How Can the Divided States of America Become United?

How can the divided states of America become united? That is a topic we'll discuss today, right here on the Christian Worldview Radio Program, where the mission is to sharpen the biblical worldview of Christians and to share the good news that all people can be reconciled to God through faith, in Jesus Christ.

I'm David Wheaton, the host of the program, and our website is thechristianworldview.org. Well, thank you for joining us today on the Christian Worldview as we discuss how can the divided states of America become united. You know, we live in the the most prosperous, most powerful, most influential, most charitable, most free nation with the most opportunity in history. And yet, despite all that, there is a level of agreement and protest and division that has not been felt in this country, I think probably since maybe the Civil War time that nearly fractured the country way back in the 1860s. Whether the issue is race or religion or gender or sexuality or abortion or immigration, education, the role of government or a particular political party or policy, the gulf between the opposing sides or just the many sides on all these different kinds of these issues leaves one wondering whether there's just too big of a gulf to bridge at this point in this country. So this weekend on the Christian Worldview, we're going to discuss this divide in America, seeking answers to the following questions. Are we really divided really as divided as it appears? If so, over what is the the country divided and why has this division occurred? And what would a united country actually look like?

And what is the pathway to that? And what is the role for for Christians in the church to to foster a united America? So let's get to the first question. And we'll take your phone calls about halfway through the the program today on this issue of how can the divided states of America become united? So the first question is, are we really as divided as it appears?

Because if we're not, I guess there's no point in having the conversation. But if you watch, you know, let's say the cable news networks, if you read the Internet articles on the Internet, if you if you follow people on social media, you just see a vicious debate in this country. I don't think that's that's an over-exaggerated word, vicious. It is a vicious debate going on. I mean, it was just bedlam, the street protests going on all over the place, people confronting the politicians and elevators. Subsequently, there have been fights in the streets in different parts of the country.

And this seems to be the new playbook of protest and and a conversation here of this audio bite from Hillary Clinton to Eric Holder, the former attorney general under the Obama administration, to Cory Booker, who was on the Senate Judiciary Committee, to Maxine Waters. And just look at the rhetoric they are espousing for their followers to take part in. You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about. That's why I believe if we are fortunate enough to win back the House and or the Senate, that's when stability can start again. But if you get out and you get out and you push back on them and you tell them they are not welcome. Ok, so you've probably heard some of these sound bites if you have been following the news recently, but this is definitely a a new frontier that's taking place in the country where the main leaders, not just some fringe people, but the main leaders of the Democrat Party are the leaders of the Democrat Party. leaders not just some fringe people but the main leaders of the Democrat Party are just outright saying we need to get up in their faces and it's it's it's creating this this tension of of opposition and confrontation and if you just look at even the as we discussed are we really just as divided as it appears you just compare watch the three major news networks in any given evening or any given day CNN MSNBC to Fox News Channel you will get completely different worldview completely different on the exact same topics like they don't even live in the same universe especially with MSNBC compared to Fox Fox speaks much more to a Republican audience MSNBC speaks much more to a a liberal or even leftist audience they're speaking to completely different audiences even the topics they choose you might go to Fox and they'll be talking about the upcoming midterm and maybe that soundbite I just played from what some of the Democratic leaders are inciting their followers to do that will be you know kind of outrage on Fox then go over to MSNBC and they'll be talking about you know some scandal of Trump that Fox hasn't even addressed in weeks or the Russia conspiracy or something like this and so there is such a division even amongst how we we get our news now and so as he answered this question are we really as divided as it appears you know I think it's easy to look in your own neighborhood and look around and you know people are still going about their work and mowing their lawns and doing things like this and it seems like sort of normal outside but all you have to do is look at the electorate in this country the people who vote and who they vote for and basically the people who vote I'm not sure exactly how many million I think it's about 120 million or something like that 120 million people vote and it's pretty equally divided and so half the country half of the voting country is voting for a political party that has really become extremely leftist progressive and I'm getting this later but I would say they're they're espousing the principles of Karl Marx and the in the political parties have so little in common now yes I think the Republican Party has moderated hasn't become more conservative as moderated over the year especially with the social issues but the Democrat Party has gone so