In this episode of Washington Watch, Tony Perkins delves into the current government shutdown, its implications, and the political dynamics at play. With Senate Democrats allegedly holding the government budget hostage, Republicans express their frustrations over the stalled negotiations. Casey Harper reports live from the nation’s capital, shedding light on the unfolding situation and the public’s growing disillusionment with partisan gridlock.
SPEAKER 11 :
From the heart 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, Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
SPEAKER 03 :
Unfortunately, we are here this morning in a government shutdown that Democrats wanted. Chuck Schumer, at the behest of of a bunch of liberal, far-left activist groups has walked his Democrat colleagues into a boxed canyon.
SPEAKER 06 :
That was Senate Majority Leader John Thune earlier today accusing Democrats and the extreme left of using the government shutdown to score political points and hurt everyday Americans. Welcome to this October 1st edition of Washington Watch. I’m your host, Tony Perkins. Thanks so much for joining us. Well, coming up, troop pay will be delayed and many federal services are now on hold, all because Democrats blocked a Republican plan to keep the government open. Missouri Congressman Mark Alford will break it down shortly. And a new survey reveals many evangelicals hold religious beliefs that are not anchored in the Bible. What does that say about the state of the church? Pastor Jack Hibbs will join me to explore this. Well, just moments ago, another vote on the government funding bill failed to pass the Senate and the Senate has adjourned until Friday. The shutdown began last night when Chuck Schumer and the Democrats refused to agree to a straight continuation of government funding. The military and other essential services will continue, but pay for those individuals will be delayed. Many federal services will also be limited during this time. Joining me now is Washington Stand reporter Casey Harper. Casey, we’re about 17 hours and five minutes into this shutdown. What’s the latest?
SPEAKER 16 :
That’s right, Tony. I’m reporting live here from D.C. or shutdown city. You know, Republicans say they’re getting increasingly frustrated with Senate Democrats who’ve now actually blocked the funding bill to keep the government open three times in the last two weeks. And actually, House Speaker Mike Johnson, he went even further. He accused Democrats of playing political games with the lives of Americans.
SPEAKER 14 :
Democrats could have worked with us in a bipartisan manner to avert this unnecessary and very harmful shutdown. But instead, they did something that is rather shocking to us. They prioritized taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal aliens over keeping the government open for American citizens. They themselves positioned that as a binary choice, and it’s patently absurd.
SPEAKER 16 :
So, you know, Tony, Republicans say they just want a stopgap bill to keep the government open through November 21st. That’ll give them time to hash out a longer-term funding measure. But Democrats are demanding these expensive, permanent Obamacare extensions. So far in these Senate votes, they failed to reach that important 60-vote threshold, even with a few Democrats and even one independent breaking away from Democrats to vote with Republicans to keep the government open. And how do Americans feel about this? Well, a New York Times-Siena poll was released yesterday, and it showed that 65 percent of Americans are not in favor of the Democrat shutdown. And in fact, even half of Democrats, they don’t support the shutdown either, Tony.
SPEAKER 06 :
I don’t think many people do. All right, Casey, thanks. I have a feeling that we’re going to see these same headlines for a few days because, as I mentioned earlier, the Senate will not come back until Friday. The House will not be back until next week. So we’ll continue to monitor this. I want to go to another topic. A Trump administration is using a provision of the infamous FedEx. Face Act. That’s a measure that was passed back in 1994, signed by Bill Clinton, to target pro-life protesters. It’s being used by the Trump administration to actually protect religious worshipers.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, that’s right. This is an important development. The DOJ, under President Trump, they’re taking action to defend religious freedom. And in fact, to be specific, they’re suing these two pro-Palestinian groups that were allegedly harassing Jewish worshipers at a synagogue in in New Jersey. So this happened at a protest last November and protesters reportedly they turned violent. They were using bull horns, they were even getting physical with the attendees reportedly. Because of that, for the first time ever, the DOJ is gonna use the FACE Act, which as you said is a law passed to protect abortion clinics protect them from being, you know, the protests from getting too aggressive. They’re going to use that law to protect these synagogues and churches. So the DOJ has previously enforced the same law in favor of abortion clinics. This time it’s going to be used to protect worshipers. This is all according to Civil Rights Division Chief Harmeet Dhillon. And Dhillon said, you know, she had a clear message. She said the days of ignoring attacks on houses of worship are over. and the face act as you said is passed in 94 of bill clinton arab law it was used to protect these abortion clinics from things like human chains or even severe harassment but now this new lawsuit is going to protect these houses of worship in places like new jersey tony
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I am thrilled to see it. I’ll talk more about that later. You know, the Family Research Council, we’ve been tracking these growing threats against religious communities, and we support stronger federal action to protect worshipers. And I think this is a positive development. As I said, we’ll talk later. more about this. A new survey by Ligonier Ministries that was conducted by the Lifeway Research, Casey, reveals some widespread theological confusion among Christians in America, and it’s raising concerns about biblical literacy and doctrinal understanding in the church. What are some of the key highlights from this survey, Casey?
