The World and Everything in It: October 17, 2024

PREROLL: School choice is on the ballot this November in several states, but conservatives in Kentucky disagree over whether it’s a good idea for their state. I’m Travis Kircher, and I’ll have the story for you in a few minutes. Keep listening.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning! 

Public money for private schools is on the ballot in Kentucky. What are the benefits and unintended consequences?

AUDIO: When you take the disease of public dollars and put them into private people's pockets, that disease follows them…

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Also an anti-discrimination law in Australia is leading to crackdowns on free speech. We’ll hear how.

And how one Christian school serves others in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

AUDIO: The look of bewilderment and just shock was on people’s faces as they drove by, but also just gratitude.

Plus, WORLD commentator Cal Thomas says Christians should get informed and vote.

REICHARD: It’s Thursday, October 17th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

BROWN: And I’m Myrna Brown. Good morning!

REICHARD: Now news. Here’s Mark Mellinger.

MARK MELLINGER, NEWS ANCHOR: Harris Fox News interview » It was fireworks from the start as Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris joined Fox News’s Bret Baier for an interview.

Baier began by asking if the vice president regretted the Biden Administration overturning President Trump’s “remain in Mexico” immigration policy.

HARRIS: The first bill, practically within hours of taking the oath, was a bill to fix our immigration system. BAIER: Yes, ma’am, it was called the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021. HARRIS: Exactly. BAIER: It was essentially a pathway to citizenship… HARRIS: May I please finish? May I finish responding please? But you have to let me finish, please. BAIER: You had the White House, and the House, and the Senate and they didn’t bring up that bill… HARRIS: I’m in the middle of responding to the point you’re raising… BAIER: Okay. HARRIS: And I’d like to finish. BAIER: Yes, ma’am.

That was the first of several testy exchanges on Baier’s “Special Report” broadcast, which is popular with conservatives.

Harris often pivoted to attacking her Republican opponent Donald Trump, accusing him of blocking a bill to beef up border security this year.

HARRIS: It would be nine months that we would’ve had more border agents at the border, more support for the folks who are working around the clock trying to hold it all together… BAIER: Madame Vice President… HARRIS: … to ensure that no future harm would occur.

Harris also indicated she no longer supports measures that would effectively decriminalize illegal immigration as she did in 2019. And she insisted, without providing specifics, that her presidency would not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency.

Trump Univision, Fox News town halls » Trump, meantime, participated in two televised town halls Wednesday.

The first was before a Fox News all-female audience in Georgia, and the former president launched right into his case for not letting Democrats keep the Oval Office.

TRUMP: Our schools don’t teach, our cities aren’t safe. Illegal aliens are pouring in by the millions and millions and millions. And we’re teetering on the brink of World War III. Other than that, I think we’re doing quite well (crowd laughs).

Later, during a town hall with Univision, Trump refused to back off his controversial claim that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio are eating neighbors’ pets. Local officials and state leaders from both parties have refuted that claim. Trump says he’s only saying what was reported.

SOUND: [Backhoe clears rubble]

Israeli airstrikes kill 27 in Lebanon » A backhoe clears away rubble in Lebanon, where Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 27 people over a 24-hour period.

Israel’s military says it was targeting a Hezbollah commander with several strikes on the town of Qana, where 15 people were killed.

In other parts of the country, Israel says it was working to take out Hezbollah command centers and weapons facilities embedded in civilian areas.

Hezbollah has pledged to keep launching attacks on Israel from the Lebanese border until there’s a cease-fire in Gaza. Israel’s military says those attacks wounded four civilians Wednesday.

Zelenskyy outlines victory plan » Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has unveiled a new “victory plan” for the war with Russia to Ukraine’s parliament.

AUDIO: [Zelenskyy’s address]

Zelenskyy’s plan seeks NATO membership, along with permission to use longer-range missiles against Russian targets. Both are moves Kyiv’s Western allies have resisted so far.

Zelesnkyy says his five-point plan could help end the war by next year. Up next, he’s presenting it to the European Council today.

Italy expands surrogacy ban » Italy has passed a new law aimed at protecting the dignity of women and children. It prohibits Italian citizens from going abroad to have children through surrogacy.

Parliament passed the measure by a vote of 84-to-58, but not before seven hours of heated debate.

