Each week we examine current events through the reliable lens of Bible prophecy
>> Christopher Woodward: I'm Tim Moore from Christ in Prophecy Radio. With all the uncertainty in the world, it's good to know God's promises never change. That's why each week we examine current events through the reliable lens of Bible prophecy. Join me for Christ in Prophecy radio. Saturdays at 1pm Central, 2pm Eastern, and Sundays at 11am Central, 12pm Eastern. Find out what's really going on. Saturdays at 1:00pm Central, 2:00pm Eastern, and Sundays at 11:00am Central, 12:00pm Eastern.
>> Frank Gaffney: 11.
>> Christopher Woodward: American Family Radio.
>> : Welcome to Today's Issues, offering a Christian response to the issues of the day. here's your host, Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association.
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, good morning, everybody, and welcome to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Thanks for joining us. Here on AFR is Tuesday, May 5, 2026. Joining me in studios, Ed Battagliano. Good morning, Brother Ed.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Good morning, tim. May the 5th be with you
>> Tim Wildmon: yesterday. Yeah, that only works once.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, yeah, but I withdraw. I withdraw.
>> Tim Wildmon: Krish Woodward. Good morning, Krish.
>> Chris Woodward: Happy Cinco de Mayo.
>> Ed Vitagliano: There you go. Cinco de Mayo. See, yesterday I got ahead of you and, yeah. Got the May 4th be with you. You were planning on it, and then you got the Cinco de Mayo all to yourself.
>> Chris Woodward: And by pure coincidence, I have been informed by my daughter and my better half, that we are coincidentally having tacos tonight. So.
>> Chris Woodward: looking forward to that.
>> Tim Wildmon: Nice.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Ray Pritchard in Kansas City. Good morning, Brother Ray.
>> Tim Wildmon: Good morning, Tim. How are you doing today?
>> Tim Wildmon: What are you. Are you doing, Cinco de Mayo?
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, man, I'd like some tacos. I think tacos and a burrito maybe for tonight. It put me down for that, Krish.
Chris: I would like to watch the original Star wars dubbed in Spanish
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, so you were saying that you were referencing Star wars earlier, which you used that yesterday. You said May the fourth be with you.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: May 4th.
>> Ed Vitagliano: May 4th.
>> Tim Wildmon: I think we, all. Most got picked up on that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: May the Force.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, that's good.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Force was what they.
>> Tim Wildmon: You know what I would like to watch for at least 10 minutes.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I have no idea.
>> Tim Wildmon: I would like to watch the original Star wars dubbed in Spanish.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's probably out there. That's probably out, there.
>> Tim Wildmon: Maybe not dubbed. I'd like to hear them speaking in Spanish. You know, like, luke, I'm your father. How do you say that?
>> Chris Woodward: Oh, I'm doing it. I'm going to Google Translate.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, you can do that kind of thing. Okay, Luke, I am your father in Spanish. What does that sound like? I was thinking Cinco de Mayo. Yeah, I was blending today with yesterday.
>> Chris Woodward: Sure.
>> Tim Wildmon: I'm See what I'm doing there. I'm blending. I'm merging.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: So, so that's. You're seeing what that sounds so. May the fourth be with you. May the dose be with you. Am I right? Am I on the right path? No, that dose is too.
>> Chris Woodward: You could say today is Revenge of the Fifth.
>> Tim Wildmon: May the quadro.
>> Chris Woodward: Krish.
>> Tim Wildmon: You know what that is. Once again. Once again, I have to keep this show on track.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: It's a big job for you.
>> Chris Woodward: I can say it. Okay, so. In Spanish. I'm about to butcher this. My, my apologies to our listener.
>> Tim Wildmon: Luke, I'm your father. How do you say that?
>> Chris Woodward: Luke. Yo soy to padre.
>> Tim Wildmon: That was Korean. You just did Korean. You try to pass that off.
>> Chris Woodward: My Spanish is no bueno. Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yo, Luke. Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: I think I got Rocky. Rocky doing Luke Skywalker.
>> Chris Woodward: I took French in high school. I took French in high school. I should have taken Spanish. I wish I would have.
>> Tim Wildmon: How much? Ah, Spanish you know there, Ray?
>> Tim Wildmon: I took two years and I know como was Starstead. That's about it.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I took three years in high school and took intermediate Spanish in college. And I know as much as Ray Pritchard does.
>> Tim Wildmon: So if you don't use it, you lose.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes. And it was written in writer reading and writing. Spanish wasn't conversational Spanish, so I can't say, hey, can you get us some more cheaps? I can't say that. I don't know if that. If that qualifies as Spanish.
>> Tim Wildmon: Some more cheaps.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Some more.
>> Tim Wildmon: Is that. That's English, isn't it?
>> Ed Vitagliano: It is.
>> Tim Wildmon: It sounds Spanish.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I told. I told the story. he apparently have forgotten it. I need to tell it more.
>> Tim Wildmon: Please tell it again.
>> Ed Vitagliano: This is back when my kids were, in. It's still living at the house. My dad was in college. My son was in high school.
