Trump and Manifest Destiny

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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 Wednesday, January the twenty second, twenty twenty five.

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It is currently ten thirty one am Central Time, and

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I am coming to you live from the Theology Central

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studio located right here in Abilene, Texas. Now. Yesterday, I

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think a lot of people will miss what I actually

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did because they're going to get all caught up in

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my you could say, criticism of President Trump pardoning all

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the people involved in the January sixth riot, their attack

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on the Capitol Building. You can. You can a lot

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of people just hear my criticism and they just hear

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criticism of Trump, and then that's it. They're going to

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be all very upset with me and angry and mad.

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And already there were some people not very happy with

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what I did and said I was being unfair. Okay, God,

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I understood that, because I mean, if you criticize Trump,

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there's a lot of people within the Christian world who

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are not going to like that because they are very

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much Trump's supporters. So you're you're always kind of walking

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into dangerous grounds or while you're swimming into dangerous waters

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when you do that. But I think what kind of

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frustrated me is they just heard criticism and they missed

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everything that I said, because I think I gave a

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very important prediction about twenty twenty five, right, I said,

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we're gonna see, We're gonna we're gonna see really two

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things happen. On one hand, we're going to see just

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this a more politicized church arising in twenty twenty five.

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The church is going to be more politically hijacked. There's

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going to be this mixing in of Christian nationalism and

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it's just going to kind of grow and it's going

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to kind of spread. The church is going to see

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that they have a political ally. They're going to perceive

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that they have a political eyela ally in the White House,

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and they're going to look to move forward and try

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to get things done politically. It's going to be the

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church is. They're going to be looking to Washington for

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a lot of assistance and help to get their agenda

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pass and to try to quote unquote christianize America and

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bring back God and all the things they're going to do.

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But they're going to be very much wrapping that all

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in politics and passing legislation and that type of thing.

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So you're going to see a politicized church, a Christian nationalism,

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whether it's called that or not, in infecting, influencing, spreading

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through the church, and many people are going to look around,

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going what just happened to my church? What is going

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on with Christianity? It seems to be very political, and

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I think that's going to just for the next four years.

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I think it's just going to get worse and worse

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and worse and worse. I think the church typically does

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better when they have no political allies. They have no

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they can't look to Washington, they can't look to the chariots,

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they can't look to the horses. That can only look

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to God. I think that's when the church does better,

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when they when they are stripped of any earthly ally

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and all they can do is lift their eyes towards

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God and focus on God. But when they've got what

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they perceive to be their spiritual allies in the White House,

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then the church tends to become very culture minded, culture war.

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It just really get I think it becomes very distracted,

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That's my opinion, and that's where I think it's going

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to go. So that's one of my predictions. The church

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is going to be more politicized. Christian Nationalism is going

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to spread, It's going to infect all of Christianity, and

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Christianity is going to be very politically minded, and I

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think that's only going to get worse over the next

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four years. At the same time, there's going to be

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a minority. I don't know if we can specify percentage,

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but there will be a there will be a group

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that will try to push back against that Christian nationalism,

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against the politicizing of the church. And they and they

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may be very critical of Trump and very critical of

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some of the things Republicans are doing going to do,

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and they're going to try to fight it. But what's

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going to happen is they're going to be so preoccupied

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with that. You're going to have a politicized church. You're

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going to have its opposition. And guess what's going to happen, Well,

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where's where's going to be really the focus on the

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things of God. Where's going to be the focus on

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on on christian on real, true biblical Christianity. I think

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I think it's going to be it's going to be

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harder to find biblically minded Christianity, where your focus is

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on the Word of God, doctrine, theology, hermeneutics. It's going

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to be harder to find that because you're going to

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have these two competing forms of Christianity. Really the opposition

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to the politics, which is great, you want to oppose

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the political hijacking of the church. But if all you're

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doing is counter countering it, correcting it, expose, well, you're

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not giving anyone actually Christianity. You may be fighting for

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biblical Christianity, but you're actually not giving anyone actually biblical

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Christianity because you're spending all of your time being distracted

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by the politicized church, and the politicized church is not

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giving people biblical Christianity because it's becoming more political. So

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you're going to have on one hand, the rise of

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the more politically hijacked church and Christian nationalism, and then

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you're going to have the rise of the opposition, and

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that's going to leave a lot of people going, well,

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where where do I turn now? There will be obviously

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plenty of churches out there who are going to try

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to avoid both of those extremes and hopefully try to

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offer people something different, and I think that those will

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be very much needed and should be greatly appreciated for

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attempting to do that. It'll be interesting to see how

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it plays out. But I made those predictions. Now, so

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here I am today. Yesterday we talked about Trump and

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his pardoning of the January writer writers and even those

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who are involved in the violence of it, all right,

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So I was greatly bothered by it. I did try

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to bring us back to some scriptures. But okay, so

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I I and I made those predictions. So what should

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I do today? Well, the last thing I should do

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is go back to the whole Trump politics situation. Right.

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I don't want to go there because I want to

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move us towards you know, let's focus on doctrine and theology,

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and that's where I want to go. But I feel

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like I have to talk about this today, all right,

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And and again I need you to listen to me carefully.

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I'm going to mention Trump. I'm going to mention him,

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but I'm only mentioning him because there were comments he

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made that brought this idea, this concept right back to

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the forefront, and we have to address it from a

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biblical and philological perspective. Okay, so understand, I'm only mentioning

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Trump to get to this other thing. It's always frustrating

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when you say, Okay, I'm gonna mention this, but it's

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really about this, and nobody ever gets to what it's

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really about because you mentioned Trump or you mentioned this,

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or you mentioned that, And if they are supporters of

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Trump or supporters of them maybe a specific philological system

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or a specific pastor if you offer any criticism, they

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can't get to what you're actually talking about because they

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get so defensive over their favorite preacher or their favorite

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theiological system or their favorite politician possibly being criticized. But

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here is simply this person mentioned this, so we need

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to talk about it, all right, So hopefully everyone can follow, right,

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I hope, So, I hope. So I want to avoid

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I definitely obviously you know, I'm in complete opposition of

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the political hijacking of the church, and I'm completely in

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opposition to Christian nationalism. But I don't want this to

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fall into All I do is try to oppose that

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and address it. I want to get us to theology

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and doctrine. So that's what I'm going to try to

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do here. It just may seem like kind of a

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weird way to get there, right, But just stay with me.

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Hopefully this will make sense. President Donald Trump and voked

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the phrase manifest destiny during his inaugural address on January

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the twentieth, twenty twenty five. I want you to hear

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that again. President Donald Trump And voked the phrase manifest

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destiny during his inaugural address on January the twentieth, twenty

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twenty five. Now, I want you to write down that phrase,

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manifest destiny. Manifest destiny. Now, I don't know what that

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means to you. I mean, I mean anything to you. You

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may go I think I remember hearing about this in school.

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You may even think, yes, America, manifest destiny. You may

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embrace the concept, You may embrace the philosophy completely. I

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obviously want us to consider the implications of this phrase.

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Look at it not only from a historical societal point

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of view, but then I want to look at it

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from a biblical and philological point of view. And I

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have some major issues with it. All right, So here's

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a little bit more about it. In his speech where

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he used the phrase manifest destiny, he outlined an expansionist

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vision for the United States, expressing interest and extending American

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influence to regions such as the Panama Canal and even Mars.

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He declared the beginning of a Golden Age for America,

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emphasizing a return to a national greatness and unity. Additionally,

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Trump announced plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico as

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the Gulf of America and to reclaim control of the

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Panama Canal, asserting that Panama has violent violated treaty conditions

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and accusing China of influencing canal operations. These statements reflect

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his administration's intent to revive the nineteenth century doctrine of

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manifest destiny to justify contemporary expansionist policies. Now, how Trump

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is going to revive this manifest destiny doctrine? Is he

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going to do that? Is that fair criticism? Is that hyperbole?

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You can have that debate, that's where you get into

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more of the political side of it. But when I

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hear the term manifest destiny, I immediately like, whoa time out?

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We got to talk, all right? And what was kind

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of interesting is I've noticed on a couple of Christian

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websites where there's been different stories about things going on

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with Trump and the inauguration and different things and the

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executive orders. I have seen some Christians underneath some of

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these articles utilize the phrase manifest destiny, and I'm like,

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oh boy, here we go. So what I want to

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talk about is not Trump. What I want to talk

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about is not what his administration may or may not do.

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I don't even want to talk about whether they're going

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to revive manifest destiny doctrine. I don't whether Christians are

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using it or not. What I want to do is

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talk about the concept of manifest destiny so that you

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because even if people never use the term, I want

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you to be so familiar with the concept that when

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you hear people almost put forth the philosophy, even without

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using the terminology, you can detect it, and you can

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hear it and you can recognize it. This is so important.

