In this riveting episode of Washington Watch, host Jody Heiss fills in, bringing you thought-provoking discussions from leaders and newsmakers. The episode kicks off with a critical look at President Trump’s executive order to revive the Department of War, exploring its significance in today’s global context. Congresswoman Claudia Tenney joins the conversation, offering her insights on the geopolitical implications and what it means for U.S. strength and international relations.
SPEAKER 02 :
Part of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today’s host, Jody Heiss.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, good afternoon and welcome to this Friday, September 5th edition of Washington Watch. I am Jody Heiss, Senior Fellow here at the Family Research Council and your Friday host. So glad that you’ve joined us today. All right, coming up on the program today, we want to start right here. It was first the Gulf of America. Now we’re looking at the Department of War.
SPEAKER 16 :
We’ve been talking about this Department of War. So we won the First World War. We won the Second World War. We won everything before that and in between. And then we decided to go woke and we changed the name to Department of Defense. So we’re going Department of War. I think it’s a much more appropriate name, especially in light of where the world is right now.
SPEAKER 11 :
That was President Trump literally just a few moments ago, and I’ll discuss this development in just a couple more minutes when I’m joined by New York Congresswoman Claudia Tenney. She is a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. And she and I will also discuss this comment that was made yesterday by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the consequences of nations making proclamations recognizing a Palestinian state which includes the Israeli government inching ever closer toward annexing Judea and Samaria, which, of course, is the area that some people refer to as the West Bank.
SPEAKER 17 :
We told them that if they did this, they went through with this thing. There wasn’t going to be a Palestinian state because that’s not the way a Palestinian state is going to happen because they have a press conference somewhere. And we told them that it would lead to these sort of reciprocal actions and it would make a ceasefire harder.
SPEAKER 11 :
Secretary Rubio’s statement there came while French President Emmanuel Macron prepares to formally recognize a Palestinian state at the U.N. later this month. And so we’ll be talking about that here in just a moment with Congresswoman Tenney. And then in domestic news, Texas is now poised to become the strongest state in America to crack down on the trafficking of abortion drugs. And Texas State Representative David Spiller will be joining me a little bit later in the program to talk about a bill that passed the Texas legislature this week. And could that potentially be a blueprint for other states? We’ll talk about it. And then in case you missed it, NBC actually issued a correction on its reporting regarding the Minneapolis church shooter. But what was their mistake? Well, they told the truth. Wow. I’ll discuss this when I’m joined later in the program by Joshua Arnold from the Washington Stand. And then to close out the program today, Dr. George Barna will join me to talk about his latest report on American worldview. We’ll talk about questions like whether or not Americans believe in sin. What do they believe about sin? Do they believe we’re all sinners? Well, Stay tuned. You might be surprised by the findings in that report. We’ll unpack it all for you today as the program unfolds. The website TonyPerkins.com in case you miss any portion of it. A lot of resources there available for you. Better yet, I encourage you to download the Stand Firm app. where we not only have this program, but the Washington Stand, and so, so much more available for you. Text APP to 67742 to get your Stand Firm app. And also, don’t forget, this coming fall, our PrayVote Stand Summit will be taking place in Chino Hills, California, October 17th and 18th. You right now can get a discount, a savings of $30 off the Summit package. Text the word or use the special code, the word FALL, and you can find out more information and register and so forth by going to the website PrayVoteStand.org. And don’t forget that special code FALL for your discount. All right, now let’s jump into our first item for today. As I mentioned just a few moments ago, President Trump has signed an executive order that will bring back the Defense Department’s former name, Department of War. So that will now be a secondary title. It means just, for example, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would also now be known as the Secretary of War. So what does that message send not only to our nation but across the world, especially to our enemies? Well, with me now to discuss this and more is Congresswoman Claudia Tenney. She serves on several committees, including the Select Committee on Intelligence. She represents New York’s 24th Congressional District. Congresswoman Tenney, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always an honor to have you.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, great to be on.
SPEAKER 11 :
Okay, so this is just the latest name change the president has initiated. There was, first of all, the Gulf of America. So what do you think about this latest move?
SPEAKER 15 :
Look, I think the president is looking at everything. I don’t think it’s semantics. It’s about projecting power. And I think the president knows that we have real enemies around the world, especially as you see China working together with Putin and with Russia and India. And, you know, we have real threats around the world and he wants to be aggressive. He wants to project this strength, not project a defensive posture, which is the way he described it. And I think he’s just trying to show that we’re going to be the dominant leader and we’re going to lead the way when it comes to peace as well. President Trump wants to lead the peace negotiations for various parts of the world, which he has been doing admirably, which is among the reasons why I’m still the only member of Congress who has officially filled out the form properly with the Nobel Committee to nominate President Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize twice now, ironically, because I think his projection of strength also means that we will have no wars because we know that the United States is the world’s leader and is benevolent, and we’re trying to find prosperity with all of our neighbors and nations around the world.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, there’s no doubt the strength that is communicated from that. And notably, at Congress, we’ve got a couple of senators, I believe Rick Scott and Mike Lee, have filed some legislation for the name change. Also in the House, Greg Stubbe. Do you think there’s enough support in the House and the Senate to get this through?