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, it’s a pretty worrying survey, Tony. So State of Theology is the name of the survey, and it revealed these troubling gaps between what American evangelicals believe and what the core Christian teachings actually are. So despite most evangelicals claiming the Bible is their highest authority, when you ask them, many of their beliefs actually contradict Scripture. So, for instance, nearly two-thirds of evangelicals say they believe that people are born innocent, not in sin. And that God accepts, you know, worship from all religions, you know, Islam, Hinduism, God’s okay with it. Of course, the Bible refutes those positions pretty clearly. And there’s also confusion about the nature of God and the love of God and how he, you know, feels about people, as well as an idea of church commitment. Only 61% say Christians should join faith. a local church so the study it’s raising alarm bells it suggests a growing lack of biblical literacy and especially doctrinal clarity among evangelicals and even contradicting one another tony
SPEAKER 06 :
You know what? I have a remedy, Casey. It’s called stand on the word. We need people to be reading the word of God because a lot of this people don’t read the word. And so they hear something and it sounds biblical, but it’s disconnected to actual teaching. We’re going to actually dig deeper into this with Pastor Jack Hibbs a little bit later. Casey, thanks so much for joining us. Joining me now to discuss the latest on the government funding battle and shutdown, Congressman Mark Alford. He’s a member of the House Appropriations Committee and he is the chair of the RSC Messaging Task Force. He represents the 4th Congressional District of Missouri. Congressman Alford, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us. Thank you, Tony.
SPEAKER 05 :
Good to be with you.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, we’re 17 hours and 10 minutes into the shutdown. Give us the latest.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, look, we are at a standstill. Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are holding America hostage. It is their crisis, the Schumer shutdown. It’s day one of this. It could go on for another week or two weeks, just depending on when he’s willing to throw in the towel. A lot of pride is at stake for Chuck Schumer because he does not want AOC to run against him in a primary to take away his Senate seat, and that’s the whole reason he’s doing this. You might remember back in March, he went along with a continuing resolution then, and he got vilified for it. People were after him because he supposedly sided with Republicans. And so Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, and the Democrats would rather fight against President Trump than fight for Americans. Republicans are fighting for Americans. And Tony, you and I have talked about this before. I do not like continuing resolutions. But now that I’m on the Appropriations Committee under the direction of Tom Cole, our chair, we are moving forward. We are making progress. We got all 12. appropriation bills out of committee. We got three passed on the House floor. They are now in conference with the Senate. We are making progress and all we were asking for was seven more weeks for us to be able to get our job done to get these appropriation bills out of the House and the Senate. and over to the president’s desk so we can get back to regular order. That’s all we wanted, a clean CR. And the Democrats are saying, no way. We want health care for illegal aliens. We want to repeal a lot of the reforms for Medicaid. We want to be able to have adults with no dependents living in their parents’ basements back on Medicaid. We’re not having that. It’s a bunch of nonsense, all because of Chuck Schumer’s pride. This is a Schumer shutdown, and the American people are seeing through it.
SPEAKER 06 :
Congressman, let me go back to something you said a moment ago, because I’ve talked about this on the program before, and I just want to make sure people hear this, that this is more about Chuck Schumer’s personal politics in the state of New York than it is about the well-being of the American people, because he is afraid he’s going to be primaried by AOC as New York becomes more liberal and out in left field. This is about his personal politics.
SPEAKER 05 :
Tony, I have never seen anything more ridiculous in my life, how one man, who’s trying to still prove his relevance in the US Senate and his relevance to the voters of New York State, He’s holding America hostage. I mean, this is a crisis that he has created so that he can get back to Washington, D.C. That is not the heart of a servant. That is selfish, selfish to put military at risk. Here’s what he could do.
