It's all Cringe

The Conversations That Matter podcast. My name is John Harris. We're taking a break from the Tim Keller stuff, the social justice stuff, well, kind of, kind of.

We're gonna, we might talk a little bit, but mostly taking a break. I have a deep voice today because I have a cold and it's actually going away.

I think it was worse yesterday, but got some zinc, got some vitamin C, didn't freak out and think it was the end of my life because Omicron had taken it.

I really just treated it like a normal cold because that's what happens in the winter. And got some tea last night, some good mint tea with some honey in it.

And things are going a lot better now. And someone, by the way, I, oh, I don't have it with me. Okay, I'll show it,

I'll show it in a future episode. One of the supporters sent me an amazing mug.

It's my favorite mug now. And she made it, it was custom made with the Conversations That Matter logo right on it.

So I'll show you that in a future episode. I actually have to say that I don't always have the time.

I try my best to write thank you notes or to send thank you emails to people who generously contribute things.

And I don't always get to do it. I actually had a very nice family in Virginia send me some maple syrup and really good stuff.

And so I have to plug that stuff. I'm gonna bring it, I promise. I will bring it for a future episode.

I'll show you the maple syrup and where you can get it. I'll show you the mug, which is amazing. But anyway, it's all helping because that's the stuff you need.

You need sweets, you need tea, you need some zinc and some vitamin C. And maybe,

I actually do get out a little. I tend to go out and not, you know, I don't wanna infect anyone, but I'll go outside for a little bit.

I won't stop what I'm doing. I'll work. I was working actually with some sheetrock upstairs a little bit in my house.

And I just didn't do as much. I didn't take it quite as hard. I took it a little more easy, but I don't stop everything

I'm doing and curl into a ball. I try not to, at least. So it's been working for me, at least.

Maybe that'll change as I get older, I don't know. But that's why I sound like I have a little bit of a deeper voice today.

But I saw some videos that I came across some, I think one was on Gab, the other one

I think I saw on Facebook, and the other two I saw on Facebook. And I just thought, these are so cringe.

These are so cringe. Everyone has to see them. The first one, actually all three of them,

I've only watched them once and not even all the way through the first one I'm gonna show you.

So this is, I still have fairly fresh eyes as I'm looking at these, but I thought this is kind of fun and entertaining.

But at the same time, what in the world? Like what in the world? What does this say about the people involved in these videos

I'm gonna show you? So let's start, let's start. Oh, one last thing, speaking engagements.

I wanna let everyone know, you can go to worldviewconversation .com and go to the top right -hand corner.

And there is a tab for, if you want to book me, it says Book John. Anyway, there's also a tab for speaking.

If you click on that, it'll take you to speaking engagements. And there's a number of them listed here for next year.

I have six listed right now. And I know there's a few people waiting for me to call them. And I'm gonna do that hopefully this week.

And if you want to have me come and talk to your church about social justice, that's really the main thing I've been doing, just talking about the book

I just put out there, Christianity and Social Justice, Religions and Conflict, you can go check that out.

And it would definitely be beneficial, I think. It's been beneficial, I think, for the people that I have been able to talk to about this at churches and political events and show them the religious connection of social justice.

And then how to identify it, how to answer it. And you can also get the books there too.

And there's a good deal going on right now with Christianity and Social Justice, Religions and Conflict, 19 bucks, normally 25, signed copy.

Social Justice Goes to Church, 13 bucks for a signed copy. And then of course, A .D. Robles' book, Social Justice Pharisees is also on sale for 11 bucks.

And $6 for shipping, no matter how many you get. So you can't beat that.

And we're, maybe Black Friday. Black Friday had some deals that were a little better, but that's a once in a lifetime, some of those deals.

So this is about as good as it's gonna get from here on out. And you can go and get those, and still,

I think, get them before Christmas. But the time is very short for that. So anyway, wanted to let you know about all that.

Let's get to the videos. This stuff is just so cringe. I was thinking about what to do today, and I didn't wanna talk about Tim Keller anymore, at least for now.

Maybe tomorrow we'll do an episode, we'll go back to it or something. I don't know, people still have questions. But this was, these were just things that, like I said, came across some feeds.

And I just thought, man, people, I don't know, people just need to see some of this stuff. It's just so, some of it's funny, but some of it, it says something about kind of where we're at.