SPEAKER 15 :
You know, I’m not sure what other members are saying. This is relatively new. We left Congress, so there wasn’t enough of a discussion. But we overwhelmingly passed Gulf of America instead of Gulf of Mexico. So I would say that people would probably want to support something that was definitely strong. I don’t know about the Democrats. I’m sure there are probably some libertarian-leaning people who are— labeled as Republicans for purposes of getting elected may not like it because they’re against any kind of foreign intervention. We have a few of those in our side too. But I would caution everyone, you know, this is what our founders named it, you know, the Department of War. And we created the federal government in the first place back when we created the Department of War for national defense and border security. And the president is a leader on all those issues. So I think that’s among the reasons that President Trump wants to change the mindset of people to show that we are willing to stand up and defend ourselves and defend our allies.
SPEAKER 11 :
If I can switch gears with you, yesterday, I’m sure you heard this, even intro in the program, but Secretary of State Rubio yesterday was in Ecuador, and he was asked by a reporter whether or not the U.S. supports or accepts moves by members of the Israeli government towards annexing the region known as Judea and Samaria, or some call it the West Bank. And he said that this should really be expected when you have decisions from some other Western nations who want to recognize a Palestinian state. What’s your thoughts?
SPEAKER 15 :
I think it’s excellent that Marco Rubio is allowing these annexations to happen at this point. This is just Israel, you know, making sure that it’s taking control over the region that is its native homeland, Judea and Samaria. I have a bill out there that would actually refer to Judea and Samaria by all official documents in the United States. as Judea and Samaria, not the West Bank, which is the pejorative name for those who are still clinging to this two-state solution. You know, I have to tell you, Jodi, I was just recently in Israel for 10 days. I met with a number of Arab sheikhs, four of the eight that we were intended to meet with. Some of them couldn’t get there because of the Palestinian Authority and its corruption. And they described that very thing. They don’t want the Palestinian Authority. They want to actually have Israeli security. They want to be viewed more as an emirate, a successful style of government for Arab nations that has worked instead of forcing our type of government on them. They want the security of Israel. They want the citizenship of Israel, but they want to be an emirate so they can have some autonomy. But one thing they said, they specifically reject the Palestinian Authority. They describe them as corrupt and criminals. And they also said the reason they want to do this is they want to live in peace and prosperity with their neighbors, whether they’re Jewish or Christian or other Muslims. And they want to see the opportunity for the world and for their children and their grandchildren. Really a novel concept, something that was interesting. We met with Sheikh Al-Jabra, or Wadi Jabra, who is one of the sheikhs from Hebron who supported this idea. He recently penned an article in the Wall Street Journal supporting those. And by the way, is under threat because of this groundbreaking and novel approach that he has. So I think the world is changing and people are tired of the failed so-called notion of the Palestinian Authority. The two-state solution is, to me, dead. It should not be advanced. And it is wrongheaded of France and other nations who are actually coming to the UN to talk about this. We need to start talking about one Israel that is united and everyone is united is the only democracy in the Middle East. It is the only place where every member of Israel, every person that lives in Israel that is a citizen has rights to vote, has rights to everything that you would have to be a peaceful and prosperous nation, only to be ruined by this concept of the Palestinian Authority, which has just proven it hasn’t worked.
SPEAKER 11 :
I extremely well said, and I couldn’t agree with you more. And that’s what amazes me about this. The people there want Israel to stay where they are in this whole concept of two-state solution and recognition of Palestinian state. Don’t you think that also in the mix of all this emboldens actually Hamas and it hurts the ceasefire negotiations there? Don’t you think that that’s a part of the problem here too?
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, absolutely. The minute France declared a two-state solution, Hamas pulled out of the negotiations, and we’re back to hostages that are being starved to death. We’re back to Hamas blocking up to 90% of the aid that Israel and others are trying to get into the Gaza Strip. The problem is Hamas is funded by Iran, an evil empire that really preys on its own citizens. They are not interested in peace. They’re disruptors around the Middle East. They want power and control by terrorism. It doesn’t work. And there are even other allies in the Middle East, like Saudi Arabia and others, are supporting us. And interesting, these Arab sheikhs in Hebron and in parts of Judea and Samaria, they want to join the Abraham Accords. They want to be part of the peace process, a novel concept created by Donald Trump in his first term, which is the main reason that I nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize twice now, is this is another look and a way of understanding what the people really want on the ground i mean it was a unique opportunity to meet with these arab sheikhs in person obviously it was under secured setting because they’re worried about exposing this false palestinian uh narrative that says that we have to have a two-state solution in order to have peace in the middle east they don’t agree with that they’re on the ground they want to see Israel provide the security. They want democratic principles. They want the security and the ability to thrive in their own way as they do in somewhat of a tribal way through an Emirates example and having some autonomy within the state of Israel. And it’s really an incredible concept. And I think it’s something that could work It certainly is much more appealing than what we’ve seen with the failed so-called two-state solution, with the pretend idea that we’re going to have a Palestinian state while you can have Israel. As everyone knows, and as has been stated, I think it was Golda Meir, if Israel were laid on its arms, there would be no Israel. If Hamas and the proxies and Iran would lay down its arms, we would have peace. And that’s exactly what these people are recognizing. They would like what they’re seeing.
