You're listening to Breakpoint this week, where we're talking about the top stories of the week from a Christian worldview.

Today we're going to talk about the devastating earthquake in Venezuela.

Then we're going to talk about the elections in New York.

Is America turning back towards socialism?

We have a lot to get to this week, and we're glad you're with us.

Please stick around.

Welcome to Breakpoint this week. From the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, I'm Maria Bear, alongside John Stone Street, president of the Coolson Center. John, we have to start with

the earthquake this week. There have been a series of quakes across the world, but particularly

hardest hit was Venezuela. As we're recording this on Thursday afternoon, the running tally

is at about 190 people have been killed. More than 1,500 were injured. The U.S. is sending

search and rescue teams, and some other nations have offered

help as well. But this, from all accounts, this is a catastrophic event for that nation. It's the

most powerful earthquake they've recorded in over 100 years. Well, and there was a pair of them

that took place within just an hour or so

or less of each one. And, you know, it's tragic. The devastation is palpable. And first and foremost,

obviously, that matters is the loss of life. But what this story and stories like it bring to

mind is something we've talked about before, which is that culture is itself an outworking of

worldview. So what you believe is important, how you think about life in the world, and then the

kind of capacity of growing knowledge to make something of the world, all that kind of exists

within a cultural setting. And one of the places you see that kind of lived out or played out

is when a calamity or catastrophe happens, when you see something that's particularly devastating,

sometimes it's because the event is particularly devastating. This would fall into that

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