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- [Host] Today from the "Global Lane",

Christian persecutionrising around the world,

coming soon to the USA?

- Maybe it will affect your employment.

Maybe it will affect youropportunities for promotion.

- [Host] COVID-19 black swan event,

but signs of worse times ahead.

- The Bible says that the prudent

see danger and take refuge.

- [Host] Pandemic lockdowns, Capitol Hill

and big city violence,big tech censorship,

presidential impeachment:America unhinged?

- We've got to remainpositive, since we of faith

know what the outcome of the story is.

- And it's all right hereon the "Global Lane".

(exciting instrumental music)

During his final days asUS Secretary of State,

Mike Pompeo again demonstratedconcern for human rights

and religious freedom.

He reminded his followers on Twitter

that 80% of the world's population

lives in a religiouslyrestrictive environment.

He also tweeted that quote,

"Religious freedom is our first freedom."

Our next guest knows a great deal about

the persecution of Christians worldwide.

He's Todd Nettleton of, "TheVoice of the Martyrs Radio."

So Todd, good to see you again.

Thanks for joining us.

You've been a voice for the voiceless,

and you've helped a lotof suffering Christians

over the years, so has thepersecution grown worse,

has it lessened since you first started

at The Voice of the Martyrsmore than two decades ago?

- You know, I thinkpersecution has increased,

and certainly in the last20 years that I've been

working at Voice of the Martyrs,

and that's kind of thebad side of the coin.

The good side of the coin is

part of the reason thepersecution has increased

is because the churchin places like China,

and North Korea, and Africa is growing,

so there are more new Christians to

potentially be targets of persecution.

- Okay, let's look at somespecific countries then.

This year, Secretary of State,Mike Pompeo added Nigeria

to the list of countriesof particular concern.

So, why do you think Pompeo did that?

What's happening in Nigeria?

- Well, I think whatwe have seen in Nigeria

over the last several yearsis the growth of Boko Haram.

The number of attacks, theseverity of the attacks,

and I think really the unwillingness,

or the inability ofthe Nigerian government

to put a stop to it, to protectChristian Nigerian citizens

particularly in the Northernpart of the country.

I think the State Departmenthas been watching that

for a number of years.

They've commented about Boko Haram,

and now they're saying,"Listen, this is a country,

"as a country, Christiansand religious minorities

"are not safe there."

That's why they've designated it

a country of particular concern.

- And I know Todd, it'snot just Boko Haram,

it's the Islamic State in Africa,

and other radical groupsthere, Islamic groups.

You mentioned that you'reconcerned about that

in your new prayer guide.

Tell us about that concern in Africa.

- Well, you know, the firstrequest of persecuted Christians

is that we pray for them.

And so each year The Voice of the Martyrs

issues a global prayer guide.

It's available for freefor Christians in America

who want to pray forpersecuted Christians.

This year, there are two new countries

in our global prayer guide.

They are Burkina Faso, and Cameroon.

Both in Africa, in the case of Cameroon,

right next door to Nigeria.

A lot of the persecutionwe see is Boko Haram

coming across the border into Cameroon

and persecuting Christians there,

but it's really part of apattern of radical Islam

growing on the continent of Africa,

and affecting our Christianbrothers and sisters.

Affecting their safety,affecting how they live,

affecting how they minister.

That's why there are two new countries

in the global prayer guide,

and both of them are onthe continent of Africa.

- And North Korea alwaysseems to top most lists

as worst persecutor, has theplight of Christians there

improved at all sincepresident Trump reached out

to Kim Jong-un, or are weseeing more of the same?

- You know, there really hasn'tbeen a significant change

in how Christians inNorth Korea are treated.

And the thing that peoplehave to understand is that

the Kim regime is built as a religion,

that the members of the Kim family

are considered to be deities,

that children are taughtbefore they have a meal

to say, "Thank you, FatherKim Il-song for our food."

So, they cannot allowChristianity to spread.

They cannot allow it togrow freely in North Korea,

because Christianityundermines the government.

It undermines the regime.

If Jesus is Lord, thenKim Jong-un is not Lord.

And so that's why thegovernment simply cannot

let Christianity spread.

That's why we see the intense persecution

of Christians in North Korea.

- And of course, in neighboringChina, many Christians there

say they're suffering theworst persecution against them

since Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution.

So, what's the latest in China?

- You know, China has cracked down,

and what we used to say youknow, maybe 10 years ago,

we would say, "Well,yes, in this province,

"there's a lot of persecution,but look over here,

"the church is operating really

"without a lot of interference."

What we say in 2021 isthat everywhere in China

there is intensepersecution of Christians.

