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And use that promo code T-O-D-A-Y. You're listening to Clearview Today with Dr. Abbadon Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Ryan Hill.
I'm John Galantis. And you can find our show online by visiting ClearviewTodayShow.com. Or if you have any questions for Dr. Shah or suggestions for new topics, send us a text at 252-582-5028. Or you can email us at contact at ClearviewTodayShow.com.
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We're going to leave a couple of links in the description so you can do just that. The verse of the day today is coming to you from Matthew chapter five, verse 10. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Life is going to throw you some curveballs.
Life is going to come down hard on you. But then you enter into persecution. And that's something that we in the West really don't have to deal with very much. Although we are starting to see it come out little by little, by and large we've been very, very fortunate to not have to deal with active persecution against the church. But make no mistake, it could happen.
I know Dr. Shah's had that happen in the East when he was growing up. And it's something that is very real. But I think these words that Jesus says, you know, blessed are those who have to endure that persecution for righteousness' sake.
Not just because I did something wrong and now I'm being punished for it, but for the sake of the gospel I'm being persecuted. There's a very real blessing that comes from that. Yeah, we lose sight of that.
And we lose sight of how fortunate we are to live where we are. I mean, to have the freedoms that we have to be able to worship and gather together. And so our heart should go out to those brothers and sisters we have around the world who are suffering for their faith. I mean, that is a very real truth for many people who worship God around the globe is that they are persecuted, they are suffering for their faith. But it is a faith worth suffering for. And this is one of the things that we can point to as proof that the Bible is true. I mean, if people, you know, they concoct this theory that everybody in the early church just made up the events of the Bible. Right, right.
Why would so many people be willing to be persecuted and die for a lie? Yeah. That does not make any sense. And that is a huge mark in the positive column that proves that the Bible is true. I even think about the disciples, like 12 men all put to death with the chance to be let free if only one of them would recant.
And every single one of them, nah, not gonna do it. Yeah. So, yeah, that makes a good point. And, you know, the Bible is so true. And if you want these verses coming to you every single day, you can subscribe to the Date the Word app. That's where we get all the verses for this show. It's made by a good friend of ours, Dr. Duane Carson. Make sure you go ahead and download that for free.
It's 100% free right now on iPhone or Android. And every single day connects today's date to God's word with the hope of making it more memorable for you. You know, we had someone write in to the show today, and I wanted to read this to you. People really love these million dollars questions. And, you know, I really love the prospect of getting a million dollars. Well, that's what I was just saying. I really love these million dollar questions, but I would love even more if somebody starts backing these million dollar questions. Yeah, I know, right? Like, there's gotta be... Like, I love that you're posing questions, but put some money behind your question at this point. There's gotta be someone with this kind of money laying around who listens to the show and is like, you know, I could really make one of these happen.
Here's one I can... I'm only kidding. Unless I'm not. Yeah, yeah. No, I'll take it. 100%. I'll take it.
Uh, million dollars. But your hair, 24-7, your hair is wet. Oh. Yeah. Like, you know when you get out of the shower right before you dry it?
It's, like, dripping wet. No. What? No. Immediately, no.
For a million dollars? No. Are you insane? Why not? No, I'm not insane.
I'm dry. No, I would not take that. That's horrible.
That's terrible. No. Not at all. Look, if your hair's wet, you can slick it back. You can look good.
Absolutely not. Women, I will say this, women don't look great with wet hair, but guys kinda do. That was a trend, like, not long ago. Is it just that slick back, like, still looking wet look? I think that's... For girls or for guys?
Or for both? For girls. I mean, I saw it more in women than men, but men, that's the greaser look, like, way back.
Yeah. But you're a millionaire. But your hair's not dripping at that point. Like, for your hair to look wet and be actually wet are two different things. Look wet, I'm fine. Be actually wet, I mean, that's, like, dripping down your back. That's, like, you lean over to write something and it's, like, dripping on what you're writing.
That's on your computer keyboard. That's your pillow. At night is wet.
No, absolutely not. The person who wrote in didn't specify, they just said million dollars, but your hair is constantly wet. I would assume that they mean, I mean, because if you just got damp hair, I don't think that's worth a million dollars.
I'm assuming that it's dripping wet. David, would you do it? I mean, because I feel like you don't have that much, I mean, you've got short hair, but would you let your hair be... I probably wouldn't do it. For a million dollars? What's wrong with you people? I'm the only person? I'm the only person who would...
I don't want to be dripping. Do you want to be rich? Not that much.