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This is true in philosophy. Philosophy a lot of times

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may be developed and defined and outlined, maybe in an

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academic setting. There's some philosopher somewhere and they put forth

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this philosophical concept, this philosophical idea. It may be they

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may write a book. You know, it's you know, giving

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their concept, you know, laying it out right, putting it forth,

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and it may be academic, it may be complicated, whatever

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the case may be. They they put forth, they they

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they they in a sense proclaim this philosophical idea. So

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for the average person that don't even know this is

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going on, they're not paying any attention, they don't care.

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They're not sitting there reading, you know, academic journals or

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checking out the latest philosophy books that are coming out,

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and they're not paying any attention. But sometimes what happens

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is that philosophy in a sense breaks free from that

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academic setting, breaks free from all of that academic definition,

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and it begins to enter within popular culture. And then

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the philosophy kind of begins to spread, and it goes here,

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and it goes here, and it goes here, and it

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goes here, and it goes here and it goes here.

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And then people start picking up the philosophical concept without

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even knowing where it originated from or that it's even

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necessarily quote unquote a philosophy. They just kind of accept it.

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And then people start thinking this way and they start

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saying it, and whether you like it or not, those

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people live in the world and they come to church

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and then the next thing, you know, the philosophy can

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enter inside the church. Same thing can happen from a

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thiological perspective. Someone puts forth a philological concept, a thiological idea,

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and then at first it may be in some seminary somewhere,

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maybe in a philological journal. The average person sitting in

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the church doesn't have a clue what's going on. Pastors

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pick it up, Bible teachers pick it up, they start

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expounding it. They may not use the terminology, they may

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not even say, oh, this is this or this is that,

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but it starts spreading, and next thing you know, Christians

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are picking up the idea having no idea where it originated,

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or they may not even know the actual technical name

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for it. That's how these see ideas once they are

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once they are formed, they may are always maybe formed

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in a much more complicated or academic way, but once

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the ideas break free, then they begin to spread. And

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in some ways I could we could go back to

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my discussion about lordship salvation and around about wait, when

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it was originally the idea was being put forth and

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shaped and discussed, the average person sitting in church may

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not even have any clue that this concept was out

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there spreading. But the next thing you know, they may

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be adopting some of the concept of lordship salvation. And

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I've never even read a book on it, don't even

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know what's called lordship salvation, but they are articulating that

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concept without even knowing what's happened. Ideas and concepts spread.

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So what I want you to do is know the

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concept of manifest destiny so that when you hear it,

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even if your pastor is not using the phrase, you

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can be like, that sounds a lot like manifest destiny.

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What are you actually saying? Now you may agree with it,

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and that's particulars that's up to you, but I want

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to at least talk about it, all right, So we're

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going to try to outline summarize the origin, the meaning,

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and the implications of manifest destiny. So I'm going to

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try to We're going to try to outline summarize the origin, meaning,

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and implications of manifest destiny. All right. Let's start with

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the origin of manifest destiny when the term kind of

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really was coined. Now, the concept this is always important.

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Once again, concepts usually exist before they're necessarily sometimes truly

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defined or called by a specific name. The idea is

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already out there, and then someone will kind of take

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the idea and then give it a name, kind of

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give it a term that will define it. Now the phrase,

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not the concept, but the phrase manifest destiny was first

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used by a journalist. His name was John L. O'Sullivan

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and eighteen forty five. Eighteen forty five John L. O'Sullivan

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and eighteen forty five in the United States magazine and

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Democratic Review. That's when the term was coined. Kind of

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manifest destiny. But you're going back to eighteen forty five.

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The concept predates the term, right, So I mean that

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always happens. There's something there and then someone like, let's

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call that rock and roll. Well the concept mayor let's

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call that this, Let's call it this, let's call this grunge.

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I can use you know, when music genres are defined.

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The sound the music already is there, but someone has

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to give it. We're gonna call this this, We're gonna

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call this, We're gonna call this jazz or contemporary jazz.

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We're gonna call this, you know, post punk. Are we

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gonna call this pop punk? Whatever the case. Maybe I

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can just go through all kinds of music genres, someone

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has to give it a name. But the music's already there,

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someone has to define it. Same thing happens in kind

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of philosophy, someone has to give it a name. So

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eighteen forty five is where the phrase is termed manifest destiny.

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Now it emerged the the kind of the context. It

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emerged during a time of American territorial expansion, including does

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anybody know the annexation of Texas eighteen forty five? Why

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did we? Who said that it annex Texas? What are

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you talking about? We are our own country. We don't

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need anybody else? What do you take your filthy hands off? Text? Okay, right, right?

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Never just just trying to add a little humor into

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a little bit of history. Right. So America is expanding,

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taking territory which includes the annexation of Texas and the

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Oregon Trail migrations. The Oregon Trail people are migrating, right.

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It is rooted and the earlier ideas of exceptionalism and

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colonialism tied to a belief and divine providence guiding America's growth.

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So it's idea, hey, grow expand right, we are What

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we have to offer is exceptional. What we have to

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offer is better. Let's expand, let's take territory, and we're

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doing so because of divine providence, because this is what

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God wants. Basically, God is on our side. God likes

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our culture, he likes our identity, he likes our ideas,

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and he wants our identity, our culture to expand over

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any other thing that may be in our way. That

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may be an oversimplification, but you're getting the idea. But

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there's the history. So there's the origin. There's kind of

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the historical context. America is moving, expanding, growing, taking its

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ideas and moving them to other places. Now what's the

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philosophical basis, Well, it combines religious undertones God's will with

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nationalism and the belief in the superiority of American democracy

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and culture. Now, please know, here's the basis for it. Right,

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you have religion, you have nationalism. You see where this

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is going. So what do you do. You take God's will,

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you mix it with nationalism, and you have this idea

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that America is superior, our democracy, our culture is superior

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or to anybody else's. And it's God's will that we

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move forward, that we expand we're great, We're great, terror

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we're the greatest, and it's God's will. Very nationalistic, but

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you bring in God because if you have God justifying

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what you're doing, then you can justify what we're gonna

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do this, or we're gonna take this, or we're gonna

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do this, and God's on our side. You see this

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very very much. And I think I mean just anytime

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America is involved in a military conflict, we just assume

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God is always on our side, right, God bless the troops,

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God bless our military effort. As if God is always

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on our side, no matter what we're doing. If we're

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invading a rock because they supposedly have weapons of mass

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destruction that they do not have, God is on our side.

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Couldn't be on their side, couldn't be on their side.

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When we get involved in Vietnam, God is on our

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It's always God on our side. Always. God is always

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on America side because God is an American, right, I mean,

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basically it's that kind of concept. Now people of other

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countries may go, who wha, WHOA? When did God get

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on America side? When did God declare that America is best?

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When did God decide that American culture is better than

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our culture? When? Who made this determination. Now you may

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be America America, you may love America. But see the

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problem is is when you love America in America, America, America, America,

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and you're a patriot and you love patriotism and you

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want to wave the American flag. But when you somehow

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then bring God to justify your patriotism, oh, then that's

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where things get a little a little troubling. So there's

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the origin, there's kind of the historical context. There's the

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philosophs basis. Let me give you the philosophical basis again.

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You take basically the religion and nationalism. You're going to

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mix it together. You're going to have a religious undertone

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of God's will. You're going to mix it with nationalism,

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and you're going to have the belief that America is

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superior in its democracy is superior, its culture is superior. Okay,

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now let's kind of go to the meaning. Now, the

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meaning of manifest destiny. I think I'm already kind of

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giving you a little bit of this, but let's kind

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of go to the meaning. So there was kind of

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the kind of the origins, the historical context, the philosophical basis.

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Let's kind of go to the meaning of manifest destiny.

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Let's break down kind of what it means. Let's start

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with kind of a core definition of manifest destiny. I

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think I'm kind of already giving it to you, but

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let's repeat it. Manifest destiny if we want to kind

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of go with a core definition. It is the belief

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that the United States was dis destined by God to

365
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expand its territory and influence across the North American continent

366
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from sea to Shining Sea. We're destined by God to

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expand our territory, to expand our influence from sea to

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Shining Sea. God wants us to expand. God wants us

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to have this land. God the key components divine justification.

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Expansion was considered preordained by God. See is preordained by

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God for us to go there and take that land.

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I mean, too bad if someone's already living there, that's

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not our problem. God wants us to have it. It's

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God who wants us to have it. You just use

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God as the justification to do basically whatever you want

376
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to do. Yeah. Cultural superiority. This is another key component,

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a belief in the superiority of American values, governance, and civilization.

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Over indigenous people and others. See when you are moving forward,

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God wants me to move forward, and you're like, no, no, no, no.

