1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:04,000 Speaker 1: Hi everyone, I'm Danielle Gill. Welcome to The Danielle Gill Show. 2 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:07,960 Speaker 1: Wanted to wish you all a happy Easter as we 3 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:13,119 Speaker 1: celebrate Christ Jesus. Today, we're going to talk about the 4 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 1: meaning of Easter. We're going to make sure that we 5 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:20,040 Speaker 1: get into that as you perhaps tune into this show 6 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:23,439 Speaker 1: this weekend. We're also going to speak with Kevin Freeman 7 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:29,880 Speaker 1: from The Blaze about economic warfare. So two very different topics, 8 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:32,680 Speaker 1: but we are going to dive into both today, so 9 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:34,279 Speaker 1: make sure you stay with us. It's going to be 10 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:37,600 Speaker 1: very interesting to hear about how we're using economic warfare 11 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:41,599 Speaker 1: with our adversaries, and of course we're going to talk 12 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 1: about Easter. This is the Danielle Gill Show. 13 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 2: Breaking down politics, culture and the buzz of the day 14 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:52,200 Speaker 2: with bold conversations about faith, family and living what you believe. 15 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:54,280 Speaker 3: This is the Danielle Gill Show. 16 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:59,440 Speaker 1: I'm delighted to welcome our guest today, Kevin Freeman. He 17 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: is the founder and CEO of Freeman Global Holdings. He 18 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:05,120 Speaker 1: is a New York Times bestselling author and the host 19 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 1: of Economic war Room on The Blaze TV. Kevin, thanks 20 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: so much for joining us. 21 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:11,760 Speaker 3: Oh thanks, daniel it's good to be with you. 22 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: Wow. Well, you are one of the world's leading experts 23 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:19,200 Speaker 1: on economic warfare and financial terrorism, so maybe we can 24 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 1: start there. Can you tell us a little bit about 25 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:23,440 Speaker 1: what those two terms mean. 26 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:27,560 Speaker 3: You know, it's not a fun thing to be an 27 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:31,880 Speaker 3: expert on economic warfare. It literally is warfare by other means, 28 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:36,039 Speaker 3: like Klauschwitz would say, or the Chinese said, unrestricted warfare. 29 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:39,000 Speaker 3: Or they could use a single man made stock market crash, 30 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 3: they could crash the power grid. It means to conduct 31 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:47,840 Speaker 3: warfare without basically putting tanks on the ground or planes 32 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,200 Speaker 3: in the air, bullets in people's faces. Wow. 33 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 1: So if you look at I guess today, and then 34 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: you look back to the last few decades, do you 35 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: think that this economic warfare has been getting worse? Is 36 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 1: it just more overt? How would you contrast it with 37 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: maybe a few decades ago. 38 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:09,520 Speaker 3: You know, we'd forgotten the art of economic warfare. During 39 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 3: World War Two, it was used extensively, and it was 40 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:15,160 Speaker 3: used by the Reagan administration. That's how we took down 41 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 3: the Soviet Union. We basically built our economy in such 42 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:21,720 Speaker 3: a way that the Russians could not keep up with 43 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:26,800 Speaker 3: defense spending and so forth we lowered oil prices, which 44 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 3: removed their hard currency. But then during the Clinton administration, 45 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 3: we kind of forgot it. We said, we're the sole 46 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:35,359 Speaker 3: superpower of the world. We're the only one with these 47 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,760 Speaker 3: great military equipment, and we've got the strongest economy. So 48 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 3: you economics people, you go out and build the greatest 49 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 3: economy you can, and you defense people, you go build 50 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 3: the greatest weapons you can. And they never talked. I 51 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:51,240 Speaker 3: was the turning point or the change for that. In 52 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 3: two thousand and eight, we saw the financial markets under stress, 53 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:58,640 Speaker 3: we saw evidence of foreign financial terrorism happening, and so 54 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 3: during the Abomin mission, I was brought in by the 55 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 3: Department of Defense and I shared with them what economic 56 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:07,520 Speaker 3: warfare is, how it works. Now. The sad thing is 57 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:11,079 Speaker 3: it's being used increasingly by the Chinese, it's being used 58 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:14,160 Speaker 3: by the Iranians, but it's also being used by us. 59 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 3: Hopefully we're using it for good and our enemies were 60 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:22,639 Speaker 3: able to counter their efforts. But that's the bottom line 61 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:25,800 Speaker 3: is the economic warfare went silent for a period and 62 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:27,200 Speaker 3: then it's come back robustly. 