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Fun fact, no. I have to make my own with McDonald's Sprite, and you guessed it, Texas Pete. I am genuinely horrified to hear that.
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Where's my Mountain Dew? Welcome back to Clearview Today with Dr. Abbadon Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can find 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 are here once again in the Clearview Today studio with Dr. Abbadon Shah, who's a PhD in New Testament Textual Criticism, alongside very special guest today, Mr. Alex McFarland. So good to see you, my friend. Welcome. So good to see you on The Clearview Today Show. Salute. Hi, Alex. Well, it's great to be here. You know, Dr. Shah was on your podcast maybe...
I'm twins. Yeah, absolutely. You know, we had Dr. Shah on your podcast, what was it, maybe two, three weeks ago, I think it aired. That's right. That's right. So it was very good to see you here on The Clearview Today Show today. We are excited to have you here. Well, thank you.
Excited to have you here. It's a great honor to have Dr. Shah on. That's right.
That's right. And we know that you are a name that is well known for, but for some of our listeners and viewers, this may be the first time you were hearing the name Alex McFarland. So Dr. Shah, I know that you knew Mr. Alex McFarland years before this interview was even set up.
Yes, yes. I always admired your ministry. You're focused on, I mean, you address everybody, but you're focused on the young generation and somehow you connect very well there. And so I remember, this is almost like 10 years ago, maybe, that I took some of our rising leaders, young leaders in our church, and I said, I want you all to go with me to this conference. And so we had like five of these young guys and we came to that conference and they loved it. You spoke, of course, and there was a whole host of speakers there and it was a great time and they were blessed and I was blessed. And so they had a chance to see you live and it was great.
It was really great. Well, to God be the glory. We love conferences. Thank you for your support. I need to book you to speak.
I need to get you to come and be one of our presenters maybe in 2025 for one of our conferences. Oh, wow, man. God is using you in a great way and I'm honored to be with you, brother. Thank you. Thank you. I'm honored that you would say that.
It's a blessing. Yes, sir. It was really funny. I don't know if we told this story on your podcast, but it was really funny how this worked out because we actually went to NRB in 2024, myself, Ryan.
So Dr. Shell was actually filming a documentary series over in Egypt with half of our crew. The other half went to Nashville, Tennessee to meet with NRB.
And so Alex McFarland's podcast, your podcast is syndicated through the Truth Network, just like the Clevee Today show is. So we were all in the Truth booth, as it were, and there was some sort of mix up and we got there a day earlier. We were setting up our table and then we got there and there was Kim McMillan, who is your, I guess, your publicist or your manager or however Kim is. She's executive assistant.
Amen. So she was at the table. It was really funny because she was at the table and I was like, oh, hey, how are you? She was like, oh, hey, I'm sharing your table. And I was like, what? She was like, yeah, they said we were going to share tables. I was like, okay, that's NRB.
That's what's going to happen. So we ended up just sharing the table with the Alex McFarland ministry. So a lot of people were coming by the table asking about it. And so they were asking about Dr. Shasho and they were asking Kim, they were like, now what do you do? And she was like, I'm actually with a completely different ministry, but that's how all this happened.
It just kind of got to be where we got to talking to Kim. We got to talking about you and your ministry and it was just a really great time of just being able to connect. Well, uh, thank you for collaborating with us.
Thank you. And, uh, you know, it's amazing even though COVID came along back in 2020 and we had 38 conferences in the year 2020 that got canceled. But, um, I and our board just really began to pray and we believe that more than ever, people need the gospel. And honestly, since COVID, our ministry has grown.
Um, I give God the glory. We have five full-time employees besides myself and several part-time employees. And we just finished our sixth of seven summer youth camps. Um, in about a week and a half, we've got our final camp of this summer, um, in New Jersey and we will have been in front of 1200 college kids. We've already this summer, I give God the glory, but we've seen 150 teens except Christ be saved. And that's amazing. You know, God is good and events, publishing, broadcasting, um, our ministry has just grown and grown.
And I know you y'alls has as well. Um, you know, second Peter 16 through 21, one of my favorite passages, but second Peter one 16 says regarding the gospel, we have not followed cleverly devised fables. The gospel is not legend or myth or fairy tale.
