

I was supposed to be a goble, but I couldn't do it. There it is. There it is. You're listening to Clearview Today with Dr. Abbadon Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can visit us online at ClearviewTodayShow.com.

If you have any questions for Dr. Shah or suggestions for new topics, send us a text, 252-58-25028, or you can email us at contact at ClearviewTodayShow.com. I'm so grateful for the Clearview Today Show. Those boys go into the studio on Thanksgiving Day.

Gobble, gobble. Instead of sitting around and eating and getting all fat and sassy, they go into the studio for us. Listen, we record these ahead of time, just so you know. But you guys can help us keep the conversation going. You can support the show. You can share it online with your friends and family.

You can leave us some good five-star reviews on iTunes or Spotify about how grateful we are for the Clearview Today Show. And if you do that, we will be very thankful. We will be very thankful for you guys. Y'all are grateful for us. We're grateful for y'all. It just works. The whole thing just works. It's a circle of gratitude.

We're going to leave a couple of links in the description so you can do just that. Shift your attitude to gratitude. Amen, brother. I like that. The verse of the day today comes from Psalm 100, verses 4 and 5.

Very appropriate for today. Amen. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful to him and bless his name, for the Lord is good. His mercy is everlasting and his truth endures to all generations.

There are some Psalms that are so deep and rich and complex with hidden meaning, and then there are some songs that just say exactly what needs to be said. Be thankful for God. Worship Him. Worship Him. Enter into his courts with thanksgiving.

Just understand who He is, what He's done for you your entire life, how faithful He's been to you, and then just be grateful for it. And take a day like this to celebrate that. And I love that it doesn't say when good things happen or when you feel thankful. No, it's just you should always have that attitude toward God. Not that the situations in your life are good.

I mean, we could look at some people's lives and say, objectively, these things are not good. But God is good. And He can take even the bad stuff and make it good, even though His definition of good might be different than ours. And there's a response on your part. You be thankful to Him and bless His name.

Why? For He is good. It's because He's good, we bless and we praise and we worship. And we take days like today to remember the good things that go on in our lives.

Because it's easy and it's free to focus on the bad and focus on the negative. But it's the day where we come together and we really take count of what's going on in our lives and say, man, my life is actually pretty great. I have a lot to be thankful for. Amen. Amen. I'll tell you this. I'll tell you what not to be thankful for.

What's that? Because I just talked about not bringing out the negative. Here we go. And I'm about to bring out the negative. This is advice that no one asked for. This is the segment of our show we do once a week where we give you some advice that no one really asked for it, no one really needed it, but it's free nonetheless and I'm giving it out.

I'm kind of on the street corner just throwing advice at people. Sure. And if someone catches it, then great. Don't eat ham on Thanksgiving. What? Don't do that. Ham does not belong on the Thanksgiving table.

Yes, it absolutely does. I'm going to go on the list. I'm going to go down the list.

Actually, I'll tell you what. I'm going to Google Thanksgiving food. Guarantee you ham does not take the top 10 spot. I promise.

No, no, I don't think it'll be in... Well, I don't think it could be in the top 10. Here we go. Green bean casserole. Stuffing. That's the one. Mac and cheese.

These all sound delicious. Yes. Cranberry sauce. Yes. Turkey. Yes. Sweet potatoes. Yes.

Up to six. Mashed potatoes. Yes. Pumpkin pie.

Yes. Sweet potato casserole. That's nine.

What's the next one? Pecan pie. Then, of course, you got your gravy. Of course, you got your corn bed.

Sure. Of course, you've got your stuffing, your corn pudding. Ham does not belong on the Thanksgiving table. Why?

Yes, it absolutely does. I feel like ham is a holiday meat. Creamed spinach made the list before ham. Now, creamed spinach belongs in the trash can.

Yeah, I agree. You just throw that one straight away. Don't put that on your table ever.

Butternut squash soup made the list. I hate ham. I hate ham.

A lot. Okay, so here we go. You are free to not like ham. In fact, I would prefer it if you didn't like ham because that means there's more meat. More ham for you.

