Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 545 ｜ A Call to Courage in an Age of Liars, Cowards & Fools

00:00:00.000 Hey guys, welcome to Relatable. Happy 2022. This show today is sponsored by our friends

00:00:17.580 at Good Ranchers. We get all of our meat from Good Ranchers, Better Than Organic Chicken,

00:00:23.380 Kraft Beef. We love them. We're thankful that they are sponsoring this show. Okay,

00:00:28.700 we are back. We've got a lot to talk about this week. We're going to talk about the SCOTUS

00:00:33.440 vaccine mandate hearing from Friday at least a little bit. That may be decided today. I am

00:00:38.580 recording this on Monday morning, January 10th. By the time this comes out, usually around 3 p.m.

00:00:44.720 Eastern time, it may already be decided. So if you're listening to this after the decision was

00:00:50.380 made and you're wondering, well, why didn't Allie talk about this decision? It's because as I'm

00:00:54.760 recording this, the decision has not come out. That is one drawback to not having a live show,

00:01:00.120 even though there are a lot of pros to it. I'm unfortunately not able to give you

00:01:04.120 the most up-to-date to the second information when it comes to things like that. But of course,

00:01:10.160 we will be talking about it tomorrow. As soon as we know the decision, we will start preparing

00:01:14.520 that episode. We're going to talk about today how children are handling all of this madness because

00:01:21.760 there have been new claims and new data that has come out, some new articles that I think are

00:01:29.040 pertinent to this particular issue. Sometime this week, we will also discuss probably the insane

00:01:35.660 analysis of January 6th of the impending threat of Christian nationalism. I've got a lot to say about 0.77

00:01:42.140 that. If you follow me on Instagram, you know a little bit of what I'm going to say, but there's

00:01:45.940 more. There's more that I need to say. We'll probably talk about the UPenn swimmer we talked about a few

00:01:50.740 weeks ago. A man who identifies as a woman named Leah Thomas who just lost to another transgender

00:01:56.480 swimming in a swim meet. It's very confusing. We'll break all of that down. I also really want

00:02:01.260 to get into the big voting bill that Democrats are going to push through since the Build Back Better

00:02:06.060 bill did not happen, what that all means, why it matters to us. Now, of course, all of these things

00:02:11.920 are dependent upon what happens this week. So as always, we'll roll with the punches. And as always,

00:02:19.920 please tell me what you guys want to hear about. Whenever we, as a collective, relatable family,

00:02:27.700 want to take a step back and just say, you know what? There's a little bit too much talk about the

00:02:31.980 news. There's too much going on. We just need to take a step back and talk about something that's

00:02:35.500 evergreen. We need to just focus on a theological subject. Then we can do that. And today we are going

00:02:41.340 to talk a little bit. Well, it's definitely evergreen, but we're going to take a little bit of a step back

00:02:47.200 and just kind of get our bearings and remind us of what is most important as Christians. But if you

00:02:53.620 just need a week where we do that, if you need a whole episode where we do that, where we don't

00:02:57.440 focus on the news at all, we can do that. Of course, we do try to analyze as much as we can everything

00:03:03.000 that's going on in news and culture because these things matter. As we often say, these things affect

00:03:07.720 people. And as human beings, as Christians especially, we care about people. Also, I just want to say one

00:03:13.520 thing. I hope you guys enjoyed the episodes that we put out while we were gone. We had two awesome

00:03:18.980 interviews with Victor Davis Hanson and Brett Weinstein. Those are two just brilliant guests

00:03:24.020 that brought a lot of insight. And several of you messaged me saying that the Brett Weinstein

00:03:28.320 episode was glitchy. And I thought that maybe it was just a thing that happened to a couple of you

00:03:33.460 because that's actually happened to me where I've been listening to a podcast and it sounded glitchy,

00:03:37.680 but really it was just something on my end. So that's what I thought it was.

00:03:40.200 And I gaslit some of you when you messaged me about it. I said, no, I just, I think it's on

00:03:45.040 your end. But then I listened to it myself and it was very glitchy. That really should not happen

00:03:52.040 on a professional podcast. So I'm sorry for that. It's embarrassing for me when stuff like that happens

00:03:57.020 because it's my name on the podcast. So I just want you to know, even though I accidentally gaslit

00:04:01.480 some of you, I take that seriously. I'm grateful for you for understanding it's fixed now. Hopefully

00:04:06.700 that won't happen again. Okay. 2022, Lord willing, this is going to be Relatable's best year yet.

00:04:14.520 And here's what I mean by best year yet. This is where we kind of take a step back and get our

00:04:18.260 bearings. This is going to be, we are going to be by God's grace, the most clear and the most courageous

00:04:23.900 that we've ever been. And those are two things that I want to bring, of course, by God's grace,

00:04:31.500 again into my life, but also into your life. I want to bring clarity and I want to bring courage.

00:04:36.940 Why? Because our current age is characterized by confusion and cowardice, even it seems among those

00:04:44.020 who profess Christianity. Christians have this amazing privilege that we should access. We have

00:04:50.320 this amazing privilege to be intimately acquainted with the source of courage and clarity. Over and

00:04:56.720 over again. We see in scripture, we see God tell his people, do not fear. Do not be afraid. Do not

00:05:02.800 worry. Do not be anxious about anything. Look to me, trust me, follow me. So the Christian does not 1.00

00:05:10.460 fear. And there are six things specifically, actually seven things that Christians should not 0.99

00:05:15.200 fear. Seven of many things, but this is when I was preparing for this. These are the seven that I came

00:05:20.840 up with that I see in scripture. The Christian does not fear bad news. Psalm 112 7 describes the

00:05:26.700 Christian, the one who follows Christ. He is not afraid of bad news. His heart is firm, trusting in

00:05:32.160 the Lord. Number two, she does not fear man. Proverbs 29 25. The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever

00:05:39.760 trusts in the Lord is safe. Three, she does not fear rejection or criticism. Galatians 1 10. For am I now

00:05:48.140 seeking the approval of man or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were trying to still please man,

00:05:54.500 I would not be a servant of Christ. Number four, she does not fear persecution. 1 Timothy 3 12. Indeed,

00:06:02.740 all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. And Romans 8 35 through 38.

00:06:11.580 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or

00:06:17.100 nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, for your sake, we are being killed all the day long.

00:06:22.280 We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors

00:06:28.140 through him who loved us. Number five, she does not fear poverty. Matthew 12 27 through 31.