MILAN: [Speaking in Italian]

Senator Lucio Milan, a supporter of the ban, says he doesn't mind if people think he's being ideological as long as he's defending the dignity of mothers and children. He says children have the right to know who their parents are and shouldn’t be treated like products on sale.

Senator Elisa Pirro disagreed....

PIRRO: [Speaking in Italian] 

She accused the bill’s supporters of being against male homosexual couples and fathers.

Italy has had a surrogacy ban in place since 2004. This new law extends that ban to couples who want to travel to the U.S. or Canada where surrogacy is still legal.

I’m Mark Mellinger.

Straight ahead: religious expression and freedom of speech at risk in Australia. Plus, God’s faithfulness to a Christian school in Asheville, North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Thursday the 17th of October.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. First up, using state funds…for private schools.

Next month, school choice is on the ballot in Kentucky. Amendment 2 would enable the state legislature to divert public money toward alternatives to the public school system, such as private schools or homeschool co-ops.

REICHARD: Some parents hail school choice as key to bring needed competition into education. Others aren’t so sure. WORLD Reporter Travis Kircher reports on the pros…and cons.

TRAVIS KIRCHER: It’s a noisy day in teacher Laura Smith’s 5th grade classroom. Today’s topic: geology. More specifically, rocks. And each student has been assigned to represent one of three different types.

LAURA SMITH: Igneous rocks, you are gonna make a line. Sedimentary rocks, you are gonna make a line, okay?

It may sound like controlled chaos. But it’s music to the ears of Josh LeSage, the head of Portland Christian School in Louisville, Kentucky. He’s proud of his private school’s Christ-centered education program…

JOSH LeSAGE: Jesus Christ is the center, Earth is temporary. Eternity lasts forever. All truth is God's truth. You're going to learn physics, you're going to…

But he admits it can be costly. The annual tuition for sending a child to Portland can be as high as $10,000, depending on the grade. And while the school gave away $1 million this year in tuition assistance to lower-income students, LeSage said it still had to turn away nearly 40 families.

LESAGE: It just breaks your heart. And most likely, they’re going back to a place that’s not first choice for mom and dad.

But he’s hoping a state constitutional amendment on the ballot in November can help fix that. Constitutional Amendment 2—often called the school choice amendment—doesn’t actually create any school choice programs. It merely gives the state’s legislature the option to do so in the future.

D.J. JOHNSON: It simply allows the General Assembly to do its job.

Republican State Representative D.J. Johnson says Amendment 2 is necessary because of a Kentucky Supreme Court decision two years ago. That ruling struck down a plan to award tax credits for donations supporting private school tuition. He says a constitutional amendment is the only way to checkmate that move.

JOHNSON: The Supreme Court in Kentucky has basically ruled that the only funding for education must go to public schools. It does not allow us any consider, any consideration of any other options, any other possibilities.

But the amendment has its foes. Among them are Democratic Governor Andy Beshear and Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman. Coleman recently appeared in a campaign ad claiming the amendment would drain urgently needed tax dollars from public education.

JACQUELINE COLEMAN: Vote no on Amendment 2 to keep your tax dollars serving you and your community’s public schools.

Some of the other opposition comes from unlikely places.

Last week dozens of private and homeschool families met at the Warren County Public Library in Bowling Green to discuss the amendment. Many of them abandoned public schools because of current trends, particularly the incorporation of the LGBTQ agenda and gender ideology into the curriculum.

Andy Gamblin was one concerned citizen:

ANDY GAMBLIN: I’m gonna be honest with you—I’m in mourning. My heart is heavy for these young kids because the left is putting stuff in our schools that’s not right, and it’s up to us to take a stand!

But that evening’s main speaker was Robert Bortins. He is CEO of Classical Conversations, one of the largest global Christian homeschooling programs. He made the case that school choice programs do little more than drive up the cost of non-public education and create a new entitlement.

BORTINS: And so when you take the disease of public dollars and put them into private people's pockets, that disease follows them…because they get used to that entitlement, and they start relying on government instead of God.

He also worried that public funds could give state government a foot in the door to regulate curriculum in private or even homeschools, a concern some in the audience shared.

VELEZ: Freedom for private schooling in the state of Kentucky is at a risk for being, being taken away because we're talking about some money here!