63 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: Well, maybe you can break it down for us in 64 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:32,360 Speaker 1: more detail. How do you think the Chinese are using 65 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,480 Speaker 1: this against us. Maybe we can just start with them. 66 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:40,520 Speaker 3: Well, they've used trade policy, most Favored Nation status. They've 67 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:44,440 Speaker 3: literally encouraged American companies to move to China and to 68 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 3: manufacture there, and then they've taken over those industries. They've 69 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,840 Speaker 3: stolen the intellectual property, They've made it impossible for us 70 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 3: to compete in certain international markets. President Trump was the 71 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 3: first president who recognized this. Now. I was screaming it 72 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:00,480 Speaker 3: in the Department of Defense. I shared it with the 73 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 3: CIA and THEDIA and all of the different agencies and said, 74 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:07,000 Speaker 3: this is what China's doing. But for the most part, 75 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:09,280 Speaker 3: people said, oh, China's our friend. They're a banker, they 76 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 3: loan us money. We love the Chinese markets. It's a 77 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 3: big market and Americans are going to profit from it. 78 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 3: It wasn't until President Trump the people realized that the 79 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:22,920 Speaker 3: Chinese were manipulating the economy in order to replace us, 80 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 3: to take America down and put China. I call it 81 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:31,359 Speaker 3: trading places, not the movie, but trading places in real life, 82 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:35,040 Speaker 3: with the Chinese Communist Party planning to displace America as 83 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:36,320 Speaker 3: the superpower in the world. 84 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 1: And when you think about what China is doing, what 85 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:43,359 Speaker 1: is the US doing to counter this and do you 86 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:44,200 Speaker 1: think it's working? 87 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:45,600 Speaker 2: Well? 88 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 3: President Trump came in with trade policy. Immediately the Chinese said, oh, well, 89 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 3: then we're at war with you. I don't think many 90 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:57,240 Speaker 3: Americans realized China declared a people's war against the United 91 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:00,920 Speaker 3: States of America during President Trump's first term. Now why 92 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:05,200 Speaker 3: is that significant, Well, they're the People's Liberation Army in China, 93 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:09,360 Speaker 3: it's the people's Republic. China considers it the people as 94 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 3: a communist term. So the people's war means they're at 95 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 3: war with us. How are we countering it? President Trump 96 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:17,839 Speaker 3: put in tariffs and said we're going to use all 97 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:22,919 Speaker 3: available American means to counter China's economic warfare, and he 98 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 3: has been reasonably effective with this. He's also gone after 99 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:29,920 Speaker 3: their energy, just like President Reagan went after the energy 100 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:34,040 Speaker 3: of the Soviet Union and with oil prices by lowering 101 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 3: oil prices that hurt the Soviet Union. What President Trump 102 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:39,920 Speaker 3: has done is realize China is dependent on oil. Where 103 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 3: they get their sources Venezuela, they get him from Iran 104 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:49,800 Speaker 3: and Russia. And so we've actually taken overt means of 105 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:53,000 Speaker 3: impacting the Chinese economy. While at the same time, hopefully 106 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:56,560 Speaker 3: freeing the people of Venezuela from communism, hopefully freeing the 107 00:05:56,680 --> 00:06:01,800 Speaker 3: people of Iran from this evil regime. In the end, 108 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 3: I think it's going to impact China the most and 109 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 3: it's going to help us win that economic war. 110 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:11,520 Speaker 1: Interesting, and do you think that this conflict that's going 111 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 1: on in Iran, going on in Venezuela, is it weakening 112 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:18,120 Speaker 1: them pretty considerably? 113 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, no question. In Venezuela, the Chinese were all over 114 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:26,039 Speaker 3: Venezuela under Maduro, and we took Maduro out and have 115 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:29,480 Speaker 3: literally made the statement it's, you know, the Donro doctrine 116 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:33,200 Speaker 3: instead of the Monroe doctrine, where this is our hemisphere, 117 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:35,679 Speaker 3: you stay out of it. Look what he's doing in Cuba. Also, 118 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 3: this is the first time in decades the American president 119 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:46,960 Speaker 3: has literally stood up to these overts, spy activities, and 120 00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:51,320 Speaker 3: all kinds of undermining activities from the Chinese in our hemisphere. 121 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:53,840 Speaker 3: He stood up for the Panama Canal and so many 122 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:57,239 Speaker 3: other areas because he knows we are at war with China. 