I tend to imitate subconsciously accents when I'm around people
We went out to the local Mexican restaurant, right? And I. I have said on the air before, I tend to imitate subconsciously accents when I'm around people. And the waiter came by and I said, can we get some more cheaps? I did. And my. And my wife and m. My kids were mortified. They had this look on their face. And I said, what. What I do? And they said, you said, can we have some more cheaps? I said, no, I didn't. They said, yes, you did. But I did it subconsciously. I was doing. With the accent.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yes, but you were doing. You were doing what a Hispanic person would sound like if they were doing chips in English. Yes, yes, that's what you were doing there.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Can I have some more cheaps?
>> Tim Wildmon: did you get more cheaps?
>> Ed Vitagliano: I got more cheaps.
>> Tim Wildmon: It worked.
>> Ed Vitagliano: My apologies to any of our Hispanic listeners. I did not mean it in a way.
>> Tim Wildmon: You're a very sensitive man when it comes to race relations and things like that. I can vouch for you.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's right, yeah. Never, never.
>> Tim Wildmon: You're Italian. Greek. You're a hybrid.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I am. You know, never met up. Never met a Polish person that I didn't tell a joke to about being a Pollack.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So that's just the way I was raised.
Dr. Paul Weaver has just written a fascinating book on Bible archeology
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, here we go. So, Ray, tell us what we're going to be doing at the bottom of the hour.
>> Tim Wildmon: At the bottom of the hour, we've got Dr. Paul Weaver from Dallas Theological Seminary on for a few minutes with us. He has just written a fascinating book on Bible archeology. We hear about it, but we don't understand it. Well, what Dr. Paul Weaver has done is he's taken the top 50 archeological finds, the top 50 that affirm the truthfulness and reliability of the Bible. It's a brand new book, called Faith Affirming Findings. And he's going to tell us not just about the book, but why archeology, rightly understood, leads us to the Bible, to the word of God, and not away from it.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And, this is kind of like a growing phenomenon. I've been seeing lots of articles. I don't know whether archeology is just being funded more or God is opening these doors, but we are finding, we're hearing more and more and reading more and more stories about how archaeologists are finding, finding things that prove the existence of people that leftists said didn't even exist, like King David, all this kind of stuff. This is, this is kind of a growing thing, isn't it, Ray?
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, archeology, of course, is huge across, across the Middle east, and it's huge in Israel. And Ed, if you, if you just stand back and look at it, the, if you, if you look at those who are digging around, what they are digging up has tended in almost every case to, to give proof, to give underpinning, just to show us that what the Bible said, we now know we've got the proof it's actually true.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. And by the way, have you, have you had a chance to read much of this, book? I know sometimes we don't get a chance to. Paul Weaver's book, have you got.
>> Tim Wildmon: I did. And, and, I wrote one of the endorsements for it.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, wow.
>> Tim Wildmon: Friend. Our friend Frank Turek also wrote an endorsement for this book. And it comes, a number of truly scholarly types wrote endorsements for it. it is, I think, personal opinion. I think it's the most important book on biblical archeology, for the whole Bible to be published in the last generation. And it is brand new.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, so folks, you want to check it out at the, bottom of the hour? Dr. Paul Weaver will be on with us for however many minutes he can spare, to talk about his book, faith affirming findings. 50 archaeological discoveries that Validate the Historicity and Reliability of Scripture. That is a long title, but we're looking forward to that at the bottom of the hour.
>> Tim Wildmon: Were you asked to do an endorsement? Because I wasn't.
>> Ed Vitagliano: No, no, I was not asked to do it. Are you kidding? They want someone to endorse that says
>> Tim Wildmon: cheaps when he's not supposed to.
>> Ed Vitagliano: They wanted scholars and people of great learning.
>> Tim Wildmon: okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Like, like our own Ray Pitt, Dr. Ray Pritchard.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, so we'll talk to Dr. Paul at the bottom of the hour. I look forward to this conversation. Going to be very, very interesting. so. That's all right, Krish, tell us just some wonderful news that's happening in our world today.
U.S. effort to guide ships through Strait of Hormuz underway
Krish, over to you.
>> Chris Woodward: I am continuing to monitor the situation in Iran.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, good.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You personally monitoring that, Steve as well.
>> Chris Woodward: but I bring this up because we have on our website right now a story and I've posted this on our Today's Issues Facebook page. the U.S. effort to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz is underway. this is something that President Trump and his administration announced yesterday. It's called Operation Protect Freedom where we are guiding or escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Of course, the big story yesterday was also the announcement that the Trump administration had taken out at least six small boats that Iran was using to try to attack ships going through the Strait of Hormuz. And asked about this yesterday at the White House, the President, had this to say about operation protect freedom.
>> Donald Trump: Clip 1 It's working out very nicely. They have no navy, they have no air force, they have no anti aircraft equipment, they have no radar, they have no nothing. They have no leaders. Actually the leaders, the leaders happen to be gone also. But, can't let them have a nuclear weapon or you can have, you have problems like nobody would believe. And it's going very well.
>> Tim Wildmon: What's going very well?
