The Eric Metaxas Show - Joe Battaglia

Episode Date: September 28, 2020

Joe Battaglia shares a new book designed to bring some hope in these trying times: "Make America Good Again: 12.5 Biblical Principles to Unite Our Nation, Restore True Greatness, And Reshape Our Political Rhetoric."

Welcome to the Eric Mataxis show. Please keep your arms of legs inside the car at all times. This is your final warning. Now here's your host, Mr. Thrill Ride himself. Eric Mataxis. Hey there, folks. Welcome to the Eric Mataxis show. Yes, it's a show.

But that doesn't mean it's all entertaining. Sometimes we talk about extremely interesting things. Sometimes we talk about extremely important things. Actually, when we're talking about really important things, it can be entertaining and at least interesting. Let me just say right now, we're talking to our friend from the Alliance Defending Freedom.

Tyson Langhofer is a senior council with Alliance Defending Freedom, and we partner with Alliance Defending Freedom. Go to Metaxistalk.com. You can see the banner for Alliance Defending Freedom. But honestly, Tyson, the case that you're dealing with right now, it's one of these, I don't know what category

to put it into. It's kind of like end times category. Please tell my audience what the Alliance Defending Freedom is dealing with in this extremely important case. Sure. Thanks for having us on, Eric, and for your support. We represent Jack Denton. He's a senior at Florida State University, and Jack has served in the Student Senate for almost three years. He was elected this freshman year, and last fall he was elected by the Student Senate to be the Senate president. Jack is also a devout Catholic, and Jack has participated in the Catholic Student Union, a recognized student group on the campus, one of the largest student groups on the Florida State campus.

He's participated since the freshman. And this Catholic Student Union has a group chat on the Group Me app, and they share prayer requests and encouragement with all the other members. Back in June, the group members were talking about police shootings, and one of the members shared a, video and encourage other members to go watch this video because if you watch it, then you would be supporting various groups. Jack looked at the list of the groups supported and just pointed out to the other members that several of the groups had anti-Catholic views, and he warned them that if you watch this, you may be supporting groups that supported anti-Catholic views. Some of the one other member of that group chat took those screenshots, shared them with the

student senate, and that very night, they voted to remove Jack as the Senate president simply for sharing Catholic views in a Catholic group chat with other Catholic students. That initial vote actually failed, but two days later, after a public pressure campaign, they held another vote, and Jack was removed by a vote of 33 to 3 as Senate president, simply because he shared his Catholic views with other Catholic students in a private group chat. And that vote lasted for more than five hours where student after student after student came and just castigated Jack simply for being a Catholic. Well, that's why I'm thrilled to have you on Tyson and thrilled to partner with the Alliance Defending Freedom

and want to tell my audience again to go to Metaxistalk.com and support Alliance Defending Freedom because what we're dealing with right now, we could all see it coming over the years, but here we are. Suddenly, when you share the most basic tenets of your Christian faith, you are dealt with like a criminal, like a monster, the idea that somebody merely being Catholic, merely being a Christian is offensive

to the extent that he has to be hounded out, of the group chat and so on and so forth. That's where we are in the culture. It's certainly where we are in universities. And it's completely un-American. It's completely unacceptable. And at the end of the day, it's harmful to everyone. Even the people who think that Jack is wrong,

it's harming them because it's undermining their most basic rights as a human being to express yourself, to hold certain views. The idea that we have to fight for this seems crazy, but we do, and as far as I can see, Alliance Offending Freedom is leading the fight. You do what you do pro bono. You do it for free, and you need support. Folks, if you think this is just happening to folks like Jack Denton,

this is happening all over the country. It will happen to you and to people you know because the people on the other side have been empowered to play these children's games and to say that we're just going to cancel you. We're just going to, like a mob, we're just going to tell everybody, this is the way to think. And if you don't think this way, you're a bigot. That's what's happening.