far left and those who vote for him it's really divided the country so question number two is over what is the country divided what are the issues that that seem to be causing so much contention between the various sides in this country well I think overall the the big one is kind of the role of government you know the left has a socialistic view of government where government is involved and regulates every part of life whereas the right believes much more in the traditional capitalistic free market type of government limited government it's it's intrusive government versus limited government that's that's that's the I think the major divide and that comes down into all how they address all these different issues such as immigration you know the left believes in open borders just anyone who wants to come here can come here there doesn't need they may talk about comprehensive immigration reform but they want as many people to come here as possible because they know those people will be dependent on them will keep them in power it'll it'll destroy the current system our current economic system because we just couldn't possibly take in all the people and care for them whereas in the right they believe in national sovereignty in borders now this particular issue I think is one of the most clear issues of the divide in this country we have this this this caravan this March of about two or three or four thousand people coming up from Central America who are intent on just coming into America and President Trump is saying no no no we're not gonna know that that's not gonna happen you know we're gonna we're demanding Mexico stop it this is you're not gonna get in here whereas in the left they think that's an outrage that two to four thousand people would would not be allowed just to march right into the country like like you don't have a country if you don't have borders right you're just one big global entity you know who pays for it who where do they live where do they work how does that work I mean you if you don't have an orderly immigration process of course we'll have immigration but just people marching across the border the left think that's perfectly appropriate now so other issues like abortion look how far we are a part in this issue one side the left believes that there should be no really no restrictions on abortion at all they won't even cover remember they don't even cover the Gosnell case the Kerman Gosnell serial murder abortionist case in Philadelphia the movie just come on hopefully planning to see it at some point coming up here but they won't even cover it whereas the right many on the right not all but many on the right want to ban abortion because it's the murder of the unborn and then the issue of race look how divided we are in race one side the left believes that you know we we are an inherently racist country the police shootings are always racist in nature we have athletes they won't they won't kneel for the national anthem because of our racist you know once I want the left wants reparations for past injustices against against minorities in this country well as the right is trying to trying to be colorblind and try to see people by the content of their character and not the color of their skin another issue we're divided on is religion the left is extremely pluralistic and it it seeks it talks about the the rights and the the multi religious aspect of having the the beauty you could say of having all different kinds of religions and beliefs as if that somehow leads to unity like Islam and atheism and any kind of Eastern New Age spiritualities it's it's at its core anti-christian versus the right which believes not necessarily born-again Christians but have much more of a traditional Christian values marriage another big divide same-sex marriage versus one man one woman look at the the transgender movement you know today the left believes totally in that that you can decide on your own gender matter of fact they just they don't have any sort of outrage or any sort of question about the fact that a man can call himself a woman a woman and then compete in a woman's sporting event and beat all the women there's there's no problem with that if you don't think so you're a bigot for for thinking that that's not fair the sexuality movement the LGBTQ movement versus the biblical sexuality of of Scripture there's another divide there taxation it's the tax the rich and risk redistribution side of the leftism versus low taxation and trying to stimulate the economy on the right and gun rights the left wants to despite what they say they do want to disarm the the populace that's what they would do if they had their chance whereas the right believes in the Second Amendment the education is another issue where there's a great divide the left intently believes on the on the government monopoly of public education that people shouldn't have choice where their tax dollars go to educate their children and so I think if the last two president presidencies have really shown this divide you know with with with President Obama coming in you know he came in saying I'm going to fundamentally transform the United States of America it was the most liberal presidency in memory there was a social revolution with the passage of same-sex marriage and the promotion of transgenderism and the the really the the persecution or loss of religious rights the redistribution of wealth he said all these things this is a core of his presidency and we saw where this division was going to go and lots of people followed that and wanted that and then there was a there was a backlash a a change of mind in the last one when Trump was elected he's had the most conservative policies since Reagan with a strong military law and order patriotism lower taxes the policies aren't new but now conservatism is considered