August 19, 2024 Show with Stephen Totter, Esq. on “Keeping America Safe from Terrorism”

Iron Sharpens Iron

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:03

Live from historic downtown Carlisle, Pennsylvania, home of founding father James Wilson, 19th century hymn writer

00:11

George Duffield, 19th century gospel minister George Norcross, and sports legend

00:16

Jim Thorpe, it's Iron Sharpens Iron. This is a radio platform in which pastors,

00:23

Christian scholars, and theologians address the burning issues facing the church and the world today.

00:31

Proverbs chapter 27 verse 17 tells us iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

00:38

Matthew Henry said that in this passage we are cautioned to take heed with whom we converse and directed to have a view in conversation to make one another wiser and better.

00:50

It is our hope that this goal will be accomplished over the next two hours, and we hope to hear from you, the listener, with your own questions.

00:57

And now, here's your host, Chris Arnzen. Good afternoon,

01:10

Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Lake City, Florida, and the rest of humanity living on the planet

01:15

Earth who are listening via live streaming at ironsharpensironradio .com.

01:21

This is Chris Arnzen, your host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, wishing you all a happy Monday on this 19th day of August 2024.

01:30

Before I introduce my guest and our topic for the day, I want to remind all men in ministry leadership that you are invited to the next free biannual

01:42

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio pastors luncheon, which will be held Thursday, October 10th, 11 a .m.

01:49

to 2 p .m. at Church of the Living Christ in Loisville, Pennsylvania, which is in Perry County, Pennsylvania.

01:57

And we are featuring, for the very first time ever, our keynote speaker, Dr. Joe Boot, a world -renowned author, conference speaker, and the founder and president of the

02:08

Ezra Institute. And not only is your admission free and your time to hear what will no doubt be a powerful and edifying message from Dr.

02:17

Boot free, and your time of rest, relaxation, refreshment, fun, fellowship, and feasting, all free, on top of all that, every man in attendance will receive a very heavy sack of free brand -new books personally selected by me and donated by generous publishers all over the

02:38

United States and United Kingdom. Everything is always free of charge at the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio free pastors luncheon.

02:45

Nothing is ever for sale. There is never a hidden agenda or ulterior motive.

02:50

So, if you would like to register for this free pastors luncheon, if you're a man in ministry leadership, and that would include elders, deacons, parachurch leaders, just send me an email to chrisarnsen at gmail .com,

03:04

C -H -R -I -S -A -R -N -Z -E -N at gmail .com, and give me your name, the name of your church or parachurch ministry, and its location, and the number of men who will be joining you at the event.

03:20

So, that's chrisarnsen at gmail .com, and put pastors luncheon in the subject line.

03:25

I hope to see you Thursday, October 10th, 11 a .m. to 2 p .m. at Church of the Living Christ in Loisville, Pennsylvania.

03:32

Well, very few things make me feel older than interviewing someone whose parents

03:42

I knew long before they were born and whose parents

03:47

I knew before they were even married, and such is the case with my guest today. Today, we have a first -time guest who is a member of the church where I was formerly a member before moving to Pennsylvania, Grace Reformed Baptist Church of Long Island in Merrick, New York.

04:06

His name is Stephen Totter, attorney at law. He is a decorated veteran of the

04:12

Iraq War, chairman of the deacon board at Grace Reformed Baptist Church of Long Island in Merrick, New York, chairman of the school board at Grace Christian Academy of Long Island, whose headmaster we've had on this program,

04:25

Steve Schultz, and a reservist and lieutenant colonel in the

04:31

Army National Guard, specializing in anti -terrorism in New York City.

04:36

Today, we're going to be addressing the theme, One Christian in the Armed Services' Efforts to Keep America Safe from Terrorism.

04:44

And it's my honor and privilege to welcome you for the first time ever to Iron Sharpen Zion Radio, Stephen Totter.

04:53

Thank you so much, Chris. The honor and the privilege is all here. Well, first of all, tell our listeners something about Grace Reformed Baptist Church of Long Island in Merrick, where your dad is one of the pastors.

05:09

Yeah, thank you, Chris. Appreciate that. Grace Reformed Baptist Church is just a body of like -minded believers.

05:15

We're located in Merrick, New York. We're blessed to have a beautiful building and a wonderful place to meet.

05:21

But the real blessing of Grace Reformed Baptist Church is, of course, its members. We have just a wonderful, warm body of committed believers who are there, who make up the church.

05:32

And, you know, we have three great pastors. I might be a little biased about my dad, but the other two are great as well.

05:40

Pastor Bob Carson and Pastor Dan Mercado. And, you know, it's just a very solid church where the word is preached every

05:47

Sunday, where you can come and be ministered to. We have just a lively number of events, too, that the church participates in on a daily basis.

05:57

So it's just a great, warm, but very solid body of believers on Long Island. And we cannot forget to mention the upcoming

06:07

Courageous Marriage seminar or conference, which is coming up on Friday and Saturday, August 23rd and 24th, featuring your keynote speaker, bestselling author

06:20

Dr. Joe Rigney. What can you tell us about this conference coming up? Yeah, I think every single one of your listeners who is in the geographical area to travel to this should definitely make an effort to attend.

06:33

It's going to be just a wonderful, great conference. If you've seen the list of topics or you've listened to the episode of Iron Sharpens Iron, where Dr.

06:41

Rigney detailed the things that he's going to be talking about, it's relevant especially to married believers or believers who are entering into marriage.

06:49

But really, anyone who wants to learn more about God and the Bible should make an effort to attend if they can.

06:56

It's really going to be a time of blessing. The topics are going to be great. The price is set just so that we can encourage as many people as possible to attend.

07:05

And we've even put it out and I'll put it out again on the show that if anybody cannot afford to attend for any reason just to get into contact with the church, we really want to make sure that as many people are blessed by this as possible.

07:16

So, again, that's this Friday at 7 p .m. and also all day Saturday, too.

07:22

And people can find out more about that by going to our website, and that is gracereformedbaptistchurch .org.

07:30

And the first pop -up that comes up on that website will be for the conference to register. Great, and we'll be repeating that website later on.

07:38

And also, if anybody wants to listen to the two -hour interview I recently conducted—in fact, it was on August 2nd—

07:48

I interviewed the keynote speaker at this Courageous Marriage conference, Joe Rigney, for the first hour.

07:54

And I had Pastor Bob Carson, one of three pastors at Grace Reformed Baptist Church of Long Island in Merrick, New York, on for the second hour.

08:02

And you can just type in Rigney, R -I -G -N -E -Y, into the search engine at www .irontriponsironradio

08:11

.com, and that link will come up where you can listen to that interview.

08:19

Well, it's hard to believe when you get to be as old as I am, Stephen. I'm 62.

08:25

Time flies like a bullet, and I still can't really get over the fact that it seems like yesterday you were a goofy little kid wandering around at Grace Reformed Baptist Church of Long Island, picking your nose and drooling on yourself, and now you're a decorated veteran and helping keep

08:47

America safe from terrorism. But we have a tradition on Iron Tripons Iron Radio.

08:53

Whenever we have a first -time guest, we have that guest give a summary of their salvation testimony.

09:00

That would include the kind of religious atmosphere in which you were raised, which we've already explained, the kind of providential circumstances that our

09:10

Sovereign Lord raised up in your life and drew you to Himself and saved you. So we would love to hear a summary of your story.

09:18

Yeah, thanks for that, Chris. I appreciate that. And I'm grateful to have been saved at an early age.

09:25

I grew up, as you said, in a Christian household with two Christian parents that were dedicated to the

09:31

Church and dedicated to the Lord. And they attended Grace Reformed Baptist Church, which was Calvary Baptist probably at the time, most of the time that you were attending.

09:39

And from an early age, I always believed in the existence of God and of hell and of heaven.

09:47

I can remember pretty distinctively crying out to the Lord several times as a pre -teenager.

09:54

And through all my younger years, all the examples I remember of baptisms and, you know, testimonies that I would listen to often had some sort of a drastic before and after experience.

10:06

So, you know, as a pre -teen, I struggle with that a little bit because, you know, I remember believing in God and crying out to Him.

10:15

And, you know, not really feeling the same before and after experience I saw with many of the examples that were put before me.

10:23

And so I just struggled with discouragements in my early teenage years and confusion over the status of my own soul, feeling lack of assurance for my salvation and wondering if I was saved.

10:34

And even if I was saved at the time, I certainly went through a period in my teenage years of not taking my sanctification seriously and doing things that typical teenagers do to fit in.

10:45

And I wish the simplicity of the gospel had been something that had stuck with me better. I'm sure many people did a great job, including my parents, of bringing that before me.

10:55

And thankfully, I was preserved from a lot more serious sins, thanks to my parents.

11:00

But, you know, I certainly had opportunities because I started attending college much younger than most people did.

11:06

And then at age 17, I joined the army. And during basic training,

11:11

I cried out to the Lord once again. And this time through reading the scriptures and praying,

11:17

I was given a confidence in the Lord that He gave me an assurance that I was saved through confessing my sins and believing in Christ.

11:25

And God still had a lot of sanctifying and growth for me in those early years.

11:30

And I was baptized not too long after I got back from basic training, and I began serving in the church. And then not too many years after that,

11:37

I was married, went through a combat deployment to Iraq, getting back, finishing law school, and then starting my career and having children.

11:45

But God has provided for me, though completely undeserving, many opportunities to serve in His church, first on the board of Grace Christian Academy and then as a deacon and now chairman of both those boards.

11:59

And it's just a testament to His grace from generation to generation in the way that He used His church.

12:04

He used godly men around me who witnessed to me and who stuck with me and certainly my parents and my family.

12:11

And that's that's my story of how I came to the Lord. Yeah. And we want to thank your lovely wife,

12:18

Melanie, for arranging this interview, for contacting me and and putting the bug in my ear to invite you on.

12:28

And as soon as I found out what you are doing in the realm of terrorism prevention,

12:34

I immediately knew that I wanted to have you on the show. And I know that you have three daughters and a fourth on the way in November.

12:45

Congratulations. I do. I do. Yeah, fourth daughter on the way in November. Praise God.

12:51

Well, praise God for that. And I'm going to give our listeners our email address right away in the event that they want to ask a question of their own.

13:01

Chris Arnzen at Gmail dot com. Chris Arnzen at Gmail dot com. As always, give us your first name, at least your city and state of residence and your country of residence.

