- This week on Christian World News,

the passing of a giant.

At a young age, RaviZacharias made the journey

from despair to faith

and he spent his life teaching millions

how to defend the gospel.

And safe at home, anAmerican pastor is free

after being detained for months in India.

Bryan Nerren tells us about his experience

and why we should be prayingfor the Hindu nation.

Plus chaplains on the frontlines of the pandemic.

They're giving spiritual aid

to doctors and nurses on the brink.

So why do some hospitalsbelieve they are not necessary?

Hello, everyone.

Welcome to this week's editionof Christian World News.

I'm George Thomas.

This spiritual legacy of Ravi Zacharias

can be measured by the millions of people,

equipped by his teaching.

Once full of doubt and despair,

he found Christ at an early age.

Then dedicated his life tospreading the message of hope

and teaching others howto defend their faith.

Wendy Griffith has this lookat his life and ministry.

- [Wendy] Ravi Zachariaswas a 17 year old skeptic,

an unbeliever, recoveringfrom a suicide attempt

when he heard the wordsof Jesus in John 14:19.

"Because I live, you also will live."

The truth of Scripturegave Zacharias hope,

and he gave his life to Christ,

promising to leave no stone unturned

in his pursuit of truth.

The verse in John 14,

"I am the way the truth and the life"

became the cornerstone ofZacharias' ultimate mission

as a Christian apologist and evangelist

to present and defendthe truth of Jesus Christ

that others may find life in Him.

Zacharias did just that

several times over theyears on the 700 Club.

- How wonderful to know.

That when Jesus Christspeaks to you and to me,

He enables you to understand yourself

to die to that self because of the cross

and brings the real you to birth.

When you are crucified withChrist, nevertheless you live

yet not you, but Christ lives in you.

I think that's so unique

that one cannot escape the ramifications.

- [Wendy] Zachariasbegan preaching in India

at the age of 19.

Years later, he was invited to speak

at the Billy Graham EvangelisticAssociation in Amsterdam,

where he addressed 4,000 other speakers,

it would be a turning point for him,

as he began to seriouslyconsider the critical need

of apologetics to removethe intellectual barriers

that kept many from consideringthe claims of Christ.

In 1984, he founded Ravi ZachariasInternational Ministries.

- Do you think God's brought you here

for a purpose this morning?

It may be you really don't know Him,

but deep inside you're wantingHim, wanting Him very badly,

and saying, God, ifyou're real speak to me.

- [Wendy] Even to the end,Zacharias remained committed

to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ

through preaching, teaching,

and his popular radio program called

Let My People Think.

He shared the gospelwith millions of people

in more than 70 countries,

and wrote more than 25 books.

In 2017, Zacharias' vision

to establish anapologetics training center

in the US was realized

with the launch of theZacharias Institute in Atlanta.

He spent nearly 50 yearsadvancing the Christian faith

and addressing some oflife's greatest questions.

- Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ,

you can become one with God.

It is a unique claim.

No other religion allows him.

- At the core of the Christianfaith is the grace of God.

If there's one word I would grab

from all of that it's forgiveness.

That you can be forgiven,I can be forgiven

and it is of the grace of God.

- [Wendy] Tributes continue topour in from around the world

about his spiritual legacy,ranging from Franklin Graham

to President Trump's WhiteHouse press secretary

Kayleigh McEnany.

- To have someone whofrom an academic place

as an apologist could equipyou with those arguments

where you didn't have tocheck your brain at the door

when you became a Christian

where there is intellectual foundation

for everything we believe,

but his life continues

and the next life, someoneI'll meet in heaven

and rest assured hislegacy will always be here

and he will continue to change lives.

- [Wendy] Zacharias and his wife Margie,

were married for 48 years andhave three grown children.

Ravi Zacharias was 74.

- He will be missed,

but another intellectualand spiritual heavyweight

is our Dr. Corne Bekker, Deanof Regent School of Divinity

and he joins me now,

to talk about the legacy of Ravi.

Dr. Bekker a talk about the impact

that his ministry had onthe church and the world.

- Thank you so much George

for a certainly a privilege to be here.

So evangelicals leftthe intellectual sphere

at the beginning of the 20th century,

and one of the mostextraordinary things happen,

there were a number of voices

that stepped back with great force.

And Ravi was certainly one of the leaders

amongst that movement that taught us

that as Christians that believe

in the inerrancy of God's Word

that we don't have to step back

from the academic conversation.

- And for Ravi, his emphasis was about

utilizing the dualityof reason and knowledge

in the Christian life,why was that so important?

