The Eric Metaxas Show - George Foreman

Episode Date: April 20, 2023

Legendary boxer George Foreman has a power-packed interview about his new film, "Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World."

Folks, welcome to the Eric Mattaxas show, sponsored by Legacy Precious Metals. There's never been a better time to invest in precious metals. Visit legacy p.m.investments.com. That's legacy p.m. Investments.com. Welcome to the Eric Mataxis show. We'll get you from point A to point B. But if you're looking for point C, well, buddy, you're on your own. But if you'll wait right here in just about two minutes, the bus to point C will be coming right by.

And now here's your Ralph Cramden of the Airways, Eric Matt, Texas. Folks, it's Wednesday, April 19th. Albin, yesterday we were talking about Paul Revere. Because yesterday, April 18th, is the anniversary of Paul Revere's ride. Listen to my children unusual here, midnight ride of Paul Revere, on the 18th of April in 75, 248 years ago. So when we talked about this yesterday, we remembered that six years ago, folks. We had a big contest on this program for young people to memorize Paul Revere's ride a long poem by the great Henry Wadsworth, Longfellow. So we're going to be playing a compilation. We made a video

compilation. You can watch it on video, but we're going to play the audio on this program of all of the different kids reciting this poem. So it starts with one kid and goes to the next, next, It's amazing. The video is amazing, but I hope it will inspire you to memorize the poem to get your kids to memorize it, at least to read it. Okay, so that's coming up in this hour. But before that, in fact, right now, we're going to play my conversation. Are you ready with George Foreman? Some of you are blown away that I had a conversation with George Foreman. Some of you don't know who it is. Let me tell you. tell you who it is. One of the greatest heavyweight boxing champions in the history of the world. His story is insane. This is like a cultural

icon, gigantic, gigantic figure in 20th century sports. The idea that I got to interview George Foreman, folks, nobody's more impressed than I am, that I got to interview, to talk to this legend up there with the best, I mean, of anybody

I've ever interviewed, I'm, I'm just astonished that I got this privilege. So we're going to play that for you in a couple of seconds. That'll be for the rest of this segment, we'll play it. And then the next segment will play the rest of my conversation with George Foreman. Why am I talking to George Foreman? Because there's a film coming out, this story of his life is called Big George Foreman. He had a conversion experience. I mean, again, it's, I don't want to spoil it, but it is so powerful to hear his story to watch the film. It's coming out April 28th. I want to recommend the film to you. But that's what is coming up. Any second now, we're going to play my conversation with George Foreman.

That's the end of this segment and the next segment will play the rest of it. After that, we're going to have the Paul Revere's Ride a contest. Oh, I'm sorry. No. After that, I'm talking to Kevin and Sam Sorbo. Okay. I'm talking to Kevin and Sam Sorbo. They've got a project. After that, we're going to do the Paul Revere's Ride compilation for you. which is exciting. And then an hour two, we've got our friend John Smirak. So really a crazy, crazy day, Albin, right? I mean, this is just like nuts. I've never had some guess in one hour. I know. Several big stars. And that's not even including John Smirak. That's like the icing on top of the icing on top of the cake. I think John is the cake. So he takes it anyway. Yeah.

Okay, so in about a minute or so, we're going to begin playing my conversation with Jordan. Now, this is all on Rumble. If you go to the Eric Mataxis show on Rumble, the most recent thing on there is my conversation with George Foreman. If you're subscribed to my email list, which, for the love of Pete, go to Eric Mataxis.com, sign up because to watch these things is a lot more fun, typically. So we want to encourage you to do that. But my conversation with George Foreman, it's the rest of this segment and all of the next segment. After that, we have Kevin and Sam Sorbo. After that, we're going to play what we did six years ago, a compilation of Paul Revere's ride.

One of the greatest poems in the English language by Henry Wadsworth-Longfellow. We had a contest. I'll explain it right before we play it. But it's an exciting crazy hour. So buckle your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy, bumpy ride. In hour two, bumpy doesn't begin to describe any conversation with the great John Zmirach. So I hope you're ready because this is lunacy. Don't forget, of course, we're going to be doing Socrates and the city in Seattle, April 28th. You can live stream it. You really ought to go to Socrates and the city.com. and sign up for the live stream. If you don't sign up well in advance, like 45 minutes in advance, it gets shut down. You don't want to miss it.

