1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:01,520 Speaker 1: The Michael Berry Show. 2 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:44,000 Speaker 2: There's a clergyman. You can imagine how out of place 3 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:47,000 Speaker 2: I feel. I feel like a fish out of water, 4 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 2: or may be an owl out of the air. I 5 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 2: was preaching in Sana's a some time ago, and my 6 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:03,320 Speaker 2: friend Mark Kwame, who helped introduce me to this conference, 7 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:10,640 Speaker 2: brought several CEOs and leaders of some of the companies 8 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:13,679 Speaker 2: here in the Silicon Valley to have breakfast with me 9 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 2: or I with them, and I was so stimulated and 10 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 2: had such it was an eye opening experience to hear 11 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:30,400 Speaker 2: them talk about the world that is yet to come 12 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:39,000 Speaker 2: through technology and science. I know that we're near the 13 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 2: end of this conference and some of you may be 14 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 2: wondering why they have a speaker from the field of religion. 15 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 2: Richard can answer that because he made that decision. But 16 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 2: some years ago, I was on an elevator in Philadelphia 17 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 2: coming down. I was to address a conference at a hotel, 18 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:06,080 Speaker 2: and on that elevator a man said, I hear Billy 19 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:09,880 Speaker 2: Graham is staying in this hotel, and another man looked 20 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:12,520 Speaker 2: in my direction and said, yes, there he is. He's 21 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:15,320 Speaker 2: on this elevator with us. And this man looked me 22 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:18,440 Speaker 2: up and down for about ten seconds, and he said, my, 23 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 2: what an anti climax. I hope, I hope that you 24 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:32,639 Speaker 2: won't feel that these few moments with me is an 25 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:38,400 Speaker 2: anti climax after all this tremendous talks that you've heard 26 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:40,679 Speaker 2: on the dresses, which I intend to listen to every 27 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 2: one of them. But I was on an airplane in 28 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:50,240 Speaker 2: the East some years ago and the man sitting across 29 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:54,079 Speaker 2: the aisle from me was the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina. 30 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:56,120 Speaker 2: His name was John Belk, some of you would probably 31 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 2: know him. And there was a drunk man on there, 32 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 2: and he got up out of his seat two or 33 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:04,960 Speaker 2: three times, and he was making everybody upset by what 34 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 2: he was trying to do. And he was slapping the 35 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 2: stewardess and pinching her as she went by, and everybody 36 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:17,640 Speaker 2: was upset with him. And finally John Belk said, you 37 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:22,320 Speaker 2: know who's sitting here and the man said no, he said, 38 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 2: it's Billy Graham, the preacher. He said, you don't say 39 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:29,920 Speaker 2: and he turned to me and he said, put her there. 40 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 2: He said, your sermons have certainly helped me. And I 41 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 2: suppose that that's true with thousands of people. I know 42 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 2: that as you have been peering into the future, and 43 00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 2: as we've heard some of it here tonight. I would 44 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 2: like to live in that age and see what is 45 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 2: going to be, but I won't because I'm eighty years old. 46 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 2: This is my eightieth year, and I know that my 47 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:18,240 Speaker 2: time is brief. I have phlebitis at the moment in 48 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:21,479 Speaker 2: both legs, and that's the reason I had to have 49 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 2: a little help in getting up here, because I have 50 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 2: Parkinson's disease in addition to that and some other problems 51 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 2: that I won't talk about. But this is not the 52 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:38,600 Speaker 2: first time that we've had a technological revolution. We've had others, 53 