- Well, it's really important

because Ravi, of course, was following

in a long line of scholars and theologians

that have done this for centuries.

If we think for instance,about the Apostle Paul

and his letter to the Colossians says

that Christ is the epitome of all wisdom.

If we think of Anselm of Canterbury,

11th century church leader that said,

listen, you don't haveto throw your faith out

when it comes to reasonand in essence, he said,

I believe in order to understandand Ravi Zacharias followed

in that long, great faithful tradition

of theologians that said, spirituality

and study are not enemies, butfriends, they work together.

- Yeah, I'm curious,

what are some of the sortof the intellectual barriers

that people, you know,maybe cannot push through

when accepting the tenantsof the Christian message?

- I think one of the primary issues

has got to do about thenature of God's word,

but Ravi does somethingreally extraordinary

he spoke about having a comprehensive

and a unified worldview,

that he structured aroundfour great questions.

Where do we come from?

Why are we here?

What is our purpose?

How do we live a moral life?

And finally, what is our ultimate destiny?

And Ravi showed that together

with a robust belief in God word

as well as engagement with science

that these questions couldbe reconciled for Christians.

- Last question here real quickly,

how can churches and ordinary Christians

take steps to learn more about the faith

and then more importantly,to defend it with conviction?

- Three very importantthings that Ravi taught us,

number one robust faith.

Secondly, great moral courage

to ask the deep questions.

And lastly, to not shy away from engaging

with people who do not believe.

- Okay, terrific as always.

Dr. Bekker, thank you somuch for coming on the show

another great intellectualand spiritual heavyweight.

Okay, up next, the Americanpastor detained in India,

well, he is now home and safe,

hear his story when we come back.

(gentle music)

- I don't know if therehas ever been a time

when our nation and theworld needed a miracle

more than we do right now.

- [Announcer] Get PatRobertson's latest DVD.

"Do you need a Miracle?"

In this DVD, you'll discover

God's awesome power at work today,

featuring incredible truestories of divine intervention.

- God showed up and He worked miracles.

- Different doctors would come in,

it's like wow, you are a miracle.

- I knew God had restored him.

- We've also gathered teachings

that will be especially helpful to you,

with what we're facing today,

why it's so important tobelieve God and build our faith.

And this program is goingto help you do just that.

- Conquer fear, findhope, and be encouraged.

Get "Do you need a Miracle?"

Yours when you become a CBN partner,

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- I'm Efrem Graham,

and this is Studio 5.

Cruise with me as Idiscover the good things

happening in the world of music,

sports, television and movies.

- If Ryan coogler is gonnabe directing the film

I knew that special was gonna happen.

- We'll chat with artists atthe forefront of entertainment

and explore the connection

between popular culture and faith.

- I asked my pastor I said,

well, does that mean I'msupposed to be preachy?

He says, you know youalready have a pulpit.

- Watch Studio 5, Wednesday night at 9:30.

- [Announcer] As the worldwatches from the outside.

- it's a big diplomatic tug ofwar here in the Middle East.

- [Announcer] Go inside thestory with Jerusalem Dateline.

- Israeli archeologists aretalking about a discovery

that could change the thinkingabout the Temple Mount.

- [Announcer] Join CBN JerusalemBureau Chief Chris Mitchell

and get the biblicalperspective on the event

shaping the world.

- What starts in Israel thenends up going to other places.

- [Announcer] Watch JerusalemDateline Friday night at 9:30

on the CBN News Channel.

- Welcome back to the broadcast.

An American pastor is home

after being held in Indiafor more than seven months.

Bryan Nerren arrived home this week

this after a judge droppedall cases against him

and lifted a travel ban.

The pastor was arrested last year

for carrying a large amount of money

meant to cover theexpenses of 13 ministers

and help 1,000 peopleto attend conferences

in India and Nepal.

The American Center for Law and Justice

which defended pastor Nerren says

the matter could have beenresolved in a few hours

instead, Nerren was jailed for six days.

And even after he was released on bail,

he was not allowed to leave India.

Pastor Bryan Nerren joins me now.

Welcome home pastor, howdoes it feel to be back?

- It's extremely good.

It's very nice to beback home with my family

and have freedom again.

- Briefly tell us why officials in India

arrested and detained you

was it because you are workingwith a Christian ministry?

- It was not.

And the narrative ofthe story is incorrect.

It's always been me and $40,000

but there was three Americans was 40,000

meeting 10 other people,there was 13 people.