SPEAKER 06 :
And children at risk for food programs. If he wants to certify his liberal bona fides, he can put on a dress, come onto the Senate floor, vote for the resolution, and go back to New York and campaign. All right, let’s talk about what’s happening inside the House here as the Republicans communicate. What are the internal conversations?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, look, we had a good phone call today with the speaker. By the way, I’m back in my district. I visited two rural hospitals today. I drove an hour and a half to get there down in the southern part. We’re talking about this $50 billion rural transformation fund we have set up to keep rural hospitals in business. And that’s one of the things that the Democrats want to do away with, by the way, by voting against the Clean CR. But the phone call was good. Russ Vogt was on that phone call as well, talking about procedurally how they are going to manage this shutdown. There are some tough choices to make. No one wants, I think, to really lay off more federal workers. But I think this does give the administration the opportunity to downsize. I mean, look at the increase that we’ve had since Joe Biden took office. exponentially the number of federal workers that have been added to the payroll. Some of them are not needed and this gives the Trump administration the opportunity now to go in and make some surgical cuts to reduce our federal debt in part by reducing some of these workers. We’ll see what happens.
SPEAKER 06 :
And that’s the authority that the president has and a shutdown. And so they handed that to the president. Just about two minutes left. Congressman offered the Senate. I mentioned this earlier. They they had a vote failed. They adjourned. They’re coming back on Friday after the high holiday of Yom Kippur. When’s the House going to be back?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I’m planning on driving back, actually, probably Sunday. I think we need to be back Monday. We haven’t heard anything officially. We do want to be there. Look, we were getting a lot of grief from the Democrats because we’re not there. We’re not there because we don’t want to put on a stupid show like they’ve been doing on the House floor and in other places, taking selfies, singing songs on the Capitol steps. That’s not what this is about, folks. This is about the heart of America. This is about funding the greatest nation known to man. and making sure that we are aligned with President Trump and the American First agenda and reducing our deficit and getting our work done. Once again, the Republicans have done the reasonable, rational thing. We have gotten our work done. We just needed an extension. That’s all we were asking for. And the Republicans have got it done, but the Democrats are standing in their way. So we’ll go back next week. We will be waiting patiently for the Democrats to come to their senses, for Chuck Schumer to get off his high horse, put down his pride, and pick up a banner for the American people and do the right thing.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, we’ll see who comes to their senses first, whether Hamas agrees to the 20-point peace plan or the Democrats pass the continuing resolution. Congressman Mark Alford, always great to see you. Thanks so much for joining us. Thank you, buddy. Take care. All right. All right. Coming up, as we talked about at the top of the program, the Department of Justice is taking action against activists, pro-Palestinian groups who targeted a New Jersey synagogue last year. And they’re using the infamous FACE Act. Now, this is what was used to go after Operation Rescue when they were blockading clinics back in the 90s. And there was a provision. I’m going to talk about how this provision got in there when we come back. So it’s being used to protect churches. Don’t go away.
SPEAKER 07 :
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 U.S. 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.
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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 06 :
Welcome back to this Wednesday edition of Washington Watch. All right, in a little more than two weeks, like-minded Christ followers from across the nation are going to gather at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in California for our Pray, Vote, Stand Summit. You know what’s going on in our nation. If there was ever a time that we needed to gather together to pray, to gear up to vote, that is stand for biblical truth in the public arena, it’s now. So I encourage you to join us. There’s still time to register. We still have room. October 17th and 18th. To find out more and to register, go to PrayVoteStand.org. That’s PrayVoteStand.org. All right, as we were talking about earlier this week, the Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit against activist groups and individuals who targeted a synagogue in New Jersey during a November 24th protest that escalated into violence. Now, the lawsuit was filed under the FACE Act. That’s short for the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which, as I’ve been talking about, was signed into law in 1994 by Bill Clinton, and it has been used increasingly to in recent years, against peaceful pro-life protesters, okay? Now, this was created, as I mentioned, back during the 90s when Operation Rescue was blockading clinics. Well, before the bill passed, this is how this provision got in here. And I know because I was tracking this very closely back then. I was a police officer, all right? The bill was amended by the late Utah Senator Orrin Hatch to provide parity, and it made it illegal to disrupt a worship service. Now, I’ll be candid. I’ve been advocating that this law be used to protect churches for years. In fact, in the last Trump administration, I called on them to use it. Many conservatives didn’t want it to be used. They wanted it to go away. My view was, if you use it to protect churches, it will go away because the left will want to get rid of it. Well, the Department of Justice has used it as a prosecution tool against pro-Palestinian groups that targeted a Jewish synagogue. Joining me now to discuss this is Dr. Moshe Glick. He is the president of the New Jersey chapter of Israel 365, which we work with, and he’s the host of the synagogue event that was targeted last November by the mob. Dr. Glick, welcome to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us. Thank you so much for having me, Tony. Appreciate it. Well, I’m grateful that the Department of Justice is pursuing this. Describe for our viewers and listeners what transpired on the night of November 13th.