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:43,800 Speaker 2: and there's one that I want to talk about. In 54 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:49,480 Speaker 2: one generation, the nation of the people of Israel had 55 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:53,360 Speaker 2: a tremendous and dramatic change that made them a great 56 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 2: power in the Near East. A man by the name 57 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:02,360 Speaker 2: of David came to the throne, and King David became 58 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:08,800 Speaker 2: one of the great leaders of his generation. He was 59 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:12,839 Speaker 2: a man of tremendous leadership. He had the favor of 60 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:22,280 Speaker 2: God with him. He was a brilliant poet, philosopher, writer, soldier, 61 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:28,640 Speaker 2: with strategies in battle and conflict that people study even today. 62 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:36,000 Speaker 2: But about two centuries before David, the Hittites had discovered 63 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:41,480 Speaker 2: the secret of smelting and processing of iron, and slowly 64 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 2: that skill spread, but they wouldn't allow the Israelis to 65 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 2: look into it or to have any But David changed 66 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:54,719 Speaker 2: all of that, and he introduced the iron age to Israel. 67 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:58,600 Speaker 2: And the Bible says that David laid up great stores 68 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:02,280 Speaker 2: of iron, which archaeologists have found that in present day 69 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:09,000 Speaker 2: Palestine their evidences of that generation. Now, instead of crude 70 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:16,120 Speaker 2: tools made of sticks and stones, Israel now had iron 71 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:22,200 Speaker 2: plows and sickles and hoes and military weapons. And in 72 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:28,280 Speaker 2: the course of one generation, Israel was completely changed. The 73 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:33,920 Speaker 2: introduction of iron in some ways had an impact a 74 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:36,960 Speaker 2: little bit like the microchip has had on our generation. 75 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:49,200 Speaker 2: And David found that there were many problems that technology 76 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 2: could not solve. There were many problems still left and 77 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:58,599 Speaker 2: they're still with us, and you haven't solved them. And 78 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:02,760 Speaker 2: I haven't heard anybody here speak to that. How do 79 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,719 Speaker 2: we solve these three problems that I'd like to mention? 80 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 2: The first one that David saw was human evil? Where 81 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:16,640 Speaker 2: does it come from? How do we solve it? Over 82 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:21,520 Speaker 2: again and again In the Psalms, which Gladstone said was 83 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:26,880 Speaker 2: the greatest book in the world. David describes the evils 84 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:31,560 Speaker 2: of the human race, and yet he says, he restores 85 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:35,600 Speaker 2: my soul. Have you ever thought about what a contradiction 86 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:39,120 Speaker 2: we are? On one hand, we can probe the deepest 87 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:42,960 Speaker 2: secrets of the universe and dramatically push back the frontiers 88 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 2: of technology, as this conference vividly demonstrates. We've seen under 89 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 2: the sea, or three miles down, or galaxies hundreds of 90 00:07:55,600 --> 00:07:59,560 Speaker 2: billions of years out in the future. But on the 91 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:10,720 Speaker 2: other hand, something is wrong. Our battleships, our soldiers are 92 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 2: on a frontier now, almost ready to go to war 93 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 2: with Iraq. Now what causes this? Why do we have 94 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:23,200 Speaker 2: these wars in every generation and in every part of 95 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:28,840 Speaker 2: the world, and revolutions We can't get along with other people, 96 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:32,800 Speaker 2: even in our own families. We find ourselves in the 97 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:38,720 Speaker 2: paralyzing grip of self destructive habits. We can't break. Racism 98 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:42,600 Speaker 2: and injustice and violence sweep our world, bringing a tragic 99 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:46,760 Speaker 2: harvest of heartache and death. Even the most sophisticated among 100 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 2: us seem powerless to break this cycle. I would like 101 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 2: to see Oracle take up that or some