And the Alliance Defending Freedom is fighting back. And how are you fighting back right now, Tyson? Well, we did several things. First of all, we went to the administration and we said, hey, will you please step in? They violated numerous university policies by removing Jack. They violated the First Amendment. And you have a duty as the administration to enforce those policies and enforce the Constitution. they did nothing.

So after two letters of them doing nothing, we filed a federal lawsuit against the university officials and against a couple of student officials and ask them, ask the court to reinstate Jack and allow him to serve out the remainder of his term, which expires in October, because he did nothing wrong. And because the First Amendment protects his rights to be a Catholic. There's no religious test for office allowed.

In fact, that's specifically banned by the constitutional. We can't have a religious test, but that's what they've done here. And Eric, as you point out, one of the concerning things is they basically said, Jack, because you hold these views, you can't represent people with different views. But that's completely contrary to the Constitution. That's exactly what the Constitution says, that we do have a republic, which allows people with different views to represent all people. And Jack had shown that he was able to do that.

He had worked with people from all different views for more than two years. And so we need to be able to tell them that not only are we standing up for Jack, but for all students that have different views, they can come in and they can peacefully share the views with other students and still be able to work together. Well, this is the definition of what we call cancel culture. People saying that we don't, we're not talking about people differing with us. We're talking about people differing with us to the extent that we will cancel you. In other words, if you differ with us, we will call you out of bounds.

And so effectively, what I'm trying to say is they are insisting that you agree with their point of view on all kinds of issues, even if it violates your religious beliefs. And I just want to say, as an American, as somebody who loves freedom, this is not about being Christian. This is about the most fundamental rights humans around the world should have in any country. So when they're under attack in this country, folks, you have to understand this is, you know, this is the place where religious liberty came into the world. This is the place where these ideas took hold. And if we don't fight for them here when they're under attack after 240-something years, it goes away everywhere. This is the most basic thing. If people can bully you and demand that you agree with them or shut up about your views,

You have no freedom. Forget about religious freedom. You have no freedom. This is a basic, basic thing. It's happening all over the place. And the Alliance Defending Freedom are going to the mat for people, some of whom you'll never hear about. But this is coming. This is everywhere. And the Constitution is on our side. But if we don't have lawyers zealous to defend the Constitution and defend people who are suffering this, it's over. So I want to say, Tyson, first of all, thank you for. for working with the Alliance offending freedom. And to those who are able to give, you just don't know how bad it is, folks. We're just telling you stories. These are the tip of the iceberg. But we have to fight. We are in the right.

The Constitution is very clear. I want to say, again, please go to our website, metaxis talk.com. ADF, there's a banner there. And you said, Tyson, this is at Florida State University that this has been happening. Correct. I mean, I'm just amazed that college administrators let this happen.

It's one thing for kids to get sucked into some kind of mob thinking, but college administrators ought to know that you cannot have a university without diversity of thought. And this is very basic. Yeah, you know, what was really concerning, Eric, was there is one of the vice presidents of the university sits in on every Senate meeting. And she took the vote. She took the roll call. She watched this happen and she did nothing.

And there's a specific rule that says you cannot be removed as university president, as Senate president, if it's for discriminatory reasons, including violating the university's non-discrimination clause. And the only reason cited was Jack's religious beliefs. And yet she stood by and allowed it to happen. And that's concern. Forgive me. We're out of time. Folks, this is where we are. Tyson, thank you.

Folks, go to metaxis talk.com. Click on the ADF banner. We really need your help. I think it should be obvious to you. Please help. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, every now and again, I like to bring on to the program an old friend, somebody that I just trust and value. Today's not one of those days. Today, unfortunately, I got to put on my professional hat and I got to go with a guest that's been assigned to me by the brass at Salem. They say, you have this guy on. We don't care if you don't like it. We don't care if he's got nothing to say. You do as you're told. And I realized that because, I got to pay the rent every month now. These landlords are demanding it every month. I got to do what I'm told. So I'm sorry, but here's my guest, Joe Bataglia. Joe, welcome to the program.