But in the airport whenI reached in Delhi,

and was declaring the moneylegally like I should,

there was very few staff members.

I spoke with three security people

and one customs person,they all cleared me

to travel with the moneyme and my two friends

to Bagdogra where I was arrested.

But they did not everask me about the money.

They didn't ask me about declaration.

Their only interestwas are you a Christian

and will you meet with Christians

when you reach Bagdogra?

And the answer to both was Yes.

- Were you surprised by this question

or this line ofquestioning at the airport?

- No, not at all.

I've been to India five times

for the last 17 years,

I've been going to Nepal twice a year.

So I'm used to that line of questioning.

I know it's a Hindu nation,

and I didn't recognize the shift.

I was there five years ago

and it was a pleasant, easy place to be

with a new central governmentand a new prime minister.

It's very hostile tobe Christian India now.

- Let me dig deeper on that real quickly.

You said you noticed a shift.

You believe that in the last five years

this particular government of the BJP

led by Narendra Modi has become

more hostile to Christiansand to Christianity?

- Yes, very much.

The people in Delhi were not too rough.

I mean, it was just a conversation.

Yeah, we understand whatyou're doing, you can go

when I reached back Bagdogra Airport,

which was my final destination,

I was arrested immediatelycoming off the plane.

I was taken in and Iwas harshly interrogated

for eight hours.

I was arrested, sentto prison for six days.

After I got out of prisonand began the process

of trying to get free to come home.

And two customs officials from Kolkata

informed me that they had been ordered

by central government,including Prime Minister Modi,

that whatever it took tobuild a case on this man

sent him to prison for three or five years

and make an example of him.

So I was predeterminedto be sent to prison

in Delhi before I ever did anything,

and then they took themoney from all of us,

assigned it all to me.

And from then on the story was,

an American is here with $40,000,

which was not ever truein any sense of the word.

But they fabricated stories,

they used laws fromthe Customs Act of 1962

that did not apply to me.

Even with $40,000, Ididn't reach the limit

of anything illegal.

I never broke a rule or broke a law.

But he told me he said wehave been ordered from Delhi

to build a case and they work diligently.

They went to a friend of mine in India,

went into his home,interrogated him in his home

to try to prove that I wasthere doing evangelism work.

I was on the way to do

the work we do with aChristian group in Nepal,

we had just stopped inIndia for three days

to celebrate with this man.

He was having a 25 year anniversary.

- Yeah I'm sorry,

let me just ask you thisreal quick question.

How can we pray now forChristians in India?

- Praying everywhere.

Christians are being persecuted,

they're being hurt in many ways.

Everybody knows a storyfrom President Trump

was there about the Muslim problem

about what they call it a massacre.

What most people don't knowis over the same time period

200 Christians were killed.

Hundreds and hundreds of Christians,

some of whom I met werepulled from their house,

Christian pastors, tied to a tree,

including their wife and tied to a tree.

And they were beaten.

Many of them had their houses burned,

many churches were burnedover that same process.

And today, your lifeis at risk every moment

anywhere in India if you're a Christian.

- Yeah, and the reality is that Muslims

and other faith groups arealso under intense pressure

from this particular government.

Pastor Nerren, thank youso much for joining us

and welcome back home.- Thank you.

- You're welcome.- Thank you.

- On the last Sunday in May,

Christians will celebrate Pentecost

marking the day thatgave birth to the church

more than 2,000 years ago.

A month long event to markmillions of these new disciples

is leading up to the celebration.

Go 2020 is calling on every Christian

to help reach 1 billion people worldwide

going beyond salvation,

to seek God's intervention in the pandemic

as many struggle physically,financially and emotionally.

It all culminates on the Saturday evening

before Pentecost Sunday withan inspirational online program

called Stories of Hope.

Please go to cbnnews.com

to find out how you can see that program.

Up next, chaplains aregiving aid and comfort

to doctors, nurses andpatients fighting COVID-19

but some hospitals saytheir help isn't wanted.

(gentle music)

- [Announcer] It's about the competition.

- I kind of put that pressure on myself

and I think people had expectations.

- [Announcer] It's about overcoming.

- We use this phrase allthe time keep chopping.

Keep practicing hard.

- [Announcer] It's aboutgoing the distance.

- You know, I think as a father

is my job, you know to lead,just be the best husband

and father I can be.

- [Announcer] Watch GoingThe Distance with Shawn Brown

Saturday night at 7:30on the CBS News Channel.