other tech 102 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:06,120 Speaker 2: logical geniuses work on this. How do we change man 103 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:11,640 Speaker 2: so that he doesn't lie and cheat? And our newspapers 104 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:15,720 Speaker 2: are not filled with stories of fraud in business or labor, 105 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:22,240 Speaker 2: or athletics or wherever. The Bible says. The problem is 106 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:28,080 Speaker 2: within us, within our hearts and our souls. Our problem 107 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:33,160 Speaker 2: is that we're separated from our creator, which we call God, 108 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:39,360 Speaker 2: and we need to have our souls restored, something only 109 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:42,560 Speaker 2: God can do. Jesus said, for out of the heart 110 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:51,679 Speaker 2: come evil thoughts, murders, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 111 00:09:53,080 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 2: The British philosopher Bertrand and Russell was not a religious man, 112 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:00,600 Speaker 2: but he said it's in our hearts that the evil lies, 113 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:04,680 Speaker 2: and it's from our hearts that it must be plucked out. 114 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:09,040 Speaker 2: Albert Einstein, I was just talking to someone when I 115 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:14,520 Speaker 2: was speaking at Princeton and I met mister Einstein. He 116 00:10:14,559 --> 00:10:16,880 Speaker 2: didn't have a doctor's degree because he said nobody was 117 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:24,000 Speaker 2: qualified to give him one, but he made this statement. 118 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:29,199 Speaker 2: He said, it's easier to denature plutonium than to denature 119 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:32,720 Speaker 2: the evil spirit of man. And many of you, I'm sure, 120 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:37,600 Speaker 2: have thought about that and puzzled over it. You've seen 121 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 2: people take beneficial technological advances such as the Internet we've 122 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:48,200 Speaker 2: heard about tonight, and twist them into something corrupting. You've 123 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:52,920 Speaker 2: seen brilliant people devise computer viruses that bring down whole systems. 124 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:59,320 Speaker 2: The Oklahoma City bombing was simple technology horribly used. The 125 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:03,880 Speaker 2: problem is not technology. The problem is the person or 126 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:10,240 Speaker 2: person's using it. King David said that he knew the 127 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:13,719 Speaker 2: depths of his own soul. He couldn't free himself from 128 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:19,319 Speaker 2: personal problems and personal evils that included murder and adultery. 129 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:24,120 Speaker 2: Yet King David sought God's forgiveness and said, you can 130 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:28,800 Speaker 2: restore my soul. You see the Bible teachers that we're 131 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:34,040 Speaker 2: more than a body and a mind. We are a soul, 132 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:40,880 Speaker 2: and there's something inside of us that is beyond our understanding. 133 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 2: That's the part of us that yearns for God or 134 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:51,640 Speaker 2: something more than we find in technology. Your soul is 135 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:54,160 Speaker 2: that part of you that yearns for meaning in life 136 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:57,840 Speaker 2: and which seeks for something beyond this life. It's the 137 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:00,840 Speaker 2: part of you that yearns really for God. I find 138 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:03,520 Speaker 2: young people all over the world a searching for something. 139 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:06,240 Speaker 2: They don't know what it is. I speak at many 140 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:11,320 Speaker 2: universities and I have many questions and answer periods, and 141 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:15,800 Speaker 2: whether it's Cambridge or Harvard or Oxford, I've spoken at 142 00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 2: all those universities. I'm going to Harvard in about three 143 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:21,160 Speaker 2: or four, no, it's about two months from now, to 144 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:23,920 Speaker 2: give a lecture, and I'll be asked the same questions 145 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:26,680 Speaker 2: that I was asked the last few times I've been there, 146 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:32,520 Speaker 2: and it'll be on these questions, where did I come from? 147 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:35,160 Speaker 2: Why am I here? Where am I going? What's life 148 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:39,600 Speaker 2: all about? Why am I here? Even if you have 149 