Hank Unplugged
by The Christian Research Institute
Dig Deeper with Hank Unplugged — Hank Unplugged is a podcast brought to you by the Christian Research Institute, where Hank Hanegraaff takes you beyond the sound bites and into thoughtful, in-depth explorations of the critical issues confronting Christians today. Drawing on Scripture, history, theology, and culture, Hank equips listeners to think Christianly about the questions that matter most and to contend for “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). For more information, visit www.equip.org. To support CRI and our global outreaches, visit www.equip.org/donate/.
Episodes
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The Human Cost of Cultic Control
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...
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What Makes a Cult? Here Are the Defining Characteristics
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...
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Sharia Law in the West? What Would Life Be Like? | Part 4
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,...
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Does Sharia Mandate War? | Part 3
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...
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Can Women Ever Be Free Under Sharia Law? | Part 2
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,...
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Understanding Sharia: Is It Really Like Christian Canon Law? | Part 1
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...
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Can We Trust Iran’s Islamic Leadership?
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...
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Fr. Stephen Freeman | Christian Atheism: God as an idea is no God at all (Preview of Commitment to Reality)
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...
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Martin Shaw | What Part of You Has Come to Die? (Preview of Commitment to Reality)
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...
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The Pre-Tribulation Rapture Has No Biblical Basis
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…
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Was the Iran War Prophesied in the Bible?
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...
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Hank Reflects on Visiting Iran: Many Iranians Are Peaceful But Islam is not a Religion of Peace
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...
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The Resurrection of Jesus Christ Changed Everything
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...
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The War in Iran—A Clash of Civilizations and Perspectives on Eternity
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...
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Jay Richards—Reality, AI, and the Courage to Change Your Mind (Preview)
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...
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Frederica Mathewes-Green — Making a Commitment to Reality (Preview)
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…
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Because Truth Matters, Reality Matters–Hank Hanegraaff on A Commitment to Reality
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...
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Why Commitment to Shared Reality Matters
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...
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When a Culture Can’t Name Reality–What Happens Next?
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...
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They Want You Angry–TV and the Internet–Architects of Anger
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...
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I Used to Hate You–What Changed My Mind
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.…
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Why Reality Matters
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...
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Fake ID: How AI and Identity Ideology Are Collapsing Reality―and What to Do About It with Abdu Murray
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…
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The Forgotten Discipline We Must Recover– A Message from Hank Hanegraaff
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…
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Christ is Born—Glorify Him! A Message from Hank Hanegraaff
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,...
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Is Annihilationism Biblical?
Annihilationism is the view that no one suffers for eternity in hell--because according to annihilationism there is no hell. Rather, those who persist until death in their rejection of God’s gracious gift of salvation are snuffed out of existence entirely. Just as universalism is the rage in...
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Has Christ Returned as a Female? The Dangerous Cult Making This Claim with Hank Hanegraaff
Has Christ returned as a female in China? Believe it or not, this is the shameless assertion of the Church of the Almighty God, also known as Eastern Lightning. Unfortunately, this is not a fringe group of fanatics, but a cult that is growing globally with millions of devotees and deep pockets....
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Why You Should Read Proverbs Every Day
Hank Hanegraaff reads The Book of Proverbs every single day. On this short edition of the Hank Unplugged podcast Hank tells you why that is such an important practice in his life and why you should begin doing the same thing every single day. We promise you won’t regret it. For further study: CRI...
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Is Mormonism Christianity?
In the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination, Hank Hanegraaff would like to propose an all too relevant question: “Is Mormonism Christian?” Why? Because a prevalent narrative surrounding the assassination of Charlie Kirk in Orem Utah, is that Tyler Robinson, Kirk’s alleged assassin, grew up in a...
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Charlie Kirk: Casualty of the Woke War on the West
On September 10th Charlie Kirk was killed in broad daylight on a college campus in Utah by the alleged assassin Tyler Robinson. Another casualty of the woke war on the West. An insidious revolt that many Christians have a hard time wrapping their minds around, which is why this edition of Hank...
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The Little Red Book of Wisdom with Mark DeMoss
If wisdom is so important in the life of a Christian, why is it that so many of us fail to develop disciplines that will lead us to lives of wisdom? Hank Hanegraaff has been friends with Mark DeMoss for over 40 years and on this episode, Mark joins the Hank to discuss a passion that they both…
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God’s View of Time: Kairos vs. Chronos with David Hanegraaff
God doesn’t see time the way we do. While we live according to hours, deadlines, and a focus fixed on the future (chronos), God operates in kairos—sacred moments filled with purpose and a pursuit of being fully present. We can sanctify chronological time by living with eternity in mind—sensing...
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When God Calls You He Equips You with David Hanegraaff
Have you ever felt like the least qualified person in the room? David Hanegraaff discusses what it is like growing up as the son of the “Bible Answer Man” and how he does his best to say yes to the call of the Lord even when he feels unqualified. David has learned to overcome self-doubt by…
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Exposing Eastern Lightning: Hank Hanegraaff’s Urgent Fiscal Year-End Message
Make sure to listen to this special message as Hank Hanegraaff reflects on the fiscal year’s end, he underscores Christian unity and global missions while warning of The Church of Almighty God (Eastern Lightning), which claims a Chinese woman is the reincarnated Christ and fulfillment of Jesus’s...
