WEBVTT - The Tudor Dixon Podcast: Pride Comes Before the Fall with Kirk Cameron 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:04.000 You're listening to the Tutor Dixon Podcast in the Clay 0:00:04.120 --> 0:00:05.800 and Buck podcast Network. 0:00:09.160 --> 0:00:12.159 Welcome to the Tutor Dixon Podcast. I'm Tutor Dixon, and 0:00:12.200 --> 0:00:15.280 it's great to have you tuning in today. This is 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:17.520 kind of a special day for me because we have 0:00:17.600 --> 0:00:19.720 someone that when I was a kid, was a total 0:00:19.840 --> 0:00:22.920 teenage heart throb. And I'm not trying to embarrass him 0:00:22.960 --> 0:00:25.800 or anything, but every girl that I knew had a 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:28.840 poster in the room with Kirk Cameron's face on it, 0:00:28.880 --> 0:00:34.400 So I'm really excited. Oct We were all huge Growing 0:00:34.440 --> 0:00:37.040 Pains fans, and I'm really kind of sad that there 0:00:37.080 --> 0:00:39.440 is not a show like that for my kids to 0:00:40.240 --> 0:00:43.080 watch and get involved in. And I just think it's 0:00:43.120 --> 0:00:47.000 really cool what you've done and how your story has 0:00:47.040 --> 0:00:51.400 inspired so many people because you left Hollywood behind, found faith, 0:00:51.760 --> 0:00:55.200 you're raising six kids. Kirk Cameron, thank you so much 0:00:55.240 --> 0:00:57.160 for being on today. We really appreciate it. 0:00:57.240 --> 0:01:00.160 Tutor. It's a pleasure and an honor to be here. 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:04.680 Thanks for having me on the program. And yeah, I 0:01:05.040 --> 0:01:09.240 gave up Hollywood and left it behind for Left Behind 0:01:09.600 --> 0:01:12.479 and moved on to some other things that a little 0:01:12.520 --> 0:01:16.000 more meaningful to me than you know Mike Seaver sneaking 0:01:16.000 --> 0:01:16.600 out the window. 0:01:16.880 --> 0:01:19.119 I am holding up the video because there it is. 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:22.880 There, it is, there is, And I don't think we 0:01:22.959 --> 0:01:25.000 have to win any It's not going to win any awards. 0:01:25.040 --> 0:01:26.880 It wasn't the greatest movie in the world, but it 0:01:27.040 --> 0:01:29.680 certainly marked a time in my life where the focus 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:33.720 of my mind and my heart we're heading towards things 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:38.319 of meaning and permanence. So that was reflected in the 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:41.759 career and the projects that I chose, and I'm really 0:01:41.800 --> 0:01:43.840 really grateful for how things that have turned out. 0:01:44.000 --> 0:01:47.200 It's really interesting to me as I kind of look 0:01:47.200 --> 0:01:49.240 at your life story, and I think a lot of 0:01:49.320 --> 0:01:53.000 us have had this coming to faith as I think 0:01:53.000 --> 0:01:56.160 you almost some people obviously have had that their whole childhood. 0:01:56.200 --> 0:01:58.920 But there's a moment when you realize you've been saved, 0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:01.000 and there's a moment when you want to share the 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:03.960 good news in a different way. And it's been this 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:06.680 past week has been interesting for me because I've watched 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:10.360 my daughter graduate her eighth grade class from a Christian 0:02:10.400 --> 0:02:14.840 school and that faith base. But she's doing this at 0:02:14.880 --> 0:02:18.480 a time where there is a lot of focus on pride, 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:21.040 and I mean, this is Pride month, right, So that 0:02:21.160 --> 0:02:25.920 message of pride is really pushed on kids that pride 0:02:26.000 --> 0:02:28.560 is important, and I think that we as parents, as 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:33.639 Christian parents, kind of go, Okay, that's a hard concept 0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:36.000 to discuss because I'll say to my girls, I'm so 0:02:36.120 --> 0:02:38.040 proud of you for doing this, and they're like, but Mom, 0:02:38.320 --> 0:02:41.000 isn't that a bad thing? And I explained to them, 0:02:41.120 --> 0:02:45.080 you know, being excited for your success and cheering you 0:02:45.200 --> 0:02:48.680 on is different from what it means to not be 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:51.680 a prideful person. So how to tell us a little 0:02:51.680 --> 0:02:56.800 bit about how this book explains the dangers of becoming prideful? 