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:42,160 Speaker 2: no religious belief, there are times when you wonder that 150 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:46,920 Speaker 2: there's something else. Thomas Edison also said, when you see 151 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:50,000 Speaker 2: everything that happens in the world of science and in 152 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:53,200 Speaker 2: the working of the universe, you cannot deny that there's 153 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:57,480 Speaker 2: a captain on the bridge. I remember once I sat 154 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:02,600 Speaker 2: beside Missus Gorbachev at the White House dinner. I went 155 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:04,880 Speaker 2: down by some Dobinion whom I knew very well, and 156 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 2: I'd been to Russia several times under the Communist and 157 00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:15,200 Speaker 2: they'd given me marvelous freedom that I didn't expect. And 158 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:18,360 Speaker 2: I knew mister Dobringion very well, and I said, I'm 159 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:21,640 Speaker 2: going to sit beside Missus Goeberchop tonight, what should I 160 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:25,000 Speaker 2: talk to her about? And he surprised me with the answer. 161 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:29,320 Speaker 2: He said, talk to her about religion and philosophy. That's 162 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:32,960 Speaker 2: what she's really interested in. I was a little bit surprised, 163 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:36,160 Speaker 2: but that evening that's what we talked about, and it 164 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:40,520 Speaker 2: was a stimulating conversation, and after which she said, you know, 165 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:43,880 Speaker 2: I'm an atheist, but I know that there's something up 166 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:49,679 Speaker 2: there higher than we are. The second problem that King 167 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:53,920 Speaker 2: David realized he could not solve was the problem of 168 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:57,640 Speaker 2: human suffering. Writing the oldest book in the world was 169 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:01,640 Speaker 2: Job and he said, man is born into trouble as 170 00:14:01,679 --> 00:14:06,240 Speaker 2: the sparks fly upward. Yes, to be sure, science has 171 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:09,560 Speaker 2: done much to push back certain types of human suffering. 172 00:14:10,559 --> 00:14:14,280 Speaker 2: But I'm in a few months, I'll be eighty years 173 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:17,719 Speaker 2: of age. I admit that I'm very grateful for all 174 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:21,600 Speaker 2: the medical advances that have kept me in relatively good 175 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:24,600 Speaker 2: health all these years. My doctors at the Mayo Clinic 176 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:26,760 Speaker 2: urged me not to take this trip out here to 177 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:30,120 Speaker 2: this to be here, I haven't given a talk in 178 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:36,320 Speaker 2: nearly four months. And when you speak as much as 179 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:39,880 Speaker 2: I do, three or four times a day, you get rusty. 180 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:43,640 Speaker 2: That's the reason I'm using this podium and using these notes. 181 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:48,160 Speaker 2: Every time you ever hear me on the television or somewhere, 182 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:53,400 Speaker 2: I'm ad libbing. I'm not reading. I never read an address. 183 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:56,520 Speaker 2: I never read a speech or a talk or a lecture. 184 00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:02,440 Speaker 2: A talk I had lib But tonight I've got some 185 00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:06,920 Speaker 2: notes here so that I begin to forget, which I do. 186 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:13,040 Speaker 2: Sometimes I've got something I can turn to. But even 187 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:21,800 Speaker 2: here among us, most in the most advanced society in 188 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:27,440 Speaker 2: the world, we have poverty. We have families. It's self 189 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:32,160 Speaker 2: destruct friends that betray us, Unbearable psychological precious bear down 190 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:35,040 Speaker 2: on us. I've met a person in the world that 191 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:39,760 Speaker 2: didn't have a problem or a worry. Why do we suffer? 192 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:45,560 Speaker 2: It's an age old question that we haven't answered yet. 193 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:50,000 Speaker 2: David again and again said that he would turn to God. 194 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:57,920 Speaker 2: He said, the Lord is my shepherd. The final problem 195 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:02,160 Speaker 2: that David knew he could not solve was death. Many 196 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:05,800 Speaker 2: commentators have said that death is the forbidden subject of 197 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:10,880 Speaker 2: our generation. Most people live as if they're never going 198 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 2: to die. Technology projects the myth of control over our mortality. 