123 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely. And it's interesting because it seems like, you know, 124 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:05,119 Speaker 1: there's been a lot of things going on foreign policy wise. 125 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:07,640 Speaker 1: Do you think that this should be one of President 126 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 1: Trump's main focus is the next couple of years, even 127 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:13,960 Speaker 1: just in terms of economic economic warfare as you call it, 128 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 1: because you know that is a very powerful tool. 129 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:21,200 Speaker 3: I do believe that. I think our greatest vulnerability, however, 130 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:25,040 Speaker 3: is our American debt. We have almost forty trillion dollars 131 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 3: in reported federal debt. That doesn't include the promises that 132 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:31,400 Speaker 3: we've made and Social Security, Medicare and so forth that 133 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:34,520 Speaker 3: are not carried on the books. But that forty trillion 134 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:39,240 Speaker 3: dollars makes us vulnerable. And the Chinese, the Russians, North Korea, Venezuela, 135 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:43,040 Speaker 3: all of them, all of those enemies have recognized that 136 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:46,040 Speaker 3: that is our vulnerability. And if we continue to print 137 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:51,480 Speaker 3: money in order to cover those excess spending of Congress, 138 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:53,640 Speaker 3: what it's going to do is it's going to make 139 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:56,560 Speaker 3: us vulnerable to an economic attack that could take us 140 00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 3: down as a nation. 141 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 1: Oh my goodness. Well, as far as tackling the debt, 142 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:04,280 Speaker 1: I mean, when you look back, it seems like wow, 143 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:07,040 Speaker 1: it literally just they just keep adding to it. And 144 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: so at what point do you think that this will 145 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 1: be looked at? Do you think it'll be looked at 146 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 1: when it comes to entitlement. When will this eventually hit 147 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:15,840 Speaker 1: a point where we just we can't keep doing this. 148 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 3: Well, we're almost at the point of no return right now. 149 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 3: Our interest on the debt exceeds our defense spending, which 150 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:28,040 Speaker 3: means that the number one item right now is healthcare 151 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 3: and then interest right after that. Our problem is that 152 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 3: we've got so much fraud, wasted abuse in the system. 153 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:39,680 Speaker 3: And you've seen this with Nick Shirley in California and Minneapolis. 154 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:44,120 Speaker 3: You see it with Doge. Really literally we're paying out 155 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:49,640 Speaker 3: billions of dollars every year to grifters. And the result 156 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:52,280 Speaker 3: is we need to get that reined in, and then 157 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:55,160 Speaker 3: we need to get the Congress to get more sensible. 158 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:58,640 Speaker 3: Government has grown too big. When President Clinton said the 159 00:08:58,679 --> 00:09:02,360 Speaker 3: era of big government is oh, it was a joke, 160 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:07,120 Speaker 3: we've actually expanded our government magnificently since then. It needs 161 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:09,840 Speaker 3: to be paired back. We need more free market economics, 162 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:14,560 Speaker 3: we need unleash American prosperity, lower regulations, reduced taxes, all 163 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:16,720 Speaker 3: of the things that are in the Trump agenda. Now, 164 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:19,360 Speaker 3: I wasn't initially a Trump supporter, but I love what 165 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:22,680 Speaker 3: he's been doing. I think he's doing the right things 166 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:25,480 Speaker 3: for the right reasons. I wished I hadn't listened to 167 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:28,280 Speaker 3: the media reports. I wished I'd looked at his life 168 00:09:28,559 --> 00:09:31,640 Speaker 3: and what he's accomplished, because that man. I did vote 169 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:34,760 Speaker 3: for him twice three times. Actually I voted for him 170 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:37,800 Speaker 3: three times. I think he won all three elections. But 171 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:41,960 Speaker 3: he's doing the right things. He is the first truly 172 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:45,440 Speaker 3: American president that I've seen since President Reagan. 173 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:48,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, it is absolutely incredible, and we are really just 174 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:51,560 Speaker 1: getting started with all of the waste, fraud and abuse 175 00:09:51,559 --> 00:09:54,319 Speaker 1: and everything you mentioned. Well, Kevin, thank you so much 176 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:56,960 Speaker 1: for joining us today. I really appreciate it. 177 00:09:56,960 --> 00:09:58,200 Speaker 3: It's my pleasure. Thank you. 178 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:02,200 Speaker 1: The proofs for the existence of God is the fact 179 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:05,200 Speaker 1: that the world is full of religions. No matter where 180 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:08,800 Speaker 1: you go, no matter historical period, you're sure to find religion. 181 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:13,400 Speaker 1: It's a constant of human experience from our earliest periods 182 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:16,760 Speaker 1: recorded of recorded history to this very moment, where from 183 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:19,200 Speaker 1: the forest of the New World to the most desolate 184 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:23,000 Speaker 1: deserts to the many islands dotting the Pacific, every place, 185 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:26,600 Speaker 1: at every time has its own religions. This way of 186 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:31,200 Speaker 1: thinking about the afterlife, of understanding that we are smaller 187 00:10:31,280 --> 00:10:38,720 Speaker 1: and part of something larger. These religions might be primitive animism, polytheism, 188 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:45,080 Speaker 1: or monotheism. They may be esoteric, secretive, contemplative. There are 189 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:47,880 Speaker 1: faiths that talk about the supernatural and divine and son 190 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:50,120 Speaker 1: that actually don't go so far as to try to 191 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:53,640 Speaker 1: pierce that