380
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Our way is superior. Our our values are more superior

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than your values. Our way of governance is more superior

382
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than your way of governance. Our civilization is greater and

383
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better than those indigenous people and your culture, Indigenous people

384
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in your culture, No, you're not away, are superior, and

385
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God wants us here, So your culture has to be

386
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wiped out so our culture can be established. There's kind

387
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of a missionary impulse, a perceived duty to spread democracy, Christianity,

388
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and civilization. Hey, we're going to spread democracy you we

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want you to have democracy. We don't care if you

390
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really want it, but we we just know that you

391
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want it. It's this idea, Hey, hey, we're going to

392
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go to the mid Least and we're gonna we're just

393
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gonna give them democracy because we know that's what they

394
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We know that's what the people in Afghanistan want. We

395
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know that's what the people here. Why And so many

396
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times we just it's this arrogance that we think everyone

397
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wants our system of government. They may not. They want

398
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our culture, they may not because we just perceive that

399
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our way is the better way, and we don't care

400
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about their culture or what they want. And we may

401
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say that God is the one who wants us to

402
00:25:28.359 --> 00:25:38.319
expand it. So there's the core definition. There's the key components.

403
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Let me go through the key to core definition, the

404
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belief that the United States was destined by God to

405
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expand its territory and influence across the North American continent

406
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from sea to Shining Sea. The key components is a

407
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divine justification, a feeling of cultural superiority, and a missionary impulse. Now,

408
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what are the implications of manifest destiny? What are the

409
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implications of it? Well, I think we know the first one,

410
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especially if you go back in history territorial expansion. I mean, clearly,

411
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that's a major implication of manifest destiny is territorial expansion.

412
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And that fueled some of the following things. The Louisiana

413
00:26:17.880 --> 00:26:21.200
Purchase in eighteen oh three, the annexation of Texas eighteen

414
00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:24.920
forty five, the Oregon Trail Settlement eighteen forty six, the

415
00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:28.119
Mexican American War eighteen forty six to eighteen forty eight,

416
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leading to the treaty leading to a treaty which added California, Arizona,

417
00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:39.559
New Mexico, and more to US territory. I think as

418
00:26:39.599 --> 00:26:44.160
a treaty of Guadaloupe Hildago. I believe I could be

419
00:26:44.200 --> 00:26:48.160
wrong there, so don't quote me on that. But you see,

420
00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:57.200
it's it acquires, it takes, it obtains more land, more

421
00:26:57.359 --> 00:27:02.559
area for what purpose? To then expand our culture, our values,

422
00:27:02.680 --> 00:27:07.880
our ideas. Now what was the impact on native populations, Well,

423
00:27:08.519 --> 00:27:12.200
it forced displacement. That's how you get to the trail

424
00:27:12.279 --> 00:27:14.400
of tears. If you don't know about that, look that up.

425
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You end up with violent conflict with indigenous tribes. I

426
00:27:20.240 --> 00:27:23.680
mean they're forced to be displaced because our way is

427
00:27:23.680 --> 00:27:26.400
superior to our way. God wants us to have this.

428
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This is our destiny, it's manifest destiny. You have to

429
00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:40.039
go and it leads to cultural erasures and widespread loss

430
00:27:40.039 --> 00:27:42.599
of native lands. You just wipe out the culture, you

431
00:27:42.680 --> 00:27:48.559
take their lands, and then you use God as the

432
00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:51.759
justification and you use the idea that we are superior.

433
00:27:55.880 --> 00:27:59.960
It leads to conflict with other nations, strained relations with Mexico,

434
00:28:00.200 --> 00:28:03.960
Mexico American War, tensions with Britain over the Oregon territory

435
00:28:04.839 --> 00:28:08.759
leads to economic growth, expanded agriculture and resource based economies.

436
00:28:08.799 --> 00:28:10.960
I mean, yeah, you take more land, you have more

437
00:28:11.279 --> 00:28:13.960
places to grow agriculture. So it is going to possibly

438
00:28:13.960 --> 00:28:18.440
help the economy, and it boosts infrastructure and development. You're

439
00:28:18.440 --> 00:28:21.319
gonna boost infrastructure because we're gonna build a railroad. But

440
00:28:21.480 --> 00:28:24.839
we don't own that land. Oh yes we do. We're

441
00:28:24.920 --> 00:28:32.359
gonna take it now. It also led new territories, intensified

442
00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:37.000
debates over the extension of slavery, contributing to a sectionalism

443
00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:40.160
and eventually the Civil War. It did lead to debates

444
00:28:40.240 --> 00:28:47.960
over slavery. I mean you could you could probably again

445
00:28:48.039 --> 00:28:50.119
with anything, once you kind of bring God into what

446
00:28:50.160 --> 00:28:53.440
you're doing, you can you can use God to justify slavery.

447
00:28:53.920 --> 00:28:55.799
You could try to use God to argue against it.

448
00:28:56.000 --> 00:28:58.839
So that's what happens in politics. Everyone that happens in

449
00:28:58.960 --> 00:29:02.519
war happens in Everyone wants to use God as justification

450
00:29:02.640 --> 00:29:06.039
for what they do because God is always on their side.

451
00:29:06.480 --> 00:29:08.799
And not only is God on their side, God then

452
00:29:08.839 --> 00:29:10.680
wants to do this and it doesn't matter if it

453
00:29:10.720 --> 00:29:14.240
impacts you negatively. God is on our side. God doesn't

454
00:29:14.240 --> 00:29:16.039
want you to read that book God doesn't want you

455
00:29:16.079 --> 00:29:18.000
to do this. God, we're gonna take this. We're gonna

456
00:29:18.039 --> 00:29:20.000
do this. We're gonna do it because God is always

457
00:29:20.079 --> 00:29:24.359
on our side. And then God is used again to

458
00:29:24.640 --> 00:29:31.279
justify actions that impact other people. So those are some

459
00:29:31.319 --> 00:29:34.079
of the implications of manifest destiny. How about some of

460
00:29:34.119 --> 00:29:39.160
the legacy of manifest Destiny. Well, it did, you could argue,

461
00:29:39.200 --> 00:29:44.519
and some people will definitely state this as a positive.

462
00:29:45.319 --> 00:29:48.880
It solidified America's self image as a nation of pioneers

463
00:29:48.880 --> 00:29:53.039
and innovators, kind of give a national identity. We have

464
00:29:53.119 --> 00:29:57.599
a national identity, right, and people and most Americans are

465
00:29:57.680 --> 00:30:01.039
very strong about that. If you come over to America,

466
00:30:01.279 --> 00:30:04.880
you must be assimilated into our culture. You must accept

467
00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:07.759
our culture. Right, if you're going to come here, you

468
00:30:07.839 --> 00:30:11.039
must be an American. You must. And it's like your

469
00:30:11.119 --> 00:30:21.319
culture is subservient to ours. Ours is superior. But and

470
00:30:21.359 --> 00:30:25.480
I can understand why, because if everyone has a national identity,

471
00:30:25.519 --> 00:30:28.480
some would say that leads to less division, and well

472
00:30:28.519 --> 00:30:30.960
you can you can see all the arguments for that,

473
00:30:31.119 --> 00:30:34.559
and you hear this in politics all the time. Now,

474
00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:39.400
some of the criticism Modern interpret interpretations criticize manifest Destiny

475
00:30:39.400 --> 00:30:45.279
for its role in justifying imperialism, racism, and human rights abuses. Yeah,

476
00:30:45.400 --> 00:30:48.480
you see another race. Your culture is not superior to

477
00:30:48.519 --> 00:30:51.279
our culture. Our culture is superior to your culture. Your

478
00:30:51.359 --> 00:30:57.839
culture doesn't matter because we're the best. That's oh man,

479
00:30:57.960 --> 00:31:03.359
all right, Now, the continued influence, So that's kind of

480
00:31:03.400 --> 00:31:06.680
the criticism. Is it. Basically manifest destiny has its role

481
00:31:06.680 --> 00:31:11.039
in justifying imperialism, racism, and human rights abuses. It's influence.

482
00:31:11.119 --> 00:31:14.920
The echoes of manifest destiny persist in modern American foreign policies,

483
00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:22.880
expansionist rhetoric, often framed as American exceptionalism. I don't know

484
00:31:22.920 --> 00:31:24.960
if you've ever listened to a lot of conservative talk

485
00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:29.079
show hosts. They love to talk about American exceptionalism. You

486
00:31:29.160 --> 00:31:36.079
hear it sometimes Fox News, Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Glenn Beck. Oh,

487
00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:40.920
they love these concepts, These concepts of basically a manifest

488
00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:45.960
destiny at least influenced philosophy, you hear it. And many

489
00:31:46.039 --> 00:31:55.720
Christians just buy into this concept now. By promoting expansion

490
00:31:56.319 --> 00:32:01.240
as both a right and a divine mission, and manifest

491
00:32:01.359 --> 00:32:05.000
destiny shaped US history and left a lasting impact on

492
00:32:05.079 --> 00:32:10.559
its national kind of identity. It's territorial boundaries and its

493
00:32:10.559 --> 00:32:17.039
interactions with other cultures and nations. Now again, now that's

494
00:32:17.119 --> 00:32:19.920
kind of just an overview of manifest destiny. Now, some

495
00:32:19.960 --> 00:32:22.160
of you will be trying to defend some of it,

496
00:32:22.400 --> 00:32:24.400
some of you may try to criticize some of it.