00:06:35.600 Consider the lilies, Jesus says, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you,

00:06:41.020 even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass,

00:06:46.760 which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you,

00:06:51.800 O you of little faith? And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried.

00:06:57.440 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.

00:07:02.380 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Number six, she does not fear any trial.

00:07:10.500 James 1 2. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that

00:07:16.500 the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And then number seven, she does not fear death.

00:07:24.200 Matthew 10 28 through 31. And do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul.

00:07:30.560 Rather fear him, God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?

00:07:37.660 And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are

00:07:42.000 all numbered. Fear not, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows. So, the Christian is 1.00

00:07:49.520 courageous. And courage is not simply a feeling, kind of like love. It is a choice. It is a willed

00:07:56.340 remembering of the God you serve, the purpose that he has for his children, and the hope that we have

00:08:01.680 in heaven. It is a constant convincing of your mind that he is in control, that he is good, that he sees

00:08:08.340 you. He hears you. He knows you. He knows what you need. And he is going to do exactly what he wills,

00:08:14.080 whatever gives himself the most glory he will do. Courage is not dependent upon our understanding

00:08:20.660 of God's will. It is only dependent upon our willingness to trust it. Now, I say all of this

00:08:26.560 as an admittedly fearful person. I am fearful of the world, of the future, for our country, for my

00:08:33.460 children. There have been times when I feared COVID, when I fear the government. I am fearful of

00:08:41.360 every single thing that I just said that Christians are not to fear. When I wake up in the middle of the

00:08:47.200 night, my mind gravitates toward what I am scared of, the things I'm anxious about, the things I can't

00:08:53.080 control, the things that I can't predict or figure out. And my propensity is to dwell on these things

00:09:01.180 and then to try to minimize as much risk in my life as possible to keep my family in a bubble so

00:09:07.220 no one ever gets hurt or sick or rejected or is made to go through anything hard. That is my natural

00:09:12.580 inclination. And yet, I have to ask for the strength to get up and simply do the next right thing that God

00:09:19.700 asks me to do. I don't have to have it all figured out. I just have to do the next right thing in faith

00:09:25.120 and with joy. And I have to trust that God has got it. So maybe your natural inclination

00:09:30.440 is to only say and do that which you know will earn you approval with most of the people in your life.

00:09:38.100 Maybe you fear going against the grain or stating your opinions about something or sharing your faith

00:09:42.980 and expressing your values because you want the people around you to like you. And we've all been

00:09:48.160 there. I've certainly been there. That is fear. So we should ask the Lord to help us commit

00:09:54.740 to courage. May the fear of God make us bold and brave before everyone else. Cowardice, I've learned,

00:10:03.100 leads to compromise every time. Our crippling fears of a virus, of the government, of the future,

00:10:10.860 of other people's opinions, of the million random what-ifs that we're afraid are going to ruin our

00:10:15.540 lives or kill us, they'll lead to compromise because we will be so paralyzed that we won't do or say the

00:10:23.700 thing that we know that we're supposed to do and or this fear will steal the joy and the gratitude

00:10:30.820 and the love and the generosity that we're told Christians are supposed to have in spades.

00:10:35.700 So let us not be cowards. If you look at the world right now, you'll see that the world is marked by

00:10:42.060 paranoia, masked as virtue, by the way. Just stay home a little bit longer, just one more month,

00:10:47.680 just one more regulation, one more mitigation measure, and then the government will give you your

00:10:51.940 freedom back. And if you don't do these things, then you're just selfish. We've heard that ad

00:10:56.260 nauseam over the past two years. And you know, Satan is so clever. He's so clever driving people

00:11:01.420 into isolation and anxiety and despair and convincing people that that is loving your neighbor.

00:11:07.580 Satan is also so clever in convincing us that being scared to say what is true, whether it's the truth

00:11:13.600 about God's design of male and female, the truth about life in the womb, the truth about any 0.87

00:11:18.620 controversial subject today is love. Satan tells us being silent about those things or mimicking what

00:11:24.640 the world says about those things is love. That somehow dancing around the truth is more compassionate

00:11:29.760 than simply repeating what the God who is love, as 1 John 4 says, what he says in his word.

00:11:38.320 And as we've said before, we cannot out love, out compassion God. Saying something that is true,

00:11:43.920 if God says it is true, is the most loving thing we can do. So we're courageous in the power and the

00:11:51.220 truth of God. And we're also clear. We're so clear, as much as we can be anyway. I watched this stunning

00:11:58.760 video that was actually put out sometime last year by McLean Bible Church. This is David Platt's church.

00:12:06.860 And look, I've talked about the drama and division at that church, but I was really careful

00:12:11.220 not to make it seem like I was calling out David Platt. I know maybe some of you would

00:12:16.220 want me to do that. I'm not someone who has gone after Platt or written him off or anything like

00:12:21.900 that. I was surprised to see the video that I'm about to describe. And I'm going to link the video

00:12:27.840 in the description of this episode. I want you to watch it for yourself so you can see, oh, Allie,

00:12:32.740 you know, she didn't describe that correctly, or you actually agree with the episode. I want you to be

00:12:36.320 able to watch it for yourself. Don't just take my word for it, but it's long, so we can't play the whole

00:12:40.420 thing right now. This video, it was about, it was apparently about how to love transgender people.

00:12:47.080 And the reason why I say it's from McLean Bible Church, the reason why that's important is because

00:12:50.580 I'm not talking about some left-wing church that doesn't know the gospel and doesn't rely on

00:12:56.060 scripture. Like, I'm talking about a church led by someone that a lot of us trust and have benefited

00:13:00.700 from for a very long time. This is considered a conservative church. This video about, apparently,

00:13:07.740 about how to love transgender people did not say anything about Genesis 1, anything about why God

00:13:14.240 made us male and female, what it means to be made male and female in God's image, how the God who is

00:13:20.800 love made our bodies good, and how it's a lie from the pit of hell that it's possible for a person to

00:13:26.500 be born in the wrong body, or how the deception of radical gender ideology is wrecking people's lives.

00:13:31.960 Instead, it said that Jesus suffered from a form of body dysphoria, since he was God who became flesh

00:13:37.840 and felt the consequences of sin on the cross and separation from the Father. Even if that is some

00:13:44.220 kind of way to try to understand this gender issue that is so convoluted and confusing and totally

00:13:51.840 devoid of any practical advice or clear truth about how the gospel and scripture informed how we think

00:13:58.540 about this issue. There was nothing about how we should think about pronouns or how we should talk

00:14:04.100 to people in our lives in this situation. Plus, he gives into the entire premise of gender ideology

00:14:09.400 by using the term, quote, sex assigned at birth. Sex is not an assignment. It's not a social construct.