13:11

If you live outside the USA and only remain anonymous, if your question involves a personal and private matter.

13:18

Well, before I even go into our topic, I wanted to give you an opportunity to explain what you do in the realm of real estate, because it's a unique niche with Curios Consulting.

13:37

Yeah, absolutely. So I never really intended to go into real estate.

13:42

But, you know, over time, you start to realize that there's patterns. And one of the patterns is that our country continues to accumulate debt and continues to kind of put everything on a giant credit card of printing more money.

13:56

And so when you look at how to wisely take care of your money and look at how to, you know, best, you know, be responsible for the funds that God has given you.

14:06

You realize that, you know, the if you if you leave your money in cash and you leave your money in savings, which should be the normal responsible thing to do.

14:13

And unfortunately, a lot of that is depreciating because of the way that the government is using the funds that they're responsible for.

14:20

So, you know, about five years ago, I started to look into real estate and started very small. And after a while, began to scale and eventually had people coming on board and asking to invest through my different operational efforts.

14:33

So I started originally in North Carolina and kind of built out from there into New York and now largely have consolidated in the northeast, oftentimes investing in places like New Hampshire, where there's a kind of a limited market.

14:48

And, you know, a lot more opportunity for risk management and for safe scaling of the real estate investments, my own portfolio and the portfolio of others.

14:58

I did a syndication recently in New Hampshire and was pleased that God worked through mostly

15:05

Christians, in fact, all Christians coming on board for that syndication. So I continue to do that.

15:11

I also do some mentorship as well with believers exclusively to try to help

15:17

Christians to understand real estate a little bit better and continue to take on some partners in my real estate efforts.

15:24

But something that God has blessed, something I certainly never thought that I would be involved in in any way. I still have my full time job and obviously my other responsibilities, but God's helped me to see the value in it and to just give me a place where I can provide value to other

15:38

Christians. Well, if anybody wants to find out more details about what

15:43

Stephen Totter has to offer, go to Consulting by Kyrgios, K -Y -R -I -O -S dot com,

15:51

Consulting by Kyrgios dot com. And God willing, we'll remember to repeat that later on in the program.

15:57

Well, we are discussing an element of your life that is a vitally important element, and that is the protection of our nation from terrorist attacks.

16:12

And let me say at the outset that because of the fact that my guest today is an active member of the

16:24

Army National Guard and Homeland Security, that there are issues that are too sensitive for him to explain in detail.

16:39

And there may be times when I'm asking him a question or that my audience members may ask a question where he's going to have to decline answering it.

16:49

So I hope that you understand that at the outset of the program and don't be overly disappointed knowing of the reasons why.

17:01

But first of all, how long after you were involved overseas in Iraq in the

17:11

Iraq War did you get led into this duty where you are involved in New York City seeking to keep this nation safe from terrorist attacks?

17:27

So like a lot of National Guardsmen, you're mostly in a reserve capacity for me.

17:33

You know, I work as an attorney unless the National Guard calls me up. I typically will only do one week in a month of military duty and then maybe two weeks during the summer.

17:43

But the unique thing about the National Guard is that it kind of has a dual role. It can be used for overseas operations like Afghanistan or Iraq to fill in the gaps of the active duty military force.

17:54

There's many National Guardsmen who have more deployments than even some of the active duty service members.

18:01

But the Guard also has another role in which they respond to their state as well. So when a natural disaster happens or a flood or a fire or a hurricane, the

18:10

National Guard is called up to respond. And that's true of acts of terrorism as well. We have a longstanding mission to guard

18:16

New York City, for example, that was started after 9 -11. And about three years ago, I was activated to that mission.

18:22

So like many National Guardsmen, your civilian job goes on hold. And then in my particular case,

18:29

I lead as an intelligence officer for that mission, providing the threat picture for service members who protect

18:36

New York City. And many people are surprised by the fact that the military has anything to do with New York City. But that's just because of the unique role that the

18:44

National Guard plays with, you know, having this dual responsibility of responding and filling in for the active duty force, but also for meeting the needs of the governor of that state.

18:53

So I started that about three years ago when I was called up, and I've been working on that ever since.

18:59

Yeah, well, if anybody has visited New York City, they would very easily discover, at least the last time

19:10

I was in New York City, which was not that long ago, there were many soldiers in uniform, armed, patrolling

19:21

Penn Station and so on. I'm assuming that is still a normal thing in the daily life of New York City residents and also those who work there and commute through there to see that.

19:35

Yeah, very much so, Chris. That's been an enduring mission since September 11th. So it's something that most

19:40

New Yorkers have now gotten pretty used to seeing and find as a source of comfort that there's armed service members in New York City and other areas throughout the state where there's critical infrastructure.

19:52

Well, we're going to go through our first commercial break. If anybody does have a question, once again, our email address is chrisarnson at gmail .com.

20:00

Give us your first name at least. City and state and country residents, don't go away. We're going to be right back with Stephen Todd.

20:21

I'm Pastor Keith Allen of Lindbrook Baptist Church, a Christ -centered, gospel -driven church looking to spread the gospel in the southwest portion of Long Island, New York and play our role in fulfilling the

20:32

Great Commission, supporting and sending for the spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth. We're delighted to be a part of Chris Arnzen's Iron Sharpens Iron radio advertising family.

20:43

At Lindbrook Baptist Church, we believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired

20:48

Word of God, inherent in the original writings, complete as the revelation of God's will for salvation and the supreme and final authority in all matters to which they speak.

21:00

We believe in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. This salvation is based upon the sovereign grace of God, was purchased by Christ on the cross, and is received through faith alone, apart from any human merit, works, or ritual.

21:17

Salvation in Christ also results in righteous living, good works, and appropriate respect and concern to all who bear

21:25

God's image. If you live near Lindbrook, Long Island, or if you're just passing through on the

21:30

Lord's Day, we'd love to have you come and join us in worship. For details, visit LindbrookBaptist .org.

21:37

That's L -Y -N -BrookBaptist .org. This is Pastor Keith Allen of Lindbrook Baptist Church, reminding you that by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.

21:49

It is the gift of God, not a result of words, so that no one may boast.

21:55

May the Lord bless you in the knowledge of himself. I'm Pastor Bill Shishko of The Haven, an

22:10

Orthodox Presbyterian church in Comac, Long Island. I hold the Iron Sharpens Iron radio program, hosted by my longtime friend and brother,

22:20

Chris Arntzen, in the highest esteem, and I'm thrilled that you're listening today. I'm also delighted that Iron Sharpens Iron is partnering with one of my favorite resources for Reformed Christian literature for decades now,

22:34

Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service. Well, with the economic nightmare that we're all currently enduring,

22:41

C -V -B -B -S .com, I want to enable you to build a wonderful personal library of the best literature that the

22:52

Reformers, the Puritans, and the great Christian minds of today have to offer, and at affordable prices.

22:59

Not only does C -V -B -B -S .com offer up to 50 % off retail prices, but you'll get an added 5 % off orders of $50 or more by using promo code

23:14

IRON, I -R -O -N. An added 5 % off all of your orders of $50 or more from Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service.

23:27

That's C -V -B -B -S .com, making the joy of reading the finest in Christian literature more affordable.

23:36

Oh, and make sure that you tell them you heard about them on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. Armored Republic exists to equip free men with tools of liberty to defend

23:52

God -given rights against the twin threats of tyranny and chaos. If you own a rifle to resist tyrants and criminals, then you should own body armor and a med kit for the same reasons.

24:03

A rifle stops evil, body armor and a med kit keep you in the fight and preserve your life.

24:09

Armored Republic is a body of free craftsmen united to create tools of liberty. We are honored to be your armorsmith of choice.

24:17

Civilian ownership of body armor is about increasing decentralized power and by comparison, reducing the advantages of centralized power.

24:25

The danger of centralized power is often represented by the word king. As Americans, we hate the word king applied to any mere man.

24:35

We are Armored Republic, and in a republic, there is no king but Christ. Arm yourself with tools of liberty at ArmoredRepublic .com.

24:57

Greetings, this is Brian McLaughlin, president of the SecureComm Group and supporter of Chris Arnzen's Iron Shopping Zion radio program.

25:08

SecureComm provides the highest level of security systems for residential buildings, municipalities, churches, commercial properties and much more.

25:19

We can be reached at securecommgroup .com. That's securecommgroup .com.

25:27

But today, I want to introduce you to my senior pastor, Doug McMasters of New High Park Baptist Church on Long Island.

25:41

Doug McMasters here, former director of pastoral correspondence at Grace to You, the radio ministry of John MacArthur.

25:49

In the film Chariots of Fire, the Olympic gold medalist runner Eric Liddell remarked that he felt

25:54

God's pleasure when he ran. He knew his efforts sprang from the gifts and calling of God.

26:00

I sense that same God -given pleasure when ministering the word and helping others gain a deeper knowledge and love for God.

26:08

That love starts with the wonderful news that the Lord Jesus Christ is a Savior who died for sinners and that God forgives all who come to Him in repentance, trusting solely in Christ to deliver them.

26:20

I would be delighted to have the honor and privilege of ministering to you if you live in the Long Island area or Queens or Brooklyn or the

26:27

Bronx in New York City. For details on New High Park Baptist Church, visit nhpbc .com.

26:37

That's nhpbc .com. You can also call us at 516 -352 -9672.

26:46

That's 516 -352 -9672. That's New High Park Baptist Church, a congregation in love with each other, passionate for Christ, committed to learning and being shaped by God's word and delighting in the gospel of God's sovereign grace.

27:18

We here at Iron Sharpens Iron Radio praise God for the generous monthly financial support of Royal Diadem Jewelers, educated by and affiliated with the

27:30

American Gem Society, Jewelers of America and the Gemological Institute of America.

27:37

For the perfect custom -designed engagement ring or any one -of -a -kind piece of jewelry created exactly according to your imagination and specifications,

27:47

Royal Diadem Jewelers has you covered. No matter where you live in the world, Royal Diadem will walk you step -by -step through every stage of the process and even hold a high -tech internet virtual visit using state -of -the -art jewelry design technology to serve you.

28:04

They start by listening carefully to determine your needs. They're interested in making what you want, not what they want to sell you.

28:12

From rough design to digital model to photorealistic image to wax prototype model to the finished product, they're continually listening to your input, likes and dislikes, making any changes necessary along the way.

28:27

This will ensure that your custom jewelry will turn out exactly as you dreamed and well beyond your expectations.