Not that bad. And also, a million dollars is more than I have, but it's not that rich. It's not that rich to have a million dollars. That's what rich means.
You're a millionaire. No. Yes.
No. One million is not that rich. It's rich, but it's not. If you offered me, like, a billion, I'd be, like, yeah, I'd just be soaking wet. A billion dollars?
David! Or, like, five million. I mean, we don't have to go, like, outrageous. Five million, maybe. One million goes faster than you think it does. I want all the money in the world, and then I'll have a water on my head. Make me Bezos.
Jeff Bezos style. That's why he shaved all his hair off. Because he's always dripping wet. He's always dripping wet. But here's the argument with that. Even if you shave, like, okay, I understand that.
Shave your head, get your hair as close as possible to your head, you just have water running everywhere. Yeah, it's dripping. Wow. Nope.
I would not take that. Maybe that's why he's trying to go to space, so that the water doesn't actually drip. That's it. It just floats off his head. It looks like a clown wig. It just, like, deals on his head. Anti-gravity clown wig. It looks like a clear clown wig.
You try to pop it. Yeah, no, I would not take that. Wow. I would take it in a heartbeat. Hair dripping wet for the rest of your life. What about you guys? Would y'all take it? I wonder if Dr. Shah would.
I know he's very particular about his hair. He wouldn't take it. A hundred percent. If y'all ain't taking it, he's not taking it. No way. No way.
I'll ask him, but I don't know. His hair looks already kind of, has that achieved wet look, though. So that's what I'm saying. Like, looking wet and being wet are two different things. It's wet.
It is wet. Yeah, no. But the thing is, you might have some good-looking hair, but you don't have a million dollars.
It's a million. Still no. Okay. Still no. I'm done. Write in and let us know if you would take that deal, you soggy-headed, strange people. Write in and let us know.
2525825028. Oh, your hair would stink to high heavens, too. It would be horrible. Golly.
And you'd be freezing in the winter. Bro. 2525825028, or you can visit us online at ClearViewTodayShow.com. Stay tuned, and hopefully stay dry. We'll be back after this. What's going on, listeners? My name is Jon.
And I'm David. And we hope you are enjoying the podcast thus far. You know, we really appreciate how many of you download the podcast every day.
Right. But we also want to remind you that we are first and foremost a radio show. Clear View Today is actually syndicated through the Truth Network. And we just want to let you know right now that in addition to hosting the all-time best Christian talk show of all time. Hashtag Clear View Today.
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That's 336-759-0363. Well, John, are you ready? I was born ready, my friend. Let's hop right back in. All right. Welcome back to Clear View 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, or if you have any questions or suggestions for new topics, send us a text to 252-582-5028. That's right, and we're here in the Clear View Today studio with Dr. Abbadon Shah, who is a Ph.D. in New Testament textual criticism, professor at Carolina University, author, full-time pastor, and the host of today's show, soon-to-be millionaire. Let's just see. Let's just see.
How did that work? Let's see. You know something I don't.
Well, Dr. Shah, it is Friday, and you know what that means. It's time to just see what you'd be willing to do for a million dollars. This one I feel like is pretty easy, but I think I know the outcome.
Okay. You get a million dollars, but your hair is 100 percent of the time, it's dripping wet. Dripping? You know how you just get out of the shower, and I don't know if that's the first thing I do is I get my head, but it's like that never works. It's always just wet. I mean, for a million?
For a million, yeah. I don't know. I don't know. I'm particular about my hair. Well, that, and it's just uncomfortable. It's just uncomfortable.
All your clothes stay wet. It's just like, ugh. But back in the 2000s, that was the style a lot of girls wear, and I don't know about the guys. Were the guys doing that too? Some.
Not a lot, but some, yeah. Yeah. I saw that the first time. I was like, did she not dry her hair? Did she not dry her hair? It was wet. Oh, no.
It's supposed to look like that. I remember that. But it was not water. It was hairspray or whatever they were using it to make it give that look.
It was on pomade or something. There was a YouTuber that I really liked a lot. And I remember every video, his hair was wet. And I remember that he did a Q&A one time, and he was like, every time I film a video, I shower first. And then I get out, get dressed, don't dry my hair, and I just film it.
Because he liked that wet hair look. Yeah. I like the shiny look.
So that's just me. So you could go for it. I could. As long as it's not constantly dripping. I'll say it's wet. It's just wet.
It's not like dripping on your clothes. I think I would need to see the million. I need visual confirmation that the million does actually exist.
Show me the money, and then I will go for it. I'll steal a kid's birthday cake, but wet hair, that's out of the picture. Yeah. So wet hair do care.