497
00:32:24.559 --> 00:32:27.160
I just want you to be able to identify it.

498
00:32:28.079 --> 00:32:30.039
You can determine if you want it or don't want

499
00:32:30.039 --> 00:32:32.079
it right. You can determine if you agree with it

500
00:32:32.920 --> 00:32:35.880
or disagree with it right. And I think a lot

501
00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:37.359
of it's going to come down to how do you

502
00:32:37.480 --> 00:32:40.759
view it? Right? I mean, if you just remove God? Well,

503
00:32:40.839 --> 00:32:42.920
is the only problem is you can't really remove God

504
00:32:42.920 --> 00:32:45.680
from manifest destiny because it includes God. Right, So this

505
00:32:45.720 --> 00:32:48.279
is where it gets kind of convoluted. Right the minute

506
00:32:48.319 --> 00:32:50.440
you bring God into it, then I think you have

507
00:32:50.480 --> 00:32:53.400
to look at it from a God perspective, because God

508
00:32:53.480 --> 00:32:57.440
didn't you know, we just It's almost like we just said, okay, God,

509
00:32:57.680 --> 00:33:00.519
you're on our side and you think we're better than everyone.

510
00:33:01.079 --> 00:33:03.720
But did God say any of that? Are we just

511
00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:06.640
speaking for God? I think manifest destiny is a lot

512
00:33:06.680 --> 00:33:12.960
of where people can we dare say we Manifest destiny

513
00:33:13.319 --> 00:33:16.559
is where a nation creates a God in the image

514
00:33:16.680 --> 00:33:20.839
of their nation. I think it's almost a form of

515
00:33:21.680 --> 00:33:25.599
building your own golden calf. We're going to build a

516
00:33:25.599 --> 00:33:27.440
God to go before us, and that God's going to

517
00:33:27.480 --> 00:33:30.480
wear an American flag. That God is going to wear

518
00:33:30.640 --> 00:33:33.160
a hat that says make America great again. That God

519
00:33:33.240 --> 00:33:36.400
is going to go forth and preach American exceptionalism. That God,

520
00:33:36.519 --> 00:33:42.640
and so we create an American God that justifies our wars,

521
00:33:42.880 --> 00:33:46.680
justifies whatever we do. I think that that's a problem.

522
00:33:47.519 --> 00:33:49.359
So I was gonna say, if you if you remove,

523
00:33:49.759 --> 00:33:52.319
if you remove the god portion of quote unquote, well

524
00:33:52.319 --> 00:33:55.599
we wouldn't even call it a manifest destiny. Then if

525
00:33:55.599 --> 00:33:58.480
we just called it something else that we believe just

526
00:33:58.519 --> 00:34:02.200
a full blown is the best. America is great, and

527
00:34:02.279 --> 00:34:05.920
every other culture is trash compared to us, We're the best.

528
00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:08.480
And you just look at it from an atheist agnostic way,

529
00:34:08.719 --> 00:34:10.800
then you're just making an argument that you're better than

530
00:34:10.800 --> 00:34:14.559
everyone else. But manifest destiny invokes God and creates a

531
00:34:15.119 --> 00:34:22.719
American flag waving golden calf. And you see a lot

532
00:34:22.760 --> 00:34:26.519
of churches with all its patriotism, especially certain times of

533
00:34:26.519 --> 00:34:30.119
the year, American flags. That's why look for me, I

534
00:34:30.159 --> 00:34:34.159
would I in my church. There has never been, nor

535
00:34:34.199 --> 00:34:38.079
will there ever be an American flag within the sanctuary.

536
00:34:38.159 --> 00:34:39.920
As long as I'm there, there will not be an

537
00:34:39.920 --> 00:34:43.719
American flag anywhere on the property. Because we are at church.

538
00:34:43.880 --> 00:34:47.079
We lift up the cross, not a flag. We lift

539
00:34:47.159 --> 00:34:51.599
up the cross, not national identity. We preach Christ for

540
00:34:51.800 --> 00:34:56.199
all cultures, not just America. We're not pro America. We

541
00:34:56.239 --> 00:34:59.239
are supposed to be pro God doesn't mean we have

542
00:34:59.280 --> 00:35:02.239
to be antime Erica either. It just means that we are.

543
00:35:02.480 --> 00:35:06.039
We are not shaped by a national identity. We are

544
00:35:06.079 --> 00:35:10.880
shaped by our identity in Christ. I can't stand that

545
00:35:10.920 --> 00:35:12.239
when I walk into the church and there's a big

546
00:35:12.280 --> 00:35:16.079
American flag, What is that? What is that? You're not

547
00:35:16.199 --> 00:35:25.480
here to preach America, You're here to preach Christ. But so,

548
00:35:25.719 --> 00:35:28.599
we really can't remove God from manifest destiny because he's

549
00:35:28.679 --> 00:35:31.320
essential to it. But I think the God that's essential

550
00:35:31.360 --> 00:35:33.360
to a manifest destiny is a guy to whom we

551
00:35:33.440 --> 00:35:40.039
created and wrapped in an American flag. So now let's

552
00:35:40.079 --> 00:35:43.119
try to look at manifest destiny more from a biblical

553
00:35:43.119 --> 00:35:49.400
and philological point of view. How about biblical foundations and misapplications.

554
00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:53.199
Is there a biblical foundation. Is there misapplication going on

555
00:35:53.239 --> 00:35:58.159
with this concept of manifest destiny? Well, let's talk about

556
00:35:58.159 --> 00:36:06.360
divine sovereignty and national destiny. The idea of manifest destiny

557
00:36:06.440 --> 00:36:10.320
rest on the belief that God pre ordains a specific

558
00:36:10.440 --> 00:36:17.239
nation's expansion and influence. Now, let's just make sure remember,

559
00:36:17.519 --> 00:36:21.280
a nation can expand, a nation can have great influence,

560
00:36:21.480 --> 00:36:24.400
doesn't always mean that that nation is right or doing

561
00:36:24.440 --> 00:36:29.039
things perfectly. Because God used even wrong nations to expand

562
00:36:29.079 --> 00:36:32.960
and take territory, but not because He loved them or

563
00:36:32.960 --> 00:36:35.320
thought they were wonderful. We can see that with the

564
00:36:35.320 --> 00:36:38.800
Babylonians we could see that, than the Persians, we could

565
00:36:38.800 --> 00:36:42.719
see that it's all complicated. Just because something goes a

566
00:36:42.760 --> 00:36:45.679
certain way, we immediately say, well, God's doing God's on

567
00:36:45.719 --> 00:36:48.199
our side. If something goes back, God is against us.

568
00:36:48.280 --> 00:36:52.079
And that's very difficult in how we we can't always

569
00:36:52.119 --> 00:36:55.280
perceive what God is doing right, We don't know. We

570
00:36:55.639 --> 00:36:59.199
love to assume, but unless God tells us, we don't know.

571
00:37:01.760 --> 00:37:04.320
Just consider it this. We do believe God is sovereign.

572
00:37:04.360 --> 00:37:07.960
We do believe God works in and through nations, but

573
00:37:08.360 --> 00:37:10.840
we don't always know exactly why He's doing what He's doing.

574
00:37:10.880 --> 00:37:13.239
That was some of the confusion even in the Old Testament,

575
00:37:13.360 --> 00:37:16.719
like wait, God, why the Babylonians, what are you doing?

576
00:37:16.920 --> 00:37:20.320
Why them? Right? Why are you sending me here to

577
00:37:20.360 --> 00:37:24.440
preach to these people? Them? Really? And you see some

578
00:37:24.519 --> 00:37:27.719
of that in the Bible. So here's kind of a critique. Now,

579
00:37:27.719 --> 00:37:30.880
Scripture does show God's sovereign control over nations. I think

580
00:37:30.920 --> 00:37:33.840
we can see this in Daniel two in Acts seventeen.

581
00:37:35.679 --> 00:37:38.760
But it does not. The Bible does not endorse the

582
00:37:38.840 --> 00:37:46.400
idea that any one nation apart from Israel. Let's make

583
00:37:46.400 --> 00:37:49.519
that very clear, all right. It does not endorse the

584
00:37:49.559 --> 00:37:53.320
idea that any one nation apart from Israel, has a

585
00:37:53.480 --> 00:37:59.360
unique divine mandate to rule or expand. Israel had divine

586
00:37:59.400 --> 00:38:04.840
mandates go in, take that land, kill everyone, man, woman, boy, girl, child.