This is going to be in Seattle. You can watch it live. Anyway, okay, so here now my conversation with the unbelievably great George Foreman. My name is Eric Mataxis. I'm the host of the Eric Metaxis show. And I'm so thrilled to meet someone who I consider a friend, Mr. George Foreman. George Foreman, what an honor to get to talk to you. Monard, thank you.

Listen, we have a few things in common. The main one is the Holy Spirit living inside us. But we'll put that to the side for a moment. I just want to say, I'm old enough to remember the Fraser Ali fights, and then when you entered that picture. So you can understand, because I was, you know, eight or nine at that time, you're a legendary figure to me. So it really is intimidating and a profound honor that I get to speak with you,

not just about your career, but more importantly, as far as I'm concerned, about your faith than Jesus. Let's start with this, George, if I may call you, George. You had an experience, and in most of these interviews, you won't get the time to tell that story. would you tell us the story of what happened to you in the dressing room? You were, first of all, the frame things for people, you were at the top of the game, heavyweight champ of the world, everybody's writing about you, everybody knows who you are. And then things go south, things go badly, and one day something happens to you after a fight in 1977. Would you start with that?

Yeah, Jimmy Young. I'd gone out to Samoa in Puerto Rico, because, to solicify my number one contentionhip. All I had to do is win that boxing match, but I wanted to prove to the world I could go 12 rounds. After the fight was over, he got the decision, but it didn't matter to me. I'd proven what I could do. Went to the dressing room to cool off,

walking back and fall in thinking, like I always did, you don't just sit down after a boxing match. You're George Foreman, you got everything. You'd have to worry about the stupid boxing match. You could go home and retire now and die. I'd never heard such things. And within a split all that time, I'm fighting off death. I'd heard about athletes dying in dressing rooms after a football game, but not me.

I had too much to live for. I fought for my life. And at the end of the day, I heard a voice within me, say, you believe in God, why are you scared to die? And I was afraid. Everybody talked about God, but hey, believe in it. You know, what's the deal? I didn't know that was really religion.

I just thought it was something for poor people to hang their hat on. Because everybody I had known who had religion were depressed people, also husband, a wife, or money, and something. I wasn't going to get into that. But I walked trying to shake off death. You believe in God. So I tried to make a deal. Because I had this money, you know, I said, look, I'm still George Foreman.

After that time, I knew it was God. I can still fight and give money for cancer and for charity. and I heard a voice within me say, I don't want your money, I want you. Now, was this the day, this was all in the dressing room after the box. I want to focus on that. You just had a terrible fight, horrible fight.

You're not used to taking a beating, having a bad fight. You go back to the dressing room and you said you felt that you were dying. Are there others who corroborate that something happened to you? Like the shock of that fight? You know, I was The fight didn't bother me at all.

I just lost a decision that I was pretty happy with because I'd gone 12 rounds. That didn't mean anything to me. I still had so much things going on in my life. There I was fighting for my life, and I didn't want to tell anyone in the dressing what was going on because they felt like, oh, he's just sad because he lost the fight. But finally, I couldn't fight anymore.

And I realized I was going to die, and my legs gave out of me, and I said, the only thing I shout out of y'all I'm fixing to, before I could say another word, I was in this dog, deep, nothing. Over my head, under my feet, like someone had dropped me in the sea and there was no need in swimming. There was nothing. And I got mad because it was like a dump yard, a very depressing thing that could ever happen to you. I got upset. I said, I don't care if this is death. I still believe there is a God. Legacy precious metals has a revolutionary new online platform that allows you to invest in real gold and silver online. In a few of these steps, you can open an account online, select your medals of choice,

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We need to stand together and support companies that share our values. Get free activation today with the offer code Eric. I want to be clear. You're in the dressing room after the fight. you lose the 12 round decision, you went to 12 rounds, but you had a supernatural, there's no other way to describe it,

a supernatural experience. You're the only one in the room who had this experience. And you were convinced, you are dying. And it sounds like it's not, even that's not going well. Are you falling into the abyss of hell?