Got it. But don't gate keep the ham. The ham is available to the masses and then you choose to partake if you don't want any. I'll say that ham belongs at Christmas.

I don't want any, but I'll at least give it to you. You can have ham. I'm not saying you can't have ham. You can't have it on Thanksgiving. It's like if I went to McDonald's and I'm like, I'll have lasagna, please. They're not saying that I can't have it. They're saying it doesn't belong here and you can't have it here. Wrong, wrong, wrong. That's what I'm saying. Disagree.

Hardcore disagree. How? Your advice, I'm going to receive it and I'm going to throw it right back at you and reject it. I have seen people have brought ham to our house for Thanksgiving. Family members have brought ham to our house with pineapple. It's ham and it's like swimming in pineapple juice. That I don't love.

And Ellie loves it. So there's two kinds of ham. There's a regular country ham and then there's a maple honey glazed ham.

I don't love the sweeter version. Ham to me is supposed to be salty and savory. I get that people love it and more power to you, but I don't love my ham sweet and glazed.

I would say that ham belongs in a deli tucked in the corner somewhere. If people want it, they can have it and eat it in shame, but not on the main feast table. Definitely not at Thanksgiving. I barely even really like turkey. Turkey's pretty dry.

I mean, I like it. You're having the wrong kind of turkey. I'll eat it. I'll definitely eat it.

Hardcore disagree. Write in and let us know what's your favorite Thanksgiving food or which do you think doesn't exist at the table? 252-582-5028 or visit us online at clearveetodayshow.com. I wonder what Dr. Shaw's favorite Thanksgiving food is. It's going to be some form of potato, I'm sure.

You think so? Like cream potatoes or something. Or maybe it's ham.

I doubt it. I don't think Dr. Shaw would eat ham at Thanksgiving. Ham, maybe. Maybe it's cranberry sauce.

Maybe. I love some cranberry sauce. Yeah, I like cranberry sauce. Write in and let us know what your favorite is. We're going to grab Dr. Shaw and get his take on it right after the break. Elizabeth, my darling bride, what would you say is the most beneficial thing you could do for yourself in the morning? Probably drink an entire pot of coffee when sitting.

I'd say that's a close second. No, the best thing you can do for yourself is to start every morning with a daily devotional. Only be one to talk about.

Well, as it turns out, we have two. Right now, you can unlock the power of daily inspiration, wisdom, and spiritual growth in our devotional series, 30 Days Through a Crisis and 30 Days to a New Beginning. Written by our pastor, Dr. Abaddon Shaw, and his wife, Nicole, the 30 Days devotional series is designed to reveal new biblical truths every single day. That's right, and every day is a new revelation to guide you on your Christian journey toward a more meaningful and purposeful life. You can pick up your copy today from our website, that's ClearviewBC.org, or you can grab both books on Amazon, Apple Books, and Audible.

That's 30 Days Through a Crisis and 30 Days to a New Beginning by Abaddon and Nicole Shaw. And don't forget, these are only the first two in an expanding devotional series, so keep your eyes peeled for future installments. Thanks for listening. Now, let's get back to the show. Welcome back to Clear View Today with Dr. Abaddon Shaw, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

You can visit us online at ClearViewTodayShow.com, or if you have any questions or suggestions for new topics, send us a text to 252-582-5028. We are right here in the studio on this magnificent Thanksgiving day with Dr. Abaddon Shaw, who is a PhD in New Testament textual criticism. Dr. Shaw, happy Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving to you guys.

My friend, let me ask you this, because things did get heated before you stepped into the studio, okay? Ham on Thanksgiving, yes or no? I know how you feel, but I would take ham any day. Over turkey?

Over turkey. Absolutely. This is the superior choice. I just don't understand. It's such a Christmas food.

No, it's not. It's right there along with the roast beast. Roast beast in the blue. Yeah, that's what the Grinch carves up. Ham at Christmas, I still don't like it, but at least I understand it. I guess we just didn't have it growing up. We never had ham.

I think that's what it comes down to a lot of times. I didn't have ham growing up either. Fair enough. Where I grew up, we didn't eat pig. No, never. Never. Oh, never.