00:14:16.660 It's the biology that God gave you at conception. Switching that language is incredibly significant.

00:14:21.940 And like I said, go watch it. Maybe you'll have a different opinion than me. But to me,

00:14:27.060 it was totally devoid of clarity. It was confusing. It was chaotic. It was convoluted,

00:14:31.800 trying so hard to avoid saying what is just simply true. It is possible to speak the truth

00:14:36.940 in love, but it is not loving to be intentionally confusing because you are scared of being called

00:14:41.780 a bigot. If you want a crystal clear biblical analysis of this issue, by the way, read Love Thy Body

00:14:48.500 by Nancy Piercy. I did an episode summarizing some of her book and adding my own analysis in an episode

00:14:54.060 called The Biblical Telos of Gender, which we will link. I encourage you to go back and listen to

00:14:58.540 that. So here's what I fear. And this does tie into everything that we're talking about today.

00:15:04.760 Here's what I fear. That Christians are trying to, quote, nuance and, quote, empathy, 1.00

00:15:10.840 so scare quotes around those things, their way out of saying culturally inconvenient things.

00:15:16.860 Because we so badly don't want to come across as harsh, religious, loveless zealots. We are so quick

00:15:23.700 to accept the world's premises, their language, their arguments and definitions. Then maybe we'll

00:15:28.820 add a Bible verse onto it to make it sound Christian, whether it's about race or justice or abortion or

00:15:34.280 gender or marriage or sex or whatever it is. Christians are scared. We've all been there. I've

00:15:38.980 definitely been there. So we embrace secular chaos and we call it tension or nuance or love or empathy.

00:15:45.540 Now, there is tension in this world for the Christian. For example, there is tension between

00:15:52.420 caring so much about what's going on in the world and knowing that it will eventually pass away and

00:15:58.220 that Christ will declare victory. There is nuance in this world for the Christian. For example,

00:16:03.740 we could say that there are many harmful gender stereotypes that cause people to distress about

00:16:09.520 how their bodies and their personalities seem incompatible. And maybe those are worth societal

00:16:14.540 examination or reconfiguration. But that doesn't mean it's possible to switch sexes by mere self

00:16:20.080 declaration or even through surgery. Or there's nuance in that I'm so proud of my country, but I realize

00:16:26.120 there is injustice that has existed here. Or yes, abortion is grave evil. But some women who have them 1.00

00:16:33.620 are victims themselves. There is also, yes, a time for empathy for the Christian when we just listen

00:16:39.520 and comfort and try to put ourselves in someone else's shoes rather than correct or provide

00:16:45.080 pushback or center ourselves in the conversation. There is definitely a time when love for the

00:16:50.680 Christian looks only like soft-spoken gentleness, an affirmation of a person's worth as a person made 1.00

00:16:55.740 in God's image. But, but what I'm afraid of is that many Christian women stop there, that they use 1.00

00:17:03.560 these realities to stop themselves from speaking that which is true. Because a subject is complicated,

00:17:10.820 they won't be clear on it. That's not helping anyone. That's just fear. You can realize these are hard

00:17:16.540 topics and still be so clear using God's word on what is good and right and true. It's okay to simply say

00:17:23.340 without a million caveats, abortion is evil. God made us male and female and he said that it was 0.95

00:17:28.360 good. Kids need a mom and dad. Sex is for marriage. Social justice isn't biblical justice. Yes, there's 0.97

00:17:34.620 more to all of these things. We spend a lot of time on this show explaining our why behind them and

00:17:39.720 analyzing the different angles. But you don't have to be scared to say them just because they're

00:17:44.160 complicated and they're going to solicit pushback. These are not primarily political and cultural issues

00:17:50.400 for the Christian. They have become culture war issues, but they're pre-political for us.

00:17:55.520 They're biblical issues that have become political and cultural. So you are not being divisive by

00:18:01.880 talking about them. Or maybe you are. Maybe you are and that's okay. The truth divides. Now, I don't

00:18:09.240 abandon or I don't recommend abandoning friendships and relationships over these disagreements. But I also

00:18:15.380 think you shouldn't stay quiet about them because you're scared of upsetting someone. So all this to

00:18:22.580 say, let this be the year that the church is so incredibly, consistently, persistently, courageously

00:18:28.520 clear on these things. And more than just the things that we just listed, also about the proper

00:18:35.360 role and authority of the government versus the church versus the family. I'm thinking about the

00:18:40.940 so-called conversion therapy ban bill that passed in Canada. We talked about a Canadian pastor about

00:18:46.980 that. It actually restricts the speech and the services of Christian professionals. It's not a ban

00:18:51.860 on just barbaric electroshock therapy. It is a ban on even helping children who are confused about their

00:19:00.900 gender, love their own body. Even someone who wants help dealing with unwanted same-sex attraction

00:19:05.640 cannot get help because of this bill, this law now in Canada. Someone apparently cannot be counseled

00:19:12.020 through detransitioning. So in the midst of things like that, the church cannot waver there or elsewhere

00:19:18.080 in saying what is true, not just because we want to be right, but because this has intense,

00:19:23.640 immense consequences on people, especially children. Puberty blockers, surgery, even social transition is all

00:19:30.080 destructive of a person's body and true identity and a child's psychological well-being.

00:19:36.040 Not to mention the vulnerability of women and girls who are being forced to accept men into their private

00:19:41.880 spaces and athletic competitions. Who will speak up for these people if not the church? The church,

00:19:47.020 at her best, is a refuge for the most vulnerable people. Not just the poor and the outcast and the disabled,

00:19:53.300 although that's true as well, but for the young, for the confused, for the lost. We stand in their stead

00:19:59.220 by standing steadfastly on the Word of God in clarity and courage. So when I say clarity and

00:20:06.460 courage are my goals and relatable, I am speaking as someone who is actively seeking these things,

00:20:11.600 not as a person who has obtained them. I do have clarity and courage in some areas, as we all do,

00:20:18.920 but my goal is to pursue and emulate these things better and better as time goes on, with the help of

00:20:23.780 God, with the help of you. And my hope is that we can learn to do that together. Now, why am I so

00:20:30.520 passionate about Christians speaking up about issues that to many people seem unnecessarily

00:20:35.840 political and divisive and just culture war issues, religious liberty, free speech, parental rights,

00:20:41.120 the makeup of the family, gender, abortion, the role of the government? Because you guys know it by now,

00:20:48.400 because people matter. And politics affect policy and policy affects people. Because politics matter,

00:20:55.820 because policy matters, because people matter. That's why. That's why I care about being courageous

00:21:02.100 and clear on all of these issues. And we're going to get into now, finally, how this relates to some of

00:21:09.600 the things that we're talking about today in relation to what was said at the Supreme Court in relation to

00:21:15.760 the policies that continue to come down the pipeline that are disproportionately negatively affecting

00:21:20.700 the most vulnerable and marginalized population in the world, and that is children.

