Sept. 20, 2024

Selling and Buying Fear

Selling and Buying Fear

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

Spreaker podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player badge
PocketCasts podcast player badge
Amazon Music podcast player badge
Overcast podcast player badge
Audible podcast player badge
Castro podcast player badge
iHeartRadio podcast player badge
Castbox podcast player badge
Podchaser podcast player badge
TuneIn podcast player badge
Deezer podcast player badge
Pandora podcast player badge
RadioPublic podcast player badge
Podcast Addict podcast player badge
RSS Feed podcast player badge
YouTube podcast player badge
Fountain podcast player badge
PlayerFM podcast player badge
Goodpods podcast player badge
Podverse podcast player badge
Podyssey podcast player badge
Breaker podcast player badge
Podurama podcast player badge
Audacy podcast player badge
JioSaavn podcast player badge
Spreaker podcast player icon Apple Podcasts podcast player icon Spotify podcast player icon PocketCasts podcast player icon Amazon Music podcast player icon Overcast podcast player icon Audible podcast player icon Castro podcast player icon iHeartRadio podcast player icon Castbox podcast player icon Podchaser podcast player icon TuneIn podcast player icon Deezer podcast player icon Pandora podcast player icon RadioPublic podcast player icon Podcast Addict podcast player icon RSS Feed podcast player icon YouTube podcast player icon Fountain podcast player icon PlayerFM podcast player icon Goodpods podcast player icon Podverse podcast player icon Podyssey podcast player icon Breaker podcast player icon Podurama podcast player icon Audacy podcast player icon JioSaavn podcast player icon

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

WEBVTT

1
00:00:02.200 --> 00:00:05.960
Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

2
00:00:05.960 --> 00:00:13.720
the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Good morning everyone.

3
00:00:13.960 --> 00:00:17.879
It is Friday, September the twentieth, twenty twenty four. It

4
00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:21.960
is currently ten thirty six am Central Time, and I

5
00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:25.359
am coming to you live from the Theology Central studio

6
00:00:25.879 --> 00:00:31.760
located right here in Abilene, Texas. Now, a lot of

7
00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:35.280
times I like to begin a broadcast by asking you

8
00:00:35.399 --> 00:00:38.159
a question, right, and I try to use the questions

9
00:00:38.200 --> 00:00:40.560
to get you thinking about a particular topic. So I'm

10
00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:42.560
going to ask you a question. A lot of times

11
00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:44.640
I tell you to get a piece of paper and

12
00:00:44.719 --> 00:00:48.359
write some things down. I know most people don't actually participate,

13
00:00:48.520 --> 00:00:50.159
but if you can, I want you to grab a

14
00:00:50.200 --> 00:00:52.119
piece of paper, and I want you to ask this question.

15
00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:54.280
All right, I want you to answer this question. I'll

16
00:00:54.280 --> 00:00:56.000
ask the question. Okay, I don't need you to ask

17
00:00:56.039 --> 00:00:58.200
the question. I'm answer. I'm going to ask the question.

18
00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:00.600
You answer the question, all right. We got at least

19
00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:02.439
get that straight. We don't get that straight. We're never

20
00:01:02.520 --> 00:01:04.239
going to get anywhere today. Okay, but I'm going to

21
00:01:04.280 --> 00:01:06.959
ask the question. I want you to write down or

22
00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:10.879
I'll ask the question this way What have you purchased today?

23
00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:16.480
What have you bought today? What did you go out

24
00:01:16.519 --> 00:01:19.760
and buy today maybe? Or what have you ordered online today?

25
00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:23.079
What have you purchased today? Write down the four things

26
00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:25.560
five things you've purchased or bought today. Now, maybe you

27
00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:28.879
haven't bought anything yet, or maybe you have, but I

28
00:01:29.640 --> 00:01:33.079
really want you to think about it, because I believe,

29
00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:36.280
and this is kind of the thesis of everything, that

30
00:01:36.519 --> 00:01:41.159
you and I over and over and over buy something

31
00:01:41.799 --> 00:01:45.760
that we really don't need, we should not want, And

32
00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:50.000
I think when we buy it, we're being manipulated. And

33
00:01:50.040 --> 00:01:53.000
I'm not talking about something you go buy in a store.

34
00:01:53.239 --> 00:01:57.719
It's something that you buy sitting in your house, driving

35
00:01:57.760 --> 00:02:02.200
in your car. It's what's being sold. It's what they

36
00:02:02.280 --> 00:02:05.920
are selling it. And the people selling it are politicians

37
00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:11.800
and in many cases pastors and ministries. They're selling it,

38
00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:15.960
and we are buying it over and over and over

39
00:02:16.159 --> 00:02:21.039
and over again, and we're being manipulated. We're being used.