racist and bigoted and hateful now and the left is enraged and there's a huge huge divide in this country so when we come back from this break we'll talk about why has the country become so divided how do we get to this point we know the difference is but how did we get here stay tuned much more coming up to today on the Christian Real View as we talk about how the divided states of America can become united social justice is a gospel issue this has become the mantra of many evangelicals rectifying perceived inequities of race gender sexuality poverty immigration amongst others is considered a top priority but what exactly is social justice is working for social justice a biblical mandate an application of the gospel kell bystner has written an insightful booklet entitled social justice how good intentions undermine justice and gospel also included in this revised 44 page booklet is a copy of the just released statement on social justice in the gospel you can order the social justice booklet for a donation of any amount to the Christian worldview go to the Christian worldview org or call one triple eight six four six twenty two thirty three or write to box four zero one Excelsior Minnesota five five three three one the mission of the Christian worldview is to sharpen the biblical worldview of Christians and to share the good news that all people can be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ for when Christians have a stronger faith and when unbelievers come to saving faith lives and families and churches even communities are changed for the glory of God the Christian worldview is a listener supported ministry you can help us in our mission to impact hearts and minds by making a donation of any amount or becoming a monthly partner all donations are tax-deductible you can give online at the Christian worldview org or by calling us toll-free one triple eight six four six twenty two thirty three when you give we'd like to thank you by sending you a current resource monthly partners can choose to receive resources throughout the year call one triple eight six four six twenty two thirty three or go to the Christian worldview org thank you for your support thanks for joining us today on the Christian real view radio program I'm David Wheaton and we are discussing how can the divided states of America become united there's just incredible division in this country and as I talk about some of the issues and the divide in the end of the last segment don't be confused that I'm trying to align Christianity with the Republican Party not at all but here on the Christian worldview we look at the issues compared to what the Bible says on these issues and not that the Republican Party gets it right all the time but the left is so far departed away from anything that close anything that approximate a biblical view with regards to these various issues we we just discussed and the Republican Party has on many of them has you know positions that more closely approximate a a biblical worldview for those issues so that's the only reason I say it not to align with and say that all the Republicans are all Christians and they're the way to go I'm not saying that at all so the third question is why has the country one more thing in that I actually think the the country would be better if we had more political parties if we had four or six it's like the division of power within government right now or within our the three branches of government that's meant to divide and separate the power so it can't be cloistered in any one branch of government I think it's the same thing for the political parties if there were more than two there's just one political party they'd all have all the power right so two divides it but I think it'd be better if it was divided even more if we had four now I'm not sure if that's even possible but I think that would be more representative of people and be a hedge against the the great division that we're seeing now that topics for another day third question is why has the country become so divided well how do we get to this point well this is this is clearly a worldview issue in that the worldview of the country has changed immensely over the last let's say 60 70 years on one side you have the what is now the humanistic worldview which means man centered without God it's it's man is the authority versus more the traditional American Christian world worldview and again I'm not saying born-again biblical Christianity but a worldview that more let's just say reveres God and has uses somewhat of his principles to as a guide to how to live in govern so humanistic worldview versus a Christian more of a Christian worldview so religiously less of this country has a Christian worldview now than any other time in history all these the surveys show that less of the country reveres God in his word more of the country's humanistic even within the religious aspect of this country mainstream mainline Protestant denominations in the Roman Catholic Church are really are really liberal theologically and even politically and in the more conservative aspects of Christianity let's say the evangelical movements and charismatic movements you know these churches tend to accommodate how culture has changed so they try to they try to reach into culture by becoming like it I think there was a an interview that I think it was Teen Vogue magazine did between this is really representative of where we are as a country religiously now is that they did an interview between a mother and a son but the son was seven years old who now considers himself to be a girl and she dresses up in girls clothes and so Teen Vogue did this little interview between them where the mother would ask the the the such so-called was son posing as a daughter questions and the the son who thinks he's a girl would ask the mothers mother