0:02:57.240 --> 0:03:00.560 Well, first of all, good for you. What is like 0:03:01.000 --> 0:03:05.320 honor roll mom teaching moment for the rest of us 0:03:06.240 --> 0:03:08.920 to talk to kids about what pride really means. So 0:03:08.960 --> 0:03:11.200 when we say I'm proud of you, sweetheart, you just 0:03:11.240 --> 0:03:14.720 expressed it. You said, I'm expressing how excited I am 0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:17.840 for you. I'm cheering you on. I'm grateful that you've 0:03:17.919 --> 0:03:21.520 learned this lesson and accomplished this thing that you did. 0:03:21.880 --> 0:03:23.840 And that reminds me actually what we read in the Bible. 0:03:23.840 --> 0:03:27.600 We see at Jesus' baptism, the voice from God, the 0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:31.280 Father saying, this is my son whom I love, and 0:03:31.440 --> 0:03:36.000 in him I am well pleased. Listen to him. There's 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:40.280 a father who's the buttons of pride are popping off, 0:03:40.600 --> 0:03:45.720 you know, his chest. But that's the kind of gratitude 0:03:45.840 --> 0:03:52.240 and cheering on that we want to pour into. But pride, 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:56.520 properly understood, is a self centered thing. It's where I 0:03:56.600 --> 0:03:58.839 judge other people because I think I'm better than them. 0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:02.320 Pride is the root of racism. Pride is the root 0:04:02.520 --> 0:04:06.840 of misogyny, of all violations of human rights. Jesus said, 0:04:07.000 --> 0:04:12.720 Pride is what caused him to see Satan fall from 0:04:12.760 --> 0:04:16.960 heaven like lightning, because full of pride, Satan wants to 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:18.960 steal the glory of God. And that's what pride does. 0:04:19.120 --> 0:04:20.920 Pride makes us think that we're God, that we don't 0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:23.760 need God. We can create reality, We can create and 0:04:23.880 --> 0:04:27.440 define morality, reality, gender, and anything else that we want. 0:04:27.520 --> 0:04:31.039 So good for you. I'm trying to teach kids the 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:34.279 lesson through this book that I wrote called Pride Comes 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:36.799 Before the Fall, and it's the story of a tiger 0:04:37.160 --> 0:04:42.919 named Valor who has to partner up with a rookie 0:04:43.000 --> 0:04:46.880 elephant named Kevin in a boat race and he learns 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:51.480 the important lesson that arrogance and anger all stem from 0:04:51.600 --> 0:04:54.720 pride and that the path forward to win in life 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:59.080 is to consider others above yourselves and learn to be humble. 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:03.320 That is, you've had huge success having these book readings, 0:05:03.360 --> 0:05:06.280 and I think that's something that people, I guess I 0:05:06.320 --> 0:05:08.400 would say at this moment where we see a lot 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:11.440 of prideful people, and we see this happening in business, 0:05:11.520 --> 0:05:15.520 and we see this happening in politics, especially I'm coming 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:18.800 out of the political world, and so we're seeing this 0:05:18.960 --> 0:05:22.800 kind of pushed on people, and so this idea of 0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:26.680 having a values based book reading has not been the focus. 