40
00:02:21.919 --> 00:02:25.120
They sell it, we buy it. The only people who

41
00:02:25.159 --> 00:02:28.479
benefit are the ones selling it, not those those who

42
00:02:28.520 --> 00:02:32.280
buy it. We are worse off. And you may say, well,

43
00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:35.319
what are you referring to. I am referring to how

44
00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:41.560
politicians and how many pastors and how many ministries sell fear.

45
00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:50.639
They sell coming apocalypse, they sell a coming destruction, they

46
00:02:50.759 --> 00:02:55.599
sell panic, they sell fear, they sell worry, they sell anxiety,

47
00:02:55.800 --> 00:02:59.159
and there's a public out there just buying it, just

48
00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:02.319
buying it, buying it and buying it, over and over

49
00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:05.919
and over and over again, and the cycle continues. They

50
00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:09.680
sell it, we buy it, they sell more, We buy more,

51
00:03:09.800 --> 00:03:16.680
and then we find ourselves filled with fear, anxiety, worry, panic, concern.

52
00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:20.479
And at some point it has to stop. Because it's

53
00:03:20.520 --> 00:03:24.800
been going on, at least my entire Christian life. I've

54
00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:27.520
watched it, but it's been going on forever, and I

55
00:03:27.599 --> 00:03:30.400
just think it continues to increase, and it gets worse

56
00:03:30.639 --> 00:03:36.039
and worse and worse. So what did you buy today? Now, obviously,

57
00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:38.879
now you know I'm not referring to you know, if

58
00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:44.919
you bought food or if not a tangible product. What

59
00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:48.520
I am referring to is did you buy fear today?

60
00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:53.080
Did you buy panic today? Did you buy some scare

61
00:03:53.159 --> 00:03:57.400
tactic that's being sold to you by some politician or

62
00:03:57.719 --> 00:04:03.360
some ministry. Now, my entire Christian life, I've watched this

63
00:04:03.479 --> 00:04:06.719
play out in the church right. I mean, we've talked

64
00:04:06.759 --> 00:04:09.759
about it many times on this podcast. In the nineteen eighties,

65
00:04:09.800 --> 00:04:14.120
the Great Satanic Scare was sold by church after church

66
00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:16.920
after church. Satanists are everywhere. Satanists are out to get

67
00:04:16.959 --> 00:04:19.000
your kids. Satanist are going to kidnap your kids on

68
00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:22.879
Halloween and offer them as a Satanic sacrifice. And it

69
00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:25.600
was the Great Satanic Scare and many of much of

70
00:04:25.639 --> 00:04:28.800
it or some of it was driven by the Satan Seller,

71
00:04:29.000 --> 00:04:32.160
written by Mike Wark, who was a supposed Christian comedian

72
00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:36.759
who was supposedly a former high Satanic priest. And then

73
00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:40.120
well he sold it and Christians bought it, and they

74
00:04:40.279 --> 00:04:42.360
bought it, and they were all and it was like,

75
00:04:42.360 --> 00:04:45.920
Satan is out to get us everywhere. Remember the Great

76
00:04:46.199 --> 00:04:48.600
You know, if you play if you take your album

77
00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:52.079
and play it backwards, there's hidden messages from Satan in

78
00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:54.360
the song. You may not hear the message forward, but

79
00:04:54.399 --> 00:04:57.439
if you play the message backwards, you will hear it.

80
00:04:57.519 --> 00:04:59.959
And see when you listen to it, ford your mind,

81
00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:03.279
here's that hidden message inside the music. Oh and then

82
00:05:03.279 --> 00:05:06.519
there were burning records and oh no, Satan is out

83
00:05:06.519 --> 00:05:08.639
to get us. We were all told it was the

84
00:05:08.759 --> 00:05:12.319
end Okay, over and over and over this has happened

85
00:05:12.360 --> 00:05:16.360
in Christianity. And let me tell you, I bought it

86
00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:19.000
over and over and over at different times in my

87
00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:21.639
Christian life. Oh this is this, Oh what are we

88
00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:24.079
going to do? This is so bad? Oh no, this

89
00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:26.759
is happening. Oh this is happening. Oh, this is happening.

90
00:05:26.759 --> 00:05:29.399
And every single time I would think it's and well,

91
00:05:29.480 --> 00:05:32.480
just things just kind of continue moving on. In fact,

92
00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:36.319
I a lot of my early ministry was kind of

93
00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:39.160
I had bought into man, the churches in trouble, the

94
00:05:39.240 --> 00:05:42.160
church has just done the well, what's going to happen?