Are you falling into nothingness? In other words, you say you were scared at that moment. You thought, I am dying, and I'm scared to die. I fought for my life. I didn't want to die. I had this nice body, you know.

I had money in the bank, real estate investments. I had nice cars. I didn't want to die. Who cares about a stupid boxing match? And there I was dead. I saw everything I'd ever worked for crumble like ashes behind me. Real estate investment, money hidden and saved the deposit boxes. It was all gone.

And I'd just turn around and I said, I don't care if this is his death. I still believed there as a guy. When I said that, it was like a gigantic hand reached in and pulled me out of nothingness, nothing, no hope, nothing. And I was alive in that dressing room again. Evidently, they had picked me up off the floor and put me on the table. And there I was. And as I lay there, my Dr. West behind him, I said, Dr. West, move your hands because the thorns on his head are making him bleed. And he looked at me and smiled, and I looked on my hand, my masseur, Mr. Fuhr, he said,

I said, move your hand, Mr. Fuller. He's bleeding where they crucified him. And I jumped off the table and started screaming to this day, four day, six years now, Jesus Christ is coming alive in me. Fought off eight men, got into the shower and started screaming, hallelujah, I'm clean. Hallelujah, I've been born again. I never said stuff like that. And it just took over my life. For 10 years, I didn't even make a fist. I never even shadow box. I was. walked away from everything because I just didn't believe this could happen to a person. So few people have had a genuine experience with Jesus the way you just described. I have not quite on the level that you're talking about,

but you must know, and you must have figured out pretty quick, your mother had been praying for you. People had been praying for you. These things don't just happen out of the blue. And I thought it was a joke. I used to hear my mother praying. I said, I'm going to make a million dollars so I can make this lady to stop that. Oh, Lord, oh God. I just thought it was because we didn't have anything.

Boy, it's so poor. But it doesn't matter what I'd give her, she goes right back to that. Well, God is going to help you just pray. It never stopped. And that's the way I believe, you know, religions just didn't exist for me. But I had it then for 10 years. I didn't even, like I said, I never made a box or a fist or anything. I just dedicated my life to.

They're telling people about the realness of God. Well, that's how people know it's real. I mean, for someone like you, who's an international figure, to go from boxing to no boxing, and then to street preaching, and then, I mean, when I saw the film when we were kings, the documentary won all these awards, you were a gloomy, forbidding figure, a scary figure, a sunny Liston-type figure. And then suddenly, you emerged on the other. side, smiling, happy, joyful, Jesus-filled George Foreman. That, you can't make that up. You can't fake that

for 40-something years. No. When you get a second chance to live, I tell you, there's no stopping and celebrating to be alive and you get up in the morning. He said, I'm alive. It makes you happy. It doesn't matter what you have or what you've lost, you still have that experience that you makes you know that you're alive. It made me a happy man. But you had the rare experience of seeing Jesus. I mean, many, very few people who come to faith have this extraordinary experience of actually seeing Jesus, hearing Jesus. It seems like it kind of took that in your case because you were, you were so resistant to it. Yeah, I just didn't believe it.

And if you had walked to me and walked up to me and told me what I'm telling you now, I would have laughed. It just didn't make sense. There's really a living guy. and then to see that, I never knew. He said, move your hands because the thorns on his head. I never heard anything like that of making him bleed. All these things became real to me within a minute. And boy, I wanted to tell to the world.

I fought eight men to get out that dress room tonight. I said, I got to go tell the world. They said, George, you don't have any clothes on it. I put on my clothes later on, and I've been telling the world that story since. Well, the story, all of this is obviously in this wonderful film, Big George Foreman, which I hope everybody's going to see. But one of the most amazing things is this other chapter that you come back. I remember I had been a Christian just for a few years, and I heard on the radio, George Foreman, age 45, is going to try to come back to take the World Heavyweight Champion. It's like if Secretariat came back from the dead.

That doesn't happen. No one goes back into the boxing ring after 10 years in their mid-40s. And so the whole world was cheering you at that time for totally different reasons. But you said that your wife had had a vision that this would happen, that this was to bring glory to God. Talk about that. And my wife, she believed in it. I think she was actually praying for me once. And she said, George, I had this dream.