0:05:26.800 --> 0:05:29.600 And you came out and initially it was not well 0:05:29.640 --> 0:05:32.640 received by public libraries. But your last book reading was 0:05:32.760 --> 0:05:34.040 pretty impressive, wasn't it. 0:05:34.120 --> 0:05:37.240 Well. The funny thing is that coming from the Hollywood world, 0:05:37.279 --> 0:05:40.640 which is the land of make believe, we make a 0:05:40.680 --> 0:05:46.360 living at creating perceptions that are not reality. It's all 0:05:46.520 --> 0:05:50.960 it's all shiny this way, but really it's not. What 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:54.159 I've learned is that there are libraries, thousands of them 0:05:54.480 --> 0:05:57.760 all over the country who would love to have parents 0:05:57.839 --> 0:06:02.480 come and read books about love, joy, peace, humility, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, 0:06:02.480 --> 0:06:04.920 self control. Why, because that's what we want in our kids. 0:06:05.279 --> 0:06:07.000 We want them to be. Do you want your kids 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:09.479 to be full of pride? Do you want your kids? Hey, honey, 0:06:09.520 --> 0:06:10.960 I want you to go to school today and I 0:06:10.960 --> 0:06:13.320 want you to learn how to be a proud person, 0:06:14.040 --> 0:06:16.080 how to be full of pride. 0:06:16.360 --> 0:06:18.479 Well, that's when you get some saying back to you, 0:06:18.600 --> 0:06:19.919 I don't need to go to school. 0:06:20.120 --> 0:06:23.560 No, we want them to be humble. So when we 0:06:23.560 --> 0:06:28.120 were died by over fifty woke libraries that previously held 0:06:28.200 --> 0:06:31.719 drag Queen story hours, we pushed back, wrote a letter 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:34.279 and reminded them that this is the United States of America, 0:06:34.360 --> 0:06:38.320 and you can't deny people coming to a story hour 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:42.800 or reading room simply because you don't like their viewpoint. 0:06:43.920 --> 0:06:48.920 And that's violation of free speech, that's violation of the 0:06:49.480 --> 0:06:54.760 freedom of religion and all kinds of things. And so 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:57.760 we told them that we would be prepared to assert 0:06:57.800 --> 0:07:00.360 our constitutional rights in court if they kept it up. 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:03.719 They caved. We went to the Indianapolis Library and over 0:07:03.760 --> 0:07:07.560 two thy five hundred parents and kids overwhelmed six floors 0:07:07.560 --> 0:07:10.320 of the library. They were out the door down the street. 0:07:10.960 --> 0:07:14.840 But then there's other libraries like Seattle Public Library, which 0:07:15.800 --> 0:07:20.240 welcomed us, although there's protesters coming in holding boards about 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:23.880 something about hate and something about me growing into a 0:07:23.920 --> 0:07:29.160 real pain. So you got to applaud him for right creative. 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:32.920 That's right, he's creative. And then we were in Louden 0:07:32.960 --> 0:07:38.080 County Public Library yesterday across the hall from a leftist 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:43.800 leaning group called Teach Truth. And in fact, that's ironic 0:07:43.920 --> 0:07:46.880 because they're teaching lies in the name of truth. And 0:07:47.000 --> 0:07:49.120 that's why we have to be educated and why we 0:07:49.120 --> 0:07:51.240 need to teach these things to our kids, because they 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:54.000 see something that has the skin of all of the truth, 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:57.200 but it's stuffed with the lie. So we come into 0:07:57.280 --> 0:08:00.360 something called Pride Months, and kids think it's about being 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:04.120 proud of yourself. But listen, even rightly understood, if you 0:08:04.160 --> 0:08:06.280 were to say, well, I'm proud of you, or I'm faithful, 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:09.840 or I'm grateful for who God's made me, Pride Month 0:08:09.880 --> 0:08:15.560 isn't about that. Weirdly, it's about wanting the rest of 0:08:15.600 --> 0:08:19.360 the world to celebrate other people's sex life. I mean 0:08:19.360 --> 0:08:21.280 think about that, I mean, really get down to it. 0:08:21.320 --> 0:08:23.280 I mean I can love my enemies, I can love 