But Representative Johnson, who was at the meeting, said Amendment 2 is about giving the state legislature the opportunity to help low-income students escape a failing public school system.

JOHNSON: Not every child in Kentucky has the option of being homeschooled. There are students that don’t have what you have. And as Christians, are we supposed to just ignore them?

Nick Spencer is the director of policy for The Family Foundation and a supporter of Amendment 2. He says any concern that it might lead to government interference is a red herring.

SPENCER: If the General Assembly wanted to increase regulations on private schools and home schools, they could technically do it without this school choice possibility. They could pass legislation right now that would increase control over private schools and home schools. They don't need Amendment 2 to pass in order to do that.

Kentucky voters will make their own choice in November when voters in Colorado and Nebraska will also face school choice ballot questions.

For now, the debate continues, while students in Mrs Smith’s class continue to rock on.

SMITH: Okay, sedimentary rocks I need you over here. Right here…

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Travis Kircher in Louisville and Bowling Green, Kentucky.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: freedom of speech in Australia.

Last year, a decades-old anti-discrimination law in Queensland resulted in nearly 10,000 complaints and inquiries—people wondering if merely being offended was grounds to file a discrimination claim.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Last month, Australia’s Parliament passed an even more restrictive law. Supporters called it “a stronger and more modern Anti-Discrimination Act.” Others say it will further chill free speech when enforced next July.

BROWN: WORLD Correspondent Amy Lewis recently spoke with some Australians about the tension between inclusivity and free speech. It’s a warning for other western countries.

DAVE PELLOWE: I was doing a tour with one other speaker … in marginal electorates up and down the Queensland coast.

AMY LEWIS: Earlier this year, Church and State Ministries founder Dave Pellowe began speaking publicly around Queensland to help Australians prepare for this month’s elections.

PELLOWE: …And the idea was to hold meetings by Christians, for Christians in Christian churches, about Christian effectivism.

Under Australia’s anti-discrimination laws Christians and anyone with moral and religious convictions may be at risk of years in jail for speaking truthfully and openly about their beliefs. Someone might get offended and complain to the government. That’s what happened to Pellowe.

All across Australia, most public meetings begin with what’s known as Acknowledgment of Country. It’s often a hasty recitation about Aboriginal Australians’ traditional ownership of the land. Some people interpret it as political woke-ness.

PELLOWE: They feel that they're being accused of colonizing and injustice and even theft, and that they're being welcomed to somebody else's country when it's a country that they've been born in and raised in and never known anything else.

Pellowe decided to start his meetings differently…

PELLOWE: I humorously allow people to think that I'm about to do an Aboriginal ceremonial Acknowledgement of Country. And then, instead of doing that, I quote Psalm 24 verse one, which says, “The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof.”

It was effective—Pellowe got everyone’s attention. After one talk in particular, the first person to the microphone was upset.

PELLOWE: She asked me why I wasn't worried about offending people … and I gave a full and strong teaching on the incompatibilities between Aboriginal pagan beliefs and Christianity.

Based on Pellowe’s answer, an indigenous Christian in attendance lodged a complaint with the Queensland Human Rights Commission. He said he’d been racially and religiously vilified and humiliated. He wanted Pellowe to make a public apology and undergo re-education.

A little background. Under existing anti-discrimination laws, in cases like this one, the commission arranges a mandatory conciliation meeting to try to resolve the complaint before it goes to court.

The date for his conciliation meeting arrived early last month.

PELLOWE: The gentleman complainant was not in the least bit interested in conciliating, and I was never, ever, ever going to be willing to cooperate with unreasonable demands to apologize for pursuing truth and preaching the gospel.

So, the case moved on to a tribunal. During that same time, Queensland passed a new law with an even lower threshold of hate speech. It’s called the “Respect at Work and Other Matters Amendment Bill 2024.” It’s supposed to protect women and self-identified transgender people from sexual harassment in the workplace.

MARGARET CHAMBERS: Combating sexual harassment sounds like a good thing…

Margaret Chambers is a research fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs. She researches Australian policies that affect freedom of speech and religious freedom. She’s followed Pellowe’s case.

CHAMBERS: …but they've sort of used it as a Trojan horse to slip in all of these other vilification provisions, which, ah, cracked down on the ability for Queenslanders to express themselves.

And according to Margaret Chambers, it’s even worse than the old anti-discrimination laws and the proposed overhaul earlier this year.