00:21:27.540 We have seen over the last two years how deeply policy affects people, maybe more than ever,

00:21:35.440 at least in our lifetimes, especially when it comes to children. So in March of 2020, many states locked

00:21:40.640 down, Republican and Democrat. Soon, however, that changed. It became partisan. Most Republican states

00:21:45.440 opened up, went back to school, took off masks, opened up businesses, and many Democrat states

00:21:51.140 did not. They mandated curfews. They issued lockdowns. They closed businesses. They enforced

00:21:56.080 mask wearing, et cetera. You guys know. You've lived it. And truly, to no avail. Over the last two years,

00:22:02.860 the blue states overall have not performed any better than the red states as far as cases and deaths go.

00:22:08.440 Some red states have done really poorly. Some blue states, like New York, have done really poorly.

00:22:13.180 For example, New York's seven-day average death rate right now was higher than it was last year,

00:22:18.700 despite New York City's vaccine mandate, despite the passport that's required for the vaccine in New

00:22:25.440 York City, despite the mandate for health care workers, despite all the restrictions put on schools

00:22:29.960 and businesses. Remember, last year, almost no one was vaccinated. We're seeing similar patterns

00:22:35.840 with countries around the world. Countries with very draconian laws and high vaccine numbers

00:22:40.600 still have high cases and high deaths. Australia, the country with some of the heftiest restrictions

00:22:46.160 in the world, it looks like a freaking police state right now, and very few exemptions allowed

00:22:51.720 for people for the vaccine. The cases have skyrocketed to an all-time high. We knew early on that lockdowns

00:22:59.320 were not helpful. We saw the data from the get-go. Even the WHO was not recommending full-on lockdowns.

00:23:06.100 We also knew early on that kids going to school in person needed to be a priority.

00:23:11.260 How did we know that? Because every other country in the world was prioritizing it, except for us.

00:23:17.640 And we saw right away the detriment to their mental health from remote learning.

00:23:22.700 Most countries in the world didn't even require masks for kids under 12. The WHO didn't recommend

00:23:28.320 them for kids under 6. What did the United States do? We required kids as young as 2,

00:23:34.180 in many cases, to wear masks. We knew that throwing kids already so impressionable at such an unstable,

00:23:42.220 unsure, vulnerable, hormonal for teenagers time in their lives, that they would have a hard time

00:23:49.460 adjusting to their world, being thrown for a loop. And so most people, conservatives in the United States

00:23:57.900 and a lot of different kinds of politically affiliated adults in other countries said,

00:24:04.800 no, kids are going back to schools and they shouldn't wear masks. In the U.S., we have this

00:24:10.580 scourge, this curse upon our land. And it's called the teachers' unions, who, no matter what they try to say

00:24:18.960 now, no matter how they try to memory hole, what they fought for and what they said and what they did

00:24:25.660 for the last two years, no matter how many New York Times articles and puff pieces are written about

00:24:32.600 Randy Weingarten and the teachers' unions, they fought to keep schools remote. Now, listen, I got to caveat

00:24:39.980 this. There are a ton of great public school teachers who wanted to teach in person. But the

00:24:48.320 teachers' unions in cities like Chicago and L.A. and in Arizona, they protested, they rallied, they fought

00:24:55.040 to keep schools closed. They staged fake funerals for themselves. They claimed they were going to die

00:25:00.120 if they had to go to school, despite the fact that millions of other people had continued to go in

00:25:04.740 person to their jobs for the entirety of the pandemic. But because Democrats are owned by the

00:25:10.340 teachers' unions and associations, they listened to them. So many Democrat-run districts stayed remote.

00:25:16.000 And what happened? Kids fell through the cracks. Child abuse numbers went up. Child suicide numbers

00:25:21.040 went up. IQ went down. Their aptitude in English and math went down. And what did we hear from the

00:25:26.480 teachers' unions and people on the left? Kids are resilient. How cruel. How cruel. So this began

00:25:33.400 to be a losing battle for the Democratic Party when they realized that even progressive parents in the

00:25:39.980 United States were starting to get upset about their seven-year-old sitting in front of a computer

00:25:44.840 screen all day. They realized that they needed to get kids back to school so they could be voted for

00:25:50.900 and win elections. So they kind of struck a deal. They said, OK, let's appease the teachers' unions,

00:25:57.120 which have us by the throat, and let's try to appease our voters who are starting to get a little

00:26:02.100 bit ornery about this whole thing. So they promised teachers the first round of the vaccine back when

00:26:08.640 it was rationed. They said, OK, teachers need to be safe. So you should get the shots first so we can

00:26:14.640 open up schools and everybody will be happy. We were told this would be the end of this whole thing.

00:26:19.940 Teachers got their shots. What happened? Well, we saw this fall an epic battle about masks.

00:26:26.720 We saw schools filled with teachers, filled with a vaccine that they said would protect them against

00:26:32.700 the virus, insist that everyone wear masks and continue to social distance. We know from the

00:26:39.460 reporting of David Zwick in New York Magazine first and then The Atlantic that the CDC studies

00:26:45.240 supporting mask wearing were completely misleading and that the data does not actually support the idea

00:26:50.620 that mask mandates in schools is actually mitigating the spread at all. And even if it did, this is my

00:26:58.780 commentary now, even if it did, who cares? Because the vaccinated teachers are theoretically protected

00:27:03.880 and there is a 0.001% chance of the kid even going to the hospital with COVID, much less dying from it.

00:27:12.340 I mean, that's from the health, the Department of Health and Human Services in the United States.

00:27:16.480 Okay, that's a real number. 0.001% chance of a kid even going to the hospital with COVID.

00:27:25.380 So why should we hinder kids' ability to socialize and communicate and learn a single bit with masks

00:27:31.960 when teachers are, as the unions insisted they should be, protected?

00:27:36.420 And let me just add to that with findings from a study from the UK government.

00:27:41.440 The study says, this particular study says that masks can mitigate the spread if masks are worn properly.