>> Chris Woodward: The operations to try to do Something positive in Iran.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, he's talking, he was talking, asked there specifically about the US Navy serving as escorts for merchant ships and going through the Strait of Hormuz. Am I right? Correct.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. And so does that mean the Straight of Hermus is going to be open? And we're going, we're going to open it because they send those little mosquitoes boats out. they're going to be blown out of the water pretty quick.
>> Chris Woodward: And at least. Yeah, and at least six were. right now, I mean, the top story on msnow, BBC and CNN are, this, the U.S. and Iran trading fire in the Strait.
>> Tim Wildmon: So this begs the question, why haven't we done this, three weeks ago?
>> Chris Woodward: Hindsight is 20 20. But that's, that's a very good point. We should have done it a long time ago. We might have saved some gas prices from getting near five bucks on average.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Krish is, Krish is very angry about the gas price.
>> Tim Wildmon: He is. He doesn't hide it.
>> Ed Vitagliano: No, it's not alone. Not alone.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I'm not sure how to answer the question. In fact, you know, Secretary of War, Defense Secretary, whatever you want to call Pete Hegseth, he's saying the ceasefire is still in place, although Iran keeps, trying to attack. And, so I, I think the Trump administration is trying to. And we've said this many times, folks, I apologize. I. I don't know who's in charge of Iran. I'm not sure who the Trump administration is negotiating with. but I, think the Trump administration is trying very hard to try to get something settled here so we can withdraw. And there are forces or factions in Iran that are trying to make that very difficult. They, I think they want to embarrass or try to embarrass President Trump. I'm not sure how you embarrass President Trump when you get embarrassed when the US Military is devastated. Your. Your own military. But I think want to see the president withdraw and they can say, we took their best blows and we came out on top. so this is still kind of a mess, but the US Military is trying to, establish a safety corridor in this key waterway. I am, encouraging folks to go to afa.net to see some of the articles we have on this afa.net yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. Because I thought we put it on the news site or is it on both?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Krish has also posted it on our Facebook page.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, so anyway, we, I'm. We're still trying to understand, and maybe it'll be explained today more clearly what exactly is going on, because in my mind, I'm envisioning, our ships out in the Strait of Hermuz, and if Iran, sends any kind of boats out to attack merchant ships that are, that are coming through, we blow them out of the water. End of story.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Now that's what I think probably all of us are envisioning. What I have been reading is the statement of fact from the Trump administration. We have warships, we have, you know, missile cruisers, we have aircraft, we even have troops that are keeping this, corridor through the Strait of Hormuz safe. But I don't think the Trump administration has explained how that's happening. But the articles I've read, cnn, Fox, they both say the administration has not given details about how that's happening. That may be to protect military operations. I don't know.
>> Tim Wildmon: I don't know. We'll maybe we'll find out more today.
Raymond Chandler III charged with making threats against Congress, president's daughter
Next story.
>> Chris Woodward: Krish all right, let's go to Pennsylvania where Pennsylvania. A Pennsylvania man has been federally charged after the FBI said he made graphic against a member of Congress, the member's daughter and President Donald Trump between April of 2025 and January of this year, according to a criminal complaint filed by the FBI in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Raymond Chandler III, who recently declared that he was running for US Senate as a Democrat in the state in the 28 election cycle.
>> Tim Wildmon: It should hurt his chances.
>> Chris Woodward: He's been charged with influencing, impeding or retaliating against a federal official by threatening a family member and by threatening a federal official and influencing, impeding or retaliating against a federal official by threat. I practice that a lot. somebody that was on Fox to talk about this, situation was Town Hall's Guy Benson, who had this to say.
>> Guy Benson: Clip 4 obviously not all with it, to put it mildly. If you're calling in these threats and saying horrific things about throat slitting and that kind of thing, and then you're giving your name and address as a supposed political candidate, very disturbing. And unfortunately, it's part of a larger pattern. I wrote about this, just last week at the Washington examiner, where you don't have a monopoly on either side when it comes to political violence, but one side at the moment is attempting it more and justifying it more, and that is the left. I think that is an indisputable objective read on the situation. And here's another example just in recent days, about which we have learned.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You know, Ray, this, this is obviously an idiotic thing for A candidate to do all right, to make threats like this and then give your name and address and all that, however, is. It also seems true that the people who are in charge of the Democratic Party, and especially the foot soldiers, the people who show the most energy in going out to vote and protest, they seem to be demanding this kind of rhetoric from the people who are going to lead them. the voting constituency of the Democratic Party that is perhaps most influential, amongst Democrats. They want this kind of language. So, as idiotic as this is, I am not surprised that someone running for office thinks it's his constituency wants him talking like this.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, first of all, he needs to check out whatever consulting firm he hired, because this is not a very good campaign strategy to leave those crazy threats and then your name and address or whatever. That's. That's not good. Okay, that's crazy. But beyond that, Trump derangement syndrome, which we've talked about a lot, it's a disease of the heart, of the soul, of the mind. It's a cancer. What does cancer do? If it's left untreated, it metastasizes, it spreads. And I think we're seeing it with a lot of people around the country. This TDS has metastasized beyond hatred into vile threats. And I, think the thing that is shocking to a lot of, a lot of normal Americans is how many people are sorry that the assassin who came at Mr. Trump didn't get to him. You know, but they're sorry he didn't. They have mixed feelings about it. They wish he was dead. Well, look, that's what happens when. Look, if you're going to say Trump is Hitler, Trump is Hitler. Trump is Hitler. Don't be surprised somebody tries to take him out. Because words, ideas always have consequences. I read yesterday somebody said this progressive left wing ideology, assassination at a certain point is not a bug, it becomes a feature. It's where this ideology leads to. And there was a shooting somewhere near the White House yesterday.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right?