Yeah. Wet hair do care. Wet hair do care.
And people see you, and they look at your hair, and whether it is actually wet or not, you have to actually see it in person in order to determine whether it is actually wet. That's true. Just like you. You need to see that million. Otherwise you won't believe it. Yeah. Because if someone comes up to you and is like, I'll give you a million dollars, but you guys always wet.
Yeah. I need to see it in order to believe it. You've got to see that wet. I've got to see it in order to believe it.
A million dollars. That proof. Excellent. Excellent. Excellent. That's what we're talking about today in light of our faith.
Sometimes people have that, I've got to see it in order to believe it. Right. But the Christian life doesn't always work that way.
Right. And in light of that, Dr. Shah, what is our daily encouragement today? Walk by faith, not by sight.
That's true. Walk by faith. Faith is not just a leap in the dark. Faith is not just forcing yourself to act on some thought, some idea. Faith, as Hebrews gives us the definition, is a substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
So there is a substance. You're standing on some truth. Right. You're standing on some rock solid evidence, but you're stepping out in faith knowing that you're standing on this truth. So it's not just wishful thinking. It's not just hoping against hope.
This is much more concrete, but it still has the element of you have to believe what you don't see. Right. And I think you're in a very unique position as a scholar because your entire field revolves around evidence. Yes.
And there's evidence for the fact that there was an original text. Right. And so it's not – how do you balance that as a – because you're a scholar and you're a full-time pastor. Right. And so there is the sense of I'm stepping out on faith with something that I know I can't prove this side of heaven.
At the same time, I'm looking for as much evidence as possible so that I can provide people with rock solid biblical grounding. I mean, you pretty much touched – or you have pointed the bullseye of what I'm trying to do, have been doing for a long time – is walk that fine line. Not everybody can do it, and I'm not saying I'm doing it well, but that's what I'm trying to do, where I'm trying to bridge the academic world and the ministry world. And again, like I said, not everybody can do it, and I'm not sure if I'm doing it well, but that's my goal. Bringing not just surface academic work, but deep theological issues, critical issues, current, up-to-date discussions that are taking place right now in the conferences, series are being assigned, dissertations are being written, I want to bring that information and bring it to the people in the pews, bring it to people in Sunday school, and help them understand the issues now, not 10 years down the road.
I don't want to repeat the same stuff that they can find in a book. Sometimes it's tough. Sometimes I have to really dig deep and get to the heart of the matter, and then distill it down and bring it to Sunday morning sermon or Saturday night sermon and say, this is what's happening, and this is what the Word of God is really saying, and this is how you apply it to your life. Some days it gets tough.
I appreciate you saying that, and to us, it seems like you're walking that line very well. What are some of the challenges that you face in bringing those two worlds together? What are some struggles that have come up?
Great questions. One of the struggles is understanding the issue for myself, because my field is textual criticism, especially New Testament textual criticism. If I am going to, say, approach Trinity, Trinity is not my focus, but I did take a Ph.D. seminar in the doctrine of the Trinity, and so I was exposed to some very important works when it comes to the doctrine of Trinity. I heard papers from other Ph.D. students. We were lectured by some major theologians on the doctrine of the Trinity. I even read a paper called The Doctrine of the Trinity and Its Interface with Islam at the ETS in Atlanta. This is back in 2000, I want to say, 2003, and so I read that paper. Did you ever publish it?
No, I didn't publish it, and I would like to publish it one day. And I read that paper in my Ph.D. seminar, and then I actually read it at ETS, so it sort of had double impact there. So I had to understand Trinity, and so let's say I'm preaching on that, so I'm going to make sure, what is the debate going on? What is the issues? What are the issues? What are people talking about? I don't want to pick up something from the 1800s and bring it out as if, oh, see, this is an issue.
Nobody's talking about that. So I'm going to do journal research, because journals are the places where you find the latest discussion. I'm going to check conference schedules and presenters and see what are they talking about.
Was there a special section dedicated at ETS or SPL on the Trinity? And then I will see, okay, they're talking about that. Okay, now I've got to find out what that is. So then I'll dig into it, print out articles. There are times I print out like ten articles, didn't even read but one, because no time. And if the subject is a little complicated, then I'll run out of time. But then I find something.
God always helps me there. And I'll find that, oh, that issue, I can still expose people to something here, and it'll still be at a lower shelf that they can take and apply it for their lives. And it'll still be relevant. It won't be like novel, huh, that's interesting.
