Does Where You're Born Decide Your Future? | Thoughts on Politics EP2

Matt Perry of FEBC New Zealand gives an update from Ukraine, where Christian broadcaster FEBC Ukraine is evacuating around 40 staff from Kyiv as a fresh wave of Russian attacks pounds the capital.

Mr Perry warns that the bombing is now so constant that few people are sleeping, and highlights a deliberate focus on bridges, roads and transport hubs that he says is aimed at wearing down the civilian population. He reflects on a war that has polarised attitudes to faith, turning some away from God while churches in the Kharkiv region report planting 54 new congregations, mostly filled with new believers. He also unpacks why FEBC’s broadcasts have become a key discipleship tool, and why listeners are asking for hope and honest conversation rather than crisis counselling all day.

Chapters
0:00 A war in its fifth year
0:50 Evacuating staff from Kyiv
2:51 Moving the studio west
3:52 How the war has shaped faith
5:20 54 new churches since the invasion
6:22 What churches can offer
8:34 Broadcasts as discipleship
11:34 Supporting FEBC

#Ukraine #Kyiv #ChristianRadio #ChurchGrowth #UkraineWar

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An Australian theologian/apologist says a fresh wave of openness to Christianity is building across the West, with commentators, politicians and celebrities publicly reconsidering faith on some of the world's biggest podcast platforms.

Founder of Questioning Christianity, Dan Paterson, likens Western culture to the Prodigal Son story - having squandared the inheritance of the Christian covenant on 'secular shores', many people are now hungry for hope and meaning. He discusses how much a person needs to understand before trusting God, and how negative encounters with Christians means more than bad publicity - it can harden hearts against faith. Dan Paterson spoke to Andrew Curtis ahead of the Good News for Aotearoa Forum in Auckland. (https://www.wilberforce.org.nz/events/good-news-aotearoa-2026)

Chapters
0:09 A new openness to Christianity
1:09 Wes Huff on Joe Rogan
1:34 The West as the Prodigal Son
3:30 Knowing the Christian story
5:13 When bad experiences shape belief
6:01 Living out the faith
8:42 About the forum

#Christianity #Faith #Apologetics #Evangelism #NewZealand

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Dr Geoffrey Miller, who wrote his PhD on New Zealand's relations with the Gulf States, reflects on how the world has changed since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023.

Dr Miller compares the day to 9/11 and warns against conflating Hamas with Palestinians, as the Gaza death toll climbs past 74,000. He unpacks the stalemate since last year's deal: Hamas refuses to disarm while Israel still occupies two thirds of Gaza, and strikes continue most days. He argues Benjamin Netanyahu's hardline response was driven by an intelligence failure and political survival, weighs up how polarised the debate has become here in New Zealand, and insists there are no military solutions, only diplomatic ones. He also highlights Yemen, where a 2022 truce has collapsed and full-scale war is returning.

Chapters
0:00 Reflecting on October 7
1:57 Who were the victims?
2:50 Hamas vs Palestinians
3:35 Gaza's stalemate
4:30 Can the world mediate?
5:27 Netanyahu as "Mr Security"
6:41 A culture war in New Zealand?
7:37 No military solutions
8:59 Did Israel's response backfire?
9:39 The Gulf States & Yemen

#Israel #Gaza #MiddleEast #October7 #NewZealand

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Would you like to pray for others or have a prayer request? 🙏
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- Phone: 0508 474362
- (NZ) Text: 8168 with the keyword: RHEMA