95
00:05:42.279 --> 00:05:46.279
And well, in many cases I was buying the fear

96
00:05:46.920 --> 00:05:51.720
and the panic and the next big disaster. I was

97
00:05:51.759 --> 00:05:54.519
buying into it. How many times did I see books

98
00:05:54.519 --> 00:05:59.639
in Christian bookstores about the coming economic collapse We're all

99
00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:02.279
going to be in the Great Depression and it's over,

100
00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:05.279
or the coming persecution. We're all going to be put

101
00:06:05.319 --> 00:06:07.800
in FEMA camps and they're going to take away our Bibles,

102
00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:09.720
and they're going to shut down our churches, and they're

103
00:06:09.720 --> 00:06:12.399
gonna shut down our Christian broadcast and it's all and

104
00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:14.399
we're all going to be locked up and it's coming,

105
00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:18.519
it's going, and well things just continue and continue and continue.

106
00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:24.160
Churches love ministries love this because almost inevitably they sell

107
00:06:24.199 --> 00:06:27.360
the fear. They sell the panic, and in what is

108
00:06:27.399 --> 00:06:30.920
the solution, Well, you need to buy their book, you

109
00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:36.360
need to subscribe to their ministry. It's usually they're selling something.

110
00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:39.759
See they sell the fear, you buy the fear. But

111
00:06:39.839 --> 00:06:43.000
what they're also selling is a supposed solution. So they

112
00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:45.839
sell fear, they sell a solution, and the solution is

113
00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:50.720
always they get money, they get something from it. You

114
00:06:50.879 --> 00:06:55.120
need them. The Satanic Bible and the beginning of the

115
00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:59.199
Satanic Bible has what the nine statements of a satanists

116
00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:01.319
to say, I'm looking for or my I don't know

117
00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:06.120
where my Satanic Bible is. I don't have it, but

118
00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:08.879
one of the statements in it, yeah, I don't know

119
00:07:08.920 --> 00:07:12.480
where it currently is. It's somewhere in this room. It is.

120
00:07:12.600 --> 00:07:15.759
Satan is the best friend that the church has ever had,

121
00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:18.519
because it's kept it in business for all these years.

122
00:07:18.920 --> 00:07:21.079
Where there's a little bit of truth to that, Hey,

123
00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:23.399
Satan's out there to get you. You need the church,

124
00:07:23.600 --> 00:07:26.759
you need us, you need us, and so the church

125
00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:32.560
sells fear. It sells panic, it sells coming disaster. Now.

126
00:07:32.600 --> 00:07:36.399
I know there's a balance here, right, because sometimes as

127
00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:39.360
a pastor or as a Christian broadcaster, you've got to

128
00:07:39.399 --> 00:07:42.040
turn on the microphone, stand behind the pulpit and say, hey, guys,

129
00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:45.240
we got a problem here. This is not good. This

130
00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:48.240
is this is this is definitely not good. So you

131
00:07:48.360 --> 00:07:50.879
but but the thing is, you gotta see you And

132
00:07:51.079 --> 00:07:53.480
I even hate the word selling. You got to share it.

133
00:07:53.519 --> 00:07:58.160
You got to speak of it, but in a accurate way. Right,

134
00:07:58.199 --> 00:08:00.279
you can say here's a problem, but you you don't

135
00:08:00.319 --> 00:08:03.399
have to sell it as if we've got ten seconds

136
00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:08.160
till doomsday. We got five seconds to survive, and we're

137
00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:10.959
you know, a black hole is about to engulf the

138
00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:13.879
entire planet and you've got fifteen seconds to live. But

139
00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:16.519
if you send me nineteen ninety nine, then maybe this

140
00:08:16.680 --> 00:08:20.000
ministry will be able to stop it, Okay, don't. That's

141
00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:23.720
the problem is we sell it as if the end

142
00:08:24.040 --> 00:08:31.160
has arrived. Other than a more rational explanation of what's

143
00:08:31.199 --> 00:08:34.960
going on. There are problems. There are issues that must

144
00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:38.200
be talked about that people must be warned about. The

145
00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:42.200
Christian ministries must warn the people, right, they must warn

146
00:08:42.240 --> 00:08:45.159
the people of false prophets, of false teachers. There's things

147
00:08:45.159 --> 00:08:48.720
that have to be warned about. How to find that balance, though,

148
00:08:49.240 --> 00:08:52.519
can be difficult because even as a pastor or as

149
00:08:52.519 --> 00:08:59.559
a Christian podcaster, however you're doing your ministry, you can

150
00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:02.519
get so caught up into this is a problem, and

151
00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:05.440
you're very passionate about it. But in some ways, what

152
00:09:05.480 --> 00:09:12.200
you're doing is you're selling almost a hyperbolic idea of

153
00:09:12.240 --> 00:09:15.519
what's wrong. And sometimes though you sell it, even though