So I'm going to pull that up for you. Let's start with this one. This is Francis Collins, former director of the

NIH. And so he has decided that he's going to sing a song as he exits his role.

And of course, this, there's kind of a scandal in my mind associated with his exit.

He's approved of some gain of function research stuff, and it's right around the time that that became a controversy is when he resigned.

And anyway, I talked about him before, and just his moral compromises in my mind, and the fact that he's trumpeted as this

Christian hero in elite circles is, you know, here you can be an evangelical and you can have elite credibility.

And I just don't think that's the case. He shouldn't really have probably a lot of credibility in Christian circles for some of the things he supported.

But the thing I wanted to show you, so let's start here. He's saying bye, he's saying

I'm going, is what he says. That what needs to get done is going to get done.

And now if you'll indulge me, because it's been kind of promoted as if it might be a grand finale of a musical sort,

I guess I'd like to play us out with a little song. So if I'm -

And by the way, you have to look, not just at Francis Collins, you have to look at the interpreter. There's an interpreter that's, for deaf people, she's interpreting all this.

And so she over -exaggerates some of the things, his expressions and the things he says. It gets hysterical.

Wait, I just need a microphone. Why, there's a guitar right here. How - Ha, look at, there's a guitar.

I gotta go back. All right, hold on. Need a microphone. Why, there's a guitar right here.

How about that? If you're listening and not watching,

I'm so sorry. The look on the interpreter's face. Why? He's like, we're going to come out with a song.

I'm going to play it one more time. And then I'll show you the rest of the video. I promise. I just, look at the interpreter.

He's going to exit with a song. And he's like, oh, why, there's a guitar right here.

Look at the interpreter's face. Why, there's a guitar right here. How about that? I don't know why

I think that's so funny. This is a song where the tune will be familiar to you, unless you came from another planet recently, but the words are going to be quite different.

You know, this is the awkwardness in my mind that I, he could be a pastor. This is,

I remember when I was sitting in seminary at Southeastern in Chapel, people would be bending over, like crunched, crunched over, like almost about ready to pass out.

They were laughing so hard and right in the face over the stupidest things people would say. Sometimes they weren't even intended to be jokes and everyone's laughing.

And I thought, oh, this is why pastors are known for having this kind of awkward, dry sense of humor sometimes.

Francis Collins could have, if he would have changed his plans around earlier in life, could have gone to seminary,

I think, with this kind of a stage presence here. This is really a song for you, a song for all of us.

And no, I'm not making fun of pastors in general. Maybe I am. I can sort of do that. I went to seminary.

I'm one of them, I suppose, as they might say, someone who's been in that environment and maybe has that sense of humor to some extent.

I mean, I find this hysterical, though. Maybe I'm just showing who I am. But is this normal for someone when they leave their position to play a song, and not only a song, but a song that you're gonna find out is as cheesy as this song?

Think through this pandemic and try to imagine how's it gonna feel when we're finally past that?

What will that be like? We're gonna get there, and you're gonna help us get there. So that's what this is about.

You expect it to be like, now, kids. And there's a whole bunch of kids sitting around him, cross -legged, just ready to sing along with him, and maybe a few

Muppets as well in the background. And it is maybe a campfire somewhere.

You're like, all right, kids, come on. Let's sing some good family campfire songs. ♪ Past the pandemic, when we're free ♪ ♪

There's a life I remember full of activity ♪

I'm actually, so it's funny, but one of the reasons I wanted to show this to you is like, it's cringe, not just because it's cheesy or funny.

It's cringey because this is Francis Collins.

This is someone who's partially responsible for the reaction that the government had and is still having to the

SARS -CoV -19 virus, and responsible in part for the gain -of -function stuff as well.

And there was a scandal under, I'm trying to remember now. It was right at the beginning of this, right maybe before it all started.

There was a scandal with Chinese, basically people taking information from,

I believe it was the National Institute of Health or one of their research arms.

And there was a whole scandal there. I mean, this is the guy that, he was over the organization when all this happened.

The organization that's also issuing the patents, or at least an organization under them, they have oversight over the patents that get to go to pharmaceutical companies who create vaccines against COVID -19.

So it's this Francis Collins who's doing this particular song and he's saying somewhere over the rainbow when we're free, implying we're not free right now.

You know, there's a life that I remember full of activity. It makes it so trite. It makes it so just inconsequential and just so, you know, it's almost funny, cheesy, but it's like, this is serious, man.