It's reality. Um, the historicity of the new Testament is just ironclad and people respond when they hear the message of the gospel and the facts that back it up. And so, uh, for, you know, ministries like yours and ours and many others, I mean the need to reach people, not only lost people to be saved, but the church to be equipped, the need is greater than ever. And, uh, I thank God for enabling us to be, be a part of what is going on in the great commission in the 21st century.
You know what Dr. McFarland just said about COVID being, um, it seemed like everything was going to come to a halt or this is a, this is the end, uh, end of everything. But to the contrary, God used this time to bless ministries like your ministry, our ministry. I mean, we've grown like never before. Our impact has grown and it's amazing. That's how God has worked. He took something crazy and weird and turned it towards reaching more people with the gospel. And so, yeah, that's our testimony as well.
Yeah. Well, you know, I'd love to say to everybody watching and I mean, really, this is, uh, maybe I'm preaching at myself here, but, um, God is in control. The biblical God is the true and living God. The Lord Jesus rose from the dead. He is the name above all names. He is the one and only savior. And Acts four verse 12 says regarding Jesus, there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.
You know, guys to, to everybody watching this broadcast, I would, if you're, if you're not yet a believer, I would say, uh, look, this is real. You know, Christ died for our sins. Jesus is as close by as a prayer.
I love to say that. And it seems like everywhere we go, we try to throw that out there to people. Um, and so for salvation, um, whosoever will may come to Jesus. And we want people everywhere of every strata to know Christ personally. But, but I would say to the church to be hopeful and to be, uh, to believe God for great things and big things.
And I know the world is a very rough place right now, even as we record this, just, you know, 48 hours ago, the opening ceremonies of the Olympics were very blasphemous and mocking the last supper. But God is in control. God is in control.
And as we cleave to him, you know, our needs are met, opportunities come along and we can depend on our savior and our God. That's right. That's right. You know, we, uh, that's exactly what we talked about, uh, this past weekend. Um, you know, evil is marching on and it's getting more and more bold and in your face.
Uh, Olympics are games where families and children sit and watch and enjoy something wholesome. And that was turned into a propaganda that was turned in and not just a propaganda, purposely goading Christianity. Uh, you know, they, they, now they think twice about attacking Islam, but Christianity, because we're all loving and kind, gentle people, we'll take it. Yeah, we'll, you know, so they immediately went after Christianity and, and it was sad.
It was, um, heartbreaking. It was angering in a sense. And, and I know some people were saying, oh, you just, just forgive.
And of course we forgive. That's, we're not out in the streets burning anything. We're simply saying you can't do that. Right. This isn't right. This is not right. You should not do that. Uh, not on two levels. One is mocking a faith should not do that. Secondly, uh, you are, you are, uh, you know, shoving your, your, your values or your lack of their values into our face. And that's not acceptable.
Not acceptable. A hundred percent. Yeah. Uh, could you imagine the firestorm, uh, had they been mocking Allah and the Quran? Well, I think they did.
I mean, yeah, they can imagine it would be Armageddon. Yes. And they're, they're not mocking, you know, Shiva or Vishnu or Allah or Muhammad Christianity, but align yourself with King Jesus. That's right. Right now the devil and a lost world might think they're, you know, getting, getting their say, but, um, soon and very soon history will conclude.
Christ will return and the mocking of the son of God will come to an end one day. That's right. Yes. One thing I've really admired about you, Dr. McFarland and you as well, Dr. Shah, is that we're on a pursue, we're on a quest for truth and a quest for what's right. But the end goal is not being right. You know what I mean? And I think that's really the, the difference, what sets us apart from the rest of the world, because the rest of the world, they just want to be correct.
You know what I mean? That's why there's such a spirit of mocking and there's such a spirit of goading and pointing and poking and poking and prodding is as at the end of the day, they don't care about people. They just want to be right. They want their worldview to be right.
