Sept. 20, 2024

Selling and Buying Fear

Selling and Buying Fear

A look at how politicians sell fear for you to buy.

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A look at how politicians sell fear for you to buy.

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Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

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the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Good morning everyone.

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It is Friday, September the twentieth, twenty twenty four. It

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is currently ten thirty six am Central Time, and I

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am coming to you live from the Theology Central studio

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located right here in Abilene, Texas. Now, a lot of

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times I like to begin a broadcast by asking you

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a question, right, and I try to use the questions

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to get you thinking about a particular topic. So I'm

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going to ask you a question. A lot of times

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I tell you to get a piece of paper and

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write some things down. I know most people don't actually participate,

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but if you can, I want you to grab a

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piece of paper, and I want you to ask this question.

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All right, I want you to answer this question. I'll

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ask the question. Okay, I don't need you to ask

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the question. I'm answer. I'm going to ask the question.

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You answer the question, all right. We got at least

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get that straight. We don't get that straight. We're never

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going to get anywhere today. Okay, but I'm going to

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ask the question. I want you to write down or

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I'll ask the question this way What have you purchased today?

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What have you bought today? What did you go out

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and buy today maybe? Or what have you ordered online today?

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What have you purchased today? Write down the four things

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five things you've purchased or bought today. Now, maybe you

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haven't bought anything yet, or maybe you have, but I

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really want you to think about it, because I believe,

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and this is kind of the thesis of everything, that

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you and I over and over and over buy something

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that we really don't need, we should not want, And

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I think when we buy it, we're being manipulated. And

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I'm not talking about something you go buy in a store.

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It's something that you buy sitting in your house, driving

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in your car. It's what's being sold. It's what they

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are selling it. And the people selling it are politicians

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and in many cases pastors and ministries. They're selling it,

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and we are buying it over and over and over

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and over again, and we're being manipulated. We're being used.

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They sell it, we buy it. The only people who

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benefit are the ones selling it, not those those who

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buy it. We are worse off. And you may say, well,

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what are you referring to. I am referring to how

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politicians and how many pastors and how many ministries sell fear.

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They sell coming apocalypse, they sell a coming destruction, they

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sell panic, they sell fear, they sell worry, they sell anxiety,

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and there's a public out there just buying it, just

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buying it, buying it and buying it, over and over

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and over and over again, and the cycle continues. They

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sell it, we buy it, they sell more, We buy more,

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and then we find ourselves filled with fear, anxiety, worry, panic, concern.

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And at some point it has to stop. Because it's

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been going on, at least my entire Christian life. I've

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watched it, but it's been going on forever, and I

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just think it continues to increase, and it gets worse

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and worse and worse. So what did you buy today? Now, obviously,

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now you know I'm not referring to you know, if

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you bought food or if not a tangible product. What

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I am referring to is did you buy fear today?

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Did you buy panic today? Did you buy some scare

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tactic that's being sold to you by some politician or

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some ministry. Now, my entire Christian life, I've watched this

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play out in the church right. I mean, we've talked

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about it many times on this podcast. In the nineteen eighties,

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the Great Satanic Scare was sold by church after church

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after church. Satanists are everywhere. Satanists are out to get

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your kids. Satanist are going to kidnap your kids on

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Halloween and offer them as a Satanic sacrifice. And it

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was the Great Satanic Scare and many of much of

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it or some of it was driven by the Satan Seller,

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written by Mike Wark, who was a supposed Christian comedian

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who was supposedly a former high Satanic priest. And then

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well he sold it and Christians bought it, and they

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bought it, and they were all and it was like,

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Satan is out to get us everywhere. Remember the Great

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You know, if you play if you take your album

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and play it backwards, there's hidden messages from Satan in

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the song. You may not hear the message forward, but

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if you play the message backwards, you will hear it.

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And see when you listen to it, ford your mind,

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here's that hidden message inside the music. Oh and then

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there were burning records and oh no, Satan is out

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to get us. We were all told it was the

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end Okay, over and over and over this has happened

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in Christianity. And let me tell you, I bought it

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over and over and over at different times in my

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Christian life. Oh this is this, Oh what are we

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going to do? This is so bad? Oh no, this

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is happening. Oh this is happening. Oh, this is happening.

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And every single time I would think it's and well,

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just things just kind of continue moving on. In fact,

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I a lot of my early ministry was kind of

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I had bought into man, the churches in trouble, the

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church has just done the well, what's going to happen?

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And well, in many cases I was buying the fear

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and the panic and the next big disaster. I was

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buying into it. How many times did I see books

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in Christian bookstores about the coming economic collapse We're all

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going to be in the Great Depression and it's over,

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or the coming persecution. We're all going to be put

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in FEMA camps and they're going to take away our Bibles,

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and they're going to shut down our churches, and they're

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gonna shut down our Christian broadcast and it's all and

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we're all going to be locked up and it's coming,

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it's going, and well things just continue and continue and continue.

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Churches love ministries love this because almost inevitably they sell

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the fear. They sell the panic, and in what is

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the solution, Well, you need to buy their book, you

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need to subscribe to their ministry. It's usually they're selling something.

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See they sell the fear, you buy the fear. But

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what they're also selling is a supposed solution. So they

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sell fear, they sell a solution, and the solution is

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always they get money, they get something from it. You

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need them. The Satanic Bible and the beginning of the

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Satanic Bible has what the nine statements of a satanists

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to say, I'm looking for or my I don't know

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where my Satanic Bible is. I don't have it, but

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one of the statements in it, yeah, I don't know

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where it currently is. It's somewhere in this room. It is.

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Satan is the best friend that the church has ever had,

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because it's kept it in business for all these years.

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Where there's a little bit of truth to that, Hey,

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Satan's out there to get you. You need the church,

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you need us, you need us, and so the church

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sells fear. It sells panic, it sells coming disaster. Now.

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I know there's a balance here, right, because sometimes as

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a pastor or as a Christian broadcaster, you've got to

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turn on the microphone, stand behind the pulpit and say, hey, guys,

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we got a problem here. This is not good. This

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is this is this is definitely not good. So you

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but but the thing is, you gotta see you And

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I even hate the word selling. You got to share it.

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You got to speak of it, but in a accurate way. Right,

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you can say here's a problem, but you you don't

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have to sell it as if we've got ten seconds

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till doomsday. We got five seconds to survive, and we're

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you know, a black hole is about to engulf the

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entire planet and you've got fifteen seconds to live. But

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if you send me nineteen ninety nine, then maybe this

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ministry will be able to stop it, Okay, don't. That's

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the problem is we sell it as if the end

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has arrived. Other than a more rational explanation of what's

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going on. There are problems. There are issues that must

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be talked about that people must be warned about. The

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Christian ministries must warn the people, right, they must warn

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the people of false prophets, of false teachers. There's things

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that have to be warned about. How to find that balance, though,

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can be difficult because even as a pastor or as

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a Christian podcaster, however you're doing your ministry, you can

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get so caught up into this is a problem, and

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you're very passionate about it. But in some ways, what

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you're doing is you're selling almost a hyperbolic idea of

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what's wrong. And sometimes though you sell it, even though

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you don't realize that you're selling that you're the solution. Now,

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of course you think you're the solution, but I think

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it can be I think it can be problematic. The

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way it can all be done. I think Christians have

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to just realize, look, they're statistic and study after study

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that right now people are more stressed out. Anxiety, worry,

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depression is just eating away at people across the United

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States of America. I won't speak for other countries, but

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all across America people are more stressed out. They have

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more anxiety, more worry, more discouragement, more depression. They just

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because they constantly and they feel like things are getting

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worse and worse and worse. Now sometimes again even based

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on my own eschatology, I do believe things will get

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worse and worse and worse. But we have to find

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a way to ensure that the way we speak of

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it is somewhat balanced. And I'm not look, don't even

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look to me as to be the person who is

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an example of doing it the right way. In many cases,

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I do it the wrong way. I can be just

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as guilty of doing this, especially over the years. I

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can turn on the microphone like this is, ladies and gentlemen,

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I don't know what's going on, and I don't know

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where the church is going to be. I don't, and

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I can I can fall into the exact same trap.

