Rick Green [00:00:07] Welcome to the WallBuilders show. This is the intersection of faith and culture. We're taking on those hot topics of the day from a biblical, historical and constitutional perspective. And you found us on Friday, which means it's good news. Variety Rick Green here with David Barton and Tim Barton. And I can't even I'm glad I don't have your jobs, guys, because there's so much good news. How are you all going to pick what to do today? I don't know, but let's just get after it. So what's our first piece of good news? 

David Barton [00:00:29] Well, Rick, I want to hit an issue that was talked about a lot over the last really 4 or 5 months leading up to the election. It goes back to the Republican National Convention back in the summer. And so, man, that seems like a long time ago. And I guess it was. What was that, six months ago or seven months ago? But at that point in time, it was a real shocker for a lot of conservative Republicans that the the strong pro-life language came out of the Republican platform. Language has been there. It's back really before Reagan and that language. So many people saw that as as a betrayal or selling out of core Republican values that Trump had been real pro-life in his first administration. And then after the court struck down Rowe v Wade and turn it back to the States, he came out and said, well, this shouldn't be a federal issue. This should be a state issue. And of course, we've disagreed with that, saying that no inalienable right is an issue. It's a right that goes to every individual That doesn't because you live in a pro-life state, because you're a human. And it's like slavery is not a states rights issue. The right to liberty out of the Declaration of Independence, that that belongs to every individual. And so there was a lot of people really concerned about Trump not going to be pro-life anymore. And it looked like it was not going to be that this administration and I had a different take back then. I was real disappointed as well. I was delegate the national convention. I was on the platform committee. We were all prepared to move forward and keep a strong platform. And they just came in and stiff armed us and in 35 minutes had done the entire platform. A week is allocated for riding the platform and they had one already written. We never even got to see it ahead of time. And 35 minutes has passed and done and it weakened the pro-life plank significantly. So a lot of people felt betrayed by that. But my take on it was different. I really felt like that what Trump was doing was actually reflecting the culture specifically because of the way it had been in recent years. 

Tim Barton [00:02:23] Well, dad let me point out this was your take after the fact, because you were pretty upset in the moment. We we talked a lot about it because what they did, not only was it unprecedented, it removed the ability for the delegates to have a say in the process. And so instead of it being a government of we the people, it really felt like a little more dictatorial where you were being told what you were going to do and your only option was you can get on board or you will get left behind, which is not the way the process is supposed to work at the national convention with all the delegates who have been chosen, who've been elected to be there, they're the ones that are supposed to overwrite the platform. But in retrospect, after you got home, you had decompressed some of the frustration. You prayed about it, you thought through it, and you really of us three, you were the first one to kind of say, guys, you know, I think this is maybe a more strategic move and we didn't disagree with you. We definitely can see that as well. And we all got on board with that, thinking that he's probably he's probably trying to play a political game where it's not quite Machiavellian of the end justifying the means, but it's a little bit of the idea. It was more important in his mind that he win the election. And so if he's got to play the game and I'm not going to be as strongly outspoken on this issue because that might we know from the midterm election 2020 to one of the biggest indicators or the biggest factors, people that were voting was on the abortion issue, and they voted on the wrong side of the abortion issue. And so President Trump, being a very, very smart guy, looked at that, most likely as people looked at it and said, hey, we got to make sure that we're not going to lose this huge swath of people because we're taking this really aggressive pro-life stand. It was a politically calculated move that ultimately we can recognize. It was vital for the future of America that President Trump be there because of Kamala was there. We all agree America might not continue to exist the way that America has been for now nearly 250 years anyway. All that to say is that this wasn't something that while you were there, you're like, no, guys, this is fine. It's no big deal. Like, he's making this a great move. No, you were pretty frustrated, rightfully so, because it was a betrayal of the process. It was a rejection of the people who had been chosen and elected to be there. And as you mentioned, y'all were railroaded in this thing. But looking back, he really did have some strategic thought behind it and why he was doing what he did. Now, he probably should've done a better job getting buy in then what he did. But it he wasn't dumb in the moves he made. Maybe just the execution wasn't the best way to execute it at the convention. 

