America 250. Where will our nation go from here? That is the topic we'll discuss today on the Christian Worldview Radio program, where the mission is to sharpen the biblical worldview of Christians and to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. I'm David Wheaton, the host. The Christian Worldview is a non-profit, listener-supported radio ministry.
Our website is thechristianworldview.org, and the rest of our contact information will be given throughout today's program. As always, thank you for your notes of encouragement. financial support and lifting us up in prayer. We hope you and your loved ones had a meaningful time celebrating the 250th anniversary of our nation. dating back to the signing of the Declaration of Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain on july fourth, seventeen seventy six.
In the program today we are going to discuss where America will go from here. But before that, just a brief announcement about a special weekend for listeners that we are planning this coming September. On Saturday, September 12th, in the late afternoon and early evening, we will be hosting a Christian Worldview Speaker Series event here in Minnesota with Pastor Travis Allen, a longtime favorite guest on this program, the current pastor of Grace Church in Greeley, Colorado, formerly the managing director of Grace to You, John MacArthur's radio ministry. And going even further back, he was a member of the US Navy SEAL teams. The speaker series event will take place at Stonehouse Farm in Jordan, Minnesota, which is just outside the southwest metro of the Twin Cities.
and is the same venue where we have held the Overcomer Course for young adults. The format of the Speaker Series event will be a live recording of the radio program with Travis covering a wide range of issues relating to the faith, the church and current events, both in America and abroad. We'll also take audience questions, and dinner will be served on site as well. Then, two days later on Monday, september fourteenth, is the eleventh Overcomer Foundation Cup golf and dinner event at White Bear Yacht Club near Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Overcomer Foundation is the official name of the nonprofit organization that directs the Christian Real View radio program.
This is a very enjoyable day at a beautiful course and club with 18 holes of golf, lunch on the lawn, and dinner and program overlooking the lake in the main clubhouse.
Alright, so you're probably wondering why two events on almost back-to-back days.
Well, the Speaker Series event is for all listeners and supporters of the ministry, while the Overcomer Foundation Cup is geared mainly for golfers.
So having the events back to back offers something for everyone. This also creates an opportunity for out-of-state guests to come to town for the speaker series event on Saturday, September 12th in the late afternoon, attend a sound local church on Sunday morning, September 13th. We can make some recommendations, enjoy a Sunday afternoon exploring the area, and then if they are golfers, they can participate on Monday, September 14th at the Overcomer Foundation Cup. You can find out more details about both events at thechristianworldview. org or calling us at 1888-646-2233.
Registration for the Golf event is open now. Registration for the Speaker Series event opens July 18th. You are invited to come, and we would love to meet you in Minnesota in September at what is typically a beautiful time of year here.
Alright, now to the preview for today's program. America as an independent sovereign nation is now 250 years old. The founders of our country, who were mostly Christians or were in large measure influenced by Christianity. brilliantly wrote and adopted our nation's founding and guiding documents, the Declaration of Independence on july fourth, seventeen seventy six, and the US Constitution, the supreme law of our land, on september seventeenth, seventeen eighty nine. The founders understood from studying Scripture and history that separation of power in government is necessary to avoid tyranny.
and individual liberties, bound by personal restraint, are God's intent for a flourishing society. They were absolutely right. For about 200 years, America grew, developed, and course-corrected when necessary into one of the greatest empires in human history, militarily, economically. Culturally And yes, spiritually. The pulpit of Christian churches influenced the majority of our citizens through proclaiming Biblical truth and the gospel.
Generally speaking, our people and institutions largely revered God and His Word. But as with all nations throughout history before us, including God's own people, the Jews, the hearts of our people begin to wander and be seduced away from revering God. the Christian world view that pervaded our land, Has now been replaced by a man-centered ethic where, quote, every man does what is right and in his own eyes. We are now at the point where where right is called wrong and wrong is called right. That's a bad situation.
So where will America go from its 250th anniversary. deeper into sin and societal breakdown or even collapse? Or will there be repentance and and revival. What do Christians need to understand about our current situation and what should they be doing? Ed Vitegliano is our guest today to help answer these questions.
Ed is the Executive Vice President of American Family Association and the long time co host of Today's Issues radio program on American Family Radio Network. An award-winning writer, Ed wrote a column titled Foundations from the Past in AFA's The Stand magazine, which also appears in the July-August issue of the Christian Worldview Journal to be released soon.