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Where is that fine line, where is that balance? I

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don't know if I have it, and I don't know

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if many Christian churches have it. But you just listen

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to a lot of Christian broadcasts and everything just sounds

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like it's the end. That it's it's the beginning of

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the end. It's over, it's over. And I'm not even

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talking from a look from a from a from the

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perspective of eschatology or or end times. I'm not even

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talking about that. I'm just talking about how we just

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speak about what's going on and culture, what's going on

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in the world. We have a way of describing it,

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like in the in the most exaggerated, you know, fear

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inducing terms that we can possibly come up with. And

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I think in many cases it's exaggeration, and we're selling

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fear and people are buying it, and the people who

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buy it are typically then filled with anxiety, worry, panic,

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and nothing good comes from it. In many cases we

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end up looking totally foolish because after a certain amount

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of time, all of that fear and all of those

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books that were sold, and all the conferences that happened,

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and all the DVDs, and I'm utilizing some you know,

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things that are dated now, but all the things that

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people you know, got to to supposedly protect them from

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this out to be absolutely nothing like everyone said. And

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guess what, the people who made the money, they already

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moved on to the next thing because you got to

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sell the fear. Now, why am I discussing it, Well,

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I'm starting by discussing it focusing on the church. But

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what I have for us is not focused on the church.

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It's focused more on, well, what's going on in the culture.

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So let me find this article, because well, it just

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made me think about how this happens in the church

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and outside the church. Here is the headline, right, this

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comes to us from NBC News. It was published September

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the twentieth, twenty twenty four, at six am Central time.

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So at six am Central time this morning, I would

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like to refer to that as Texas time or the

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correct time. All right, at six am this morning, Texas

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time or correct time, NBC News posted the following headline,

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Apocalypse delayed. Trump keeps promising a doom that never comes.

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Trump keeps promising a doom that never comes. Now they're

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gonna focus on Trump and some of you, who are

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you know? Trump? Trump? Trump? Trump? You you know you

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you sleep in a Trump flag. Okay, maybe that's a

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little bit of exaggeration, right, but the point is you

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love Trump. Don't get all offended and get all mad

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because Trump's not the only one who does this. Politicians

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have been doing it forever. Christians do it, ministries do it,

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churches do it. Everyone keeps promising and selling a doom

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that never comes. Here's the story. If the election does

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not go his way, the economy will tank, Christmas will

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be canceled, and America as we know it will be finished,

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Donald Trump promised in the run up to the twenty

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twenty election, So to the run up to the twenty

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twenty election, that was twenty twenty. Right leading up to

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twenty twenty election, Trump was saying, if the election does

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not go his way, the economy will tank, Christmas will

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be canceled, and America as we know it will be finished.

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The race did not go his way, of course, and

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none of Trump's prophesied cataclysms materialized under Joe Biden's presidency,

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but that has not stopped Trump from recycling some of

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the same dark predictions about, well, the new election. And

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I've heard it over and over and over. If this

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election doesn't go a certain way, it's the end of

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the country. It's end of America. We're all gonna it's

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it's And I heard the same thing when Obama, when

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the election with Obama, the very first one. If Obama's elected,

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We're all going to be Muslims. The churches are going

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to be shut down. They're going to take away our bibles. Oh,

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they're going to take away our guns. Oh. Over and over.

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I've heard this stuff so many times that I've become

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absolutely just numb to it. Again. Trump's kind of going

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doing the same thing this time with the new election.

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If he's elected. So this is what reading some of

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the things that he was this is back in October

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twenty twenty. If he's elected, the stock market will crash,

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Trump said in October twenty twenty during his only debate

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with Biden. If he gets in, you will have a

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depression the likes of which you have never seen. The

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depression never happened. Stocks rose during Biden's presidency, but Trump

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recently predicted that a Harris victory would lead to a

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massive stock market downturn and a nineteen twenty nine style depression.

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The stock market just broke some record, I believe yesterday.

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But wait, I think stocks have outperformed during Biden's presidency

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than they did under Trump. But hey, no, it doesn't matter,

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it doesn't matter. It's it's the end. It's the end.

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Now you've if you listen to some Trump supporters, we're

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in a depression right now. It's the end of the world.

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I don't know how we're good. We're all going to die.

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I don't know if I'm can make it another day,

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because that's because you they're selling it and you're buying it.

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They sell it and you buy it. And twenty twenty

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President Trump said the election is a choice between a

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Trump recovery and a Biden depression, and twenty twenty four,

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he said on Truth Social voters have a choice Trump

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prosperity or the Kamala crash and great depression of twenty

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twenty four, saying he's just really, he's selling the same thing.

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He's just selling the You just change the names, Biden Kamala.

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Just change the names, and it's he's just selling the

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exact same thing. Predicting the future is inherently difficult, and

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bluster about the danger of the other side winnings the

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norm for politicians of all stripes, but Trump's pinch it

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for hyperbole, over confidence, and a black and white claims

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has made him particularly an inn accurate nostradamus. The Trump

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campaign did not respond to a request for comment for

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this article. If Joe Biden ever becomes president, Trump tweeted

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in twenty twenty, our country will collapse if we don't win.

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He told New Hampshire voters in twenty twenty four, I

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think our country is finished four years ago, he warned

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Michigan voters that a vote for Biden is a vote

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to completely eradicate your auto industry. On Wednesday, he warned

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Michigan voters, if I don't win, you will have no

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auto industry. Within two or three years, it will be gone.

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He keeps saying the same things over and old and over.

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He just sells the same fear. He just sells the

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same panic, and you keep buying it. And Trump's predictions

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about life under a Biden president's presidency grew more and

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more apocalyptic as election day drew nigh. In twenty twenty,

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with the COVID nineteen pandemic raging, Trump told supporters that

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what with the COVID nineteen pandemic raging? If I can

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read correctly, Trump told supporters that Biden had plans to

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impose a blanket shutdown across the country and keep the

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country locked down to fulfill his plan to kill the

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American dream. If you vote for Biden, it means no

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kids in school, no graduations, no weddings, no Thanksgiving, no Christmas,

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no Fourth of July together, he said in a rally,

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and goodyear Arizona. If he comes in, he said, at

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a Nevada rally, the Christmas season will be canceled. Of course,

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Biden imposed no such lockdowns, and holiday season shopping rows

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every year of Biden's presidency to our record high last

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year according to the National Retail Federation. So he made

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all these predictions, not one of them came true, all

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bogus lies selling fear. Now he can sell all the

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fear he wants. He can lie, he can exaggerate. That's

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perfectly okay. What I'm trying to do is, as Christians,

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we can't buy the fear. Don't buy the fear, don't

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buy the panic, don't buy the hyperbole. It goes on

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to say, and his speech at the Republican National Convention

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in twenty twenty, Trump called Biden a trojan horse for

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socialism who would give free reign to violent anarchists to

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completely dismantle and destroy the American way of life. Make

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no mistake if you give power to Joe Biden, the

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radical lefl to fund police departments all across America, Trump warned,

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predicting Biden had plans for immediately releasing four hundred thousand

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criminals onto your streets and into your neighborhoods. In fact,

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crime has fallen, and Biden and Biden signed legislation increasing

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police funding. If the Left gains power, they will demolish

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the suburbs, confiscate your guns, and appoint justices who will

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wipe away your Second Amendment and other constitutional freedoms. Trump

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said in his convention speech, the suburb still stand, and

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does the Second Amendment, backed by a conservative majority on

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the Supreme Court. Speaking at the Village, a massive retirement

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community in Florida, Trump prophesied that Biden would dismantle your

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police departments, dissolve your borders, confiscate your guns, and terminate

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religious liberty. Almost four years in a Biden term, the

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US Mexico border remains a problem, but it also remains

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even God was not safe from Biden president's presidency. Trump

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warned if Joe Biden gets in, he said on Fox News,

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religion will be gone, okay, and another interview with the network,

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he said Biden would take away your guns, your oil,

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and your God. And Ohio. Trump said that Biden is

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against God and that his election would hurt the Bible

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and hurt God. Domestic oil production and gun sells both

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reached record highs under Biden. A practicing Catholic who attended

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church regularly while in the White House. But Trump's arguing

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went on with troubling visions of America completely cowed by

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its rivals. If I don't win the election, China will

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own the United States. You're going to have to learn

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to speak Chinese, Trump told conservative radio hosts Huge Hugh

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Hewitt in August twenty twenty. The number of American college

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students studying Chinese actually declined under Biden, having peaked in

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twenty sixteen. Trump even predicted that if he lost the election,

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he might have to leave the country or retire from

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public life. If I lose to him, I don't know

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what I'm going to do. I will never speak to

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you again, he told North Carolina rally goalers four years ago,

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You'll never see me again. Well, obviously that didn't happen either,

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he went on to say and Georgia. Days before the election,

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Trump said he would be so embarrassed to lose to

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Biden that he'll leave the country. I don't know. Maybe

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I'll leave the country. I don't know. But there was

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no chance of that. Trump confidently predicted, telling supporters in

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Wisconsin his election was basically a sure thing. The only

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way we're going to lose the election is if the

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election is rigged. Trump did in fact lose and did

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not flee the country. This year is Trump faces off

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against Biden's vice president, he has reprised some of the

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same gram predictions for the future if he does not win.