I had a vision that you were a heavyweight champ of the world again, and that you would get all of the things you'd lost, you would get them back. I said, really? And boy, did I start to work? I'd start venturing out to 10 miles. Even my wife would drop me off 17 miles from home and say, I'd see you at home. And I'd make it back running and walking,

trying to get myself in shape. And people laughed at me. They made jokes about it, but I continued to work. well look it's unbelievable your whole story is unbelievable which is one reason i hope people will see the film big george foreman but the the transformation of your life is the most dramatic example anybody like me who's familiar with the old george foreman to see what became of you when jesus came into your life there's no greater proof of god than the transformation uh in your life i'm so glad somebody finally twisted into making a film about your story because people need to know your story.

And I'm just so glad that you were willing to go along with this. Yeah, I tried to hide my life, dog glasses, tinted windows, big walls around my home. I tried to hide my life. So it wasn't easy to come out and just now reveal as much as I could about my life. It wasn't easy, but we did it. Well, you know it's God's will in your life. And if God has a will, you better go along with it because he always wins. I just want to ask you.

He always wins. You became friends with Muhammad Ali. Tell us a little bit about that, because that's an amazing, that whole story. I lost the title, and I was devastated, and I wanted revenge, really hated that guy. I wanted to capture him. But as I went on with life and started to testify, he would get in touch with me. and we became, I really, to be honest with you, I fell in love with the guy. I recaptured the love I needed for him.

We're friends, his family and me were friends. And then the advent of the telephone where you could see both ways, we even talked to each other on film. A lovely guy and a lovely man. And I still miss him, by the way. What a great friendship we had. And did you ever become friends with Joe Frazier? Joe Frazier, we totally were friends. all alone. I made friendship with Joe Frazier, his family, his children and I are good friends.

Joe Frazier, he was the most authentic human being I've ever met. What you see is what you get. He didn't put on any airs for anyone. Well, the funny thing is both you and Joe Frazier, you were really patriotic Americans at a time when many in the nation were hating America. and so you weathered that storm as well. All of that is in the film. I am just so honored to speak with you. Final question, I guess, I will ask you. Do you continue to preach in churches?

Where can I see you preach? I want to hear you preach. Well, I'm a full-time pastor at the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in Houston, Texas. Every Sunday morning, you'll see me there. We cut back on a lot of times when the COVID- it came on the scene, but we're starting to get right back out there, and I travel all over the country speaking and telling that same story. I just told you. Look, I want to do a long interview with you, two chairs on a stage. I will come to Houston. I've interviewed people that have

walked on the moon, but I've never interviewed George Foreman in person. I pray God gives me that honor. This really has been an honor, George. And I want to pray God's blessing over you. as you continue to do these interviews, you are promoting the name of Jesus. You are doing God's work by being a part of this film and by promoting this film. And on behalf of the body of Christ, I want to say thank you, George Foreman.

God bless you. On behalf of many people, we love you, and we're grateful for you. God bless you, my brother. Thank you. Please continue to pray for me. And I will. Okay, thank you.

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And get all your shopping done now while quantities last. Again, use code Eric and save mypillow.com. Welcome. We have our dear friends. I always forget their names. I think it's Sam and Kevin Sorbo. Did I get it right? Did I pronounce it correct?

Close enough. You did. Put up a big cue card for you earlier, so I know you read it. You guys have a film out, a new film, another film called Irreligious Nation, available at SalemNow.com. What is this film about, folks? What is this? So we decided to, it was a bucket list thing.

We wanted to go to Israel. We decided to lead a tour group in Israel. and one of the people on the tour, when I mentioned to him that I wanted to do a documentary, he said that would be really interesting. We can do it together and we can basically document our family's experience of Israel. His family had reached a point where they had basically been divided by social media, by the calls of the day. And so they were kind of, in a sense, falling apart as a family.

And he wanted to get them back together again. and he thought a trip to the homeland might be just the thing to do that. And so the film that resulted, it's a documentary, and the film that resulted from that is a film called Irreligious Nation. And it asked the question, is faith really, is it even worthwhile anymore? Is there a point to having religion? And, of course, as Christians, we know that, yes, there is. But our culture seems to be more and more leaning towards, no, there's no point.

