Hank Unplugged: Essential Christian Conversations

Hank Hanegraaff, president of the Christian Research Institute and host of the Bible Answer Man broadcast, reflects on the significance of the U. S. State Department having issued the first passport with a gender designation “X.” This monumental decision is analogous to a submarine earthquake—barely noticeable on the surface of the water above—that triggers a catastrophic tsunami. The United States government has now effectively determined that one can no longer designate the gender of a human being on the basis of biology, but henceforth one self-designates gender on the basis of introspection and autonomous will. In other words, individuals choose wholly apart from objective evidence to subjectively self-designate gender as male, female, or something altogether other. Christians must speak up.

​What must I do to be saved? This is a popular question—and an important one—but it is not the gospel. It is a response to the gospel. For many the gospel has often been reduced to a sales pitch of what Jesus can do for you. But, the gospel isn’t about what Jesus can do for you. The gospel is a declaration of what Jesus has done, solving the three biggest problems facing mankind—defeating death, sin and domination by demons. Hank is joined by Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick to discuss what the true content of the gospel is—and how we are to respond. For more information on Fr. Damick’s books, Arise, O God: The Gospel of Christ’s Defeat of Demons, Sin, and Death and Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy: Finding the Way to Christ in a Complicated Religious Landscape , https://www.equip.org/product/cri-resource-arise-o-god-the-gospel-of-christs-defeat-of-demons-sin-and-death-and-orthodoxy-and-heterodoxy-finding-the-way-to-christ-in-a-complicated-religious-landscape/What is the gospel? (2:45); the gospel of Caeser (9:00); The Lord’s Prayer as a declaration of the gospel (11:05); the gospel is all about how Jesus solves the three biggest problems facing mankind—death sin and domination by demons (13:25); the reality of demons and the Harrowing of Hades (23:15); is technology inherently evil? (28:05); Jesus is the Messiah—the Old Testament and the New Testament are not two different religions (34:00); how Christ is Risen summarizes the gospel (39:25); why do people often miss the reality of the Resurrection? (42:00); the role of faithfulness in the theology of Salvation (47:30); the positive significance of repentance in the life of a Christian (1:01:15); what must we do to be saved? (1:05:05); why should we believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist? (1:11:50); what happens to those who live and die without ever having heard the name of Jesus Christ? (1:24:15); similarities and differences between Orthodox, Protestant and Catholic Christians (1:28:25); what is Grace and why is it so often misinterpreted or misunderstood? (1:31:15); dogma, doctrine and theology (1:35:00); Sola Scriptura and Holy Tradition (1:41:45); Sola Fide and satisfaction theology (1:49:10); understanding faith and works through the lens of faithfulness (1:51:45); the rise of the Nones and the individualization of religious belief in the world today (1:54:00). Listen to Hank’s podcast and follow Hank off the grid where he is joined by some of the brightest minds discussing topics you care about. Get equipped to be a cultural change agent.Archived episodes are on our Website and available at the additional channels listed below.You can help spread the word about Hank Unplugged by giving us a rating and review from the other channels we are listed on.

Hank Hanegraaff, the host of the Bible Answer Man broadcast and the Hank Unplugged podcast, shares a parable of sorts from his sister Jobje, who is fighting pancreatic cancer. In the parable she receives a large mirror through which she looks back to survey the many years God has so graciously given to her. “I’m ashamed as I look back and see my road of life,” writes Jobje, “a road of life strewn thick with stones, rocks, and boulders—my transgressions are everywhere…making for a very rough and uneven road toward my final days on earth.” As she retraces the path of her life, the Lord then places into her hands a book of her life’s journey. “My book was so heavy and so full,” she says, “as I stumbled over and around the many boulders filling my road from the day I was born. I opened the book, and I was horrified at what I saw—every sin and transgression of mine was listed in that book. I was so jealous here, I lost my temper there. ‘Yes, Jobje, read each one of them, confess them, own them.’ ‘But Lord, there are so many of them, I am so ashamed.’” Having retraced her life’s path back to the beginning, she weeps bitterly. She turns to begin anew and retrace her journey forward. “Carefully picking my way around all those many boulders and obstacles—offenses of my sins—I look up in my tears and see my Savior standing in the far distance waiting for me upon the Rock of my salvation—upon Mt. Calvary with His cross. I see in His eyes the pain and sorrow that I have caused Him. I begin to run and climb up and over all the boulders of my sins until finally this prodigal daughter is reaching her heavenly Father.” Ashamedly, she hands Him back the book of her life’s journey and sees that on the cover is written a big “F.” “Failed.” She drops to her knees, weeping. “Please forgive me for all those sins,” she pleads. He hands back to her that awful book, and “there is still that ‘F,’ boldly written. But now,” she says, “I see the word ‘Failed’ crossed out, and behind it, boldly written, ‘Forgiven.’” “But, Lord, how is that possible?” He tells her to open the book again. “As I page through my book, I see His shed blood everywhere—blood obscuring all of my sins. He takes back my book and puts it in the ‘Forgiven’ section of His library. Now I turn around to look at all those boulders and to my surprise, I see thousands of lighted crosses”—each stone, rock, and boulder covered by a cross. “A glorious sight of total forgiveness! My previously darkened path has become a lighted pathway.” She hears the choir singing those precious words, “My sin, not in part, but the whole, is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more.” Because of His great sacrifice on the cross, she can sing, yes, “It is well with my soul.”