587
00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:07.960
Now that's disturbing for us to read, but that's God

588
00:38:08.039 --> 00:38:11.400
gave that to Israel. You can't go hijack what God

589
00:38:11.440 --> 00:38:14.599
told Israel, say we can do it as America. We're

590
00:38:14.639 --> 00:38:17.679
not Israel. This is why I think you've got to

591
00:38:17.760 --> 00:38:22.000
maintain a proper distinction between Israel and America, Israel and

592
00:38:22.039 --> 00:38:24.760
the Church, and Israel and everything else. Because God gave

593
00:38:24.840 --> 00:38:28.679
specific things to Israel that if any other nation adapts, well,

594
00:38:28.880 --> 00:38:35.360
they're gonna be killing all. This gonna be full blown genocide.

595
00:38:35.599 --> 00:38:40.760
You've got to maintain that distinction. Now, when you get

596
00:38:40.800 --> 00:38:44.079
to the New Testament, it shifts the focus from earthly

597
00:38:44.199 --> 00:38:51.960
kingdoms to spiritual kingdoms. There is a major shift. I'm gonna,

598
00:38:52.159 --> 00:38:54.280
I think if we look at hand, I'm gonna look

599
00:38:54.280 --> 00:38:56.719
at two scriptures here, just to see if they do

600
00:38:56.840 --> 00:39:03.320
what I think they do. Yeah, Matthew six thirty three.

601
00:39:03.519 --> 00:39:08.400
But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.

602
00:39:08.719 --> 00:39:11.400
Seek first the Kingdom of God. I think we also have.

603
00:39:11.639 --> 00:39:16.199
Is it John eighteen? I think it's John eighteen, verse

604
00:39:16.280 --> 00:39:20.719
thirty six. Jesus, this is Jesus words. My kingdom is

605
00:39:20.840 --> 00:39:24.039
not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world,

606
00:39:24.239 --> 00:39:26.679
then would my servants fight that I should not be

607
00:39:26.760 --> 00:39:29.360
delivered to the Jews. But now is my kingdom not?

608
00:39:29.639 --> 00:39:33.679
From Hence we listen. Our idea is we are speak

609
00:39:33.840 --> 00:39:36.480
seeking the Kingdom of God. His kingdom is not of

610
00:39:36.480 --> 00:39:39.920
this world. We're speaking, we're seeking a spiritual kingdom. Our

611
00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:44.440
citizenship is in heaven. We are foreigners, we are strangers here.

612
00:39:44.119 --> 00:39:48.880
We are pilgrims. Here, we are moving to a heavenly Jerusalem.

613
00:39:48.920 --> 00:39:51.920
Per se. Now, do we believe God may establish an

614
00:39:51.920 --> 00:39:55.519
earthly kingdom? If he does, he will do that, not us.

615
00:39:55.760 --> 00:39:58.920
The sky will split apart, he will come on a

616
00:39:59.000 --> 00:40:01.519
horse with a sword. He will defeat his enemies. He

617
00:40:01.559 --> 00:40:04.079
will establish a kingdom. Now, whether you believe that or

618
00:40:04.119 --> 00:40:06.519
you don't believe that, if it happens, he'll be the

619
00:40:06.519 --> 00:40:09.119
one doing it. Whether you believe it, he doesn't need

620
00:40:09.159 --> 00:40:11.159
your help to do it. He will do it. If

621
00:40:11.159 --> 00:40:13.199
you don't believe it, well, if he does it, it's

622
00:40:13.239 --> 00:40:15.039
not going to matter because He's going to do it.

623
00:40:17.559 --> 00:40:23.039
But the New Testament focuses not America. America. America is

624
00:40:23.599 --> 00:40:26.599
ordained by God. That is nowhere in the New Testament.

625
00:40:26.719 --> 00:40:32.239
Obviously America is not even mentioned. But it calls us

626
00:40:32.480 --> 00:40:35.960
to be pursuing to cet our affections on things above love,

627
00:40:36.159 --> 00:40:38.360
not the world, neither the things that are in the world,

628
00:40:38.400 --> 00:40:40.039
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes,

629
00:40:40.079 --> 00:40:43.079
the pride of life that seak first the Kingdom of God,

630
00:40:43.599 --> 00:40:46.840
over and over. Your citizenship is in heaven. You're a pilgrim,

631
00:40:46.880 --> 00:40:50.480
You're a stranger here. Sorry, that's the focus. Wait, this

632
00:40:50.519 --> 00:40:57.000
is not our home, so manifest destiny is all about here.

633
00:41:01.719 --> 00:41:06.039
So that's a major critique of it, now, the misuse

634
00:41:06.079 --> 00:41:10.800
of divine will. Advocates of manifest destiny often cite passages

635
00:41:10.800 --> 00:41:14.199
like Genesis one twenty eight, the dominion Mandate, or Psalm

636
00:41:14.239 --> 00:41:20.360
two eight to justify territorial conquest. Hey, go make dominion.

637
00:41:20.559 --> 00:41:23.639
We are cold ordained by God to go make dominion,

638
00:41:23.760 --> 00:41:26.360
and we are gonna make We're gonna put everything under

639
00:41:26.400 --> 00:41:37.400
our feet. That's not that's not for America. These verses

640
00:41:37.400 --> 00:41:40.159
speak to humanity, stewardship, and the ultimate reign of Christ,

641
00:41:40.280 --> 00:41:43.480
not a specific nation's right to dominate others. And if

642
00:41:43.519 --> 00:41:45.400
you want to say, if any nation ever had a

643
00:41:45.480 --> 00:41:48.079
right to supposedly dominate others, it would have been Israel

644
00:41:48.280 --> 00:41:50.639
telling you to go in take the land, killing everyone.

645
00:41:50.960 --> 00:41:53.320
They would have been, but no one else was given that.

646
00:41:56.360 --> 00:41:58.920
So what happens is you end up misinterpreting scripture to

647
00:41:59.000 --> 00:42:02.440
justify expansion. As it's a form of isa Jesus. You're

648
00:42:02.440 --> 00:42:08.679
reading into the text rather than Exejesus drawing meaning from

649
00:42:08.719 --> 00:42:10.800
the text. And that's what happens all the time. Isa

650
00:42:10.920 --> 00:42:13.559
Jesus Why do I get so frustrated when we listen

651
00:42:13.559 --> 00:42:15.599
to sermons and they read us into the text where

652
00:42:15.639 --> 00:42:18.079
in Isaiah they read you into it, they read the

653
00:42:18.159 --> 00:42:21.719
church into it. No, stop it. When you start reading

654
00:42:21.840 --> 00:42:24.320
us into it, how you're just one step away from

655
00:42:24.400 --> 00:42:28.280
reading America into it. Now you start reading America, you

656
00:42:28.320 --> 00:42:33.599
start reading nationalism into passages that are not about America.

657
00:42:33.840 --> 00:42:36.800
Stop reading yourself into a passage where you don't belong.

658
00:42:36.880 --> 00:42:40.239
Stop reading America into passages where you don't belong. That's

659
00:42:40.599 --> 00:42:43.119
not the way to you're doing isa Jesus, that's what

660
00:42:43.199 --> 00:42:51.639
you're doing. So there's kind of a biblical foundation and

661
00:42:51.880 --> 00:42:54.960
a look at the misapplications and critiques of how it's

662
00:42:55.000 --> 00:42:58.440
looked at from a biblical perspective. How about philological concerns

663
00:42:58.440 --> 00:43:01.360
with manifest destiny. Well, I think a first one would

664
00:43:01.400 --> 00:43:07.039
be pride and nationalism. Manifest destiny often conflates national identity

665
00:43:07.480 --> 00:43:12.719
with divine approval, fostering a sense of superiority over nations

666
00:43:12.800 --> 00:43:19.719
and people. They we're Americans. God approves of us. God's

667
00:43:19.719 --> 00:43:29.960
always on our side. Scripture condemns pride and arrogance and

668
00:43:30.039 --> 00:43:33.480
emphasizes humility before God. It leads to a sense of

669
00:43:33.519 --> 00:43:36.400
pride and arrogance that we're somehow better than everyone else.

670
00:43:39.639 --> 00:43:43.519
God's concern for all nations and people's is evident throughout

671
00:43:43.559 --> 00:43:49.599
the Bible, challenging any ethnocentric view of divine favor unless

672
00:43:49.639 --> 00:43:54.480
you're going to have Israel right. God's favor upon Israel

673
00:43:54.639 --> 00:43:57.159
is definitely different than anything else. But everywhere else, I mean,

674
00:43:57.360 --> 00:44:01.239
even Israel is told how to treat the strange, the foreigner,

675
00:44:01.519 --> 00:44:04.320
the immigrant who comes into their land. They're given specific

676
00:44:04.400 --> 00:44:07.199
instructions how to treat them. What's the basis, Well, you

677
00:44:07.440 --> 00:44:10.280
were a stranger in Egypt. Now you treat the strangers

678
00:44:10.280 --> 00:44:13.639
in your land in a specific way. So even though

679
00:44:13.679 --> 00:44:15.480
in some ways that we're called to go in and

680
00:44:15.519 --> 00:44:17.960
do some things that are hard to understand, even then

681
00:44:18.000 --> 00:44:21.079
we're giving how to treat other people and other nations.