SPEAKER 02 :
You and me both are really happy that the Department of Justice is engaged in this.
SPEAKER 13 :
And I want to start off by thanking Harmeet Dhillon, who’s done an incredible job, Pam Bondi, and President Trump. For too long, these groups have been able to just run roughshod around synagogues and churches. And we see increasing violence in churches. We just saw two vicious attacks yesterday. Michigan, Utah, and the music just plays on and no one’s really taken a stand. And so we’re really excited that this happened.
SPEAKER 06 :
Now, this was not just people disrupting. I mean, this was a violent mob that left many of those attending in fear of their safety.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, it was terrifying.
SPEAKER 13 :
So I’ve been involved in Zionist and Judeo-Christian initiatives for a very long time. I’ve been to plenty of protests and just activities where we support America, we support Israel. And this was the first time that I’ve ever seen a violent incident transpire at one of these events. The crazy thing about the whole thing was I was one that ended up getting arrested at the end of the night. So what basically transpired is we had a religious service at Congregation Hortora, one of the synagogues in West Orange, New Jersey, where my wife and I live. And just a group of aggressive protesters just descended on the synagogue, a mob, and shouting the most vile anti-Semitic tropes. It felt like 1930s Germany. And the group basically marched, stormed up to the synagogue. Police, we had coordinated with the police in advance. They did not have a permit. I actually emailed the police in advance. They did not have a permit to march. Police still allowed them to march, marched right up to where we were holding our service. Part of the service was outdoors. Part of it was inside. where we sang songs. We had psalms. We had read psalms. There was a sermon from the Bible. And the group came in blowing these vuvuzelas. And I didn’t know what they were until recently. A vuvuzela, if your audience doesn’t know, is a they’ve been banned in many stadiums. It’s a obnoxiously loud horn blew that these vuvuzelas disturbing disturbing the event.
SPEAKER 02 :
And I’m not sure how much detail you want me to get into, but that’s kind of how it started. So let me ask you this question.
SPEAKER 06 :
You said you were arrested because one of those was blown near your ear, and these things can cause hearing loss because they are extremely loud. You pushed it away. Is that the reason you were arrested?
SPEAKER 02 :
So, no, that was the beginning of it.
SPEAKER 13 :
So what actually transpired is the Vuvuzela gets blown right into my ear. And we have video, and I’m happy to share with your audience the video of what transpired. I pushed the Vuvuzela away, clear video evidence. And then one attacker just takes a very aggressive stance, starts coming forward towards me. I back up, not looking to get into an altercation. I’m a dentist. I’ve never had anything more than a speeding ticket in my life. The last thing I was looking was to throw down. And then another attendee from the event, I didn’t see this at the moment, actually pepper sprays this individual who was about to launch an attack. He gets pepper sprayed. The individual, and we’ll throw his name out there since it’s public record, Altaf Sharif, he then, about seven or eight or nine seconds, he’s kind of rubbing his eyes. The pepper spray incident is over, and then he doesn’t know where he got pepper sprayed from. Another individual there points out and says, that’s the Jew, literally points at him. Mr. Sharif then launches into a, and again, I’m happy to share the video, launches into a pretty violent attack, puts this smaller individual, his name is David Silberberg, puts him into a chokehold. The first thing I see is this, and I yell out. I’m screaming for the police. There was enough police around. Police, police, police. The police don’t come. He basically tackles him down a hill in front of the synagogue. They kind of get to the bottom of this small hill. I then attempt to push Mr. Sharif off using my hands. He’s a much larger individual, doesn’t budge. I mean, I was just going to say the police are standing there.
SPEAKER 06 :
This is this is what’s happening when the police allow this lawlessness and they allow it when it’s targeted at churches and synagogues. Thankfully, a new message is being sent now that the law is being enforced to protect the freedom of worship. Dr. Glick, we’re out of time in this segment, but I want to thank you for coming on. And in anything we can do to help, we want to stand with the Jewish community as we have been against anti-Semitism and against these attacks against the Jewish community.
SPEAKER 13 :
Thank you, Tony. And we want to stand with our Christian brothers as well in our shared Judeo-Christian values. And you see as much as we see what’s going on in this country. And it’s great. So, again, thank God that, you know, Pam Bondi and Harmeet Dhillon and the DOJ got involved. And hopefully this sends a message to the world. Dr. Glick, thanks so much for joining us.
SPEAKER 06 :
Stick with us, folks. We’re back after this.
SPEAKER 16 :
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SPEAKER 19 :
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.
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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.