veil, preferring to never actually commit on the 192 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 1: question of who God is. Yet they're all religions in 193 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:01,640 Speaker 1: their own right. First like to point to that universal 194 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:05,480 Speaker 1: human phenomenon as proof that humanity was designed for God, 195 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:09,640 Speaker 1: an argument more popularly known as the God shaped hole 196 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:13,080 Speaker 1: in the human heart. And as quaint as that sounds, 197 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:16,560 Speaker 1: it's not an unreasonable conclusion. It makes sense that if 198 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:20,160 Speaker 1: there is a creator, his creations would experience this unusual 199 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:23,640 Speaker 1: form of longing, a longing for a reality that cannot 200 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:27,320 Speaker 1: be directly seen or fully comprehended, and yet we are 201 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:30,720 Speaker 1: drawn towards that invisible reality, like iron to a magnet. 202 00:11:31,559 --> 00:11:34,120 Speaker 1: In many ways, this belief in an invisible hand is 203 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:38,280 Speaker 1: something even atheistic scientists point to witness the rise of 204 00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:42,480 Speaker 1: concepts like dark matter, quantum theory, and string theory. These 205 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:45,920 Speaker 1: are all attempts to explain observable phenomena that they struggle 206 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:50,000 Speaker 1: to understand even scientists point to that which cannot be 207 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:53,640 Speaker 1: seen as an explanation for how things are. Of course, 208 00:11:53,679 --> 00:11:57,079 Speaker 1: the difference here is that scientists are using invisible mechanics 209 00:11:57,120 --> 00:12:01,000 Speaker 1: instead of in an invisible mechanics, because the atheist is 210 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:04,440 Speaker 1: running from the mechanic. He'd rather embrace the bitter and 211 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:08,120 Speaker 1: lonely reality of a pure clockwork universe than admit there 212 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:10,319 Speaker 1: is some other power out there to which he may 213 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:13,880 Speaker 1: be beholden. The god fearing scientist, on the other hand, 214 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:16,840 Speaker 1: has no such limitation. He is free to believe in 215 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:20,960 Speaker 1: the engineer and the mechanism. The two are not necessarily 216 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:25,200 Speaker 1: mutually exclusive, indeed, they cannot be so. While the god 217 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:28,199 Speaker 1: fearing scientist is free to share the atheist's scientists that 218 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:32,360 Speaker 1: work bench, the atheist scientist would never join his coworker 219 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:35,199 Speaker 1: on a church knealer. So it seems to me that 220 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:38,319 Speaker 1: if you're going to congratulate either scientist on being open minded, 221 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:41,800 Speaker 1: that distinction can only go to the god fearing scientist. 222 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:45,280 Speaker 1: Yet another aught and subtle way in which belief seems 223 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:49,440 Speaker 1: to expand one's mind and soul, whereas antipathy towards belief 224 00:12:49,559 --> 00:12:53,760 Speaker 1: makes one intellectually and spiritually shrivel dry and myopic. We've 225 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:56,600 Speaker 1: talked before about the ways in which belief brings with 226 00:12:56,679 --> 00:13:01,720 Speaker 1: it countless benefits for individuals, families, and society. This example 227 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:04,000 Speaker 1: is but another data set in support of that daily 228 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:07,840 Speaker 1: But not everyone wants to meander to the next logical 229 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:11,200 Speaker 1: point in this series of conclusions. Here we get into 230 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:14,679 Speaker 1: some uncomfortable territory. We have the warm and fuzzy idea 231 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:18,200 Speaker 1: that God exists, that he embedded into our biological firmware, 232 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:22,880 Speaker 1: the software, the desire, the prerogative to seek him. But 233 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:26,520 Speaker 1: the next logical question is how The answer to this 234 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:31,640 Speaker 1: question self evidently is religion. If the ubiquitous presence and 235 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:35,079 Speaker 1: persistence of religion is itself a sign of God's plan, 236 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:38,160 Speaker 1: then the practice of religion must itself be part of 237 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:41,960 Speaker 1: that plan. But which one? Do we just sit on 238 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,840 Speaker 1: a mountaintop all day meditating, Maybe embrace the idea of 239 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:49,960 Speaker 1: being just spiritual, or take the path of the conflict diverse, 240 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:53,160 Speaker 1: or just say that all religions are good for getting 241 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 1: you from point A to point B. There are problems 242 00:13:56,760 --> 00:13:59,960 Speaker 1: with these approaches. First off, a life of being spiritual 243 00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:03,920 Speaker 1: is neither inspiring nor fulfilling, and this brand of religion 244 00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:08,080 Speaker 1: can't really be practiced unless you are already in a 245 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:11,800 Speaker 1: developed country. It's less about God and more about keeping 246 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:15,280 Speaker 1: a comfortable distance between yourself and God. It's the path 247 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:18,400 Speaker 1: of the intellectually dishonest. You're willing to admit there's a 248 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:21,600 Speaker 1: higher power, but not willing to approach him because you 249 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:24,080 Speaker 1: fear what he might demand a view, or what the 250 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:29,080 Speaker 1: consequences might be. This spirituality road is usually full of 251 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:33,640 Speaker 1: positivity and all of these aphorisms, but there's never any 252 