People have lost their shirts. They've lost their businesses. People have died because of hospital neglect and maltreatment.

And this is a guy that could have done something and is partially responsible for some of the reaction that's been so negative.

And then to make so light of it by singing this cheesy song is offensive.

And this is the window I think we get into some of the elite circles. He's not affected by it. He's not touched by it in the same way at least.

He's got a job through the whole thing and I'm sure a very high paying job and wealthy friends and he gets to go and even in evangelicalism, you know, goes and does his panel discussions with Russell Moore and stuff.

And it's just so cringy. ♪ Somewhere past the pandemic masks will come off.

♪ ♪ No more need for a nose swab every time we cough.

♪ ♪ As we are gathered here today, COVID's toll has hit ♪ ♪

And sent us reeling. ♪ Can you imagine if you had someone, excuse me,

I have a cold. Can you imagine if you had someone in your family who actually passed away from COVID or from worse yet, maltreatment of COVID?

They did not receive the treatment they needed and they're dead now or a business destroyed and you're listening to this.

But partners like the ones right here will help to make the pathway clear to find a true healing.

♪ Healing us. ♪ Let me translate.

The elites are going to help you find the true healing. Yeah. The people who have inflicted the wounds the most are the ones that are going to help you out of the hole.

♪ Somewhere past the pandemic, life will resume.

♪ ♪ We'll all complain about the traffic, ♪ ♪

Forgetting how we hated Zoom. ♪ ♪

Somewhere past the pandemic, we'll hug our friends.

♪ ♪ And thank the people and science, ♪ ♪

That brought the pandemics end. ♪

This is so offensive. That's who we're going to thank. This is Mr. Evangelical, right?

This is the guy who's the Christian in the elite circles. And who are we going to thank when this is all over, right?

We're going to thank people and science. Science, that impersonal, I don't know why.

Sciences, they act like it's a person or an organization because they attach it so closely to scientists, but it's not.

But we're going to thank people. We're going to thank science. And they're the ones that brought the pandemics end. How is this much different than Governor Cuomo?

Now, Governor Cuomo at least added, for his horrible statement that this wasn't

God. Francis Collin isn't saying that, but he's not thanking God here. This is

Mr. Evangelical. It's so offensive. ♪ My dozen years are almost through, ♪ ♪

But it's been great to work with you. ♪ ♪ Let's end

COVID now. ♪

Ah, okay. Now, that was cringe number one.

So Evangelical elitist in secular circles who's well -respected, doesn't thank God for ending the pandemic.

Trust the elites, thank the elites. People who inflicted the wounds the most, we need to trust them and thank them.

And here's a cheesy song making light of everything that's happened. All right, let's talk about this now.

This is worse. And by the way, if you have kids in the car, if you're listening to this and you have children,

I'm gonna give you a little bit of time here. May not want them to hear this. This is really for adults.

I would say probably people, I don't know. I think I'm safe in saying 16 and up should be fine with this, but just forewarning.

So this is Michael Bird, Michael F. Bird. Michael F. Bird, you might remember him from the montage of Southeastern and they love him.

A very big standpoint, epistemology guy. He had to, I think it was the book of Romans. He said he had to teach to his people at the seminary that he works at in Australia, but he wanted to use a female commentator specifically.

So, because you need the female perspective and big at Southeastern seminary,

I would say. What else? He came out accusing

Founders Network basically of being this racist organization because they were quote unquote neo -Confederate because the founders of the

SBC were all pretty much associated. I mean, the SBC formed not long before the

American Civil War. And so those who were involved would have been Confederates mostly.

And so therefore Founders Ministries is promoting these people and Founders is terrible. And so he's that kind of guy.

He's on the left. He doesn't understand even really American histories from Australia.

I wouldn't expect it, but he's vicious against the anti -social justice side, shall we say.

And here he is, right? These are the people that are, let us represent the world.

Let us to the world of Christianity. Let us be the ones. We're embarrassed by you fundamentalists who probably don't wear shoes and never had a fifth grade education.

And you guys are so dumb. You don't believe in evolution. You wanna honor your ancestors who are just ignoramuses like you and racist sexists.