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SPEAKER 06 :
Welcome back to Washington Watch. If you have not yet downloaded the Stand Firm app, let me encourage you to do so. With the Stand Firm app, you can not only have access to Washington Watch, no matter where you are in the world, but you also will have access to our news and commentary from a biblical perspective called the Washington Stand. And on top of that, you’ll have my morning devotional, Stand on the Word. All of that, plus a lot more. Tools for the Engage Citizen can be found on the StandFirm app. You might remember that this was after then-candidate Donald Trump spoke at our Values Voter Summit in 2016. That night, former First Lady Hillary Clinton called the Trump supporters a basket of deplorables. You remember that? Well, after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, she went on Mourning Joe and she said this. Play clip one.
SPEAKER 10 :
We have got to stop demonizing each other. Yeah. Now, I think most of that right now in our country’s history is coming, you know, from the right, coming from people who want to dominate. They want their point of view. You know, we have got to stop with the finger pointing and the scapegoating. OK.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right. So. All right. So I’ll just say I forgive you for calling me a deplorable. I can agree with that.
SPEAKER 10 :
But wait, there’s more. Clip two. The idea that you could turn the clock back and try to recreate a world that never was dominated by, you know, let’s say it, white men of a certain persuasion, a certain religion, a certain point of view, a certain ideology. It’s just doing such damage to what we should be aiming for.
SPEAKER 06 :
Oh, oh, so there’s a footnote to that. We need to stop demonizing everyone but white men. Oh, white Christian men. Well, speaking of white Christian men, I’m going to invite Casey Harper, managing editor of the broadcast at Washington Stand and host of the Outstanding podcast, to join me again. Casey, you’re a white Christian man. Welcome.
SPEAKER 16 :
Indeed. Hey, thanks, Tony. I want to tell you that you are my, of all the deplorables out there, you’re my favorite.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, thank you. I appreciate that. Let’s talk about this for a moment because, I mean, in all seriousness, there is something very significant behind this. And so I want to make clear that it’s not just about… white men that the left is going after. It’s all men, but it’s easy to bash white men. But this is about going after masculinity. This is something that we have seen for quite some time is the attack on manhood. And Casey, we know what happens when we attack men, do we not? What happens in society?
SPEAKER 16 :
well, you know, men are called to lead. Biblically, men are called to lay down their lives, not to lead as overbearing and domineering, but to lay down their lives to serve their families and to advance the Christian faith. And so if you want to take down America and if you have a demonic agenda, you’re not going to be able to accomplish it without taking out the men. And that used to be kind of hidden behind the scenes, but I think now it’s been exposed and now they can say it on MSNBC, I guess.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, Casey, what encourages me in the wake of what happened with Charlie Kirk, is that I think the curtain’s been pulled back. We’ve seen literally millions of people that have responded to Charlie’s call to faith, to live out one’s faith. And I think people have responded to him in part because he, as he was growing and maturing, he was modeling, I think, what… Men should be Christian men because out of that Christian faith comes a conviction to stand up for something. And you have the courage to do so. And that’s what Charlie was modeling really at the gates of hell. You know, when you go to these college campuses and I think the response. So of so many people was an admiration of that and a longing to see more of it.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, I think what’s really interesting is that Hillary Clinton actually in that clip has a surprising amount of clarity about what really is stopping the nation from sliding off the cliff into hell. And I actually wish the church had the same clarity that Hillary Clinton does, which is recognizing that the Christian church and in particular Christian men standing up and taking their role is possibly the one thing that is really the key to this revival that we’re all hoping for and talking about and saying maybe is here.
SPEAKER 06 :
Right. And so as we see how those on the right are responding, we see how those of you described on the left are responding. I think what Hillary Clinton was revealing in that interview with with on Morning Joe was that the left sees Christian men as the obstacle to their power, because if men of conviction will stand up with courage and challenge them, their road map. to power is going to be blocked. Because here’s the deal. When you attack a man, when you attack a man, biblical manhood, what you do is you attack the family. And when you attack the family, you create chaos in the community. And when you create chaos in the community and you’ve fractured the family, guess what? You need more government. And that gives them the ability and the power to invade the lives of American citizens, take control of the church, the family, it gives them the ultimate power they’re looking for.
SPEAKER 16 :
That’s absolutely right. And if we want to go even deeper, what spiritually I think is going on here is this, it’s really the spirit of Jezebel in the Bible that’s been motivated to attack men, to tear them down, to crush them. And it takes someone, you know, someone I think like a Jehu who’s not any model of, you know, perfect living or anything, but someone, all it takes really is the courage of Jehu setting aside the character. and who’s willing to stand up to someone like Jezebel. And so that’s why the courage is the one thing they have to stop, because courageous Christian men is really the kryptonite, I think, to so much of what is being pushed on the left today.