questions back and forth so I'm gonna play this this soundbite I think this is representative of at one other time in American history could you ever imagine something like this even being considered just just this is just crazy so here's the interview just listen carefully to the questions and the answers going back and forth and then it concludes where they apparently are Christian people how did you feel when I first told you I was a girl I felt scared because I already knew in my heart who's your favorite superhero and why watch a woman because she's kind-hearted is there ever a time when someone treated you differently because you're transgender yes a male school back in Houston how are they treating you differently because I've been never allowed to go to the girls bathroom you just make me go to a random bathroom that was supposed to be for all the students but and there was even a sign saying for all students so how how is Austin ISD different I think they call me by my correct name and they let me go to the correct bathroom when it makes me feel happy so when you think about the word transgender what do you see or what do you think about I think about rainbows and cupcakes with smiles and roses it's one thing I've been able to teach you how to be a better Christian how to be kinder less judgmental and more loving and way more patient so what's been the happiest part since mommy understood who you really are well finally being able to wear panties why how does that make you feel why is that special cuz and they were starting to understand me more better has your faith changed or has it stayed the same the question was has your faith changed or has it stayed the same so my faith is stronger than it's ever been we haven't deterred at all our faith is stronger than ever what does it mean to you that you're trans what do you wish people knew about transgender people that Jesus loves them mommy's come a very long way in this process and I have surprised myself how far I'm willing to go for you she certainly has gone a very very long way against from God's clearly stated principles of sexuality and gender written in his infallible inherent word that is such a tragic tragic situation there and it just represents that I mean you get one side of the country totally supports what what I think is just child abuse telling this this boy that who thinks who wants to be a girl affirming that child in that kind of gender confusion and yet half the country really support will vote for candidates that support more of that and on their side there's the religious element to it oh we're professing Christians this is what what God's wants for us I mean I don't think at any other time in American history could you get this being featured by a major media outlet in the country so why is the country become so divided back to this third question is because there's a huge worldview change in this country both religiously because we heard that that audio byte socially you've had the sexual revolution the entertainment industry Hollywood and the humanistic educational system has raised now multiple generations on this this humanism and has totally changed the worldview of this country these people are now in political power now what they learned in the campus with their their Marxist socialistic professors is now becoming mainstream in our society and then politically as we discussed the GOP may have become more moderate than it has been in the past but the left has moved way to the extreme that they really they want to overturn traditional America I mean the Democrat Party now is not again not fringe people within the party but is the leaders of the party are and I hope this is that I don't intend this to be an exaggeration but I think the revolutionaries and we saw this with the Kavanaugh hearing with Dianne Feinstein and Cory Booker and Kamala Harris and Richard Blumenthal and other leaders of Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders I mean there is a leftism now where they don't want anything to do with traditional America they want to topple traditional America I think that's important for us to understand what they're after they're not looking at the same issues they have slightly different views on them now they look at America as inherently racist bigoted with a really sordid past and it needs to be burned down and rebuilt in a humanistic model now this is what Nancy Pelosi actually recently said you just listen to this quote where she was discussing what the future what her vision for the future is like and you'll see this is a revolutionary thing that she says we have to have total clarity about what we do when it comes to everything a woman's right to choose gay marriage well we didn't pass a marriage equality that was in the courts but hopefully that will be protected but we passed other LGBTQ legislation whether it because it's about immigration whether it's about gun safety whether it's about climate we didn't talk about climate we owe the American people to be there for them for the for their financial security respecting the dignity and worth of every person in our country and if there's some collateral damage for some others who do not share our view well so be it but it shouldn't be our original purpose okay those are the words of a revolutionary we're gonna change the social structures of society that the fundamental building blocks of society and marriage transgenderism all that agenda all that kinds of thing and then the economic piece of it it's you know it's it's code for redistributing wealth a Marxist principle and if there's collateral damage to everyone else well so be it to to to achieve our utopian vision now this leftist again today are just Marxist under the different name of progression prevent progressivism in social justice they'll use those words so people