And so we kind of, we kind of tackle that head on. They're listening to Bill Maher out there more than they're listening to us. So we're trying to rectify that with a much better documentary. Well, I'm glad you are. So tell us again, what's the substance of the story of irreligious nations? It's a documentary, but tell us about the story. Tell us where forgiveness comes into it. Oh, yeah.

Well, forgiveness is a big deal for me. I think, you know, we're living in a culture today that's very unforgiving. and of course the bedrock of the Christian belief system is forgiveness, right? That's what that's what we hang all of our hope on. And so that comes, that becomes a big topic of conversation in the film. But really it's about reconnecting with our roots. The name of the tour was walking in the footsteps of Jesus. And we visited the Jordan, baptized in the Jordan, you know, went to the upper room,

went to the Garden of Gethsemini, and had a service. there and you just, you experience Israel through the eyes of these people who have never been there before who are sort of reconnecting with their faith. And so in a way, you can vicariously live through the people in the film and reconnect with your own faith. I've actually been there. We're going back. That was the group we took in 2019. We were going to do it every year. Obviously, COVID put it all to that. But now we're doing it again this year going back in May. But I went back a year ago and Sam tagged along. I did another documentary. And I went to boy, I went before we took a group, I went with John Lennox.

And I know you know who John Lennox is. And I did another documentary with him. So I've been there three to four times. I've done documentaries. So we'll see what happens in this next trip. Well, this is available at SalemNow.com, along with other great stuff, SalemNow.com. But you guys say a little bit about this because this is simply a fact.

When you go there, you know, it is like going to the Shire or like going to some mythical place except it's real it's hard for many of us to comprehend that you can go to the very places where everything that happened in the bible happened and you can walk where jesus walked it's it's hard for us until you actually go there to comprehend that it's a real place yeah i mean it was it was phenomenal for me the first time just around going there and uh when sam came up the idea to bring this group of people let's put it together and we'll post it on our website we filled up very quickly just like we fill up this here's and it's very exciting. And to me, every time I've been there,

I learned more and more and more. One of the things that stuck with me more than anything is I got to stand on the balcony where a pilot stood when he had two gentlemen on either side and said to the crowds, which one of these do you want me to set free and which to crucify? And to actually be on that,

that's something most people don't get to do is like an incredible honor for me. So when we went again recently, we found a couple more places we want to go to with a group this time, like Shiloh, Perodian, all these other, there's so many things that see. And it's, I'm not important going back.

It's really touching history in a visceral way. And that's what I hope people can watch this movie and take away, even just a small percentage of that, that touch of history, and understanding that your faith is founded in real things that actually happened. When you walk in the places where those things actually happen, it changes you as a person. Well, and we saw that with the group we took out, and you'll see it in the documentary.

You can see the change. and people, you can see. People were crying. People were rejoicing, the singing. I mean, it was, it really, I did a lot of stuff I normally wouldn't do because I feel too self-conscious about it. But I was, it's a place that you just sort of let loose. And the people you meet there, everybody's on a pilgrimage from all over the world, and people from China, from Russia, from Poland, from Michigan for crying out loud. So it was amazing. It was, it was a pretty cool trip. It's a lot like Disneyland, Disneyland without the grooming. Yeah. Oh, dear. No, seriously, it is so amazing that this is real, that this is not a theme park. It's the real thing. I'm assuming you haven't read my book is atheism dead because there's some historical things in my book is atheism dead. I simply couldn't believe it. I'm drooling to go back to Israel to visit Hezekiah's tunnel, to go to Nazareth. They have discovered, it sounds like I'm making it up. They've discovered the,

childhood home of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. You'd say that's not possible. These are things that are coming out in our lifetimes. It's like what gives you a hint that we're in the last days, that this stuff is coming out. So irreligious nation is the film. Irreligious nation. You can find it at SalemNow.com.