199 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:22,360 Speaker 2: We see people on our screens. Marilyn Monroe is just 200 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:24,520 Speaker 2: as beautiful on the screen as she was in person, 201 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:29,440 Speaker 2: and many young people think she's still alive. They don't 202 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:32,560 Speaker 2: know that she's dead, or Clark Gable, whoever it is. 203 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:40,440 Speaker 2: The old stars, they come to life and they're just 204 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:42,760 Speaker 2: as great on that screen as they were in person. 205 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:49,840 Speaker 2: But death is inevitable. I spoke some time ago to 206 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:54,840 Speaker 2: a joint session of Congress last year, and we were 207 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:59,960 Speaker 2: meeting in that room, the Stature Room. About three hundred 208 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:03,520 Speaker 2: of them were there, and I said, there's one thing 209 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:06,080 Speaker 2: that we have in common. In this room, all of 210 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:11,280 Speaker 2: us together, were the Republican, a Democrat, whoever. I said, 211 00:17:11,320 --> 00:17:14,119 Speaker 2: We're all going to die. And we have that in 212 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:16,919 Speaker 2: common with all these great men of the past that 213 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:21,879 Speaker 2: are staring down at us. And it's often difficult for 214 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:25,879 Speaker 2: young people to understand that. It's difficult for them to 215 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:29,680 Speaker 2: understand that they are going to die. As the ancient 216 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:36,480 Speaker 2: writer of Ecclesiastes wrote, he said, there's every activity under heaven. 217 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:40,640 Speaker 2: There's a time to be born, and there's a time 218 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:45,200 Speaker 2: to die. I've stood at the death bed of several 219 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:50,200 Speaker 2: famous people whom you would know. I've talked to them, 220 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:53,920 Speaker 2: I've seen them in those agonizing moments when they were 221 00:17:54,000 --> 00:18:00,440 Speaker 2: scared to death, and yet a few years earlier never 222 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:04,000 Speaker 2: crossed their mind. I talked to a woman this past 223 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:12,280 Speaker 2: week whose father was a famous doctor. She said he 224 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:15,879 Speaker 2: never thought of God, never talked about God, didn't believe 225 00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:22,840 Speaker 2: in God. He was an atheist. But she said, as 226 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:27,000 Speaker 2: he came to die, he sat up in the side 227 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:28,760 Speaker 2: of the bed one day and he asked the nurse 228 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:31,959 Speaker 2: if he could see the chaplain and he said, for 229 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:35,800 Speaker 2: the first time in his life he thought about the 230 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:44,479 Speaker 2: inevitable and about God. Was there a God? A few 231 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:48,600 Speaker 2: years ago a university student asked me, what is the 232 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:51,919 Speaker 2: greatest surprise in your life? And I said, the greatest 233 00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:56,160 Speaker 2: surprise in my life is the brevity of life. It 234 00:18:56,240 --> 00:19:01,479 Speaker 2: passes so fast, but it does not need to have 235 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:06,280 Speaker 2: to be that way. Worn of Rombron in the aftermath 236 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:10,200 Speaker 2: of World War II, concluded quote, science and religion are 237 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:16,440 Speaker 2: not antagonists, on the contrary of their sisters. He put 238 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:18,880 Speaker 2: it on a personal basis on you, doctor von Braun 239 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:23,480 Speaker 2: very well, and he said, speaking for myself, I can 240 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:26,879 Speaker 2: only say that the grandeur of the cosmos serves only 241 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:30,080 Speaker 2: to confirm a belief in the certain day of a creator. 242 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:35,359 Speaker 2: He also said, in our search to know God, I've 243 00:19:35,359 --> 00:19:39,320 Speaker 2: come to believe that the life of Jesus Christ should 244 00:19:39,359 --> 00:19:43,240 Speaker 2: be the focus of our efforts and inspiration. The reality 245 00:19:43,359 --> 00:19:46,200 Speaker 2: of this life, in his resurrection, is the hope of mankind. 