don't get too alarmed people get alarmed when you start talking using words like socialism and Marxism but but those will become more mainstream in time as they get more of a foothold on our society this is just the classic oppressor versus oppressed worldview of Karl Marx you need to topple the oppressors who are the old white Christian racist heterosexual men it's that it's topple the patriarchy they hold the signs during the Kavanaugh hearing what more evidence do we need to know of what they want and how divided the country is for every problem there's a government answer they believe we'll come back we'll talk more about how we can bridge this divided states of America and become more United you're listening to the Christian real of you I'm David Wheaton in his DVD the death of discernment Mike Gendron uses this apt analogy from AW tozer red cells are like faith they carry life-giving oxygen to every part of the body white cells on the other hand are discernment they pounce upon dead and toxic matter and carry it out of the body each member in the body of Christ is a white blood cell we need to identify doctrinal air and make sure it gets out of the body that's the only way that the body of Christ can remain strong the death of discernment DVD contains two messages by Mike Gendron you can order it for a donation of any amount to the Christian worldview normal retail is $15 plus shipping go to the Christian worldview org or call 1-triple-8-6-4-6-22-33 or write to box 4 0 1 Excelsior Minnesota 5 5 3 3 1 be sure to take advantage of two free resources that will keep you informed and sharpen your worldview the first is the Christian worldview weekly email which comes to your inbox each Friday it contains a preview of the upcoming radio program along with need to read articles featured resources special events and audio of the previous program the second is the Christian worldview annual print letter which is delivered to your mailbox in November it contains a year-end letter from host David Wheaton and a listing of our store items including DVDs books children's materials and more you can sign up for the weekly email and annual print letter by visiting the Christian worldview org or calling 1-triple-8-6-4-6-22-33 your email and mailing address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time call 1-triple-8-6-4-6-22-33 or visit theChristianworldview.org thank you for joining us today on the Christian worldview radio program I'm David Wheaton the host and our website is theChristianworldview.org we're talking today about how can the divided states of America become united and we've been answering some questions regarding are we really as divided as it appears I think the answer is absolutely yes over what is the the country divided and it's really divided between a Marxist socialistic worldview and those who have a more of a traditional American worldview so maybe more you term in terms of you know big government versus more limited government but there's other ways we're divided as well religiously and socially and that kind of thing as well too and we went through all different issues over what the country is divided from race to abortion to religion to marriage to gender to sexuality to taxation gun rights education all kinds of issues that are there's a very big divide on people's viewpoints on these issues why has the country become so divided because there's been a worldview change in the country there's a big division between the two dominant worldviews in this country of humanism versus more of the traditional Christian worldview and again I don't so I say it's a biblical solid doctrinally biblical worldview but much more of a generally Christian traditionally American worldview that the country was was founded upon so two more quick questions before we open up the phone lines actually open up the phone lines now to to ask the key question of the day is how can these divisions be bridged what are some ways to heal or become more united in this country how what is the pathway to that I think a lot of people would like to see more of a united country probably can't ever have a perfectly united country that's never even been in existence but how can we be more united in this country how can we heal some of these great divides the toll-free telephone number is one eight seven seven six five five sixty seven fifty five how can we become the United States rather than the divided states of America going forward one eight seven seven six five five sixty seven fifty five and while Bobby's taking a few of you up on the call screening board just want to get to two more questions before we get to the answer to that healing the divisions and number the fourth question I had for today was have we been this divided at other times in our history in other words are we just this is just kind of you know a cycle of history where we're going back to other divisions have been equally as as wide as this one well you could look back at the Civil War that was obviously incredibly divided time in this country over the issue of slavery in the country nearly split apart on that issue that was certainly a divided time I'm not sure aside from that issue whether there was as much division as there is now back in the 60s and 70s there was the sex drugs and rock and roll revolution that took place in this country there was division then with the Vietnam War but I think the red the the this revolution now has has taken over all the various major institutions in our society if you think about this leftist worldview controls or dominates in the academic world from primary to second education to for sure higher education the media the entertainment industry just the culture corporate America the government except for maybe the Trump administration this dominates this leftist worldviews humanistic worldview