Hanukkah Attack in Australia and Christmas Hospitality

The Bulletin

Christianity Today

News, News Commentary, Society & Culture, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.4 • 586 Ratings

🗓️ 16 December 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On Sunday, a Hanukkah celebration in Australia was interrupted by a horrific shooting which killed at least 15 people. At Brown University in Rhode Island, a gunman shot and killed two students and left nine injured at a Saturday exam study session. In light of these tragedies, we’re re-releasing a conversation about violence and antisemitism between Mike Cosper, Rabbi Joshua Stanton, and Bishop Robert Stearns. Then, Australian Steve Cuss of CT Media’s Being Human podcast drops by with a Christmas meditation on the hospitality of God to those the world considers strangers. REFERENCED IN THE SHOW: -Trump Disses Putin, Kermit Speaks at Graduation, and The Israeli Embassy Suffers Loss - The Bulletin -Hosted by God at Christmastime - Being Human with Steve Cuss GO DEEPER WITH THE BULLETIN: -Join the conversation at our Substack. -Follow the Being Human podcast. -Find us on YouTube. -Rate and review the show in your podcast app of choice. ABOUT THE GUESTS: Rabbi Joshua Stanton is associate vice president for interfaith and intergroup initiatives at the Jewish Federations of North America. He is also on the board of governors with the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations, which presides over Jewish-Christian relations with the Vatican. Bishop Robert Stearns is the founder and executive director of Eagles’ Wings and the presiding bishop of the historic Tabernacle Church in Buffalo, New York. Stearns serves as president of the Israel Christian Nexus in Los Angeles and has ministered in more than 30 nations around the world, with a central focus on the nation of Israel. Steve Cuss is a pastor, former chaplain, and founder of Capable Life which helps people lower internal and relational anxiety in the workplace and at home. He is the author of Managing Leadership Anxiety: Yours and Theirs and The Expectation Gap: The Tiny, Vast Space between Our Beliefs and Experience of God. Steve hosts the CT Media podcast, Being Human. ABOUT THE BULLETIN: The Bulletin is a twice-weekly politics and current events show from Christianity Today moderated by Clarissa Moll, with senior commentary from Russell Moore (Christianity Today’s editor-at-large and columnist) and Mike Cosper (senior contributor). Each week, the show explores current events and breaking news and shares a Christian perspective on issues that are shaping our world. We also offer special one-on-one conversations with writers, artists, and thought leaders whose impact on the world brings important significance to a Christian worldview, like Bono, Sharon McMahon, Harrison Scott Key, Frank Bruni, and more. The Bulletin listeners get 25% off CT. Go to https://orderct.com/THEBULLETIN to learn more. “The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today Producer: Clarissa Moll Associate Producer: Alexa Burke Editing and Mix: Kevin Morris Graphic Design: Rick Szuecs Music: Dan Phelps Executive Producer: Erik Petrik Senior Producer: Matt Stevens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	From Christianity Today, you're listening to The Bulletin, a podcast about the people, events, and issues that are shaping our world.
0:13.0	I'm Clarissa Mall, producer and moderator of the Bulletin. This week, communities in Australia and Rhode Island mourn the deaths of at least 17 people combined in shootings over the weekend.
0:25.9	Mike Kaspur sits down with Rabbi Josh Stanton and Bishop Robert Stearns to talk about anti-Semitic violence and how Christians can show up for their Jewish neighbors.
0:35.2	And being human Steve Cuss, a native Australian,
0:39.0	offers a meditation on the extraordinary hospitality of God. Welcome to the show.
0:47.3	This paid message is from Lifeway Christian Resources.
0:55.7	Here's some good news.
0:57.2	This spring, the Gospel Project, is moving into the New Testament.
1:01.9	The Gospel Project is the chronological Bible study that shows how each passage of scripture
1:07.3	helps to tell the greater gospel narrative.
1:10.3	And this spring is a great time for your
1:12.6	church to get your groups pursuing the good news of Jesus Christ together. You can shop for the
1:18.9	spring study at gospelproject.com slash adults. Hello listeners, welcome to our Tuesday show,
1:27.1	where we let you know what's catching our eye as the week begins.
1:30.2	We're less than 10 days until Christmas, and the disconcerting mix of joy and sorrow is palpable in the news cycle as we enter this week.
1:38.6	On Sunday, two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, killing at least
1:45.4	15 people. According to ABC News Australia, among the dead are a 10-year-old girl, Holocaust survivor,
1:52.7	and a local rabbi. I just assumed he was in an Uber because he was getting out the back,
1:57.7	left-hand side. And I thought to myself, oh, he's, like, fallen out.
2:00.9	I was like, oh, this poor guy.
2:02.1	And I thought he was picking up crutches and felt sorry for him for a second.
2:04.8	I was like, oh, this poor guy's falling out, and he's picking up his crutches. And he just picks up the biggest gun I've ever seen and just instantly opens fire. Only hours earlier, halfway around the globe, a shooter had entered a classroom on the Brown University
	...

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