So let's get straight to the interview with Ed Vitegliano. Ed, thanks so much for coming on the Christian Realview Radio program today. Just before we get to our topic. Could you tell us briefly about your background? how you became a follower of Christ, and how you have served American Family Association over many years.
Well, David, it's an honor to be with you again. I was raised in the New England area, the Boston area. My dad was raised Catholic. My mom was raised Greek Orthodox, and when they got married, They couldn't decide what to do with the kids, so they did nothing.
So we rarely, if ever, went to church. And I joke that that allowed the filthy Protestants to get their hands on me. And I was about 20 years old, and my sister came home. We were both in college at the time and she started talking about being born again. I had never heard the term born again, didn't understand it.
I had been on the debate team in high school and college, and so I did what a lot of people do. I just argued with her. But the gospel that my sister presented just stuck in my heart. And I just couldn't get away from it. The arguments I had raised in my mind and spoken out loud.
Did not quiet the conviction I had in my heart.
So at 20 years old, I gave my heart to Jesus Christ and That third year of college, I started thinking that God might want me in the ministry. My dad freaked out. He didn't like that idea. A lot of other people thought it was strange, but that is what the Lord led me into. I had planned on being a lawyer.
But my heart was wanting to serve God and so I went into the ministry and went into the ministry in 1982. in the pastorate in one form or another. Married my sweetheart that I met in Bible College soon thereafter. And we've been serving the Lord in the ministry since 1982. In 1996, I got an opportunity through friendships that I had made here in Tupelo, Tim Weilman, I knew in the 80s, J.J.
Jasper and some others, was invited to come offered a job writing for the magazine. Also, Brother Don Wauman, the founder of this ministry, brought me onto the radio. And so I have been doing writing and radio for a long time. And God has opened other doors as well.
Well, thank you for sharing your background in Salvation Story, Ed.
Now, speaking of the magazine The Stand. Your column in the most recent issue is entitled Foundations from the Past. And I want to start out, Eb, by just reading a portion of the Declaration of Independence. Most of our listeners will have heard this sentence or two from the Declaration, when in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth The separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them. A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes.
Which impel them to the separation.
So, this is the beginning of the Declaration of Independence, and the founders are going to go on to say why we are declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.
Now, in your column, as I mentioned, you write about this portion of the Declaration. You say, broadly speaking, The founders believed that God's will for governments Cultures and civilizations was visible both in scripture. And in the natural world influenced by his hand. It was to this latter revelation, the natural world, that the founders referred when they used the term natural law. an idea firmly entrenched in their view of the world, especially politics.
Let's start out today by having you explain, Ed, what natural law is. And why didn't the founders, with a vast majority of them being Christians, maybe different beliefs, but generally Christians, why didn't they just specify biblical law? Why did they go to natural law? In 2026, we've gone through, whatever, 150, 200 years. of kind of scientific revolution.
Most people don't question the fact that our world is governed by scientific laws. That there are laws of gravity, all these kinds of things, and continuing to advance. Those discoveries about the world and the universe that God has created. A lot of the first scientists were Christians. Who, because they understood that a God of order and intellect, the Logos, that there was order built into the created world.
They hunted for the laws and the indications of what God intended in a scientific pursuit.
Well, in the Enlightenment and amongst the bright lights of our founding generations, They saw that same intent in nature when it comes to political theory. They believed that just like there were scientific laws, you know, water flowed downhill. They said. Those kinds of things can be understood in terms of what God intends. how people should live.
How they should govern themselves. Abraham Lincoln famously during the Civil War. always appealed to the Declaration of Independence when he was talking about the end of slavery. because these were self-evident truths. that God had put into nature just like the self-evident truths when it comes to the laws of biology or physics.
And so natural law was seen. as being God's will and intent. made clear not only in the scripture, But in a Romans I kind of way, by seeing God in nature, we can understand what he intends for human beings as well. In terms of why the founders didn't just specify biblical law, I think they were aware that there was division among the colonies in terms of denominational allegiance. I think the New England states were primarily Congregationalist.
There was a lot of Quakers, I think, in the middle colonies. And the Anglican church or the Episcopal Church in Virginia and some of the southern colonies. I think they thought, well, We need to be careful here and not break apart the union before it ever gets started. And so I think that the founders believed we need to approach this from a general Christian consensus. The early colonies did have a lot of specific biblical law governing their colonies.
They even had religious tests. And I think the approach was these are separate colonies, they will be separate states, they have a right to govern themselves, and from the national perspective, we're going to go with a more generalized Christian approach. That's my sense of what they were dealing with. and what they ultimately decided to do. Ed Vitegliano is our guest today here on the Christian Realvies.