Whereas I feel like, and I truly, I truly feel this from both of you two men and maybe you can speak on this. We don't have any interest in being right for the sake of being right. We know we're right. We have that blessed assurance, but it's for your sake that we're trying to get the message of hope across the world and across the country with not only this radio show, but Dr. McFarland, your ministries as well.
Yeah. I mean, no rational person would consciously want to believe that which is false. And I love the way he said that. I mean, I don't sound more Christian because I, you know, I don't want to be right and prove everybody else wrong, but I do want to believe what is true. And truth, you know, scholars thought history have defined truth as that which corresponds to reality. That's called the correspondence view of truth. In other words, it's the way things really are. And when we make claims like, you know, the triune God exists or Jesus Christ is God incarnate.
Jesus was crucified at Passover and his sacrificial death on the cross is the payment for the guilt of humanity. And we, you know, man is body, soul and spirit. And when we come to Christ, our spirit gets regenerated. Over the years, our mind gets renewed.
One day we'll get a glorified body. I'm not saying these things because it's my opinion or I'm not saying it because, you know, I hope it's true, although I believe it's true. I'm saying it because compelling lines of evidence point to the reality of these things. And I don't want to believe it is false.
I want to make my beliefs and my behaviors correspond to what is true and real. And I'm glad you point that out. It's not that Bill Maher, for instance, the very famous commentator Bill Maher, who by the way is sounding more and more conservative with every broadcast. We've talked about that on this very show. And I thought like, I've got to be going crazy. Why is Bill Maher suddenly making sense?
Yeah, I know. I pray for Bill Maher, you know. There are days I listen to Bill Maher and the hero whom I've interviewed. And some of these guys, you know, I listen to them and I think, you know, thou art not far from the kingdom. But Bill Maher once said that Christians think they're going to heaven because they believe they're right and everybody else is wrong. No, I don't think I'm going to heaven because I think I'm right. I know I'm going to heaven because of the Word of God and the Son of God. And the Word of God is shown to be inspired and true by many compelling lines of evidence. Jesus is demonstrated to be the Son of God by compelling lines of evidence. And it's the fact that God has given the human race revelatory truth. It's not Alex McFarland's opinion, although I certainly do believe it, but it's the fact that the true and living God is a revelatory God and has disclosed himself to the human race.
Yeah. I love that focus on truth. And Dr. Tran, I know that's the heart behind much of your preaching, especially with the focus on apologetics and equipping people to study the Word.
And that's something that when people visit for the first time when they come to a clear view, it kind of catches them off guard at times because they're going deeper than they may be expected to go. Right. And on purpose, we do apologetics in the preaching time because it's not just to convince the lost.
It's also to strengthen and bolster the faith of those who are convinced, those who are saved, so that they can know for sure that we stand on the truth. And so when, like what happened in Paris, a lot of our people spoke out and I commended them. I said, thank you for speaking out. Thank you for not being afraid. Thank you for not cowering, but instead of coming out and defending and saying, look, we don't hate anybody, but you were wrong for what you did.
And here's why. And then sharing the gospel. Many of our people were sharing the gospel online. And I was blessed. And I just, honestly, I didn't even put out a post. I shared the posts of other people and then I would comment here and there because, man, they were doing an amazing job.
Just carrying the flame. It goes to show the power of apologetics, the power that having strength in faith, because those who don't comment, they don't know. They're scared.
They want someone else to do it for them. And I think that shows the power of having apologetics strong from the pulpit, how it pays off in the congregation. I know you're very big on apologetics as well. Do you want to kind of talk to that a little bit?
Yeah. Praise God. I really think naturally, as you read not only the New Testament, but really the entirety of the Bible, there's an apologetic DNA that really flows throughout the entirety of the Bible, I really believe. And by the way, the word apologetics, just I'm sure the majority of your viewers would know this, but it's an ancient legal word and it means to speak in defense of something. And like when 1 Peter 3.15 says, be ready always to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that you have. The word answer in the reason, the word reason, it's not like apologizing, like saying, oh, I'm sorry. I'm a Christian.
Please like me anyway. It's not apologizing like that. But it really means a persuasive, well-reasoned defense of something. Now in apologetics, as Christianity goes, does truth exist? Does God exist? Can God be known? Is the Bible God's word? Did Jesus do anything to prove his deity?
