Guest: Alan Crippen | Julian Gibb interviews Alan Crippen of the Faith and Rediscovery Center at the American Bible Society in Philadelphia. Alan reaches the unchurched with a reason to engage the scriptures. Alan says, “Liberty unconnected to faith can lead to some really crazy things.” Alan continues, “William Penn said, ‘Liberty is a beautiful thing, but so often misunderstood.'” Alan continues, “Faith had a far more central cohesive and guiding role that took this instrumental good of liberty, and gave it a moral compass; pointed it in a direction, gave it some boundaries. Liberty is not whatever you can do as long as you don’t hurt anybody, but liberty is the freedom to do that which is good, right, just.” Alan gives several examples and stories of liberty from a Biblical framework, “Liberty is the freedom to pursue righteousness. The Apostle Paul would describe liberty as slavery to righteousness.” Alan adds, “A republic that was about liberty had to embrace virtue. You couldn’t have an army big enough to police a republic unless the people were virtuous. What the scriptures offered America was a source of virtue.”
Podcast
How can God use us in this country?
Host Bob Moffitt interviews Gabriela and Jose Castaneda who moved to Phoenix from Guatemala 19 years ago. When they arrived, they were interested in a church that did more than just praying and reading the Bible; they started a church with 7 people who began loving and serving their neighbors in need: food for the homeless, beds for those in need, diapers, and bringing a toy to one of their Muslim neighbors.