154
00:09:15.519 --> 00:09:20.840
you don't realize that you're selling that you're the solution. Now,

155
00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:23.519
of course you think you're the solution, but I think

156
00:09:23.559 --> 00:09:26.840
it can be I think it can be problematic. The

157
00:09:26.879 --> 00:09:28.799
way it can all be done. I think Christians have

158
00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:32.840
to just realize, look, they're statistic and study after study

159
00:09:32.840 --> 00:09:36.960
that right now people are more stressed out. Anxiety, worry,

160
00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:41.600
depression is just eating away at people across the United

161
00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:43.919
States of America. I won't speak for other countries, but

162
00:09:44.039 --> 00:09:46.799
all across America people are more stressed out. They have

163
00:09:46.840 --> 00:09:51.759
more anxiety, more worry, more discouragement, more depression. They just

164
00:09:52.039 --> 00:09:55.080
because they constantly and they feel like things are getting

165
00:09:55.080 --> 00:09:58.159
worse and worse and worse. Now sometimes again even based

166
00:09:58.200 --> 00:10:01.559
on my own eschatology, I do believe things will get

167
00:10:01.559 --> 00:10:04.559
worse and worse and worse. But we have to find

168
00:10:04.600 --> 00:10:07.840
a way to ensure that the way we speak of

169
00:10:07.879 --> 00:10:11.679
it is somewhat balanced. And I'm not look, don't even

170
00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:14.919
look to me as to be the person who is

171
00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:17.919
an example of doing it the right way. In many cases,

172
00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:20.919
I do it the wrong way. I can be just

173
00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:24.080
as guilty of doing this, especially over the years. I

174
00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:26.639
can turn on the microphone like this is, ladies and gentlemen,

175
00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:28.000
I don't know what's going on, and I don't know

176
00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:29.759
where the church is going to be. I don't, and

177
00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:33.759
I can I can fall into the exact same trap.

178
00:10:35.399 --> 00:10:40.000
Where is that fine line, where is that balance? I

179
00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:41.720
don't know if I have it, and I don't know

180
00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:45.320
if many Christian churches have it. But you just listen

181
00:10:45.879 --> 00:10:49.039
to a lot of Christian broadcasts and everything just sounds

182
00:10:49.080 --> 00:10:51.879
like it's the end. That it's it's the beginning of

183
00:10:51.919 --> 00:10:53.960
the end. It's over, it's over. And I'm not even

184
00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:58.080
talking from a look from a from a from the

185
00:10:58.120 --> 00:11:01.840
perspective of eschatology or or end times. I'm not even

186
00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:03.919
talking about that. I'm just talking about how we just

187
00:11:03.919 --> 00:11:06.960
speak about what's going on and culture, what's going on

188
00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:10.039
in the world. We have a way of describing it,

189
00:11:10.519 --> 00:11:17.200
like in the in the most exaggerated, you know, fear

190
00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:21.360
inducing terms that we can possibly come up with. And

191
00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:25.000
I think in many cases it's exaggeration, and we're selling

192
00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:29.919
fear and people are buying it, and the people who

193
00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:35.159
buy it are typically then filled with anxiety, worry, panic,

194
00:11:35.639 --> 00:11:39.639
and nothing good comes from it. In many cases we

195
00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:43.679
end up looking totally foolish because after a certain amount

196
00:11:43.720 --> 00:11:46.600
of time, all of that fear and all of those

197
00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:49.639
books that were sold, and all the conferences that happened,

198
00:11:49.799 --> 00:11:52.879
and all the DVDs, and I'm utilizing some you know,

199
00:11:52.919 --> 00:11:55.639
things that are dated now, but all the things that

200
00:11:55.679 --> 00:11:59.279
people you know, got to to supposedly protect them from

201
00:11:59.279 --> 00:12:04.559
this out to be absolutely nothing like everyone said. And

202
00:12:04.600 --> 00:12:07.440
guess what, the people who made the money, they already

203
00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:09.960
moved on to the next thing because you got to

204
00:12:10.039 --> 00:12:13.000
sell the fear. Now, why am I discussing it, Well,

205
00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:16.639
I'm starting by discussing it focusing on the church. But

206
00:12:16.919 --> 00:12:20.279
what I have for us is not focused on the church.

207
00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:24.679
It's focused more on, well, what's going on in the culture.

208
00:12:25.159 --> 00:12:31.600
So let me find this article, because well, it just

209
00:12:31.639 --> 00:12:33.639
made me think about how this happens in the church

210
00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:36.720
and outside the church. Here is the headline, right, this

211
00:12:36.759 --> 00:12:41.519
comes to us from NBC News. It was published September

212
00:12:41.559 --> 00:12:45.320
the twentieth, twenty twenty four, at six am Central time.