Well, every now and then, I like to have an interview with somebody I really respect in life, but unfortunately, today's not one of those days. You know what? This is real life. This is real life. What are you going to do? Joe, as you know, my love language is insulting people publicly. That's how you know we're close.

right? You're my gumba going way back to the old neighborhood. And we used to make breadsticks together and the Zappolese and the whole thing. But in all seriousness, you're a dear brother and friend from New York City and Jersey, which is roughly the same thing at this point. And you've been in the broadcasting business for a long time. You know more about radio than anyone I've ever met. And you've been a Christian for a long time. People don't understand that there are a lot of hardcore evangelicals in New York. Come on. I'm serious, right?

You know this. Yeah. Before Tim Keller was born, you were, right? I looked there, yeah. Way before Tim Keller was arrested. Didn't you say that once to like a bunch of New York cops, they approached you? And you said, hey, hey, before Tim Keller was, I am. And they fell back.

They fell back in Central Park. Didn't that happen? All right, look. I better shut up. Forgive me, folks. We have a book out. Joe, my friend, you seem to write a book every year now. What's with you? I'm trying to keep up with you. Yeah, yeah, exactly. It's not easy. Okay, your book, brand new this summer. It is called Make America Good Again. You know how much I love that title because I've said so publicly. It's 12.5 biblical principles. He's already joking in the subtitle. folks. Do you get this guy? 12.5 biblical principles to unite our nation, restore true greatness, and reshape our political rhetoric. I will let you explain where you get this quote from,

because a lot of people aren't going to know. This is actually really important. Yeah, sure. Well, you know, it's often, well, that's part of a quote that has often been attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville, a French historian who came to this country in the 1830s and wrote an amazing two-volume set called Democracy in America that every child should read in school. It's brilliant. But we don't actually find it in his two-volume set. I've read it. But there is a part of that quote that whoever wrote it is brilliant. And it says simply that in this context that it wasn't until I went into the churches of America and saw pulpits of flame with righteousness. that I understand what made America great. And America is great because she is good. And if she ever

ceases to be good, she'll cease to be great. The essence of that is that greatness is about achievement, but goodness is about character. We have lost the moral character in our country. We need to get it back. And as you know, I like to talk about faith and culture issues, same as you. And so I decided to let's look at how can we see beyond the nonsense that is going on today, where people seem to have lost all common sense, no respect for anything anymore. And so I wanted to talk about how do we possibly look at culture and how do we regain some of that. Well, there's some things that are so simple that it's almost shocking that we don't get it anymore, right? but the idea that, um, Tocqueville,

as you said, he's often been quoted as saying that in order for America to be great, she has to be good or it's that, you know, whatever that quote is, he's quoted saying that a million times. We're pretty sure he didn't exactly say that, but it doesn't matter because it is a distillation

of everything he said over and over and over again. So if you want to sum up what Tocqueville's main point is, that's it. And so you're obviously playing. laying on the president's, you know, make America great again doctrine, make America great again slogan by saying make America good again, because you and I realize that at the heart of our greatness, virtue lies. At the heart of our greatness, faith lies. And we have lost sight of that, at least in the last 50 years since you and I were kids. It's not really been taught in schools.

And there is basically no way around it. In other words, there's no other way to a way to achieve true liberty and true greatness on the American model without what we call goodness and virtue and so on and so forth. So I've got to ask you, the book is Make America Good Again. Why 12.5 biblical principles? That is brilliant. You get high marks for that because that right away everybody wants to know, what is that? What is that? Well, you know, you and I like to have fun and how we write things and how we perceive things. So I just thought I'd have a little fun in that because it does make you stop for a second and think. I think the reality, and what I try to state in the book, is simply this.

There are certain principles that are written into the DNA of the universe that I think are intrinsic to what creates true liberty and true freedom in our country. I mean, the Tokerville did say that liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith. So the reality of what makes goodness in a country is that it's established and rooted in a morality that is rooted in a faith, personal faith. And so the genius of our nation and the genius of our faith is that we are all different yet one. And you've heard me say this, not that we're all the same in one. The e pluribusunum is missing from our current climate.