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While Biden was a trojan horse for socialism, Trump's campaign

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said in a new release last month that Harris is

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a trojan force, a trojan horse, a trojan horse for

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a nation destroying spending, a communist, a communist price controls

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and open border. I mean, he just repeats the same thing.

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He continues to sell it over and over and over again,

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all right, uh, and reprising his false prophecy from twenty twenty,

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Trump has been telling supporters that this election, too is

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a sure thing, and the only way he can lose

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is if it is rigged. Of course, setting up again

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more problems and difficulties, just like he did last time.

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He continues to sell it. And we could go on

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and on and on, and all the things he keeps selling,

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he keeps saying the same things over and over, and

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the things he is selling is just insanity. And no

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matter how much he sells it. There's the American people

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out there that will buy it. They buy it, they

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buy into the panic, they buy into this and this thing,

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this way of thinking has to stop. Now. I could

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go through and read a lot more of the article.

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I didn't want to go through all of it because

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the list is so long. I mean, I could sit

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here and play audio clips constantly of the things he

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is saying, the things he is predicting, and everyone knows,

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just stop it, just stop. I mean, he constantly says

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there'll be no country, There'll be no country, There'll be

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no country. He is the only one who can save

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the country. And if you look on truth social and

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you look at Trump supporters, that's basically the way they think,

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and you're like, well, wait a minute, We've had four

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years without Trump. Why do we still have a country?

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And Trump was in power for four years? Why didn't

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he fix all the problems? You could just ask basic questions,

399
00:24:37.160 --> 00:24:39.240
but it doesn't matter. The end is here. The end

400
00:24:39.279 --> 00:24:46.559
is here. The end is here. Many politicians campaign and

401
00:24:46.680 --> 00:24:53.440
even many ministries rely on a fear based strategy to

402
00:24:53.640 --> 00:24:59.640
galvanize support. So let's consider the role of fear and

403
00:24:59.680 --> 00:25:05.799
pursue Let's consider fear as a tactic and trying to

404
00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:09.400
persuade people. Right, did you ever have to take speech

405
00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:12.079
and you had to give different kinds of speeches, an informative,

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00:25:12.200 --> 00:25:16.440
a persuasive, right kind of speech? Right? You remember that

407
00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:18.400
if you've took a speech class, you know you had

408
00:25:18.400 --> 00:25:20.720
to do the different kinds of speeches. Right. Well, let's

409
00:25:20.720 --> 00:25:23.480
look at the role of fear and persuasion. Fear can

410
00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:28.160
be a powerful motivator. It taps into basic human instincts

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00:25:28.200 --> 00:25:31.880
for survival and security, making people more alert to potential

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00:25:31.880 --> 00:25:34.920
threats and more willing to act to avoid danger. Whether

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00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:39.200
in politics or ministry, Presenting a picture of a world

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00:25:39.319 --> 00:25:44.519
in crisis creates a heightened emotional response, which can lead

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00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:49.400
to action. And that's all you have to do. A

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00:25:49.440 --> 00:25:51.960
pastor can walk behind the pulpen and say, ladies and gentlemen,

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00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:57.160
in this particular you know, in Disney movies or in

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00:25:57.359 --> 00:26:01.039
this particular kind of music, Satan is working and he's

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00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:03.359
coming for your kids, and he's going to take your

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kids from you, and he's going to destroy their lives.

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And the next tame parents are like, that's it, no

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more Disney, that's it, no more music. That's it, because

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Satan's going to get you, and they create the fear,

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00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:23.319
and then you get this crazy overreaction happens constantly within Christianity. Now,

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00:26:24.279 --> 00:26:26.759
let's first, let's look at the role of fear. Let's

426
00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:30.359
look at the role of fear and persuasion first, and politics,

427
00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:36.400
politicians often emphasize crisis, economic downturns, crime, societal decay, and

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00:26:36.440 --> 00:26:39.880
a promise that their leadership or policies will be the solution.

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00:26:40.279 --> 00:26:44.160
By magnifying issues, they create a sense of urgency, encouraging

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00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:47.720
voters to support them as the answer to averting disaster.

431
00:26:48.160 --> 00:26:52.119
This is seen in both conservative and progressive politics, with

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00:26:52.279 --> 00:26:57.279
each side identifying different threats crime, immigration, climate change, or

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economic instability. All politicians do this. They can't just say, hey,

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00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:05.519
things are we got a couple of problems here, we

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00:27:05.559 --> 00:27:07.440
need to fix this, and we got some issues here.

436
00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:09.759
But if you look at the statistics, not quite as

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00:27:09.759 --> 00:27:12.680
bad as it's being sold. Well, nobody, well nobody will

438
00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:14.680
vote for that person. You're gonna vote for the person's

439
00:27:14.720 --> 00:27:18.279
like the end is here. You're going to be murdered,

440
00:27:18.440 --> 00:27:20.720
they're gonna burn your house down, You're not gonna have

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00:27:20.720 --> 00:27:23.680
a job, You're gonna be eating cats and dogs because

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00:27:23.680 --> 00:27:27.000
you're not gonna have any money for food. Oh my goodness,

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00:27:27.039 --> 00:27:29.240
what do I do. Vote for me and I will

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00:27:29.240 --> 00:27:31.920
take you to the Promised Land. I will fix all

445
00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:35.319
the problems. Life will be glorious. It will be like

446
00:27:35.440 --> 00:27:38.079
Heaven on earth, and like, vote for him because we're

447
00:27:38.119 --> 00:27:40.880
all going to die. Okay, now, maybe that's a little

448
00:27:40.880 --> 00:27:50.039
bit exaggerated, but it's not much. If I've heard every

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single time that we were on the brink of total

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and utter annihilation and we're no longer going to exist.

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00:27:55.960 --> 00:27:58.160
I mean, if I had a dime for every time,

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00:27:58.200 --> 00:28:01.359
I would be rich. Okay, maybe that's a little bit

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00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:04.039
of exaggeration, but there would be a lot of money there.

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Because I've heard it over and over and over and over.

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00:28:06.599 --> 00:28:12.480
It seems like my whole life now. And within ministries

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00:28:12.519 --> 00:28:15.559
within Christianity, let's look at this idea of fear and

457
00:28:15.640 --> 00:28:22.319
persuasion within Christianity. Some ministries may take a similar approach,

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00:28:22.519 --> 00:28:27.079
focusing on the decline of morality, societal values, or spiritual dangers.

459
00:28:27.240 --> 00:28:31.440
They may position their message as the solution to restoring faith,

460
00:28:31.559 --> 00:28:34.880
protecting the family, or saving people from eternal consequences. The

461
00:28:34.920 --> 00:28:40.039
appeal often capitalizes on a fear of judgment, persecution, or

462
00:28:40.119 --> 00:28:44.079
loss of divine favor. So ministries used the same tactic

463
00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:50.640
fear fear as a basically a strategy as a manipulator

464
00:28:50.839 --> 00:28:55.359
to persuade people. And you just scare everyone absolutely to death,

465
00:28:55.720 --> 00:28:58.759
and then you get some action, you get some you

466
00:28:58.799 --> 00:29:04.160
get some things going. I mean, I could, I could.

467
00:29:04.440 --> 00:29:10.000
I could play audio of ministries that just do this Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesdays,

468
00:29:10.240 --> 00:29:12.640
and it's just the same over and over and over.