213
00:12:45.399 --> 00:12:49.120
So at six am Central time this morning, I would

214
00:12:49.159 --> 00:12:51.200
like to refer to that as Texas time or the

215
00:12:51.240 --> 00:12:55.000
correct time. All right, at six am this morning, Texas

216
00:12:55.000 --> 00:13:00.960
time or correct time, NBC News posted the following headline,

217
00:13:01.240 --> 00:13:10.840
Apocalypse delayed. Trump keeps promising a doom that never comes.

218
00:13:12.919 --> 00:13:22.039
Trump keeps promising a doom that never comes. Now they're

219
00:13:22.039 --> 00:13:24.720
gonna focus on Trump and some of you, who are

220
00:13:24.919 --> 00:13:27.879
you know? Trump? Trump? Trump? Trump? You you know you

221
00:13:27.879 --> 00:13:30.039
you sleep in a Trump flag. Okay, maybe that's a

222
00:13:30.039 --> 00:13:32.440
little bit of exaggeration, right, but the point is you

223
00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:35.159
love Trump. Don't get all offended and get all mad

224
00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:38.519
because Trump's not the only one who does this. Politicians

225
00:13:38.519 --> 00:13:42.039
have been doing it forever. Christians do it, ministries do it,

226
00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:46.480
churches do it. Everyone keeps promising and selling a doom

227
00:13:46.919 --> 00:13:54.480
that never comes. Here's the story. If the election does

228
00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:59.679
not go his way, the economy will tank, Christmas will

229
00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:04.279
be canceled, and America as we know it will be finished,

230
00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:08.320
Donald Trump promised in the run up to the twenty

231
00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:11.679
twenty election, So to the run up to the twenty

232
00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:14.240
twenty election, that was twenty twenty. Right leading up to

233
00:14:14.240 --> 00:14:17.720
twenty twenty election, Trump was saying, if the election does

234
00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:21.519
not go his way, the economy will tank, Christmas will

235
00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:26.440
be canceled, and America as we know it will be finished.

236
00:14:27.159 --> 00:14:30.120
The race did not go his way, of course, and

237
00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:35.759
none of Trump's prophesied cataclysms materialized under Joe Biden's presidency,

238
00:14:36.360 --> 00:14:40.240
but that has not stopped Trump from recycling some of

239
00:14:40.279 --> 00:14:47.639
the same dark predictions about, well, the new election. And

240
00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:49.559
I've heard it over and over and over. If this

241
00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:51.639
election doesn't go a certain way, it's the end of

242
00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:54.720
the country. It's end of America. We're all gonna it's

243
00:14:54.799 --> 00:14:58.360
it's And I heard the same thing when Obama, when

244
00:14:58.399 --> 00:15:01.960
the election with Obama, the very first one. If Obama's elected,

245
00:15:02.039 --> 00:15:04.120
We're all going to be Muslims. The churches are going

246
00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:06.440
to be shut down. They're going to take away our bibles. Oh,

247
00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:09.120
they're going to take away our guns. Oh. Over and over.

248
00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:12.879
I've heard this stuff so many times that I've become

249
00:15:13.080 --> 00:15:20.399
absolutely just numb to it. Again. Trump's kind of going

250
00:15:20.519 --> 00:15:22.600
doing the same thing this time with the new election.

251
00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:28.000
If he's elected. So this is what reading some of

252
00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:29.679
the things that he was this is back in October

253
00:15:29.799 --> 00:15:32.960
twenty twenty. If he's elected, the stock market will crash,

254
00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:36.440
Trump said in October twenty twenty during his only debate

255
00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:38.559
with Biden. If he gets in, you will have a

256
00:15:38.600 --> 00:15:43.200
depression the likes of which you have never seen. The

257
00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:48.080
depression never happened. Stocks rose during Biden's presidency, but Trump

258
00:15:48.120 --> 00:15:50.720
recently predicted that a Harris victory would lead to a

259
00:15:50.759 --> 00:15:54.759
massive stock market downturn and a nineteen twenty nine style depression.

260
00:15:54.919 --> 00:15:58.000
The stock market just broke some record, I believe yesterday.

261
00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:04.879
But wait, I think stocks have outperformed during Biden's presidency

262
00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:08.600
than they did under Trump. But hey, no, it doesn't matter,

263
00:16:08.600 --> 00:16:10.600
it doesn't matter. It's it's the end. It's the end.

264
00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:13.360
Now you've if you listen to some Trump supporters, we're

265
00:16:13.399 --> 00:16:15.519
in a depression right now. It's the end of the world.

266
00:16:15.559 --> 00:16:17.519
I don't know how we're good. We're all going to die.