682
00:44:26.480 --> 00:44:30.079
So we have pride and nationalism, which are problems. I think.

683
00:44:30.079 --> 00:44:32.159
We also end up with the idea of the kingdom

684
00:44:32.199 --> 00:44:36.599
of God versus earthly kingdoms. Manifest destiny prioritizes the growth

685
00:44:36.639 --> 00:44:39.519
of an earthly kingdom over the spiritual mission of God's kingdom.

686
00:44:40.159 --> 00:44:43.840
Jesus taught that his kingdom is not of this world

687
00:44:44.039 --> 00:44:48.199
and emphasizes making disciples of all nations, not conquering them.

688
00:44:48.760 --> 00:44:51.440
We're to go make nations where to go, make disciples,

689
00:44:51.760 --> 00:44:59.760
not conquering. The Great Commission is about spreading the Gospel,

690
00:45:00.679 --> 00:45:06.360
not cultural or political dominance. Spread the gospel, don't spread

691
00:45:06.400 --> 00:45:12.559
your culture, don't spread your politics. Spread the gospel. But

692
00:45:12.679 --> 00:45:15.960
we so conflate our culture with the gospel. That's why

693
00:45:16.000 --> 00:45:19.199
you get like you have a Christianity that sounds very

694
00:45:19.639 --> 00:45:25.239
Texan or very Southern, versus a Gospel that sounds very Northern,

695
00:45:25.719 --> 00:45:31.159
or or it sounds very Boston, or it sounds very Pennsylvania.

696
00:45:31.480 --> 00:45:34.480
That shouldn't be that way. Keep your culture out of

697
00:45:34.480 --> 00:45:42.519
the Gospel. We love to bring our culture to the

698
00:45:42.559 --> 00:45:45.840
Bible and say, well, the Bible justifage this. But that's

699
00:45:45.880 --> 00:45:48.440
what people did with slavery, that people did with racism,

700
00:45:48.519 --> 00:45:51.559
that people did with bigotry. They used the Bible to

701
00:45:51.760 --> 00:45:55.840
justify their own cultural prejudices or their own cultural ideas.

702
00:46:00.039 --> 00:46:02.679
Parents love to do this with the Bible. Oh, you

703
00:46:02.719 --> 00:46:06.360
can't listen to this music because it's worldly, it's ungodly.

704
00:46:07.039 --> 00:46:09.440
Well they go and then watch a television show. Go, well,

705
00:46:09.440 --> 00:46:11.360
that would be just as ungodly and just as worldly

706
00:46:11.480 --> 00:46:13.960
as the music you're condemning. You're using the Bible to

707
00:46:14.000 --> 00:46:17.039
condemn that which you do not like because you just

708
00:46:17.159 --> 00:46:20.920
don't like it. Stop using the Bible to justify your

709
00:46:20.960 --> 00:46:25.519
own prejudice and your own likes and dislikes. How about

710
00:46:25.599 --> 00:46:27.760
use the Bible to look at yourself instead of using

711
00:46:27.800 --> 00:46:30.719
it to shut someone else up, or silence someone else,

712
00:46:30.840 --> 00:46:33.119
or take something away from someone else. I know I'm

713
00:46:33.119 --> 00:46:34.440
going to take off a lot of parents, man, I

714
00:46:34.440 --> 00:46:37.840
guess so sick of that God won't like your music.

715
00:46:37.880 --> 00:46:41.039
And you're like, did you what are you watching on television?

716
00:46:41.079 --> 00:46:46.880
For crying out loud? Look at yourself. I've got a

717
00:46:46.920 --> 00:46:50.400
million stories on the hypocrisy there. But see, the Bible

718
00:46:50.480 --> 00:46:53.480
is always this. It's it's a weapon, and we can

719
00:46:53.559 --> 00:46:57.719
use it to justify our culture. If you're pro gun,

720
00:46:57.920 --> 00:47:00.639
you use the Bible to justify being pro gun. If

721
00:47:00.679 --> 00:47:03.079
you're not pro gun, you use the Bible to Everyone

722
00:47:03.119 --> 00:47:05.239
can use the Bible to justify it if you If

723
00:47:05.280 --> 00:47:08.960
you are against illegal immigration, you use the Bible. If

724
00:47:09.000 --> 00:47:11.119
you're for it, you use the Bible. If you're for this,

725
00:47:11.239 --> 00:47:14.480
you use the Everyone uses the Bible for every cultural

726
00:47:14.519 --> 00:47:28.519
thing you can think of. I can't stand that we

727
00:47:28.599 --> 00:47:30.360
go to the Bible. You know what, we all see.

728
00:47:30.760 --> 00:47:34.239
We're all guilty, We're all sinners. That should humble us

729
00:47:34.480 --> 00:47:36.320
and not necessarily make us want to pick up the

730
00:47:36.360 --> 00:47:41.639
Bible to use it simply to justify our own cultural identity.

731
00:47:42.400 --> 00:47:45.000
It's supposed to destroy our cultural identity and give us

732
00:47:45.039 --> 00:47:53.679
an identity in Christ. So the Bible perspective is, Hey,

733
00:47:54.239 --> 00:47:56.000
this kingdom is not of this world. We are to

734
00:47:56.039 --> 00:47:59.599
make disciples, not conquer. And the Great Commission is about

735
00:47:59.599 --> 00:48:04.559
spreading the Gospel, not cultural or political dominance. And I

736
00:48:04.559 --> 00:48:08.880
think another problem is manifest destiny led to wars, the

737
00:48:08.960 --> 00:48:13.679
displacement of Indigenous people, and the justification of systemic injustices.

738
00:48:14.760 --> 00:48:16.760
I mean, there's no way to get around it. Manifest

739
00:48:16.760 --> 00:48:20.280
destiny led to war, displacement of Indigenous people, and the

740
00:48:20.400 --> 00:48:30.920
justification for systemic injustice. That is wrong. The Bible abhors

741
00:48:31.000 --> 00:48:37.360
violence and injustice. Right, Hey, we're to do justice. We're

742
00:48:37.360 --> 00:48:40.199
to love mercy. We're to walk humbly with our God.

743
00:48:41.760 --> 00:48:50.559
We're to love our enemy, We're to love our neighbor. Now,

744
00:48:50.559 --> 00:48:57.079
what are some of the implications of manifest destiny. Well,

745
00:48:57.079 --> 00:49:01.119
many advocates framed manifest destiny as a way to spread Christianity.

746
00:49:01.199 --> 00:49:08.880
It often prioritized cultural imperialism over genuine evangelism. Hey, we're

747
00:49:08.880 --> 00:49:11.559
going to evangelize now, you're actually going to spread your

748
00:49:11.599 --> 00:49:16.599
cultural identity upon other people to make them into your image.

749
00:49:23.400 --> 00:49:25.960
When someone becomes a Christian, they are not made into

750
00:49:26.000 --> 00:49:30.360
your image or your cultural identity. They have become there

751
00:49:31.000 --> 00:49:34.960
to become more like Christ, not become more like Oh well,

752
00:49:35.119 --> 00:49:38.480
I got saved in a Southern Baptist church in West Texas,

753
00:49:38.519 --> 00:49:40.599
so you know what I have to be. I got

754
00:49:40.599 --> 00:49:44.239
to be a Republican. I gotta own three guns, I

755
00:49:44.280 --> 00:49:48.519
gotta go hunt. I gotta know when they become a Christian,

756
00:49:48.559 --> 00:49:51.480
they don't have to become like you in West Texas.

757
00:49:51.599 --> 00:49:56.320
They become like Christ, not like you. But so many

758
00:49:56.360 --> 00:49:58.760
times when you become a Christian and a church, you're

759
00:49:58.760 --> 00:50:05.000
expected to to adapt their cultural leanings, their political leanings,

760
00:50:05.199 --> 00:50:09.119
their cultural leanings, their ideas about music, or their ideas

761
00:50:09.159 --> 00:50:11.559
about which books you can and can't read, what you

762
00:50:11.679 --> 00:50:14.039
can and can't do, where you can and can't go.

763
00:50:14.199 --> 00:50:16.880
Now that will use the Bible to justify every single

764
00:50:16.920 --> 00:50:19.760
thing that they they don't like this kind. They love

765
00:50:19.960 --> 00:50:23.079
Southern gospel, but that rap music is out of control.

766
00:50:23.320 --> 00:50:25.880
I can't stand that rap music. It's not even music,

767
00:50:25.920 --> 00:50:30.920
it's ungodly. But they'll justify the music they like. It's

768
00:50:30.960 --> 00:50:33.880
not so much about God, it's about their own culture.