We talk about America 250. Where does our nation go from here? He's the executive vice president of the American Family Association. Ed, God is referenced four times in the Declaration of Independence. He isn't referenced in the Constitution, although the principles of the Constitution are directly taken from our biblical worldview in so many ways.
So was the intention of the founders That the US would be a distinctly Christian nation in government and laws because they had to thread the needle here a bit. They come from Britain. They didn't want an established king over the church like it was there, and yet they still wanted a Christian nation, it seems like. And if they did want a distinctly Christian nation, How did they envision? A Christian nation being maintained.
They certainly knew about the history of Israel, how the nation of Israel is chosen and turned away from God, and every man did what is right in his own eyes. They knew the idolatrous nature that we have as humans, the freedom to believe or not to believe. Do you know much about how they envisioned that this Christian beginning was going to be maintained? There is a strain of suspicion amongst a lot of the founders about institutionalized Christianity. They did not like concentrated power because of the religious wars and everything else that had transpired in Europe.
I think they were wary on a national level.
Now the colonies As I mentioned earlier, I think they were a lot more free. In fact, there were early instances of questions of religious liberty, Roger Williams and so on and so forth. I love George Washington's farewell address. He makes the statement that religion and morality were indispensable supports for political prosperity. I think that was the view.
Of the founders, and they were talking about Christianity. And they knew that for the republic to last, Benjamin Franklin's famous statement when asked, Have you given us what form of government? He says, A republic, madam, if you can keep it. They understood that religion and morality would be indispensable for the success of the republic. And I think they felt that there was a deep enough substructure of Christian faith.
in the nation that they did not have to specify On the national level, by that I mean the Constitution. what form that would take. But I think they clearly understood Christianity could not be extracted from the experiment. and the experiments survive. You look at Alexis de Tocqueville coming over here in the early 1800s.
He was stunned. by the fervent Christian character of the American people, God-fearing, church-going people. I think that was what the founders believed would give life to the Republic and long-term success if the country could remain rooted in Christianity. And it certainly did remain that way for maybe a couple hundred years. But I think over the last 50 or 60 years that has greatly changed.
Surveys and studies show this, how lower belief in God, very few Americans actually have a Christian or biblical worldview. Study after study shows this. Our guest today is Ed Vitegliano, Executive Vice President of American Family Association. You can read his column that we are discussing either at AFA's The Stand magazine or in the Christian Worldview Journal, which is soon to be released. After this break, we will discuss whether the founders envisioned that our country would become so religiously pluralistic.
What could they have done to avoid that? I'm David Wheaton. You are listening to the Christian Worldview Radio Program. The classroom and the dorm room students encounter at secular and yes, Christian colleges lead to as many as 50% of students who profess upon entering college to be born-again Christians not saying the same four years later.
So how can students avoid spiritual shipwreck? In my book, University of Destruction, Your Game Plan for Spiritual Victory on Campus, I give a scouting report on the three pillars of peril in college and provide a game plan to be an overcomer. This would be a meaningful gift for the high school or college students in your life. and there's a free study guide available as well. University of Destruction is soft cover, 176 pages, and retails for $17.
For a limited time, you can order signed copies for a donation of any amount to the Christian Worldview. Bulk discounts are also available. Go to thechristianworldview.org or call 188-646-2233. The July-August issue of the Christian Worldview Journal commemorates 250 years of America. Ed Vitegliano of American Family Association writes how foundations of our past provide a blueprint for future political and cultural renewal.
My column is about the consequences of a nation rebelling against God and the blessings for repentance as described in Psalm chapter 2. There is lots of additional content, including the insert with resources for adults and children. The Christian Worldview Journal is a bi-monthly print and digital publication designed to sharpen your biblical worldview on current events and issues of the faith. The journal is sent to Christian Worldview Partners as a thank you for their support of this radio ministry. To become a Christian Worldview Partner or to order an individual issue of the journal, go to thechristianworldview.org or call 188-646-2233 or write to box 401-Excelsier, Minnesota, 5533.
One. Welcome back to the Christian Worldview. I'm David Wheaton. Be sure to visit thechristianworldview.org, where you can sign up for our weekly email and the Christian Worldview Journal print publication, order resources for adults and children, and support the ministry. Our topic today is America 250.