The new anti-discrimination bill expands the list of “protected attributes.” It includes both things said and left unsaid. The speaker’s intent is considered irrelevant.

Queensland’s Attorney General Yvette D’Ath celebrated the law’s passage.

YVETTE D’ATH: This is the start of a significant shift on how we expect our workers, our community to be treated.

The old laws required evidence that someone had been harmed. Not anymore, says Chambers.

CHAMBERS: And what that does is shifts the focus from having to prove that a third person was actually incited to hatred by making it all about the victim and the emotional response triggered by somebody who's affected by the hateful speech.

Chambers says anti-discrimination laws have become anti-speech laws.

CHAMBERS: These vilification provisions are not about hate speech. They’re actually about controlling what people can and cannot say….

The new law relies on something called “positive duty” — requiring employers to remove all objectionable conduct from the workplace. But it leaves the term “objectionable conduct” undefined.

CHAMBERS: So they're going to go out of their way to eliminate things which might be objectionable…

It gives the human rights commission power to investigate any business they suspect of not complying, even without a prior complaint.

CHAMBERS: …and it would just have a very chilling effect on speech in Queensland.

Member of Parliament Stephen Andrew says the new law will put Christian education at risk.

STEPHEN ANDREW: It will put Queensland faith-based schools in an absolutely untenable position. (Shame) Yeah, it is a shame… The state is now setting up its own religion.

Dave Pellowe says the state is trying to create its own Levitical code.

PELLOWE: We actually try and redeem people through government legislation, except it's salvation without forgiveness, it's condemnation without redemption.

In less than two weeks, Queenslanders have the opportunity to elect legislators who could overturn these laws and reinstate freedom.

PELLOWE: Most of us were really shocked at how quickly the West and certainly Australia in our backyard, gave up freedom and the reason freedom matters is so that we can pursue truth. Truth is the highest good. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Doctrinally, theologically, the reason freedom matters is so that people can search for Jesus.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Amy Lewis in Geelong, Australia.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Waffles, biscuits and gravy might not be what you think of during bad storms. But there’s such a thing as the “Waffle House Index.” That southern restaurant chain famous for staying open 24/7, 365 days per year.

But even Waffle House is subject to the forces of nature. So southerners know to look to that chain to assess how bad a storm is going to be.

Here’s John Oliver on his show Last Week Tonight:

JOHN OLIVER: The Waffle House Index actually originated with the government…this FEMA administrator realized that when going into a disaster zone, if you get there and the Waffle House is closed? That’s really bad.

Really really bad! Meaning, on its website, red alert…serious flooding or damage. Yellow means limited menu due to lack of water or electricity, and green is all systems go.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: No waffling on that. A place to recover after a battering.

BROWN: It’s The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, October 17th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: cleaning up after Hurricane Helene.

In Asheville, North Carolina, severe flooding and catastrophic landslides washed away homes, businesses, and schools. Without reliable Internet and clean water, schools in the area are closed until at least the end of the month.

BROWN: WORLD’s Grace Snell has the story of a Christian school rallying to meet the needs of its community

GRACE SNELL: Search and rescue crews hover over a muddy landscape heaped with rubble. Debris litters the ground: smashed trailers, overturned vehicles, and mangled houses.

It looks like a warzone.

This used to be a bustling private school. Asheville Christian Academy stands just off the Swannanoa River in Western North Carolina. As Hurricane Helene dumped buckets of water across the area, the Swannanoa burst its banks and engulfed eighty percent of the campus.

JASON PUTNAM: The entire water flow of the Swannanoa River encapsulated our buildings, our facilities. And probably 45 acres are now covered with various types of debris.

That’s ACA Head of School Jason Putnam. He arrived after the storm to find classrooms buried in ankle-deep mud.

PUTNAM: When we initially walked into the building, it was, I just never seen anything like it. It was devastating.

Now, teachers, parents, and students are picking up the pieces. School is out—and life won’t be normal here for a long time—but the people of ACA are pitching in and looking for ways to care for their neighbors.

PUTNAM: Every morning, we pray together and we ask for God to show up for today’s needs and today’s needs only.

Surveying the devastation now, it’s hard to imagine life as it was a few weeks ago. Halls buzzed with high schoolers decorating for homecoming, and students busied themselves with math tests and soccer games.