Hank Hanegraaff, the host of the Bible Answer Man broadcast and the Hank Unplugged podcast, reads an insightful article that captures the very issues he too thinks about when passing through an airline terminal. The article is by Spencer Klavan, “Life in the Airline Terminal,” The American Mind (September 30, 2021), https://americanmind.org/salvo/life-in-the-airline-terminal/.

Hank Hanegraaff, president of the Christian Research Institute and host of the Bible Answer Man broadcast, reacts to an article in USA Today titled, “Faith Guided Our Decision on 2 Abortions,” by Elon University religious studies professor and Presbyterian minister Rebecca Todd Peters. The author says “loudly and clearly that abortion can be a moral good” and that she aborted two of her children not despite, but because of, her “Christian identity and faith.” She writes, “people of faith need to shout from the rooftops” the message that “you shouldn’t have a baby just because you are pregnant.” According to Peters, killing a pre-born child can be a “morally responsible decision” if, for example, having a child would “interrupt one’s education or career.” Ultimately, she contends, “we need more Christians to stand up and testify that abortion can be a morally good decision.” Lord Jesus, help us to stand against, and not fall for, false and seductive rhetoric emanating from pulpits and lecterns throughout the land.

Hank Hanegraaff, president of the Christian Research Institute and host of the Bible Answer Man broadcast, reflects on the tension and debate over Christopher Columbus. Think of last year’s carnage in Portland on “Indigenous Peoples’ Day of Rage.” Or the city of Philadelphia placing a plywood box over a Columbus statue—which has remained covered beyond Columbus Day 2021. Now President Biden has issued the first presidential proclamation of “Indigenous Peoples’ Day,” attempting to disassociate the federal holiday from Columbus. What could possibly motivate American citizens today, supposed exemplars of social justice, to behave with such wanton recklessness in a supposed era of wokeness and progressive values? Could it be that they attack Columbus because of their hatred of Christianity? Anger over Columbus’ intention to spread the message of Christ to those he encountered in the new world? Or the deeply held Christian convictions prominently displayed in Columbus’ documents and diaries? The common (false) narrative that Columbus was a nefarious character—“a ruthless, money-grubbing, genocidal maniac, who severed hands, raped women, and who enslaved gentle people to satisfy a white supremacist lust for gold and glory”—is arguably tracible to the pontifications of a man named Howard Zinn. Read about this in a remarkable book by Dr. Mary Grabar, Debunking Howard Zinn: Exposing the Fake History That Turned a Generation against America [[https://www.equip.org/product/cri-resource-cri2102ea/]].