28:35

Visit royaldiadem .com. That's royaldiadem .com today.

28:42

Sterling Vandewerker, owner of Royal Diadem Jewelers, his wife, Bronnie, his business partner and manager,

28:49

Brian Wilson, and the entire family, thank you all for listening to, praying for, and supporting the work of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

29:02

And don't forget, folks, in addition to the monthly financial support that royaldiadem .com

29:11

already automatically provides for Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, every single month, on top of that, they are giving us this mind -blowing bonus.

29:22

If you purchase jewelry at royaldiadem .com and mention Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, we get 100 % of the profits from any sale of jewelry to our listeners.

29:34

All you've got to do is remember to say, as your source for discovering royaldiadem .com.

29:41

And that goes for whether you're purchasing jewelry that they already have in stock at royaldiadem .com,

29:48

or if you're having a one -of -a -kind customized piece of jewelry created, like an engagement ring, or perhaps you're taking your church logo, your parachurch ministry logo, your seminary logo, your denomination logo, your business logo, and turning it into a pendant for a necklace or a ring or any other kind of jewelry, or anything else your imagination or creativity can conjure up in your brain, royaldiadem .com

30:14

will take what's in your brain and turn it into a mind -blowing physical piece of jewelry that will take your breath away. And I've seen firsthand the absolute mastery that they have over customizing jewelry.

30:26

So whatever the case may be, if it's jewelry for yourself or someone you love, whether it's something in stock or something customized, go to royaldiadem .com

30:35

and mention Iron Troupe and Zion Radio when we get 100 % of the profits. And please don't wait until you're making your final purchase of jewelry to go to royaldiadem .com.

30:46

Please go to that website today to at least get the ball rolling on your purchase. And the reason being is we have no idea when royaldiadem .com

30:54

is going to pull the plug on this offer to us where we get 100 % of the profits from any sale of jewelry to our listeners.

31:01

So go to royaldiadem .com today and mention Iron Troupe and Zion Radio. And we are now back with my guest today,

31:10

Stephen Totter, who is a decorated veteran from the War of Iraq or the

31:16

Iraq War. And he is a reservist and lieutenant colonel in the

31:22

Army National Guard specializing in anti -terrorism. And we are discussing one

31:28

Christian in the armed services efforts to keep America safe from terrorism. Our e -mail address with questions is chrisarnson at gmail .com.

31:38

Give us your first name at least, city and state and country of residence. And we do already have a listener in Oceanside, Long Island, New York, Vicky.

31:49

Vicky wants to know since 9 -11, has the threats of terrorism reduced in our nation, especially in New York City, or have they increased and we just don't know about it?

32:05

That's a great question, Vicky. I will say before I begin to discuss anything that I just give the usual disclaimer that my views are my own and not that of my employer, whether that be state or federal.

32:17

I just have to give that little disclaimer before I begin discussing anything publicly. I would say on the one hand, our efforts at preventing acts of terrorism have greatly improved.

32:28

So the risk to the average New Yorker or even just citizen of the country has probably reduced greatly over the years just thanks to those efforts.

32:38

But certainly the threat is still there. And since the years since 9 -11,

32:46

New York City has been the most featured city in terrorist propaganda, encouraging people to conduct attacks on it.

32:54

And considering that it was already not only a victim of large scale terror attacks, but was certainly something that was identified by almost every terrorist worldwide as a potential target, the threat still remains.

33:08

So in terms of the number of people who have New York City within the crosshairs, it has probably increased throughout the years.

33:15

But fortunately, the efforts to protect New York and to protect the United States as a whole have gotten better over the years and have improved.

33:25

Well, thank you, Vicky. And one question I'd like to ask you is

33:32

I'm assuming that the vast majority, if not all, of the terrorist attacks that you're aware of behind the scenes that may be squelched and brought to an abrupt halt, or not so abrupt halt, but a halt nonetheless, that we may never know about.

33:57

I'm assuming that these are primarily the attempts of Islamic extremists.

34:04

And the reason why I say that is that there have been voices on the left who have made what

34:12

I would say are insane claims that the most existential threat to the safety of the

34:23

United States next to global warming are the threats of terrorism by white supremacists.

34:31

Now, maybe your answer will surprise me, but if you could answer that to the best of your ability.

34:37

Yeah, so like a lot of things, it depends on how you categorize the data. If you're looking at the number of victims or you're looking at the number of overall attacks or how you add definitions into this greatly matters.

34:49

I would say the threat of Islamic terrorism is certainly still there and very active. It's certainly one of the main things that we are on the lookout for.

34:59

But a lot of the terrorist attacks, potential terrorist attacks, threats that are out there are also the work of people who are mentally unstable.

35:09

And the reason that they give for why they are going to conduct an attack or the particular ideological issue that they latch onto are almost secondary.

35:19

So certainly when you talk about acts of terrorism, somebody who has mental issues such that they're unstable and the people who conduct terrorist attacks, that Venn diagram has a lot of crossover.

35:33

So, you know, it's hard sometimes to pin down. Is this somebody who's mentally unwell, who just latched onto this ideology?

35:41

Or is this somebody with an ideology who's intent on conducting an act of terrorism?

35:46

So I would say Islamic terrorism is still an enormous issue. And we tend to see that a lot more as a kind of guiding philosophy behind why somebody wants to conduct an attack.

35:58

So certainly for my foxhole, that still continues to be the major issue that we're dealing with.

36:04

But there's just a wide variety of reasons that people give. And, you know, sometimes even finding out the motive for these things is very challenging.

36:12

So if you an attack happens and then they find, you know, Facebook postings or social media, you know, attribution from that particular person.

36:22

Again, it's very difficult to nail down, you know, exactly what the motives were in many of these cases.

36:27

So, you know, you can you can kind of have fun if you're somebody who's ideologically guided by, you know, saying that, you know, a majority of the attacks happen for this reason or that reason and kind of play with the data.

36:38

You know, I can really only say what I'm seeing from my end of things. Islamic terrorism continues to be a major issue.

36:47

And, you know, at the same time, a lot of these attacks are guided by people who are just severely mentally unwell and who are triggered by something that they see in the news.

36:57

Certainly, we talk about terrorism and acts of terrorism a lot on the news as a country.

37:03

So a lot of people are triggered by that. And, you know, unfortunately, wake up and decide to commit an act of violence.

37:11

Now, can you explain? I know that some of these things are secret. Can you explain how plots of terrorism are brought to your attention?

37:22

I know that there may be many, many different ways, but could you perhaps describe some of these ways and what is specifically done to bring an end to these threats?

37:36

Yeah, that's a great question, Chris. I think that's an area where there's a lot of just confusion or mystique about it in the general public.

37:43

Here at Stateside, a lot of the efforts to prevent terrorism are done through normal criminal investigations.

37:49

And that's done by the usual means that you would discover a conspiracy to conduct a bank robbery, let's say.

37:58

So there's a lot of ground level intelligence that's conducted by civilian tips that are given, people making reports to different agencies to try to bring to light something suspicious that they saw.

38:12

The see something, say something efforts that the city has gone through, and certainly our country has gone through, have yielded a lot of results.

38:20

There's also, of course, social media. But a lot of these things end up in civilian criminal investigations.

38:26

And fortunately, you can head off a lot of these things before they get more serious. Sometimes, you know, somebody who is plotting an act of terrorism, you know, they vocalize that in some way.

38:38

What really scares us is the amount of people who are out there who you just don't know about because they don't post online and they don't have any formal communication with an outside terrorist organization.

38:50

And they maybe just have seen something on the Internet or read something. And that has become the catalyst for them to turn violent.

38:57

So, you know, many times it's fortunately civilians speaking up and saying something to even just their local police department and saying, hey, this didn't look right.

39:06

Or I saw something online and it looks like somebody is, you know, using some threatening rhetoric online.

39:12

And so that continues to be one of the main ways in which we thwart these events.

39:18

Fortunately, there's also oftentimes indicators that you see beforehand of people conducting, you know, surveillance ahead of a terrorist attack.

39:27

So that can be another way that it's prevented. But all the usual ways that we would stop a crime in general can also be applied to acts of terrorism as well.

39:36

And, you know, the vigilance of New Yorkers has helped out the efforts of anti -terrorism many a time and resulted in an investigation and ultimately a prosecution.

39:45

And that has made the city a lot safer. You know, I should have asked you this in the very beginning, but it may seem like a no brainer, but it may not be when you get involved in the technicalities of semantics.

40:02

What legitimately can be categorized as a threat of terrorism and, you know, perhaps even define terrorism?

40:14

Yeah. So so terrorism would be an act of violence that is perpetrated usually for ideological or political ends.

40:23

Now, whether that title is applied to a prosecution can vary based on the prosecutor and their discretion of what they, you know, decide to bring, what kind of charges they use when they bring a prosecution towards somebody.

40:38

Sometimes it's very clear cut. Somebody has had communication with an outside terrorist organization. They're giving materials of support to terrorism.

40:46

Perhaps they've even, you know, pledged their allegiance to an organization like ISIS.

40:53

And in those cases, it would be pretty clear cut. Other times, as I expressed before, it can be a little bit challenging to find out what somebody's motivation is.

41:01

You know, is this somebody who, you know, woke up one day with severe mental illness and decided to conduct some sort of a knifing or a stabbing attack or use their vehicle to to run down some civilians?

41:13

And, you know, that it can be challenging when there's no paper trail as to whether, you know, they had terrorist motivations or not.

41:20

So really, it depends ultimately on what charges are brought and what motivations can be found out about the attackers.

41:28

Some cases are very clear cut and other ones are just a little bit more puzzling. And you have to do a little bit more work to find out if there indeed was an ideological terroristic intent.

41:39

OK, and we have another listener, Guillermo in Corona, Queens, New York.

41:48

Guillermo wants to know earlier, Chris Arnzen mentioned what he described as the ridiculous notion of white supremacist terrorist threats.

42:01

Have you ever heard of any of these kind of threats being realistic? Oh, yes, certainly.

42:08

I would I would say so. There's especially in New York state, which is just a vast state in terms of, you know, people's ideological views and especially in New York, especially.

42:22

No, no, I wouldn't say especially in New York. OK, no, New York isn't especially prone to that compared to other areas.

42:28

But it is most certainly happened within New York state. It's something that we have to continue to keep an eye on.

42:34

So it's not a non -existent issue. I wouldn't say it's the primary reason behind somebody's terroristic intent.