Where will our nation go from here? And our guest is Ed Vitegliano. Writer, radio host, and executive vice president of American Family Association. Ed, do you think that the founders would have envisioned even allowed. the current makeup of a religiously pluralistic society where we have some Christians, a wide definition there, lots of Muslims coming in, Hindus, secularists, And if they wouldn't have wanted that, How is that to really be avoided with the system they set up?
with the freedoms enshrined in our Constitution about freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, and so forth. Here we see the limits of human wisdom. The fact is, I think the founders... Could not have envisioned the path we would ultimately go down. I don't think they would have envisioned that for the last 50 or 60 years, there would be actually maybe longer, maybe 100 years or more going back to the origins of the progressive movement in this country.
I don't think the founders would have ever thought that you'd have a faction within the country. that would work to undermine the Constitution itself and the founding principles. Just like I don't think they would have imagined that a Supreme Court in 2015 would have legalized same-sex marriage. If they had been able to foresee all of these pitfalls, they probably would have written a longer document. I think they would have tried to head those things off, but I think they believed that you give people freedom to worship.
and freedom to learn that they would understand how to avoid Civilizational suicide. And from Ben Franklin's remark, A republic, madam, if you can keep it. I think they figured, look, you better learn from history, just like we did. And you better understand human nature. As God has created it, you better understand what to avoid.
Thomas Jefferson always stressed we had to have an educated electorate. And I think they may look at us and say, look, if you refuse to understand these kinds of principles of civilizational success. then that's on you.
So I think ultimately. for this country to survive, I think we're going to have to decide and make this purposeful. I think we're going to have to decide and state.
However, it's done. that America is a Christian nation. that it's a good thing to promote that as our foundational faith. And while everyone is welcome to freely practice their own faith, you cannot undermine that cultural foundation any more than you can try to overthrow the Constitution. If we're going to survive, we're going to have to come to that place where we make those kinds of decisions.
Because we're going to have to fill out the rest of the document, in a sense. The founders gave us the tools. to understand what makes for a successful culture and government. And we're going to have to make the decisions to help that to survive. Or we won't.
We won't survive. Yeah, I completely agree. That's very well said. Ed Vitegliano with us today from American Family Association. Ed, you wrote in your column in the stand titled Foundations from the Past, Robert Winthrop, a member of Congress from 1840 to 1851 and the 18th Speaker of the House of Representatives.
declared in stark terms The importance of Christianity to the fate of the American Republic. Quote, you're quoting him. Man? In a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them. or by a power without them.
Either by the word of God or by the strong arm of man, either by the Bible. or by the bayonet. The distinction you were just drawing in your last answer there: that we either go God's way or there's going to be civilizational collapse.
Now, I want to play a short soundbite. The Lego Company, which is, I believe, is maybe the largest or one of the largest toy companies in the world. just recently released a video promoting The LGBTQ movement by highlighting stories of little Lego characters. I'll play you just a quick soundbite from that, Ed. One of the most amazing moments for me in my journey of self-discovery was the first time that I attended a Pride Parade after moving to a new country.
It was a beautiful sunny day. I was surrounded by people who made me feel really comfortable to be myself. And I was overwhelmed with pride for what it meant to be in the LGBTQIA community.
Somehow, this best friendship grew into this romantic kind of love right before my very eyes. I realized I found my person and she happens to have shown up in the form of a woman. Last year, I asked my boyfriend to marry me while we were in Kew Gardens in London. We ended up in the Japanese landscape garden. and I asked him to pose for a photo.
When he turned around, I proposed. This is direct propagandizing to use really what it is of young children into a sinful lifestyle. Again, going back to our founders as we think about America 250. If George Washington Or John Adams were president right now, and he looked at the current moral state of our country with regard to, let's say, the number of the millions of abortions that have taken place, the LGBTQ movement that's just in your face constantly. the redefinition of marriage, as you mentioned.
What do you think? they would be able to do about this at this point.
Well, first let me say I think they wouldn't recognize the country, but they would have known it was possible.
Okay, you mentioned earlier they knew the Bible. They knew cultures could destroy themselves. What to do about it. You know, when I describe my own political philosophy, David, I call myself a Christian conservative. Because I couldn't be just a conservative.
whatever your political philosophy, Christianity must govern it. I think what we see with the LGBT and then the transgender craziness that we've experienced, and maybe that's abating a little bit here, but over the last 10 years, That is the result of what many people call, I call it this, just radical individualism. where the purpose of life is to be yourself. That is a twisting of the founders' ideas of individual liberty. Individual liberty cannot be perverted.
into radical individualism like is represented by a cartoon and a toy company's pitch to children. Either our country swings back to an understanding that you've got to have an overarching principle. You've got to have an overarching worldview to draw us all together. If everyone is a radical individual, it will tear the country apart. There is nothing to draw us together.
