Hank Unplugged: Essential Christian Conversations

What happens when a religious movement demands absolute obedience, suppresses critical thinking, and turns followers against their own families? In this episode of Hank Unplugged, Hank Hanegraaff exposes the sociological dangers of Eastern Lightning, also known as The Church of Almighty God—a movement originating in China that claims a Chinese woman is the returned Christ. Drawing on firsthand int...

What are the defining characteristics of a cult? Hank Hanegraaff uses the memorable acronym C-U-L-T-S — Counterfeit, Unbiblical Revelations, Linguistic Subversion, Theological Perversion, and Sociological Deviance — to expose the teachings and practices of Eastern Lightning, also known as The Church of Almighty God. Hank examines Eastern Lightning’s claim that Jesus Christ has been reincarnated as...

What would life in Western civilization look like under Islamic law (sharia)? In Part Four of his series on sharia, Hank Hanegraaff looks to Islamic Spain, where religion was law, and sharia governed both public and private life. He examines the consequences for religious freedom, women, art, music, intellectual inquiry, and those who lived as non-Muslims under Islamic rule.  Hank also considers t...

In Part Three of his series on sharia law, Hank Hanegraaff examines what sharia has historically taught about jihad and warfare. Hank argues that Islamic jurisprudence has given warfare against non-Muslims a central place within sharia. He considers Qur’anic texts concerning fighting, the traditional division between the “house of Islam” and the “house of war,” and the rapid military expansion of...

In Part Two of his series on Islamic law (Sharia), Hank Hanegraaff examines the status and treatment of women under Sharia and contrasts Islamic law with the biblical worldview. Hank considers Qur’anic teachings concerning marriage, polygamy, divorce, and relations between husbands and wives, arguing that the inequalities embedded within Sharia have profound consequences for Muslim women. He also...

In a recent exchange with Jesse Watters, Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed compared Sharia law to Christian canon law, arguing that Muslims should simply be free to practice their faith just as Christians practice theirs.1 But are Sharia and Christian canon law really comparable? In this episode of  Hank Unplugged , Hank Hanegraaff examines that claim and explains the fundamental diffe...

As America seeks an agreement with Iran amid the current war, Hank Hanegraaff asks a crucial question: How should we understand the thinking of Iran’s Islamic leadership? In this episode of  Hank Unplugged , Hank looks back to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, Muhammad’s ten-year truce with the Meccans in A.D. 628, and examines its enduring significance in Islamic history and political thought. From Muha...

Fr. Stephen Freeman is one of the best there is when it comes to calling out our contemporary world and the false and flattened view of reality which he calls a two-storey universe. The truth is this—we live in a one-storey universe. And it is enchanted. This is a preview of an episode of Commitment to Reality, where Fr. Stephen Freeman joins Dave Hanegraaff to explore how we can recover a a right...

Martin Shaw is one of those people who challenges you by asking provocative questions like “what part of you has come here to die?”   Shaw offers these kinds of provocations to a world where Christianity has been domesticated and desperately needs to recover its wildness. This is a preview of an episode of Commitment to Reality, where Martin Shaw joins Dave Hanegraaff to explore how to recover a w...

Popularized in the 19th century, the pre-tribulational rapture is the idea that millions of Christians will suddenly vanish before a future seven-year tribulation. This is one of the most widely held beliefs in modern Christianity—but is this teaching actually grounded in Scripture? Hank Hanegraaff examines the case on this episode of Hank Unplugged .    Drawing from key biblical passages—includin...

Hank Hanegraaff addresses the popular claim that the present conflict in Iran is a direct fulfillment—or foreshadowing—of biblical prophecy. Some modern prophecy pundits suggest that current events point to an “Ezekiel 37 (or 38) scenario,” involving a future alliance between Iran and Russia against Israel. Hank challenges these interpretations by emphasizing the importance of historical and bibli...

Hank Hanegraaff reflects on his personal experiences in Tehran during the anniversary of the shah’s overthrow, remembering repeated encounters with the warmth, kindness, and hospitality of ordinary Iranians—from fellow travelers to late-night walks through the city. He sets these experiences alongside a broader argument distinguishing individual Muslims from the religion of Islam itself, raising t...