0:08:23.320 --> 0:08:26.760 being a man. I can love being an American and 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:29.480 you can too, and we can be into different things 0:08:29.520 --> 0:08:33.439 politically and hobbies and sports and look different. But if 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:36.800 you're part of the pride thing, it's really about who 0:08:37.520 --> 0:08:39.560 you like to have sex with or who you like 0:08:39.600 --> 0:08:43.559 to have sex as, and we want to be pushing 0:08:43.600 --> 0:08:49.240 that into our children. That's wildly inappropriate and abuse We've. 0:08:49.040 --> 0:08:52.400 Talked about so many times is that this is solely 0:08:52.640 --> 0:08:56.679 about who you are having sex with, and that is 0:08:56.720 --> 0:08:59.920 such a You have to question why do people want 0:09:00.080 --> 0:09:02.480 to bring this into the lives of children. And then 0:09:02.640 --> 0:09:05.120 the flip side of that is that you're coming and 0:09:05.120 --> 0:09:08.280 you're reading books to kids that are giving them hope, 0:09:08.320 --> 0:09:11.720 that are bringing joy, that are are showing them future 0:09:11.800 --> 0:09:14.600 and how to love one another. And that is not 0:09:15.240 --> 0:09:19.440 and in no way are you putting down other groups. 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:21.360 I think that's the thing that is so important and 0:09:21.480 --> 0:09:24.680 so key when you see these manipulative people come in 0:09:24.720 --> 0:09:27.760 with signs that say this is hate. No, no, there 0:09:27.840 --> 0:09:29.920 is nothing hateful about this. You are not You are 0:09:30.000 --> 0:09:32.040 not putting anyone down. You are not prideful. You're not 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:34.280 coming out and saying we're better. You're saying there is 0:09:34.280 --> 0:09:38.080 an opportunity to live in a joyful and hopeful way. 0:09:38.400 --> 0:09:40.960 And I think that's something that's so key right now 0:09:40.960 --> 0:09:44.040 in crisis, because we have so many kids in crisis, 0:09:44.040 --> 0:09:48.040 families and crisis. It's just a tough time. And honestly, 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:51.160 I was telling you about my daughter graduating in my 0:09:51.640 --> 0:09:54.800 friend of ours, who is not in a Christian school, 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:57.760 said it was shocking to me to see the kids 0:09:57.800 --> 0:10:00.840 had just lost a classmate and on ax expectedly, and 0:10:01.280 --> 0:10:04.000 she said the ease with which they were able to 0:10:04.040 --> 0:10:07.280 talk about the joy of her life in this time 0:10:07.840 --> 0:10:11.439 was amazing to me because they had faith and think 0:10:12.040 --> 0:10:14.040 there is a there is a reason that we are 0:10:14.080 --> 0:10:15.319 asked to spread the good. 0:10:15.120 --> 0:10:20.120 Word one percent. I love this quote from uh Noah Webster. 0:10:20.400 --> 0:10:23.880 But before I get to that, I want people to 0:10:23.960 --> 0:10:28.240 note that what I'm doing is part of a much 0:10:28.320 --> 0:10:32.480 larger movement of a revival and a renaissance of the 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:35.560 values that led to this being the freest, strongest, most 0:10:35.559 --> 0:10:39.320 blessed nation in the history of the world. And if 0:10:39.360 --> 0:10:42.880 you want to check out not only my book, but 0:10:43.080 --> 0:10:45.200 books that were written by many different authors, go to 0:10:45.240 --> 0:10:48.360 Brave books dot com and they've got books that have 0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:52.040 pro God pro America values all day, every day that 0:10:52.120 --> 0:10:54.600 teach the fruit of the spirit and worn against things 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:57.120 like well, one book is called The Island of Free 0:10:57.160 --> 0:11:00.319 ice Cream, warning children about the dangers of socialism that. 0:11:01.080 --> 0:11:03.679 We actually have had the founder of Brave Books on 0:11:03.800 --> 0:11:05.880 and I'm so glad that you brought that up, because 0:11:06.320 --> 0:11:09.400 it is such an awesome thing to do for your kids, 0:11:09.440 --> 0:11:12.040 that you have these books constantly coming to the house, 0:11:12.200 --> 0:11:14.679 and just such an awesome opportunity. 