And that is what helps makes us one nation. Doesn't matter who you are. We enjoy each other. We get along with each other. People have to understand that there is a spirit that has been unleashed in the world today. And I always like to say that the spirit you bring into something is the same spirit that is received at the other end by the people who consume it. The nonsense that is going on around us today on the streets with Antifa. and all these other groups, they do not actually talk about justice

or have justice at the core center of what they're talking about because they are rooted in a spirit of division, because that's what socialism and Marxism is, and political correctness. It was born in a spirit of division, not unity, creating division between people, not love, not reconcern, reconciliation, not justice. It's obvious aim and its obvious spirit is to create all this chaos. It's like when God leaves the camp, as Moses left the Israelites, when God leaves the camp,

which he has in our marketplace in this country, what is the end result? Chaos. People do what is right in their own eyes and they dance around idols they create. You're referring to the scene in Exodus where Moses leaves to go up into the mountain. And no sooner is he gone than the Israelites go crazy and start worshipping pagan idols, which is to say demons and doing things that you do when you worship demons. And you're suggesting, and I'm unfortunately agreeing wholeheartedly, that that's effectively what has happened in American culture. Exactly.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to actually see him. And so what I was referring to, that we see the spirit unleashed in our land. The fruit, when you plant something, having gardened all my life, you expect to see the fruit of what you planted come up from the ground. And we are seeing actually now the reality, regardless of what anybody says, of the fruit of what is the fruit of what is. being sewn out there. So, you know, you can't hate people into loving you or making you do something. And so we understand that when we look at what's going on out there, it's obvious, and I like to say that when you lose your moral compass, you lose your common sense. So those of us that have not drunk the Kool-Aid, you know, incredulously look at what's going on out there and

say, what in the world do they do it? I mean, what are they talking about? And so the problem is, is that, you know, people have sown this seed of division, of hatred, of all the things that are ungodly, anti-American in the truest sense, and they're not going to be able to enact true justice. you're not going to enable people toward reconciliation because the very opposite spirit is at work in the fruit that these people are leaving and what certain people are advocating. And it is just disturbing. And that's the kind of stuff I like to talk about. Well, we're going to talk about it more with Joe Bataglia. The book should be very easy to remember the title, Make America Good Again.

Folks, this is very important. You can tell by the Eric Mataxis blurb. the cover. I am right behind this idea, folks. Okay, we'll be right back. Somebody ringing the bell. Someone's knocking at the door. Somebody's ringing the bell. Hi, folks. These uncertain times can cause uncertain gut slowdown. Worrying fear can wreak havoc on our digestion, making it hard to feel optimum. Blooding, less energy, and occasional constipation can slow you down in your daily activity. Try life change tea to get the tea.com. T can help get things moving so you can get that boost of energy you need.

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Again, get the t.com. That's get the t.com. Get the t.com. It is so worth it. Get the t, tea.com. Folks, I got some embarrassing news to share with you. But you know what? This is just the kind of a show where I don't care.

I'm willing to lay my heart, you know, on the line. Here's the issue. Mike Lindell with my pillow, you may notice that I have a Bible hell of him near me. He's here to remind all of us that when you go to mypillow.com, you get whopping discounts if you use the code Eric. Now, there are a lot of people who haven't done that, and we have your names here. And Chris Heim's Ann Albin pointed out to me that there's like three pages of you whose first

name is Eric. You yourself. I mean, that's humiliating for me, that even though you're not. name is Eric, you're still not willing to use the code Eric. I mean, if you don't want to use it because it's my name, use it because it's your name. But the point is that I see who you are, and I just feel humiliated by this. Please go to go to mypillar.com. It's okay, Mike. It's going to be okay. Go to my pillow.com. Use the code Eric. You're going to get whopping savings and really high quality products. Did I mention that? Thank you. Hey there, folks. I'm talking to my friend Joe Bataglia.

and the book is Make America Good Again, 12.5 biblical principles to unite our nation, restore true greatness, and reshape our political rhetoric, Christian perspectives, current hot topics. Joe, I've known you for a long time, and we take this very seriously. We understand that we are men under authority, right? That if we don't do what God wants us to do, it will not go well in our lives. And that, also works for nations, that this nation and this culture has departed dramatically, very dramatically. We only need to think about what's airing on Netflix right now. A lot of horrible things happening in the streets. The F word is thrown around. I've never seen anything or heard anything like it. And people with common sense know that this is not good. This can't be good for anybody.