SPEAKER 11 :
Congresswoman Claudia Tinney, always, always great to have you on Washington. Thank you for joining us. All right. Coming up next, Texas is poised to become the strongest state in our country, cracking down on drug abortions pills. Stay tuned. We’ll cover it next.
SPEAKER 08 :
Three years ago, the Supreme Court issued its historic Dobbs decision, a ruling that overturned Roe versus Wade, which for nearly 50 years imposed abortion on demand, silencing voters and bypassing the democratic process across the country. The Dobbs decision was a huge step forward against abortion, but it didn’t outright ban it. It returned the power to the people. Now, 29 states have laws on the books protecting life. However, there’s a catch. Abortion numbers since Dobbs have actually gone up with an increase of 12% since 2020, climbing from 930,000 to over 1 million in each of the most recent years. So how can this be? The answer is simple. The abortion drug. Today, over 60% of US abortions involve abortion drugs, many of these without medical oversight. In 2021, the Biden administration quietly removed bare minimum longstanding safety protocols for the abortion drug that have existed for 20 years to protect women from life-threatening risks and ensuring informed consent. The Biden DOJ then declared that they would not enforce the Comstock Act, which prevents the mailing of anything that causes an abortion. This is not only illegal, but also dangerous. A study shows nearly 11% of women who take the abortion drug end up in the emergency room with serious complications. Unless the Trump administration reverses these reckless Biden-era policies, pro-life laws will remain largely symbolic. Without a full review and repeal of Mifepristone, unborn lives will remain in grave danger, and pregnant mothers will remain at risk. Let’s stand for life and end this mail order abortion drug pipeline. Sign the petition urging the Trump administration to take action at frc.org slash stop chemical abortion.
SPEAKER 13 :
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory. Family Research Council invites you to join our Stand on the Word Bible reading plan as we reflect upon the life of Jesus, the Word who dwelt among us. Come with us and discover the glory of the Word. Read the Gospels and witness the life-changing story of Jesus, His life, death, and resurrection. Come read how Jesus transformed the lives of common people and how those same people transformed the known world through the power of the Holy Spirit. Come with us for 10 to 15 minutes a day and read the entire New Testament before the new year. Find our Bible reading plan in daily devotionals from Tony Perkins at frc.org slash Bible. Join us in Stand on the Word.
SPEAKER 11 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m your Friday host, Jody Heiss. Thank you so much for joining us today. All right, on Wednesday of this week, the Texas legislature passed a bill to crack down on the trafficking of abortion drugs into the state of Texas. It’s known as the Woman and Child Protection Act, also known as HB7. But catch this, this bill allows citizens of Texas to sue abortion drug companies and activists who illegally kill pre-born babies, even if those individuals are hiding in other states. Well, now the bill is heading to the desk of Governor Greg Abbott for his signature. And the question is, how significant is this bill? And with me now to discuss it is Texas State Representative David Spiller. He represents the 68th District of Texas. Representative Spiller, welcome to Washington Watch. Thank you so much for joining us.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thank you for having me, Jody.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right, I gave a quick little summary of the bill, but what more can you tell us about it?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, the bill was filed in the regular session. In Texas, we have a regular session. And then if there’s some other things that we didn’t get done and the governor wants to address, he can call us back into special session. So here, there were a number of things that we dealt with in the special session, including first and foremost, the flooding and the issues that happened in Texas Hill Country, Central Texas. We also took up congressional redistricting. But there were several other matters that were on the governor’s call, including this idea that we need to ban these abortion pills in Texas. And so I’m pleased and proud that Governor Abbott put that on the call. I’m pleased and proud that the chair, Representative Jeff Leach, did a fantastic job with this bill. And I want to thank Speaker Dustin Burroughs for ensuring that this thing got across the finish line.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, this really is a big, big deal. It’s obviously a very serious issue, probably a much bigger issue than some people realize. As I understand, there’s some 19,000 abortion drug orders that are trafficked into Texas from other states and perhaps even other countries each year. That’s a lot. That’s probably a lot more than some people might think. What are you hearing—
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, I’ve seen some data and it was actually reported by the Texas Tribune, which is not known for for being a conservative voice. But they even identified on average about twenty eight hundred women receive this drug or people in Texas receive this each month. So, you know, by my math, that’s over thirty three thousand of these a year. And that’s an unreal.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, so all right, that’s almost, doubles the number that I had seen. And who knows where all this is coming from. But the point is, this is a huge, huge issue. I think probably much bigger than most people realize. So what is the, not so much from the legislature, but from the people of Texas themselves? Are you hearing from your constituents? What are you hearing? Are they supportive of this piece of legislation?