0:11:14.960 --> 0:11:18.800 So instead of watching the news and putting your face 0:11:18.840 --> 0:11:21.320 in your hands while you sit on the couch and 0:11:21.360 --> 0:11:23.959 cry in your Chick fil A soup wondering what can 0:11:24.000 --> 0:11:27.400 we do, go to Brave Books dot com and subscribe 0:11:27.400 --> 0:11:28.840 to the Book of the Month club, and a new 0:11:28.840 --> 0:11:30.760 book will show up at your kids, at your grandkid's 0:11:30.760 --> 0:11:34.080 door every single month with a pro God, pro America value. 0:11:34.080 --> 0:11:36.600 And there you're doing something. You're investing in their hearts 0:11:36.640 --> 0:11:40.199 and minds and planting seeds of fearless faith and moral 0:11:40.240 --> 0:11:46.760 integrity into the next generation. Okay, Now, Noah Webster, one 0:11:46.800 --> 0:11:49.400 of our founding fathers, had a great quote, and this 0:11:49.480 --> 0:11:52.240 is so important for us to understand. I'm not trying 0:11:52.280 --> 0:11:54.720 to push religion on anybody. I'm not trying to force 0:11:54.760 --> 0:11:56.880 some people to believe something that they don't want to believe. 0:11:56.920 --> 0:12:00.840 In fact, that goes against my religion. But Webster said 0:12:00.840 --> 0:12:04.680 it so well. He was not only founding father, but 0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:08.320 father of American education. He gave us Webster's Dictionary, and 0:12:08.360 --> 0:12:14.319 Noah Webster said, every government is built on some philosophy 0:12:14.520 --> 0:12:19.760 or religion, and the education of a nation will propagate 0:12:20.000 --> 0:12:24.280 that religion. In the United States of America, that foundational 0:12:24.880 --> 0:12:28.320 religion was Christianity, and it was sown into the hearts 0:12:28.360 --> 0:12:31.840 and minds of children for generations through the home, through 0:12:31.920 --> 0:12:37.920 private and public education. And it was root that produced 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:43.840 the fruit of success and liberty and freedom in America. 0:12:44.120 --> 0:12:49.000 And if we want to continue with our success and 0:12:49.360 --> 0:12:54.319 our freedom, it depends on instilling into the children of 0:12:54.360 --> 0:13:00.440 America the principles of Christianity. That's not somebody's opinion. That's 0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:08.160 the fact from the people who understood the blueprint of 0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:12.840 the nation that has been unique in its successes throughout 0:13:12.840 --> 0:13:16.280 all of history. It's the ability to self govern because 0:13:16.280 --> 0:13:18.360 you love God and you love other people. 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:21.320 Let's take a quick commercial break. We'll continue next on 0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:27.320 the Tutor Dixon Podcast. It's interesting. I'll let you in 0:13:27.400 --> 0:13:30.720 on a little bit of background when you're running for office, 0:13:30.800 --> 0:13:34.440 because obviously I was running for office in a blue well, 0:13:34.520 --> 0:13:36.400 it was a purple state at the time. Now it's 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:38.600 a blue state, but we're you know, we're still calling 0:13:38.640 --> 0:13:40.480 it purple because I believe we can get it back. 0:13:40.520 --> 0:13:45.360 But even in the conservative circles. One of my very 0:13:45.400 --> 0:13:49.040 first meetings, I was talking to the woman and she 0:13:49.160 --> 0:13:51.600 was asking me why I was running, and I, you know, 0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:54.079 I went through and all I said about my faith 0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:56.920 was as a family, we prayed about the decision before 0:13:56.920 --> 0:13:59.280 we came to it, and then we talked and talked 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:00.640 in at the end of it, she looked at me 0:14:00.679 --> 0:14:04.720 and she said, let me give you one bit of advice. 