00:27:48.760 It does not talk about whether or not data shows that the mask mandates have actually been effective

00:27:54.020 in mitigating the spread more than other measures. They just said if worn properly, masks can mitigate

00:28:00.540 the spread, which I do think is true. The problem is the numbers do not show at all. If you look state

00:28:06.220 to state, school to school, that mandating masks actually has any effect whatsoever on case or death

00:28:11.480 rates. We've gone through that many, many times, but here's what the UK study says.

00:28:16.180 Quote, wearing face coverings may have physical side effects and impair face identification,

00:28:21.720 verbal and nonverbal communication between teacher and learner. This means there are downsides

00:28:26.700 to face coverings for pupils and students, including detrimental impacts on communication

00:28:31.160 in the classroom. A survey conducted by the Department for Education in April 2021 found

00:28:36.620 that almost all secondary leaders and teachers, 94%, thought that wearing face coverings has made

00:28:41.820 communication between teachers and students more difficult, with 59% saying it has made it a lot

00:28:47.860 more difficult. Research into the effect of mask wearing on communication has found that concealing

00:28:53.140 a speaker's lips led to lower performance, lower confidence scores, and increased perceived effort

00:28:58.300 on the part of the listener. Moreover, metacognitive monitoring was worse when listening in these

00:29:05.480 conditions compared with listening to an unmasked talker. A survey of impacts on communication with mask

00:29:11.540 wearing and adults reported that face coverings negatively impact hearing, understanding, engagement,

00:29:17.520 and feelings of connection with the speaker. People with hearing loss were impacted more than those

00:29:22.440 without hearing loss, of course, because they have to read lips in order to understand.

00:29:26.180 The inability to see facial expressions and to read lips have a major impact on speech understanding

00:29:33.040 for those with hearing impairments. The worse the hearing, the greater the impact of the mask.

00:29:37.140 The WHO reports that the wearing of masks by children with hearing loss or auditory problems may

00:29:41.200 present learning barriers or further challenges exacerbated by the need to adhere to the recommended

00:29:45.540 physical distancing. So sad. These children may miss learning opportunities because of the degraded speech

00:29:51.460 signal stemming from mask wearing, the elimination of lip reading and speaker expressions,

00:29:55.620 and physical distancing. So apparently this is a marginalized group that we just don't care about,

00:30:02.020 that we're allowing to go to the back burner because of our worship of these useless rules.

00:30:10.520 And then there's more on this and the effect of masks on children's ability to learn. There is this article

00:30:19.860 in the Daily Mail. COVID rules are blamed for 23% dive in young children's development. Disturbing

00:30:27.040 studies shows scores and three key cognitive tests slumped between 2018 and 2021 with face mask rules

00:30:33.600 among possible culprits. So this is a Brown University study that they are referring to that shows that

00:30:40.180 social distancing measures, including face masks, are suspected of causing young children's development

00:30:44.920 to have dropped by up to 23% during the COVID pandemic. Results showed the early learning composite

00:30:52.580 mean result dropped by a whopping 23% from a high of just under 100% in 2019 to around 80 to 2020 and

00:31:00.520 finally 77 in 2021. The verbal development quotient also dropped dramatically from an average of 100 in

00:31:07.220 2018 to just below 90 in 2020 and around 70 in 2021. The study concluded that children born during the pandemic

00:31:16.080 also have significantly reduced verbal, motor, and overall cognitive performance compared to children born

00:31:22.600 pre-pandemic. Of course, because if they are around caretakers who are wearing masks, they're unable to read lips,

00:31:29.520 they're unable to see facial expressions. Of course, that's going to be hindered. Conservatives have been saying this

00:31:35.580 for the past two years. And the American Academy of Pediatrics had the audacity, even though they know

00:31:40.880 the truth, had the audacity to tweet out a tweet thread a few months ago saying there's no evidence

00:31:45.840 that shows whatsoever that it's going to hinder cognitive ability or any kind of social emotional

00:31:52.080 development for children. The American Academy of Pediatrics had the audacity to say that.

00:31:57.740 We knew. We knew then and we know now. It's just amazing. When you disagree

00:32:03.460 with institutions like the American Academy of Pediatrics or the CDC, you're called a conspiracy

00:32:09.280 theorist, even when it's common sense, even when they know it to be true. And then when the record

00:32:14.060 is corrected and all the people who were called conspiracy theorists for disagreeing with those

00:32:18.560 institutions are vindicated, no one ever apologizes. It's pretty amazing. So conclusion, it's not worth it.

00:32:26.480 The mask is not saving their lives because for 99.999% of them, their life isn't at risk. So there's really

00:32:32.520 no reward for them wearing contaminated cloth masks to school. But now it's not just masks

00:32:37.740 that some teachers in the teachers unions are wanting to keep them safe. These vaccinated teachers.

00:32:44.720 Now there are districts that are wanting to close altogether again and go back to remote learning

00:32:49.600 because of Omicron, which is from all available data, more transmissible, but much more mild. It's

00:32:55.580 apparently escaping both natural immunity and vaccine immunity, but it typically amounts to the sniffles

00:33:01.240 for anyone who gets it, whether they have prior immunity or not. And yet the Chicago Teachers Union

00:33:07.800 is insisting on not showing up for work. So the Chicago Teachers Union back up to no good. So this

00:33:17.180 is what PBS says. Leaders of the nation's third largest school district canceled classes for a third

00:33:22.520 consecutive day as heated negotiations continued with the Chicago Teachers Union over remote learning and

00:33:29.160 other COVID-19 safety measures. And as we speak, apparently this closure is it's going into

00:33:36.040 this week. The union, which voted this week, this is last week, to revert to online instruction,

00:33:41.800 told teachers not to show up to schools starting Wednesday during the latest COVID-19 surge while

00:33:46.520 both sides negotiate. They serve roughly 350,000 students in this district. These are students from

00:33:54.300 predominantly poor communities in Chicago, by the way, many of whom come from one parent households

00:34:01.580 where the parent has to work. So what are they supposed to do? What are they supposed to do? These

00:34:06.340 little six, seven year old kids, they're forced to stay home by themselves all day. And no, that's not

00:34:11.840 saying that teachers are just babysitters. That's just the reality. That's the reality. Kids depend

00:34:17.280 on going to school. Yes, of course, for education, but also for food in some cases, for a welfare check.