Even being Christian? No. There's some Catholics who ate it, but pigs in India are not pigs raised on a farm.

Okay? There's nothing like Charlotte's Web pig or what is that? Other pig move? Like babe or morning?

Babe. No, no, no, no, no. There's no farm raised pig. These are pigs running through the streets eating garbage, trash, filth. So it wasn't available so you wouldn't want to eat a pig that was there?

No, no. Now people ate it. Kind of like really, really, really below the lower class people would eat pigs and that was not. And plus my dad was a former Muslim. So even though he became a Christian, there was still that abhorrence to eating pig. You would not.

As a Muslim, how dare you? Wow. And one time we tricked my dad.

Oh no. Yeah. So he was visiting me at college.

This is in Georgia. Okay. So I took him to the cafeteria for breakfast in the morning and I showed him the lines and everything. And he'd been here before.

He'd been in America, but he had been to that college before. So I kind of let him loose. I said, you know, dad, just walk through, get that tray and put a plate, just like a cafeteria sitting like a KMW type place.

Just get what you want and I'll get you some tea or coffee, whatever. He's like, okay. So he, he got eggs and he got toast and hash browns and bacon. And he didn't know. And sausage. Oh no. Yeah.

He got both. And he made his way and sat down and I saw that and I was like, oh boy, should I tell him? Should I nod?

What do I do here? So I just kind of waited. I let him eat and I said, how was it? And he said, it was good. It was good.

Very good. And I said, oh, well. And he said, that's bacon, isn't it? I said, yes. So, oh, I shouldn't have eaten that.

So he suspected or he just kind of put it together afterwards? No, when I said it. When you said it. And I said, well, you ate it. You liked it.

It's not that bad, is it? It's clean. He said, no. So even though he had done that, he still didn't eat it. He wasn't happy that he had eaten it?

And it was not a, not, not because of some religious reason. It's just the sense of disdain they have for pork that I was not going to be eating. Did it take, when you, because you didn't grow up eating it when you came to America. Did it take some, did it take some getting used to eating pork?

I don't even remember the first time that I actually ate pork. I don't remember. I'm sure it was on campus. I'm sure it was at the cafeteria at the college for breakfast or something. But I grew up with that mindset.

My parents were very, very open-minded in that sense. Yeah. So I was like, okay, this is pig. This is pig in America.

It's fine. And I ate. Wow. And I'm like that. I love experiencing different cultures, food, whatever, whatever.

And so ham is my favorite. Now I love turkey when I'm looking at it through. Through like a rifle scope. Through a rifle scope. When I see that neck in a crosshair, oh, it's a beautiful sight. It's like the sun gently cresting over the treetops. And you've got just like this gentle ray of sun, dust motes. And then you just see like coming out.

Just sticking his head up. Let me tell you something. Can we talk about turkey a little bit? Yeah, do it.

Do it. It's Thanksgiving. That animal is smarter than a lot of humans.

God. People often say that turkeys are stupid. People say that. No, there are some stupid turkeys that sit in the trees. Yeah. And you can just shoot them. But that's a different variety of turkey.

That's not the one. The ones around here, there are many different kinds. But the ones around here that we're, you know, turkey season opens up for, those are very smart. Now, my friend and I, Chris, of course, some of you know Chris Gooch.

He's a good friend. And he and I, we would go turkey hunting. And you would be two fields apart.

Wow. I mean, field, clump of woods, field, clump of woods. And this turkey is gobbling. And you can tell it's not in this field, but it's in the next field.

And if you made the mistake of stepping out too soon and it saw you, you're done. Go home. Gone. You're not going to get that turkey. That's crazy. The next gobble will be from way out about a mile away. And you're like, you know that turkey already flew away or walked away, something.

You're not going to see it. That's insane. Yeah. I mean, the one time we were walking through this farm and I'm like, I can hear him. I can hear it. And he can hear them. It's just, they're loud.

It's like, yeah. It's, you know, six o'clock in the morning, maybe even earlier, maybe 5.30. And I'm like, where is he? Where is he? Where is he?