469
00:29:15.440 --> 00:29:20.359
So there's the role of fear and persuasion. Let's consider

470
00:29:20.400 --> 00:29:25.400
the appeal to security. By creating fear, politicians and ministries

471
00:29:25.440 --> 00:29:28.680
position themselves or their message as the path to safety.

472
00:29:28.920 --> 00:29:32.160
The promise is that if you align with them, vote, donate, follow,

473
00:29:32.359 --> 00:29:35.160
you will be protected from the dangers they've outlined. This

474
00:29:35.279 --> 00:29:38.559
creates a sense of dependency. For politicians, the message is

475
00:29:38.599 --> 00:29:41.559
often the world is chaotic, but if I am in power,

476
00:29:41.640 --> 00:29:43.759
I will fix it. For ministries, it may be the

477
00:29:43.799 --> 00:29:46.680
world is spiritually dark, but through our teaching you can

478
00:29:46.720 --> 00:29:52.200
find the light. That's the way it works. You sell

479
00:29:52.240 --> 00:29:56.359
the fear, the people buy it now. The people are

480
00:29:56.359 --> 00:29:59.319
filled with worry and anxiety. But you're like dun dun dunda,

481
00:30:00.200 --> 00:30:03.519
do not fear for I am here and I have

482
00:30:03.640 --> 00:30:09.680
the solution. Vote donate now, follow me, buy this, buy

483
00:30:09.720 --> 00:30:18.720
my book, come to my conference. Now. The psychological effects

484
00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:23.079
of all of this. What are the psychological effects? Well,

485
00:30:23.200 --> 00:30:26.680
fear narrows focus. When people are afraid, they're less likely

486
00:30:26.720 --> 00:30:31.680
to think critically or broadly, and more likely to take

487
00:30:31.759 --> 00:30:36.920
immediate action that seems to alleviate the fear. Fear just

488
00:30:37.000 --> 00:30:41.000
causes people to they can't see beyond the fear. And

489
00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:47.400
this look give you an example. All right, we'll go

490
00:30:47.480 --> 00:30:49.960
to September the eleventh, two thousand and one. Since we're

491
00:30:49.960 --> 00:30:53.279
in September, Okay, wasn't too long ago. Remember where you

492
00:30:53.319 --> 00:30:55.720
were on September the eleventh, two thousand and one. Remember

493
00:30:55.720 --> 00:31:00.640
the fear, Remember the anxiety when terrorists, you know, crash

494
00:31:00.680 --> 00:31:02.880
planes into the World Trade Center and into the Pentagon,

495
00:31:03.000 --> 00:31:06.480
do you remember that? Do you remember that fear? Do

496
00:31:06.480 --> 00:31:08.960
you remember the anxiety, remember that worry? And do you

497
00:31:08.960 --> 00:31:12.839
remember some of the way these people acted. There were

498
00:31:12.920 --> 00:31:20.079
Christians ministries, pastors who supported the idea of not allowing

499
00:31:20.200 --> 00:31:24.440
Muslims to build any more mosque anywhere in the United

500
00:31:24.480 --> 00:31:27.519
States of America that they were basically wanted to almost

501
00:31:27.559 --> 00:31:33.319
pass rules and laws against Islam. Now they could not

502
00:31:33.359 --> 00:31:35.519
think critical. Wait a minute, we live in a country

503
00:31:35.519 --> 00:31:38.839
with the freedom of religion. If we deny their rights

504
00:31:39.079 --> 00:31:41.599
to build a worship center, to build a mosque, to

505
00:31:42.279 --> 00:31:46.079
build a center for learning, or anything deal related to Islam,

506
00:31:46.240 --> 00:31:48.319
if we take away their rights, then why would we

507
00:31:48.359 --> 00:31:50.759
have our rights to build a church, build a Christian

508
00:31:50.839 --> 00:31:53.119
anything right. If we're going to take away their rights,

509
00:31:53.119 --> 00:31:55.400
then we're losing our rights. We got to think critically

510
00:31:55.440 --> 00:31:59.519
about this. Can we be concerned about Islam? Yes, it

511
00:31:59.839 --> 00:32:05.880
is antithetical to Biblical Christianity? Absolutely? And Islamic countries do

512
00:32:05.920 --> 00:32:10.039
they hate Christianity and persecute christian Absolutely? So. Can we

513
00:32:10.119 --> 00:32:15.559
have tangible logical concern but not just throwing out everything

514
00:32:15.599 --> 00:32:17.680
the country is built on, like the freedom of religion,

515
00:32:18.359 --> 00:32:21.440
like and we're gonna deny people's freedoms while at the

516
00:32:21.480 --> 00:32:24.319
same time demanding ours. Do you not see how critical

517
00:32:24.880 --> 00:32:28.599
we lose? We are? We narrow our focus. Same thing

518
00:32:28.920 --> 00:32:32.559
I can again. You know you know I love Salem,

519
00:32:32.920 --> 00:32:35.519
you know I love the city of Salem in Massachusetts.

520
00:32:35.519 --> 00:32:37.799
You know, I love that place, right, I love the history,

521
00:32:37.880 --> 00:32:40.119
I love the feeling, I love everything about it. So

522
00:32:40.200 --> 00:32:42.920
I've been there now multiple times. Every time I go,

523
00:32:43.079 --> 00:32:45.400
I go to everything I can to learn everything. I

524
00:32:45.440 --> 00:32:51.200
read any books I can about what happened in Salem Fear. Basically,

525
00:32:51.240 --> 00:32:55.400
some teenage girls got the entire town to lose their

526
00:32:55.440 --> 00:33:00.880
absolute minds. That witches where you know, doing these things

527
00:33:00.880 --> 00:33:03.839
to people in the town, and then these adults so

528
00:33:03.920 --> 00:33:08.039
they get basically, you know, tricked by bored teenagers. Next

529
00:33:08.039 --> 00:33:11.920
thing you know, all the supposed adults in the town

530
00:33:12.359 --> 00:33:16.920
lose their everlasting, ever living mind, everlasting, ever living mind.

531
00:33:17.519 --> 00:33:20.279
And next thing you know, innocent people are being killed

532
00:33:20.839 --> 00:33:24.720
for being accused at being a witch. It's the most

533
00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:27.319
ridiculous thing you've ever heard of. And it was And

534
00:33:27.359 --> 00:33:30.000
guess who. Guess who the ridiculous people were. It was

535
00:33:30.039 --> 00:33:36.079
the religious people. It was the religious people. It wasn't

536
00:33:36.079 --> 00:33:38.039
the religious people. Well whoa wha wha wait wait wait, wait,

537
00:33:38.119 --> 00:33:40.319
come on, now, come on now, let's everyone be calm.

538
00:33:40.519 --> 00:33:43.079
Let's think about that. Now. Once you think that witches

539
00:33:43.119 --> 00:33:46.839
and spirits are doing things in your town, everyone can

540
00:33:46.920 --> 00:33:53.039
lose their ever living mind. You just need to introduce fear.

541
00:33:53.319 --> 00:33:56.960
Fear narrows focus. Then people no longer can think critically.

542
00:33:58.839 --> 00:34:02.039
Polarization is second psychologically, So the first thing fear and

543
00:34:02.079 --> 00:34:06.880
narrows focus second polarization. Constant messaging that highlights dangers and

544
00:34:06.920 --> 00:34:10.679
division can increase societal polarization. People begin to see the

545
00:34:10.679 --> 00:34:13.920
world as us versus them, while the other side is

546
00:34:13.960 --> 00:34:18.480
betrayed as a danger. That's exactly what's happened in our country.

547
00:34:19.599 --> 00:34:22.960
We're polarized. Why because constantly it's like dun dun, dun,

548
00:34:23.039 --> 00:34:25.639
dun't breaking news alert, They're gonna kill us all. It's

549
00:34:25.679 --> 00:34:27.400
the end of the world. And people just sit there

550
00:34:27.400 --> 00:34:30.559
and just take it in. They buy it, buy it,

551
00:34:30.639 --> 00:34:33.519
buy it all. So many people today. You got people

552
00:34:33.559 --> 00:34:35.039
you know today, they've been sitting in front of a

553
00:34:35.079 --> 00:34:38.960
television watching you know, breaking Fox news alerts all day

554
00:34:39.239 --> 00:34:41.000
and they just think it's the end. It's the end,

555
00:34:41.039 --> 00:34:42.840
it's the end. It's the end. It's the end. They

556
00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:46.119
and and their their perception of reality. What can be

557
00:34:46.199 --> 00:34:50.599
so frustrating is when you try to challenge it, like wait, wait, wait, wait, no, no,

558
00:34:50.639 --> 00:34:52.679
look at the numbers. No, no, no, no, no check

559
00:34:52.719 --> 00:34:56.639
the no check, let's verify, and no, I don't care.