dominates those institutions and that's where this this divide is getting further and further apart so the next question is question number five is what would a united country look like well there's never gonna be uniformity I mean the world isn't always has had divisions I mean look at the Middle East today the Far East other parts of the world there's always division within countries but there are certainly degrees of dividedness you know I think the the the national boundaries of the world have stopped the world from just imploding the boundaries are established by God nationalism that there be boundaries was established at the Tower of Babel when God split people apart he knew it'd be better for people to be divided by boundary rather than kind of living all together and devising things that would rebel against God so there were boundaries and national entities that I think our institution an institution established by God but even within those those boundaries there's divisions and when those boundaries become so great those national entities split apart and fragment and in either go into conflict or even civil war or break apart and become irrelevant but America used to be mostly united most Americans used to believe America was a good country there were there were shared beliefs that we needed a strong defense and we needed individual freedoms as laid out in the Constitution that there we wanted immigration but we wanted it to be orderly immigration you know we wanted economic opportunity for everyone not just equal outcomes and give everyone handouts we wanted to give people hand ups to do better and we valued work so those are the the shared beliefs I think of Americans in the past and there were debates yeah sure there were debates about the degree of you know government involvement you know whether it's limited or a little more government involvement levels of taxation you know maybe the safety net and these are the debates that took place you know back in the day but but there wasn't this this these battles to as President Obama said to fundamentally transform the United States of America I mean there's just that wasn't taking place in past times in America at least not in the mainstream I'm sure there's always been that communist influence under things but it wasn't kind of mainstreamed by our president and the leaders of one of our major major parties so the sixth question is what are some ways to heal the division how can we bridge these divides this is the question that we'd like to get at not just complain about the the division or complain about the problems but how can we bridge some of these divides and so let's go first to Michael in Minnesota Michael thanks for joining us on the Christian real view today how would you answer that question to heal these divisions okay I hear you just fine go ahead hey you know what I actually was in the Marine Corps and what usually happens with us is we're always at odds against each other while we're at peacetime but when we had a common goal or common purpose like we went into the Gulf War you know something happened where we actually had to accomplish mission everyone worked together as a team even though you got racism you got different nationalists you get everything and I think that the same thing happened 9-11 happened and what happened was for the first time churches started to grow and people started to unite but unfortunately unless the United States has a common goal a common purpose and usually that's tragedy chances are we really won't be able to unite those there's too many differences too much infighting Michael I appreciate your call thank you for that let's go next to and in just a point that was actually one of the things that had written down here was a national tragedy sometimes causes people to unite but you think about 9-11 after 9-11 people did sort of put down their their partisan differences on some of those issues I've mentioned today but it didn't last long I mean maybe it lasted what four to six weeks people are going to church more realize some of the important things of life you know look our country and national defense of our homeland is more key than anything else but that quickly quickly went away back to the partisan debate debates and we're more divided now than we were at the time of 9-11 that was 17 years ago let's go next to Ramona in Colorado Ramona thanks for calling the Christian worldview what are your thoughts on some ways to heal the divisions in this country I hear you fine go ahead Ramona okay Bobby could you put her on hold and we'll try to get back to her let's go next to Brad in Colorado Brad thanks for calling the Christian worldview what are some ways to to heal the divisions we're experiencing in our country thank you so much for picking my call I'll try to be really brief here's the thing I think this country's always had these battles but the thing is the right was always allowed to win because Madison's brilliance he created a republic where we have federalism which means that people in Massachusetts can control things that they wanted they want gay marriage how's that it man have all the gay marriage you want you want an LGBT whatever rights you have put them in there but people in Utah don't have to abide by that they've got federalism they can say we aren't going there we'll watch your social experiment meanwhile over here in Wisconsin we're gonna have school choice and we'll let you know how this works with our vouchers and people could compare they could look and see people could vote with their feet they could leave if they didn't like what Massachusetts was doing let me just go on for one more second Justice Scalia used to talk about this all the time before I believe he was murdered the way to get rid of this the way to turn back and get back how we were how we were