David Barton [00:05:15] Yeah, and that's one of the things we talked about. And as you pointed out, thought about later. And I came to a different conclusion because the polling that we did even through WallBuilders, we commissioned these national polls before the election to see where people were. We saw that among among Christians, 70% of Christians were pro-abortion. Up through nine months. It was just there was not strong pro-life buy. And even from the Christians, I can see that from secular folks. But really, Christians aren't pro-life anymore. No, they weren't. And so he was looking at polling maybe better than ours, I don't know. But ours was really good. We had George Barna, but there was a lot there too, to really say if you if you wake this sleeping dog up, it may turn around and bite you voting wise. 

Tim Barton [00:05:58] And by the way, for those listening that were self-identified Christians, right. So it doesn't mean that's necessarily totally reflective of the committed, faithful Christians, although there's no way that number does not. Overlap with some of the people that probably attend our churches. That's right. So it was and should be a wake up call that, you know what, We really have to do a better job discipling. We talked about it a lot. We feel like this election, God's given us a respite. He's given us an opportunity. And if the church doesn't start discipling over the next four years, then then we will have squandered this moment and time that God gave us in this nation to help preserve freedom, to restore a foundation, to be a wall builder. Right. Nehemiah going and trying to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. If we don't make the most of this opportunity, it could be a problem now. With all that said, backing away. 

Rick Green [00:06:47] By the way. Just just just real quick, Tim, just because some people may be surprised at that number. But think about it. If pastors are afraid to speak to the issue and the congregation never gets the biblical instruction or, as you said, the discipleship, they may think that they're being biblical. When they answer that question and say that they're actually supporting the bush. In fact, we've heard people, Christians and pastors make the argument that being pro-abortion is somehow biblical. So, you know, to your point, that problem is definitely there. Trump recognized that problem was there. We've got to change that culturally over time. That's where we have to clean out the rot in the culture over the next few years and not just rely on the president to do that part. 

Tim Barton [00:07:24] Yeah, that's a great point, because if if pastors are not going to disciple their congregations, the world is happy, too, right? I mean, when you have when you have major stars, the Taylor Swift, whoever out there who are supporting these things. And then when you have pastors say, well, the most important thing is that we love people and we have to accept people because that's what love is. Obviously it's not with a Bible says love is accepting people. Sin is not going to be in first Corinthians 13 four through eight. Right. Word lists that love is patient. Love is kind. It doesn't it doesn't bows like that. That's not in First Corinthians fourth through eight. The definition of love. And yet, Rick, to your point, that's what a lot of pastors are teaching people, is that, well, the most important thing is that we love people, that we accept them for who they are, that, you know, we need to do what's what's best for the mom. And we wouldn't want to inconvenience the mom and etc., etc., etc.. And so abortion has been justified and defended in a lot of positions, not based on biblical truth and reality, but sometimes pastors have certainly supported that. And even as we talked about that, that female bishop that kind of scolded President Trump and said, please have mercy on these illegal immigrants, don't send them all out of the country, which obviously includes some really bad people, have done some really bad things. But that's the kind of a spiritual leader, quote unquote. That's a kind of Pastor Bishop who would say the kind of things that you would imagine. What's more important is that we love people and an abortion is is sacred and that helps the value of the mother, etc., etc.. So this is not as far fetched as a lot of people might imagine. And depending on where you live, as some of our listeners, some of our followers might go, you know what? No, I'm from California, I'm from Washington State, I'm from New York, whatever. And they're like, That is so true. We see that around us. And then there might be some, whether it be from Oklahoma, Arkansas, you know, Florida, Mississippi, wherever. And they're like, nobody where we live would say that kind of stuff. But this is the reality of America, is that the majority of churches and senior pastors in America are not defending and teaching biblical truth anymore, which is part of where some of this stuff comes from. With so many Christians being on the wrong side of the issue. But that backing up this is part of maybe why President Trump had some some wisdom and foresight to be strategic in how he did this. And it was it, to your point, compromising necessarily on the pro-life movement or the pro-life issue. He was making a very calculated strategic move in a political game trying to win the White House. 

David Barton [00:09:55] So having said that, my belief was and what I said at the time was I think that if he gets reelected, you're going to find him to be pro-life again. He was too pro-life in the first term. He was the most pro-life president we've seen in the modern generation. It did not make any sense to me that he had completely abandoned stuff that he did policy wise in the first term. I just I hadn't seen that in him. And so I thought that if he got elected and got back in, he was going to be pro-life. And as it has turned out, man, he's only been in a couple weeks and he has been rocking and rolling on the pro-life stuff. 