I cannot, cannot, cannot. And both of us are looking. And we don't hear anything.

Complete silence now. And then we look up. He's sitting way up in the tree.

Wow. And he's looking at us. And the moment we made eye contact, and when I say eye contact, it's like way out. It's not like he's just like in a tree, a hundred yards away. It's a couple hundred yards up in the tree. He flew away.

Just gone. I'm like, are you serious? It was like he wanted you to see him fly away. I'm waiting for you to look, oh, now that you're looking, see ya. He waited there in danger's way so that he could make eye contact with y'all so that he could fly away.

And then he turned and he flew away. And I was like, you want to stick around a little bit longer or just walk through the woods for a while? I'm like, yeah, let's do that. Cause we're not going to kill anything today.

See, it's funny because people would look at you on this radio show and they would see a PhD, they would see manuscripts, they would see scholarly, like articles and journals and books. They would not see a turkey hunter, but you love him. And Nicholas does too. He's gone with me hunting before. And you were there when that turkey was just like maybe 20 yards away when we were sitting down. Thomas was there and he stayed behind the woods, the turkey did, and never came out because he sort of knew we were there. Right.

And never came out. But you would, but you more than likely, once you shot it, you wouldn't eat it. Or if there's like ham or something.

I would eat that one because I've shot turkey before, but I never ate that one. It was just, just didn't happen. But I got a good shot. Yeah. You want to hear that story? Yeah, let's do it.

So, so we were sitting in the blind with another friend of mine and it was almost seven o'clock, seven 30. And we're like, you know what? We're done. Just, just need to call it. And he's like, just wait a few minutes.

That's the thing about hunters. So wait a few minutes. Just wait a few, few minutes, like, okay. And then we hear this gobble, gobble, gobble, like, oh. And so I sit tight. Now you have to be very careful. Even if you're sitting in a blind, you don't make any fast movements because they can see you in the blind.

Oh yeah. Especially if there's a opening behind you, like even a mesh opening, they'll know you're there. So I'm sitting there, slowly I turn my neck and I can see this one coming. And there was a decoy out there. So I guess he was going for the decoy, you know, like a fake turkey and he's making his way. And my friend said, anytime. And so I pulled up the rifle and shot.

That's awesome. And sure enough, got him. And another story where we were sitting in the blind again, made a turkey call. Turkey didn't come, but a coyote did.

Really? He came looking for the turkey. Oh, dinner. And those are also very smart because he came walking down this path and my friend's like, get him. Because, you know, coyotes are bad about, they mess up the hunt, whether it's turkey or rabbits. You can shoot them regardless of the season. And deer, so it's like, get them. They're considered a pest, right? Or some kind of whatever that classification is. One time I think they were brought in to control the population of maybe deer, I think it is or something. Something like that.

But now they're overpopulated, causing a lot of damage. So I picked it up and that sucker knew, I'm in a blind, okay? And you feel like you're as dark as it can get in that blind, they don't know you. Somehow he knew that there was somebody about to do something. It's crazy that sense that animals have.

Yeah. All animals have, predators have. And even, not just predators, the other kinds of, what were the other ones? Prey. Prey have it too.

Prey have it too. But this predator knew, the moment I picked it up, somehow he's just like. And he began to turn and I fired and got him.

That little moment of hesitation where he knew something was about, that was all it took. So turkey, I like it through the scope. Ham, I like it on the plate. Not very nice.

Very nice. With it being Thanksgiving, we're thinking about turkey, we're thinking about ham, but we're also thinking about what we have to be thankful for. And Thanksgiving is one of those unique holidays because it is a uniquely American thing. In other parts of the world, Thanksgiving isn't necessarily mapped onto that culture because it originated as an American concept.

Oh, absolutely. And so we're going back in time, especially to the first Thanksgiving. And of course there are a lot of questions about that. Did it really happen? Was it really, did the Native Americans really come and celebrate and all that?

