Wake Up, Look Up

Hello everyone. Thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weihrauch, and in today's episode, we're asking the question, can tolerance excuse terror. Now, this is prompted by an article I read recently on CNN's website, about American journalist Shelley Kitlison, who was kidnapped recently in Baghdad. American, journalist Shelley Kitlison was kidnapped recently in Baghdad where she was working as a journalist. Now, she has a history of working as a journalist in conflict zones like Iraq, Afghanistan, contributing to stories about what's going there. Now, U.S. and Iraqi officials had been warning her that she was in potential danger from an Iranian proxy militia, which did end up, at least they believe, kidnapping her. Now, suspect linked to her kidnapping has been detained, and Iraqi officials were looking into vehicles used in the crime. But at the time of this recording, at least, she had not been found. recently, the US Embassy had been urging all Americans to leave Iraq due. Due to escalating conflict situations there. my heart breaks for Ms. Kittleson. I hope she is found. I hope she's found safely. I hope for her family's sake she's reunited with them. but I want to make this point. in our culture today, the only offensive truth seems to be that there is actual truth, a baseline of true objective morality, which. Whereby we can say something is good or bad. You're not supposed to do that anymore. We've slipped into something called moral relativism, which is the idea that what's good for you is good for you. What's good for me might be good for me, even if we think about national politics. The United States is being decried for being the world's policeman, saying that other countries should be allowed to be who they want to be, to live by their own rules. but stories like this always kind of put a needle in the hot air balloon of moral relativism. Because, of course, all truth isn't truth, and all religions aren't the same, and all worldviews are not the same. Look, understand, at present, the United States is, at least in some sense, at war with Iran. Israel and the United States are bombing Iran. Russia and Ukraine are still in conflict. And now, what's going on in Iraq and in other places around the world? There's a lot of violence going around, but there isn't a lot of different sides kidnapping journalists. Only one side is doing that, you see, because that's what militant Islam does. It seeks to Oppress it seeks to destroy anyone who disagrees or gets in its way. It is a vile, evil worldview. And the evidence of that is all around the. The world has happened in this country. It's happening in West Africa as we speak. It's happening in places in Europe. It has happened to Ms. Kittletson. You see, all worldviews are the same or all equal or equally valid for whoever wants to hold them is the kind of view you have in suburban America when everybody you know is pretty much like you. And so you just can't imagine that anyone's worldview or ideology would, would be considered, quote, unquote, wrong. until your family member's a journalist in Iraq, then it's pretty easy to see who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. Look, the Bible warns us about moral relativism. Isaiah in Isaiah 5:20 says this woe to those who call evil good and good evil. Of course, Isaiah operating from a different perspective where there is actual evil and there is actual good and, and whereby you can actually confuse those things, which is what moral relativism does. It actually takes what is good and says, well, you can't really call it that. And then it takes what is evil and says, well, you can't really call it that. And as a result, good is diminished and evil, is, validated. Look, as Christians we have to take opportunity to point at stories like this in the news and say, hold on, hold on. All religions aren't the same. Because Christianity doesn't say kidnap your enemies. It says, love your enemies, serve your enemies, share the good news that your enemies can be forgiven through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Pretty different message than Islam. Times like this create an opportunity, at least for Christians to celebrate what they have in Christ in the worldview of Christianity. Because many of the ideas that the west accepts as true, even if they like to pretend they don't, things like you shouldn't harm other people come from Christianity, the worldview that has, given shape to the Western world because it is right and good and true. Listen, Christians, this is a great opportunity to disciple your, your children, to point out where other religions and worldviews lead, and to show the superiority of Christ. All people deserve our love. All people are made in the image of God, but all their views are not right. In fact, many of them, all of them short of Christ, are evil and they lead to hurting people. And Christians know that, because so too were we before Jesus Christ. Hey, thanks for watching this episode of Wake Up, Look Up. If you enjoyed it, please help us get the word out by sharing it with someone you think might benefit from it. And while you're here, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get further content, or even download the CCC app, where you'll find even more resources to help you grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

Have an article you’d like Zach to discuss? Email us at wakeup@ccchapel.com!