Hank Hanegraaff is joined by Neil Thomas to discuss his book Taking Leave of Darwin: A Longtime Agnostic Discovers the Case for Design. Neil Thomas was a committed Darwinist and agnostic — until an investigation of evolutionary theory led him to a startling conclusion: “I had been conned!” As he studied the work of Darwin’s defenders, he found himself encountering tactics eerily similar to the methods of political brainwashing he had studied as a scholar. Thomas felt impelled to write a book as a sort of warning call to humanity: “Beware! You have been fooled!” For more information on receiving Taking Leave of Darwin: A Longtime Agnostic Discovers the Case for Design for your partnering gift click here. https://www.equip.org/product/cri-resource-cri2110hup/Topics discussed include: What led Neil Thomas to question his acceptance of Darwinian evolution? (7:45); the wide-ranging and significant impact of the Darwinian paradigm (10:15); scientific bias against deism and towards materialism (14:00); how did Darwin gain acceptance of his theories? (16:10); the false antagonism between religion and science—naturalism vs. the miraculous (18:50); was Darwin a fundamentalist? (23:40); the fossil record and the Darwinian paradigm (28:20); Darwinian delusions (30:40); the 1953 Miller-Urey experiment (33:30); the rising popularity of Panspermia (37:45); the unfair accusations of pseudoscience attached to the work of Intelligent Design advocates (40:40); Darwin, Chomsky and how linguistics impact evolutionary theory (44:00); the complexity of the human brain (47:20); how consciousness convinced Alfred Russel Wallace to disagree with Darwinism (50:55); racism, sexism and eugenics as ramifications of social-Darwinism (54:45); materialistic magic in the Darwinian paradigm postulating that something can come from nothing (1:01:00); the privileged planet (1:05:25); how do you explain the rising popularity of the multiverse theory? (1:09:00); what is the mystery of mysteries? (1:13:30); the humility of Einstein as opposed to the hubris of many academic elites (1:16:45); the limits of materialistic explanations (1:19:00); the great historical irony of many post-enlightenment thinkers today (1:22:15); does Intelligent Design make more sense than materialism in an age of scientific enlightenment? (1:23:45). Listen to Hank’s podcast and follow Hank off the grid where he is joined by some of the brightest minds discussing topics you care about. Get equipped to be a cultural change agent.Archived episodes are on our Website and available at the additional channels listed below.You can help spread the word about Hank Unplugged by giving us a rating and review from the other channels we are listed on.

Hank Hanegraaff, president of the Christian Research Institute and host of the 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘈𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘯 broadcast, comments on an article in USA Today by Deena Yellin, entitled “Millions Giving up Organized Religion—America’s Fast-Growing Movement: The ‘Nones’” (October 4, 2021). ‘Nones’ have no religious affiliation. Yellin explains that a “sea change” is taking place in our culture. Something is “replacing organized religion.” This “hard-to-define” something “can manifest as a devotion to nature, meditation, yoga or political activism, among other things.” According to polls, Nones—“as many as 70 million American adults”—“still believe in a higher power, or even the biblical God—but on their own terms.” The truth, however, is that Church is never optional. What is needed is to find the mystery that can be found nowhere other than in Christ’s Church, because the Church is the sphere within which union with the one true and living God in Christ is accomplished. It is through the Church that God’s saving power is mediated to the whole of humanity. While the article talks about lone-ranger, individualized spirituality, Christianity knows nothing of the sort. The Church is the reincarnation of Eden. The place in which we may access the Tree of Life replete with its eucharistic bounty. It’s in the Church that we receive the graces that transform us and satisfy our deepest needs, and such cannot be accomplished in isolation—but only within the community of the body of Christ.

Hank Hanegraaff, president of the Christian Research Institute and host of the Bible Answer Man broadcast, shares another note of deep and abiding encouragement to us all from his sister Jobje, who is an astonishing example of faithfulness in the midst of suffering. From her chemo chair, she explains that this has been an Elijah week for her, with moments on Mt. Carmel as well as in the dark cave. “Why is it,” she pleads, “I cannot trust my Savior more, and I shoulder the doubting Thomas mantle?” And in the same breath, she reiterates her gratefulness that God in His mercy has given her “another two months extension of life.” “Amazing,” says Jobje, “how my life is now measured in small increments, not by years or by a half a year. His continued love for me amazes me! I know the day will come,” she continues, “when the chemo is no longer effective. Will I then still be able to give grateful thanks to a merciful Savior, to yield uncomplainingly, to mold myself slowly into His sovereign will and joyfully accept the closing of my earthly life? But ahh, the glorious knowledge that He has redeemed me and will Shepherd me personally by His staff, from the musty, deep, disappointing hollow black caves of this life into my eternal Home, a forever bright victorious Mt. Carmel! I do look forward to that moment!” Having walked with the Lord throughout her life, Jobje is now, at a precarious moment, able to rejoice in the midst of suffering. What an example to us to build our faith in our Lord through the spiritual disciplines so that when we too come to a point when we can see the end of our lives, we will do so in joy and hope and peace in Christ Jesus.

Hank Hanegraaff, president of the Christian Research Institute and host of the Hank Unplugged podcast, shares an article in the Wall Street Journal by Dr. Monica Gandhi, “Covid will Soon Be Endemic, Thank Goodness.” Dr. Gandhi says that “a disease becomes endemic when it is manageable” yet “is unlikely to be eliminated because of the pathogen’s inherent properties.” Dr. Gandhi reports that “although SARS-CoV-2 has proved unpredictable, no virus in history has ever continued to evolve to higher pathogenicity.” In her view, “widespread immunity, vaccinated and natural, will bring a full return to normal.” Jesus is Lord.