>> Tim Wildmon: Right. So this is the world in which we are living.
>> Ed Vitagliano: and, it seems to be spiking. There seems to be more and more attempts on this. And let me tell you, if the, if the Republicans running for the midterms, now, this is an outside shot here because as Tim points out, historically, you know, the party out of power picks up seats during the midterms, but if Republicans were to somehow turn that around and gain seats, I think you'd see the left, this left, part of the left that we're talking about, I think they would get even worse. They would get more desperate. Yes, it's frightening.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, well, well, well, look, I, I wish Mr. Trump all the best and good health and long life and all the rest of it, and I hope that the security team around him is doing their job because, Edward, I think we're going to see more and more of what happened, over last weekend. I think we're going to see more and more of that in the days to come. That's a sad commentary on the level of political discourse in America today.
>> Tim Wildmon: You're listening to today's issues on American Family Radio. That's the name of the show. I'm Tim with Ed and Ray and Krish. Krish, go ahead.
Judge reportedly apologized to Cole Allen over conditions in jail
>> Chris Woodward: All right, so Cole Allen of California, the man authorities say tried to, get into the White House Correspondents Dinner and take lives of, cabinet members and other people there. He's made another court appearance. And what a lot of people are focusing on from this most recent court appearance was the fact that the judge apologized to Cole Allen over the conditions of the prison. Cole Allen apparently complained about the conditions in that prison.
>> Tim Wildmon: There's a guy, just to remind people, this is a guy who ran into the lobby at the hotel at the dinner last week, and his intent was to take out President Trump and maybe many, many other cabinet officials.
>> Chris Woodward: Correct.
>> Tim Wildmon: He was stopped. You know, he, he was, but he wasn't, he wasn't injured. He was. I'm surprised he wasn't shot by the Secret Service. But anyway, he rested and he's in, he's been in jail. And the, the judge is apologizing to this guy for the conditions of the jail.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, yeah, because he, because he was put into, a sort of solitary confinement. Solitary suicide.
>> Chris Woodward: Suicide watch.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's what they do when they, when you have a suicide, they put you in a solitary confinement.
>> Chris Woodward: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: So, I mean, but the judge. It's just, just sounds ridiculous that the judge must be a far lefty. Yeah, it's just apologizing to the would be assassin for was he missed saying he was mistreated in, in jail.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah. he said he apologized to the suspect in court after expressing, quote, grave concerns for how he is being treated. And the judge is quoted as saying, quote, whatever you've been through, I apologize for the prior week.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, good grief.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And, but, but the mistreatment, quote, unquote.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Now you correct me if I'm m. Wrong on this, Krish. You have my permission. The mistreatment is that he was put on suicide watch?
>> Chris Woodward: Yes.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I mean, he wasn't being beat up or denied food, right?
>> Chris Woodward: No, no, no. Nothing. Not to my knowledge.
>> Frank Gaffney: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Ah.
>> Chris Woodward: yeah, he was put on suicide watch, which, I mean, I'm not. I have a BA in communication. Okay.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right.
>> Chris Woodward: My. My law and order experience comes from television shows and films. But aren't most people in these kinds of situations put on suicide watch?
>> Tim Wildmon: I would be isolated from the general, public. In the jail, in prison. Anyway, I just. I'm just. You're reading that going, this guy just tried to shoot the president, and the judge is saying, how you feeling over there, buddy? Can we get you a blanket? How's your cable TV working out for you there?
>> Chris Woodward: Do we need to up the package?
>> Tim Wildmon: You got the right channels you want? Yeah, that's what it sounds like to me.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Well, and he also did, Ray will let you jump in here, too. This judge also mentioned January six. Yeah. And what happened to the people who were arrested for that. As if equating what happened on January 6th.
>> Tim Wildmon: What does that have to do with
>> Ed Vitagliano: anything with someone who allegedly tried to kill the president and shot a secret service agent? But that goes to show you where this judge mind is.
>> Tim Wildmon: I know. I tell you what. We got to take a break right here, and when we get back.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I need a break.
>> Tim Wildmon: Do you need a break?
>> Ed Vitagliano: I need to hear some encouraging news about what God is doing in the world.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Can we do that?
>> Tim Wildmon: I think we can arrange that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: so when we get back, Dr. Paul Weaver will be with us. 50 archaeological discoveries that validate the
>> Ed Vitagliano: historicity that.