And how can we know these things? I mean, there are a lot of questions. One big apologetics question, and I could talk about this over the last, I'm going to say 25 years, I've really watched the questions sort of change a little bit.
25 years, I first began to speak at colleges. The questions were very much evidential in nature. Like how do you know the Bible has been preserved or do we know that the Exodus really happened? Now I really think the questions are much more emotional. They're more about feelings than thought. And like, if God loves me, why do all these bad things happen?
And if God is powerful, why is there cancer? Tornadoes, bad things. What do you think caused that shift?
Well, do you know what I really think caused that shift? A part of it, maybe not everything, but in the Western world, there's been the breakdown of the family. And psychologists tell us that as children grow up, there's late childhood, pre-adolescence, adolescence, late adolescence, adulthood. And then along that continuum, psychologists talk about a person launching. Now, Abraham Maslow talked about becoming a self-actualized individual. I don't mean that in some new agey sense, but what psychologists mean is emotionally, intellectually, even financially, you reach a point that you're able to sustain yourself and you get comfortable in your own skin.
You have a sense of self that's realistic and stable, and you have a sense of confidence and context. Now here's my point. I think if there's one thing that really characterizes, I mean, kids that are say from 12, 13 years old to 40 right now, it really anxiety. And guys, just last week, about six days ago, the CDC says that 10% of ninth through 12th graders have attempted suicide in the last 12 months.
That's very tragic. Now hang with me for a second. 68% of people that are like 18 to 45, 68% have anxiety, depression, stress, fear, and it's really taking its toll. And people are asking emotional type questions. And I really honestly think they're basically asking, is there a purpose to life? Do I give myself permission to have hope? In this dangerous, turbulent, just very mercurial world, what's real? What's true?
They want a sense of context, a sense of self, a sense of security. Now fortunately, this is where the church, we have got the message that is a real message and it not only can convert the soul, but it can build life. In other words, we know why we're here to know God. We know what the problem is.
It's sin. It's the fall, but praise the Lord, we know the solution. We know the God that Proverbs three, five and six, I believe Jeremiah 29, 11 through 13, Philippians one, six. God has a plan for our life. Matthew six, verse eight says, God knows what we need even before we ask. And the Bible says that if we commit our way to the Lord, it doesn't mean there won't be problems, but we have Jesus carrying us through every problem. And guys, the crippling anxiety, the clinical depression, the breakdown of the family, the emotional struggles, I truly believe that it represents opportunity, that the gospel is more needed than ever. And in spite of what some might think, people are ready for it and I truly believe hungry for it. Yes, yes, yes.
A hundred percent. Even going back to the Paris situation, it's an opportunity to share the gospel. This is not an opportunity to hate, this opportunity to say, hey, let me tell you something, Christ can change your life. There is hope, there is healing, there is whatever you've been through in your life, there is a new beginning. And I'm seeing people share the gospel in loving ways, but share the gospel and there are people, seeds are being sown. And in time, whatever the enemy meant, God's going to turn it around for something good.
I agree a hundred percent. One of the things that has always brought me hope when I look at the state of how America is now is when you, cause you've said this, I grew up in the East and what I'm seeing now is what I saw then. So there's nothing new under the sun, but just as all the Christian areas back then were the only source of hope in our communities, so also in America now, that's what we have to cling to. It's almost like you have to have the mindset of Eastern Christians where we realize, hey, we may be the minority now, let's speak up, let's speak out, let's share the gospel, let's not be afraid. We do have the truth, right?
It's not because we're trying to be right, but we do have the truth. We have the antidote to the problem the world is facing. Amen.
Amen. Cause you know, I mean, we believe the gospel by faith and the word faith really means trust, but it is absolutely a reason faith. It's a reasonable faith. You know, I love Isaiah 1 verse 18 where God says, come now, let us reason together. Sayeth the Lord though your sins be as scarlet, they should be white as snow. I've got a little newspaper clipping that I used in some of my PowerPoint presentations and it's a picture of Jesus and it says, he came to take away your sins, not your mind. Oh, I like that.