Tim Barton [00:10:28] All right. Well, dad actually the top of my list follows up on this perfectly. And for the listeners, I mean, we might have strategically said, hey, let's talk about these issues. We've kind of categorized some because honestly, we went through 30 or 40 pieces of good news and we tried to arrange them in topic because there are so many positive things and areas. And so this one, I think we made mention to it maybe last week, but Trump was at a march for life. Actually, his video was because he was on the road. But the headline says Trump tells March for Life. In my second term, we will again stand for life and the March for Life in Washington, D.C. There was estimated a crowd of over 100,000 people that were there. It was a very large crowd and. In President Trump's video, he said, Every child is a beautiful gift from the hand of our creator. He emphasized, We must stand up for little babies who can't stand up for themselves. He continued, We will protect our gains. Work to offer a loving hand for mothers and for families and promote adoption. In my second term, we will again stand proudly for families and for life. He also promised to look at two attacks on pro-life groups in pregnancy centers and churches, which was huge because, you know, under the Biden administration, people are getting arrested for going and praying outside of abortion clinics. And yet there were people literally attacking, physically assaulting pro-life individuals that were attacking clinics. And the Biden administration did virtually nothing in the majority of those situations. There was a couple of occasions they did. Law enforcement stepped in, but generally speaking, like they were the other direction. So it's really encouraging President Trump to say we're actually going to uphold the law and we're going to defend you in this, he continued. He said, We will finally investigate attacks on pregnancy center and churches. A couple of my favorite lines from this, he said, Your tireless efforts have borne fruit and the nation is grateful for your unwavering stand for life. I know your hearts are warm, your spirits are strong because your mission is just very, very pure. To forge a society that welcomes and protects every child as a beautiful gift from the hand of our Creator. Now, guys, one of the things even looking at this, too, President Trump has made it very clear and even some of the people have around him have highlighted that this is very real for him. When he was almost assassinated in in Pennsylvania and he recognized that God save me, right. In his inaugural address, he said, God saved me to help make America great again. He's very open about that. In that moment, he felt God in a real way. And I think that we are going to see some faith moments that are even more clear. And so even with so many of these statements from his is video that was played, his speech from the March for Life in Washington, D.C., there were so many quotes about God, about creator. And this is something I think is not just encouraging, but I think it's only the beginning of some of the the positive pro God and in this case very pro-life policies we're going to see from President Trump. But this was a really cool video. If people haven't seen it, you find it online at the video of the speech that he did for the March for Life in Washington, D.C.. 

David Barton [00:13:44] And by the way, Tim, this is a side bar on this, but you use the term Creator just talking about the fact that Trump did at some point Christians have to get that term back in their vocabulary. I know it's an old school term from the founding fathers, but if you have a creator that nearly created and it reestablishes the hierarchy of relationship, if he's your Creator, he can tell you what to do. He created you for a purpose. Find out what that purpose is. He can also set the standards. You may disagree with them. Like them. He's the Creator and I think Christians have elevated themselves so high they don't understand the hierarchy that exists between the creation of the Creator and that that's really important to recapture. 

Tim Barton [00:14:21] And this is one of the obvious apologetics even in Christianity as well, because everything we see in life there was a creator for whether it's the iPhone that you hold me for us, we have a microphone in front of us. We have a computer in front of us. We we have all this equipment around us. Somebody made all of this equipment. And because because there is creation, we know intuitively, obviously, logically reason. There was a creator. And this is where even the apostle Paul talked about that all minute without excuse, because creation itself testifies to the fact there is a God. Why? Because it's obvious there's creation, there's creator. This is why even when you look at the declaration and and they acknowledge we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, they're endowed by their creator. Some people might look at that more secular perspective and say, well, they're not really talking about God. They're talking about some creator somewhere far away. No, this is the Christian view. This is a Christian apologetic that we know there is a God fundamentally on a lot of for a lot of reasons, a lot of areas. But fundamentally, we know there's a God because if there's creation, there had to be a creator. It's a very logical, basic apologetic for God that, as you mentioned, the founding fathers use this very, very strongly, very often in their writings, in their language. And it's something that we've lost a lot of these notions today, phrase ologies, whether it be Providence, Divine creator, things that are still true today that have lost some of their use in modern vernacular that are definitely worth restoring. And as President Trump talked about the creation coming from a creator, these unborn children that come from a creator, obviously we're very clear who that is and God is the Creator. 