267
00:16:17.879 --> 00:16:19.559
I don't know if I'm can make it another day,

268
00:16:21.320 --> 00:16:25.159
because that's because you they're selling it and you're buying it.

269
00:16:25.399 --> 00:16:30.240
They sell it and you buy it. And twenty twenty

270
00:16:30.759 --> 00:16:34.000
President Trump said the election is a choice between a

271
00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:38.360
Trump recovery and a Biden depression, and twenty twenty four,

272
00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:41.440
he said on Truth Social voters have a choice Trump

273
00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:45.039
prosperity or the Kamala crash and great depression of twenty

274
00:16:45.080 --> 00:16:52.799
twenty four, saying he's just really, he's selling the same thing.

275
00:16:53.159 --> 00:16:58.159
He's just selling the You just change the names, Biden Kamala.

276
00:16:58.360 --> 00:17:02.720
Just change the names, and it's he's just selling the

277
00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:10.240
exact same thing. Predicting the future is inherently difficult, and

278
00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:12.880
bluster about the danger of the other side winnings the

279
00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:16.519
norm for politicians of all stripes, but Trump's pinch it

280
00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:20.319
for hyperbole, over confidence, and a black and white claims

281
00:17:20.440 --> 00:17:24.640
has made him particularly an inn accurate nostradamus. The Trump

282
00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:26.960
campaign did not respond to a request for comment for

283
00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:30.640
this article. If Joe Biden ever becomes president, Trump tweeted

284
00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:35.559
in twenty twenty, our country will collapse if we don't win.

285
00:17:35.640 --> 00:17:38.039
He told New Hampshire voters in twenty twenty four, I

286
00:17:38.119 --> 00:17:42.480
think our country is finished four years ago, he warned

287
00:17:42.519 --> 00:17:45.279
Michigan voters that a vote for Biden is a vote

288
00:17:45.319 --> 00:17:50.599
to completely eradicate your auto industry. On Wednesday, he warned

289
00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:53.480
Michigan voters, if I don't win, you will have no

290
00:17:53.720 --> 00:17:57.480
auto industry. Within two or three years, it will be gone.

291
00:17:57.960 --> 00:18:00.599
He keeps saying the same things over and old and over.

292
00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:03.720
He just sells the same fear. He just sells the

293
00:18:03.759 --> 00:18:16.519
same panic, and you keep buying it. And Trump's predictions

294
00:18:16.519 --> 00:18:19.839
about life under a Biden president's presidency grew more and

295
00:18:19.880 --> 00:18:23.200
more apocalyptic as election day drew nigh. In twenty twenty,

296
00:18:23.480 --> 00:18:27.160
with the COVID nineteen pandemic raging, Trump told supporters that

297
00:18:28.160 --> 00:18:31.359
what with the COVID nineteen pandemic raging? If I can

298
00:18:31.400 --> 00:18:35.240
read correctly, Trump told supporters that Biden had plans to

299
00:18:35.319 --> 00:18:39.119
impose a blanket shutdown across the country and keep the

300
00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:42.839
country locked down to fulfill his plan to kill the

301
00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:46.799
American dream. If you vote for Biden, it means no

302
00:18:46.920 --> 00:18:51.160
kids in school, no graduations, no weddings, no Thanksgiving, no Christmas,

303
00:18:51.240 --> 00:18:54.039
no Fourth of July together, he said in a rally,

304
00:18:54.119 --> 00:18:56.960
and goodyear Arizona. If he comes in, he said, at

305
00:18:56.960 --> 00:19:00.359
a Nevada rally, the Christmas season will be canceled. Of course,

306
00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:03.759
Biden imposed no such lockdowns, and holiday season shopping rows

307
00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:07.559
every year of Biden's presidency to our record high last

308
00:19:07.640 --> 00:19:11.880
year according to the National Retail Federation. So he made

309
00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:15.599
all these predictions, not one of them came true, all

310
00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:21.279
bogus lies selling fear. Now he can sell all the

311
00:19:21.319 --> 00:19:25.799
fear he wants. He can lie, he can exaggerate. That's

312
00:19:25.839 --> 00:19:30.319
perfectly okay. What I'm trying to do is, as Christians,

313
00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:39.319
we can't buy the fear. Don't buy the fear, don't

314
00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:49.039
buy the panic, don't buy the hyperbole. It goes on

315
00:19:49.119 --> 00:19:52.680
to say, and his speech at the Republican National Convention

316
00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:55.799
in twenty twenty, Trump called Biden a trojan horse for

317
00:19:55.880 --> 00:19:59.319
socialism who would give free reign to violent anarchists to

318
00:19:59.400 --> 00:20:03.359
completely dismantle and destroy the American way of life. Make

319
00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:05.880
no mistake if you give power to Joe Biden, the