560
00:34:56.800 --> 00:34:59.079
The economy is worse than it's ever been. Crime is

561
00:34:59.079 --> 00:35:01.079
out of control, and you, well, wait, here's some number.

562
00:35:01.239 --> 00:35:05.159
I don't care. I don't care because now it's just

563
00:35:05.320 --> 00:35:08.239
us versus them, And instead of looking at it from

564
00:35:08.239 --> 00:35:10.840
a biblical perspective like I don't know, love your enemy,

565
00:35:11.159 --> 00:35:13.559
show mercy and great no no, no, no no, it's

566
00:35:13.599 --> 00:35:17.159
not about winning and my side versus their side, and

567
00:35:17.199 --> 00:35:19.599
then you call them nay. I've talked about this on

568
00:35:19.679 --> 00:35:23.039
Christian radio, American Family radio, how they use these little

569
00:35:23.159 --> 00:35:27.480
derogatory names to refer to Joe Biden or Kamala Harri.

570
00:35:27.559 --> 00:35:31.400
If I've said her name incorrectly, I apologize. I've heard

571
00:35:31.440 --> 00:35:33.440
it said so many different ways. It drives me crazy

572
00:35:33.440 --> 00:35:35.960
when I say it incorrectly, because I want to be respectful,

573
00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:37.559
and that doesn't matter who it is. I want to

574
00:35:37.559 --> 00:35:41.280
be respectful to who, whatever, politician from left or right.

575
00:35:41.639 --> 00:35:43.920
It's because you want to show respect to people created

576
00:35:43.920 --> 00:35:45.920
in the image of God. And I'm supposed to love

577
00:35:45.920 --> 00:35:48.760
my enemy. So whether I agree or disagree with anybody,

578
00:35:48.840 --> 00:35:53.920
you want to show respect. But this polarization is insane. Now, look,

579
00:35:54.000 --> 00:35:59.000
when the world the world, their focus is narrowed. They

580
00:35:59.039 --> 00:36:02.599
no longer think critical, they no longer think broadly, they

581
00:36:02.639 --> 00:36:08.159
can't see the facts. They become polarized, polarization, and become

582
00:36:08.199 --> 00:36:15.760
polarized in the world. That's okay. The church is where

583
00:36:15.840 --> 00:36:20.440
this should not be happening from the as Because of this,

584
00:36:20.800 --> 00:36:27.719
we are not to act being manipulated by people selling fear.

585
00:36:27.840 --> 00:36:29.800
We are supposed to be the ones who say, no,

586
00:36:30.079 --> 00:36:33.079
we don't buy your fear. You're selling it. We're not

587
00:36:33.239 --> 00:36:36.679
buying it because we are going to try to look

588
00:36:36.679 --> 00:36:39.000
at the world from a biblical perspective. Now, are we

589
00:36:39.039 --> 00:36:41.119
always going to do perfectly? No, but we have to

590
00:36:41.159 --> 00:36:43.199
constantly be struggling. No, no, no, no, no, no, no,

591
00:36:43.199 --> 00:36:45.800
no no no. I'm not going to allow fear to

592
00:36:45.880 --> 00:36:49.239
control my thinking. I'm gonna I'm going to think critically

593
00:36:49.360 --> 00:36:51.639
and I'm going to think broadly, and I'm not going

594
00:36:51.679 --> 00:36:55.239
to allow myself to become polarized and seeing everything as

595
00:36:55.320 --> 00:37:02.360
me versus them type of perspective. So the first psychological

596
00:37:02.400 --> 00:37:09.760
effect is fear narrows focus. Second polarization, second desensitizing. It

597
00:37:09.840 --> 00:37:14.679
desensitizes everyone over time, constant fear messaging can lead to

598
00:37:14.840 --> 00:37:18.559
desensitizing people, and people may either stop responding to it,

599
00:37:18.679 --> 00:37:20.800
or they might live in a constant state of anxiety

600
00:37:20.800 --> 00:37:26.599
and helplessness, losing sight of hope. People become desensitized to

601
00:37:26.679 --> 00:37:30.920
it and you kind of see that over time, or

602
00:37:30.960 --> 00:37:33.400
you just find people constantly in a state of anxiety,

603
00:37:33.440 --> 00:37:38.360
helplessness and lost all hope. Either way, the psychological effects

604
00:37:38.719 --> 00:37:43.800
of this fear selling, fear mongering, whatever you want to

605
00:37:43.840 --> 00:37:47.880
refer to it as it is wrong and we can't

606
00:37:47.920 --> 00:37:52.639
allow ourselves to do this now. From a Christian standpoint,

607
00:37:54.159 --> 00:37:57.719
the Bible often calls believers to reject fear as the

608
00:37:57.719 --> 00:38:01.079
primary lens through which they view the world. World right,

609
00:38:01.159 --> 00:38:10.000
we know this passage. We know this passage for God

610
00:38:10.079 --> 00:38:13.719
hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power,

611
00:38:15.119 --> 00:38:23.000
of love and of a sound mind. While the world

612
00:38:23.800 --> 00:38:31.800
spends out of control and there's polarization, fighting, fear, wrong thinking, chaos,

613
00:38:32.079 --> 00:38:35.079
while Trump is selling all of his stuff, the Christian

614
00:38:35.159 --> 00:38:37.159
should be God has not given me a spirit of fear,

615
00:38:37.480 --> 00:38:41.920
but of power, of love and of a sound mind. Now,

616
00:38:41.920 --> 00:38:44.559
I really want you to think about those three today.

617
00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:47.679
What does it mean that He's given us. He's not

618
00:38:47.679 --> 00:38:49.960
given us the spirit of fear. So first, what does

619
00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:51.960
it mean that he's not given us the spirit of fear?

620
00:38:52.400 --> 00:38:55.000
But in contrast to the spirit of fear, he's given

621
00:38:55.079 --> 00:38:58.039
us power. What is that power? Referring to what is

622
00:38:58.079 --> 00:39:02.039
the love? And what is a sound That's what we

623
00:39:02.519 --> 00:39:04.440
need to see the world through that, not through the

624
00:39:04.519 --> 00:39:06.920
lens of fear, but through this idea that we now

625
00:39:06.960 --> 00:39:10.119
have power, love and a sound mind. What exactly is that?

626
00:39:10.239 --> 00:39:17.760
Referring to Well, scripture does warn of dangers at the

627
00:39:17.920 --> 00:39:23.639
very same time emphasizes hope, redemption, and the ultimate sovereignty

628
00:39:23.800 --> 00:39:28.760
of God, which stands in contrast to messages driven solely

629
00:39:28.800 --> 00:39:32.559
by fear. Do we truly believe God is in charge?

630
00:39:32.639 --> 00:39:43.800
Do we really believe He is sovereign? Historically, in politics

631
00:39:44.400 --> 00:39:47.960
and in some forms of Christianity, the reliance on fear

632
00:39:48.039 --> 00:39:55.480
can be traced to manipulation tactics that prioritize short term

633
00:39:55.719 --> 00:40:05.599
gain over long term trust. Historically, within politics and some

634
00:40:05.760 --> 00:40:11.280
elements of Christianity, the reliance on fear can be traced

635
00:40:11.320 --> 00:40:19.559
to manipulation tactics that prioritize short term gains over long

636
00:40:19.679 --> 00:40:28.159
term trust. Fear based messages work in cycles, where new

637
00:40:28.280 --> 00:40:33.840
dangers must continually be found or exaggerated to sustain influence,

638
00:40:34.639 --> 00:40:38.840
which may erode credibility over time. A good example just

639
00:40:39.119 --> 00:40:42.360
if you've ever listened to Alex Jones. That's all he

640
00:40:42.480 --> 00:40:46.440
does is sell fear and danger and destruction and the

641
00:40:46.559 --> 00:40:49.079
end is near. He sells it over and it doesn't

642
00:40:49.119 --> 00:40:51.639
matter if any of it comes to pass, doesn't matter.