00:34:23.720 Yes, that is part of the public education system. For all of the bads that exist in the public

00:34:28.300 education system, there are benefits, especially to the most marginalized and the most vulnerable

00:34:34.540 kids. Now, there are even liberals that are criticizing these unions to their credit. Leanna Nguyen,

00:34:41.960 who has been just a fierce advocate of all kinds of COVID restrictions and vaccine passports and

00:34:48.200 vaccine verification for domestic flights. She's also the foreign plan parenthood director,

00:34:53.600 and so we, I think, have a reason to question whether or not her ostensible concern for human

00:35:00.460 life is genuine. But she pointed out on Twitter that teachers were prioritized in line for the

00:35:06.800 vaccine so they could teach in person, which is absolutely true. That's a good point.

00:35:10.860 Nicole Hannah-Jones, the author of the 1619 Project, you know, broken clocks and all that

00:35:16.600 stuff, tweeted her disapproval of teachers refusing to teach when the vaccine is available to them.

00:35:24.440 Lori Lightfoot, Democratic mayor of Chicago, who in general does a very terrible job, is telling 1.00

00:35:29.620 teachers to go back to work, which I think is just a political ploy to pretend like she's actually 1.00

00:35:34.380 fighting with the teachers unions. I'm sure there's shady stuff going on behind the scenes, but

00:35:37.760 the city and this union are at least, from the outside, it looks like they are fighting right now

00:35:45.700 at the expense, again, of hundreds of thousands of children. I just, I don't understand. I don't

00:35:52.280 understand. I mean, I do. Teachers unions are corrupt, so that's how it is. But I mean, the science

00:35:59.420 is so obvious. The data is so readily available that the vaccine significantly lowers the chances of

00:36:06.640 serious illness. I mean, I think that the data shows that pretty well. It does not stop infection

00:36:12.500 or transmission. It looks like at all. But it seems to help people get less sick. Seems. Now,

00:36:18.680 I do know people who are vaccinated who have had a very serious case and lots and lots of unvaccinated

00:36:23.780 people who barely had a cold because, again, in general, the chances of anyone, no matter your

00:36:28.760 VAX status, getting serious illness is less than 1%. So the question stands, what is the problem here?

00:36:34.840 You're vaccinated. And if you're so pro-vaccine, prove it. Go out in public and do your job like

00:36:40.800 most people have been doing, a lot of people for the entirety of the past two years. Now, again,

00:36:48.620 most teachers don't feel this way or act this way. But most of the teachers unions do and many

00:36:54.840 teachers do within these teachers unions, unfortunately. Now, one silver lining is that

00:36:59.760 parents who can are going to pull their kids out. Bad news. Lots of parents can't. And they'll

00:37:06.100 be stuck with this lack of education for their kid who will fall further behind. Like, if you thought

00:37:10.800 that we had bad education and income gaps between the rich and the poor before, just wait till the

00:37:16.100 data comes out in 10 to 20 years that people with means are making sure their kid doesn't fall behind.

00:37:20.260 Of course, the single working mom doesn't have that option. And in some schools that are open, 1.00

00:37:24.980 teachers and administrators are so paranoid that kids are actually being forced to eat their lunch

00:37:31.020 outside in 38 degree weather. Like, I don't really, is that better that they're actually going to school

00:37:36.820 in-person learning, but they're being forced to eat outside? I don't know. So here's what this

00:37:43.580 article says in mynorthwest.com. Jodi Isaacson, she's a mom of kids at Lakeview Elementary School 0.99

00:37:50.980 in Kirkland, Washington. She is raising awareness about this, that her kids, her elementary school

00:38:00.860 kids are being forced to eat their lunch outside in 38 degree weather because apparently them eating

00:38:09.000 inside could potentially spread COVID germs because they'll have to take their masks off to eat. So

00:38:15.860 this article says, or Jodi Isaacson says, according to this article, our kids are political actors in

00:38:20.940 a show they don't want to be in, she added. So true. Great way to put that. When we are putting kids in

00:38:26.060 38 degree weather because we want to put on a show and pretend we're doing something about COVID,

00:38:30.060 it's just completely absurd. They only have 15 minutes for lunch. They have to socially distance while

00:38:35.840 eating. They're not allowed to speak in outside voices because apparently that contributes to the

00:38:40.740 spread of COVID. Now she posted, I believe this is the same woman who goes by the predicament on

00:38:49.080 Twitter. She posted an email that she got from the principal at this elementary school and she posted

00:38:57.880 the bottom part of it. We'll show the tweet if you're watching on YouTube. It says, on Sundays during

00:39:03.700 January through February, I will send a brief message indicating whether students will be eating

00:39:08.640 indoors due to frigid weather in the coming week. This week, students will remain eating outdoors as

00:39:13.540 temperatures are expected to be above 38 degrees. She signs off. Stay warm, Heather.

00:39:22.240 Stay warm? Oh my goodness. My, you know how I told you last year that I try really hard and I pray for

00:39:31.280 the strength of the Holy Spirit to help me not to cuss and certainly not to call people names that I

00:39:36.220 shouldn't call them. I'm trying. The Holy Spirit is working really hard and I'm trying really hard.

00:39:42.380 Stay warm, Heather. Stay warm, Heather. Are you kidding me? When kids are being forced to eat in 38 degree

00:39:50.180 weather? Stay warm, Heather. Oh, the audacity of this principle, guys. That is, I mean, it's cruel. It's cruel.

00:39:59.260 I don't know what else to call it. Heather Frazier is apparently the name of this woman. Oh my goodness. 0.96

00:40:07.160 This is how we treat children. This is how we treat children. I think the pandemic has shown us once and

00:40:11.980 for all that our society hates kids. Then there's also this article in the Daily Mail talking about how

00:40:21.120 the same thing is happening in New York City. In 39 degree weather, elementary school students are being

00:40:26.140 forced to eat their lunches outside. There was a Brooklyn mom who raised awareness about that 0.93

00:40:31.460 because they've been eating outside since August and apparently there is no, um, there is no sign of

00:40:37.820 stopping. Kids in Balmere, California are also being made to eat outside, which is not as bad, but

00:40:42.740 still like they shouldn't be allowed to eat inside. This is so unscientific and just nonsensical. I mean,

00:40:49.620 what are we doing here? What exactly are we doing here? Why are we sacrificing the well-being of kids

00:40:55.860 for the comfort of adults? Because we're cowards. That's why. Because we're coddled cowards. 0.96

00:41:03.100 Did y'all see the story out of Houston about the English teacher whose son was found in the trunk of 0.89

00:41:09.700 her car? She drove him to get a COVID test and she put him in the trunk. Okay, we're not just talking