SPEAKER 06 :
But the key to that, the key to that courage and that conviction is the Word of God. And that’s what we’re going to talk about next with my battle buddy, Pastor Jack Gibbs. Casey, thanks so much for joining us. All right, folks, don’t go away because on the other side of the break, we’re going to talk about a report on the state of theology and what it could mean for the influx of churchgoers that we’ve seen since the assassination of Charlie Kirk. The issue is we have people looking for answers, but are they going to find them in the church? a church that increasingly is untethered to biblical truth. It’s more influenced by the culture than influencing the culture with transcendent truth. We’re going to talk about that. Pastor Jack Hibbs next, so don’t go away.
SPEAKER 01 :
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 20 :
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 18 :
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 20 :
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 18 :
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 20 :
Order today at embracethedesign.com.
SPEAKER 09 :
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 06 :
This is Washington Watch. I’m Tony Perkins, your host. Glad to have you with us on this Wednesday. The website, TonyPerkins.com. Better yet, get the Stand Firm app in the App Store. All right, a little more than two weeks away, the PrayVote Stand Summit, Calvary Chapel, Chino Hills in California. I tell you what, now is the time to come together, and I encourage you to go to PrayVoteStand.org. PrayVoteStand.org. It’s October 17th and 18th. You can find out more, and you can register at PrayVoteStand.org. Our word for today comes from 1 Corinthians 12. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ. For in fact, the body is not one member, but many. If the foot should say, because I’m not a hand, I’m not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, because I’m not an eye, I’m not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as he pleased. So Paul uses the human body to illustrate how the body of Christ functions. Each believer is a distinct part with a unique role, yet all are joined together as one. The foot, hand, eye, or ear cannot separate itself from the body simply because it looks or functions differently. In the same way, no believer is unnecessary or insignificant. Paul reminds us that it is God, not us, who assigns our place and role in the body. Our task is not to envy others or resist his design, but to faithfully serve where he’s placed us, knowing that his arrangement pleases him. So, don’t be a spiritual heel. fit into the body of Christ. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, text Bible to 67742. That’s Bible to 67742. All right, Lifeway Research and Ligonier Ministries have released their latest state of theology study, which tracks the beliefs of Americans with regard to God’s nature, sin, the Bible, and a whole lot more. And while it’s interesting to see where the general American public is when it comes to their theological beliefs, or lack thereof, what does the study reveal to us about the beliefs of American evangelicals? And what does it tell us about churches? and how they may be shaping those beliefs. Joining me now to discuss this and more is my battle buddy, Pastor Jack Hibbs, Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel, Chino Hills in Southern California, and the host of this year’s Pray, Vote, Stand Summit. Pastor Jack, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thank you, Tony.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, so let’s talk about this. There’s a lot of discussion of people going back to church in the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. That’s a good thing, but what are they going back to?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, exactly. You know, the trend is this, Tony. They were actually starting to go back even before Charlie’s assassination and then, of course, it’s escalated. You’ve asked the great question, what are they going back to? This is something that only time will tell. If people are going to church and they’re not getting the Word of God, they’re not systematically being discipled through the Word of God, maybe they’re attending a church that has a lot of liturgical practices but no meat, meaning no Word. then what are we doing? We could be filling, Tony, a void of maybe a spiritual gap, but we’re filling it with sugar matter type of a thing where it’s not filling. The results are going to have to be observed over time when you’re talking about church growth, instability. And then, of course, if we are having a revival, remember the word revival is reserved for the church alone, not for the world. And in that revival, there’s going to have to be, every revival had holiness as a profound element of it. We shall see.
SPEAKER 06 :
I think we may be seeing, and you never really know if you’ve had a revival until it’s over. You really don’t see it in the midst of it. But I do see the evidence of an awakening. I mean, I think you see, I’ve been hearing this, as you mentioned, before this occurred. Our mutual friend, Pastor Carter Conlon, has been going on to Ivy League campuses and he’s been preaching. And people, these young people who have never even heard the gospel are just flocking everywhere. to the altars. They don’t even know what an altar is. They don’t even know what to do. And he’s walking them through this and they’re receiving Christ being radically transformed. So that’s an awakening. That’s an awakening. That is happening. My concern is that when this awakening occurs, and I, again, believe it’s happening, going into the churches, what will they find? Will they find orthodox, biblically anchored teaching or Or are they going to find more cultural, you know, being this cultural relevance that they tried to run from? Because it is emptiness. Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
Tony, I’m with you, man. I’m kind of nervously laughing a little bit because here’s the deal. You and I are concerned in such a way which we need to be and we need to pray, but I’m going through that same emotional gyration, and the answer is this. Jesus says, my sheep hear my voice, they’ll follow me, and they are responding regarding awakening. Yes, we’re watching it here at church. Unbelievers, nonbelievers are coming to faith in Christ. The concern is, where are they going to go to church? And that’s where the Lord says to me, look, you teach the flock that I give you, but the bottom line is, Jack, I’m going to take care of my people. He will lead them to a church. It’s his business to get them to a church. Your concern, Tony, and my concern is this, dear God in Heaven, please produce more Bible teaching churches.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yes. I mean, okay, I want to go through a few of these things on this survey. This is evangelicals now. This is not the world as a whole or all Americans. This is just the self-identified evangelical slice of Americans. 47% of evangelicals agree that God accepts the worship of all religions.