Rick Green [00:16:09] Well, and that's one of the. Things. It's been so refreshing. Right? Is this the boldness with which he speaks? Truth? So to make those statements in that video, just like all of his statements he's been making for the last two and a half weeks. It's just so bold. It's so full of truth. It's why people are feeling so refreshed because it's not even it's not the typical political talk out of both sides of your mouth. Manzi Pansy, You know, water it down though, man. He's just given it to. I mean, that's why in his inaugural address, when he's right there in the first 30 minutes of being in office, he says, male and female, you knew we were we were looking at a really good year, so. All right, guys, quick break. We'll be right back. We got more good news, folks. Stay with us. You're listening to The WallBuilders Show. 

Rick Green [00:17:56] Welcome back to the WallBuilders Show it's good news Friday. There is no way we're catching up on everything today. But let's see how much more we can get in, guys. David, I think your next bro. 

David Barton [00:18:03] Well, with President Trump giving that address to the March for Life. Around that period, he also issued a number of executive orders that dealt with the pro-life issue. And so I just point out some of them that he did. He reestablished what you call the Mexico City policy. And that came in back under President Reagan. So we're talking 40 plus years ago. And President Reagan said there's no way we're going to use federal taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions that are being done overseas. That's not what federal foreign funds are for. That's not what we're going to do. And so the Mexico City policy said any organization that performs abortions overseas, we're not going to give them money. Now, what happens is every Democrat has come in since Reagan has rescinded that policy. Every Republican has come in, has reinstated it. And so Trump reinstated that policy. Executive order. We're back to upholding the Mexico City policy. We're not going to give money to organizations that that perform abortions outside the United States. That he also reinstated the Hyde Amendment. The Hyde amendment, Henry Hyde out of Illinois. Congressman, pro-life congressman, great pro-life guy. For years in the House of Representatives, the committee chair, Henry Hyde, had this amendment that says, look, we're not going to give you federal dollars to do abortions inside the United States if you're a business like Planned Parenthood. We're not saying you can't do abortions, but we're going to tell you you can't get federal funds to do abortions. That's not what's going to happen. And so the Hyde Amendment says no federal dollars can be used to perform abortions. So he also signed that executive order. So now America is not going to fund abortions in the United States. Are the government federal government will now fund abortions in the United States or outside of the United States. Then there's also what's called the Geneva Consensus declaration. This is kind of a diplomat. It's not a treaty per se, but it's kind of a loose affiliation right below a treaty. And the Geneva consensus declaration says there is no fundamental right to abortion. Just because you live doesn't mean you have a right to kill the unborn child. And so this was joined by and this was done by Trump back in 2020 as one of these international accord kind of things. The Geneva consensus declaration was really kind of led by Mike Pompeo back in 2020, who was secretary of state under Trump. And there are so many nations who are part of this, so many pro-life nations across the world who don't think that there is this fundamental right to kill your unborn child. And so he reinstated join in back to the Geneva consensus declaration. And then the final thing that really came out right about the time of the March for Life was we're scaling back the enforcement of the Face Act. And this is what Tim mentioned earlier. Facebook stands for freedom of access to clinic entrances. So you can't block a clinic entrance. Now, the question is, are clinics can there be a pro-life clinic? Absolutely. Pregnancy crisis centers are pro-life clinics. That's a clinic entrance. It's a life that doesn't have to be a Planned Parenthood entrance. And so if you block access to a clinic entrance, if someone is trying to go into a clinic entrance and you block that and impede that, that's a federal offense. So what happened under Biden is, as Tim alluded to, you had a number there's 23 different people that were arrested for standing outside the clinic and praying. And they said, well, if you're praying outside the clinic, that's impeding the entrance. And they were usually on the other side of the sidewalk because city codes often say you have to be 6ft or 10ft from a door. And they would stand sometimes across the street praying across the street. And the Biden Justice Department went through and arrested people who are doing that. And then you had, I think it was 270 different attacks on pro-life clinics, firebombed everything else. And I think, as Tim mentioned, maybe a couple of people got arrested out of that. So the Biden Justice Department was taking people who were praying sometimes across the street and and arresting them and not going after the people who actually were injuring others. And so what happened is Trump said, we're not doing that enforcement. We're going to do federal enforcement of the law equally across the board, but we're not going to do it over freedom of speech and expression. You have to be, he said. We're going to consider aggravating factors, but it has to be like some type of act of violence, not just standing there praying. That's not an act of violence. If you're trying to injure someone or burn someone down or blow it up, that's what we're going after. And it doesn't matter whether you're pro-life or pro-abortion. If you try to harm someone else, we're going to do it. And so that's another real change. That's a great pro-life policy. And already in just the first two weeks, he has become a very strong pro-life president again, which he had been in those in those first four years. 