00:41:16.940 about, we're talking about like a car, like it's enclosed. We're not just talking about in the very

00:41:21.700 back of the car, which would be irresponsible too, because he needs to be buckled up. We're talking

00:41:25.280 about enclosed. I'm, I'm pretty sure from the description, that's what it seems like. Um, I think

00:41:31.680 they would have probably specified if it wasn't because she said she wanted to limit her exposure 0.96

00:41:37.880 to the virus. She has been placed on administrative leave. I think she's talked to the police. I don't know

00:41:42.200 if she was arrested. I don't know that whole deal, but she put her own child into the trunk of her car 1.00

00:41:48.580 because she didn't want to get exposed to COVID. Can you imagine? Like when my kids get sick, I am

00:41:54.460 all up in their business. I don't care. It's snuggle. This is, this is part of the, this is part

00:41:59.660 of the deal. Snuggle time with mom on the couch for 12 hours a day until they get better. Cough in my

00:42:04.480 mouth. I don't care. It's my child. They're like extensions of me. If they got COVID, I would not do a

00:42:10.040 single thing to try to limit my exposure. That's what I signed up for. When I decided to become a

00:42:15.360 mom, I bear their burdens, whatever they are happily. But COVID has brought out the most psychotic

00:42:21.500 and selfish characteristics in people. And yet the same people, by the way, this is rich. The same

00:42:28.060 people forcing kids to sit in 40 degree weather, to eat their sandwiches and stuffing their preteens

00:42:32.600 into trunks of their car are the people who will call you selfish for not getting vaccinated.

00:42:37.820 Even though your vaccine scientifically has no effect on them at all. All of this that we are

00:42:44.860 doing and allowing for our kids is really affecting them. It's really affecting them and not just

00:42:50.500 academically. Kids are really struggling when it comes to mental health. This is according to the

00:42:54.640 New York Times, quote, among emergency department visits by girls ages 12 to 17 in early 2021, there was

00:43:01.800 a more than 50% increase in suspected suicide attempts compared with the same period in 2019.

00:43:06.940 In the first six months of this year, children's hospitals across the country reported a 45%

00:43:13.180 increase in the number of self-injury and suicide cases in 5 to 17-year-olds. 5 to 17-year-olds

00:43:20.140 compared with the same period in 2019. Now, this is according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

00:43:26.240 This study also had a lot of just political nonsense in it, but I thought this part was pertinent.

00:43:30.300 Quote, rates of childhood mental health concerns and suicide rose steadily between 2010 and 2020,

00:43:36.360 and by 2018, suicide was the second leading cause for death among death for youth ages 10 to 24.

00:43:43.500 The pandemic has intensified this crisis. Across the country, we have witnessed dramatic increases in

00:43:48.660 emergency department visits for all mental health emergencies, including suspected suicide attempts.

00:43:53.960 We have a responsibility as parents, as adults, as any adult, to help our kids and to help kids in

00:44:02.480 general have as stable and normal lives as possible. Your cloth mask, your kids' friends' cloth masks,

00:44:09.600 and your kids' teachers' cloth mask are doing very little to protect them from a virus that is far

00:44:14.880 less dangerous to them than getting in the car every day. Their remote learning is far more dangerous

00:44:20.120 to them holistically long-term than them going to school and possibly catching a cold. They're more

00:44:26.660 likely to die in a car wreck or from a host of other causes than they are from COVID. We really

00:44:31.820 need parents to understand this, to understand that the data behind mask mandates for schools is not at

00:44:36.340 all supportive, to understand that the risk of COVID to kids is extremely low. We really need to start

00:44:42.540 prioritizing the well-being of kids. It's just so ironic in an age where we're constantly focused on

00:44:47.140 mental health and therapy, how the mental health and well-being of kids seem to be pushed to the,

00:44:52.680 seems to be being pushed to the wayside. Parents of teenagers, I think we got to get our kids,

00:45:00.360 I mean, my kids aren't to this age, but kids got to get off TikTok and Tumblr and Instagram,

00:45:04.700 at least constantly. It's destroying their brains. Talk to them, make them go outside, read a book,

00:45:10.500 let them hang out with friends, take them to church with you. I know it's easier said than done. I know.

00:45:15.000 I don't have teenagers, but I've been a teenager. I know. But your child's mind is yours to steward.

00:45:22.320 You are still tasked with shaping them and influencing and teaching them while we still have time.

00:45:27.700 We talked about a couple of weeks ago, we're still 22 months closer to death than we were

00:45:33.620 when this pandemic started. That's true for kids too. Their childhood is wasting away. They get one

00:45:39.180 childhood, one chance at all of this. Parents, unfortunately, though, continue to isolate their kids

00:45:45.900 and act in paranoia when the CDC releases statements like kids with COVID are more likely

00:45:52.840 to then be diagnosed with diabetes. And so parents understandably freak out. But let's think about this.

00:45:59.560 Like what kind of kids are likely to get really sick with COVID? Obese kids. What kind of kids are 1.00

00:46:04.520 also likely to be diagnosed with diabetes? Obese kids. Also, it doesn't help that we're telling

00:46:10.820 people to stay inside by themselves, thereby encouraging unhealthy weight gain. Also, viruses

00:46:15.560 in general can cause other diseases like diabetes. So it's possible, but it's not reason for parents

00:46:22.260 to live in more paranoia. Or how about our wise sage Justice Sotomayor, who said on Friday in the hearing

00:46:34.080 about the vaccine mandate, that 100,000 children are in the hospital for COVID, many of whom are on

00:46:39.000 ventilators. We'll fact check that in just one second. So PolitiFacts actually corrected

00:46:46.320 Sonia Sotomayor, which is amazing because they're left wing. They fact checked what she said. They said, 0.69

00:46:52.680 no, no, the number is actually about 3,000 of pediatric hospitalizations with COVID,

00:46:58.540 which means many of those are incidental, meaning they're in the hospital for something else.