SPEAKER 04 :
Wow. No. I mean, if you read your Bible you would know that was not true. Unbelievable. That is, you know what that is? That is ecumenicalism shown on your screen there, 47%. That is the kumbaya. Let’s have unity, Tony, instead of truth. But haven’t we seen that? We’ll sacrifice truth.
SPEAKER 06 :
Haven’t we seen that in the evangelical church?
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, we’ve already seen that show before, and it leads to nothing but disaster.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, here’s another one. Fifty-three percent of evangelicals say everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.
SPEAKER 04 :
False again. Absolutely wrong. We are absolutely lost, and we are rebels. We’re shaking our fist at God.
SPEAKER 06 :
They’ve not worked in the nursery.
SPEAKER 04 :
And nor have they worked in the church parking lot ministry.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, here’s another one. Now let me move on to American adults, okay? This is one. 49% of U.S. adults believe that Jesus was a great teacher but not God. false, false. So this goes to, remember Jesus in, well, it’s recorded in Luke, it’s recorded in all the gospels, but Jesus, when he says, you know, follow me, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. In that same conversation in Luke chapter nine, he says, who do people say that I am? And some said, you know, Elijah, you know, this, this prophet, that prophet. And he says, but no, who do you say that I am? That is the key question. If he is God, you will follow him and you will serve him. If he is the Savior, the Messiah. If not, then he’s just another figure from history.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, see, these numbers concern me greatly because you’re really, Tony, you’re talking about 47, 50 some odd percent of people that are actually now been inoculated against the truth. They think they have the truth and to them emotionally that feels good. You know, just be sincere about whatever it is that you believe and you’ll be okay. That is probably akin to how Satan whispered to Eve in the garden. where that’s deception. That’s just absolute straight up deception. And then someone’s going to say, well, you guys aren’t very accommodating. Listen, we’re taking our lead from Jesus. He said, broad is the way and many people are on the path of destruction. Narrow is the path and few people are on the path that leads to eternal life for situations and reasons just like you’re articulating.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, you were talking about Satan and the deception in the garden. Jesus said, as the disciples asked, when’s this going to happen? When are all these in-time things going to unfold? And Jesus says, you know, look, it’s not for you to know times and dates. But this, he said, he said, do not be deceived. Multiple times. So this is what I see in this survey is that many Christians, evangelicals and let’s put this the average american who does not go to a church who’s not a believer let’s put them aside for a moment let’s just focus on the evangelicals many of them are deceived there’s an antidote there is a vaccine that can keep you from being deceived
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. Yeah. All you got to do is pick up the Bible and start reading the Bible. The Holy Spirit, Jesus said it, the Spirit of God will bear witness of whatsoever I have taught you. If people would just pick up the Bible, start in John’s Gospel, start reading it, and God will speak to you. He will actually begin to articulate his truth into your life, and he does it by the Word of God. And you know, you mentioned our friend Charlie Kirk earlier. What made Charlie’s witness so attractive is that Charlie knew what he believed. And notice, as the years went on with Charlie, his work began to be more about advancing the gospel and inviting people to church than it was about political things. Why was he so passionate about that? Because he entered more consistently into the truth. Right. Tony, he knew where it was all at and it was with God and the word.
SPEAKER 06 :
And see, this is where I was talking about this earlier in the program. If you’re in the word and the word is in you, you have conviction. And from that comes courage to stand against the culture and against the deception. All right. We just have about six minutes left. I want to. go to another question that was asked. This was just general questions asked. More than half of Americans, 54%, say they don’t want religious beliefs to enter the political sphere. Okay, then whose beliefs, what beliefs do you want? If you don’t want religious beliefs, what beliefs do you want?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, you can look around at places like Minnesota. You can look at Michigan. You can see where there’s been a very, very small representation of the church or none at all. And what happens? Islam has filled the void in this particular case. You can have whatever wishful thinking you want, but just know this. The other team is playing for keeps. They don’t rest day or night and they won’t stop until they take control. How do we hold back evil? We shine the light. What is the light? Again, the Word of God coming from us. We’ve got to get involved in the culture or else the culture is going to be taken by the other team and they’re playing for keeps. We should do the same.