643
00:40:51.760 --> 00:40:53.960
He moves onto the next thing, and he moves onto

644
00:40:54.000 --> 00:40:55.760
the next thing, and he moves on to the next

645
00:40:55.840 --> 00:40:59.760
thing every day. And if you just listen, if you

646
00:40:59.840 --> 00:41:02.800
just listen to talk radio, and I'll just focus on

647
00:41:02.840 --> 00:41:05.599
conservative talk radio. But it's constant, it's constant, it's the

648
00:41:05.679 --> 00:41:09.639
end is here. It's iver. Whether it's Glenn Beck, Sean Hennity, Tucker, Carlson,

649
00:41:09.719 --> 00:41:12.280
you just name Mark Levin, you just go through all

650
00:41:12.320 --> 00:41:14.719
of that. It's just by If you just listen to

651
00:41:14.760 --> 00:41:17.159
them for one full day, start early in the morning

652
00:41:17.199 --> 00:41:21.519
and find find the first, you know, conservative program that's

653
00:41:21.559 --> 00:41:23.320
on and listen to it all day. By the end

654
00:41:23.360 --> 00:41:25.840
of the day, you may think the world is over,

655
00:41:26.079 --> 00:41:29.440
we're finished, we're doomed, we have no hope other than

656
00:41:30.880 --> 00:41:33.760
Donald Trump. He will save us. I'm like, well, whn't

657
00:41:33.760 --> 00:41:36.079
he president for four years? How come he didn't fix

658
00:41:36.079 --> 00:41:38.639
all the problems? Remember what Donald Trump was telling a

659
00:41:38.679 --> 00:41:41.280
group of Christians just not too long ago. If you

660
00:41:41.360 --> 00:41:44.159
vote for him, you'll never have to vote again. What

661
00:41:44.480 --> 00:41:51.280
is that? What are you talking about? As he constantly

662
00:41:51.320 --> 00:41:53.800
sells the fear in the end and the end. Now,

663
00:41:53.840 --> 00:41:57.639
I'm not saying there's not legitimate concerns on all sides.

664
00:41:58.880 --> 00:42:03.039
The key is how do we express legitimate concern before

665
00:42:03.079 --> 00:42:10.559
it turns into a sensationalized, just hyperbolic, crazed approach that

666
00:42:10.679 --> 00:42:19.320
just creates fear because manipulation manipulation. You're being manipulated. Using

667
00:42:19.440 --> 00:42:24.920
fear as a tool for influence raises ethical concerns. While

668
00:42:24.920 --> 00:42:28.760
there may be legitimate problems in the world, the question becomes,

669
00:42:29.239 --> 00:42:34.679
are these issues being responsibly addressed or are they being

670
00:42:34.920 --> 00:42:42.880
exaggerated for personal or institutional gain. I want you to

671
00:42:42.880 --> 00:42:48.360
hear that again. While there may be legitimate problems in

672
00:42:48.440 --> 00:42:53.480
the world, the question is this, are these issues being

673
00:42:53.599 --> 00:43:00.800
responsibly addressed or are they being exaggerated for personal or

674
00:43:00.960 --> 00:43:06.400
institutional gain. The people selling fear, the people that you're

675
00:43:06.559 --> 00:43:08.760
the one who's going to buy it, and they're the

676
00:43:08.800 --> 00:43:13.440
ones who are going to gain, not you. You're not

677
00:43:13.480 --> 00:43:18.119
going to gain anything. They sell it. You're the I

678
00:43:18.159 --> 00:43:27.480
hate to say it, you're just being used. Politicians use you.

679
00:43:27.760 --> 00:43:31.559
They sell you something, whether true or not true. You

680
00:43:31.639 --> 00:43:34.199
buy it. You think you're gonna get some sense of

681
00:43:34.320 --> 00:43:36.480
everything's going to be fixed. But it's never going to

682
00:43:36.519 --> 00:43:40.480
be fixed. It's never going to be fixed. Even even

683
00:43:40.639 --> 00:43:44.000
if they win the election, the next election to come,

684
00:43:44.119 --> 00:43:46.599
they're gonna make the same claim, Oh, the end is here,

685
00:43:47.000 --> 00:43:48.880
you've got to vote for me again. Well, wait, you

686
00:43:48.920 --> 00:43:50.960
were just in power for four years. Wine, did not

687
00:43:51.079 --> 00:43:53.840
you fix everything? Whine didn't you? And then they'll try

688
00:43:53.840 --> 00:43:56.760
to claim, well, I fixed everything. It's all it's just

689
00:43:56.960 --> 00:44:00.880
lies and lies and exaggerations, and we have truths and

690
00:44:00.920 --> 00:44:04.840
misinformation and we just buy it. The church should not

691
00:44:04.920 --> 00:44:08.079
be buying it, whether the message is coming from outside

692
00:44:08.119 --> 00:44:11.599
the church, or whether or even if the call is

693
00:44:11.639 --> 00:44:16.880
coming from inside the church. Stop buying the fear and

694
00:44:16.920 --> 00:44:23.880
the manipulation and the half truth. Stop buying into it. Now.

695
00:44:23.920 --> 00:44:26.599
I'm not saying that we say I turn on the microphone,

696
00:44:26.639 --> 00:44:31.119
go everything is wonderful, everything is great, everything is perfect. No,

697
00:44:32.360 --> 00:44:35.760
that would not be accurate either. The key is to

698
00:44:35.800 --> 00:44:40.239
say this is a problem, this is a concern, this

699
00:44:40.400 --> 00:44:44.639
is an issue. We must address it. But then we

700
00:44:44.719 --> 00:44:47.239
try to address it in a rational way. I know

701
00:44:47.960 --> 00:44:50.840
that doesn't make Look, that doesn't make for good preaching,

702
00:44:51.079 --> 00:44:54.920
that it doesn't make for good podcasting. I know that

703
00:44:55.719 --> 00:44:58.079
you gotta sell the fear. You gotta sell that this

704
00:44:58.159 --> 00:45:01.360
is a disaster and the church falling apart. You've got

705
00:45:01.440 --> 00:45:04.679
and I look, I know I've been there, done that myself,

706
00:45:05.400 --> 00:45:10.519
because I bought, into many cases, the exaggerated understanding of

707
00:45:10.559 --> 00:45:13.800
the situation. Now I don't know how to balance it

708
00:45:13.800 --> 00:45:17.719
out all the time, right, because sometimes you can play

709
00:45:17.760 --> 00:45:20.280
down the problem when you shouldn't. Sometimes you can play

710
00:45:20.320 --> 00:45:23.599
it up when you shouldn't. How to be accurate, how

711
00:45:23.639 --> 00:45:27.199
to be I don't always have the I don't always

712
00:45:27.199 --> 00:45:33.480
do it even where correctly. When fear is exploited, it

713
00:45:33.480 --> 00:45:39.320
can lead to manipulation and exploitation. For example, ministries or

714
00:45:39.360 --> 00:45:43.360
politicians might offer themselves as a sol solution, drawing resources

715
00:45:43.440 --> 00:45:46.360
or allegiance from people who are frightened into action. This

716
00:45:46.440 --> 00:45:50.199
can breed dependence rather than empowering people to think critically

717
00:45:50.400 --> 00:45:58.280
and act independently. We got to have critical thinking, not

718
00:45:58.519 --> 00:46:05.519
panic thinking. Critical thinking not manipulation. One of the things

719
00:46:05.559 --> 00:46:09.039
I often get so frustrated about church camps is you

720
00:46:09.079 --> 00:46:14.239
take impressionable teenagers, you send them off to camp where

721
00:46:14.280 --> 00:46:20.000
they are isolated. Right, they're isolated and they are manipulated,

722
00:46:21.280 --> 00:46:24.320
they have some emotional experience, they come back, and then

723
00:46:24.360 --> 00:46:28.000
what happens, The emotional experience finally collapses and gives way

724
00:46:28.039 --> 00:46:31.320
to reality. So when you got them, they're isolated, and

725
00:46:31.320 --> 00:46:34.039
then you can manipulate them, and then you can indoctrinate them.