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:37,600 Speaker 1: right and wrong, and there's never consequences. The idea that 253 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:41,560 Speaker 1: all religions are valid is also very flawed. Most people say, 254 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:43,960 Speaker 1: you can't hold that view because the various religions of 255 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:47,960 Speaker 1: the world clearly contradict each other. They contradract each other 256 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:52,560 Speaker 1: in their scriptures, their practices, and sometimes they contradict each 257 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,680 Speaker 1: other on the battlefield. But there's a better reason to 258 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:59,440 Speaker 1: declare as flawed the brazenly dismissive view that all religions 259 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:03,240 Speaker 1: are valid. It's flawed because it assumes all religions were 260 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:05,920 Speaker 1: made by God, and it assumes that there isn't really 261 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:10,280 Speaker 1: any truth. There's not even something that all religions even claim. 262 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:14,680 Speaker 1: Surprisingly enough, Islam wasn't founded by God, it was founded 263 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:18,160 Speaker 1: by a prophet, Mohammed, and depending on where you go 264 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:20,960 Speaker 1: in the East, Buddhism may not even mention a creator, 265 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:24,080 Speaker 1: and that religion, too, traces its roots back to a 266 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:26,240 Speaker 1: wise man who in no way claimed to be God. 267 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:30,200 Speaker 1: We may not want to insult the practitioners of utter faiths, 268 00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:33,080 Speaker 1: but foisting upon them a status they don't claim to 269 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:36,160 Speaker 1: have is arguably a more grave error than dismissing those 270 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:38,920 Speaker 1: face out of hand. I'd rather be ignored in a 271 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:42,520 Speaker 1: crowd than be mistaken for someone grandiose or some person 272 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:45,240 Speaker 1: who I'm not. And it seems that if we want 273 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:48,440 Speaker 1: to address the notion that God created reality, we can't 274 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:51,200 Speaker 1: overlook the idea that, in addition to creating in us 275 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:53,880 Speaker 1: a desire to reach him, he clearly put that in 276 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:56,600 Speaker 1: us that, in his great wisdom and love, he didn't 277 00:15:56,640 --> 00:15:59,640 Speaker 1: leave it at that, He created a wave for us 278 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:04,000 Speaker 1: to reach him. He created religion. I readily admit that 279 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:06,520 Speaker 1: that's an assumption. So let's phrase it as a question, 280 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:11,480 Speaker 1: did God create religion? Yes? But to me, it seems 281 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:14,960 Speaker 1: a very natural conclusion to reach a God who creates 282 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,320 Speaker 1: in you the desire to reach for him, but not 283 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:21,000 Speaker 1: the blueprint for how to reach him. That really doesn't 284 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:25,400 Speaker 1: make sense from a perfect God. Giving someone a desire 285 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:28,160 Speaker 1: but not the means to satisfy that desire isn't the 286 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:30,840 Speaker 1: action of a benevolent creator. It sounds more like a 287 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:34,040 Speaker 1: cruel trickster. It's like giving you a salty snack but 288 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:36,880 Speaker 1: then denying you a drink. It's like giving you the 289 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:40,760 Speaker 1: urge to breach for that snack, but he's just so 290 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:44,160 Speaker 1: out of reach. How would you answer that question? Would 291 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:47,960 Speaker 1: God found religion if he wants us to reach him 292 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:51,480 Speaker 1: make a difference more stark and night and day? Answer 293 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:53,480 Speaker 1: it no, when you end up in a very dark place. 294 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:56,920 Speaker 1: I would argue that a universe sustained by a cruel 295 00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:59,840 Speaker 1: trickster God is not a universe. 296 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:00,200 Speaker 3: All. 297 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: The very continued existence of the universe demands a God 298 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:06,360 Speaker 1: who is attentive to the work of his hands and 299 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:10,600 Speaker 1: who made everything just so. That's why it makes more 300 00:17:10,600 --> 00:17:13,680 Speaker 1: sense from the data we have, namely that we exist, 301 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:17,520 Speaker 1: that we continue to exist, to reach the conclusion that 302 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:20,639 Speaker 1: our creator is not a tormentor, but a divinity that 303 00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:25,360 Speaker 1: has great fondness for his creation, which leads us inexorably 304 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:28,440 Speaker 1: to the conclusion that God, by very nature of being 305 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:31,280 Speaker 1: a creator that loves us and draws us to him, 306 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:36,320 Speaker 1: has not left us adrift in the sea of competing ideas. Indeed, 307 00:17:36,359 --> 00:17:38,800 Speaker 1: it's rather shocking when you think about it, but there's 308 00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 1: only one faith on earth and the entire history of 309 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:44,480 Speaker 1: mankind that makes the remarkable claim not just that it 310 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:48,520 Speaker 1: was made by God, but by God in person, as 311 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:53,199 Speaker 1: in he came here and gave us his religion. That 312 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:57,720 Speaker 1: faith we named after him is Christianity. At this point 313 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:00,159 Speaker 1: in history, It's something we don't appreciate as much as 314 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:02,760 