>> Tim Wildmon: It validates that what Ed just said. And reliability of scripture. There is some words that doesn't roll off my tongue.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, I have a little bit of advantage. I. I use that word all the time in my daily life.
>> Tim Wildmon: Historicity.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, I. I'll say. Say this salad, we have. I'm. I'm thinking it reflects, on the historicity of what we've been having for supper. I can say in other words. Yeah, too often.
>> Tim Wildmon: There's more from Ed.
The AFR app is a powerful tool, but it does have limitations
When we get back to this short time out,
>> Ed Vitagliano: we would like to take a moment to thank our sponsor, preborn. When a mother meets her baby on ultrasound and hears their heartbeat, it's a divine connection. And the majority of the time, she will choose life. But they can't do it without our help. Preborn needs us, the pro life community, to come alongside them. One ultrasound is just $28. To donate, dial 250 and say the keyword baby or visit preborn.com afr the
>> : AFR app is a powerful tool, but it does have limitations. You can't use it to change the oil in your vehicle or get rid of carpet stains.
>> Frank Gaffney: It won't walk the dog, won't pick
>> : up the dry cleaning or take the kids to practice. But while you're doing those things, you can listen to your favorite AFR content through the app on your phone, smart device or Roku. Just go to your app store or visit afr.net Listen to AFR wherever you go with the AFR app,
>> Jeff Chamblee: don't be concerned about the outward beauty of, fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is so Precious to God. Peter 3:3
>> : this is today's issues. Email your comments to commentsfr.net Past broadcasts of today's Issues are available for listening and viewing in the [email protected] now back to more of today's issues.
Shane and Christy from Oklahoma traveling from Oklahoma to South Carolina
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, welcome back to Today's Issues on American Family Radio. That's the name of this here show on this Tuesday, May 5th. Thanks for listening to AFR. Hey, Shane and Christy from Blanchard, Oklahoma, drop by.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Say hello. They are traveling from Oklahoma to South Carolina. So we're right in the middle.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Perfect time of the year for that trip. Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. So anyway, yeah, escape the tornadoes of Oklahoma.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: In May.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Go to South Carolina.
>> Tim Wildmon: Go to South Carolina. Yeah. Just leave before.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oklahoma's pretty too.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, sure. But in its own way.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And it's in its own.
>> Tim Wildmon: Like Ray Stevens used to sing. Right.
>> Chris Woodward: Beautiful.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh yeah, that one.
>> Tim Wildmon: Everything's Beautiful in its own Way.
>> Chris Woodward: One serious song he had.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: It didn't involve squirrels.
>> Chris Woodward: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: all right. You're listening to Today's Issues on American Family Radio. Anyway, if you want to a lot of people traveling in the summer going down to the beach or whatever.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Mountains.
>> Tim Wildmon: Mountains or whatever. If, you want to stop by and see us here in our studios, ah, at our offices here in Tupelo, Mississippi, we welcome you to do. So you just got. What do they have?
>> Ed Vitagliano: All you have to do is go to afa.net afa.net and there's a little banner across with some drop down menus. You go to click on more and then at the bottom it says visits.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And you have to fill, you do have to fill something out.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: we do background checks. when I say background, we just make sure you're not running from the law, you know?
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, well, we don't want law. We don't. We don't want somebody who's running from the law doing a tour that we just. We kind of draw the line right there. Am I right?
>> Ed Vitagliano: We're having a little fun here, but you do have to fill that out.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, yeah, it's. It's easy to do.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
Dr. Paul Weaver is a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary
>> Tim Wildmon: All right. You're listening to Today's Issues. Well, we have a guest we've been looking forward to talking to. Ray, you want to go ahead and introduce, our guest for the next little while?
>> Tim Wildmon: Absolutely. We're glad to have Dr. Paul Weaver with us today. Paul is a good friend of mine. He's a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, and he has written a brand new book, and I mean brand new, just coming out this month called Faith affirming findings, subtitled 50 Archeological Discoveries that Validate the Historicity and Reliability of Scripture. Paul, welcome to Today's Issues.
>> Frank Gaffney: It's great to be here with you gentlemen. Thanks so much for the invitation.
50 archaeological discoveries validate truth and reliability of the Bible, author says
>> Tim Wildmon: So, Paul, biblical archaeology. There's a lot of big words in that subtitle, historicity and reliability. We've got a book like this where you talk about 50 discoveries that validate the truth and reliability of the Bible. So my question is, what's in this book? And maybe even more importantly, why does it matter? Why should we even care about what archeology says about the Bible?