And you're just a bunch of hayseeds, right? And we are gonna be the ones to represent true

Christianity for the elites and the secularists. Well, let's see how that goes here. Let's see how that goes with Michael Byrd, how he represents

Christianity. Okay, I think I've given enough forewarning. Last call, if you have kids, may not want them to hear this. I'm here at the 2017

Australian Christian Loving Conference. Now, as a homosexual atheist, I'm melting, melting.

Okay, this is Tom Ballard, an Australian TV host equivalent to Jon Stewart or John Oliver. He's a comedian, right?

And he's going to this conference. I'll tell you a funny story. I'll tell you a real funny story.

So this is Michael F. Byrd, the guy I was just describing. He's gonna tell a funny story to this comedian.

And he's a professor at Melbourne's Ridley College and an Anglican priest. Here's the funny story, right? So funny.

I taught religious education to some students and I asked them a very provocative question.

I said to them, did Jesus ever have an erection? Did Jesus have an erection?

I believe he did. Multiple erections throughout the course of his life. Would he have had an orgasm? All right, this is offensive on so many levels.

And I realize some of you are wondering why would I even play this? And I thought for like maybe 20 seconds about that.

I'm like, should I even show this? It's really offensive to me, to be honest with you. But I think it's so illustrative of where social justice advocates, and it's not even just them, it's people who want to cozy up to the world and be loved by the world.

It's where they end up going. It's just, it's like he thinks, yeah, I'm gonna shock this comedian and show how we're not uptight, we're so loose, and we're cool in Christianity.

Like we're not these prudes that you think we are. So he's trying to, that's what it seems like is going on. He's trying to like shock him into like, whoa, those

Christians weren't what I think they were. They were more progressive and forward thinking and looser than I ever thought.

Maybe I'd go hang out with them. This is the guy that gets down on Founders Ministries and gets down on Conservatives and the

Southern Baptist Convention. And he's loved, so loved at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. And this is the way he ends up representing himself to the watching world, right?

Remember J .D. Greer's, the world is watching, the world is watching. Okay, this is what they're watching. This is the kind of stuff, like when you have the opportunity, this is what you're gonna say, really?

You know, you don't share the gospel. You're not even like a normal human. You're going even, you're trying to go past where even like secular people would probably not even bring that up.

That's such a taboo thing to insinuate that about Jesus. Such an offensive thing.

I would dare say that there's some, it's borderline like blasphemous. It is,

I mean, the way that he's, his mannerisms and the way he's communicating this, this is blasphemous. And it's just, it's so cringy though.

Cause it's like his motive is, he says he thinks it's a funny story. Hey, funny story.

Let me talk to you about the Lord of the universe and you know, something that he, you know, let's talk about something so base, based, like, and I don't think mean based in like the, the sense of the word that some conservatives are using now as a positive.

I mean like depraved kind of like based, like something that's so beneath any discussion about the

Lord of glory. You don't talk about this stuff. This isn't even something, why even consider it?

You know, it's not an interesting or a, it's not a theological question to even bring up.

You could even bring up this question about other things. You know, like did, was

Jesus tempted really is the question and that's answered in Hebrews 4 .15, tempted in all points without sin.

But to go this far and be like, hey, Jesus probably, you know, you're almost insinuating he lusted.

And that's, that's what they can, that's what the world's gonna hear. You know, if Jesus did this well, and it's the same way in which we would have done it.

That kind of, that's what you're doing. And you're, you're attributing a dirty thought to Jesus.

You're giving people the opportunity to have dirty thoughts about him, which is absolutely disgusting. This is the guy championed at Southeastern.

This is the guy who's, thinks that he can communicate with the world better than these anti -woke hayseeds in America.

Oh, no, no, he may have had probably had a nocturnal emission as a teenager.

Okay. Oh, we all, we all have. Would he have helped that along if he was a red blooded normal man?

Oh, what do you mean by helped it along? You mean like, what do you have? Choked the chicken. And the look on his face is that he is, this is the guy he supposedly worships and teaches other people to learn about and worship.

And he's, he's one of the names on the social justice side and evangelicalism. I could have included him in my book. I don't think I did, because probably partially because he's in Australia.

And I don't know to what extent his influence, but his influence is big over there from what I understand. And somewhat in the evangelical world.

And it's certainly, it was at the seminary I went to. He was an invited guest.

He spoke in chapel while I was there. He's done podcasts and done lectures.

In fact, even in my suggested videos on the side right there is a library talk from Southeastern Seminary two years ago with Michael Byrd.