And I don't want to get into all of that. Maybe some of the time we will definitely do that. But in November 26, 1789, President Washington issued a proclamation calling it a day of public with a K. Thanksgiving. I was looking at that earlier. I was like, oh, wow. And then President Lincoln said the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day. Now, I didn't know that. I didn't know it was Abraham Lincoln's doing that made that.

Exactly. And so now it's forever in our American life. That's crazy because I guess, I don't know what it is in me that thinks it's a Christian thing, but you guys didn't celebrate Thanksgiving growing up, did you? Like on the last Thursday of November?

It was only until you came here. We knew about it, but we never celebrated it. Christmas, Easter, Good Friday, definitely. But Thanksgiving is sort of, Christians know this is happening somewhere. Like even Mother's Day, Father's Day, now in India it's a little different. There are Mother's Day, Father's Day, but growing up there was no such thing.

But now there are. So also Thanksgiving was always there in the back of our minds, like somewhere this is being celebrated. Like Bastille Day. Was it in France?

Was it in India? Now you don't sit there and think about it unless it's mentioned, but maybe a little bit more than how we think about Bastille Day. So Thanksgiving was there in our minds, but it was never like it is now. What was your perception of Thanksgiving growing up in India as this holiday that exists somewhere happening over in the States? Like what did you think about it growing up? Growing up, it's just like, okay, Americans have this special day they thank.

Thank God for their life, for their families, for their health, for their children, for their country. And that the country part was probably the most prominent thing in our minds. I'm interested in how other countries see that, because we are aware of like, we're aware of like big, big holidays that other cultures have. Like Diwali is like a, is that a Hindu holiday? Hindu festival. So like we're aware of it, but it's not, it's like you said, it's not something I ever think about or impacts me in any way. And so I'm often interested to hear how people in other cultures see our holidays.

Yeah. Thanksgiving Day would probably be the most prominent American holiday that people know about overseas. I can't think of anything else because Christmas, Easter are celebrated elsewhere. Our Independence Day, July the 4th is not prominent anywhere else. Other holidays like Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Armed Forces Day, I mean, those are not well known, but Thanksgiving Day, 40 million people traveling. Yeah, that's true.

Right? 40 million people going somewhere to see someone on Thanksgiving Day. That is known.

And also film, film industry really captures that. In the movies, you often see something with Thanksgiving Day happening. This big grand dinner on the table, like all the families circled around it.

That's right. And so Norman Rockwell style, the big Thanksgiving dinner, because I remember seeing Norman Rockwell pictures even in India and wondering, how do they do that? Okay, so that's a big turkey. But the turkey, like in India, we would eat and still eat like curry. But curry is like chopped up pieces of meat, of chicken, whether they are cooked in sauce or they're cooked in tandoori, which is like an oven. But to have that whole thing intact, that always confused me is like, how do they cook that through and through? Yeah, like a big slab of meat. Yeah. That's a good point.

The legs are all still in there. Does it even get cooked all the way? Yeah.

But now coming here, I know how that works and it's like, oh yeah, it's cooked. We don't think about that. We take that for granted. Yeah. You just see it every year.

We're seeing a giant bird on the table like, yeah, okay, whatever. Yeah, that's normal. No, no, no. Growing up, that would not happen. Yeah.

It would be like there's no way that heat or that pan is reaching all the way inside that meat. Yeah. So this is something that has gone back even to George Washington's day. What is it about Thanksgiving, do you think, that has lasted the test of time? Like why are we still, even in this day and age, celebrating Thanksgiving? So again, as I mentioned, it's a uniquely American idea, okay? I'm not saying people elsewhere are not thankful, but it's a uniquely American festival.

Not because, let me just say something about the not because. Not because every person sitting around the table will be choking back tears of gratitude. Sometimes it's more like, oh, they're coming too? I'm going to go and tell you, I'm not talking to them.

Don't sit me next to them at the table. Yeah. Yeah. I want to just take my plate in the living room.

Yeah. I'll just go over there. I want to watch my game, you know? Or something like, well, we need to go home because we got to get up in the morning and go hit the mall. Hit the Black Friday shopping. We just got done thanking God for all that we have. Now we're going to go mall each other to death.