I didn't know that. That's cool. I'm not sure what I'll do with it. No, I want people to go, hey, this is my Sunday morning message. And this is where it applies to my life right now in my marriage with my children, with my work, with my health, with my desire to win somebody to the Lord. It applies very well. But in the process, what I'm doing is I'm taking a very cutting edge issue going on regarding the doctrine of the Trinity, and I'm bringing it to people, but it's still at a level they can take and apply it. Do you think that's why other scholars who are in your field, because there's tons of text critics, maybe not tons, but there are some text critics who are just not Christians at all. Then there are other text critics who are text critics, but they just believe. Then there's other text critics who are in your field, and they believe, and they may preach, but they're not full-time pastors.
There are one or two who are full-time pastors. Really? But do you think that's where that extra level of it comes in?
Because you're seeking evidence, and you're verifying, and you are getting to the bottom of the truth, even if the truth happens to be unpleasant, or if it's like, hey, there are real issues here in the text that we have to address. At the same time, my faith has never been stronger, and I'm going to make sure that my congregation's faith has never been stronger. Yeah. I mean, you described it very well. That's exactly what I'm trying to do.
I got you. And I'm doing it not just with trying to be as positive as possible or believe against belief. No, I actually am convinced, and it happens. And it's one of the things, too, where it's like people are like, okay, well, you just believe that. You know what I mean?
But it's not. You still have done all this research for 20-something years. You've been almost 30 years now.
You've been researching in a scholarly sense, I would say. I would say almost 1993. Now, I didn't get called in the ministry until 1995. But in 1993, I took a one-hour class called Introduction to Biblical Languages, not knowing that I would end up in ministry. But I took that class. It had introductory Greek and introductory Hebrew, and that's where it's almost like, oh, I like this. But then it was not a major thought. It was nothing more than that. Actually, I did very well in that class. And other students in that class who were actually ministry students, I just happened to have an elective. I didn't know what to do with it. I was a broadcast journalism major in the second year of college. I was like, I'll take it.
And that's when it was like, maybe, maybe, and then dropped it. So really, from 1993. That's what encourages me, I think, is that you see someone who's been doing this for 30-something years, and their research has never ramped down. It's only gotten more and more and more. Whereas me, I've not put any research in. All I have is, yes, faith, but also logic, understanding. That stuff can be twisted. You can't twist data.
You can't twist and manipulate and reword empirical data about the Scriptures and about Christ. So if someone who's put that work in is saying, hey, listen, I believe this with all my heart, it bolsters my faith, you know what I'm saying? Rather than listening to TikTok influencers or people who are up on a stage with a savvy platform in there, they're speaking really nice, and they're... They know how to connect. Yeah, yeah. And they make quote-unquote good points, but they're not true. Right. Right, and that happens a lot.
So you have scholars who have the truth, they have done the research, then you have people who present, or they're the popularizers, and they have the savvy, the ability to connect with the audience and all that, but their facts are either dated or they're wrong. Yeah. And so... Or they're being artfully deceitful. Yeah. Where they're saying things that sound true or may have a nugget of truth. So I think the whole thing is true. Or then you have a scholar who connects well with people, but he puts it with a twist, with his angle, which is not very biblical, which is someone like Bart Ehrman does that.
He's a good communicator, but at the same time, you walk away going, I don't know what to believe anymore. Yeah. And so to bring those two together is what we're trying to do.
Yeah, exactly. Research, study, digging deep, getting to the heart of the issue, getting to the most up-to-date current discussions happening in the academia, helps me to then talk to people, but do it in a way that they can understand. And it doesn't shake my faith, because as I mentioned, I think as some shows back, that that decision was already made for me. What do you think is the difference? So take someone like Bart Ehrman and then take someone like you and then the countless other scholars who are in your field, who the more they study, the more affirmed they get. What do you think is the difference?
Where's the breakdown? Do you think someone like Ehrman or someone who does study the scriptures and still walks away with unbelief, do you think they want that? I have wondered that a lot, especially with regards to Bart Ehrman.
Yeah. Now, he's very well educated. I mean, he's a Princeton PhD.
He studied under Bruce Metzger. He's written so many books. I have used his scholarly books far more than his popularizing books or his popular books, and there his research is great. Then there are places that his research is there, but it's put in a way that when you read it, he does it very skillfully, and I think it's skillfully deceitful, because yes, his information is there, but it's presented in a way you walk away with more doubts and confusions rather than with strong faith. So I've done a lot of thinking on him and why he does and has done what he has done and often come down to motive. His motive is not right.