So he's been there a few times, it looks like probably. All right, I don't know how much more of this we can take.

Let's just go a little longer. I don't know about that.

Just to be very clear, you brought up Jesus at Erections. I want to make that very clear. I know I'm from the Godless ABC, but that was your call, sir.

So, so this is an excellent point. This, this comedian saying, I wouldn't have even done this.

I did not bring this up. You're bringing this up and he's not laughing. And Michael Byrd is saying, oh, it's a funny joke.

The comedian doesn't think this is funny at all. Even he as an atheist, as it's just, it's amazing to me.

It's absolutely amazing. This is, you just make fools of yourself when you try to gain the world's approval like this.

So anyways, all right, kids can come back if you are, if you're curious about that.

And this is the last one I wanted. This is not quite as cringey. It is cringey, but this is not as cringey as the last two.

It's just more sad, but, but there is some cringe involved. So this is

Glenn Beck on some podcast and here we go. You also converted to Mormonism as an adult.

Your audience is very heavily, what? Why is that funny? I just thought that was funny as an adult.

I mean, I mean, I can see kids making that choice, but as an adult. No, but I meant it's, it's, it's unusual.

It's somewhat just, I want to clarify. I wasn't like your family converted when you guys were kids. Yeah, yeah. That's what I meant. Your audience is very heavily

Christian. Do you ever get heat from traditional Christians, many of whom hardcore Christians regard Mormonism as like a heresy?

No, Michael, they don't ever say those things to me. Yeah, yeah,

I have. Yeah, I have. In fact, I was with Billy Graham at his house. Billy Graham and I became friends probably in the last five years of his life.

And I loved him, loved him, and just a spiritual giant.

But, you know, it was his organization that had, you know, Mormons as a demon cult.

And I went to visit him and somebody else was there with us who was good friends with him.

Can I just add here, wouldn't that be Mormonism, right? According to any Orthodox Christian, wouldn't it be,

I mean, Moroni would be a demon. That's pretty much been the traditional

Christian outlook on Mormonism. It would be a cult. It would be demonic. So he's making,

Glenn Beck is making that out, that view out to be like crazy. Like, oh, someone's just unhinged. You call it a demon cult, it's so extreme.

And look, he's the victim in this, right? He's the one, Orthodox Christians coming and abusing him because they say that it's a demon cult.

It sounds like, and maybe there's some people who've been pretty mean. But look, if you're just telling the truth about Mormonism, then that's where you're going to arrive at.

And this is actually one of the religions I have cults, I have done some deep dives into.

And in fact, on my shelf right now, I have my Book of Mormon facsimile, which is different than the modern

Book of Mormon. I have the modern Book of Mormon. And I have notes everywhere. I have my doctrines and covenants,

Pearl of Great Price. And of course, I have James White's book, which I recommend if you're trying to look into Mormonism, Letters to a

Mormon Elder. And I usually, when I have dealt with Mormons, I bring those and I'll also bring my

Greek New Testament. And that's something that I have done.

And I'm probably viewed as a dangerous person in my area. I mean, they didn't want the younger missionaries around me the last time

I met with them, which was years ago. But yeah, so it's a demon cult.

I don't have a problem saying that. Doesn't mean that we think that everyone in it's not nice or we can't work with them or they're all, some of them are following it out of ignorance and habit.

But yeah, at the root of it, that's what it would be. So Glenn Beck's kind of like, ha ha, making fun of this.

Let's keep going here though. This is the story about Billy Graham, which I find so sad. On the first time we met and he said, so tell me about your relationship with Christ and with God.

And I started saying something and the person said, well, remember,

Billy, he's a Mormon. And he just turned and looked at him.

And then he looked at me and he said, you were saying, and I told him, and at the end, he was crying and I was crying.

And he looked at the other guy and said, he sure sounds Christian to me.

And it was that weekend that he actually removed Mormons from the cult status. Oh, that must've made you feel great.

It did, it did. He was, I think he might've softened in his older years.

He was one of those guys who just got it and wasn't there to condemn.

So here we go. What's the root of that? What assumptions are being made for Glenn Beck to get to that point?

With one little simple conversation in which it's a testimony and it moves

Billy Graham, he decides for his organization, they're gonna take Mormons off the cult list. It's not biblical arguments.

It's not wisdom and taking these ideas and examining them, exercising discernment.