I love that. I think it's kind of an epiphany for a lot of people to realize that, I mean, yes, we put our faith in Jesus. It's a personal relationship that begins by believing what God says. But let me say this, it's absolutely, as you all know, it's a reasoned faith. It's a faith corroborated by empirical evidence, historical evidence.
And I say this, this is a little four letter alliteration. I hope it's not cheesy, but the biblical worldview, God exists, the Bible is true, Jesus is authentic. Okay. It's comprehensive, it's cohesive, it's corroborated and it's completing.
Now let me explain. The biblical worldview is comprehensive in that it really does answer the big questions. And I would say every other worldview, whether it's atheism, agnosticism, pantheism, whatever, it really is not comprehensive. And we can talk about that.
But the Christian worldview is comprehensive, answers all the big questions. Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going?
What's the solution? It is definitely cohesive. It packs together.
It makes sense. It is corroborated by compelling lines of evidence, logical, historical, textual, scientific, aesthetic, existential. And then finally it is completing. In other words, it fulfills you. Honestly, if you, well, I'll put it this way, like G.K. Chesterton said, Chesterton said, it's not that Christianity has been tried and found wanting, it's been found difficult and left untried.
Right. And I would say to any skeptic, questions, that's fine. God is big enough that the questions can be answered. God is not diminished by honest questions. But as long as the questions are that you are seeking truth and you're willing to respond once truth manifests itself. Now, if you're just trying to get God in checkmate and you're just, you know, got a problem with authority, what better authority to square off against than the Almighty. If you're just trying to put God in checkmate, you're never going to find truth.
In fact, your heart will be hardened. That's right. That's right.
Any heart that is willing and open, yeah, you'll find the truth. You know, the Bible says, if you seek me, you'll find me if you seek me with all your heart. That's right. That's all the, you know, the challenges.
Just seek me with all your heart. You'll find them. That's right.
That's the hope. That's right. So good.
Dr. McFarland, thank you so much for being on today's show. You know... Go ahead. I'm sorry. Are we out of time? No, you're good. Maybe we're out of time.
No, go for it. So, I'm sure you've all heard of the French mathematician Blaise Pascal. Yes.
Yep. And it was interesting. He wrote an apologetic work to try to persuade his sister of Christianity. But he came across a Jeremiah 29, 13, where God said to Israel, you will search and you will seek and you will find me when you search with all your heart.
And so he was, it was like writing a syllogism. And he, based on Jeremiah 29, 13, Pascal wrote this. He said, the Bible promises that all who seek God will find him. Point B, but not all find God. Now, the logical inferences, point C, not all sought God, Pascal wrote it. Point A, the Bible says all who seek God will find him. Point B, but not all find God. Therefore, point C, despite appearances, not all sought God. That was being interviewed by the Daily Tar Hill at UNC Chapel Hill. And the reporter asked me, he said, do you mean to tell me, you know, 1.6 billion Muslims aren't seeking God?
I said, hey, I know some Baptists that I'm not sure are seeking God. True. Very true.
And here's the thing. And I would encourage everybody to read Matthew 7, 21 through 24. Matthew 7, 21 through 24. Many on Judgment Day will say, Lord, Lord, but I did this, this and this. Jesus said to go to heaven, you have to know me. That's right. For those who know Jesus needs to be born again, admit your sin, believe Christ died for you and rose again, call and ask him.
Jesus is as close by as a prayer. Dr. McFarland, thank you so much for being on today's episode. It was wonderful talking to you, hearing your heart and Dr. Shah, your heart as well for offering apologetics and giving us an opportunity to defend our faith.
That's right. If you enjoyed today's episode, write in and let us know, 252-582-5028. Or if you'd like more information on Alex McFarland Ministries, we can get you connected as well. You can visit us online at cleerviewtodayshow.com. And don't forget to support us financially by scrolling to the bottom, click that donate button and let us know it's coming from our Clear Read Today show family. Lots of great content coming your way next week. Make sure you guys tune in. We love you guys. And we'll see you Monday on Clear Read Today.