So what do you say in your book when you say 12.5 biblical principles to unite our nation? And are you going to give away the secret of the point five? Did I miss that? Did you halfway tell us and I missed it? I just like the 12.5 biblical principles. Well, I'll get to the secret sauce in a moment. All right. I think, I mean, this is very serious. You and I have a great time talking and kidding around, but this is very serious business, and the reason why this coming election is vital to the nation. I mean, there are certain things that people must understand

is that in the lifespan of preeminent civilizations, there are six phases that countries go through who have been superpowers and before they disintegrate due to decadence, which we've already been involved in. So a couple examples of characteristics that you can see of the decline of a superpower is the introduction of hypersexuality without building nuclear families or having children. We know where that comes from. And then there's this perverse enjoyment of what has been thought to be evil. We kind of relish in that.

So we glorify the villains and we vilify the glorious. Now, you and I both know the author Camille Paglia, right? She's a Paizan. For some reason, she got a little distorted at her, she's a feminist, atheist, lesbian, but she's very honest in what she has written about. And she said this in her interview with Reason Magazine some years ago that I found fascinating.

and totally honest. She said gender issues are historically the final stage of imminent civilizational collapse. Acceptance of transgenderism is the very last sign which occurs just before the catastrophic collapse of every single civilization in 5,000 years of recorded history. And she said that as a feminist and lesbian. So no civilization in history has recovered during that time. The average lifespan of a civilization, a superpower, has been 238 years. America is now at 244 years. We are on the cusp of being diluted and done with,

unless we turn to God and do the work that he has called us to pray and heal the land and be involved in the government. and be involved in affirming this to people. This is how vital this is. If we don't turn this around, more importantly, if we don't fall on our knees and cry before God as a nation, as believers and see him turn this around, we may lose what we once had as the harbinger of freedom and light to this country.

And God calls us to be involved in the marketplace to vote, Jesus ordered us that, not specifically, but in the principles that he simply laid out to render to Caesar with his Caesar's, render to God with his gods. God has created government. He instituted that. He instituted marriage and the family, the nuclear family. It's not a Western construct that we see on the BLM site, because that's totally erroneous. It is a biblical concept from the beginning of time spans all civilizations, eastern, far eastern, Middle Eastern, Western, has nothing to do with Western constructs, right? And so we need to be involved in the things that God has ordained. He's ordained marriage. He's ordained the nuclear family. He's ordained government.

Our role is to steward these things. And part of the stewarding of the government is the voting of it in order to remain this country as the harbinger of light and freedom so that when people kneel or disrespect the flag or disrespect the national anthem because I can understand that some people, you know, think that's their thing. I just think they're misguided because it's not about this country. It's about a greater principle which is called freedom. And that's why America is special. It's a, we are the harbinger that God has created. We spend hundreds of billions of dollars on giving to the poor and the oppressed overseas this country. We send more people to spread the gospel than anybody. So if this country falls, it diminishes the spread of the gospel.

It diminishes the opportunity for the poor and the oppressed of the world to receive benefits from us and help from us. That is why God created this country. That's why it's necessary. That's why our freedoms are like no freedoms that have ever been talked about on the face of this earth. And that's why, you know, America is great, not because, frankly, that our president says so and our G&P is good, but God ordained it to be great to be the things that I've just said. And I think that's important for us. Nobody could agree more strongly with what you just said than I. In fact, I know you ripped off those ideas for my book if you can keep it. And you know what?