SPEAKER 06 :
It all goes back to the Word of God. And, folks, that’s why I encourage you to join us in our Stand on the Word Bible reading plan. We’ve got to be in the Word, even more so as we move toward the end of days. All right, I want to switch gears. We have about four minutes left. I want to switch gears to another survey or another study. It was Infinity Concepts in Gray Matter, and it’s regarding Americans’ views on Israel. And we see a consistency, they say, among older evangelicals. This is just focused on evangelicals. But younger evangelicals, only 29% of evangelicals under the age of 35 believe that Jews are God’s chosen people.
SPEAKER 04 :
Those numbers are perfectly in line with everything else we’ve been talking about. The older generation has a greater appreciation for the Bible. They were taught predominantly by Bible-based pastors and churches that were orthodox. Now we’ve got a younger generation of people who have churchianity and they don’t understand Israel because the new pastors predominantly by far do not teach the Old Testament. They do not understand. that if God doesn’t keep his promise to Israel, he will not keep his promises to the church. They’ve somehow separated the old from the new, and if you do that, it will be very bad for you. And that explains it. The 35 years of age and under, 29%, listen, that’s just in line with really a church today and a pulpit today that is manned by people who do not see the covenantal promises of God. They don’t even know if the God that they worship keeps his word. And you can know if you just find out about what he said to Israel and what his future plans are for Israel.
SPEAKER 06 :
I mean, if the Lord tarries, and I’m trying not to be selfish. You and I talked about this a couple days ago. I’m praying for the Lord to return, but I want to bring as many unsaved people into the kingdom as possible. And so I don’t want to be selfish and just trying to get out of here. But the reality is that If things continue and the church continues to slip in its understanding of Israel and of the Jewish people and the role that they have in the end times, I can see how it’s going to get pretty ugly and Israel stands alone if America has this view that there’s nothing special.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well Tony, we know this, Zechariah tells us that in the end all nations will go against Israel. all nations. The other thing is this, that we don’t want that to happen on our watch.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right.
SPEAKER 04 :
Look, if the Lord gets us out of here and America goes against Israel, that’s the way it’s going to go. But I’d much rather get out of here. And you’re right. Let’s bring as many men and women and boys and girls with us as possible, which, by the way, Bible prophecy. First John, John said regarding Christ’s return for the church, all those who have this hope purify themselves even as he is pure. So what we want to do, we want to get ready, and part of getting ready is bringing people with us.
SPEAKER 01 :
Right.
SPEAKER 04 :
We want to be looking up, you know, and only in Christ can we do this. We want to plan for the next 100 years, but the great discipline is doing that and expecting to go home to see Jesus today. All right. That takes discipline. That takes discipleship.
SPEAKER 06 :
Pastor Jack, 45 seconds left. Tell people how they can join us in going to see Jesus.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. Here’s how you see Jesus. You see Jesus by calling out to Him for who He is. He is the Lord. He is the Christ. He’s the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. He’s the King of kings and the Lord of lords. The prophet said in Micah 5, verse 2, that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Guess what? Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The Bible tells us that he would be born of a virgin. Jesus was born of a virgin. The Bible tells us that he would be God come to earth in human flesh and die on the cross for our sins, and he did, and he rose again on the third day. He said, bury me, and in three days I’ll be resurrected, and so he was. He’s coming back, and you need to be looking for him. You can ask him into your life for this reason. He died for your sins. Give him your sins. Acknowledge your sins. He’ll take those sins from you, clean your record by his blood, and give you everlasting life, and he’ll transform your life. You’ll have a reason to live. Do it. You will not regret it.
SPEAKER 06 :
Purpose and meaning will immediately come into your life. Pastor Jack Hibbs, my battle buddy, always great to see you, my friend. Great to see you, Tony. All right, brother. See you soon. And folks, I do encourage you, if you need the Lord, if you want that peace that will come in this time of turbulent uncertainty, it can only be found in Jesus. Until next time, I leave you with the encouraging words of the Apostle Paul found in Ephesians 6, where he says, when you’ve done everything you can do, when you’ve prayed, when you’ve prepared, and when you’ve taken your stand, by all means, keep standing.
SPEAKER 11 :
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.