42:40

But we do see it, especially in the areas of northern New York state where you have some militia groups or some racially motivated extremists.

42:50

And people need to remember, too, New York City is just unimaginative, unimaginably complex in terms of the different groups that are operating in it.

42:59

You just have such a large population that you you have people motivated by all sorts of reasons. So I wouldn't say it's one of the main ones that we see on a daily basis, but it's certainly one that's at play.

43:10

And, you know, even, you know, within recent memory, there's there's been people motivated by racial extremism.

43:17

Again, you can decide to emphasize that more or less than other things that might be more relevant.

43:24

But it is something that's certainly at play. I will say that. That's interesting. Why is it, in your opinion, that at least

43:33

I have never heard of a single specific white supremacist threat of terrorism in recent history?

43:45

The last thing I can even remember that would resemble something similar to that was what was going on in response to the

44:03

Waco tragedy, where the the military got involved with the suppression of the

44:15

Branch Davidian cult and through tanks and so forth, a fire occurred.

44:21

And there were many people who died as a result. And there was a response to that by, you know, independent militia kind of folk.

44:32

But I haven't heard of anything, you know, more or anything at all, to be perfectly honest, since then.

44:41

So why is that we don't hear about those kind of things, especially when you have people who are politically motivated to highlight and exaggerate those things?

44:53

Yeah, I think part of it goes to a lot of people who are motivated by racial hatred.

45:00

They're not very sophisticated in terms of their plots or in terms of their communication. And that's a good thing, fortunately, for law enforcement.

45:08

But many times these things are able to be discovered and headed off way before they become a lethal event where the attack actually is conducted.

45:16

So that's that's a good thing, fortunately, that, you know, we don't hear too many of those cases and they're solved essentially by an arrest and by taking someone to court.

45:25

You know, a lot of the statistics on these and a lot of the arrests that are made are public knowledge. You can go to even the

45:32

FBI's website to go look at their press releases on the types of events that have been happening. You know, you do see some plots to attack, for example, parts of the power grid or the utilities by racially motivated extremists who are seeking to, you know, bring to fruition some sort of a race war in their mind.

45:53

But fortunately, a lot of these actors just are themselves mentally unwell and are not sophisticated.

46:00

So they'll talk about these things and will give indicators that they're going to conduct an attack. And fortunately, they're able to be headed off.

46:09

You know, I often am puzzled myself at the rhyme or reason behind why some things get publicized and some things don't get as much attention.

46:16

You know, so I can't give a clear reason for why they're not publicized as much. But I can only speak to, you know, what

46:24

I see in terms of the investigations, in terms of the tips and the things that come across our desk that, you know, it is it is a factor.

46:31

I wouldn't say it's a major threat group that, you know, we come into contact with on a daily basis.

46:36

But it certainly is something that's existed. Yeah, the thing that was in my 16, 62 year old brain that was having a momentary lapse was remembering it was

46:49

Timothy McVeigh that I was trying to specifically remember who blew up or caused the explosion at the federal building in downtown

47:00

Oklahoma City where even children were killed. Yeah. Well, we have.

47:11

We have Kerry. Who is located in West District County, New York, and Kerry wants to know.

47:23

But is there something that the average citizen can do to better prepare their homes, their businesses, their schools and their churches from attack from the attacks of terrorists?

47:40

That's a great question. I think your reaction and your preparations always should be proportional to the risk.

47:48

And largely speaking, most homes are not at risk of an attack from terrorism.

47:54

I think churches should have and certainly our church has had discussions about at the leadership level how to best protect your church, how to remain vigilant, even some ways of hardening the church buildings in certain ways and having certain members of the congregation that are prepared to respond should something happen.

48:15

I think, you know, on a personal level, the average citizen really does not have an enormous risk of being subject to a terrorist attack.

48:26

So, you know, if you talk about preparation and things that you should be doing to prepare ahead of time, they're similar to things that you should do in response to the threat that you face from even things like weather events like hurricanes and floods and things of that nature.

48:42

So having a certain amount of days worth of food supply in your house, having access to cash, having a plan in terms of your utilities, if they should go down for an extended period of time, just even things like being physically fit.

48:56

We don't think of that in terms of preparation for a terrorist attack. But, you know, the things that you really should be doing anyway, because they will help you against other types of risk in your life, you should be doing in response to things that you see on the news for acts of terrorism.

49:12

So I would say, you know, that you don't want to get too carried away because the risk at a personal level for most people is relatively low.

49:20

A risk to your home is almost nonexistent in terms of terrorism. But the things that you can do to help harden the places that you care about and also your own person are things that you should be doing anyway in response to even just acts of criminality and things for your own personal health as well.

49:41

So I mentioned a couple of things right there that you can do that are easy to take care of. You know, having food supply in your house and being prepared for even just natural disasters.

49:50

But certainly one of the most important things that you can do is being a member of your local church and being an active part of making the culture of your local church.

50:00

There's strength in numbers, there's strength in being able to respond to things. You know, I think that there's more done in the prevention of terrorism at the average prayer meeting than there is at many of the planning sessions that we have at higher governmental levels.

50:13

So, you know, being an active part of your local church and contributing to that and making a culture where people are looking out for each other and people are holding each other accountable and seeking to serve

50:24

God is probably one of the most underrated ways that you could prepare yourself against all sorts of threats.

50:29

I'm assuming that an individual's home would be possibly a target for terrorism if they were a well -known person that had controversial political views or something.

50:42

Or even, you know, a person who is very well -known in the media, unlike me who has three listeners.

50:51

But I'm assuming that that would definitely contribute to a person's home.

50:57

And we've even heard about how leftists harassed

51:04

Tucker Carlson, for instance, at his own home and things like that that have happened. Yeah, sure.

51:11

We look and evaluate things and try to do it as objectively as possible, even when we're looking at, you know, large scale infrastructure and whether that would possibly be a target of terrorism.

51:22

So it's important to look at how a terrorist would look at that as a potential target.

51:28

You want to look at it objectively. And yes, certainly something that has come up in the media a lot or a person, if they're a personality that has come up in the media a lot, that certainly raises your risk profile.

51:39

So if you are somebody who has been the recipient of a lot of media attention or maybe unexpectedly, even, that might be something that you might want to take into consideration and maybe escalate your preparations accordingly.

51:51

You know, if you've taken perhaps a large, you know, well -publicized stance on, you know, on Islam or, you know, a particular political issue.

52:03

Yes, certainly in that case, your home would be more of a threat to terrorism than somebody else. But for the average citizen,

52:10

I think I would focus on the things that I spoke about before. And by the way, folks, I want to recommend you listen to a two -part interview

52:20

I conducted on two separate days with Ron Aguirre, A -G -U -I -A -R, on his book,

52:30

Keeping Your Church Safe. He, Ron, is an expert on church safety and security, who has more than 30 years of experience in private security, law enforcement, and church security.

52:45

And I thought the interviews were utterly fascinating and very important for your church to be even more prepared to prevent terrorist attacks and even just attacks by lunatics and so on.

53:01

Predators, and on we could go. But type in the search engine of irontreponsireradio .com,

53:09

Ron Aguirre, A -G -U -I -A -R, and you will see both links for the two different interviews come up on Keeping Your Church Safe.

53:20

We have to go to our midway break right now. Please use this time wisely. Please contact as many of our advertisers as you can, keeping in mind that the funding that comes in through our advertisers is what keeps

53:35

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio on the air. And also, send in your questions to Stephen Totter on protecting our nation from terrorism.

53:43

Our email address is chrisarnson at gmail .com. chrisarnson at gmail .com. Give us your first name at least, city and state, and country of residence.

53:50

We'll be right back. It's such a blessing to hear from Iron Sharpens Iron Radio listeners from all over the world.

54:07

Here's Joe Riley, a listener in Ireland, who wants you to know about a guest on the show he really loves hearing interviewed,

54:15

Dr. Joe Moorcraft. I'm Joe Riley, a faithful Iron Sharpens Iron Radio listener here in Atai, in County Kildare, Ireland, going back to 2005.

54:26

One of my very favorite guests on Iron Sharpens Iron is Dr. Joe Moorcraft. If you've been blessed by Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, Dr.

54:33

Moorcraft and Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia, are largely to thank, since they are one of the program's largest financial supporters.

54:42

Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming is in Forsyth County, a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area.

54:48

Heritage is a thoroughly biblical church, unwaveringly committed to Westminster standards, and Dr.

54:53

Joe Moorcraft is the author of an eight -volume commentary on the larger catechism. Heritage is a member of the

54:59

Hanover Presbytery, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, and tracing its roots and heritage back to the great

55:08

Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. Heritage maintains and follows the biblical truth and principles proclaimed by the

55:16

Reformers, Scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, and God's glory alone.

55:22

Their primary goal is the worship of the Triune God that continues in eternity. For more details on Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia, visit

55:29

HeritagePresbyterianChurch .com. That's HeritagePresbyterianChurch .com.

55:35

Or call 678 -954 -7831. That's 678 -954 -7831.

55:43

If you visit, tell them Joe Reilly, an Iron Sharpens Iron Radio listener, from Itoi in County Kildare, Ireland, sent you.

55:55

When Iron Sharpens Iron Radio first launched in 2005, the publishers of the

56:00

New American Standard Bible were among my very first sponsors. It gives me joy knowing that many scholars and pastors in the

56:08

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio audience have been sticking with or switching to the NASB.

56:14

I'm Pastor Nate Pickowitz of Harvest Bible Church in Gilmanton Ironworks, New Hampshire, and the

56:20

NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Rich Jensen of Hope Reform Baptist Church in Quorum, New York, and the

56:28

NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Sule Prince of Oakwood Wesleyan Church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the

56:37

NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor John Sampson of King's Church in Peoria, Arizona, and the

56:44

NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Chuck Volo of New Life Community Church in Kingsville, Maryland, and the

56:52

NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Steve Herford of Eastport Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, and the

57:00

NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Roy Owens Jr. of the

57:06

Church in Friendship in Hockley, Texas, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.

57:11

Here's a great way for your church to help keep Iron Sharpens Iron Radio on the air. Pastors, are your pew

57:18

Bibles tattered and falling apart? Consider restocking your pews with the NASB, and tell the publishers you heard about them from Chris Arnzen on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

57:29

Go to nasbible .com, that's nasbible .com to place your order.

57:44

If you love Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, one of the best ways you can help keep the show on the air is by supporting our advertisers.