supposed to be Madison's vision 17th amendment I'm telling you that that is the beginning of the downfall because it takes away the state's representation in the federal government federal government was never supposed to be this powerful this was your limited government and the 17th amendment makes us basically a what would dictate what subjects of the party now so I got the 17th amendment was the state appointment of senators for your your call today thank you for your call you know it there's no question that the the federal government the left believes you know the more government the better and on your issue of states rights and so forth I definitely think that is another another brilliant wisdom of the founders to leave things to the state people can vote with their feet and leave states and see what works that kind of thing although the the the flip side of that is that's also a divisive thing too if you know certain states let's say have that that would also be a divider let's say Minnesota had same-sex marriage and the bordering state Wisconsin didn't that would create a divide between those states and they would look at each other different ways so I'm not sure that's the the ultimate solution but certainly that was a the founders put that into the Constitution or into our our our framework for government as a hedge against too much federal control too much government control over our lives okay we'll take our break we only have about 30 seconds left here before the break so we won't get into another phone call before the break and we'll come back and we'll talk about more ways to heal this division I think there's only one way that going forward that this divide can be bridged I'm going to talk about that after this break this final break of the day here on the Christian real view I'm David Wheaton here's Mike Gendron previewing his DVD on apostasy we'll see how apostasy is the result of Satan's relentless attacks on the church we'll also look at four steps that characterize a church's drift into apostasy then we'll look at the history of the church a chronological development of the Roman Catholic religion and its drift into apostasy and lastly and most importantly what are you and I to do in the midst of this great apostasy and the growing ecumenical movement the DVD is titled Roman Catholicism's drift into apostasy and contains two messages you can order it for a donation of any amount to the Christian worldview normal retail is $15 plus shipping go to the Christian worldview org or call 1 triple 8 6 4 6 22 33 or right to box 4 0 1 excelsior Minnesota five five three three one social justice is a gospel issue this has become the mantra of many evangelicals rectifying perceived inequities of race gender sexuality poverty immigration amongst others is considered a top priority but what exactly is social justice is working for social justice a biblical mandate an application of the gospel kelbeissner has written an insightful booklet entitled social justice how good intentions undermine justice and gospel also included in this revised 44 page booklet is a copy of the just released statement on social justice in the gospel you can order the social justice booklet for a donation of any amount to the Christian worldview go to the Christian worldview org or call 1 triple 8 6 4 6 22 33 or write to box 4 0 1 excelsior minnesota 5 5 3 3 1 okay final segment of the day here on the Christian worldview radio program if you miss any of the program today you can always go to our website the Christian worldview org to hear it again you can also download the podcast for free you can subscribe to it just go to on your smartphone go to your podcast app and search for the Christian worldview and you can get that every week okay let's go as we're trying to answer in this last segment today what are some ways to heal the division in this country is to go one more call today let's go to Adam down in Florida Adam thanks for joining the calling the Christian real of you today how would you answer that question on healing the divide in this country yes sir thank you for taking my call there's a two-step process to this if we look at the Bible God's recipe for a nation is if they recognize him and humble themselves before him he will take care of them he will reverse the destruction we look at Noah and Nineveh that's exactly what happened so in America there have been leaders presidents that have called for a national day of fasting and prayer and I don't remember the specific examples but God had turned around destruction headed for America even in the Revolutionary War when the Christians did that so it's up to us to plead with God to heal our nation we first have to humble ourselves and then pray that he will lead the people who are deceived to humble themselves before him and then he will heal our country and thank you for your and we just email me in the cycle part because we have I want to get to a couple of the things you said just to make sure we have enough time here actually is he still there Bobby okay well wish you hadn't cut him off in a second part anyway apologize for that I want to make sure we get to one of the things he said about repentance I believe our only hope for the country is per what he is saying is spiritual revival in this country because spiritual revival affects the worldview of that will affects the worldview of people the faith of people got questions dot org a really good website that has good one-page answers to things I looked up how they define revival and they said it's a spiritual reawakening from a state of dormancy or stagnation it encompasses the resurfacing of a love for God in appreciation of God's holiness a passion for his word in his church a convicting awareness of personal and corporate sin a spirit of humility and a desire for repentance and growth