Over a flat screen TV. Yeah. Or something as simple as, you know, just, hey, hey, Uncle Harold, you want to go and move your car so we can get out? That's the worst. Well, we'll not delay you anyway.

Oh, Lord. Okay. Help me up.

Somebody help me. So it's not because everybody is just full of gratitude as just, no, there are a lot of different emotions. It does not even mean that every person who's grateful will have the same level of gratefulness. Some may be grateful to a certain extent. Like some will be with their parents and just happy. Some will be with their parents and resent them. Who knows where they are on the spectrum?

It's going to be a gamble every time. This does not even mean that people in other parts of the world are unappreciative and ungrateful. I mean, I grew up somewhere else, but I'm appreciative.

I'm grateful for what God has blessed me with and how much his providential loving care has been in my life. And it does not even mean that other people don't recognize some sovereign deity. Okay. There are people in other parts of the world that believe that there is a God. Now do they know Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior? Probably not. Now, do they know that without Jesus Christ, they're lost forever?

Probably not, but that is the truth. This does not even mean that every American is a Christian. That's sort of sometimes what the world thinks. And they tend to label Christians as being this and that and the other.

And I just want to tell the world out there, do your research. Do you want me to believe every person in your country or in your part of the world is just like you? That's a good point. So you know the scums in your society, are you telling me that's who you are? Having grown up in India, having grown up in another country, would you... Is that a fair assessment that most people think that America is homogenously Christian? Like 100% Christian? Maybe not 100% because they do hear about atheists and agnostics and people who are sexually immoral, those kind of things. So they know that something is not right, they just can't put their finger on it. They think we allow all that stuff. And also they watch movies and they watch television shows and they think this is how all Americans are.

They're just very lascivious, they sleep around and have zero morals, completely caught up in all sexual perversion or homosexuality, it's just rampant everywhere. And then when they come and they meet people who are, whether Christians or at least moral, they realize very quickly, wow, these people care more about their children than even we do. Yeah, there's an idea out there in the world that, especially in places like India, like oh, they don't care about their children.

And I'm like, wow, you just don't know. You don't know American parents. Now there might be a lot of them who don't, and I think divorce has sort of contributed to that factor because in places like India and Middle East, even Africa, people think if you don't care enough to stay together as husband and wife, how can you tell me you love your children? Now, I don't agree with that statement because sometimes there's abuse involved and it's safer and better for you to split apart because abuse is going to ultimately cost even your children's lives.

So in that sense, I disagree with them. But when I say America, Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday, what I'm saying is that Americans, as a people, recognize that God has been good and gracious towards them, even though we don't deserve it. That's the heart behind Thanksgiving and the American life. There's something deep in our psyche, even if people choose to ignore it or reject it, there's something deep in us that knows that we don't deserve what we have. Right, and God is behind it. Now, does that mean they're all Christians, saved, going to heaven?

No, no, no, no, none of that. But that's the mindset behind it and it goes back to the foundation of our nation. And maybe we don't have time to cover all that today, but that's a uniquely American thing. Yeah, maybe going forward we can talk about that a little bit. I would love that, especially as we're going into the holiday season.

So important for us to understand, especially those foundations as we're thinking about what we have to be thankful for. If you guys enjoyed today's episode, maybe it caused you to think deeper about Thanksgiving and what you have to be grateful for, write in and let us know, 252-582-5028. Also, we want you to send a picture of that Thanksgiving table. Let us know what's on the table. Yeah, let's see if there's any on the table.

Take a picture of your plate. Yes, if there's him on the table, definitely send that in so we can, Dr. Sean and I can be vindicated. We're going to send that in, 252-582-5028, or you can visit us online at clearveetodayshow.com.

Don't forget, you can partner with us financially on that same website. We are grateful to all of you at Clearveet Today Show family and the impact we are having on the nations. John, what's up tomorrow? You and I are going to be doing a special solo episode. Dr. Sean is about to head to ETS in San Antonio to present his paper.

Dr. Sean, we're going to be praying for you. Yes. And we'll see you next Monday when you return. Thank you.

That's right. Stay tuned. Love you guys. We'll see you next time.