57:53

One such faithful advertiser who really believes in what Chris Arnzen is doing is

57:59

Daniel P. Patafuco. Serious injury lawyer and Christian apologist.

58:05

Dan is the president and founder of the Historical Bible Society. Their mission?

58:11

To foster belief in the credibility of scripture as the written word of God. They go to various churches, schools, and institutions to publicly display a rare collection of biblical texts, along with a fascinating presentation by Mr.

58:26

Patafuco demonstrating the reliability of scripture. To advance the cause of the gospel, they created a beautiful, perfect facsimile of the genealogy of Jesus Christ from the original engravings contained in a first edition 1611

58:43

King James Bible. This 17th century hand -engraved chart shows the family tree of Jesus Christ going back to Adam and Eve.

58:53

This book is complete with gorgeous full -size illustrations of Noah's Ark and the

58:59

Tower of Babel, and an explanation of why the genealogy of Jesus is so important for his claims to the throne of the universe.

59:08

Originals of this work are in museums and nobody has ever made it accessible to the public in a large book form before.

59:16

You can have your own copy of this 44 -page genealogy book for a donation of $35 or more.

59:24

Visit historicalbiblesociety .org. That's historicalbiblesociety .org.

59:32

Thanks for helping to keep Iron Sharpens Iron Radio on the air. Chris Arnzen of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio has had a long -time partnership with our friends at CVBBS, which stands for Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service.

59:57

They specialize in supplying Reformed and Puritan books and Bibles at discount prices that make them affordable for everyone.

01:00:04

CVBBS has been a family -owned book service since 1987, operating out of Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

01:00:11

They seek to bring you the best available Christian books and Bibles at the best possible prices, and now they're also shipping worldwide.

01:00:21

Browse the pages at ease, shop at your leisure, and purchase with confidence at Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service.

01:00:28

Order online worldwide at cvbbs .com. That's cvbbs .com.

01:00:36

Or you can order by phone at 717 -249 -0231.

01:00:43

That's 717 -249 -0231. For orders of $50 or more, use promo code

01:00:52

IRON for an extra 5 % off our already discounted prices. And please, let our friends at CVBBS know that you heard about them on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

01:01:09

Hi, this is John Sampson, pastor of King's Church in Peoria, Arizona. Taking a moment of your day to talk about Chris Arnson and the

01:01:18

Iron Sharpens Iron podcast. I consider Chris a true friend and a man of high integrity. He's a skilled interviewer who's not afraid to ask the big penetrating questions, while always defending the key doctrines of the

01:01:30

Christian faith. I've always been happy to point people to this podcast, knowing it's one of the very few safe places on the

01:01:36

Internet where folk won't be led astray. I believe this podcast needs to be heard far and wide.

01:01:42

This is a day of great spiritual compromise, and yet God has raised Chris up for just such a time.

01:01:48

And knowing this, it's up to us as members of the body of Christ to stand with such a ministry in prayer and in finances.

01:01:55

I'm pleased to do so, and would like to ask you to prayerfully consider joining me in supporting

01:02:00

Iron Sharpens Iron financially. Would you consider sending either a one -time gift or even becoming a regular monthly partner with this ministry?

01:02:09

I know it would be a huge encouragement to Chris if you would. All the details can be found at ironsharpensironradio .com,

01:02:16

where you can click support. That's ironsharpensironradio .com. Puritan Reformed is a

01:02:23

Bible -believing, kingdom -building, devil -fighting church. We are devoted to upholding the apostolic doctrine and practice preserved in Scripture alone.

01:02:32

Puritan Reformed teaches men to rule and lead as image -bearing prophets, priests, and kings.

01:02:40

We teach families to worship together as families. Puritan is committed to teaching the whole counsel of God so that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea.

01:02:53

We sing the Psalms, teach the law, proclaim the gospel, make disciples, maintain discipline, and exalt

01:02:59

Christ. This is Pastor David Reese of Puritan Reformed in Phoenix, Arizona.

01:03:05

Join us in the glorious cause of advancing Christ's crown and covenant over the kings of the earth.

01:03:13

Puritan Reformed Church. Believe. Build. Fight. PuritanPHX .com

01:03:27

I'm Dr. Joseph Piper, President Emeritus and Professor of Systematic and Applied Theology at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

01:03:37

Every Christian who's serious about the Reformed faith and the Westminster Standards should have and use the eight -volume commentary on the theology and ethics of the

01:03:47

Westminster Larger Catechism titled Authentic Christianity by Dr. Joseph Moorcraft.

01:03:54

It is much more than an exposition of the Larger Catechism. It is a thoroughly researched work that utilizes biblical exegesis as well as historical and systematic theology.

01:04:05

Dr. Moorcraft is pastor of Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia and I urge everyone looking for a biblically faithful church in that area to visit that fine congregation.

01:04:15

For details on the eight -volume commentary go to westminstercommentary .com

01:04:23

westminstercommentary .com For details on Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia visit heritagepresbyterianchurch .com

01:04:33

heritagepresbyterianchurch .com Please tell Dr. Moorcraft and the saints at Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia that Dr.

01:04:41

Joseph Piper of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary sent you. Hello, my name is

01:04:47

Anthony Uvino and I'm one of the pastors at Hope Reform Baptist Church in Corum, New York and also the host of the reformrookie .com

01:04:54

website. I want you to know that if you enjoy listening to the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio show like I do you can now find it on the

01:05:01

Apple's iTunes app by typing Iron Sharpens Iron Radio in the search bar. You no longer have to worry about missing a show or a special guest because you're in your car or still at work.

01:05:12

Just subscribe on the iTunes app and listen to the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio show at any time day or night.

01:05:18

Please be sure to also give it a good review and pass it along to anyone who would benefit from the teaching and the many solidly reformed guests that Chris Arnzen has on the show.

01:05:28

Truth is so hard to come by these days so don't waste your time with fluff or fake news. Subscribe to the

01:05:34

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio podcast right now. And while you're at it, you can also sign up for the reformrookie .com

01:05:40

podcast and visit our website and the YouTube page. We're dedicated to teaching Christian theology from a

01:05:46

Reformed Baptist perspective to beginners in the faith as well as seasoned believers. From Keech's Catechism and the

01:05:53

Doctrines of Grace to the Olivet Discourse and the Book of Leviticus the Reform Rookie podcast and YouTube channel is sure to have something to offer everyone seeking

01:06:02

Biblical truth. And finally, if you're looking to worship in a Reformed church that holds to the 1689

01:06:07

London Baptist Confession of Faith please join us at Hope Reformed Baptist Church in Corham, New York.

01:06:13

Again, I'm Pastor Anthony Invidio and thanks for listening. The mission of Solid Ground Christian Books is to bring back treasures of the past to minister to Christians in the present and future and to publish new titles that address burning issues in the church and the world.

01:06:55

Since its beginning in 2001, Solid Ground has been committed to publish God -centered,

01:07:00

Christ -exalting books for all ages. We invite you to go treasure hunting at Solid -Ground -Books .com

01:07:08

That's Solid -Ground -Books .com and see what priceless literary gems from the past to present you can unearth from Solid Ground.

01:07:16

Solid Ground Christian Books is honored to be a weekly sponsor of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. And one book of the many, many books on the wide spectrum of topics and authors that I highly recommend that you purchase from Solid -Ground -Books .com

01:07:34

is a book by my very dear friend Dr. James R. White entitled The Story of Alpha and Omega Ministries What Every Christian Needs to Know about the

01:07:44

Quran. You can get all of Dr. James R. White's books through Solid -Ground -Books .com

01:07:51

and the titles published by a multitude of other authors dating as far back as the 16th century

01:08:00

Protestant Reformation including rare treasures of literature that have been lost for centuries and rediscovered and brought back into print by Solid -Ground -Books .com

01:08:13

all the way through the centuries to our modern day. So please visit

01:08:19

Solid -Ground -Books .com frequently purchase generously always mention that you heard about them from Chris Arnzen of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

01:08:28

Before I return to my guest today Stephen Totter as we continue our conversation on keeping

01:08:34

America safe from terrorist attacks I have some important reminders for you.

01:08:40

If you love this show folks and you don't want it to disappear from the airways

01:08:45

I'm asking you please go to IronSharpensIronRadio .com click support then click click to donate now.

01:08:54

You could donate instantly in that fashion with a debit or credit card and if you prefer snail mail sending a physical check to a physical address the old -fashioned way well you can

01:09:11

I just got a text with a question in it it distracted my attention if you want to send in a check the old -fashioned way there will be a physical address that appears on your screen when you click support at IronSharpensIronRadio .com

01:09:28

and you can mail your checks to that physical address made payable to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

01:09:35

If you want to advertise with us whether it's your church, parachurch ministry, your business your private practice like a law firm or a medical firm or maybe it's just a special event that you want to promote whatever the case may be just send me an email to chrisarnson at gmail .com

01:09:53

and put advertising in the subject line and as long as whatever it is you desire to promote is compatible with my beliefs

01:10:03

I would love to help you launch an ad campaign as quickly as possible because we're just as much in urgent need of your advertising dollars as we are in your donations so send me that email to chrisarnson at gmail .com

01:10:16

and put advertising in the subject line I always want my listeners to remember in your generous heartfelt efforts to keep

01:10:27

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio on the air through your donations as desperately and as urgently as we need your help financially

01:10:35

I never want anybody in my audience giving less money to your church on the

01:10:41

Lord's Day the church where you're a member I never want anybody giving less money to your own church on the

01:10:47

Lord's Day than you normally would give because you are donating to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio in other words, never cut in to the finances that you have specifically set aside to give to your own church on the

01:11:00

Lord's Day in order to bless us with a financial gift never do that and if you're really struggling to survive and make ends meet make sure that you wait until you're back on your feet and more financially stable before you bless us with a financial gift the

01:11:14

Bible is very clear that we are primarily to use the money with which he has blessed us which is still

01:11:19

God's money, remember we're primarily to use that money to provide for our church and our family and providing for Iron Sharpens Iron Radio is obviously not a command of God but if you do love the show you don't want it to disappear and you are blessed financially above and beyond your ability to provide for church and family and you have extra money for benevolent, recreational, and trivial purposes please, share some of that money with us if you love the show and don't want it to go off the air go to ironsharpensironradio .com

01:11:48

click support, then click, click to donate now last but not least if you are not a member of a

01:11:55

Christ honoring biblically faithful, doctrinally sound, theologically solid church no matter where in the world you live