And this is a perfect picture of what happens when you jettison the Bible. And when you stop teaching children the Bible, and when you basically say it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you're happy doing it. That is a prescription for cultural dissolution. And we're seeing that. And we're seeing the people who want the Constitution to come to an end.
and be replaced by something else, we're seeing them purposefully drive wedges in between us. and then fanning the flames by saying, you have a right to be whatever you want and you have a right to construct reality. as you see fit. You want to declare yourself a different sex or gender? Go right ahead.
Everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes. That is, in my opinion, a sign that judgment is already occurring. whether or not it is a judgment unto destruction. It's certainly a judgment unto ruin if we don't take heed. We need churches to take this threat seriously.
I think since COVID, I think I've seen more and more churches waking up to the deep, deep danger we're in. Two things that I see going on, really not so behind the scenes, but with the Trump administration in power now, they tend to get the headlines, but just dig beneath the surface what's going on politically and culturally in some parts of our country, especially the big cities. You see the ideologies of socialism. in Islam. Have taken strong root in certain areas.
As hard as that could be to believe, There is a very forthright Muslim mayor of the largest city in America now, Ziran Mandani. And he's a socialist, but he's also an Islamist. And these two ideologies are almost like they're banding together to undermine. And try to conquer, I guess, for lack of a better word. I think that's an accurate word, our nation.
And so I want to play a soundbite of some of the members of the Democratic Socialists of America. That's the name of their party. They're winning elections here recently. We see this happening. It's a big development on the left.
Some of the prominent members of this Democratic Socialists of America. Are saying that in order to gain power, they need to take down the empire of America. Listen to this. You know, we have a unique responsibility to act from the heart of empire, the belly of the beast. The most important thing that we can do is take that empire down from within.
Our role ultimately is to facilitate our own empire's failure in ways that we can. Ultimately, to overthrow our own empire. U.S. imperialism is not a thing that can be reformed away. It has to be.
overthrown through revolutionary struggle. and to build a mass movement that can use the leverage of workers to hit the kill switch on American imperialism here within the American empire. Ed, what do you make of this? Acceptance of socialism that's completely incompatible with our constitutional form of government. And why do you think it's making so many inroads?
And it's always disturbing to hear people say the quiet part out loud, like you just did. First, let me just say the old adage, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Socialism is not only incompatible with a constitutional republic, it is incompatible with Islam and vice versa. But they both see in the United States a competitor. This is why true socialist states, communist states, can't even let the family. prosper. Even the family has to be subservient to the state.
But these two ideologies understand that the United States far beyond probably any other nation in the world at this present time. is a danger. a competitor to their worldview. They have no choice. If they are going to succeed in this world, they have no choice but to take down the United States.
This is why Iran calls America the great Satan. And Israel is the little Satan because the great Satan stands behind the little Satan. Iran knows if they're going to take out Israel, they've got to take down the United States. And socialism is the same way. Both of these understand That America has to be toppled.
It would be extraordinarily difficult to do that from the outside. But it can be done from the inside, and frankly, this process has been going on for well over a hundred years, the early years of the progressive movement. They couldn't stand the Declaration of Independence or the fact that we vote to decide which direction our country's going to go. And now we have the most radical form of that progressive ideology in socialism and communism. And so we've had 50 years or more of undermining our founding principles.
in our own educational system refused to teach the truth about the founders and began teaching socialist ideals. And now, with a kind of a perfect storm, maybe economically, they believe they have an opportunity to do exactly what these voices. You just played, these individuals said, we have an opportunity to take them down, take this empire, quote unquote, down from the inside. That's what they intend. and for Christians and other patriots to sleep through this moment.
would be devastating for our children and our grandchildren. Very true. And so you're talking about socialism there, but let's talk about Islam specifically here. I want to play another soundbite, this one from a very popular online influencer whose nickname Sneeko. And he's got over a million followers.
I believe he's Muslim. He wouldn't be saying this if he wasn't. But here's what he had to say in New York City. Because again, the mayor there, Mamdani, is a Muslim, very outspoken about it. There's been prayers in the street, in the call to prayer.