SPEAKER 04 :
My constituents are extremely supportive of it. Of course, not everyone, but the vast majority are supportive of it. Because in Texas, we believe that abortion is wrong. And the Bible tells us that. Certainly, that’s our core principles and beliefs. that it’s wrong and it’s like, well, how many times do we have to ban it? But there was a loophole here, not really a loophole, but people taking advantage of the law and taking advantage of a situation to still kill children, unborn children. But also, this poses a grave danger to to women because they’re doing this and they’re receiving this without any exam, without any blood work, without any follow up, without anything whatsoever. And and there’s a huge danger that that women can hemorrhage, that they can get sepsis, that they can die, that they can bleed out. And and we know that that’s happening. And the other thing is, unfortunately, we have certain instances where people have had gotten this and unknowingly to the mother, given this to the mother where she has taken this and lost a child because of it. And so this drug needs to be stopped. And I’m pleased and proud that Texas has stepped up and done the right thing. And I appreciate also the way that it’s structured, not to make it completely legal under the Dobbs case, but under the 10th Amendment, but also under the key TAM action that’s allowed for individuals to seek recourse rather than the state or prosecutors or creating a criminal offense, it provides a civil remedy within which to accomplish what needs to be done.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, we’re really proud of this, too. And it is such a dangerous drug, obviously, to the baby, but to the mother. I’m so glad you brought that up. We have dealt with that over and over and over on this program. So do you think this soon-to-be law in Texas could potentially become a blueprint for other states across the country?
SPEAKER 04 :
I think so. It’s a fairly detailed bill. But when some bills, when you read them, they’re kind of patterned just for Texas or the bills I read and are just for our statutes. This bill could be adopted by any state. Any state could do this same exact thing. And, you know, as a co-author to the bill, working with Representative Leach, I certainly hope that that happens. I hope that that occurs because Texas needs to lead the way. We feel that we do in many respects lead. There are a lot of bills that we have done and done recently that I feel like have set an example for other states in our country. But certainly this is one of those bills that needs to be followed by other states.
SPEAKER 11 :
Absolutely. So once this is signed by Governor Abbott, when will it take effect?
SPEAKER 04 :
I believe I’ll have to look at that. I should have checked. I don’t know if it’s most of the time it’s 90 days after it’s signed. I think that’s probably the case unless you have two thirds vote. We didn’t have two thirds vote. The Democrats in the Texas House didn’t care much for this bill. We even had a couple of Republicans that didn’t vote for it, but we didn’t get that two thirds. So that means generally you have to wait 90 days after the governor signs it. So I anticipate, therefore, just in the interest of lives saved, the governor is going to want to sign this one pretty quickly. Wow.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thank you so much, Texas State Representative David Spiller. It’s always great to have you on. And again, thank you for your leadership. Thank you for the leadership of your colleagues there in Texas, a standing firm to deal with this horrible, horrible problem of these abortion drugs being trafficked across our country. Thank you for joining us today on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thank you for having me. And thank you also, Jody, you do a great job, but also for bringing this to the attention of the American people.
SPEAKER 11 :
Our pleasure. Thank you, sir. God bless. All right. By the way, we here at FRC, we have a petition, a petition calling on the Trump administration to restore and strengthen the FDA safety standards for the abortion drug. We’re asking them to direct the Department of Justice specifically to enforce the CompStack Act and to protect states’ rights on all of this. You can sign the petition. We urge you. To come on board, sign the petitions. Text the word LIFE. Text LIFE to 67742. All right, coming up, I’ll discuss a correction made by NBC News, and they were correcting the truth. More on that right after the break.
SPEAKER 20 :
Download the new StandFirm app for Apple and Android phones today. You can join a wonderful community of fellow believers. We’ve created a special place for you to access news from a biblical perspective. Read and listen to daily devotionals, pray for current events, and more. Share the Stand Firm app with your friends, family, and church members. And of course, stand firm wherever you go.
SPEAKER 01 :
At Family Research Council, defending the family isn’t just a mission, it’s our daily calling. Every team member at FRC uses their God-given talents to stand for biblical truth, protect life, and uphold religious freedom.