769
00:50:34.119 --> 00:50:36.920
That's great. You love Southern gospel, great, but don't act

770
00:50:36.960 --> 00:50:39.840
like it's somehow morally superior, because in so many cases

771
00:50:39.880 --> 00:50:45.920
you can demonstrate is it really that great. Sometimes Southern

772
00:50:45.960 --> 00:50:47.840
gospel has some of the worst theology in the history

773
00:50:47.840 --> 00:50:51.960
of humankind. Or if they like a country music, well

774
00:50:51.960 --> 00:50:54.559
now they're listening to secular country music, but they're condemning

775
00:50:54.599 --> 00:50:57.719
anyone else who listens to secular music. It's so ridiculous.

776
00:50:59.199 --> 00:51:03.440
I remember, because I always felt bad for teenagers raised

777
00:51:03.480 --> 00:51:06.039
in Christian homes. I always felt bad for them. I

778
00:51:06.119 --> 00:51:09.280
always did. I always like man, and sometimes they would

779
00:51:09.360 --> 00:51:12.920
voice their frustrations and their irritations and they're sick tired

780
00:51:12.960 --> 00:51:14.800
of this. And there was this one family who was

781
00:51:14.840 --> 00:51:17.079
just going off on the kids about you can't listen

782
00:51:17.079 --> 00:51:18.719
to this music, and you can't listen to this, and

783
00:51:18.719 --> 00:51:20.880
you can't listen to this, and you can't listen to this,

784
00:51:21.159 --> 00:51:22.840
and I think they were moving, So we went to

785
00:51:22.840 --> 00:51:24.800
help them one Saturday to move, and I of course

786
00:51:24.840 --> 00:51:27.320
saw the music. And I went and looked at the

787
00:51:27.360 --> 00:51:30.360
parents' music, and I'm like, huh, the kids can't go

788
00:51:30.440 --> 00:51:32.440
listen to this, But I guess the parents can listen

789
00:51:32.440 --> 00:51:37.239
to a lot of Garth Brooks and not convenient kids

790
00:51:37.320 --> 00:51:39.320
music are wrong, but Garth Brooks is good to go.

791
00:51:39.599 --> 00:51:45.519
Come on now, it's just so ridiculous, so ridiculous. I've

792
00:51:45.519 --> 00:51:48.199
told the story about the pastor's son who got in

793
00:51:48.239 --> 00:51:51.159
my car. He was furious, he was mad. His dad

794
00:51:51.199 --> 00:51:54.480
found out that he had the Rocky three soundtrack and

795
00:51:54.519 --> 00:51:57.079
so his dad burned it. But guess what they could

796
00:51:57.119 --> 00:52:04.320
have in the house movie. You could own the movie,

797
00:52:04.519 --> 00:52:08.639
but you couldn't own the soundtrack. See that's preferences. That's

798
00:52:08.960 --> 00:52:11.119
that's that's where you use your preference and you and

799
00:52:11.159 --> 00:52:15.079
then the pastor would justify that the music is worldly. Well,

800
00:52:15.079 --> 00:52:18.159
it comes from the movie, so the movie, by implication,

801
00:52:18.199 --> 00:52:21.920
we'd have to be worldly. I'll never forget that. I

802
00:52:22.400 --> 00:52:26.599
because I was in the Bible Institute, I was forbidden, condemned,

803
00:52:26.679 --> 00:52:29.000
like I would have been kicked out of the Bible

804
00:52:29.039 --> 00:52:32.199
Institute if I listened to any contemporary Christian music. I

805
00:52:32.239 --> 00:52:34.760
was not allowed to listen to contemporary Christian music. Ladies

806
00:52:34.800 --> 00:52:37.639
and gentlemen. I could not listen to contemporary Christian music

807
00:52:37.760 --> 00:52:41.360
because it was worldly and it was ungodly. Well, we

808
00:52:41.440 --> 00:52:43.400
happened to be over the pastor's house and we noticed

809
00:52:43.400 --> 00:52:45.960
that they had the movie JFK. I think by what

810
00:52:46.039 --> 00:52:50.719
Oliver Stone was the director, and so we were like,

811
00:52:51.840 --> 00:52:54.679
me and a friend were like, wait, what gives So

812
00:52:54.719 --> 00:52:58.119
we can't listen to Petra just pulling an old Christian

813
00:52:58.159 --> 00:53:00.840
band out. We can't listen to Jars of Clay, we can't.

814
00:53:01.119 --> 00:53:02.840
I can just name all kinds of Christian bands. We

815
00:53:02.880 --> 00:53:06.119
can't listen to DC Talk, but we can watch JFK.

816
00:53:06.360 --> 00:53:08.400
So we took the movie JFK and we wrote down

817
00:53:09.480 --> 00:53:11.719
every time they use the F word in the movie.

818
00:53:11.960 --> 00:53:13.639
I'm like, so I can watch a movie that uses

819
00:53:13.639 --> 00:53:15.119
the F word. I think it was like one hundred

820
00:53:15.159 --> 00:53:16.960
and twenty eight hundred and thirty I don't remember the

821
00:53:16.960 --> 00:53:20.400
exact number. I'm like, so listening to watching a movie

822
00:53:20.400 --> 00:53:21.960
that uses the F word one hundred and thirty eight

823
00:53:22.000 --> 00:53:25.119
times good? Listening to Petra. I'll get kicked out of

824
00:53:25.159 --> 00:53:29.039
the Bible Institute. Yeah, okay, yeah, See what are you doing.

825
00:53:29.159 --> 00:53:33.400
You're taking your preference. You're taking what you like based

826
00:53:33.440 --> 00:53:37.280
off your call. Hey you don't like that rock music,

827
00:53:37.320 --> 00:53:41.199
you don't like you hate it? Okay, well great, that's you.

828
00:53:42.039 --> 00:53:44.199
But now you're using God to justify it while you

829
00:53:44.239 --> 00:53:47.480
do something of equal or even greater sin than what

830
00:53:47.519 --> 00:53:50.400
you're condemning. You see this all the time in Christianity.

831
00:53:50.440 --> 00:53:53.119
Now that's not a perfect example of manifest destiny, but

832
00:53:53.159 --> 00:53:55.679
what I want you to see is manifest destiny is

833
00:53:55.760 --> 00:53:59.000
all about spreading a culture and that that culture is

834
00:53:59.039 --> 00:54:02.639
superior to any other culture. And so what do you do.

835
00:54:02.880 --> 00:54:06.199
You mixture Christianity with your culture. And now Christianity supposedly

836
00:54:06.199 --> 00:54:09.480
supports your culture and your culture, and Christianity becomes merged

837
00:54:09.599 --> 00:54:11.800
that when you become a Christian you have to accept

838
00:54:11.840 --> 00:54:16.840
that culture. And this is what would happen to many

839
00:54:17.119 --> 00:54:20.280
indigenous people who would be quote unquote Christianized, and they

840
00:54:20.280 --> 00:54:22.519
would have to not just be a Christian now, they

841
00:54:22.559 --> 00:54:30.239
would have to dress and act like civilized folk. Yeah,

842
00:54:29.599 --> 00:54:37.480
that's the problem with all of this. So it prioritizes

843
00:54:37.519 --> 00:54:41.679
cultural imperialism over genuine evangelism. True evangelism is based on

844
00:54:41.760 --> 00:54:48.119
the message of Christ, not coercion or cultural superiority. Paul's

845
00:54:48.440 --> 00:54:52.719
ministry demonstrated respect for different cultures while focusing on the Gospel.

846
00:54:54.239 --> 00:54:59.159
The legacy of Manifest Destiny includes historical injustices towards indigenous

847
00:54:59.199 --> 00:55:05.920
people and minorities. Christians are called to seek justice and reconciliation,

848
00:55:06.079 --> 00:55:13.760
acknowledging wrongs, and working towards healing. Now, what should we

849
00:55:13.800 --> 00:55:17.079
do well. I think we have to acknowledge when where

850
00:55:17.119 --> 00:55:19.960
manifest destiny distorted biblical truth and caused harm, We have

851
00:55:20.000 --> 00:55:23.000
to acknowledge it. We have to acknowledge some of this

852
00:55:23.559 --> 00:55:27.000
just basically creating a God and our image and then

853
00:55:27.039 --> 00:55:31.400
telling everyone that our culture and our cultural identity and

854
00:55:31.440 --> 00:55:34.519
our cultural preferences are superior to everyone else because God

855
00:55:34.599 --> 00:55:36.159
is on our side. So you've got to be like me.

856
00:55:39.079 --> 00:55:43.280
We need to repent, We need to confess. We need

857
00:55:43.320 --> 00:55:46.000
to just say that manifest destiny has hurt a lot

858
00:55:46.039 --> 00:55:50.880
of people. Manifest Destiny highlights the danger of conflating national

859
00:55:50.920 --> 00:55:55.760
identity with divine mission. Christians should focus under heavenly citizenship

860
00:55:56.039 --> 00:55:59.119
and avoid placing ultimate hope and earthly and an earthly

861
00:55:59.199 --> 00:56:04.519
nation government the church's mission is to advocate God's kingdom

862
00:56:04.719 --> 00:56:11.320
characterized by love, justice, peace, rather than seeking earthly power. So,

863
00:56:11.519 --> 00:56:15.079
in summary, and I had Ai do this. From a

864
00:56:15.079 --> 00:56:19.400
biblical and philological standpoint, manifest destiny reflects a distortion of

865
00:56:19.519 --> 00:56:25.079
scriptural principles. It conflates divine providence with national ambition. It

866
00:56:25.199 --> 00:56:30.159
prioritizes political and territorial expansion over the spiritual mission of

867
00:56:30.199 --> 00:56:34.039
God's kingdom, and often leads to pride in justice and violence.