320
00:20:05.960 --> 00:20:09.279
radical lefl to fund police departments all across America, Trump warned,

321
00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:12.799
predicting Biden had plans for immediately releasing four hundred thousand

322
00:20:12.799 --> 00:20:17.119
criminals onto your streets and into your neighborhoods. In fact,

323
00:20:17.480 --> 00:20:22.279
crime has fallen, and Biden and Biden signed legislation increasing

324
00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:26.119
police funding. If the Left gains power, they will demolish

325
00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:29.359
the suburbs, confiscate your guns, and appoint justices who will

326
00:20:29.400 --> 00:20:32.720
wipe away your Second Amendment and other constitutional freedoms. Trump

327
00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:36.160
said in his convention speech, the suburb still stand, and

328
00:20:36.200 --> 00:20:39.279
does the Second Amendment, backed by a conservative majority on

329
00:20:39.400 --> 00:20:43.240
the Supreme Court. Speaking at the Village, a massive retirement

330
00:20:43.240 --> 00:20:46.519
community in Florida, Trump prophesied that Biden would dismantle your

331
00:20:46.519 --> 00:20:50.480
police departments, dissolve your borders, confiscate your guns, and terminate

332
00:20:50.519 --> 00:20:53.519
religious liberty. Almost four years in a Biden term, the

333
00:20:53.599 --> 00:20:57.960
US Mexico border remains a problem, but it also remains

334
00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:02.279
even God was not safe from Biden president's presidency. Trump

335
00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:06.039
warned if Joe Biden gets in, he said on Fox News,

336
00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:10.319
religion will be gone, okay, and another interview with the network,

337
00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:12.920
he said Biden would take away your guns, your oil,

338
00:21:13.240 --> 00:21:16.359
and your God. And Ohio. Trump said that Biden is

339
00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:19.839
against God and that his election would hurt the Bible

340
00:21:19.960 --> 00:21:25.279
and hurt God. Domestic oil production and gun sells both

341
00:21:25.319 --> 00:21:29.640
reached record highs under Biden. A practicing Catholic who attended

342
00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:33.640
church regularly while in the White House. But Trump's arguing

343
00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:39.160
went on with troubling visions of America completely cowed by

344
00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:41.960
its rivals. If I don't win the election, China will

345
00:21:41.960 --> 00:21:44.240
own the United States. You're going to have to learn

346
00:21:44.319 --> 00:21:48.720
to speak Chinese, Trump told conservative radio hosts Huge Hugh

347
00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:52.240
Hewitt in August twenty twenty. The number of American college

348
00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:56.000
students studying Chinese actually declined under Biden, having peaked in

349
00:21:56.000 --> 00:22:00.400
twenty sixteen. Trump even predicted that if he lost the election,

350
00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:02.880
he might have to leave the country or retire from

351
00:22:02.920 --> 00:22:05.039
public life. If I lose to him, I don't know

352
00:22:05.079 --> 00:22:06.759
what I'm going to do. I will never speak to

353
00:22:06.799 --> 00:22:10.119
you again, he told North Carolina rally goalers four years ago,

354
00:22:10.279 --> 00:22:13.799
You'll never see me again. Well, obviously that didn't happen either,

355
00:22:15.200 --> 00:22:18.000
he went on to say and Georgia. Days before the election,

356
00:22:18.039 --> 00:22:20.039
Trump said he would be so embarrassed to lose to

357
00:22:20.039 --> 00:22:23.200
Biden that he'll leave the country. I don't know. Maybe

358
00:22:23.240 --> 00:22:25.279
I'll leave the country. I don't know. But there was

359
00:22:25.319 --> 00:22:28.319
no chance of that. Trump confidently predicted, telling supporters in

360
00:22:28.359 --> 00:22:31.559
Wisconsin his election was basically a sure thing. The only

361
00:22:31.559 --> 00:22:33.559
way we're going to lose the election is if the

362
00:22:33.720 --> 00:22:36.720
election is rigged. Trump did in fact lose and did

363
00:22:36.759 --> 00:22:39.440
not flee the country. This year is Trump faces off

364
00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:42.200
against Biden's vice president, he has reprised some of the

365
00:22:42.279 --> 00:22:45.720
same gram predictions for the future if he does not win.

366
00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:49.160
While Biden was a trojan horse for socialism, Trump's campaign

367
00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:51.119
said in a new release last month that Harris is

368
00:22:51.160 --> 00:22:54.519
a trojan force, a trojan horse, a trojan horse for

369
00:22:54.599 --> 00:22:59.160
a nation destroying spending, a communist, a communist price controls

370
00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:02.400
and open border. I mean, he just repeats the same thing.