in righteousness that is what the country needs and that's the only way the country is ever going to be united again otherwise it's going to get worse if that doesn't happen it's going to get worse so the last question today is how does this revival happen and Adam mentioned this the story of from scripture of Jonah going to Nineveh and just look at what happened there in Nineveh was a godless city no doubt divided and just rejecting of God and Jonah didn't even want to go there he just couldn't stand the people because they were so godless he tried to go escape and God wouldn't let him escape of course he was swallowed by the great fish in the second time around in Jonah 3 it says now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time saying arise go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I'm going to tell you now this time Jonah was going to listen didn't want to go through what he had just gone through so Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city a three days walk to get around it then Jonah began to go through the city one day's walk and he cried out and said yet 40 days and Nineveh will be overthrown so what's the response boy that's a harsh message that's not very nice to say that what's the response verse 5 Jonah 3 then the people of Nineveh believed in God and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest of the least of them when the word reached the king of Nineveh he arose from his throne what did he do did he rebel and did he scoff no he laid aside his robe from him he covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the ashes he issued a proclamation and said in Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles do not let man beast herd or flock taste a thing do not let them eat or drink water but both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth and let them call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands who knows God may turn and relent and withdraw his burning anger so that we will not perish verse 10 when God saw their deeds that they turn from their wicked way then God relented concerning the calamity which he had declared he would bring upon them and he did not do it that's from Jonah chapter 3 that's how revival happens it happens when a preacher or preachers preach boldly and biblically not just emotionally but convictionally involitionally it speaks to someone's convictions they speak about who God is about the love of God yes but the wrath of God and the judgment of God so people get a clear picture of who God is and who they have to be before him it's a sound proclamation of the word its people repenting its people fasting its people turning to Christ you know the this kind of this ecumenical mix you get today of so-called preaching where it's all about the music it's shallow and it's emotional it's about Jesus making you feel better this does nothing but really just lead people into a emotional shallow type of add Jesus onto your life type mentality rather than that we need to do what Jonah did fear God be sanctified grow in your personal holiness have strong doctrinal convictions based on God's Word be clear on what the gospel preach the complete gospel of sin and repentance and God's judgment and who Christ is and do the hard work of discipleship doing good works in Christ's name that is the only way this country will ever be united now everyone won't believe that but when more and more people get back to that faith that worldview there will be less and less people who we elect choose to go to represent us to institute the policies that have caused us to be so divided and so how can Christians be healers and not dividers how can we go about this well as one of our caller said repent and fast and pray for those in leadership pray for other people starts with how we see each other we don't see each other as the enemy the other side is the enemy but as sinners needing salvation see them as God sees them continue it continues with how we talk to each other we don't just want to talk to each other just purely with truth truth is important but also with grace calling them to repentance in a right relationship with God and continues with how we act to each other see talk and act to love God and love our neighbor that is the the great that summarizes all the commandments the great commandment and so when we do these things and when more people get their worldview changed there because they've had an inner spiritual conversion and transformation of life that is the only way that this country can be changed otherwise I do not see I do not have a whole lot of hope for any other methods or means of trying to unite this country but I think they're gonna be ineffective and I think the division is only gonna get worse pray for our country fast for our country look to see others help others see this saving gospel of Jesus Jesus Christ not just so much to save the country so to speak we're the river the privilege of trying to save sinners but that will be a byproduct that we will have a more united country because we do live in a very changing America but there is one thing Christian that we can always count on and trust in the Bible says Jesus Christ and his word they are the same yesterday today and forever if they repented at Jonah's preaching God's Word can still call people to repent today until next weekend everyone think biblically and live accordingly we hope today's broadcast turned your heart toward God his word and his son to order a CD copy of today's program or sign up for our free weekly email or to find out how you can be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ go to our website the Christian worldview org or call us toll free at one triple eight six four six twenty two thirty three the Christian worldview is a weekly 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