SPEAKER 05 :
Here at Family Research Council, we face many threats to the family, threats that have been with us for some time. Abortion, the gender ideology threat, the attacks on marriage, the attacks on parental authority, and the attacks on religious freedom. We have to promote, support, strengthen, and incentivize family growth so families take their place in society in a place of honor.
SPEAKER 14 :
I’m defending the family by working in the Center for Biblical Worldview to provide cutting edge research and resources for pastors, ministry leaders, and Christian parents.
SPEAKER 09 :
Through my work at the Washington Stand, I passionately defend what God has defined for marriage and family. I don’t see the Washington Stand as just a place to talk about cultural events. It’s a place to share biblical truth. It’s a perfect outlet to advance and defend what God has defined as good, true, and beautiful.
SPEAKER 08 :
Because of you, we’re able to frame things in such a way that help Christians stand for truth on the things that matter most, like life, faith, family, and freedom.
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SPEAKER 11 :
Good afternoon and welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m your Friday host, Jody Heiss. Glad to have you on board with us. All right. We all know about how various media outlets will occasionally at least publish corrections when they get things wrong. Well, I guess when you consider how the left has turned so many things upside down, I suppose, frankly, we should not be all that surprised when the legacy media actually issues a correction when they get something right. But that’s exactly what happened when NBC referred to the gunman behind the recent Minneapolis shooting as a he and then later apologized because that biological male was gender confused. Amazing. So what does this incident tell us? Well, with me to discuss this is Joshua Arnold. Joshua is a senior writer at the Washington Stand. Joshua, thank you so much for joining me. Great to have you with us.
SPEAKER 12 :
Hi, Judy. I’m really happy to be here. This is such a crazy story.
SPEAKER 11 :
Crazy story. I’m glad you said it first. So let’s just start. Remind us, if you will, about the gunman’s state of mind as it relates to his gender.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, the police identified that this young man was, in fact, a man. He had been living, identifying as a woman or at least as transgender in some ways. He legally changed his name from a masculine name to a more gender neutral name at the age of 17. And his parents consented to that name change. But in some of his writings, he said that he regretted his transition. He knew that he could never be a woman. And yet you have so many of the legacy media outlets using female pronouns to describe him, referring to him as a woman. In the case of NBC, they referred to him as a man and then corrected the article and said, oh, he actually, or she, they said, used female pronouns. Well, maybe he did at one point, but he was confused. And now your audience is too.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, and that’s what is so crazy about this. Even as you said, the police identified this as a male. Do we have any reason from NBC for the correction? Why did they go back on reality?
SPEAKER 12 :
You know, it’s not really clear. As you showed the picture of the correction there, it was very bare bones and brief. One reason might be that the guidelines from the Associated Press, the editorial guidelines that kind of govern how most major news organizations style their papers, requires sites to use preferred pronouns. We don’t do that here at the Washington Stand. There’s some some other sites that are more loyal to biological reality than to what the AP says. The AP is really far left. Another reason just could be that NBC knows their audience and they know that their left wing audience expects this and demands it of them. They’ll get in trouble from the scolds over on Blue Sky if they don’t use preferred pronouns. And so instead of sticking with the truth, they decided to instead tell their audience what their itching ears wanted to hear.
SPEAKER 11 :
That is exactly what the issue is. Veer away from the truth so that you give people what they want to hear rather than what is true. Wow. You know, we’re singling out here NBC, Joshua, but in truth here with our discussion, they certainly were not alone in caving into this false narrative. There were others out there doing the same thing, weren’t they?
SPEAKER 12 :
Absolutely. Almost every story I’ve read from a mainline site refers to the shooter as a woman, which would be surprising because mass shooters are very rarely female. And in fact, it wasn’t true in this case. He was a man, but many of them had. I have been pleasantly surprised to see some that used to follow preferred pronoun guidelines seem to be moving away from that thing. Sites like Fox News and the New York Post seem to be moving away from that. But typically, you’ll only find it among your most conservative news outlets that they will use biologically true pronouns. Sites like the Daily Wire, the Washington Stand, other sites like that.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, and you would think it’s the job of reporting to just report truth and let people deal with it, learn from it, but you’re there to report. So the point here is not to stigmatize anyone, but our culture needs to be confronted for denying reality, which certainly has consequences in the long run. And you are a journalist, outstanding journalist. Isn’t it, like I was just saying, the job of a journalist to report fact and not fiction?
SPEAKER 12 :
That’s right. If reporters aren’t reporting fact, what purpose are they really serving? That’s our job is I research what happened and then present a shortened true version of that so that other people can learn what happened without having to do all the same research I did themselves. And if I don’t do that reliably, then people can’t trust what I say. And that’s what we’ve seen with the mainstream media. over time is the amount of Americans that trust media is in the tank. It’s right above Congress in Gallup’s latest survey. You’ve got Congress’s lowest and the mainstream media is after that and everything else is higher. Only about a a third of Americans actually trust the media. But more than just it being the responsibility of reporters to tell the truth, it’s also the responsibility of Christians. We need to tell the truth, confront people that this is not true, that these people living a transgender lifestyle are hurting themselves by not living life in the way God intended.