0:14:05.559 --> 0:14:09.280 Don't ever tell anybody about your faith because you will 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:13.040 turn so many people off. It is something that people 0:14:13.080 --> 0:14:15.040 make the mistake up all the time, and you should 0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:17.199 never do it. And then just a few weeks ago, 0:14:17.320 --> 0:14:20.760 I spoke with one of my supporters and he said 0:14:20.760 --> 0:14:23.120 the same thing. You need to make sure that the 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:27.800 people around you never speak of Christianity. And it struck me, 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:30.600 and you know that it's one of those things that 0:14:30.680 --> 0:14:32.960 when you're out there. You live in a world where 0:14:33.000 --> 0:14:36.480 you're told not to offend people. And I've thought about 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:40.320 that so much in the past few weeks, right, But 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:42.760 think about that they are allowed to say to me 0:14:43.440 --> 0:14:46.920 something that you I mean, it is some It's the 0:14:46.960 --> 0:14:49.040 first thing, you know, that's the first part of me. 0:14:49.320 --> 0:14:52.560 It is what guides me. It is what helps me 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:55.960 to make my decisions. It is what guides me and 0:14:56.040 --> 0:14:59.120 my parenting choices. And that is something that in the 0:14:59.120 --> 0:15:02.520 country that was found on Christianity, we are now told 0:15:02.600 --> 0:15:05.080 that if you are running for office, you should never 0:15:05.120 --> 0:15:07.040 bring that up. And like I said, I'm not trying 0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:09.560 to same as you. I'm not telling you you should 0:15:09.560 --> 0:15:12.600 be a Christian. I am telling you this is what 0:15:12.640 --> 0:15:14.920 guides me. That is my north star. You should know 0:15:15.200 --> 0:15:19.120 what is telling me what direction I should go, and 0:15:19.160 --> 0:15:21.360 you should know that about me. But we are told 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:22.920 to hide that. Isn't that shocking? 0:15:23.320 --> 0:15:25.960 I actually am telling people they should become Christians because 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:28.120 I love them and I want them to become Christians 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:31.240 and know the loving Creator who has a plan for 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:33.800 their life that will lead to their peace, their blessing 0:15:34.760 --> 0:15:38.760 and a relationship with God and with others. And I 0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:41.920 know that you want the best for people too. It's interesting. 0:15:43.440 --> 0:15:45.920 There's so much that we could talk about here. I mean, 0:15:46.000 --> 0:15:49.480 just the very idea that someone tells you that you 0:15:49.480 --> 0:15:53.520 should never talk about your faith because it would be offensive. 0:15:54.640 --> 0:15:58.760 That statement in itself is offensive to millions of people 0:15:58.880 --> 0:16:04.040 like you and me in the United States. And I 0:16:04.080 --> 0:16:06.280 so want to respond to people like that by saying, 0:16:06.360 --> 0:16:10.560 your hatred and your bigotry are showing. You might want 0:16:10.560 --> 0:16:12.600 to cover those up because you're going to lose all 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:15.800 of your friends when they recognize that you have a 0:16:15.840 --> 0:16:18.240 religion of your own that you're trying to shove down 0:16:18.240 --> 0:16:21.880 our road. And it's called secular humanism, which has no 0:16:22.080 --> 0:16:27.680 room for Christians like me. That's the height of arrogance 0:16:27.680 --> 0:16:32.760 and pride, and it's the opposite of inclusivity and diversity. 0:16:32.920 --> 0:16:37.400 You want to rid your land of people like me. 0:16:37.840 --> 0:16:42.800 And it's actually the people from my clan who actually 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:46.160 love God and the principle of Christianity that make room 0:16:46.640 --> 0:16:50.200 for atheist Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and everyone else to be 0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:53.800 part of selecting leadership in the country through the voting process. 