I mean, this is, of course, in the city where 9-11 took place by Islamic militants taking down the Twin Towers, killing thousands of people. Here's what Sneeko had to say on the streets of New York City during an Islamic rally there. Oh no, look, man! Oh no! Oh no!
This is the Islamic Republic of New Yorkistan! Islam will be in every household. Inshallah, the whole world is Muslim. Welcome to Magdadi's New York. You see this city, you see how it looks, inshallah, your city looks just like this too.
So this is the Islamic Republic of New Yorkistan. Islam will be in every house. And he's not the only voice saying this. That I'm sure you've seen the videos from all over the country, whether it's down in Houston, whether it's from Dearborn, Michigan, Patterson, New Jersey, here where we're based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis. We see Islam all over the place with Somali Muslims, the immigration here, women wearing hijabs, burqas here, right in town in America, pushing for political power in the political class, the fraudulent system that's going on here to keep the left in power.
It's hard not to look at this and think: well, maybe this is just an isolated case. Maybe it's just being magnified in social media. But what do you think Ed can be legally done? With regard to the open stated goal of Islamists saying, we're gonna try to take over your country, this is the way it's gonna be in every town. You mean to me it seems Basis for prosecution of treason is saying we're going to be taking down your country and replacing it with Islam.
What can be done about this? It's very disturbing to hear these kinds of things. And, you know, maybe 10 years ago, I would have said, well, we certainly need to allow freedom of speech and freedom of religion. I wasn't naive. I understood what socialists and Islamists believe.
I just didn't think there would be a chance they could succeed 10 years ago. I have changed my mind. I've got 180 degrees. I think this is an existential threat. I think we ought to make English the official language.
I think we ought to make Christianity the official religion of this country. And you're free to worship as you see fit. But you cannot advocate for the overthrow of our country. And I think that applies to Islamists. I think that applies to socialists.
You can discuss. a different viewpoint. Because we have said, for example, Christianity is the official religion of this country. Yes, you can worship as you see fit, but in our schools, we're going to teach the Christian foundations of our nation. And if you advocate the overthrow of the country, it is treason.
You can be prosecuted for it. And technically, I think that is. The way the law reads. You cannot advocate for the overthrow of the country. But here they are, and here we are.
And it's all going to come down to... A battle of wills. These folks, the socialists and the Islamists, They are willing to go to the barricades. to overthrow the country. And the question then becomes, do the rest of us have the will to say Not on my watch.
Now, I'll just say this as a grandfather. I would have said this as a father. but especially now as a grandfather. There's no way I'm letting this happen. I think the country is waking up to the threat.
I don't want to speak for God on this. But it seems like there's something divine going on in revealing the truth of these two movements. It used to be behind closed doors.
Now that you have a Democratic Party. whose leaders are pro-Palestinian slash Islamist and pro-socialist, I think they're going to wind up taking over the Democratic Party. And I think we're going to see in some of these big cities how much failure comes with that.
so that America can see with both eyes wide open that this is a fight to the death against these two ideologies. And if we want our children and grandchildren to be free, we're going to have to be willing to go to the barricades just like the other guys. I pray you're right, Ed Ed Vitegliano, with us here on the Christian Worldview, that people will wake up to what's going on behind the scenes here. Actually, not again, not so much behind the scenes or saying these things openly. Matter of fact, the mayor of New York we've been referencing here, Zoran Mamdani.
He gave a message on July 4th on Independence Day sitting at George Washington's desk. It gives a clear picture into the mind of the movement that views America as the great villain in the world and irredeemable unless we turn to socialism and Islam. We'll hear that audio next, along with more from Ed Vitegliano of American Family Association. I'm David Wheaton. You are listening to the Christian Worldview Radio Program.
You are invited to two events in September. The first is the Christian Worldview Speaker Series event on Saturday, September 12th at Stonehouse Farm in Jordan, Minnesota with Pastor Travis Allen of Grace Church in Greeley, Colorado, who is a longtime favorite guest on the program and former managing director of Grace to You and a U.S. Navy SEAL. We will discuss a wide range of current events and issues of the faith along with audience questions. Dinner will be served.
Two days later, on Monday, September 14th, is the annual Overcomer Foundation Cup golf and dinner event at White Bear Yacht Club near St. Paul, Minnesota. Golfers from near and far experience an enjoyable day of golf, meals, and fellowship, all in support of the Overcomer Foundation, which is the nonprofit organization that directs the Christian Worldview. More details and registration for both events is at thechristianworldview.org or call us at 188-646-2233. The July-August issue of the Christian Worldview Journal commemorates 250 years of America.