Hank Hanegraaff reflects on the significance of Holy Week and the transformational power of Christ’s resurrection.  Why do Eastern and Western Christians celebrate Easter (Pascha) on different calendars? And what happened as a result of the resurrection? In just a few centuries, a small band of seemingly insignificant believers turned an empire upside down, facing persecution, suffering, and death...

Hank Hanegraaff reflects on the death of Iran’s supreme leader as a stark reminder of the reality of death and eternity.    Hank contrasts Islamic and Christian views of the afterlife, highlighting Islamic concepts such as barzakh  and tantalizing descriptions of paradise that have been used as jihadist recruitment tactics, while also raising concerns about demographic shifts, cultural change, and...

Jay Richards has made more appearances on Hank Unplugged than any other guest. As the longtime producer of the podcast, Dave Hanegraaff thought it would be fitting to have Jay be one of the first guests to join him on his new podcast, A Commitment to Reality.   In this preview from A Commitment to Reality , Jay and Dave explore the importance of listening to those we disagree with, how social medi...

Frederica Mathewes-Green was the very first guest on Hank Unplugged . As the longtime producer of the podcast, Dave Hanegraaff thought it would be fitting for Frederica to also be the first guest on his new podcast, A Commitment to Reality.   In this preview episode, Frederica Mathewes-Green and Dave Hanegraaff explore what it means to live in alignment with reality. To hear the full conversation,...

Hank Hanegraaff brings an important announcement about a brand-new initiative at the Christian Research Institute: a new podcast titled A Commitment to Reality , hosted by his son, Dave Hanegraaff.  This podcast is not only timely but extraordinarily relevant. Why? Because we live in an era of “reality rot.” To paraphrase Blaise Pascal, we live in an age in which truth is so obscure and falsehood...

Frederica Mathewes-Green and Dave Hanegraaff unpack why the most important word in A Commitment to Reality is commitment—because reality doesn’t disappear when we deny it. This clip gets at why a commitment to shared reality matters. We are living through one of the most disorienting periods in human history—leaving many to wonder: What is reality? As artificial intelligence accelerates and instit...

What happens to a culture that can no longer name what it sees? In this clip from A Commitment to Reality, Jay Richards argues that when a society rejects basic realities—biological, moral, and metaphysical—it begins to unravel in ways that don’t stay theoretical. Dave and Jay talk about what “commitment to reality” actually means, and why denying reality has civilizational consequences.  We are l...

Frederica Mathewes-Green explains how TV and the internet are engineered for outrage—training us to argue instead of understand. This clip comes from A Commitment to Reality. We are living through one of the most disorienting periods in human history—leaving many to wonder: What is reality? As artificial intelligence accelerates and institutional trust erodes, our shared sense of what is real cont...

Dave Hanegraaff tells Jay Richards: “I used to hate you.” What changed? He listened. In this clip from A Commitment to Reality, Dave and Jay talk about how we caricature people we disagree with, why actually listening to people matters, and how misconceptions can block us from thinking clearly.  We are living through one of the most disorienting periods in human history—leaving many to wonder: Wha...

A Commitment to Reality is a podcast for a post-truth—and increasingly post-reality—age. We are living through one of the most disorienting periods in human history—leaving many to wonder: What is reality? As artificial intelligence accelerates and institutional trust erodes, our shared sense of what is real continues to crumble. A commitment to reality is a dedication to discerning what is true a...

AI and identity ideology are not issues that we are able to ignore. And yet, they are dramatically altering the way that the world perceives reality. As Christians, it is critical for us to respond with clarity amidst the confusion. Abdu Murray joins Hank Hanegraaff to discuss the disrupting forces of AI and identity ideology and how we—as Christians—can approach these disorienting developments wi...

Time is flying by so fast—it’s hard to believe. “Only one life, ’twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.” As Hank reflects on another year, a phrase has been echoing through his mind: “You will be the same person next year as you are right now except for two things—the people you meet and the books you read.” Hank would add a third: the things you memorize. Some of the greatest...

We wish you a Merry Christmas—and a reminder of the proverbial reason for the season. Our prayer is that, amid the noise surrounding modern-day Christmas celebrations, we may as yet hear the faint echo of Isaiah's earth-shattering pronouncement: "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Emmanuel." And, "he will save his people from their sins."Merry Christmas from Hank H...