Speaker 1: we should. We're so used to being in such close 315 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:06,239 Speaker 1: proximity to Christianity that we've come not to notice how 316 00:18:06,359 --> 00:18:10,320 Speaker 1: unusual it actually is in its creed. It's a bold 317 00:18:10,359 --> 00:18:13,720 Speaker 1: and shocking claim that Christianity makes. It is a bold 318 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:17,240 Speaker 1: and shocking religion, and here again we have evidence because 319 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:21,240 Speaker 1: it comes from a very bold God. You look at nature, 320 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:24,600 Speaker 1: from the buttercups in your yard, the creatures at the 321 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:28,000 Speaker 1: bottom of the sea, to the massively destructive pulsers in 322 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:32,040 Speaker 1: the depths of space. This universe never fails to surprise us. 323 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 1: It is a constantly unfolding series of conundrums, part puzzle, 324 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:41,040 Speaker 1: part test, part adventure. It's those very surprises that force 325 00:18:41,119 --> 00:18:44,840 Speaker 1: scientists to constantly reach for that familiar, invisible hand to 326 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:49,880 Speaker 1: help unravel those mysteries. Christianity is full of mysteries like that, 327 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:54,439 Speaker 1: acts of God, not just miracles that constantly ask us 328 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:57,040 Speaker 1: to sit and contemplate the deep complexities of a God 329 00:18:57,080 --> 00:19:02,520 Speaker 1: who seems endlessly deep, endlessly complex that Let's think for 330 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:05,720 Speaker 1: a moment about the very idea of the incarnation itself. 331 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:08,280 Speaker 1: It's not like we can say that such a feat 332 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:11,320 Speaker 1: is beyond the power of God. Is the creator of 333 00:19:11,359 --> 00:19:14,119 Speaker 1: all reality. He can do what he wants. Yet the 334 00:19:14,119 --> 00:19:18,560 Speaker 1: situation still lends itself to some incredible revelations. According to 335 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:21,240 Speaker 1: the skeletal remains of the Romans, the average height of 336 00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:23,320 Speaker 1: men at the time of Christ was around five feet 337 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:27,120 Speaker 1: seven inches. According to the Shroud of Turn, that's about 338 00:19:27,119 --> 00:19:30,200 Speaker 1: the height of Jesus Christ as well. So think about 339 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:33,760 Speaker 1: that for a second. Average isn't tallest. That means there 340 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:36,399 Speaker 1: were actually people around during the time of Christ that 341 00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:39,200 Speaker 1: were taller than he was. If you're over six feet tall, 342 00:19:39,359 --> 00:19:42,879 Speaker 1: chances are you would have been looking down. If you 343 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:46,159 Speaker 1: had met Jesus in person, here alone we have an 344 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:50,560 Speaker 1: amazing revelation. The incarnation means that God becoming man was 345 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:54,720 Speaker 1: an act of profound humility. Ask yourself, if you were God, 346 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,080 Speaker 1: if that's how you would have done it, The answer 347 00:19:57,119 --> 00:19:59,920 Speaker 1: is very likely no. The other religions of the world 348 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:03,560 Speaker 1: reveal how unusual that idea is. If gods walked the earth, 349 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:08,000 Speaker 1: and other religions, they were outrageously powerful, large like the Colossus, 350 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:10,879 Speaker 1: strong enough to move mountains, able to move faster than 351 00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:13,480 Speaker 1: the eye can see. If we look at the faith 352 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:16,120 Speaker 1: of Islam, we see that the prophet isn't even God. 353 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:19,040 Speaker 1: And what kind of man was he? A brutal man, 354 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:22,480 Speaker 1: a man not to be questioned, a conqueror, a tyrant, 355 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:27,280 Speaker 1: a man of many appetites, and he was quite different 356 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:30,679 Speaker 1: from Jesus. The other face of the world had the 357 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:34,840 Speaker 1: trappings of being man made. Whereas Mohammed conquered and slaved 358 00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:40,960 Speaker 1: and subjugated, the Christ was arrested, mocked, executed. Which story 359 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:44,399 Speaker 1: sounds to you more like it was made by the 360 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:46,719 Speaker 1: career of the universe, and which sounds more like it 361 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:52,480 Speaker 1: was made by a mortal man. The incarnation is everything 362 00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:57,439 Speaker 1: to Christianity. Without that surprising twist, the religion really wouldn't 363 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:00,239 Speaker 1: make any sense. There was a lot of pressure by 364 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:04,359 Speaker 1: these outside of Christianity to drop the concept. The whole 365 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:08,000 Speaker 1: idea behind the Dan Brown novels is based on perpetuating 366 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:12,600 Speaker 1: that old gnostic heresy. Atheists want us to forget about 367 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:16,600 Speaker 1: Christ's divinity, and Muslims do too, Like Adam and Eve 368 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:19,280 Speaker 1: in the Garden of Eden. That's a very tempting proposition. 369 00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:21,879 Speaker 1: Let us knock your faith down a peg, and we 370 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:25,280 Speaker 1: won't hate you as much. Join us, come more. We're 371 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:29,040 Speaker 1: all spiritual, we all believe these kind of similar things 372 00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:32,800 Speaker 1: about God. It's not being so special. But without the 373 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:37,359 Speaker 1: incarnation of Christ, we don't have the crucifixion, and without 374 00:21:37,359 --> 00:21:41,080 Speaker 1: that self sacrifice of God himself, we are all doomed 375 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:45,280 Speaker 1: beyond salvation, which is the greatest gift. The miracle of 376 00:21:45,359 --> 00:21:49,080 Speaker 1: Christ's resurrection after the Crucifixion gives us the best hero 377 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:53,280 Speaker 1: arc in the history of mankind. Without Christianity, even our 378 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:57,760 Speaker 1: stories are dull. There's no BeO Wolf King Arthur, no Aragorn. 