0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:58.360 That's only the result of the principles that I adhere 0:16:58.400 --> 0:17:00.240 to and those are the principles of christian. 0:17:00.560 --> 0:17:04.399 So let me ask you this, because part of our 0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:08.959 Christian faith is to be loving, to take care of 0:17:09.440 --> 0:17:12.000 widows and children, and that's something that I think that 0:17:12.640 --> 0:17:17.800 people have sort of twisted around on Christianity and said, well, 0:17:18.040 --> 0:17:20.760 you know, you're stopping that from happening. The we're the 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:25.080 loving ones. You have six children yourself. Four of those 0:17:25.160 --> 0:17:30.080 kids are adopted. That is so beautiful. Explain to us, 0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:34.399 like what led you to that choice to adopt, and 0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:39.119 how have you seen your faith grow those children in 0:17:39.160 --> 0:17:41.160 all different ways, because I know as a mom of four, 0:17:41.720 --> 0:17:44.480 every one of them has a different personality and they 0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:46.320 are all very unique and exciting. 0:17:46.640 --> 0:17:49.520 Yeah, well, we love having six kids. And you know, 0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:53.159 having six kids was the result of really loving my 0:17:53.200 --> 0:17:56.919 wife a lot. And we have four children that we 0:17:56.960 --> 0:18:02.640 adopted first, and then we had two kids the natural way. 0:18:02.880 --> 0:18:06.080 And my wife is actually an adopted child, and so 0:18:06.440 --> 0:18:08.800 that's a very special bond that she has with our 0:18:08.840 --> 0:18:12.680 adopted children. And in fact, I just made a movie 0:18:12.680 --> 0:18:15.119 this came out this last summer called Life Mark with 0:18:15.160 --> 0:18:17.720 the Kendrick Brothers. It's all about the beauty of adoption 0:18:17.880 --> 0:18:19.640 and the value of life in the womb. I can't 0:18:19.680 --> 0:18:23.159 imagine where my life would be right now without the 0:18:23.200 --> 0:18:26.359 most important people that are in it, my wife and 0:18:26.400 --> 0:18:31.200 my children. And if it weren't for valuing life in 0:18:31.240 --> 0:18:36.000 the womb and recognizing adoption as a beautiful method of 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:39.119 bringing families together, I wouldn't have my wife. I wouldn't 0:18:39.119 --> 0:18:41.680 have my four kids. And if my wife hadn't been born, 0:18:41.720 --> 0:18:45.679 if she'd been lost through an abortion, say, then my 0:18:45.760 --> 0:18:49.640 two natural born children wouldn't be here either. So adoption 0:18:49.800 --> 0:18:51.600 is very important to me and to my wife, to 0:18:51.640 --> 0:18:54.160 our family, and to millions of Americans. And that's why 0:18:54.240 --> 0:18:55.800 it's always going to be at the heart of the 0:18:55.800 --> 0:18:56.359 things that I do. 0:18:56.680 --> 0:18:58.840 So why do you think that's not a bigger part 0:18:59.000 --> 0:19:02.360 of a bigger push in this country, Because we obviously 0:19:02.440 --> 0:19:05.440 went through just now a major in twenty twenty two, 0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:09.399 a major fight over choice, But there doesn't seem to 0:19:09.440 --> 0:19:12.240 be that same passion over fighting to make it easier 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:15.160 to adopt. It's hard to adopt in many states, it's 0:19:15.240 --> 0:19:17.639 expensive to adopt, and it's hard to do that. How 0:19:17.680 --> 0:19:21.360 do we change that? I mean, what can be done 0:19:21.520 --> 0:19:23.920 to show people the beauty of adoption? 0:19:24.200 --> 0:19:26.960 I don't think it's I don't think that's that hard. 0:19:27.119 --> 0:19:29.840 We've just got to have the same heart that God 0:19:29.880 --> 0:19:33.040 has for the widows and the orphans. As you said earlier, 0:19:33.080 --> 0:19:35.320 true religion is helping widows and orphans in their time 0:19:35.400 --> 0:19:38.120 of need. There are so many kids out there that 0:19:38.240 --> 0:19:42.000 need to be adopted. Unfortunately, there's not as many when 0:19:42.040 --> 0:19:45.360 you have so many abortions and those children being cut 0:19:45.400 --> 0:19:47.520 up and flush down the sewers of the United States. 