- Orphan's Promise is committed to loving

and serving at risk children,

to helping keep families together

and to creating opportunities for strong

and sustainable communitiesaround the world.

We're working in over 60countries around the world

and with your help, we can do even more.

There's an old Africanproverb I love that says,

if you wanna run fast run alone,

but if you wanna run far, run together.

At Orphan's Promise we want to run far

so we can touch thelives of as many orphans

and vulnerable children as possible.

But we don't wanna go alone.

We're out to change the world,

one child, one family,one community at a time.

Will you join us?

(gentle music)

- [Announcer] Discoverthe faithfulness of God

in this timely DVD from Pat Robertson,

"Do you need a Miracle?"

Watch true stories of people experiencing

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Discover the measurablefaithfulness of God

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Call now 1-800-700-7000 or go to cbn.com.

- Welcome back to the broadcast.

The COVID-19 outbreak has had an impact

on America's view of faith.

According to a new poll

by the University ofChicago Divinity School

and the Associated Press,

26% of Americans saytheir faith has increased

due to the pandemic,while 31% of Americans

who are followers of Christ

believe the virus is a signal from God,

prompting them to change

and 2% of former non-believers

now say they believe in God.

Doctors and nurses suffering emotional

and spiritual stress findcomfort from hospital chaplains.

These ministers also play a crucial role

in ministering to patientsand their families.

However, not every hospitalconsiders spiritual support

part of essential care.

Heather Sells reports.

- [Heather] As Chaplain Rocky Walker walks

the halls of the COVID unit

at Manhattan's Mount Sinai Hospital,

the Desert Storm Veteran says

he's never experienced death like this.

- This is a nurse hasbeen with us for 21 years.

And what do you say to that?

I didn't have any words for that.

I was fighting back my own tears.

- [Heather] Like every healthcarechaplain in the country,

Walker's job has changed dramatically.

He's often physicallyseparated from patients

and their loved ones

and that means connecting in new ways.

Chaplain Cathy Disher at theJames Cancer Hospital in Ohio,

checks in by phone withfamilies these days,

and says they welcome her call.

- Sometime is actuallyoften looking forward

for some just conversation,

to let them say whatthey would like to say,

to maybe be more engaged in conversation,

someone just to chat with,

someone just to share theirworries, their concerns,

to offer that emotional support.

- [Heather] Chaplains alsospend more time than ever

caring for frontline nurses,doctors and other staff.

- I'm observing what I thinkis a second wave of this virus,

and that is a wave of depression,exhaustion, and weariness

on the part of the healthcareworkers themselves.

- [Heather] Disher offersstaff care packages

she calls tea for the soul on the go

and supports them with short breaks.

- We're offering a 10minute spiritual time

that they can call inand have a meditation,

listening to some instrumental music.

Just a time to take a break to breathe.

- [Heather] There's alsoa more delicate battle

to assert themselves as an essential care.

Southern Baptist leader, Russell Moore,

is frustrated that some hospitals

see chaplains as just extra.

- My concern is we haveto see hospital chaplains

as an essential part of care for patients.

And so hospital chaplainshave to be able to have access

in every way that is safe for the chaplain

safe for the patient.

But this is an essential part

of administering and caring for people.

- [Heather] Doug Carverencourages the more than 700

Southern Baptist chaplaincyoverseas to make their case.

- We need to be like thepersistent widow in the Bible

and to continue to knock on the door

of those who are in authority

to remind the doctors, thenurses, the medical staff,

the hospital administrators

that the ministry of the chaplain,

bringing in, if you will,the presence of the Lord

through the Holy Spirit is anessential part of the healing

and the health and thelife for those patients.

That it's about mind, body and soul

- Carver also thinks the crisis

could strengthen the role of chaplains

as the brutality of COVIDprompts more conversations

about suffering, death and eternity.

There are topics thatchaplains live out every day.

Hospice chaplain DevinPhillips wears a cartoon mask

to comfort the childrenof the families he visits.

He'll do whatever ittakes to help the dying.

For one patient recently,

he's saying how great thouart in full protective gear.

- I tried to make eye contactand I have the gloves on too

and try to be able to ministerthrough that it seems to be,

you know, helping and makingthat eye contact and touching.

But it's not the same thing.

It's obviously not the same.

- [Heather] Heather Sells, CBN News.

- When we come back, politicaladversaries join forces,

the latest from Inside Israel.

(gentle music)

- [Announcer] From Washington,DC uncompromising stories,

interviews and analysisfrom veteran journalists,

David Brody.