379 00:21:58,119 --> 00:22:00,200 Speaker 1: There are Christian themes and echoes, and all of our 380 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:03,560 Speaker 1: most beloved heroes from ancient times to the current age. 381 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:06,600 Speaker 1: It's the kind of thing that if I think about it, 382 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:09,040 Speaker 1: it only makes more sense when you consider the source, 383 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:13,199 Speaker 1: not just a faith, but God's faith, the one He 384 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:18,720 Speaker 1: founded while personally personally walking this planet. As Christ says 385 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:22,440 Speaker 1: in Matthew sixteen eighteen, quote, and I say to thee 386 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:25,520 Speaker 1: that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will 387 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:28,159 Speaker 1: build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not 388 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:32,119 Speaker 1: prevail against it. The Lord of the universe isn't some 389 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:35,959 Speaker 1: hipster who hates organized religion. He is, in fact a 390 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:41,560 Speaker 1: spiritual master who organized religion, his religion, the one he 391 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:45,240 Speaker 1: said he is building. These bold claims are backed by 392 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:49,000 Speaker 1: the bold reality of the practice of Christian faith. The 393 00:22:49,119 --> 00:22:52,520 Speaker 1: Chinese invented gunpowder rockets around nine hundred a d. But 394 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:54,960 Speaker 1: a little over a thousand years later it was the 395 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:58,760 Speaker 1: Christian Wes that walked on the moon. It all goes 396 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:03,639 Speaker 1: back to the incarnation Christ's subsequent sacrifice and resurrection. It 397 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:07,480 Speaker 1: was an example of the ultimate flex that also happened 398 00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:11,840 Speaker 1: to be unbelievably humble. Here again we witness the shocking 399 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:15,440 Speaker 1: nature of Christianity. God humbled in the form of man 400 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:18,600 Speaker 1: and then was railroaded by an unfair trial and executed. 401 00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:23,440 Speaker 1: But the unfairness Christ's experience was actually mankind's greatest triumph. 402 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:28,760 Speaker 1: This amazing justxtaposition of humility and strength, defeat and victory. 403 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:31,679 Speaker 1: It's not just what informs our stories about our greatest 404 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:34,760 Speaker 1: legends and heroes. We in the here and now are 405 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:37,200 Speaker 1: also meant to embrace it and heroically live it out 406 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:40,600 Speaker 1: in our daily life. When we reflect on Easter, we 407 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:43,880 Speaker 1: often talk about the empty tomb, about the risen Christ. 408 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:47,359 Speaker 1: We think about the Great Commission, the final command given 409 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:51,800 Speaker 1: by Jesus to his disciples before his ascension. In Mark 410 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:55,359 Speaker 1: sixteen fifteen, Jesus says, go into all the world and 411 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:59,600 Speaker 1: preach the Gospel to all creation. Considering the moments of 412 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:02,600 Speaker 1: doubt and despair brings the story back to our own 413 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:05,760 Speaker 1: lives in a meaningful way as well. Two Wexel helps 414 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,600 Speaker 1: us understand that we may preach the gospel by living 415 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:11,159 Speaker 1: the Gospel. If we go back to the beginning of 416 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:14,920 Speaker 1: Chapter sixteen, for example, we see a small group of exhausted, 417 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:18,879 Speaker 1: grieving women worrying about how they will remove the stone. 418 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:22,320 Speaker 1: Mark sixteen one to three reads when the Sabbath was over, 419 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:26,320 Speaker 1: Mary Magdalene, Marry, the mother of James, and Saloam brought 420 00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:29,119 Speaker 1: spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus's body. 421 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:32,119 Speaker 1: Very early on the first day of the week, just 422 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:35,040 Speaker 1: after summrise, they were on their way to the tomb, 423 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:37,440 Speaker 1: and they asked each other who will roll the stone 424 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:40,600 Speaker 1: away from the entrance of the tomb. The women went 425 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:43,640 Speaker 1: to Jesus's tomb with spices to perform a final proper 426 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:47,840 Speaker 1: and respectful burial anointing on his body. Because Jesus was 427 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:50,359 Speaker 1: buried in a hurry before the Sabbath on Friday evening, 428 00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:53,280 Speaker 1: the women had to wait until Sunday morning to complete 429 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:58,320 Speaker 1: the traditional careful application of aromatic spices. They sought to 430 00:24:58,359 --> 00:25:02,639 Speaker 1: mark their devotion in honor through lovingly preparing his mutilated 431 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:05,760 Speaker 1: corpse so that the spices were used to mask the 432 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:08,480 Speaker 1: scent of decay. They were returning a bit of his 433 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:11,840 Speaker 1: dignity by seeking to treat him with such devotion, despite 434 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:15,000 Speaker 1: the danger of its thought. As they walked in the 435 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:18,439 Speaker 1: darkness just before sunrise, they nervously talked about how to 436 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:21,400 Speaker 1: achieve their task, worried that the stone would be too 437 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:24,840 Speaker 1: heavy to move, and no doubt stealing themselves for the 438 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:27,880 Speaker 1: grief and agony they would feel upon looking at Jesus's 439 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:31,680 Speaker 1: broken and battered body. But his body was not there. 