01:12:03

I have extensive lists spanning the globe of biblically faithful churches like Grace Reformed Baptist Church of Long Island in Merrick, New York and I've helped many people in our audience in all parts of the world find churches that are biblically faithful sometimes they're even just a couple of minutes from where these folks live if you do too if you are spiritually homeless you do not have a biblically faithful church home no matter where you live in the world if that's the case send me an email to chrisorenson at gmail .com

01:12:32

and put I need a church in the subject line that's also the email address where you can send questions to Stephen Totter on keeping

01:12:41

America safe from terrorist attacks that's chrisorenson at gmail .com give us your first name at least city and state and country of residence let's see here we do have

01:12:53

Stanford in Mahopac Falls, New York who says do you see a correlation between the millions of people who have illegally crossed our borders to the rise in the threats of terrorism yeah that's certainly one of the one of the major challenges looking forward is that you see there's a lot of destabilizing events across the globe a lot of people motivated by different factors for why they're leaving their country and sometimes they're relatively benign for economic reasons other times it's because they ended up on a watch list in that particular country so yeah that definitely adds to the challenge and certainly

01:13:36

New York City is no stranger to that when you think about just what a complex population environment is in New York City different people with different motivations different groups from all across the world it definitely adds to the challenge of preventing acts of terrorism and yeah that's definitely a factor in all this it can't be denied well thank you

01:13:59

Stanford and by the way I want to let our listeners know if you are a first time questioner please let us know because we always ship out to our first time questioners a free

01:14:12

New American Standard Bible compliments of our friends at nasbible .com

01:14:17

who sponsor this program and can you get revealed to our listeners more about the nuts and bolts and the specific daily activities that you are personally involved in in this task to keep

01:14:35

America safe from terrorism sure so you know as the intelligence officer for the task force that oversees the efforts of the

01:14:47

National Guard to guard areas like New York City and other critical infrastructure throughout New York State I have several responsibilities one is to make sure that those service members know the threats that they're facing so that involves liaising with other organizations within the state and certainly within the city to make sure that we're getting our service members just the absolute most current and best information possible to make sure that they're safe but also to make sure that they're well positioned so that you know where we end up operating correlates to where we see the most risk so that's one element of what

01:15:23

I do another as the anti -terrorism officer for that same task force is to look at our individual positions and to make sure that the places where we where we station these service members is given just a really good review to make sure that those are you know best protected as much as you possibly can that we're keeping all the principles of anti -terrorism in mind when we put a service member potentially in harm's way and then also

01:15:51

I look at the sites where we operate out of and the places where we store military equipment and as a physical security officer make sure that those places are inspected and that they're staying safe and up to the highest levels of protection for those locations as well so there's also an element of this where I'm making sure to inform our various staff functions our commander and people who are on the staff of that organization to make sure as they do their jobs whether that be making sure that we have enough personnel or that we have you know adequate supply or that we're planning our operations that we're doing all those things in accordance with the information that we have at hand so that's about as much detail as I can give because some of the areas of that job obviously just get a little bit more secure and are not things that I can talk about in public but in broad strokes that's what

01:16:42

I'm doing on a daily basis is making sure that we get the best information through our local partner organizations and we bring that back to the service members and to the decision makers and that can be organizations at the federal level at the state level but even just the local level you know at the

01:16:59

NYPD and Port Authority PD who oftentimes have some of the best information that you could possibly have about the security situation where we end up ultimately stationing soldiers and airmen

01:17:11

Okay we have Treat in Searcy Arkansas and Treat says forgive me if you've already said this

01:17:22

I'm listening late but was there anything specifically about your history and gifts and talents and training where you were selected specifically to be a part of this anti -terrorism activity

01:17:38

Yeah that's a great question so in the military you have what's called branches especially the army so officers in the military will tend to specialize in a particular branch there's sometimes you know officers who will switch branches mid -career but generally speaking officers specialize in a particular branch

01:17:58

I was enlisted in the infantry when I first joined at the height of the Iraq war in 2006 but then when

01:18:05

I commissioned to become an officer in 2009 I selected military intelligence as my branch so from that point

01:18:12

I also participated at the battalion the brigade and even at the division level in anti -terrorism activities and so that was the reason likely had a lot to do with why

01:18:22

I was selected to be at the current position where I am today and I've always loved intelligence

01:18:27

I've had as somebody who has a law degree and who practices law I've had the option of switching over to become a

01:18:33

JAG officer but I've never done it because I really do enjoy the act of providing intelligence support to service members and so you know

01:18:43

I've kept up that throughout my career and that particular set of experiences has really been something that when other people look at that and they look at the things

01:18:53

I've been involved in over now an 18 year career they can see where that relates to the current mission that I was activated for about three years ago

01:19:04

Okay we have Lily in Lubbock, Texas and Lily in Lubbock, Texas asks have you read

01:19:15

Pete Hegseth's book The War on Warriors that Chris Arnzen focused on in an interview with Pete Hegseth and what is the answer to the same question that Chris asked

01:19:30

Pete Hegseth would you recommend your own children to enter into the military in light of so much leftist infiltration into the armed services

01:19:43

Yeah that's a great question I do know and I'm familiar with Pete Hegseth he was the keynote speaker a few years ago for Grace Christian Academy That's right

01:19:50

I was the MC that night That's right Chris was there for that and our last one as the

01:19:56

MC so yeah I'm familiar with Pete Hegseth's work I haven't read that particular book but obviously that's something that you see on the ground just from an everyday perspective you know in my particular case

01:20:08

I have four daughters so that's not something that I would recommend but apart from that if a brother came to me who was part of my church and who was seeking counsel on the military and whether to join it themselves

01:20:21

I would have a lot of questions for them I would want to know you know what area of the military they wanted to go into the military is an enormously vast organization it would be up there with the top probably five employers in the country if you include contractors as well so it's there's an enormous variety in terms of missions in terms of deployability in terms of particular situations so I would certainly ask a lot of questions and it wouldn't

01:20:49

I'll say this it wouldn't be a cut and dry yes you know definitely join the same way you would have maybe you know 60 or 70 years ago if you were talking to a young man who was looking for a career and to mature you'd have to use a lot of wisdom as somebody who's giving that counsel and so I would certainly not recommend it to anybody without taking counsel from somebody who is in that branch that they intend to go into fortunately within a state you can certainly reach out to other

01:21:17

Christians who are involved in the military and likely within that very branch that the young person is seeking to apply into so it wouldn't be an easy answer you would have to know that person very well in order to give that counsel

01:21:31

I would want to know also their maturity level as a Christian too if they were a believer that would have a lot to do with my decision as to whether to give counsel for them to join or not

01:21:43

I think it is a different environment than you know it was even 20 years ago when I joined and so those are the things that on the deacon side that I would want to think about as I'm deciding whether to give somebody counsel to join or not join the military great let's see here we have

01:22:04

Terrence in Freeport Long Island New York Terrence wants to know have you been updated on the reasons for the assassination attempt by that young man who was killed by the

01:22:21

Secret Service that we may not know about yeah that's that's an ongoing investigation that I can't talk to unfortunately and I know that's disappointing for your listeners yeah you know yeah we do receive updates on on events in the news like that you know

01:22:39

I would say that that's not a particular area of emphasis for my job in my current position where you know that's something that I interact with on a daily basis but being that that's an ongoing investigation unfortunately that's something that I can't talk to on the show and so you can't even say whether or not it was that all the facts so far point to just the decision of one young man's disturbed mind you can't say it goes beyond any of that even if you knew yeah no

01:23:10

I wouldn't be able to speak to that if I did know but it just happens to be the case also that that's not an area of emphasis

01:23:17

I work with so on both ends unfortunately I can't give too much insight into that now are you exclusively involved involved in anti -terrorism activities in New York City and nowhere else no we also protect critical infrastructure in other areas of the state we have pre -positioned forces in Westchester County and even up in Albany we've responded as a task force to disasters and other events throughout

01:23:49

New York State in virtually every single county that's in our very large and complex state so yeah we've been involved in many places in New York State other than New York City but New York City is obviously one of the main priorities because it's just such a complex operating environment it's probably can't be overstated what a challenge

01:24:11

New York City is from a protection standpoint you just think of the population first and foremost the number of tourists the number of visitors the number of people who live there the number of people who commute into New York City the number of buildings and docks and events and mass gatherings that take place and just is an unimaginably challenging operating environment from a security perspective and then you add into the fact as we said before it's been the victim of several large scale terrorist attacks and has also been very prominently featured in terrorist propaganda in a way that no other city has and continues to be even up to this day so when you take all that into consideration it definitely is the main focal point from anti -terrorism activities but we've been activated even our task force to respond to natural disasters fires floods and other things that have happened across the state and let's see here oh one thing

01:25:09

I was going to say is I probably should have said New York State rather than New York City so assuming from what you said as your answer that it is restricted your activities are restricted to New York State that is the case yeah so you know there are times when the

01:25:30

New York Army National Guard is called to participate with other states and called outside of our state from time to time like I mentioned before also we can be asked to deploy in support of contingency operations overseas like you know it has happened in the last 20 years in Afghanistan and Iraq so I've participated in those things and been called to train in other states but generally speaking on a day -to -day basis for this mission my work largely is in regards to New York City and at times outside of that to New York State okay we have

01:26:01

Boyle in Aqua Bog Long Island New York and the Boyle asks are there any things that you can point to that are the primary culprits where politicians in our country have failed that brought about an increase in terrorist plots and what you suggest be done to prevent these things and even cause them to do what they to the point of near elimination in our future other than the aforementioned illegal immigration that we have already mentioned yeah

01:26:41

I would say again this is just my own personal opinion and not the opinion of my employers at all but I would say by far the largest contributor to the terrorist threats that we receive as a country has been the overseas interventions that have taken place in the last 20 years and even before that you know

01:27:03

I think our priority as a country should be the benefit of its citizens and our own country putting

01:27:10

America first hallelujah I think failure sorry go ahead Chris I just said hallelujah so you know when you look at how those interventions overseas have ended up contributing to acts of terrorism even here at home you know it's

01:27:27

I think a solid conclusion to say that you know they have been counterproductive so to say the least and so you know yeah

01:27:37

I think anybody who's looking at events in the Middle East and is really itching to get into another conflict over there you know