There is intense effortsto control the church,

to bring the church undercommunist party control.

It's everywhere in China,and it is affecting

every Christian in the country.

- Share your thoughts aboutpersecution coming to the USA.

- Well, we just had a conversation on

"Voice of the MartyrsRadio" with our president,

Cole Richards, and one ofthe things he talked about

is the fact that if you'regoing to live a boldly,

biblical Christian lifein the United States,

you are going to pay a price,

and maybe it will be sort of subtle,

maybe it will be friendsthat move away from you.

Maybe it will be more direct.

Maybe it will affect your employment.

Maybe it will affect youropportunities for promotions,

or advancement in your job, but you know,

that is exactly what Christ promised.

Christ said, "The world hates me.

"If you follow me, theworld will hate you too."

We haven't, as American Christians,

really experienced that very much.

That may be changing, andwe may be seeing the day

where it really does cost someone

to follow Jesus Christ boldly,

even right here in the United States.

- And quickly, Todd, asthis administration departs,

many religious freedomadvocates are offering praise

for the efforts of MikePompeo, Sam Brownback,

Vice-President Mike Pence, and others who

made religious freedom of priority.

So, your thoughts on the efforts now.

What do you think the future holds

with Joe Biden in the white house?

- Well, it's hard to knowhow the new administration

will handle this, but I dohope that religious freedom

will be a priority for themboth here in the United States,

as well as around the world,

promoting religious freedom,

promoting the idea thateven as a member of

a minority religious group,

like Christians in some Muslim nation,

you deserve protection.

You deserve the freedomto worship as you see fit.

Obviously it's somethingthat our founding fathers

found very important asthey set up our country.

I hope the Bidenadministration will continue to

make it an important part

of our foreign policy going forward.

- Well, we'll have towait and see on that.

Todd Nettleton, of TheVoice of the Martyrs,

and host of VOM Radio.

Thanks for being with us, Todd.

- You are welcome, thanks for having me.

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- COVID 19 has certainlychanged our lives in a big way.

Our next guest calls it a black swan,

a once in a century eventthat changes everything,

but might something worse still be ahead?

Our next guest is here to provide us

with some timely insights.

Chuck Bentley is CEO of Crown Financial,

the world's largestChristian financial ministry.

He's author of the newbook, "Seven Gray Swans."

Chuck, it's certainly apleasure to talk with you.

So, what are these seven grayswans you're talking about?

How could they shape the world?

- Well, a gray swan isan event that is obvious,

it's out in the open, people see it,

they know that it's there,

they know it's a significant threat,

but they tend to ignore it,and do nothing about it.

And so I've been watchingfor these gray swans,

and I think they transcend thecurrent crisis that we're in.

They're things that Ibelieve are coming, Gary,

and ones that I'm watching for,

and I hope other believersare aware of as well.

- Well, let's discuss afew of the specifics here,

digital currency, we'realready seeing more people

invest in Bitcoin orother digital currencies.

Is that here to stay, and howmight that change our lives?

What's the downside?

- Well, we're seeing amove to a cashless society.

That's been happening for decades,

and it's happening more rapidly,

especially with the threat thatour actual physical currency

may be tainted with the virus.

And so more and more people are

entering the electronic economy,

and over time, the Biblewarns that ultimately

the Antichrist will controlthe world through the economy.

And so I think we need to be aware

that it's moving that direction rapidly,

and to do our part tobe prepared for that.

It doesn't mean that weshouldn't own Bitcoin.

It doesn't mean that weneed to hoard gold and cash,

but it does mean we needto be wise and prepared.

- Well, also many Democratslike AOC, and Bernie Sanders,

would like to see aguaranteed basic income

for most Americans.

Now people seem to liketheir stimulus checks,

but I don't think youbelieve the nation can afford

for the government tokeep giving people money.

- Well, I don't believein universal basic income.

That means that all of us would receive

a monthly stipend, orsome form of support,

regardless of any qualification.

That's what's happeningduring the stimulus,

and those types of programsare very hard to stop.

Obviously, people aregetting money in the mail

during the crisis, but myhope is that we will not

endorse this policy to see that continue,

because ultimately we can't afford it.

It would be like, you know,eating sugar for your diet.

It feels good for a little while,

but it doesn't do good in the longterm.

- Do we ever get out of this debt?

I mean the national debt,

we're closing in on $30 trillion dollars.

- No, I don't think we do,

and I think that we'reentering a period called

Modern Monetary Theory, wherewe're putting into practice

the idea that our debt doesn't matter.

Now, that's completely unorthodox

with all of economic history,

but there are people whoare in positions today,

causing this debt to rise,

who believe that it really doesn't matter,

that we can go on printingmoney indefinitely.