It was a story he heard from someone that compelled him in his old age. And there's part of me, look,

I don't know everything that was going through Billy Graham's head right before he died, but I like to give the benefit of the doubt as much as I can.

I have read a number of books on Billy Graham and it is very true that he gets more ecumenical, very much so, the older he gets.

He also gets more progressive in his politics the older he gets. And to the point there was a reporter,

I remember in his home, not long before he died and asked him,

I think about capital punishment and Billy Graham said he didn't believe in it anymore. And his wife starts contradicting him and saying, of course, capital punishment is right.

And I don't know to what extent old age and other things may have affected his mind in the last few years, but, cause he says some crazy things and this might be one of them, but that's cringey.

That's absolutely cringey for this reason, not as cringey as the last two videos.

So I shouldn't say absolutely, but it is cringey for this reason, because you have here a situation in which one of the biggest advocates for supposed political conservatism,

I think he's really more of a neoconservative. He's a neocon at this point. And I can flesh that out in another video, but there was a point in which

I thought he was gonna be more of a paleoconservative, a true conservative. And he kind of was on the precipice of that.

And then it seems like he kind of moved away from it. And now he's more neocon, but he still is speaking for political conservatives on a very high level, one of the biggest voices in the country.

And many of them would be evangelicals. A lot of evangelicals follow Glenn Beck. And this is the kind of thing that made me not really listen to him much anymore.

I used to, I love the Glenn Beck show for one reason, really, for one main reason, because I thought it was hysterical.

He's a funny guy, let's be honest. And I think Pat and Stu, especially, they were all funny. And there's nothing wrong,

I'm not saying it's wrong to listen to him, but the longer you listen to people, the more you do get influenced by them.

And because what you laugh at and what you consider to be true or false, you start, you're influenced by them.

You just can't really avoid that. And I noticed this emotional kind of hermeneutic or this emotional epistemology he has, where it's, hey, if you feel it deeply, it must be true.

And love Billy Graham, because Billy Graham got it. He felt deeply what Glenn was saying, and then based on that, took

Mormons off the occult list or the cult list. That's the kind of thing that got into everything else, in his politics and all kinds of other things.

It's like if he had such an emotional connection, and he's a very emotional guy, which is fine, but he let those emotions kind of determine what his reality was so often.

And I remember in the Roy Moore case, it seemed like he kind of did that. When it came to really, in anything, a lot of things,

I should say, related to, I'm trying to, how do I phrase this?

Sort of BLM there. I know he's against BLM, because the communist Marxist connections, but before that, especially though, there was kind of like BLM narratives that he adopts about certain things.

And I think it's because the emotional stories connected to them. He kind of, and there was just things like that I would listen to.

And I said, I gotta stop. I just can't, I can't listen to this anymore. And I didn't re -up my subscription to the

Blaze. Fine if you have a subscription to it, by the way. I'm not saying you shouldn't. There's probably, there's good people that are on the

Blaze, I'm sure, that are doing good work. But that was, so that was my experience.

And I just thought in that video though, it just, that's going back. That's it, that's it right there.

It's just like, I had this emotional story, and it's like, you should change your whole statement of faith, or your whole belief about my religion based on my story.

And that's a good thing. That's so, it's such an emotional epistemology.

And it's very subjective. And so I find it just so cringed though that evangelicals would, so many of them still really, really like his takes on things and listen to him.

And look, I get why they do. For a time, like I said, I did. So I'm not trying to go after anyone in particular here at all.

I'm just, I get it to an extent. But aren't there better options out there?

Really, aren't there better ones? Aren't, can't you have some maybe true Christians who believe in capital

T objective truth that you can listen to and are trying to, even if it's hard, even if they don't like it, they're gonna go where the

Bible says to go and believe the whole entire canon of scripture. That's what

I, you know, we need that more in conservative media, for sure. We have, all right,

Sean Hannity's a Catholic, right? More of a neo -conservative, but he's a Catholic. We have Mark Levin, I don't really listen to him, but he's, what is he?

I don't know, he's not an evangelical Christian, I don't believe. Rush Limbaugh just passed away. He was, now he did claim to be a

Christian, especially towards the end of his life, but it was, that was not an obvious thing. And it seemed more like he was probably somewhat of a secularist with a

Christian heritage or tradition that most of, for most of his career certainly wasn't out there with it.