246 00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:50,320 Speaker 2: I've done a lot of speaking in Germany and in 247 00:19:50,359 --> 00:19:53,040 Speaker 2: France and in different parts of the world. One hundred 248 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:55,359 Speaker 2: and five countries. It's been my privilege to speak in 249 00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:03,840 Speaker 2: and I was invited one day to visit Chancellor Adnau, 250 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:06,159 Speaker 2: who has looked upon as sort of the founder of 251 00:20:06,200 --> 00:20:12,040 Speaker 2: modern Germany since the war. And he went and he 252 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:14,800 Speaker 2: said to me, he said, young man, he said, do 253 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:19,200 Speaker 2: you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ? And I said, Sir, 254 00:20:19,359 --> 00:20:23,080 Speaker 2: I do. He said, so do I. He said, when 255 00:20:23,119 --> 00:20:26,600 Speaker 2: I leave office, I'm going to spend my time writing 256 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:31,040 Speaker 2: a book on why Jesus Christ rose again and why 257 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:37,880 Speaker 2: it's so important to believe that. In one of his plays, 258 00:20:38,359 --> 00:20:44,880 Speaker 2: Alexander Sulzanitsen depicts a man dying who says to those 259 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:48,560 Speaker 2: gathered around his bed, the moment when it's terrible to 260 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:52,440 Speaker 2: feel regret is when one is dying. How should one 261 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:55,080 Speaker 2: live in order not to feel regret? When one is dying. 262 00:20:56,960 --> 00:21:02,240 Speaker 2: Blaize Pascal ask exactly that question in seventeenth century France. 263 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:08,200 Speaker 2: Pascal has been called the architect of modern civilization. He 264 00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:11,960 Speaker 2: was a brilliant scientist at the frontiers of mathematics even 265 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:15,800 Speaker 2: as a teenager. He is viewed by many as the 266 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:20,240 Speaker 2: founder of the probability theory and a creator of the 267 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:24,320 Speaker 2: first model of a computer, and of course you're all 268 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:28,760 Speaker 2: familiar with the computer language named for him. Pascal explored 269 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:32,040 Speaker 2: in depth our human dilemmas of evils suffering in death. 270 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:39,160 Speaker 2: He was astounded at the phenomena we've been considering that 271 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:43,280 Speaker 2: people can achieve extraordinary heights in science, the arts, and 272 00:21:43,359 --> 00:21:47,480 Speaker 2: human enterprise, yet they are also full of anger, hypocrisy, 273 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:52,000 Speaker 2: and half and self hatreds. Pascal saw us as a 274 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:57,440 Speaker 2: remarkable mixture of genius and self delusion. On November twenty third, 275 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:05,280 Speaker 2: sixteen fifty four, Pascal had a profound religious experience. He 276 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:11,840 Speaker 2: wrote in his journal these words, I submit myself absolutely 277 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:18,640 Speaker 2: to Jesus Christ, my redeemer. A French historian said two 278 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:26,040 Speaker 2: centuries later, seldom has so mighty an intellect submitted with 279 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 2: such humility to the authority of Jesus Christ. Pascal came 280 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:33,840 Speaker 2: to believe not only the love and the grace of 281 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:39,640 Speaker 2: God could bring us back into harmony, but he believed 282 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:44,679 Speaker 2: that his own sins and failures could be forgiven, and 283 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:46,520 Speaker 2: that when he died, he would go to a place 284 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:50,600 Speaker 2: called Heaven. He experienced it in a way that went 285 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:54,359 Speaker 2: beyond scientific observation and reason. It was he who penned 286 00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:59,440 Speaker 2: the well known words the heart has its reasons, which 287 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:05,960 Speaker 2: reason not off equally well known as Pascal's wager. Essentially, 288 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:09,560 Speaker 2: he said this, if you bet on God and open 289 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:12,399 Speaker 2: yourself to his love, you lose nothing. But even if 290 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:16,280 Speaker 2: you're wrong. But if instead you bet that there is 291 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,639 Speaker 2: no God, then you can lose it all in this 292 00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:25,480 Speaker 2: life and the life to come. For Pascal, scientific knowledge 293 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:29,399 Speaker 2: paled beside the knowledge of God. The knowledge of God 294 00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:34,000 Speaker 2: was far beyond anything that ever crossed his mind. He 295 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:36,560 Speaker 