You're correct, we're intotrillions and trillions

of dollars worth of debt right now,

and I personally don'tthink we'll pay it back.

I think we're going tosee other painful options

that are forced upon us if we continue to

practice Modern Monetary Theory.

- What is that?

I mean, inflation or?

- Well, what's forced upon us is

a restructuring of our debt.

That's when our debtorstell us what we have to do,

some sort of austerity program,

some sort of a massive tax increase,

a hyperinflation that would make it easier

for the government to repay their debt.

Those are all bad options.

Those are options thatwe don't want to get to,

but if we keep practicingModern Monetary Theory,

which I think both sides ofthe aisle are into right now,

that's what it's gonna lead to.

- Also, I've got to ask aboutbiometrics and social scoring.

Already we're hearing talk about an app

that people could use to prove that

they have received the COVID-19 vaccine.

So, how do you see thatapproach possibly morphing

into restrictions on travel,

the implementation ofa social credit system

like they have in China, and so forth?

- Well, we're seeingit already developing.

In the private sector,right now if I take an Uber,

not only do I evaluate the driver,

but the driver evaluates me,

and a private company couldvote me out of their system.

We're seeing that insocial media right now,

and that's a form of social scoring

and social scoring is verydangerous for our freedom,

it's very dangerous, notonly for free speech,

but even getting things like a tax refund,

being able to travel,

being able to have accessto certain properties,

or buildings, or museums.

I think it's coming, I thinkit's one we all need to

have a heightened awarenessof, and to be very careful

about supporting the things that allow

ultimate control over our free speech.

- So biblically, howshould we respond then?

How can we protect our families,our money, our investments?

- Well, the Bible sayswe should be prudent,

and prudent is sort of a lostword in our culture today.

It means charting a rightpath to the right destination.

It's not a knee jerk reaction,and it's not a paralysis.

It's taking the proper action.

I've written a book about it,

because there's no simple answer.

We obviously need todiversify our investments,

we need to get out of debt,

we need to increase our savings,

we need to increase ourability to persevere

through what I think are going to be

turbulent times ahead, Gary.

- Okay, we'll have to wait and see,

but that's what the Bible predicts.

Check Bentley, CEO of Crown Financial,

and author of the newbook, "Seven Gray Swans."

Thanks for sharing your time and insights.

- Thank you Gary, thanks for having me.

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Hi, "Superbook" fans!

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- Presidential impeachmentfor a second time,

Capitol Hill riots, socialmedia giants and big tech

limiting what you see and hear,

COVID-19 lockdowns, people getting sick,

losing their lives, jobs, and businesses.

It seems like it may neverend, but there is hope.

So, what do we do to overcome

this unprecedented time we're in?

Well, joining us to providehis thoughts is Richard Battle.

Mr. Battle is author of the book,

"Navigating Life's Journey:Common Sense in Uncommon Times."

So Richard, it's so good to talk with you.

We're certainly in uncommon times,

and we sure could use somecommon sense right now,

but it seems everyone'scaught up in emotion.

Let's first look at the rise of big tech,

and the social media giants.

So, do you think thatthey're having a positive

or a negative impact on our society

and the American psyche at this time?

- Well, my personal opinion is

it's a negative on the psyche,

and it's all part of themedia increase in our lives,

and trying to get usjacked up for the present,

and fortunately we offaith have a perspective

that's a little bit longer,that we can rely on,

and we know how the story ends.

So, hopefully they willnot affect us as much

as people who don't have faith.

- And of course the COVID-19pandemic and ongoing lockdowns

leading to job and businesslosses, death, depression,

mental health issues,

even students strugglingwith remote learning.

All of these developmentshave made navigating

life's journey much more difficult,

so how do we overcome that Richard?

- Well, and as I've told people,

normally when we face challenges,

we face them individuallyor in small groups,

and with COVID, we're all facing

the same storm at the same time,

so it's been a realinteresting period of time.

I think the first thingthat we've got to do is

we've got to remain positive,

since we of faith know whatthe outcome of the story is.

And I think of Viktor Frankl

in the Nazi concentration camps,

where he discovered thatman's last freedom was

how to choose their attitude

no matter what the circumstance.

And he discovered peoplewith positive attitudes

survived the camps at greater numbers

than those with negative attitudes.

- Many of our viewers, as you know,

they know that a relationship with God

can help give them thatstrength to get through it all,

fut do they need more than that?

- One of the things Ilearned after losing my son

some years ago, and writing about it in

"Surviving Grief by God's Grace,"

there's a tendency whenwe have challenges,

and a lot of people never hadany challenges before COVID,

to say, "Why me," and my personal opinion,

and what I learned is, whyme focuses in the past,

and I don't believe God is inthe past, he's in the future.