- That could be the next step

in this escalating fight.

- [Announcer] Jenna Browder.

- Robert Muller chose his words carefully.

- [Announcer] Ben Kennedy.

- Is asking Christiansto get the word out.

- [Announcer] Bringing you thepolitical news that matters.

- Get out and tell thestory of the progress

that we're making in this country.

- [Announcer] Watch Faith Nation,

weeknights at six on the CBN News Channel.

Nutrition, exercise, essential oils,

weight loss, and more.

It's Healthy Living with Lorie Johnson.

- Talk about what's in this.

- [Announcer] Join CBNhealth reporter Lorie Johnson

to get the latest information

from today's top health experts.

- This is fantastic.

- [Announcer] Find outwhat you need to know

to live a healthier life.

Watch Healthy LivingTuesday night at 9:30.

- I don't know if therehas ever been a time

when our nation and theworld needed a miracle

more than we do right now.

- [Announcer] Get patRobertson's latest DVD,

"Do you need a Miracle?"

In this DVD, you'll discover God's

awesome power at work today,

featuring incredible trueStories of divine intervention.

- God showed up and he worked miracles.

- Different doctors would come in,

it's like, wow, you are a miracle.

- I knew God had restored him.

- We've also gathered teachings

that will be especially helpful to you,

before what we're facing today,

why it's so important to believeGod and build their faith.

And this program is goingto help you do just that.

- [Announcer] Conquer fear,find hope, and be encouraged.

Get "Do you need a Miracle?"

Yours when you become a CBN partner.

Call now 1-800-700,7000

or go to CBN.COM, available now.

- And welcome back toChristian World News.

Israel's 18th month political saga

appears to have come to an end

but as Emily Jones reports from Jerusalem,

the brand new governmentis built on shaky ground.

(gentle music)

- Welcome to Jerusalem forthis Inside Israel report

where we tell you what'shappening in Israel

and the Middle East.

Well, after 18 monthsof political gridlock

and three elections, Israelfinally has a government.

Israel's Parliament orKnesset was sworn in

after approving a power sharing deal

between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz.

The sworn rivals battledeach other in three elections

before deciding to team up andform an emergency government

because of the COVID-19 crisis.

Under the deal, Netanyahuwill serve as prime minister

for 18 months,

and then Gantz will takeover for another 18 months.

- Frankly, we both wouldmaybe have preferred

to form a different government.

Maybe it would have beeneasier for many reasons

for both of us to go foranother round of elections.

We both made a difficult decision,

but the right decisionsfor the people of Israel.

- The government is builton deep disagreements

over major issues, and only time will tell

how long the fragile coalition can last.

A rare coin linked to a Jewishrevolt against the Romans

nearly 2,000 years ago wasuncovered during excavations

in Jerusalem's Old City.

This bronze coin wasminted by Jewish rebels

during the Bar Kokhbarevolt from 132 to 135 A.D.

It was the last of threemajor Jewish revolts

against the Roman Empire.

The coin is specialbecause it is the only one

from that period found in Jerusalem

with the name Jerusalemalso inscribed on it.

- One of the questionsthat we ask ourselves

is how this coin foundits way to Jerusalem,

because we know today that the rebels

did not conquer Jerusalem.

It is likely that this coinwas brought by a Roman soldier

from the 10th Legion as asouvenir from the revolt.

- The coin was found near the Temple Mount

and Israel will can Newexcavations in and around the area.

Well, not far from that discovery

is really excavatorsuncovered a 2000 year old

underground complexfrom the time of Jesus.

The hand carved complex was found

just beneath the WesternWall Plaza in Jerusalem.

Researchers found multiple layers,

including the remains of a1,400 year old public building.

And just below that, tworooms and an open courtyard

dating back to the time of Jesus.

They found pieces of oil lamps,

clay cooking vessels and more.

- Basically, what we have here is a window

to the way you know thewomen, men and children

of ancient Jerusalem duringthe time of the temple lived.

And we're finding here avery unique way of living

that was not reallyfamiliar to archeologists

working on this timeperiod or in this area.

- Excavators say it's rareto find a hand carved complex

like this underground

and they aren't sure exactlywhat it was used for.

One theory is that Jews hid here

when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem.

That's it for Inside Israel.

For more stories like this,

you can watch ourJerusalem Dateline program

on cbnnews.com.

- Thank you, Emily.

Well, folks, that is itfor this week's edition

of Christian World News.

Until next week, goodbye and God bless.

(gentle music)