His motive is very... He presents himself as this person who is searching for truth, but I don't think that's really what he is doing. I don't think he's searching for truth. He presents himself as one who is an objective investigator, but I don't think he's objectively investigating anything. Yeah, because if you're objectively investigating, why do you spend so much time doing talks, trying so hard to convince people that the Bible is untrue?
If you're truly objective... He will disagree with that. He would say, I don't do that? Yeah, he will say, no, I'm not trying to prove the Bible is untrue. I am simply laying out the facts that most scholars, even evangelical scholars would agree with me. That's how he will say it. And that's where you go, wait, what do you mean evangelical scholar?
He's like, of course, it's an optic problem. Most evangelical scholars agree with me that the Bible and the Gospels contradict each other. The accounts contradict each other. And then now you're listening. You're like, okay, wait. Yeah, because now it's on me. Now I have to go find all the evangelical scholars and be like, do you agree with this, guys?
And of course I'm not going to do that, so I just have to trust him. And unfortunately, at times, many evangelical scholars have espoused and taken on certain conclusions coming from historical critical studies. So when somebody says that and they go check and say, oh, sure enough, they say the same thing as Bart Ehrman is saying. But they still end up sort of retreating back to the safe space of faith. But Bart Ehrman takes it down to the natural conclusion, which is, hence, the Bible is not the word of God. These people say the same things, but then they go, but I still believe the Bible is the word of God. I see.
So what do you do with that? So you said his motive is not right. Do you mean incorrect, or do you mean bad? Like morally wrong? I think, again, judging motives is not always the best thing to do. Because then anybody can do anybody's motives.
People can judge my motive, your motive, and it's a very subjective category. But I think he has a level of confidence in himself. He's a very confident person. Confident in his accomplishments, confident in his academic credibility, confidence in the fact that all these people flock to him, whether they are against Christianity or for Christianity, he has so much confidence. And he is speaking from that level of confidence where he is now above what is accepted as truth.
And it's sad to watch. A lot of crazy things happen in this crazy world. David, you had something to add? I don't know how much time we have, so it might have to be in the next show. But I think that I would really like to hear the conclusion of the thought you were going with when you said that these scholars agreed with Ehrman on certain points. So if you follow the natural conclusion, it leads you to a certain place, but they retreat back to faith.
How do you get around that? Yeah, well, I would say, and maybe we can discuss that in the next show, I would say you need to question some of the historical critical conclusions. You need to question them and say, are those really the conclusions we need to still hold on to? Without being naive.
Don't be naive. We don't have to become like 1800s fundamentalist scholars. Now, I'm not saying they were all bad because some of those fundamentalist scholars were really scholars and their work needs to be brought back, okay? They really did their work, but they have been all lumped together as, man, they didn't know what they were talking about.
No, some of them really knew what they were talking about and still their research stands. But some of us need to really challenge some of the accepted conclusions that people on both sides of the aisle take as, this is the truth. And then you have to dig into that.
So a lot of work has to be done. But your faith is on the line, though. I mean, ultimately, that's one of those things where I'm willing to compromise here. It's like, I might be safe for the time being, but down the road, I'll be willing to compromise on something that really impacts my faith.
If the compromises start, where do they stop? Right. That's the problem. That is the heart of the problem. Yeah, maybe we should talk about this tomorrow.
Or Monday, I should say. I love that approach that you bring, Dr. Shaw. And we can continue this conversation tomorrow. But stand with your feet on scholastic ground and research and scholarly work, but be led by faith. Like, that's the ground you're planted on, but the way forward is being led by faith.
That's right, yeah. So helpful for us. If today was helpful for you in clarifying some things in your understanding, if it raised some more questions for you and you liked those answered, write in and let us know, 252-582-5028. Or you can visit us online at ClearViewTodayShow.com. Don't forget, you can partner with us financially on that same website. Getting messages like this to the nations for the sake of the gospel is our heart, and we know that that's your heart as well.
So scroll to the bottom of that page, click that donate button, and let us know what's coming from our Clear View Today Show family. We're gonna pick up this conversation on Monday, but John, what encouragement do you wanna leave our listeners with this weekend? Praise the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind, your strength.
Praise Him for He is, He is, I'm trying to do it from memory, but I can't remember it. Listen, go to church. Find somewhere to worship the Lord. Come back and see us on Monday. Maybe send us some pictures of you and your church setup, some hashtag Sunday Funday pics, and maybe we'll air them on the show. But no matter what happens, come back and see us Monday because we're gonna pick this conversation back up.
Love that. You guys have a great weekend. Make sure you tune in Monday. We love you guys. We'll see you on Monday on Clear View Today.