It features our friends, Kevin and Sam Sorbo. Congratulations to both of you. God bless you. See you soon, sir. We miss seeing you and hope to see you soon. When you see the Southern Cross. Okay, folks, just to remind you, five years ago, five years ago, so it's 2017, we had a contest on this program to asking kids to memorize Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's

spectacular patriotic poem, Paul Revere's Ride. I memorized it, my daughter memorized it, and then we said, we want everybody in our audience to have the opportunity. So what we're going to play now is what we played six years ago, beginning with my introduction of what follows. So this is the introduction right now in 2023 of my introduction in 2017 to the actual poem itself. You're going to get to hear the poem. You can watch it on video. We hope you will. But this is, it's important that we remember our history, especially what happened on 18th, on the 18th of April in 1775. So now here is my introduction from 2017, followed by the poem itself recited by a lot of you. Here it is. I am so excited about

this, folks. Paul Revere's Ride, one of the greatest poems in American history by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. We did a contest for students to memorize the whole poem. We got so many entries. It would take you literally a day to watch all of the entries so we compile them into a single video I just love this. These kids work fantastic and makes me want to be more

patriotic. Watch for yourself. Listen, my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Sophia. On the 18th of April in 75, hardly a man is now alive.

You remember that He said to his friend, if the British march by land or sea from the town tonight, hang a lantern a loft in the belfry arch, the North Church Tower, a signal light one if by land. And I on the opposite shore will be, ready to ride and spread the alarm. Through every middle sex, village, and farm. For the country of folks to get up and shop. Then he said, good night, I would have my whole board. The Southland Road to the Charlestown Shore.

Just as the moon was over the bay, and swinging wide at her moaning leg. The summer set, British man of war, a phantom ship with each mast and spark. Across the moon like a prison bar. A huge battle hole fell in magnified. It's the only fresh in the tide. Meanwhile, his friend, through Alley and Street, wanders and watches with eager ears. Till in the sun, it's around the meat ears. Musting of Man at the barrack door.

The sand of arms in the tramp of feet And the measured tread of the grenadiers. Arching down to their boats on the shore. Then he climbed to the tower of the Old North Church By the wooden stairs with stealthy tread. To the belfry to the overhead. And startled the pigeons from their perch On the somber rafters that ran him made masses

And moving shapes of shade. By the trembling ladder steep and tall To the highest window in the wall. Where he paused to listen, and look down. Found a moment on the roots of the town and the moonlight forming overall. Beneath in the churchyard lay the dead. In the nighting pavement on the hill, right in the sadness.

So deep and still. But they could hear like a sun-hills tread, the watchful night wind as it went, creeping along from tent to tent and seeming to whisper. He feels a spell. Place the out of secret jam. The lonely guel. and the dead. For suddenly all his thoughts are bent and a shadow be something far away where the river white is to meet the bay. A line of black that bins and floats on the rising tide.

Like a bridge of boats. He while the fish is small stride. Booted in his fur with a heavy stride. On the opposite shorewalk, Paul Revere, now he padded his horse aside. Now he gazed up the landscape far and near. The impetuous, stamp the earth and turned and tightened his saddle girth. But mostly he watched the eager to search. tower of the old north church as it rose above the graves of the hill lonely and spectral and sombre and still and low as he looks on the belfry's height a glimmer than a gleam of light he's friskly the saddle the bridle he turns but lingers and gazes to fall on his sight a second rank in the belfry earth a hurry of hoofs in a village street the shape in the moonlight a bolt from the dark and beneath from the pebbles and passing a spot struck out by that steeply with grey less than feet that was all and yet

The loom and green, the fate of the nation was riding ahead. And that spark struck out by that steed in his flight, kindled the land into flame with its heat. He has left the village and mounted the steep, and beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep. Is the mystic, meeting the ocean tides, under the allers that skirts its edge. Lost off when he stands, that's bad on the bridge.

It is heard the tramp in his steed as he rides. It was twelve by the village clock. When he crossed the bridge into Medford Town, He could hear the crying of cock. And the barking of the farmers don't... And felt the damp of the river fog that rises when the sun goes down. It was won by the village cock when he galloped in Lexington.

He saw the gilded weathercocks swim in the moonlight as he passed. And the meeting house windows lay in there, gaze at him. With a spectral glare. As if they were still gas, the bloody woke, they would put the pawn. It was too, by the lawn. when he came to the bridge in Concord Town and heard the bleeding of the flock and the twitter of the birds among the trees.