MERA: It was Wednesday afternoon. I just finished having AP stat class, and I received an email on my laptop saying to be careful about the hurricane.

Seventeen-year-old Mera is an international student from Nigeria.

MERA: I went home thinking, “Oh, I hope we don’t have school tomorrow, that they canceled school.” And in the night, I still remember this vividly, we’re all celebrating that we weren’t gonna have school.

Ahead of the storm, lots of people expected Helene to be a false alarm like Hurricane Irene in 2011.

MERA: It wasn’t until Friday morning, I woke up to the sound of the power going out, and then I couldn’t sleep after that, because I was just hearing some cracking of trees. I didn’t realize it was trees falling right next to my bedroom.

There was no power. No water. No cell service.

Across town, Amy Johnson loaded her kids into the car and merged onto the highway. The seventh grade teacher and mom of three hadn’t been able to get in touch with friends living on ACA’s campus, and she wanted to make sure they were okay.

JOHNSON: When something happens, you go to the people you know, you go to the people you love. And so multiple families just showed up here at the school.

Together, they pulled out the food reserves from the cafeteria. Incredibly, the store remained untouched.

JOHNSON: The chips, the drinks, the Gatorades, and we just started handing them out to anybody that was driving by. The look of bewilderment and just shock was on people’s faces as they drove by, but also just gratitude.

Soon after, a recovery crew showed up on ACA’s doorstep. They had been driving through the area and stopped to offer their services.

JOHNSON: There were cheers and there were tears, and they started the work. There were, I don’t know, 100, 150 people here cleaning the school out immediately so that the water and the mud would not be here.

That crew is still forging ahead. Tearing up flooring, salvaging transcripts and papers, and scraping off mud.

But it’s a mammoth task. The river caused an estimated twelve to fifteen million dollars worth of damage to the campus. And ACA’s flood insurance won’t cover all the needed repairs.

The losses at ACA aren’t just financial, though. Amy Johnson says there’s also a high emotional toll for kids who have already weathered a global pandemic.

JOHNSON: I have a senior who wants to play soccer in college, and when he saw the soccer field on the Saturday after the hurricane, saw vehicles on it, saw a mobile home, saw the mud, he said that “I’ve played my last game on that field, and I don’t know if I’ll have a season.”

On top of that, Johnson says “AP classes don’t slow down” for hurricanes, so students’ exams still fall on the same dates. Mera is also a senior this year, and she’s worried about college applications. November 1st is the early action deadline for many schools.

MERA: So I’m out there worrying, when am I going to have time to do this?

But in the middle of everything, ACA families are also deeply grateful for God’s provision. Biltmore Church—a multisite church nearby—has offered two of its campuses for ACA to resume classes. They plan to start up next week.

JESSICA: We lost a lot of material things, but we didn’t lose any students or any families. We’re just thankful and we’re grateful, because you can replace things, but you can’t replace people.

That’s Jessica Harrison—Mera’s host mom and another ACA teacher. Harrison said the people of ACA aren’t just receiving help, they’re rolling up their sleeves to help others. Her family started serving with their local church. Many others volunteer with ministries like Samaritan’s Purse.

JESSICA: These kids are learning about service. We serve because Christ served us and we love, because Christ loved us first.

Mera says that’s why she can still smile even though her senior year abroad looks nothing like she pictured.

MERA: I never thought I would have come here and expected a hurricane. But I just, I just feel that this volunteering thing has continued to strengthen my relationship with God through helping other people.

ACA’s motto is “Christ in Everything.” And Amy Johnson says that’s a truth her family is clinging to on the long road to recovery.

JOHNSON: Christ really is in everything here. He’s in the teachers and how they are loving their students. He’s in the students and how they are reaching out to other community members. He’s even in how this whole operation of cleaning up the school. Christ is in everything here, and for that, I’m really grateful.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Grace Snell.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Next up on The World and Everything in It: disaster preparedness.

Over the years, WORLD reporters have spoken with a lot of natural disaster survivors. Some have told us hard-learned lessons that they hope just might help others be better prepared for future disasters. Here’s WORLD’s Paul Butler with more.

PAUL BUTLER: After losing all cell reception during Hurricane Helene, North Carolina resident Amy Bollinger had no idea what was going on outside her neighborhood.