371
00:23:02.599 --> 00:23:06.960
He continues to sell it over and over and over again,

372
00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:14.519
all right, uh, and reprising his false prophecy from twenty twenty,

373
00:23:14.519 --> 00:23:18.240
Trump has been telling supporters that this election, too is

374
00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:20.200
a sure thing, and the only way he can lose

375
00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:23.480
is if it is rigged. Of course, setting up again

376
00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:26.880
more problems and difficulties, just like he did last time.

377
00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:29.200
He continues to sell it. And we could go on

378
00:23:29.319 --> 00:23:31.960
and on and on, and all the things he keeps selling,

379
00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:35.440
he keeps saying the same things over and over, and

380
00:23:35.480 --> 00:23:40.200
the things he is selling is just insanity. And no

381
00:23:40.200 --> 00:23:43.119
matter how much he sells it. There's the American people

382
00:23:43.160 --> 00:23:47.000
out there that will buy it. They buy it, they

383
00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:51.079
buy into the panic, they buy into this and this thing,

384
00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:54.279
this way of thinking has to stop. Now. I could

385
00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:55.839
go through and read a lot more of the article.

386
00:23:56.119 --> 00:24:00.000
I didn't want to go through all of it because

387
00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:02.400
the list is so long. I mean, I could sit

388
00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:05.000
here and play audio clips constantly of the things he

389
00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:09.559
is saying, the things he is predicting, and everyone knows,

390
00:24:10.359 --> 00:24:13.359
just stop it, just stop. I mean, he constantly says

391
00:24:13.400 --> 00:24:15.640
there'll be no country, There'll be no country, There'll be

392
00:24:15.720 --> 00:24:17.759
no country. He is the only one who can save

393
00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:20.759
the country. And if you look on truth social and

394
00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:23.599
you look at Trump supporters, that's basically the way they think,

395
00:24:24.680 --> 00:24:27.079
and you're like, well, wait a minute, We've had four

396
00:24:27.160 --> 00:24:29.599
years without Trump. Why do we still have a country?

397
00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:34.400
And Trump was in power for four years? Why didn't

398
00:24:34.440 --> 00:24:37.160
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,

406
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

411
00:25:28.200 --> 00:25:31.880
for survival and security, making people more alert to potential

412
00:25:31.880 --> 00:25:34.920
threats and more willing to act to avoid danger. Whether

413
00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:39.200
in politics or ministry, Presenting a picture of a world

414
00:25:39.319 --> 00:25:44.519
in crisis creates a heightened emotional response, which can lead

415
00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:49.400
to action. And that's all you have to do. A

416
00:25:49.440 --> 00:25:51.960
pastor can walk behind the pulpen and say, ladies and gentlemen,

417
00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:57.160
in this particular you know, in Disney movies or in

418
00:25:57.359 --> 00:26:01.039
this particular kind of music, Satan is working and he's

419
00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:03.359
coming for your kids, and he's going to take your

420
00:26:03.400 --> 00:26:06.359
kids from you, and he's going to destroy their lives.

421
00:26:06.359 --> 00:26:08.480
And the next tame parents are like, that's it, no

422
00:26:08.559 --> 00:26:12.400
more Disney, that's it, no more music. That's it, because

423
00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:14.960
Satan's going to get you, and they create the fear,

424
00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:23.319
and then you get this crazy overreaction happens constantly within Christianity. Now,

425
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

428
00:26:36.440 --> 00:26:39.880
a promise that their leadership or policies will be the solution.

429
00:26:40.279 --> 00:26:44.160
By magnifying issues, they create a sense of urgency, encouraging

430
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

432
00:26:52.279 --> 00:26:57.279
each side identifying different threats crime, immigration, climate change, or

433
00:26:57.440 --> 00:27:02.920
economic instability. All politicians do this. They can't just say, hey,

434
00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:05.519
things are we got a couple of problems here, we

435
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

437
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

441
00:27:20.720 --> 00:27:23.680
a job, You're gonna be eating cats and dogs because

442
00:27:23.680 --> 00:27:27.000
you're not gonna have any money for food. Oh my goodness,

443
00:27:27.039 --> 00:27:29.240
what do I do. Vote for me and I will

444
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

449
00:27:50.079 --> 00:27:52.400
single time that we were on the brink of total

450
00:27:52.440 --> 00:27:55.039
and utter annihilation and we're no longer going to exist.

451
00:27:55.960 --> 00:27:58.160
I mean, if I had a dime for every time,

452
00:27:58.200 --> 00:28:01.359
I would be rich. Okay, maybe that's a little bit

453
00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:04.039
of exaggeration, but there would be a lot of money there.

454
00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:06.559
Because I've heard it over and over and over and over.

455
00:28:06.599 --> 00:28:12.480
It seems like my whole life now. And within ministries

456
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,

458
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