01:27:45

I you'd probably want to get their head checked because the objective evidence of that has been that it has contributed to just an unsafe environment for Americans abroad and at home and destabilizing these various countries with the end goal of making those countries safe for democracy has just to say the least not proven out to be a sound strategy yeah in fact these efforts these failed efforts whether they have been launched by Democrat or Republican leaders and presidents they very often and you could correct me if I'm wrong especially when you're talking about Islamic countries when we have intervened in foreign conflicts that are primarily involving secular

01:28:41

Islamic states that are not under Sharia law or theocracies but nonetheless governed by nominal

01:28:53

Muslims or at least more nominal Muslims albeit dictators and albeit ruthless dictators very often when these people are toppled who do move into power are the strident very zealous and passionate

01:29:13

Islamic extremists am I right on that yeah that's absolutely the case and you know again we have to look out for the benefit of our own country and not put another country or another state ahead of our own in terms of security because when you look at the case studies of time after time after time after time of our interventions and overthrowing these various dictators the outcome inevitably is that those countries destabilize and become a less secure situation for us in the

01:29:42

United States so that's my own take on the situation I think you know if you rationally objectively look at what has happened in Libya and Iraq and Syria and Afghanistan and just you know look at it with a clear lens

01:29:59

I think you'd arrive at that conclusion as well well let me ask you something related to that and I know that you are only speaking for yourself the thing that we hear from fellow conservatives who very often are neocons and I know that there are some

01:30:23

I'm imagining they all hate to be called that or categorized that way I don't think anybody openly identifies themselves voluntarily as a neocon but those that are more accurately described as war hawks and things like that very often the excuse is that if you want to keep

01:30:43

America safe you can't wait until they are moments away from attacking our shores before you stop them you've got to stop them earlier on before they stop attacking you stop them on before you stop them earlier on before you stop them earlier on before you stop them earlier on before you stop them earlier on before you stop them earlier on before you stop them earlier before you stop them earlier on before you stop them earlier on before you stop them earlier on before stop them earlier on before you before you stop them earlier before you stop them earlier on before you before you stop them earlier on before you stop stop them earlier on before you stop them earlier on before you stop them earlier before you stop them earlier on before you stop them earlier on before you stop on before you stop them earlier on before you stop them earlier on before you stop them earlier on before you stop them earlier on You know, anybody's being prosecuted for terrorism.

01:34:37

So I would disagree with that entirely. Where you have, you know, people who assaulted police officers, obviously, that's that's one thing.

01:34:45

But no, I would not primarily classify that as an act of terrorism. And I just breathed a very loud sigh of relief that you that you have that view because I'm I join our listener,

01:34:59

Pierre, in my disgust over that constant drumbeat, which not only comes from Democrats, but even more liberal

01:35:10

Republicans. And it's just insane. It's just utterly insane.

01:35:17

And let's see here. Well, this is

01:35:22

I don't know why I find this humorous. I don't mean to belittle the questioner because it's a very good question.

01:35:30

But this kind of thing has been asked for decades now, ever since the assassination of John F.

01:35:42

Kennedy. And we have Wolfe, who is located in Hoboken, New Jersey.

01:35:52

And Wolfe wants to know, do you believe that the Kennedy assassination was an act of terrorism and not the result of a lone gunman?

01:36:04

Oh, that's a great question, Wolfe. I would say, first and foremost, I have no special insight on that.

01:36:11

You know, and it's not even there's some people who really do a lot of reading on the Kennedy assassination.

01:36:16

Certainly, there's more there than meets the eye, in my opinion. Just looking at it as a historical event, I don't think it's it's it's cut and dry the same way that, you know, the government initially characterized the event.

01:36:28

But I definitely have no special knowledge on the Kennedy assassination. And, you know,

01:36:34

I have plenty of questions, I think, just like everybody else. But that isn't an area that I've studied very well and could speak to.

01:36:41

Now, it is it has always been revealing to me that there's more than what we've been told since Jack Ruby assassinated

01:36:52

Lee Harvey Oswald before he even went to trial over this. But would let's say this was a mob hit.

01:37:01

And perhaps it had something to do with the sense of betrayal of the

01:37:07

Kennedys against the mob, who I think it's been fairly well documented that they were primarily responsible for the election of of John F.

01:37:19

Kennedy through the tampering of the votes in Chicago, especially.

01:37:27

Would that be considered an act of terrorism if that was if those were the culprits and those were the motivations?

01:37:36

Yeah, perhaps. I think, you know, usually with acts of terrorism, you have somebody seeking actually to take credit for it and to say, hey, this is what we did and this is why.

01:37:47

Usually that's a telltale sign that something is characterized more as a as an act of terrorism.

01:37:52

Um, yeah, you know, it could be it could be, you know, unfortunately, there's still a lot of secrecy that surrounds that event.

01:38:01

I think, you know, hopefully at some point more details will come out about it.

01:38:06

I do hope that happens within my lifetime. But the government seems pretty committed to keeping the events that happened a secret.

01:38:13

And, you know, you continue to see that go on to this day. But, you know, potentially.

01:38:19

But I would say, you know, typically you would see if there was some sort of a ideological terrorist motivation, you know, you would you would see somebody try to take credit for it in some way and use that for that purpose.

01:38:32

It doesn't rule it out. But that's just my initial thoughts on that. Well, we have to go to our final break, folks.

01:38:39

If you want to have your own question asked and answered, please submit your question immediately because we're rapidly running out of time.

01:38:48

Chris Arnzen at Gmail dot com. Chris Arnzen at Gmail dot com. Don't go away. We're going to be right back.

01:39:08

Greetings. This is Brian McLaughlin, president of the SecureComm group and supporter of Chris Arnzen's Iron Shopping Zion radio program.

01:39:19

SecureComm provides the highest level of security systems for residential buildings, municipalities, churches, commercial properties and much more.

01:39:30

We can be reached at SecureComm group dot com. That's SecureComm group dot com.

01:39:39

But today I want to introduce you to my senior pastor, Doug McMasters of New High Park Baptist Church on Long Island.

01:39:52

Doug McMasters here, former director of pastoral correspondence at Grace to You, the radio ministry of John MacArthur.

01:39:59

In the film Chariots of Fire, the Olympic gold medalist runner Eric Liddell remarked that he felt

01:40:05

God's pleasure when he ran. He knew his efforts sprang from the gifts and calling of God.

01:40:11

I sense that same God given pleasure when ministering the word and helping others gain a deeper knowledge and love for God.

01:40:19

That love starts with the wonderful news that the Lord Jesus Christ is a savior who died for sinners and that God forgives all who come to him in repentance, trusting solely in Christ to deliver them.

01:40:31

I would be delighted to have the honor and privilege of ministering to you if you live in the Long Island area or Queens or Brooklyn or the

01:40:38

Bronx in New York City. For details on New High Park Baptist Church, visit

01:40:43

NHPBC dot com. That's NHPBC dot com.

01:40:50

You can also call us at 516 -352 -9672.

01:40:57

That's 516 -352 -9672. That's New High Park Baptist Church, a congregation in love with each other, passionate for Christ, committed to learning and being shaped by God's word and delighting in the gospel of God's sovereign grace.

01:41:22

I'm Dr. Tony Costa, Professor of Apologetics and Islam at Toronto Baptist Seminary.

01:41:28

I'm thrilled to introduce to you a church where I've been invited to speak and have grown to love,

01:41:34

Hope Reform Baptist Church in Coram, Long Island, New York, pastored by Rich Jensen and Christopher McDowell.

01:41:41

It's such a joy to witness and experience fellowship with people of God like the dear saints at Hope Reform Baptist Church in Coram.

01:41:47

Who have an intensely passionate desire to continue digging deeper and deeper into the unfathomable riches of Christ in his holy word and to enthusiastically proclaim

01:41:58

Christ Jesus the King and his doctrines of sovereign grace in Suffolk County, Long Island and beyond.

01:42:05

I hope you also have the privilege of discovering this precious congregation and receive the blessing of being showered by their love as I have.

01:42:14

For more information on Hope Reform Baptist Church, go to hopereformedli .net.

01:42:21

That's hopereformedli .net or call 631 -696 -5711.

01:42:30

That's 631 -696 -5711. Tell the folks at Hope Reform Baptist Church of Coram, Long Island, New York that you heard about them from Tony Costa on Iron Sharpens Iron.

01:42:46

Oh hail the power of Jesus' name.

01:42:54

This is Pastor Bill Sousa, Grace Church at Franklin, here in the beautiful state of Tennessee.

01:43:00

Our congregation is one of a growing number of churches who love and support Iron Sharpens Iron radio financially.

01:43:09

Grace Church at Franklin is an independent, autonomous body of believers which strives to clearly declare the whole counsel of God as revealed in scripture through the person and work of our

01:43:21

Lord Jesus Christ. And of course, the end of which we strive is the glory of God.

01:43:28

If you live near Franklin, Tennessee, and Franklin is just south of Nashville, maybe 10 minutes, or you are visiting this area, or you have friends and loved ones nearby, we hope you will join us some

01:43:41

Lord's Day in worshiping our God and Savior. Please feel free to contact me if you have more questions about Grace Church at Franklin.

01:43:51

Our website is gracechurchatfranklin .org, that's gracechurchatfranklin .org.

01:43:59

This is Pastor Bill Sousa wishing you all the richest blessings of our sovereign

01:44:05

Lord, God, Savior, and King Jesus Christ, today and always.

01:44:14

When Iron Sharpens Iron Radio first launched in 2005, the publishers of the

01:44:24

New American Standard Bible were among my very first sponsors. It gives me joy knowing that many scholars and pastors in the

01:44:33

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio audience have been sticking with or switching to the

01:44:38

NASB. I'm Dr. Joe Moorcraft, pastor of Heritage Presbyterian Church in Cumming, Georgia, and the

01:44:46

NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Anthony Uvino, founder of thereformrookie .com

01:44:53

and co -founder of New York Apologetics, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.

01:44:58

I'm Pastor Tim Bushong of Syracuse Baptist Church in Syracuse, Indiana, and the NASB is my

01:45:04

Bible of choice. I'm Eli Ayala, founder of Revealed Apologetics and staff member with the

01:45:09

Historical Bible Society, and the NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Josh Miller of Grace Bible Fellowship Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and the

01:45:19

NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Joe Bianchi, president of Calvi Press Publishing in Greenville, South Carolina, and the

01:45:28

NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Jake Korn of Switzerland Community Church in Switzerland, Florida, and the

01:45:38

NASB is my Bible of choice. Here's a great way for your church to help keep

01:45:44

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio on the air. Pastors, are your pew Bibles tattered and falling apart?