440 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:34,840 Speaker 1: He had risen and saved all of humanity through his 441 00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:38,480 Speaker 1: sacrificial love. These women were the first to see that 442 00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:42,200 Speaker 1: darkness wasn't the end. Two of the women are identified 443 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:45,800 Speaker 1: as mothers Marry, the mother of James An Salome, who 444 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:48,359 Speaker 1: we learned in Matthew twenty seven to fifty six, was 445 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:52,119 Speaker 1: the mother of the sons of Zebedee, namely James and John. 446 00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:57,399 Speaker 1: I see the way our daily lives offer us many 447 00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:01,399 Speaker 1: chances to preach the Gospel to all grise and I 448 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:03,640 Speaker 1: think that as mothers we can do this a lot 449 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,560 Speaker 1: of the time through our words, but also through our actions, 450 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:10,520 Speaker 1: and in many ways. We see that motherhood and these 451 00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:13,520 Speaker 1: role of women is very important to the picture of 452 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:17,399 Speaker 1: the Gospel. The mothers at Jesus' tomb awakened before the 453 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:21,040 Speaker 1: others in their house to perform the difficult, gut wrenchingly 454 00:26:21,119 --> 00:26:24,320 Speaker 1: painful task of preparing a loved one for their final 455 00:26:24,359 --> 00:26:29,400 Speaker 1: resting place. They did this very quietly, without complaint, and 456 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:33,080 Speaker 1: I think this type of loving sacrifice acts as the 457 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:37,760 Speaker 1: kind of light of Christ, transforming daily duties into a 458 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:41,119 Speaker 1: living reflection, and this is what we are really called to. 459 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:46,120 Speaker 1: In living out our faith. We see that washing dishes, 460 00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:49,600 Speaker 1: folding laundry is not just a chore. When such tasks 461 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:54,480 Speaker 1: are done cheerfully with love, they really bring light to 462 00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:58,840 Speaker 1: the family home. In the light of Christ's resurrection, every 463 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:03,600 Speaker 1: act of nurturing as eternal value because death has been defeated. 464 00:27:04,359 --> 00:27:07,399 Speaker 1: Even in our darkest moments of despair, we hope in 465 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:11,040 Speaker 1: Christ imagine the pain of Mary, the mother of Christ, 466 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:14,280 Speaker 1: as she endured the agony of watching her own son 467 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:19,120 Speaker 1: suffer from the presentation of the infant Jesus in the temple. 468 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:22,639 Speaker 1: When Mary hears that a sword will pierce her soul, 469 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:26,240 Speaker 1: to her witness of the brutal execution of her son 470 00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:32,080 Speaker 1: by crucifixion, Mary persevered John sixteen twenty one tells us 471 00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:35,240 Speaker 1: that quote a woman giving birth to a child has 472 00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:38,080 Speaker 1: pain because her time has come, but when her baby 473 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:41,000 Speaker 1: is born, she forgets the anguish because of her joy 474 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:44,560 Speaker 1: that a child is born into the world. Being born 475 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:49,800 Speaker 1: again in Christ also brings tremrendous joy. The women who 476 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:52,119 Speaker 1: were the first of the tomb were not only mothers, 477 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:55,879 Speaker 1: but also midwives helping to birth the good news that 478 00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:59,399 Speaker 1: Jesus Christ has risen. The life of Christ and his 479 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:03,040 Speaker 1: selflesses sacrifice informed their lives, and because of that they 480 00:28:03,119 --> 00:28:06,199 Speaker 1: ended up playing pivotal roles in the very story of 481 00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:09,439 Speaker 1: his resurrection. We see how the life of Christ is 482 00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:13,720 Speaker 1: itself in auto poetic force in our lives. His word 483 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:17,639 Speaker 1: literally sustains us, molds us, and informs us, while at 484 00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:21,840 Speaker 1: the same time drawing us closer to Him. When we 485 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:25,320 Speaker 1: are at once the product of the engine, we are 486 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:29,800 Speaker 1: actually part of that engine in many ways. More than anything, 487 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:33,840 Speaker 1: this is what a religion created God does, and this year, 488 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:36,600 Speaker 1: more than any other, we welcome that chance to change, 489 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:40,240 Speaker 1: to grow and love for Christ and each other in 490 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:44,480 Speaker 1: this Easter season. At twenty twenty six. Well, that wraps 491 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:46,960 Speaker 1: up today's show. If you enjoyed the show, make sure 492 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:49,560 Speaker 1: to find me on social media. I am on all 493 00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:54,600 Speaker 1: the platforms, Facebook, Instagram, True Social x, YouTube and Rumble. 494 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:57,920 Speaker 1: I am Danielle Gill and I will see you next time. 495 00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:02,200 Speaker 2: Breaking down on politics, culture and the buzz of the 496 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:06,120 Speaker 2: day with bold conversations about faith, family, and living what 497 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:08,760 Speaker 2: you believe. This is the Danielle gil Show.