He felt the depth, the breath of the morning breeze, blowing over the meadow ground, and one was safe and asleep in his dead. Who at the bridge would be first to fall? Who that day would be lying dead, pierced by British musket ball? You know the rest in books you read, how the British regulus fired and fled, how the farmers gave them ball for bowl. behind each fence and farm yard wall, chasing the red coats down the lane.

And crossing the fields to emerge again. Under the trees at the turn of the road, only Paul needed a fire in load. So through the night, wrote Paul Revere. And so through the night with his cry of alarm. Through every middle steps, village and farm. Craves are fights. And not a fear.

A voice in the darkness. A knock at the door. And a word that shall echo forevermore. Forborne on that night window of the past, through all our history, to the last. In the hour of darkness and peril and need, the people awaken and listen to hear

the hurting hoof peaks of that steep midnight message. Of Paul. Oh, Albin, this has been kind of a crazy hour. Have you been able to keep on this? I know, three for the price of one, right? George Foreman, the Sorbos, Paul Revere's ride. I get the most excited about that.

I can't believe it's so long ago. Is that really six years ago? It doesn't seem possible. And then what we have coming up in hour two, John Zmirak. We're going to take it down and notch. You know, we're going to talk to John Smirak. Yeah. John Smirak is coming.

John Smirak is coming. Everything. We're going to talk about everything with Zmirak. Last night, I spoke, I didn't say this earlier. I spoke at a place called Angus Farms in Raleigh, North Carolina. Carolina. I was the speaker at a Gateway Women's Health Annual Benefit event. And they said they had more people at the event last night than they've had it at any other event. It was like 670 people at this huge like barn basically. And I'm not kidding. I'm standing at the podium and right in the middle of

the barn I look up was the largest ceiling fan I have ever seen. It looked like an amusement. ride. It looked scary. Like this thing's going to come down and decapitate dozens of people. It was so huge. I've never seen it. And people said, oh, yeah, yeah, they have them here, you know, whatever. And I can't even say the name of the company that makes them because it's a little, it's a little off color. But the whole time that I was speaking, I kept looking up this fan, like, this is coming down. This looks safe. It was huge. I mean, when I say huge, you can't imagine, you saw how big it was. So that was Angus Farms and it was the Gateway Women's Health benefit.

And I think they had the most people there because your opening act was the Bee Gees. Yeah, hard to believe that the BGs were, see, that's the kind of humor people are thinking, what, what? Even I'm familiar. Calvin is joking, folks. We didn't really have the BGs because the BGs really don't exist anymore. Barry is the only one who. who's alive. And I really, I don't want to bring that up, but now you forced me to bring it up.

Okay, hey, we don't want to forget this is something we have to bring up. Holyland.israel.travel. That's the website for the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, holyland.com.israel.com travel. We're getting emails from people about what an amazing website it is. And we want to exhort you to visit the Holy Land. land. I think because of what we're going through in the culture, because of the darkness all around, the only real solution is to draw closer to God. And one of the ways you could do that is, if it's possible, visit the Holy Land because you can't really believe what you say. I keep saying that in my book is atheism dead. The middle part's about archaeology. You cannot believe the stuff

they've uncovered in recent years, in recent years. Hezekiah's Tunnel. I mean, all this stuff that proves the Bible is history, it's kind of amazing. Hezekiel, I think it's my favorite because, well, I don't want to say it, but if you have the book, you want to read that story. There's a chapter in Is Atheism Dead called, I believe the title of the chapter is three mischievous boys. And this is not a joke.

three of the greatest archaeological discoveries in the history of the world, separated by like over a century, each one involves a mischievous boy, not making this up. When I kind of was doing the research, I thought, this can't be right. Maybe there's two.

And I thought, no, the third one, each case is a mischievous boy going where he shouldn't go. Like when you just say, I'll kill you. If you, if I find out that you went there,

and they, in each case, the kid did something he shouldn't do, the one was playing hooky, and they discovered, I mean, it's, anyway, it's in my book as atheism dead. And we recommend that you visit Israel. And we'll be right back with John Samirak.