00:47:03.560 And they happen to test positive. Okay, so that's not 3,000 kids, which is a tiny, tiny,

00:47:09.880 tiny, tiny fraction of the number of kids in the United States. The vast majority of that tiny number,

00:47:17.500 respectively, is not, they're not there because of COVID. It's incidental. They happen to have COVID

00:47:24.780 and they're there for something else. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, and she is pretty

00:47:30.100 consistently, she's pretty consistently factless and a fear monger about this. But she even fact 0.64

00:47:39.420 checked Sonia Sotomayor on Fox News Sunday. And she said, no, we don't even know of a single child

00:47:47.600 on a ventilator right now. She also reiterated that 3,000 number, that it's 3,000 kids who just happen

00:47:53.720 to be COVID positive and none on ventilators. And she also, so on Fox News Sunday, this is a different

00:48:01.160 than the pediatric conversation. She was asked by Brett Baer, how many of the people who the CDC

00:48:08.220 says have died from COVID, over 800,000 now, how many people died with COVID and how many people

00:48:16.100 actually died of COVID? That is a distinction with a difference. And she said that data is forthcoming.

00:48:21.840 So she didn't say, she didn't actually push back or say, no, no, no, these are all people who died

00:48:28.440 of COVID. I mean, we've known this for a long time, but once again, called conspiracies theorists for

00:48:32.960 saying that. I'm not saying that those 800,000 people who died, that they're not significant,

00:48:37.800 or it doesn't matter, or that any number of people who actually died of COVID, that that's not

00:48:42.920 significant. But doesn't that make a big difference? If this is affecting policy that is then affecting

00:48:47.880 people, especially children, like, doesn't it matter if the real number is 200,000 people

00:48:53.860 who died actually of COVID, or 100,000 people versus 800,000? I mean, that changes the calculation

00:49:01.500 a little bit, doesn't it? I mean, even with the 800,000, that still puts the death rate very, very,

00:49:06.400 very low. But if it's even lower than that, I mean, again, like, what are we all doing here?

00:49:11.920 That's the director of the CDC, not willing to say how many people have actually died of COVID

00:49:18.100 versus people who died of a million other things, heart attack, cancer, whatever, and just happened

00:49:22.080 to also test positive for COVID. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And now people are also trying to call out

00:49:28.900 Justice Gorsuch on the Supreme Court, who, according to a transcript, said the flu kills hundreds of

00:49:36.400 thousands of people a year. He was saying this in an effort to make his point. But he actually didn't

00:49:41.440 say that. If you listen to the audio, he said the flu kills hundreds, thousands of people a year.

00:49:49.460 It was a transcript error. But people on the left on Twitter were freaking out about this

00:49:54.900 misinformation and how it's so terrible, how it's so unprofessional. They didn't have anything to say

00:49:59.720 about Sotomayor grossly misconstruing the pediatric hospitalization rate. Because I've realized that

00:50:09.440 COVID fear mongers, they don't actually care about misinformation. They care about information

00:50:16.400 they don't like, whether it's untrue information or true information. They just get angry about

00:50:22.180 anything that doesn't finish their narrative. But if a lie helps them achieve their end, then they don't

00:50:28.040 really care whether or not it's true. The flu actually does, by the way, kill tens of thousands

00:50:33.720 of people every year. So I think that's significant. Sotomayor said a lot of other

00:50:38.240 things that weren't true, as did Justice Kagan. Blatant misinformation about the vaccine's ability

00:50:43.180 to end the virus and stop the spread. That's just false. It's just a lie. The data just doesn't

00:50:48.820 show that, especially now. Sotomayor also said that human beings are just machines that spew sparks,

00:50:54.860 I guess implying that we have to do whatever possible to control them. Now, this is the same

00:50:59.460 woman who said in the recent abortion Dobbs case that just because a baby moves does not mean that

00:51:04.400 she can feel pain. And even if she can feel pain, it doesn't mean she's alive. So, I mean, she's not

00:51:10.260 the smartest lady. I think everyone kind of knows that. It's almost a running joke. But she does 1.00

00:51:14.960 perfectly represent the secular progressive view of human beings, just clumps of cells to be regulated

00:51:20.080 by the government. The Christian worldview stands opposed to that. We are all people made in God's image.

00:51:26.800 Therefore, in my view, in the founder view, we are entitled to certain inalienable rights

00:51:32.540 that predate and supersede any government power. That includes the right to live, to work, to provide

00:51:40.780 for your family. I think that worldview also tells us that people are more than just machines spewing

00:51:47.640 sparks, that children are more than just sacrifices on the altar of adults' paranoia and progressive

00:51:58.380 whims. It means that there are people who matter, whose futures matter, whose lives, whose minds,

00:52:05.540 whose hearts and souls matter. And that's the whole debate that we have been having over the past couple

00:52:10.980 of years. It seems like we are, I mean, we are having a clash of worldviews, whereas one side seems to

00:52:17.140 only care about what a virus can do to your body. It doesn't at all care about the rest of the needs

00:52:23.400 that human beings have, their emotional needs, their spiritual needs. You need to be able to

00:52:27.520 fellowship. You need to be able to worship. You need to be able to congregate. You need to be able to

00:52:32.200 work. You need to be able to access entertainment. All of these things are good parts of life that are

00:52:38.600 necessary for human fulfillment. We are not just bodies. We are not just machines.

00:52:44.580 There are things to fear. In addition to death, there are things that are worse than dying,

00:52:51.340 believe it or not. The Christian worldview informs us of that. As people made in the image of God,

00:52:57.040 we have souls. We understand that we have needs to be met that are not just physical. The physical

00:53:03.620 matters, absolutely, but so do the rest of us. And gosh, we have forgotten that, especially as it

00:53:08.980 pertains to children. So we've got to be courageous. We've got to be clear on all things, but especially

00:53:14.700 on this, because we're seeing the detriment. We're seeing the consequences. And I think that the church

00:53:20.580 needs to be so crystal clear and brave when it comes to this particular subject. People aren't

00:53:27.320 standing up for kids, and so we have to. All right. There's more that I want to talk about, but it's already

00:53:33.080 run long, ran long. What did I say? I think I said runned, or maybe I said rung. I don't know what I

00:53:40.620 was trying to say. This has already run long, is what I was trying to say. And so, I mean, it's just

00:53:47.860 it's Monday. I guess I just, there's a lot. There's a lot that's going on in my head. So you'll have to

00:53:53.920 be gracious with me and some of the tongue-tie that I've experienced today in this super long

00:54:02.140 episode. But I hope you enjoyed it. We're back with a vengeance. We'll be back tomorrow talking

00:54:05.960 about other super important things. If you would, just start out the new year. Please be so kind as

00:54:10.780 to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts if you like the show. And please, if you'd like,

00:54:16.020 share this podcast with someone you know that would love it. Thank you guys so much for listening or

00:54:21.240 watching. I will be back here tomorrow.

Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - January 10, 2022

Ep 545 ｜ A Call to Courage in an Age of Liars, Cowards & Fools

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