01:45:50

Consider restocking your pews with the NASB, and tell the publishers you heard about them from Chris Arnzen on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

01:45:59

Go to nasbible .com. That's nasbible .com to place your order.

01:46:15

James White of Alpha Omega Ministries here. If you've watched my Dividing Line webcast often enough, you know

01:46:21

I have a great love for getting Bibles and other documents vital to my ministry rebound to preserve and ensure their longevity.

01:46:28

Besides that, they feel so good. I'm so delighted I discovered Post Tenebrous Lux Bible rebinding.

01:46:35

No radio ad will be long enough to sing their praises sufficiently, but I'll give it a shot. Jeffrey Rice of Post Tenebrous Lux is a remarkably gifted craftsman and artisan.

01:46:44

All his work is done by hand, from the cutting to the pleating of corners to the perimeter stitching.

01:46:51

Jeffrey uses the finest in buttery soft imported leathers in a wide variety of gorgeous colors, like the turquoise goatskin tanned in Italy used for my

01:47:00

Nestle All in 28th edition with a navy blue goatskin inside liner and the electric blue goatskin from a

01:47:06

French tannery used to rebind a Reformation study Bible I used as a gift. The silver gilding he added on the page edges has a stunning mirror finish resembling highly polished chrome.

01:47:17

Jeffrey will customize your rebinding to your specifications and even emboss your logo into the leather, making whatever he rebinds a one -of -a -kind work of art.

01:47:28

For more details on Post Tenebrous Lux Bible rebinding, go to ptlbiblerebinding .com.

01:47:35

That's ptlbiblerebinding .com. Chris Arnzen here.

01:47:54

I am forever grateful to Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service for their generous financial support of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, but that's not the only reason

01:48:03

I love them. CVBBS .com carries the finest in theologically reformed literature from 16th century classics like Calvin's Institutes, 17th and 18th century

01:48:15

Puritan treasures like the works of Jonathan Edwards, 19th century volumes by the

01:48:20

Prince of Preachers Charles Spurgeon, all the way up to the 21st century with the best of R .C.

01:48:26

Sproul, Steve Lawson, Votie Baucom, and more. On top of their stellar book selection,

01:48:32

CVBBS .com offers up to 50 % off retail prices with an added 5 % off for orders of $50 or more when using the promo code

01:48:43

IRON. Visit CVBBS .com today and use promo code

01:48:49

IRON. That's CVBBS .com. Enriching minds and maintaining the theologically reformed influence of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio through their financial support.

01:49:01

Now shipping worldwide. And folks, please don't forget that this program is paid for in part by the law firm of Buttafuoco and Associates.

01:49:13

If you're the victim of a very serious personal injury or medical malpractice anywhere in the United States, please call my longtime very dear friend

01:49:21

Daniel P. Buttafuoco, attorney at law at 1 -800 -NOW -HURT, 1 -800 -NOW -HURT, or visit his website 1 -800 -NOW -HURT .com,

01:49:32

1 -800 -NOW -HURT .com. Please tell Daniel P. Buttafuoco, attorney at law, that you heard about his law firm

01:49:38

Buttafuoco and Associates from Chris Arnzen of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. And let me once again repeat that you are invited to the

01:49:47

Courageous Marriage Seminar, which will be held this Friday and Saturday, August 23rd and 24th at Grace Reform Baptist Church of Long Island in Merrick, New York, featuring award -winning, best -selling author

01:50:01

Dr. Joe Rigney as the keynote speaker. If you want more details and you want to register, go to gracereformbaptistchurch .org,

01:50:12

gracereformbaptistchurch .org. Stephen, before we get into any final listener questions,

01:50:18

I really want to make sure that you are uninterrupted for as long as it takes you to highlight those areas of preventing terrorism in America that you most want etched in the hearts and minds of our listeners today.

01:50:36

Yeah, I would really, if there was one big takeaway that I could have the listeners of your show really emphasize in their own lives, it would be more spiritual preparedness and personal preparedness than worrying about the grand kind of geopolitical events in the world.

01:50:54

You want to really not only gear your preparation towards the risk itself, but also towards what you can have influence over, right?

01:51:03

If you spend your time watching TV or arguing on social media, you can really get sucked into a lot of things that are just beyond your level of control.

01:51:13

And so that's some people's calling. Some people are called to really emphasize and specialize in the areas of geopolitics, but for most people, they should be focusing on the things that are really going to impact them in their own personal lives, especially spiritually, making sure that you are spiritually ready.

01:51:31

Obviously, if you're not saved, you have a lot bigger problems than terrorism, and you need to go and see

01:51:39

Christ. But if you are saved, making sure that you're growing with fellow believers, that you're taking charge of the things in your life that God has called you to, for men in the audience, for being leaders of your home and making sure that your home is better prepared, that is going to be so much more important than so many of the things that people focus on.

01:52:03

So if anybody could take something away from that, hopefully that's what I would emphasize, is make sure that you're spiritually prepared.

01:52:12

And also beyond that, that you're being physically fit and being a good leader in your home, being part of an active, growing church body and contributing to that culture, making your church stronger, making your community stronger through that.

01:52:30

So I would emphasize that for the vast majority of the audience, as opposed to some sort of preparation for an actual act of terrorism.

01:52:39

All right. We have Whitaker in Rathdrum, Idaho.

01:52:48

I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly. And Whitaker asks, are you optimistic or pessimistic in regard to the state of terror vulnerability in the

01:53:03

United States? Oh, that's a good question. Overall, I'm optimistic because I know that God's controlling everything and that he's guiding things according to his purpose.

01:53:15

And even things that are scary, like acts of terrorism and the destabilizing effects of terrorism at home and abroad, these things are certainly a challenge and the things that we should be at some level concerned about.

01:53:32

Ultimately optimistic, as I know that God's working everything out for his purposes and yeah,

01:53:38

I think in the near term, if we're talking just about the impact of terrorism and how we're going to see that continue for our country in the future, it's certainly not going away.

01:53:52

As the military's capacity grows to deal with its enemies on the battlefield, the temptation for individual idealistic and ideological actors to use acts of terrorism to gain an outsized influence and be able to impact other countries is only going to continue to grow.

01:54:13

So, you know, it is unfortunately an area that is going to be with us for probably as long as I can foresee.

01:54:21

But I hopefully that answers the question as best as possible. Okay, Sinclair in Bading Hollow, Long Island, New York, wants to know, are you available for public speaking events at churches, schools, and other places?

01:54:40

Yeah, in terms of at a private capacity, yeah, feel free to reach out. And yeah,

01:54:47

I've done that before. I taught for three years as a civilian preparedness instructor, helping schools and churches and buildings to get better prepared for acts of terrorism, but also disaster and crime and, you know, individual acts of malice.

01:55:02

So, you know, yeah, I'd be more than happy to help if a church had that need or even just a business or something along those lines.

01:55:11

Okay, great. Well, I think that before I remind our listeners of your websites and contact information and so forth, that you should conclude with those things that you most want our listeners to remember before we go off the air.

01:55:30

Yes, absolutely. So the big takeaway is for this weekend, Grace Formed Baptist Church, and also

01:55:35

I would be remiss if I didn't mention we're co -sponsoring this with Hope Reformed Baptist Church, that wonderful church in Corb, New York.

01:55:42

Together, we are hosting this marriage conference, and I just cannot overstate how good of a conference we think this is going to be, the wonderful work that Dr.

01:55:53

Rigney has already put into preparing for this. You are really going to miss out if you're not there at that conference, and we've priced the conference so that there's really no reason to.

01:56:02

It's $20 a person, and then you get to bring your spouse for free. There's free child care on Saturday.

01:56:08

There's a free lunch that we're putting on, and we're catering for Saturday. So if you are in the area to be able to attend that event, please make sure to go to our website and to sign up for that.

01:56:21

You're not going to regret it. Now, how do you convince people to attend who might be saying, well,

01:56:27

I'm not married. I'm single or whatever. I'm divorced. How do you want to pitch them the benefits of attending this?

01:56:38

Yeah, absolutely. So I think God calls us to speak also to give good counsel to married people in our lives so everybody knows somebody who's married who might be in need of advice.

01:56:49

And certainly as Christians, we should be prepared to strengthen those families as a building block of our church. But you're not going to only walk away with good advice for those who are married, but you're going to have a better understanding of Scripture at the end of this conference.

01:57:02

And that's why two very solid churches on Long Island are coming together to put this conference on. Dr. Rigney recently wrote the book,

01:57:11

Leadership and Emotional Sabotage, and a lot of the advice and elements from that book are also going to be on display as it particularly applies to marriage.

01:57:19

But the principles of that can really be applied to any sort of relationships and to leadership in general.

01:57:26

And so you're not going to walk away empty handed, even if you're not currently married. All right. Is there going to be, and forgive me if you've already said this, a

01:57:33

Q &A session or sessions plural? Yeah, there's going to be one large

01:57:39

Q &A session. We've blocked off an hour of time. And so during the course of the marriage conference, people are going to be able to write down their questions and submit them.

01:57:48

And we're going to try to work through those questions during the last period, which is going to be a question and answer time. And also,

01:57:54

I should say, too, that it's going to be a wonderful time of fellowship. We built in some fellowship into the sessions and also singing of hymns.

01:58:04

So you're going to get together with a body of believers there and also people who have traveled from outside of our church to come to this event and to be just really enriched by the

01:58:16

Word of God. Amen. And don't forget, you can register at gracereformedbaptistchurch .org,

01:58:23

gracereformedbaptistchurch .org. And don't forget about the personal website of Stephen Totter, consultingbycurios, that's

01:58:33

K -Y -R -I -O -S dot com. Consultingbycurios .com.

01:58:41

I want to thank you so much, Stephen, for being such a superb guest. I have really been extremely impressed by how sharp and knowledgeable you are.

01:58:52

I guess it actually proves that sometimes the apple does fall far, very, very far from the tree.

01:59:00

I'm only kidding. I know that your dad has enough of a sense of humor to not be offended by that.

01:59:08

But anyway, I would look forward to seeing you in person and hope in my next visit to Long Island that I get to do so.

01:59:18

Thanks, Chris. Appreciate you having me on. I want to thank everybody who listened. And I want you all to always remember for the rest of your lives that Jesus Christ is a far greater