Ed Vitegliano of American Family Association writes how foundations of our past provide a blueprint for future political and cultural renewal. My column is about the consequences of a nation rebelling against God and the blessings for repentance as described in Psalm 2. There is lots of additional content including the insert with resources for adults and children. The Christian Worldview Journal is a bi-monthly print and digital publication designed to sharpen your biblical worldview on current events and issues of the faith. The journal is sent to Christian Worldview Partners as a thank you for their support of this radio ministry.
To become a Christian Worldview Partner or to order an individual issue of the journal, go to thechristianworldview.org or call 188-646-2233 or write to Box 401, Excelsior, Minnesota, 55331. Thanks for joining us on the Christian Worldview. I'm David Wheaton. Today's program and past programs, along with transcripts and short takes, are available at thechristianworldview.org. While there, you can also sign up for our weekly email and the Christian Worldview Journal print publication, order resources, and support the ministry.
Our topic today is America 250. Where will our nation go from here? And our guest is Ed Vitegliano, writer, radio host, and executive vice president of American Family Association. Add the Mayor of New York City Zoran Mamdani. He gave a message on July 4th on Independence Day sitting at George Washington's desk.
And here's just a short portion of what he had to say. As we mark two hundred and fifty years. What do we see? We see a city of contradictions within a nation of contradictions. We see the wealthiest country in the history of the world.
one where children go to sleep hungry, while the world's first trillionaire hungers for more. We see monopolies that dominate every industry. and oligarchs who buy elections. We see massed agents terrorizing our streets. Eating food cooked by our undocumented neighbors before spiriting them away in unmarked vance.
We see a nation whose immense wealth has been built by those with callused, Dirt streaked hands. Those who toil on factory floors and chisel into stone. And we see a nation that has allowed so much of that wealth. to be held instead. and the soft hands of a precious few.
Okay, so that's quite an incorrect and negative perspective on our country. Of course, our country is not perfect, no country is. And As you look at our country 250 years in, I'm sure you don't agree with that perspective, but What do you think America is still doing well? According to our founding values and from God's perspective, you know, we've talked about some of the negative things going on, but what are we doing well? Hearing those kind of things are astounding, and this is why I think both of these movements, socialism and Islamism, have legs.
because they are really hitting in a perfect storm. Where there is a lot of dissatisfaction, there is a lot of covetousness, there is a lot of fear about affordability. That is fertile ground for sowing seeds of discontent. But What I think we are doing well is what we have ironically seen here during the World Cup. where you have all these Europeans coming over here who are believing lies like we just heard.
and come over here, some of them afraid to come over to the United States to watch soccer. and they're falling in love with the country. They are falling in love with the amount of freedom we have, with the love people have shown, with the sheer abundance of what capitalism plus Christianity has produced. They are falling in love with the nation. And I think that if we can get through this time of economic trouble.
And maybe it gets worse. I don't know. But if Christians will go about being What the Bible has called them to be. I think we can reach some of the young people that are fueling. the socialist movement, for example.
And I think we can turn them to understand That what you just heard was a lie about what our nation has done. And it is a lie about what socialism's done. You know, because no one's flocking to Cuba. To find out how great Cuba is, they're coming to this country. They're not going to North Korea.
They're coming to this country and finding out what capitalism plus Christianity can accomplish when you turn people loose to do what their creativity and their gifts allow them to do. I think that's the winning combination. But it's got to be rooted in Christianity, just like our founders understood, because you can't have the country pulling itself apart with 330 million individuals doing whatever's right in their own eyes. Very well said. Ed Vitegliano with us today here on the Christian Worldview.
Ed, in your article, you write a signer of the Constitution, James McHenry, asserted that without the Scriptures as the foundation of morality, all other sources for virtue would fail. You quote him, In vain, without the Bible, we increase penal laws and draw entrenchment around our institutions. Current tribulations in America, you say, bear out the wisdom of that statement. For while the number of laws grows, the Public morality dissipates like dust. Increasingly, those concerned are about the direction of our country, are forced to protect foundational institutions from the powers of darkness that assault them.
The people are increasingly unrestrained by morality because of the source of it, the Holy Bible, has been rejected. The further America ventures away from Christianity, the more the approaching winds of national collapse. Are felt. And this is really what you've been saying today. That was a good summary statement of what you've been saying.
We have a choice. We're at a fork in the road. Which way are we going to go here at America 250? I heard many conservatives On television and elsewhere, during this America 250 commemoration, speak in terms of, well, quote. The best is yet to come for America.