And so what I discovered helped me was

the right question was, what now?

- What do you expect?

What's going to happen?

How do we become a unifiednation, a common sense society?

- Well, Winston Churchill, who I think is

one of the greatest leadersof the 20th century,

said, "In war, resolution,in defeat, defiance,

"in victory, magnanimity,and in peace, goodwill."

And to bring the countryback together in unity,

there's going to have to bemagnanimity from the victors.

If not, there'll be nothingbut defiance from the losers,

and we've not seen magnanimity yet.

I hope it will come,because that's what we have

to have to come back together.

- How do we do thatthough with impeachment?

I mean, to me, that's nota way to unify a nation.

It's easier said than done, isn't it?

- Well, absolutely it'seasier said than done,

and it has to come from the victors,

and we who are in the South,

our ancestors knew based on reconstruction

after the Civil War, what happened,

and some of the bitterness that came

because of the oppressionof reconstruction,

and to get over thiselection and move forward,

the winners are going to haveto reach out to the losers,

and not persecute them, butinvite them back to the table

to converse, listen to their opinions,

consider it, compromise periodically,

and bring us back togetherwith a single focus

and mission as a country.

But if they pursue prosecutions,

and persecuting people of faith,

and people who disagree withthem, unity will not come back.

- Okay, we'll see what happens.

A lot up to Joe Biden,

and also the leadership on Capitol Hill.

Your book is, "Navigating Life's Journey:

"Common Sense in Uncommon Times."

Richard Battle, thankyou for sharing your time

and insights today.

- Thank you, and God bless America.

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- By now, you've probablyheard how big tech

is limiting speech in the aftermath

of the Capitol Hill incursion.

President Trump was bootedoff Twitter and Facebook.

Google, and Apple blockedthe Parler app from download,

and Amazon kicked Parler off its servers.

Parler has sued over that,

but did you know even some folks at

The Voice of America aretrying to limit speech?

Yes, the Voice of America.

VOA was founded in 1942to combat Nazi propaganda,

and later to promote democracy and freedom

behind the Iron Curtain.

Those ideas were broadcastfreely over the airwaves,

and countries where opposing

ideas and speech were suppressed.

But this week, somegovernment workers said

they didn't want US Secretaryof State, Mike Pompeo,

speaking to them at VOAheadquarters in Washington.

Regardless, Pompeo did address

the workers there last Monday,

and his remarks werebroadcast around the world.

He responded to his criticsby delivering a warning

about so-called woke culture,and placing limits on speech.

(air whooshing)

- They didn't want thevoice of American diplomacy

to be broadcast on the Voice of America.

Think about that for just a moment.

Look, we're all part of institutions,

with duties and responsibilities

higher, and bigger, and more important

than any one of us, individually,

but this kind of censorialinstinct is dangerous.

It's morally wrong.

Indeed, it's against yourstatutory mandate here at VOA,

censorship, wokeness,political correctness,

it all points in one direction,

authoritarianism cloakedas moral righteousness,

similar to what we're seeing at Twitter,

and Facebook, and Apple,

and on too many university campuses today.

It's not who we are.

It's not who we are as Americans,

and it's not what Voiceof America should be.

It's time that we simplyput wokeism to sleep,

and you can lead the way.

(air whooshing)

- Yes, it's time forAmericans to speak out

against this woke culture,

whether it's big tech limiting speech,

or VOA employees attempting to silence

the US Secretary of State.

Those actions are not woke at all.

An enlightened society isone where corporations,

politicians, and citizens,conduct their lives

unafraid of what people have to say,

whether they disagree with it or not.

Free speech is at the heart ofwhat we believe as Americans.

We've never feared speaking our minds,

or sharing our opinions.

That only happens topeople in communist China,

or other totalitarian regimes, not here.

Lies, propaganda, and deceit,

can only be dispelledby an informed public,

not by biased, big-tech fact-checkers.

It happens through anopen exchange of ideas,

vigorous civil debate, andunregulated public discourse.

Jesus told us in the eighth chapter

of the Gospel of John verse 32,

that, "You will know the truth,

"and the truth will set you free."

So, fear not.

Freedom of speech leads to the truth,

and the truth, freedom.

Isn't it time to demandthat American corporations,

and our government leaders,

actually demonstrate a commitment

to the first amendment and Liberty?

That may be the best way to bring about

a more prosperous futurefor all Americans.

Well, that's it todayfrom the "Global Lane."

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter,

YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes,and hopefully again on Parler.

And until next time, be blessed.

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