726
00:46:34.360 --> 00:46:48.559
That's not Christianity. While fear can bring attention to real issues,

727
00:46:49.000 --> 00:46:51.840
it is often used as a tool for manipulation, whether

728
00:46:51.920 --> 00:46:57.280
by politicians or ministries. The promise of security in exchange

729
00:46:57.320 --> 00:47:01.039
for votes, donations, or support is a powerful, often ethically

730
00:47:01.440 --> 00:47:05.760
questionable strategy. As a believer, a healthy response is to

731
00:47:05.800 --> 00:47:09.199
balance vigilance with hope, not allowing fear to be the

732
00:47:09.280 --> 00:47:12.840
driving force behind decisions, and instead seeking wisdom and trust

733
00:47:12.960 --> 00:47:25.320
and and more enduring principles of truth and justice. Now

734
00:47:25.320 --> 00:47:28.800
we've got what less than fifty days to the election,

735
00:47:32.639 --> 00:47:34.719
not today. I don't know if if you're gonna keep

736
00:47:34.800 --> 00:47:36.599
up with anything going on like, if I was just

737
00:47:36.639 --> 00:47:39.800
to go to hang on, I'm just gonna go to

738
00:47:40.239 --> 00:47:43.559
the Drudge Report right here. Let's go to the Drudge

739
00:47:43.559 --> 00:47:48.679
Report right now. If you just go through some of

740
00:47:48.719 --> 00:47:53.039
the headlines, you just by the time you get done

741
00:47:53.119 --> 00:47:56.280
looking at this, you may be like, what is happening

742
00:47:56.679 --> 00:48:00.719
right here? What is going on? What is happening? All

743
00:48:00.760 --> 00:48:03.480
I'm saying is when you look at a news article,

744
00:48:03.960 --> 00:48:09.440
there may be an element of facts. Don't take those

745
00:48:09.440 --> 00:48:16.400
facts and then create fear and a disconnect from reality.

746
00:48:16.679 --> 00:48:20.119
Don't allow fear to so narrow your focus that you

747
00:48:20.199 --> 00:48:25.239
cannot think critically. For every duntun time Fox News alert,

748
00:48:25.639 --> 00:48:27.159
you gotta go wait a minute, wait a minute, wait

749
00:48:27.159 --> 00:48:29.000
a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Here, let

750
00:48:29.039 --> 00:48:32.679
me think critically about this, let me check, let me think,

751
00:48:33.079 --> 00:48:53.320
let me process, let me not just react. Enough of this,

752
00:48:56.519 --> 00:48:59.719
enough of this. I was listening. I didn't get very

753
00:48:59.800 --> 00:49:02.480
full are because the program had all kinds of other

754
00:49:02.519 --> 00:49:04.480
stuff mixed in to it. But it was on the

755
00:49:04.519 --> 00:49:09.039
sermon's two point oh sermons two point oh app about

756
00:49:09.079 --> 00:49:14.079
witchcraft in the church. Witchcraft. Now, I definitely want to

757
00:49:14.119 --> 00:49:17.719
listen to what they're warning about. What is this witchcraft?

758
00:49:17.840 --> 00:49:21.800
Is and how prevalent is it in the church. Do

759
00:49:22.079 --> 00:49:24.599
you remember back I don't remember what years it were,

760
00:49:24.639 --> 00:49:27.760
but you remember the Illuminati, the Illuminati, the Illuminati. Everything

761
00:49:27.800 --> 00:49:31.079
was the Illuminati. Oh that album cover the Illuminati. I

762
00:49:31.119 --> 00:49:33.440
remember even Toby Mack, who was a part of the

763
00:49:33.519 --> 00:49:36.079
Christian group DC Talk, even one of his albums, Oh,

764
00:49:36.079 --> 00:49:40.360
that's the Illuminati, that's the Illuminati, Illuminati, Illuminati. The Illuminati

765
00:49:40.480 --> 00:49:42.840
is everywhere. And I'm like, for a secret society, for

766
00:49:42.880 --> 00:49:45.800
a secret group, they're sure are known by everyone because

767
00:49:45.800 --> 00:49:49.519
everyone's like the Illuminati. The Beyonce, the Illuminati. The Illuminati

768
00:49:49.559 --> 00:49:51.960
is everywhere. The Illuminati was in the super Bowl halftime show,

769
00:49:52.039 --> 00:49:55.480
The Illuminati, the Illuminati. Everything's the Illuminati. That Christian ministry,

770
00:49:55.519 --> 00:49:58.360
I think they're the Illuminati. Oh my goodness, the Illuminati

771
00:49:58.400 --> 00:49:59.719
is going to take us off. And now everyone for

772
00:49:59.800 --> 00:50:01.559
ready forgot about the Illuminati. I thought we were all

773
00:50:01.599 --> 00:50:02.639
going to die. I thought we're all going to be

774
00:50:02.679 --> 00:50:06.119
taken over. I thought we're all the Reptilians. We were

775
00:50:06.159 --> 00:50:08.400
all going to be you know, micro chipped, and we're

776
00:50:08.400 --> 00:50:09.960
all going to be put in female camps. I mean

777
00:50:10.079 --> 00:50:16.360
so many time, I'm so sick of it. All I remember,

778
00:50:16.400 --> 00:50:18.760
and I got into arguments with listeners way back in

779
00:50:18.800 --> 00:50:21.719
the day when when I think, right before the election

780
00:50:21.800 --> 00:50:25.400
of Pope Francis, there was this prophecy of the last

781
00:50:25.599 --> 00:50:28.599
Pope right, and the last Pope was going to bring

782
00:50:28.639 --> 00:50:30.239
in all of that. I've got the book, I think

783
00:50:30.239 --> 00:50:33.480
in my closet. I purchased the book because I was

784
00:50:33.519 --> 00:50:35.079
going to try to address it on the podcast, and

785
00:50:35.079 --> 00:50:38.000
finally I got so sick of arguing with Christians over it. Oh,

786
00:50:38.039 --> 00:50:39.880
this is the Pope and he's going to institute this,

787
00:50:40.119 --> 00:50:41.719
and this is going to happen, and this is going

788
00:50:41.719 --> 00:50:44.000
to happen. It may not even have been it may

789
00:50:44.079 --> 00:50:45.920
have been Pope Francis, but it was going to be.

790
00:50:45.960 --> 00:50:47.639
This was the end, the end, the end. Then this

791
00:50:47.800 --> 00:50:50.400
was the I can't remember all the parts of the

792
00:50:50.400 --> 00:50:53.199
conspiracy theory, but of course none of it happened the

793
00:50:53.199 --> 00:50:56.440
way anyone said it was going to happen. Of Course,

794
00:50:56.440 --> 00:50:58.840
those people never came back to apologize, of course not,

795
00:50:59.079 --> 00:51:01.280
of course not, because they're off to the next thing,

796
00:51:01.519 --> 00:51:04.199
the next thing, the next thing, the next thing, and

797
00:51:04.239 --> 00:51:07.320
they never stop to go. How many conspiracies have I

798
00:51:07.360 --> 00:51:10.360
bought into? How many things have I said this is it,

799
00:51:10.639 --> 00:51:12.440
and it didn't happen. Like at some point you think

800
00:51:12.440 --> 00:51:16.320
you would be like, snap out of it. Man, what

801
00:51:16.360 --> 00:51:22.960
am I doing now? You keep living in that world?

802
00:51:23.199 --> 00:51:27.239
You're being manipulated. And guess what. The people manipulating you

803
00:51:27.719 --> 00:51:30.320
that don't care about you. They just want you to

804
00:51:30.400 --> 00:51:35.079
keep downloading their sermons, downloading their messages, sending them money,

805
00:51:35.519 --> 00:51:39.320
buying their books, you know, signed up for their Patreon

806
00:51:39.400 --> 00:51:42.280
page or whatever they can they want. They need you

807
00:51:42.400 --> 00:51:46.000
or there for numbers and for money and for donations.