>> Frank Gaffney: Yeah, it's a great question. If the Bible is true, and it is, then we'd expect the archaeological record to affirm it. And it does. And so I am, thankful for the opportunity to have written this book because I think a lot of people are intimidated by the field of biblical archaeology. All those big words that were just mentioned in the subtitle. But really, faith affirming findings, right? These are discoveries that affirm the historicity and reliability of scripture. The scripture is indeed true. It's trustworthy. But the problem is most of us are intimidated by the subject, including many pastors and teachers and lay leaders, even Bible scholars at colleges and seminaries that I've taught at. And so how do we start? Where do we enter into this, field of study? Those are fair questions. the field of biblical archaeology can be intimidating. So there's one extreme of the skeptical archaeologist who is an anti Bible posture, who, we might call minimalists, who minimize, only accept a minimal amount in the scripture to be reliable. That's also affirmed outside of the Bible. That's not us. but Then there's also those that on the other extreme, may be sensational and embrace everything without thinking critically, even, in things that might be found out to be fraudulent. So on top of all that, there's relatively few evangelical scholars who are trained in biblical archaeology, and even fewer who are able to communicate those things in a way that are accessible and practical for everyday Bible readers, Bible teachers, preachers. And so that's what I'm trying to do in this book is to make the field of biblical archaeology accessible, usable, for the average reader, but also for the pastor. Teacher, preacher, to incorporate these incredible finds into their regular teaching and preaching ministries.
Paul Weaver is author of Faith Affirming 50 archaeological discoveries that validate Bible
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, so we've got the book Faith affirming finding. It's 50 chapters. can you give us an example from your book of, a finding an archeological discovery that maybe was surprising, that validates that what the Bible says is actually true. One that our listeners could wrap their minds around, one that they could understand.
>> Frank Gaffney: Well, there's so many great ones. maybe let's talk about the crucifixion heel. Of course, I'm just narrowing down to, I think, the 50 discoveries that I think everyone should know about and, the most important. And so I actually surveyed a lot of different Bible scholars and expositors about what they think are the top 50. And I narrowed, that down to what I think listening to them and their feedback, but also, of course, taking mine into consideration. But one that is on almost everybody's list is the crucifixion heel bone. This is a crucified victim from the first century. His name was Yeho Hanen. And his bone box was discovered, or, it's a limestone bone box which would been used for burial. actually a second step in the burial process. The first step would be a person would be laid on a flat, surface. But about a year later, their family members would come back after the body is decomposed and rotted off the bones, all that's left of the bones, and they'd collect bones and put them in a bone box. Well, this is a first century, bone box. And Yehohanin was clearly a crucified individual because there's a nail still embedded into his ankle bone and it's curled at the end. So they didn't remove that nail and use it in another crucified victim's, situation. but rather it remained in the ankle bone. And this again is probably dated the late 20s, so under Pontius Pilate probably as well. So the reason this is important is because Skeptics of the Bible critics said that nails were way too expensive to ever be used in crucifixions. And so obviously the biblical text, Jon 20:25, Thomas said, unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, I will not believe. And of course Luke 24, Jesus appearing to Thomas and the other disciples says, look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself. So clearly the biblical text indicates that nails were used in crucifixions. But these critics said no. Well the Yehohan and ankle bone silenced the critics on that front as well as they indicated that there's, you know, skeptics said there's, you know, a crucified victim would not be given a proper burial. Well again, Yehohanan was given a proper burial. So again the critics are silenced in these two areas. So biblical archaeology time and time again validates, affirms, corroborates what we already know to be true, that the Bible is reliable and worthy of our study.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Our guest is Dr. Paul Weaver. He's author of a fascinating book, Faith Affirming 50 archaeological discoveries that Validate the Historicity and Reliability of Scripture. Paul, your book is sort of like a little mini library, in terms of a hundred full color photos, the locations of museums where these artifacts can be viewed, extensive, bibliographical resources for deeper study. I'm reading from the description here on Amazon. Over four hundred and fifty footnotes, a glossary, all these kinds of things. Also want to make mention of the fact that there are videos that go along with each of these discoveries. I'll give you a second, to comment on like the videos, but I did have a question.
Are these kinds of discoveries changing minds of skeptics
You mentioned this discovery of the crucified victim and the nail in the ankle bone. Are these kinds of discoveries, are they changing minds of skeptics? And maybe I know there's always a little bit of ebb and flow in terms of like new, NewSong Testament scholarship, etc. Are these kinds of discoveries changing minds?
>> Frank Gaffney: That's a great question. I, I think for a genuine seeker they are. For someone that is, ah, and by the way, I begin my book talking to them as well. I include that, you know, if, I hope that this is a book that people can give to seekers, that are genuinely wanting to go wherever truth leads them. And we believe the truth is on our side. And so yes, if someone has a, an openness, they will discover that the Bible is historically reliable. And if it can be trusted for the, facts and figures that people, places, events in history. Then I think it can also be trusted for the theological truths found in it. That salvation is by grace through faith. Right. That Christ, substitutionary atonement pays the penalty for our sins. So, I think on that level, I think the skeptics that are so, you know, have dug their heels in no amount of proof will, or evidence will allow them to change their minds on that. But, yeah, and as you mentioned, I do provide a, QR code and a web link, for each chapter. And so there's 50 videos that accompany that. And so you can go dig deeper in that way. I also am providing 50, PowerPoint presentations. So my email address is included in the introduction. If someone, emails me, I will send them the 50 PowerPoints that they can ultimately right away implement them into their teaching and preaching or Bible studies or even just personal study. So I hope it's a. I don't think there's anything out there like it, but I hope that it can, be really a multimedia means to study it, but then also see it even in greater depth in the videos and PowerPoints.