AMY BOLLINGER: We had no way of knowing that, that was something our neighbors were facing until we saw it.

When Amy and her husband left for a wedding shower, they were blown away by the scope of the damage in and around neighboring Asheville. They only had a half-tank of gas…and few service stations were open.

AMY BOLLINGER: The biggest lesson that we learned from all of this. If the power goes out…it was cash only, and we … just not prepared for that.

Millions of Helene and Milton survivors have learned similar big and small lessons, finding out the hard way what they could have done beforehand.

MICHAEL OUTAR: I'm trying to scramble to get enough income to, to float myself ...

Michael Outar is a landlord in Swannanoa. He owns a handful of rental properties. He has FEMA backed flood insurance on most of them…but came to a nasty realization:

OUTAR: And so FEMA says we will only cover the structure and nothing outside is covered.

That means the washed-out driveway, the missing sewer lines, the broken water lines…none of that is covered.

OUTAR: Which I was not aware of until this event happened…

And there’s no coverage for lost rent while repairs are underway.

OUTAR: It puts me on the clock to say I've got to get these things up and running as quick as possible.

So Outar says it’s important—before a storm hits—to understand what your insurance policy does and does not cover. Read the policy carefully. Know how to file a claim, before you need to do it. And keep an emergency fund to tide you over in the meantime.

VIDEO: [GO BAG PROMO]

Over the last 20 years, we’ve heard a lot about “Go bags” and “Emergency kits” — basics you can grab quickly in an emergency. Drinking water, flashlights and batteries, prescription meds, lots of helpful checklists online. In the days after Helene and Milton, many families are grateful they took the time to gather those things in advance.

It’s crucial to also have your important documents in one, accessible location if you have to evacuate. Documents like passports, drivers’ license copies, birth certificates, insurance policies. Many families who’ve lost everything also wish they’d included a USB stick with family photos and videos.

AMY JOHNSON: I do have an emergency kit in my house pretty well stocked with things that we would need should we lose power or water for several days.

Black Mountain, North Carolina resident Amy Johnson told WORLD, she thought she was well prepared…

JOHNSON: And I think a lot of people in the mountains live that way they live, knowing that life is unpredictable, but this was way more unpredictable than what we thought.

Natural disasters often wipe out communication systems, so establish a couple known meeting places—both close by and farther away. Figure out an escape route and a backup route in case a major road is washed out or blocked. A paper map isn’t a bad idea, either.

Disaster preparedness doesn’t mean living in fear. It means you can be calm in an emergency—for your safety, and the safety of others who aren’t prepared. And one more suggestion. As Christians, we ought to be prepared to offer spiritual encouragement as well. So perhaps include a Bible in your Go Bag…

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Paul Butler.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, October 17th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. WORLD commentator Cal Thomas says when Christians don’t vote, we all lose out.

CAL THOMAS: With fewer than three weeks until the election, pollster George Barna has released a study that has found 32 million Christians who are regular church goers may not vote.

The reasons are familiar: disillusionment, doubt their vote will matter, and weariness about increasingly contentious campaigns.

The study found 68 percent saying they lack interest in politics; 57 percent dislike all the major candidates, and 55 percent said none of the candidates represent their values.

If these trends continue, says Barna, Donald Trump may lose the presidency to Kamala Harris.

The separatist movement once commanded Christians not to vote, or engage in culture in any way. The world is corrupt, they said, and to engage the world corrupts Christians.

That attitude turns the world over to the secular progressives who will raise your taxes, keep the border open, and promote secular values everywhere. If we don’t want those things to happen we must vote for candidates who will most likely keep them from happening and then stay engaged between elections to make sure they follow through on their promises.

It’s not about voting for the lesser of two evils, but voting for candidates who best reflect your faith and values. Otherwise, expect more abortions, more men in women’s sports and more drag queen story time for your kindergartner. So go vote and pray for those in authority as we are commanded to do.

Oh, and repentance wouldn’t hurt either. I’m Cal Thomas.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Tomorrow: Katie McCoy will be here for Culture Friday. And, arts and culture editor Collin Garbarino commemorates the 30th anniversary of DreamWorks Animation. Plus, ten classic hymns reimagined. That and more tomorrow.

I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio. WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Bible says: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” —Isaiah 53:3

Go now in grace and peace.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.