SPEAKER 11 :
Everything you just said there, Joshua, needs to be communicated to those who produce the media as well as those who consume the media. The job is to tell the truth, and I want to thank you for the incredible you do and all of you at the Washington stand. Joshua Arnold, senior writer with the Washington stand, thank you for joining us today. Thank you, J.D. All right, on the other side of the break, George Barna will join me to talk about Americans’ view about sin and absolute truth. You don’t want to miss this. Stay tuned.
SPEAKER 06 :
Family Research Council is committed to advancing faith, family, and freedom from the East Coast to the West. So FRC is going to Southern California for this year’s Pray, Vote, Stand Summit, October 17th and 18th at Calvary Chapel, Chino Hills. Join us for this powerful gathering of Christians desiring cultural renewal and spiritual revival. The Pray, Vote, Stand Summit brings together Christian leaders, issue experts, and government officials for a time of prayer, inspiration, and action. Together, we will seek God’s guidance for our nation and engage in meaningful discussions on the intersection of faith, government, and culture. If the spiritual foundations and the cultural walls of our nation are to be rebuilt, we all have a role to play. May we each find our place on the wall as we build for biblical truth. Register now at PrayVoteStand.org. That’s PrayVoteStand.org.
SPEAKER 03 :
Jennifer, it’s so exciting to be here with you today talking about our new book, Embracing God’s Design. Who is actually going to benefit from reading this book in your view?
SPEAKER 07 :
There are so many different audiences that can benefit. The first one are counselors themselves, because we have some material in there where we really address the gender dysphoria diagnosis and what is wrong with it. We have information for people who are wanting to go back to embracing God’s design for their life.
SPEAKER 03 :
This is really magical to have the therapist and the individual who suffered come together and write about why this is happening and why we’re seeing this.
SPEAKER 07 :
And we brought all of that experience to the table. We want to see people walking in the fullness of who God has called them to be and not a false identity.
SPEAKER 03 :
Order today at embracethedesign.com.
SPEAKER 10 :
How should Christians think about the thorny issues shaping our culture? How should Christians address deceitful ideas like transgenderism, critical theory, or assisted suicide? How can Christians navigate raising children in a broken culture, the war on gender roles, or rebuilding our once great nation? Outstanding is a podcast from The Washington Stand dedicated to these critical conversations. Outstanding seeks to tear down what our corrupt culture lifts up with an aim to take every thought and every idea captive to the obedience of Christ. Whether policies or partisan politics, whether conflict in America or conflict abroad, join us and our guests as we examine the headlines through the lens of Scripture and explore how Christians can faithfully exalt Christ in all of life. Follow Outstanding on your favorite podcast app and look for new episodes each week.
SPEAKER 11 :
Good afternoon and welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m your Friday host, Jody Heiss. Before I turn to my last guest, I want to remind you once again that fall is just around the corner and so is our annual PrayVoteStand Summit. It’ll be taking place on October 17th and 18th this year in Chino Hills, California. And this is an incredibly powerful event. I just can’t stress that enough. It brings together people experts on various issues, Christian leaders, government officials. It’s just a powerful, powerful event. And you have an opportunity now, if you register now and use the word FALL, F-A-L-L, As a special code, you can get a savings of $30 off the package, and we encourage you to take advantage of that. That special discount offer is good through next Friday, a week from today, September 12th. So go ahead and register now. You can learn more and you can register by going to PrayVoteStand.org. Okay, yesterday, the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University released its latest report from this year’s annual American Worldview Inventory. And for this, the researchers who were led by our next guest, Dr. George Barna, they explored what Americans believe about sin. Well, what did they find? And how does it track with the view of Americans on other things like moral truth and absolutes? Well, joining me now, as I mentioned a moment ago, is Dr. George Barna. He’s the director of research at Arizona Christian University’s Cultural Research Center and a senior research fellow here at FRC’s Center for Biblical Worldviews. He’s also, as you well know, the author of many, many books, including Raising Spiritual Champions. George, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always an honor to have you on.
SPEAKER 18 :
Hey, Jody. It’s always great to be back with you. Thank you.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right. So when it comes to those who believe in the existence of sin, are they in the minority or the majority in America?
SPEAKER 18 :
No, they’re actually in a large majority of people, more than four out of five or eight out of ten people, currently 84%, say that they believe that there is such a thing as sin, that sin exists. And so the issue isn’t really whether or not sin exists. The issue is, what does it have to do with my life?
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, great, great question. So let me ask you this then before we go to what you just said. Definitions, of course, are important. How do Americans define sin?