American Family Radio talks to Dr. Paul Weaver about faith affirming findings
>> Tim Wildmon: Talking to Dr. Paul PowerPoint Weaver here on American Family Radio. he's joining us from Dallas Theological Seminary. well, you may not live there. Do you live in the Dallas area? Is that.
>> Frank Gaffney: I do, yes. Just in Thorny, east of Dallas.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, so the book we're talking about is, faith affirming findings, 50 archaeological discoveries that validate the historicity and reliability of the scripture. So that's what, that's who we're talking to, Dr. Paul Weaver.
Each of these archaeological discoveries affirm the historicity and reliability of scripture
One more question I had for you. and the book is available now, is, was there one when putting this book together? I'm sure this is several years of work. was there one, of these discoveries that stands out in your mind? You went, wow, I didn't know that. That's stunning. Go ahead.
>> Frank Gaffney: Well, each of them are fascinating in their own right. one of the things I try to do is, one of the first things I do is include the story of the discovery itself. And so I'd say the stories have been, incredible, thinking and how these discoveries were made. You know, from shepherds tending their sheep to boys playing in a tunnel to, a water park being built to a sewer system being dug. Right. So, each of these archaeological discoveries, again and again affirm the historicity and reliability of scripture. And, each one of them have been, A joy to study and even to read and then recount for my readers the stories that come with that and how, you know, God provided, not every generation has access to all had access to all the, archaeological record that we have. And we do have a, plethora of riches. Right. Embarrassment of riches to be studied.
Paul Weaver: I have one question about Noah's Ark from an archaeological standpoint
>> Ed Vitagliano: Paul, we were going to let you go, but I do have one additional question. Noah's Ark. I periodically will read something. Usually, it's an article in a online, newspaper or something. Daily Mail or Fox News or whatever. Do you think that they have actually found the location in Turkey, where the ark came to rest? Or is it possible for something so old to be, quote, unquote, discovered from an archaeological, standpoint?
>> Frank Gaffney: Yeah, I've not dug deep into that. but you might realize that things that survive antiquity are typically things that are etched in stone or things put in clay and then hardened in an oven. So, the further back we go in time, the less and less archaeological remains we have. And that's what you'd expect. and so, the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Just because we don't have the ark doesn't mean that the story, of knowing the ark didn't actually happen. So, that doesn't. I don't need, validation of every single event and every single thing found in scripture. So I do. I am, very. Try to be very discerning because there are a lot of stories out there. and I'm not, negating this one, but, I just haven't, dug deep enough to give an informed opinion. So I don't want to, That one.
>> Tim Wildmon: So what was that little saying you had there?
>> Frank Gaffney: You said, the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. I'm gonna use that with my grandchildren because, I need to have something to come back to.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Something.
>> Tim Wildmon: They start six, seven me something. Start doing six, seven things. I'm gonna go back at them with that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's right.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And that'll get them to think and they'll stop talking for a while.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right?
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's. That's an added bonus.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's right. Well, listen, Dr. Weaver, thank you so much for being on with us. We appreciate it very much. We highly recommend people getting a copy of your book. Faith affirming findings. 50 archaeological discoveries that validate the historicity and reliability of the scripture. it's a unique book, I think. There's nothing quite like it out there that I. I'm aware of, But anyway, thank you, sir, for being on with us, and we wish you a good day.
>> Frank Gaffney: My pleasure. Thank you, gentlemen.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. Bye. Bye.
Faith Affirming Findings will bolster your faith, Ed says
As Dr. Paul Ray. Go ahead.
>> Tim Wildmon: You know, this is the kind of book that every pastor ought to have.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: And every Sunday school teacher ought to have. But, you know, while Paul was talking, it hit me. Our young people. Our young people, yeah. they are hungry for answers. They hear the stuff about. I mean, I've been reading stuff about Noah's Ark, too. You know, Paul was being careful about that. Right. I mean, I can. I can say what I want because I'm no expert. Right. I hope. I hope they find it. I have no idea if this rock formation is Noah's Ark. it happened a long, long, long time ago. So we don't know. But I'll tell you what. This is the kind of book that youth pastors ought to take and they ought to teach. They ought to teach their young people that. That the Bible is true. And here are the. Here are the discoveries from archeology that validate King David, that validate Pontius Pilate, that validate the method of crucifixion. Because we hear overwhelmingly well the Bible is just a collection of stories and fables. But, no, it is God's word and it's truth. And I think. I think pastors, teachers, Sunday school teachers, especially folks who work with young people, ought to get a copy of Faith Affirming Findings because it will bolster your faith. It's ammunition for the gospel army.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, listen, this is so fascinating. I'm thinking of getting a copy for my wife for Mother's Day. I just think that that's the perfect Mother's Day gift. get a.
>> Tim Wildmon: What do you think, what was
>> Tim Wildmon: your second choice there?
>> Tim Wildmon: You might want to rethink that one, Ed.
>> Tim Wildmon: You pass over to get to that.