2: was ready to face him when he died at the 296 00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:41,240 Speaker 2: age of thirty nine. King David lived to be seventy, 297 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:45,080 Speaker 2: a long time in his era, Yet he too had 298 00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:49,399 Speaker 2: to face death, and he wrote these words, even though 299 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:52,200 Speaker 2: I walked through the valley of the shadow of death, 300 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:56,000 Speaker 2: I will fear no evil, for you are with me. 301 00:23:56,960 --> 00:24:01,560 Speaker 2: This was David's answer to three dilemmas of evil, suffering, 302 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:06,600 Speaker 2: and death. It can be yours as well, as you 303 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:10,040 Speaker 2: seek the living God and allow him to fill your 304 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:16,000 Speaker 2: life and give you hope for the future. When I 305 00:24:16,119 --> 00:24:20,440 Speaker 2: was seventeen years of age, I was born and read 306 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:23,960 Speaker 2: on a farm in North Carolina. I milked cows every 307 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:25,960 Speaker 2: morning and had to milk the same cows every evening 308 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:28,960 Speaker 2: when I came home from school, and there were twenty 309 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:33,639 Speaker 2: of them that I was responsible for. And I worked 310 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:37,399 Speaker 2: on a farm and tried to keep up with my studies. 311 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:41,880 Speaker 2: I didn't make good grades in high school. I didn't 312 00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:46,120 Speaker 2: make them in college until something happened in my heart. 313 00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:52,720 Speaker 2: One day I was face to face with Christ. He said, 314 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:57,000 Speaker 2: I'm the way, the truth, and the life. Can you 315 00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:00,840 Speaker 2: imagine that I am the truth? I'm the bottom of 316 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:09,520 Speaker 2: all truth. He was a liar or he was insane. Oh, 317 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:12,280 Speaker 2: he was what he claimed to be? Which was he? 318 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:16,480 Speaker 2: I had to make that decision. I couldn't prove it. 319 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:21,280 Speaker 2: I couldn't take it to a laboratory and experiment with it. 320 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:25,800 Speaker 2: But by faith, I said, I believe him, And he 321 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:30,800 Speaker 2: came into my heart and changed my life. And now 322 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:36,360 Speaker 2: I'm ready when I hear that call to go into 323 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:39,959 Speaker 2: the presence of God. Thank you, and God bless all 324 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:47,040 Speaker 2: of you. 325 00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:50,720 Speaker 1: If you liked the Michael Berry Show in podcast, please 326 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:55,080 Speaker 1: tell one friend, and if you're so inclined, write a 327 00:25:55,200 --> 00:26:00,280 Speaker 1: nice review of our podcast. Comments, suggestions, questions, and interest 328 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:04,240 Speaker 1: in being a corporate sponsor and partner can be communicated 329 00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:08,720 Speaker 1: directly to the show at our email address, Michael at 330 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:13,400 Speaker 1: Michael Berryshow dot com, or simply by clicking on our website, 331 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:18,240 Speaker 1: Michael Berryshow dot com. The Michael Berry Show and Podcast 332 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:23,680 Speaker 1: is produced by Ramon Roeblis, The King of Ding. Executive 333 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:32,560 Speaker 1: producer is Chad Nakanishi. Jim Mudd is the creative director. 334 00:26:33,359 --> 00:26:38,960 Speaker 1: Voices Jingles, Tomfoolery, and Shenanigans are provided by Chance McLain. 335 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:44,240 Speaker 1: Director of Research is Sandy Peterson. Emily Bull is our 336 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:51,720 Speaker 1: assistant listener and superfan. Contributions are appreciated and often incorporated 337 00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:55,480 Speaker 1: into our production. Where possible, we give credit, where not, 338 00:26:56,040 --> 00:26:59,199 Speaker 1: we take all the credit for ourselves. God bless the 339 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:04,919 Speaker 1: memory of Rush Limbaugh. Long live Elvis, be a simple 340 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:10,800 Speaker 1: man like Leonard Skinnard told you, and God bless America. Finally, 341 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:15,280 Speaker 1: if you know a veteran suffering from PTSD, call Camp 342 00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:21,199 Speaker 1: Hope at eight seven seven seven one seven PTSD and 343 00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:25,120 Speaker 1: a combat veteran will answer the phone to provide free 344 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:25,600 Speaker 1: counseling