0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:53.040 But there are thousands and thousands and thousands lining up 0:19:53.480 --> 0:19:56.760 to adopt children. There are more parents out there who 0:19:57.040 --> 0:19:59.480 either can't have children or want to have children but 0:19:59.520 --> 0:20:04.080 are un unable to, who want to adopt kids, And 0:20:04.119 --> 0:20:05.840 so we just need to do it. If we can 0:20:05.960 --> 0:20:12.000 just adopt those kids and adopt the orphans, we can 0:20:12.040 --> 0:20:15.639 make a huge difference. And just think Jesus himself was 0:20:15.680 --> 0:20:19.439 adopted by Joseph when he found out his wife or 0:20:19.720 --> 0:20:21.440 he is, the woman he's betrothed to be married to, 0:20:21.600 --> 0:20:25.560 is pregnant. Think of that. Think of Moses himself, the 0:20:25.680 --> 0:20:30.359 great law giver of the Ten Commandments, was adopted when 0:20:30.520 --> 0:20:32.280 his mother had to put him in a basket, floated 0:20:32.320 --> 0:20:34.399 him down a river, and the pharaoh's daughter comes and 0:20:34.840 --> 0:20:38.000 adopts him and sees him as her own. Adoption is 0:20:38.040 --> 0:20:42.480 a beautiful thing where God brings people from different backgrounds 0:20:42.520 --> 0:20:45.879 together and makes them into a family, just like he 0:20:45.960 --> 0:20:48.840 does with us. I was an atheist. Now I'm his 0:20:49.000 --> 0:20:51.639 son and a member of his family. He adopted me 0:20:51.960 --> 0:20:53.359 when I came to him by faith. 0:20:53.520 --> 0:20:57.160 You have such a beautiful way of intertwining every story 0:20:57.240 --> 0:21:00.679 into faith and connecting it back to the Bible. But 0:21:00.800 --> 0:21:03.479 you just said you were an atheist and you were that. 0:21:03.720 --> 0:21:07.200 Explain that story, because I think that's also something intimidating 0:21:07.240 --> 0:21:09.679 when you talk about faith to someone who doesn't get it. 0:21:09.720 --> 0:21:11.719 I mean, I also know what it was as an 0:21:11.760 --> 0:21:14.720 adult to say, oh, actually, this is what it is 0:21:14.760 --> 0:21:17.600 to be saved and feel that change in your life. 0:21:18.160 --> 0:21:20.359 So I think, but I know because of that, I 0:21:20.400 --> 0:21:24.800 also know how it is easy to hold religious discussions 0:21:24.800 --> 0:21:28.320 at bay because you're not there yet. So explain what 0:21:28.359 --> 0:21:31.000 it was like to have that transformation. 0:21:31.400 --> 0:21:34.680 That's the positive trans movement. We read about it and 0:21:34.720 --> 0:21:38.840 you read about it, and it's very exciting. It happened 0:21:38.840 --> 0:21:42.720 to me. I had that trans experience, and I went 0:21:43.600 --> 0:21:48.560 from a person that was reveling in the kingdom of darkness, 0:21:48.760 --> 0:21:53.240 and I was transformed by the renewing of my mind, 0:21:53.920 --> 0:21:58.560 not conformed to the pattern of this world, but transformed 0:21:59.040 --> 0:22:05.000 into the kingdom of God's love and light. That's really 0:22:05.040 --> 0:22:08.960 all it means. As an atheist, I had faith that 0:22:09.359 --> 0:22:15.520 nobody created everything out of nothing. That takes a lot 0:22:15.560 --> 0:22:19.560 of faith to be an atheist. Nobody times nothing equals everything, 0:22:19.920 --> 0:22:24.919 that nothing made everything. And then somebody took me to 0:22:24.960 --> 0:22:27.560 church and I heard the message of the Gospel from 0:22:27.640 --> 0:22:32.119 the Bible. And I never understood that book. I just 0:22:32.160 --> 0:22:34.680 thought it was filled with these and thows and rules 0:22:34.760 --> 0:22:39.280 to ruin my life. And then I understood that one 0:22:39.359 --> 0:22:43.119 day I will die and I will meet the creator 0:22:43.600 --> 0:22:46.600 of the sun and the moon and the stars, the 0:22:46.600 --> 0:22:50.280 one who forms babies in their mother's wounds, the one 0:22:50.400 --> 0:22:56.399 who causes roses and strawberries and peaches and grapes to 0:22:56.560 --> 0:23:00.840 come up out of brown colorless sorry, not colorless, but 0:23:01.000 --> 0:23:04.760 but you know dirt that doesn't smell or and it 0:23:04.800 --> 0:23:11.120 isn't sweet, and outcomes cherries and watermelons and beautiful painted 0:23:11.160 --> 0:23:14.320