One of the discoveries in this book involves Hezekiah's Tunnel
>> Ed Vitagliano: All right, go ahead, Krish. I got ahead of you.
>> Chris Woodward: Off. I was looking through, the stuff that is included in this book, and one of the, discoveries, involves Hezekiah's Tunnel. For people that have never been to Israel. When you go to the city of David, you can actually go through Hezekiah's tunnel and you can see for yourself what the Bible speaks of. So a lot of these things, are things that you yourself could actually see with your own two eyes and experience.
>> Ed Vitagliano: It was part of a, roller coaster complex. I think in, you know what time, yeah, they go Hezekiah's Tunnel. And you would come down and go
>> Tim Wildmon: through that tunnel, the roller Coaster part has disappeared.
>> Ed Vitagliano: But you get some water and it would spray everybody and all the Israelites would just.
>> Tim Wildmon: I worked hard to make this a serious show that has a good reputation.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, I know. I know you do.
>> Tim Wildmon: You just take off any wild direction you want to go.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's right.
Ray: If you read the Bible, there are some outlandish stories
>> Tim Wildmon: okay, so you're listening to today's issues on American Family. Let me just say this, about the historicity. Is that what you say it?
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: And reliability of scripture, which is a subtitle for the book. the Bible. Yes, I would agree. If you read the Bible, there are some outlandish stories in there. by outlandish. I'm not saying they're not true. I'm just saying, they are seemingly unbelievable sometimes. Like, who believes that a Red Sea can be parted and people walk through it on dry land? You go, that can't happen. Well, if you consider the creator of the universe is involved in this situation, yes, the walls of the Red Sea can be parted and people can walk across on dry land. So miracles, that occurred in the Bible. And he's not necessarily talking about miracles in his book. He's talking about archaeological discoveries that confir what the Bible says happened in a bygone era. We had discoveries, in the last hundred, two hundred years or whatever that say, hey, these discoveries confirm what the Bible says happened back in that day. So that's what it's about. But, you know, what I was going to say was, Ray, how does a skeptic about the Bible answer the question of how the Jews exist today? we have a Jewish nation, Israel. We have Jewish people around the world. they're the Hebrews. They're the children of Israel. They are the, So these people, the lineage of these folks go back to, can be traced back to what, Abraham.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right, right.
>> Tim Wildmon: So you know, the Abraham of the Bible, that.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right, the Abraham of the Bible.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, so how can that be? How can that be made up? You know, that's, a fable, right? A, you know, you know, go ahead, comment on that one, if you would.
>> Tim Wildmon: You know, in the late 1800s, which would, which would put us several generations before the establishment of the modern state of Israel, late 1800s, there was a lot of discussion about this very point. How do you explain the existence of the Jewish people after, after thousands of years of persecution and hatred and being run from one country to another and the pogroms of the. Of, in, in Russia and in what was to come, what would come later in World War II, when the Holocaust, people were asking, they how. How do you even explain this? And the answer of a great many people, even some who are not Christians at all, they said, this is supernatural. It's a miracle. The preserve. There's no other way to explain the existence of the Jewish people, right, Than the preserving hand of Almighty God. That, I mean, if you look at these Old Testament maps, I've got one too, that shows Moses and, you know, and the people of God. And they're about to go into the promised land, and Moses is going to die and Joshua is going to take over. And one of these maps shows, here's the Hittites, here's the Amorites, you know, here's the Hivites, here's the Girgashites, all the ITE brothers, right? All the bad guys. the Phoenicians are here, and the, the Philistines are down there by the coast. And you go, there's no way, the bad guys are favored by four touchdowns, maybe five. There's no way but God. Okay, now we run the clock ahead from the old testament to 2026. Hittites are gone, and the Hivites are gone and the Girg. You want to study the Girgashites? There's not a Girgashite community to go to. You got to read about it in some ancient history books. And yet the Jewish people have. They have been preserved by the hand of Almighty God. God still has a plan, Tim, for the Jewish people. He is going to fulfill it. It's found in the Old Testament, it's found in the NewSong Testament, it's found in the book of Romans, chapter 11. That God's hand has preserved the Jewish people through it all, they are still with us today.
>> Tim Wildmon: Amen.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Can I read something from Mark Twain, who is not a religious man? The writer Mark Twain, he wrote this. It's called concerning the Jews. He wrote this. It's just about, what, over 100 years
>> Tim Wildmon: ago, 150 years ago, something like that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, I'll look up the date here when he wrote this. but anyway, this is what he says. The Egyptian, the Babylonian and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream stuff and passed away. The Greek and the Roman followed, made a vast noise, and they are gone. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age. He says all things are mortal. But the Jew. All other forces pass, but he remains what is the secret of his immortality. And the Bible believing Christian would say, it's God Almighty.
>> Tim Wildmon: Absolutely.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's from Mark Twain.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's from Mark Twain. Not a Bible believer, as far as we know.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, we're going to take a short time out. Krish, thank you. We thank you for your contributions to this program today. You're welcome. and, we will be back with Steve Paisley Jordal in, just a few minutes. Stay with us.
>> Jeff Chamblee: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