It's okay. I'm going to let it go. In all seriousness, there's nothing more important. We're going to be right back talking to Joe Bataglia. Hey, folks, I've got to tell you. Hey there, folks. I'm talking to my friend, Joe Bataglia. Joe, do people have to spell your name right?

Or can they just go to find the book, Make America Good Again? think Joey B is good enough, Make America Good Again. You and I are talking about something so important that it's really hard, it's hard to overstate what you've been talking about and what I've been talking about on and off for a few years. There is no way around the rules of reality. In other words, God created this universe in a certain way. And you and I both believe that he created America particularly to bless the other nations of the world. That's God's principle. He always blesses us to be a blessing.

Israel or his chosen people. Why? For them, no. So that the good news of the God of Israel can be shed abroad to every other nation in the world. And similarly, whenever God blesses anyone or any nation, it's not just for them. It's principally through them to reach others. And what you just said before we went to the break, this idea that, you know, if we let the flame of liberty gutter out, it's over not just for us, but for all the people around the world who have benefited from the freedom that we have, from the blessings that we've had, from the treasure, the flourishing that we've had, that we've been able to export as ideas in terms of creating jobs in this country and overseas.

I mean, it's an amazing blessing. And many people today, especially younger people, don't understand that, you know, to use the words of Ben Franklin, if you can keep it, we have a job to do to keep it. If we don't understand how it works and you say it in the title of your book, Make America Good Again, we have to understand that virtue is at the very heart, that respect for God. You don't have to be a born-again evangelical to get this. I think most Americans have some kind of respect for God and for the way the world works. and for young people honoring their elders and their basic things that they're common to all. And every one of the founders got this. Every one of the founders got this, but we're forgetting it,

which leads people like you and me to write books about it. So Make America Good Again came out this summer. What is some of the specific topics you talk about in this book? Well, you know, I try to talk about the things that are on our hearts and minds. certainly I've talked already about the oneness that we must have with each other, that unity is so important. No, we get that, and I always use Jesus as my model, right? So when he addresses his heavenly father in the high priestly prayer in John 17, he could have asked anything for his disciples from his father, but he asks one thing. unity. So there is something powerful about unity. And so what he says is what I was like with my

father in heaven. I want you to be like here. Basically, Earth is really the temporal training ground for the eternal. And so that's why we are E pluribusunum. There is no coincidence that our founding fathers were inspired beyond themselves when they were. came up with these things of what makes a country great to keep it. So it was unity that helped us and it was unity that God created from the great beginning. And the reality is that's the only place in the world in the heavenlies where plural is singular. And when we understand the power of plurality become of pluralism being singular, that then makes us powerful. That's where true power comes up. When I see in you who I am,

and I relish that, and I develop a relationship with you, and I establish community, I then follow in the heavenly footsteps and the modus operandi that enables me to become more powerful. When I am with you and I sweat alongside you and I sense eternity in your soul, it then confirms that I have eternity in my soul. And that's when we can become better one. So the resist the desire and the verbiage and the nonsense that I actually have an enemy. And it's not the poor. It's not the rich. it's not white Christian males or anything else like that.

I only have one enemy, and that is the one who seeks to devour people. That's the spiritual side of life. So we have to resist the things that want to separate us. We have to understand that our true home is not here. It's in the heavenlies. And I often make this comparison that the greatest immigration story is God leaving heaven to come to earth. and be with us. And Jesus is the ultimate immigrant, which is why he then says, we are all immigrants. Look at things from a whole different perspective. I want you to understand where your true home is,

where your true value lies, and the things that I have created there, I'm bringing them down to you. I'm giving you power that you've never known before because you walk in the things that I have created since the beginning of time. And when you walk in unity, and when you walk in understanding where your true home is, you then have a better relationship. And when you intersect with people unlike you, you become stronger. And Jesus showed us the power of that when he met and intersected with the woman at the well in John 4. A Jewish man walking through Samaria was not really kosher at that time. and a Jewish man talking to a Samaritan woman even worse. But he goes out of his way to go with somebody unlike him.