This is the next 250 years of America's future, and so forth. You look at history, you just say empires rise and empires fall. Scripture says this: we have no idea what's going to happen tomorrow. let alone a year from now or ten years from now. But it sounds like you think that without widespread repentance of sin in this country.
Spiritual revival, there's a real chance that national collapse. could be coming our way. Why do you think that and how could that take place in a nation as strong economically and militarily as we are? Yeah, first of all, that statement that our best years are ahead of us, another 250, that's just bluster. Nobody could possibly say that.
And if we look at what we're going through now, I think you can recognize that that's a foolish hope. My view is that only God can save America now. That's always been the case. That's true about any nation. God From Acts 17, Paul says God establishes a nation's borders.
and its times and its epics. But only God can save America now. The sickness in America is on a scale of Isaiah chapter 1. There is no healthy part. In the nation of Israel, the prophet said, beating after beating, it doesn't matter, everything's bruised.
And that's, to me, the state of America. And it's because we have rejected God. You know, the Romans won downward death spiral. When people refuse to honor God and glorify God, It's true about America just like it was true about pagan nations. in the time of the Apostle Paul.
Unless this nation has a deep and abiding awakening. I don't see how the country doesn't pull itself apart. And it may not be from invading armies like happened with Rome. But it's going to collapse nonetheless because The Bible makes clear that when people reject God, They get the reward of every pagan country that has ever existed and Try to live in defiance of him.
So I think we fight now. Uh Christians We fight the battle to give our country time.
So, when we here at American Family Association tell people, look, get registered, vote. Run for your school board. Be salt and light in our culture. That is an attempt, I think, to give our country time. That's why I've spent the last 30 years.
At American Family Association, I've always looked at AFA, other groups like ours, shows like yours. It is an attempt to apply the brakes. To the runaway immorality that Satan would love. to flood our country with. Or another metaphor I use sometimes is Christians involved in culture and politics.
are like the offensive line on a football team. You're buying time for the quarterback to find a receiver downfield. That is what Christians need to do. This is not a time to sleep. This is not a time.
To play video games or watch sports. I mean, nothing wrong with doing those things, you know, in and of themselves. But you have to be involved in our culture and you have to pray and you have to. Seek revival in your own heart. in your own relationships, your own home, your own family, your own church.
your own community, and pray that God will have mercy on America. Ed, thank you for that final exhortation today. What a good one. If the church and Christians can take seriously our citizenship of heaven, of course, primarily with individual salvation and sanctification, and yet use our time as well to be salt and light in our nation, perhaps as we pray to God, he will change the direction of this country. We just thank you, Ed, for all you and the rest of the folks at the American Family Association are doing to be salt and light, to stand up for biblical truth and the gospel.
Thank you for coming on the Christian Worldview Radio program today, and all of God's best and grace to you.
Well, David, thank you. Thank you for what you do. And your listeners, I'm sure, are pitching right in. to help make America a better place and a place. that honors the Lord.
It was a sobering conversation today. But I believe a truthful one about where America stands at 250 years old. Again, Ed Vitegliano of American Family Association has been our guest. We have links to him at thechristianworldview.org, where you can also hear a replay of today's program. Ed said in his last answer, Unless this nation has a deep and abiding awakening, It's going to collapse.
When people reject God, they get the quote reward of every country who rejects him.
So I think the first and most fitting thing we can do is pray for our nation. Heavenly Father, thank you for leading our founders to start this nation with the clear intent. to honor you and follow your ways. thank you for your blessings and grace that you have shed on us so undeservedly. Thank you for your patience with us.
giving us time to repent and turn from our wicked ways. We ask, Lord, that you would work in the hearts of those listening today. To bring those who have not been reconciled to you to saving faith through trusting in your Son, Jesus Christ. We pray that believers would be sanctified and emboldened to proclaim your truth in the Gospel wherever we can. And we ask that you would cause repentance and revival.
So all may know you are the one true God, and your Son is the only way to you. We pray this in His name and for your glory, Lord. Amen. Thank you for joining us today on the Christian Worldview and for your support of this non-profit radio ministry. Until next time.
Think biblically. Live accordingly and stand firm. The mission of the Christian worldview is to sharpen the biblical worldview of Christians and to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. We hope today's broadcast encouraged you toward that end. To hear a replay of today's program, order a transcript, or find out what must I do to be saved, go to thechristianworldview.org or call toll-free 188-646-2233.
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