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Nothing Left to Prove, So Much Left to Do with Larry Johnston
The following interview is from 2017, when Hank Hanegraaff was joined by the eminently quotable Larry Johnston, a friend and colleague of over forty years, for a wide-ranging conversation certain to send you searching for a dictionary. Today, Larry is absent from the body, present with the Lord.…
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Stockholm Syndrome Christianity: Why America’s Christian Leaders Are Failing — and What We Can Do About It with John West
What if American culture isn’t collapsing because of crusading secularists? What if it’s failing because many leading Christians identify more with secular elites than with their fellow believers? Dr. John West joins Hank Hanegraaff to discuss how he wrote Stockholm Syndrome Christianity as a...
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Priests of History: Stewarding the Past in an Ahistoric Age with Sarah Irving-Stonebraker
How can Christians engage meaningfully with history? In an age underpinned by the idea that life is about self-invention and fulfilment, contemporary Western culture holds that the past has little to teach us. We live in an age that historian Sarah Irving-Stonebraker terms as the “Ahistoric Age,”...
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Does the West Need a Religious Revival? with David Hanegraaff
Does the West need a religious revival? This was the subject of a debate hosted by The Free Press at the Paramount Theater in Austin Texas on February 27th. The debate pitted two religious advocates—Ayan Hirsi Ali and Ross Douthat—against two avowed atheists—Michael Shermer and Adam Carolla—in...
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Are you ready for Humans 2.0? Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Perspectives on Transhumanism with Fuz Rana
Are you ready for Humans 2.0? Whether you like it or not—this is happening. From transhumanism to AI, science and technology are progressing at a pace unprecedented in human history and this rate of change can leave many people—Christians or otherwise—feeling disoriented. But these are not…
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Unnatural Death: Medicine’s Descent from Healing to Killing with Richard Weikart
What was the 5th leading cause of death in Canada in 2023? Shockingly, it was medical assistance in dying (MAiD) and accounted for one out of every twenty deaths. Unfortunately, Canada is not an anomaly, but part of a global trend in terms of how societies are changing when it comes to sanctity…
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The Harvest is Plentiful, The Workers Are Few with K.P. Yohannan
This year was a reminder of the ephemeral reality of our earthly experience. Last Christmas we sent out a Christmas card featuring a joyful photo of Hank from a trip to India—a trip with his dear Friend K.P. Yohannan where they witnessed firsthand our ongoing Going Global efforts in the 10-40...
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The Greatest Partition in Human History—Christmas 2024
Once again you and I find ourselves perched on the eve of the annual Christmas day celebration. And as such, we do well to remember our Lord’s words concerning the reason He condescended to cloak Himself in human flesh. “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). This...
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God Saved My Life 5 Years Ago—What Now? A Personal Message From Hank
I am five years removed from a stem-cell transplant that saved my life. And seven years removed from an initial cancer diagnosis of stage four mantle cell lymphoma. I greet you with a heart of gratitude but also a spirit of resolve. Resolve to remember that life is fleeting. Resolve captured by…
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The Paradisaical Transformation of the Cosmos
What does Hank Hanegraaff mean when he talks about the "Paradisiacal Transformation of the Cosmos?" It is a message with a mandate—a reminder of the energy by which we are able to transform the cosmos. The energy that St. Paul invoked when he spoke of being energized by all His energy which so...
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Apostle to the Hungry: Bishop Themi of Sierra Leone
A rock star, atheist, Marxist, world-class theologian, African missionary, and a Greek Orthodox Bishop all in one lifetime? Hank Hanegraaff is joined by Bishop Themi—a personal hero of his and a beacon of hope and inspiration to millions of Christians around the globe. Bishop Themi earned degrees...
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The Privileged Planet: How Our Place in the Cosmos is Designed for Discovery
Is earth a privileged planet or merely an insignificant speck of soil aimlessly adrift in a meaningless universe? Evidence refutes the principle of mediocrity—demonstrating that our earth is singularly privileged and designed for discovery. Jay Richards again joins Hank Hanegraaff to give the...
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An Iconoclast of Evolution– A Tribute to Jonathan Wells
Other than Scripture, Darwin’s magnum opus, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, might be the most significant literary work in history. light of the unprecedented impact of Darwinian dogma, it would be reasonable to expect it to be solidly rooted in truth. In reality, evolution…
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The Palestinian Delusion
The people of Palestine are caught in the crosshairs of the only significant religious system in the history of the human race with a sociopolitical structure of laws that mandate violence against the infidel. While much has been made about the state of Israel and the several shades of Zionism…
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The Most Important Issue of Them All—Abortion
Most Americans want legal access to abortion. It is likely one of the issues that will determine what politicians get elected—as many politicians today say that unless you have a moderate position when it comes to abortion it is virtually impossible to get elected—even conservative Christians....
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Journey to Reality–Sacramental Life in a Secular Age
We live in an era deeply shaped by secularism. Because secular ideas are at the heart of our culture, modern people tend to think in secular ways without realizing it—even the most well-meaning of us. How then do we live in, but not be of, a secular culture? We need to understand the enchanted,...
About this show
Dig Deeper with Hank Unplugged — Hank Unplugged is a podcast brought to you by the Christian Research Institute, where Hank Hanegraaff takes you beyond the sound bites and into thoughtful, in-depth explorations of the critical issues confronting Christians today. Drawing on Scripture, history, theology, and culture, Hank equips listeners to think Christianly about the questions that matter most and to contend for “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).
For more information, visit www.equip.org. To support CRI and our global outreaches, visit www.equip.org/donate/.
Hosted by
The Christian Research Institute
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