Rick Green [00:22:37] All of those extremely good. I want to throw one in here if I can, guys. The military has already seen a huge resurgence in recruitment. I mean, people knew when Donald Trump got elected that once again we were going to be able to restore patriotism and and make you proud to serve your country. And so according to PDX, A. A new secretary of defense. The Army has had its best recruitment totals in 12 years. In December, right after Trump was elected and then in January, followed up by December with the best recruiting numbers in 15 years. So this is really, really good news. And the Make America Great is happening already, Tim. Go ahead. Broke. 

Tim Barton [00:23:14] Well, I do want to tag on. I mean, just the. What should have been the most obvious thing ever for military recruitment. When you have a president who loves the nation, who loves the military, when you have a a commander now, Pete Hegseth over the military who wants to end wokeness and make the military strong again. I mean, you're not going to get the brightest, the best individuals joining the military who are thinking, hey, I need you to help me get in there. I need my transgender operation, etc., etc., etc.. Know that the people we want in our military are the maybe, maybe the best athletes that we knew in high school. Right. These people that are going to go and be special forces be incredible. They're molded in shape anyway, all of that. It's so encouraging what's happening. But this should not have been like this rocket science move. It was so obvious. Which then really does go back to this idea that it's almost like you had people there who wanted to destroy America, to destroy the military, not to make America great in that regard. Now, to go back to even some of the pictures of President Trump, and we're not getting through very many. So, Rick, as you alluded to earlier, they may maybe we're going to have to slow this thing down. No, really. We talked a long time about philosophy and ideas, so maybe just next Friday we'll have to go even faster. But one of the incredible things that Trump did with executive orders, among the many things, even from pro-life related news we talked about he had he did an executive order cracking down on gender transition procedures for minors, which is huge for a biblical standpoint. When Jesus said that if you cause one of these little ones to stumble, it's better you have a millstone tied around your neck and throw yourself in the sea, throws up in the ocean, right? The equivalent of go kill yourself if you are doing things to harm, to hinder, to cause kids to stumble. And certainly we talk about this this gender transition, these procedures that happen, whether it be chemical or surgical, either one, it's a major problem. So for Trump to say we're going to protect children from chemical and surgical mutilation is a big deal. He said it's the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist or support the so-called transition of a child from one sex to another. It will vigorously enforce all laws that prohibit these destructive and life altering procedures. He went on to give instructions for all heads of executive branch agencies what they had to do for this, and directing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. They take all appropriate actions to end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children, etc. On it goes. But guys, this is just one of now dozens upon dozens upon dozens upon dozens of these executive orders. That will be part of our good news Friday list of things that are restoring some decency, some morality back to our nation. And this is so encouraging. 

Rick Green [00:26:08] It just the hits just keep on coming, guys. And I have a feeling they're not going to stop any time soon. As we talked before that a lot of this was in the planning even before the election was over. In hopes and prayers that he would win. And so a lot of work has gone into this and it's all getting rolled out, I think, masterfully at this point. Will there be mistakes? Absolutely. Will there be things that we end up criticizing President Trump on on. Sure. As we've already done on on 1 or 2 small things. But man, it's just a it's a morning in America to borrow from a Ronald Reagan commercial in 1984. It is morning in America. Thanks so much for listening to the WallBuilders Show.