868
00:56:34.400 --> 00:56:38.480
Christians are called to critique such ideologies, seek repentance for

869
00:56:38.559 --> 00:56:43.920
their consequences, and focus on advancing the true Kingdom of God.

870
00:56:44.159 --> 00:56:52.480
That is how Ai summarized it. Now, there was a

871
00:56:52.519 --> 00:56:56.639
lot there. I went fifty six minutes. This is not

872
00:56:56.960 --> 00:57:02.199
about Trump. This is about the concept of manifest destiny

873
00:57:02.519 --> 00:57:05.239
and how you hear it. Even if no one uses

874
00:57:05.280 --> 00:57:08.360
the term all over the place, you hear it in

875
00:57:08.480 --> 00:57:12.360
conservative talk radio. And I guarantee I said this going

876
00:57:12.400 --> 00:57:14.679
back to the nineties when I would notice that Christian

877
00:57:14.760 --> 00:57:19.719
men started sounding like rush Linball, and I'm like, where's Matthew,

878
00:57:19.760 --> 00:57:24.639
Mark Luke, and John Where where's the Bible? Stop talking

879
00:57:24.679 --> 00:57:27.760
like your rush Limball? Stop talking like you You all

880
00:57:27.800 --> 00:57:30.320
you do is watch Fox News, stop talking like you

881
00:57:30.360 --> 00:57:33.280
listen to Tucker Carlson or Alex Jones. How about sound

882
00:57:33.400 --> 00:57:38.320
like scripture for crying out loud. But this American exceptionalism, America,

883
00:57:38.440 --> 00:57:43.800
make America great again, America, America, America. This, uh, this

884
00:57:43.920 --> 00:57:49.440
all creeps in and so now it all merges together,

885
00:57:49.719 --> 00:57:51.360
and you get, even if you don't want to call

886
00:57:51.400 --> 00:57:53.039
it manifest destiny, even if you don't want to call

887
00:57:53.079 --> 00:57:58.599
it Christian nationalism, you get this nationalistic, politically hijacked form

888
00:57:58.639 --> 00:58:10.320
of Christianity. And that is dangerous. That is dangerous when

889
00:58:10.360 --> 00:58:14.199
that starts happening. And then you use God to justify,

890
00:58:15.480 --> 00:58:18.000
like use God to justify going into a rock and

891
00:58:18.400 --> 00:58:22.679
people being killed, murdered for weapons of mass destruction they

892
00:58:22.679 --> 00:58:27.360
did not have. I mean, that's just one example. Going

893
00:58:27.400 --> 00:58:30.039
over to a country and saying we're gonna, we're gonna

894
00:58:30.039 --> 00:58:33.079
make you a we're gonna put a democracy here. Maybe

895
00:58:33.119 --> 00:58:36.079
they don't want it, well God wants. If you use

896
00:58:36.159 --> 00:58:39.960
God to justify it, that's where the manifest destiny, where

897
00:58:40.000 --> 00:58:44.119
the Church almost creates that. You know, to become a Christian,

898
00:58:44.280 --> 00:58:46.039
well you've got to be a Republican. You've got to

899
00:58:46.039 --> 00:58:51.119
be pro America. You No, you don't. You don't have

900
00:58:51.159 --> 00:58:53.559
to be any of those things. You just have to

901
00:58:53.559 --> 00:58:57.400
believe in Christ. You have to be a follower of Christ.

902
00:58:57.880 --> 00:59:00.639
You have to. You have to hopefully move towards becoming

903
00:59:00.679 --> 00:59:07.719
a disciple of Christ, learning, following, studying, sinning, falling, confessing, struggling.

904
00:59:12.559 --> 00:59:18.920
It's not about a cultural identity. Your identity is in Christ.

905
00:59:20.119 --> 00:59:23.360
I always struggled with that myself, because I became a

906
00:59:23.440 --> 00:59:26.079
Christian in you know, middle of West Texas, and it

907
00:59:26.119 --> 00:59:29.960
was almost this idea that now you're a Christian. Who wha, whoa, whoa,

908
00:59:29.960 --> 00:59:31.519
whoa whoa. I'm not. I don't want to do that.

909
00:59:31.639 --> 00:59:33.920
I don't know. I don't like that. No, none of

910
00:59:33.960 --> 00:59:37.000
that is me. And to be a Christian isn't about

911
00:59:37.000 --> 00:59:38.719
any of that stuff, or at least I didn't think

912
00:59:38.760 --> 00:59:43.000
it was. But y'all have taken a West Texas cultural

913
00:59:43.079 --> 00:59:46.039
kind of identity merged it with Christianity, and it's almost like,

914
00:59:46.079 --> 00:59:49.639
if you're a Christian, you're this. No, I'm not. I

915
00:59:49.679 --> 00:59:54.599
don't have to be any of that. Shocking. I know.

916
00:59:55.920 --> 00:59:58.280
You don't even have to be pro American to be

917
00:59:58.280 --> 01:00:00.800
a Christian. You can be anti iman American and be

918
01:00:00.840 --> 01:00:04.599
a Christian. I know that shocking. You don't have to

919
01:00:04.599 --> 01:00:07.800
be a capitalist, you don't have to be you can

920
01:00:07.880 --> 01:00:10.719
have lots of different ideas. I know that shocking. But

921
01:00:10.880 --> 01:00:16.760
Christianity is not where you pledge allegiance to America. You

922
01:00:16.840 --> 01:00:26.119
pledge allegiance to Christ. Now, whether you like America, dislike America,

923
01:00:26.119 --> 01:00:28.320
whether you're a Republican, whatever, we do know one thing.

924
01:00:28.360 --> 01:00:31.239
As a Christian, you are to be obviously a good citizen,

925
01:00:31.559 --> 01:00:34.559
and we are to try to respect, honor, and obey

926
01:00:34.920 --> 01:00:37.039
the authority placed over us because we believe it was

927
01:00:37.039 --> 01:00:40.000
put there by God. Doesn't mean we believe that everything

928
01:00:40.039 --> 01:00:42.920
that government does is right or have to agree with everything.

929
01:00:45.599 --> 01:00:51.599
There's a balance in all of this, all right, manifest Destiny.

930
01:00:52.239 --> 01:00:54.559
I hope that that was a lot there. I hope

931
01:00:54.599 --> 01:00:58.239
that was helpful. We went through history, through its philosophy,

932
01:00:59.000 --> 01:01:03.079
through its origin, we went through theology looking at it.

933
01:01:03.159 --> 01:01:04.639
I know I could have broken it down a little

934
01:01:04.639 --> 01:01:07.320
bit better, but it's when you have that much content,

935
01:01:07.800 --> 01:01:10.639
it's hard to keep it all nice and organized. But

936
01:01:10.679 --> 01:01:14.199
hopefully it was beneficial. So again, if you're done with

937
01:01:14.239 --> 01:01:17.079
this and you're like he h Trump, Trump used the

938
01:01:17.159 --> 01:01:20.039
term manifest destiny. I want to take the phrase manifest

939
01:01:20.039 --> 01:01:22.480
destiny and I want you to consider it from a

940
01:01:22.480 --> 01:01:25.079
theological and biblical perspective. I know a lot of you

941
01:01:25.519 --> 01:01:29.800
probably have been influenced by manifest destiny thinking probably probably

942
01:01:29.880 --> 01:01:31.639
a lot more than you even want to admit. A

943
01:01:31.679 --> 01:01:34.239
lot of your churches have been probably influenced with it

944
01:01:34.280 --> 01:01:37.320
more than you want to admit. And if you love it,

945
01:01:37.320 --> 01:01:41.840
that's great. I'm offered a counter perspective. As for me,

946
01:01:43.920 --> 01:01:47.519
no way know how am I going with that idea.

947
01:01:47.679 --> 01:01:53.639
I reject it completely, outrightly completely, I reject it. If

948
01:01:53.639 --> 01:01:55.960
anyone wants to believe in any form of manifest destiny,

949
01:01:56.280 --> 01:01:59.039
better be Israel and nobody else. And that's why I'm

950
01:01:59.039 --> 01:02:03.440
strongly suggested separating Israel from everyone else and not conflating them.

951
01:02:03.480 --> 01:02:05.159
All right, thanks for listening everyone, of a great day,

952
01:02:05.320 --> 01:02:05.840
God bless