Who else do you even have now? That's a big, I mean, Ben Shapiro, Jewish. Most of the people that represent on a political level, evangelical

Christians, because evangelical Christians, most of them, the vast majority voted for Donald Trump.

They tend to be politically conservative, but the people that are elites in conservatism tend to be

Catholics, Mormons, Jewish people. And it's not wrong, it's not wrong that those people have platforms and stuff.

I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is it's weird. It's unusual that so many

Christians are listening to them and we don't have much in the way of alternatives to that. And so anyway,

I'm probably going off on my own tangent here but it's, that's a cringe thing though, to think that Billy Graham, this evangelist that Southern Baptist looked to so much is, and everyone really, that he compromised so much on that level to, based on a flimsy story and that that is trumpeted.

That's something that's held up as something that's good. That's cringey to me.

And to make fun of people who would say it's a demon cult. You know, there's reasons people think that, hey, Moroni's a demon.

This whole thing is demonic. So anyway, those are the three cringey things.

And hopefully you got a little bit of a laugh out of some of that, but even if you didn't, at least it's showing, it exemplifies kind of where we're at in some ways.

And yeah, I know that's probably, probably not the greatest thing in many of your minds, but it's good to know.

It's good to know that that's where we are. We're very weak and we need men. We need people to stand up and to, to not be juvenile, you know, adolescent boys, to not act like that.

And that's the common thread that I think, the point I wanna land on in all this. For all three of those videos, you have a man who's older, who's very accomplished with his life, has a academic pedigree and very well -respected in the world.

And yet he's going to make light of a very serious situation. He doesn't take responsibility for his own contribution to it.

That's a childish thing to do. You have then a man who's supposed to be a theology professor and kind of hip and cool and down with the world more and accusing other

Christians of being backwards and racist and these kinds of things. And yet when he has the opportunity to say something to the world, he acts like a 13 -year -old teenage boy.

His mind is thinking on the things that a 13 -year -old teenage boy, who's probably a bit perverted and has been exposed to some smut material would think or say.

And then you have after that, a talk show host who is commanding the votes and the political thinking of probably millions of people.

I mean, hundreds of thousands at least. And this is in the political conservative realm, right?

And the way that he navigates life is he views everything through the lens of his emotions and what he feels.

And that's how he determines what's true or not in so many things. It's also kind of a very childish thing to do.

We need people who are not swayed by their emotions. We need people who are rock solid, stable, who don't have a dirty juvenile mind and everything is a double entendre and everything.

We don't need that. We don't need people who don't take responsibility and trivialize serious matters.

We need people who know there's a time to laugh and there's also a time to be serious and know the difference between them.

And we'll fight for the truth and won't back down from it. And they don't care what other people call them.

Those are the kinds of people we need right now. And sadly, I think we're in short supply. And so if you're within the sound of my voice and you have that same desire,

I just encourage you to be that person in your own life. Be the adult. Even when the adults who should be there in their biological development aren't being adults, you be the adult.

And you take command of the situation when the situation demands it.

I've seen that even in the recent past in my own life where situations arise and the adults don't seem to wanna do much or they don't know what to do.

And even if you're younger sometimes, you have to step up to the plate. And I think on the church level, with so many churches going through so many things, we need that.

We need even people who might be younger. You know, Jesus started his ministry when he was 30.

Paul said to Timothy, "'Don't let anyone look down on your youth.'" If you're younger and you have the maturity to be able to navigate these hard challenges, then

I encourage you to do so. In humility, look for the people that are older, that you have wisdom, that you can submit to, but don't let someone else's childishness or their lack of direction or their making light of serious issues distract you or determine what you're gonna do.

You need to preserve the stability of our society, our churches, our families.

And that means that even if you're a plumber or an electrician or a farmer or a truck driver and you feel like, well,

I don't really have the education, but are you an adult? Are you someone who's matured? Do you have some biblical maturity?

It's not like you need... Spiritual gifts are given by the Spirit of God too. It's not like you need a committee, an official committee to stamp a degree and that's what enables you to take on leadership or something.

There are abilities and there's also spiritual gifts that God gives and it's irrespective of whatever academic pedigree you may have or respect with the world.

So that's my encouragement, step up. And maybe this, for a few of you who have been on the fence about something,

I don't know where everyone's at out there, maybe this encouraged you to go and do that. But that's the show today. God bless.