SPEAKER 18 :
I would say that most of them have a pretty reasonable view of what sin is. Currently about three out of four of them, 72% exactly, define sin as disobedience to God. So it’s really a small number of people who have other points of view about what sin is, but most of them have a pretty good view.
SPEAKER 11 :
So the Bible, of course, tells us that all have sinned. So how many Americans believe that? I mean, how many consider themselves to be sinners?
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, here’s where we start running into problems. You’ve got a huge majority of people who say, sure, there’s such a thing as sin. Only half of American adults believe that everyone has sinned, even though the Bible is very clear about that. And again, remember, a significant majority of Americans, 66%, would call themselves Christian or One of the foundations of the Christian faith is that scriptural teaching that all of us are sinners. All of us fall short of the glory of God. All of us need to be saved from sin. All of us need to understand that the only way to be saved isn’t by what we do or think or do. believe. It’s by our relationship with Christ, our confession of our own sin. It’s our begging Jesus to save us from the consequences of our sin. Most Americans are not buying that.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right, so did you find we have 50% more or less who say, yeah, we believe in sin, but not everybody’s a sinner, and probably most of those would probably think they’re not. I don’t want to presume there, but is this divided at all across different people groups, maybe ages or something along those lines, or is it just across all categories?
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, and to speak specifically to something that you just alluded to, if people don’t believe that everybody’s a sinner, do they believe that they themselves are a sinner? That also came in at just about half of all adults, 52%. And what was interesting is that you had a significant number of people who said, everybody sins, and yet they said, but not me. So there are those kind of odd quirks of belief that many Americans possess. And so when we try to figure out, all right, who fits in what camp, when we look at the people who say that, yeah, there is such a thing as sin, and in fact, everyone has sinned, the people who are less likely to believe that everyone is a sinner are people in Gen Z groups, We find that they’re more likely to be Asian Americans. We find that they’re more likely to be Catholic than Protestant. And so you’ve got those kinds of distinctions where there are certain demographic groups that don’t buy into it. And when we look at the whole issue of do you believe that you personally are guilty of sin, there were some fascinating things that came out of that as well. One of which was take a group like a group we would identify as theologically identified born-again Christians. People say that they are relying on Christ for their eternal salvation. We found that one out of every four theologically identified born-again Christians nevertheless claims that they are not a sinner. So there’s clearly a lot of confusion here about who we are in Christ, what that relationship with Christ is all about, who’s a sinner, who’s not a sinner, how does sin happen? I mean, all of these things often we take for granted. And when someone says, oh yeah, I’m saved by the grace of God through Christ, we assume that they really understand what that means. But clearly that’s not the case.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, that is really—it presents a wide, wide open door for the body of Christ, for the church, and for believers to step in with some biblical truth in all of this. That is shocking information. Were there other shocking findings that this research brought out to you?
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, certainly one of them, we found that 40%, 4-0% of all people who call themselves Christians also do not consider themselves to be sinners. And so that goes back to something that I often say, if you want to become a missionary, you’re in luck. All you have to do is go to church this Sunday, and a lot of the people that’ll be sitting around you really don’t understand what the gospel is. They don’t understand what a relationship with Christ is, what it means to be forgiven by God, how that process works. I think often what happens in our churches is we make a lot of assumptions that the foundations of the Christian faith are well understood by the people that come consistently. And what our research often shows is that that’s probably not a good assumption, that people come to churches for a lot of different reasons, whether it’s comfort, security, truth, relationships, safety. I mean, there are all kinds of things that we find emerging in our surveys. And so if you’re a leader, a teacher, a pastor in a church, Don’t make assumptions that, you know, I preached about salvation once this year, or I preached about it last year. I don’t want to trouble people with that again. Go ahead, trouble them, because there are going to be a lot of people who either didn’t get it the first time, or they just don’t understand the dynamics of it, and it never hurts for us to be reminded of how much God loves us.
SPEAKER 11 :
Great point, and that is tremendous instruction, really, for churches and church leaders and believers as a whole right now. If I can take this a little bit further, George, a few months ago you came out with another report, one on the view of Americans on moral truth. And I think this ties in a lot with what we’re talking about now. How many Americans believe in the existence of moral truth, absolute moral truth?
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, Jody, this is one of the most important things for Christians and Christian leaders to understand. Only about one-third of Americans believe there is such a thing as absolute moral truth. There are tens of millions of born-again Christians, evangelical Christians, regular church attenders, much less simply people who call themselves Christian, who would argue that there is not and cannot be any such thing as absolute moral truth. And when you put that into context, that tells us a lot about their understanding of God, who he is, what his character is like. It tells us a lot about what they believe about the Bible, which not only tells us that God is truth, that God is unchanging, therefore truth is unchanging. But it tells us a lot about whether or not they believe they can consistently turn to and trust the Bible. Obviously, they can’t if they would say there’s no absolute moral truth. So these are very important questions, and they’re things that we really have to attack first. very frontally as we teach people about the Christian faith and even as we have conversations with our friends and family members about what we believe and what that looks like in terms of our day-to-day behaviors.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, we hear all the time people say a comment using a phrase, something along the lines of, well, it all depends on what your truth is or what truth is to you, as though truth hops around all over the place. So what can you tell us about Americans who actually believe that, who believe that there can be multiple conflicting views of moral truth and somehow all of those different views be completely accurate?