And the principle of that is when you do that, when you go out of your way to be with somebody unlike you, they will go out of their way to tell people about you, which is what she did. So be with people unlike us. Show them who Christ is. show them unity, show them love and not disrespect, model the power that God has given us, that will help people understand that there's something greater than what is going on in their life

and the pettiness that we see around us and all this confrontation and all this nonsense. You know, people really want to be love. They want to be affirmed. What is going on around us today with the thugs on the street, totally opposite. It cannot act any other way because there's a spirit in them that does not allow them to act that way. We need to resist that. We're going to be right back, my friends. We're talking to Joe Bataglia. The book is Make America Good Again. Get a copy and don't go away. Hey there, folks. I'm talking to Joe Bataglia. He is my friend. He is also an author. He has written a book called Make America Good Again, 12.5. biblical principles to unite our nation, restore true greatness, and reshape our political rhetoric,

Christian perspectives on hot topics, current hot topics. Joe, you and I are both hopeful, even when things are looking dark, because we claim to be Christians and we say, hey, if we're Christians, we have to believe what the Bible says. The Bible demands that we be hopeful, that we fight for what is right and good and true, and we leave the results in God's hands. It's not a scorched earth policy, we do what we can, we pray. Where we are in our country right now, you referred earlier in this conversation to what Camille Paglia said. And it's a funny thing, you know, even if you don't believe in God, as many people listening to this program don't, or maybe they don't have the faith that we do. But it's fascinating when you bump up against these facts. You have to wonder

if a nation or an empire over and over again comes through the cycle that you, described, that suddenly sexuality becomes an idol and there's confusion, sexual confusion, and that kind of thing. And even somebody like Camille Paglia says that this is a pattern. I would argue that God created America to break that pattern. In other words, that we don't have to go the way of all flesh. We don't have to go the way of these other empires because what he put in this country is a large percentage of people who want what God wants and who are praying and fasting for this country so that we can bless other countries. That really gives me hope, but it falls to us to exhort our brothers and sisters to know that we are called to pray. We are called to be

salt and light. We're not called to be gloom and doomers that simply say, like, you know what, that's the pattern. We're right about the end of it and goodbye. Jesus is coming back in a few years. That's not the biblical way. Oh, absolutely not. The great thing about our faith, well, there are many great things about it, but the one thing that Jesus has always, you know, held out for us is hope. The hope that we have is hope born in heaven. Remember, that's part of bringing it down to earth, you know, to show us that we see hope throughout scripture. We see God changing his mind because of the hope that he gives us, that allows us to come before him in repentance,

and he will then change, right? So how that happens, who knows? That's too mystical for me to get my head around that I'm able to change God's mind, right? But the reality is that we of all people should have hope simply because of the resurrection. I mean, that's what Friday is about Easter Sunday. We know that Jesus is real because of what happened. And so we are the ones that should be the hopeful ones and proclaiming that from the rooftops, that we can't cower or capitulate to the evil out there because God,

asks us to stand against evil, and we do that in the power that God gives us through the Holy Spirit. As believers, we understand that. To those who may not understand that frame of reference, the reality is that there is a power that enables us to stand and to say the things that we want to say and to stand for the things that we want to say. And the reality is that we need to intersect with each other in order to encourage each other. I often use the metaphor of the roots that go down deep from the redwood trees, you know, and what prevents them from toppling against great winds.

People might think they have a deep root system totally wrong, or a shallow root system that extends 80 to 100 feet away from the tree and intertwines with all the other roots of all the other trees, and they hold each other up. That's a beautiful picture. Yeah, that's what we should be like. That is a beautiful picture. I'm happy that we get to end with such a beautiful picture.

Folks, I don't need to tell you. Joe Bataglia has wisdom from heaven. He's put it in his book, Make America Good Again. Get a copy. My friend, Joe, thank you so much. Eric, always a treat to be with you, my friend and brother. Bless you.