808
00:51:46.119 --> 00:51:48.719
And they keep selling you the fear, and you keep

809
00:51:48.760 --> 00:51:52.119
buying it and buying it and buying it. And all

810
00:51:52.199 --> 00:51:56.920
politics are is human beings manipulating other human beings by

811
00:51:56.960 --> 00:52:00.239
selling fear. They sell fear, you buy it by voting

812
00:52:00.320 --> 00:52:02.599
for them. What do they get They get power, they

813
00:52:02.639 --> 00:52:06.280
get positioned, they get money. What do you get? Absolutely

814
00:52:06.360 --> 00:52:17.199
nothing except used. Now you may say my perspective is

815
00:52:17.320 --> 00:52:20.119
very very cynical. It is very very cynical. I have

816
00:52:20.199 --> 00:52:27.400
no problem acknowledging that. And look, I'm guilty of some

817
00:52:27.440 --> 00:52:29.000
of the same things. I don't know how many times

818
00:52:29.039 --> 00:52:32.199
I've turned on microphones going. Man, the church is in trouble.

819
00:52:33.000 --> 00:52:35.679
This is and look, there are issues in the church,

820
00:52:35.760 --> 00:52:38.039
and I do believe every issue that I've ever pointed

821
00:52:38.039 --> 00:52:41.199
out was legitimate issues. And I think I and I

822
00:52:41.239 --> 00:52:43.159
think I was right to point it out, and I

823
00:52:43.159 --> 00:52:45.280
think I was right to condemn some of the problems.

824
00:52:45.599 --> 00:52:48.519
I just don't know if I always stated it in

825
00:52:48.559 --> 00:52:51.360
a more accurate way, or if I stated it and

826
00:52:51.480 --> 00:52:57.119
almost like I was selling fear or panic. Now I've

827
00:52:57.159 --> 00:53:00.920
tried to know, Well, maybe as a church I tried

828
00:53:00.920 --> 00:53:05.440
to No, I think I can look back. I struggle

829
00:53:05.480 --> 00:53:08.599
with you know, I always struggle with all my failures

830
00:53:08.679 --> 00:53:12.760
and shortcomings because I have so many. But I always

831
00:53:12.800 --> 00:53:16.679
tried to sell my church as an alternative. But there's

832
00:53:16.719 --> 00:53:19.199
probably an element where I'm like, hey, all these other

833
00:53:19.280 --> 00:53:21.599
churches are messed up. We are the answer. I probably

834
00:53:21.599 --> 00:53:25.440
did sell it that way now at times that would

835
00:53:25.440 --> 00:53:28.639
try to correct it and say, worthy your alternative. You

836
00:53:28.639 --> 00:53:31.440
can go do church anyway you want. Go go, and

837
00:53:31.159 --> 00:53:34.000
I and I was very strong on that. Look, if

838
00:53:34.039 --> 00:53:36.239
you don't like what I'm doing, go go wherever you want.

839
00:53:36.599 --> 00:53:39.360
I don't think I ever said that you're not a Christian.

840
00:53:39.559 --> 00:53:41.800
Maybe back when I was hardcore in the lordship, maybe

841
00:53:41.800 --> 00:53:45.559
I did but but typically I was like you, no,

842
00:53:45.639 --> 00:53:46.760
you go do it, and I even do it with

843
00:53:46.800 --> 00:53:49.119
the podcast. Look, you've got many of others. Go listen

844
00:53:49.159 --> 00:53:54.199
to the other podcasts. You got plenty to choose from.

845
00:53:54.360 --> 00:53:56.559
I've always tried to say that I'm offering something different

846
00:53:56.599 --> 00:54:00.199
and being an alternative and a unique perspective, which I

847
00:54:00.199 --> 00:54:03.360
do believe that's been that's accurately to describe what I've

848
00:54:03.360 --> 00:54:11.239
always tried to do. I think when I got pulled into,

849
00:54:11.599 --> 00:54:13.559
well not not really pulled in, when I got the

850
00:54:13.559 --> 00:54:17.559
opportunity to do something more news based, then I definitely

851
00:54:17.639 --> 00:54:20.360
was more like, this is happening right now, This is

852
00:54:20.400 --> 00:54:23.440
going on right now, this, and I probably because that's

853
00:54:23.519 --> 00:54:28.760
again that's that's kind of how news works, right, I mean,

854
00:54:28.840 --> 00:54:31.519
news doesn't just come on, hey today, everything is calm

855
00:54:31.599 --> 00:54:36.800
and good and don't worry about anything. Everything's fine, everything's wonderful.

856
00:54:37.000 --> 00:54:40.119
We got this. No, it's always like, oh, this is

857
00:54:40.320 --> 00:54:44.400
this is this is it. It's always kind of sold

858
00:54:44.519 --> 00:54:46.639
in a much more dramatic way. Why, because you got

859
00:54:46.639 --> 00:54:48.360
to keep people watching, you got to keep people listening.

860
00:54:48.519 --> 00:54:51.000
But see, that's a business, and people got to realize

861
00:54:51.159 --> 00:54:59.239
you're being manipulated. So I think we need to make

862
00:54:59.280 --> 00:55:11.360
it a focus today. I think we do that. Two

863
00:55:11.440 --> 00:55:14.199
Timothy one to seven is at least a starting point, right,

864
00:55:15.280 --> 00:55:17.159
God has not given us a spirit of fear? What

865
00:55:17.199 --> 00:55:18.760
does it mean that we do not have a spirit

866
00:55:18.800 --> 00:55:21.840
of fear? And what does it mean? Power? Love and

867
00:55:21.880 --> 00:55:28.440
a sound mind? That that tewod Timothy one to seven

868
00:55:28.519 --> 00:55:31.119
is where we need to focus today and try to

869
00:55:31.119 --> 00:55:38.119
try to see if we can adopt that versus fear.

870
00:55:39.559 --> 00:55:42.480
So what did you buy today? What did you purchase today?

871
00:55:43.679 --> 00:55:46.239
What did you buy? What did you purchase? Did you

872
00:55:46.440 --> 00:56:01.800
buy fear? Anxiety, worry? It's fun. I just looked down

873
00:56:01.840 --> 00:56:05.119
at my iPad and right here on the Drudge Report,

874
00:56:05.159 --> 00:56:10.719
these cities could be submerged by rising seas immediately fear,

875
00:56:11.079 --> 00:56:12.719
And now I think that's like an ad But it's

876
00:56:12.719 --> 00:56:15.239
someone trying to sell me something, right, trying to sell

877
00:56:15.360 --> 00:56:17.320
some kind of fear. Like that's right there. I just

878
00:56:17.360 --> 00:56:19.119
happened to look down. It just popped up on the

879
00:56:19.159 --> 00:56:22.360
screen and I'm like, there you go. But it's non stop,

880
00:56:25.960 --> 00:56:27.400
all right. I don't know if I was able to

881
00:56:27.440 --> 00:56:33.639
explain everything in a fair and accurate way, but yeah,

882
00:56:34.159 --> 00:56:37.320
the psychological effects we are watching the psychological effects of

883
00:56:37.360 --> 00:56:41.039
this approach play out across the country and inside churches,

884
00:56:41.400 --> 00:56:43.360
and we gotta find we got to pull people back

885
00:56:43.400 --> 00:56:45.920
from the precipice. We got to pull people back from

886
00:56:45.920 --> 00:56:48.519
the ledge. We got to pull people back and say,

887
00:56:48.519 --> 00:56:51.519
who wha, wha wha. Let's let's let's think about how

888
00:56:51.519 --> 00:56:54.280
we're going to perceive the world. And two Timothy one

889
00:56:54.400 --> 00:56:56.519
to seven is a good place to start, all right,

890
00:56:56.800 --> 00:57:00.800
Thanks for listening. Everyone, have a great day. Hey, don't

891
00:57:00.800 --> 00:57:05.079
buy any more fear, worry, anxiety, or panic today. Don't

892
00:57:05.079 --> 00:57:08.920
buy any of that. Save save your money for tomorrow. Okay, today,

893
00:57:09.280 --> 00:57:13.239
let's try to buy Seco Timothy one seven, right, and

894
00:57:13.320 --> 00:57:16.119
let's try to consider what that means and think about

895
00:57:16.159 --> 00:57:18.199
not having a spirit of fear, but one of power,

896
00:57:19.159 --> 00:57:22.000
love and a sound mind. All right, thanks for listening.

897
00:57:22.079 --> 00:57:23.119
God bless