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, Jody, it’s fascinating to do this kind of research because when you let people talk about what they believe about truth, it’s mind-boggling. So, for instance, we found that 67%, two out of three Americans, say it’s more important to be open-minded toward accepting anybody’s truth than it is to believe that there’s one right answer. absolute moral truth. We found that 6 out of 10 American adults believe that there are many different truths for any given situation, and it’s important for you to be accepting of those different truths, even if they conflict with each other.
SPEAKER 11 :
George, let me interrupt you with that. How can they say that there could be multiple truths for any particular issue. I mean, how does anyone come to that conclusion?
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, our understanding and interpretation of what Americans are thinking is that when you go back and ask them how they determine what truth is, three out of four of them say they turn inward. They turn to their feelings. And one thing we know about feelings is not only are they not the same from person to person, but our own personal feelings change from moment to moment, hour to hour, day to day. And so in that way, you can talk with a person today, they’ll give you one perspective on truth. You talk to that same person tomorrow, they may give you a conflicting perspective on truth. And so they give everybody else that same grace to say, you know what, even if your truths conflict with mine, they can still both be true because you’re feeling your truth, I’m feeling my truth, and there is no absolute anywhere to be found. So we’ve just got to run with it the way it is and not worry about it.
SPEAKER 11 :
Wow. That is fascinating. But I see it. I see it in my own conversations I’ve had with people, basing it inwardly rather than on God’s Word. And so again, that drives us to the reality that as church leaders, as church families, as Christians, we have a huge open door and a responsibility to present lovingly, graciously, but unashamedly biblical truth and interject that into our culture.
SPEAKER 18 :
And part of the key in that process is to make sure that we’re consistent as we do that. One of the things we learned in the research that we did for that book, Raising Spiritual Champions, is that children no longer turn to their parents for perspectives on truth. And one of the main reasons we found, the main reason, was they said, you know, my parents will teach me verbally one thing about truth, but then when I watch them to see what it looks like, they do something different. So I know that there’s a lot of leeway there. I know my parents are as confused about truth as I am. So I’ve got to keep looking for truth elsewhere. So that consistency factor is absolutely critical.
SPEAKER 11 :
Two more questions real quickly here for you. One of them we dealt with a little bit yesterday, but I’d like to get your take on it. That is Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia. He drew some attention this week for his criticism of the idea that our rights in this country are God-given. He believes that somehow they’re given by the government. Let me play this clip real quickly and get your response.
SPEAKER 19 :
You state, and this is a quote from Secretary Rubio, our rights come from God, our creator, not from our laws, not from our government. I find that very, very troubling. The notion that rights don’t come from laws and don’t come from the government, but come from the creator, that’s what the Iranian government believes.
SPEAKER 11 :
Wow. Your response to that?
SPEAKER 18 :
A mind-boggling statement. I appreciate him putting out there in public so that we know where he’s coming from. I don’t think it surprises those of us who watched him in the vice presidential run he had. But my reaction was I felt so bad for Senator Kaine because here’s a guy who is a man of faith. He’s trying to be a Christian, but clearly he doesn’t understand what biblical Christianity is. He spent years of his life as a missionary. God bless him for doing that. But I don’t think he understands the God that he was allegedly serving when he was working as a missionary. Because if he did, he’d understand that government works. reports to God. God doesn’t report to the government. The Bible is very clear on that. Clearly, Senator Kaine doesn’t believe what the Bible teaches. That’s another thing that makes me feel so bad for him. Here’s an example of somebody who doesn’t understand what absolute moral truth is. And frankly, Jody, to me, it’s one of those clarion calls to the Christian community to wake up It’s like, look at the people that we’re putting into office, understand what they believe and what the implications of it are, because our worldview determines the decisions we make. It determines the decisions he makes, and they’re the wrong ones.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thank you so much, Dr. George Barna, Director of Research at Arizona Christian University Center and Senior Research Fellow here at FRC Center for Biblical Worldview. Always fascinating discussion with you. All right, friends, that wraps up this week on Washington Watch. Be blessed. We’ll see you next week.
SPEAKER 02 :
Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council and is entirely listener supported. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information on anything you heard today or to find out how you can partner with us in our ongoing efforts to promote faith, family and freedom, visit TonyPerkins.com.
