Biblical Historical Constitutional Lens

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Welcome to the Intersection of Faith and Culture. It's the Wall Builder Show taking on the hot topics of the day from a biblical, historical, and constitutional perspective. I've been saying that so fast on every program. I haven't explained that in a long time. What we mean is whatever's going on in the world. First, we're going to look at what the Bible says about that. We're going to get biblical worldview on it, biblical perspective on it. We're also going to look at history. So what's worked? What hasn't worked? How has something been done in the past? There's nothing new under the sun. Solomon was right. So somebody's tried whatever it is that we're talking about. And we can look at those results and learn from history. And then, of course, since we live in America, we got to look at the constitution. What's constitutional on that topic? What's the proper way to do that under our particular system of government? So when we say biblical, historical, constitutional perspective, that's how we're trying to address all these different hot topics

Why The Smithsonian Matters Now

SPEAKER_00 0:48

of the day. Rick Green here with David Barton and Tim Barton. And uh man, guys, a lot's still happening on the 250th, but maybe tied to that, maybe just tied to the uh administration's willingness to look under the hood in so much of the federal government. It's so big, there's so many things that need to be fixed, but their willingness to dive deep into some of these agencies and even now the Smithsonian, an entire paper being released by the White House about just the insanity over at Smithsonian. I mean, far leftist stuff, racist stuff, America's bad. Um, we talked a little bit about this, I think, a week or so ago, but now we've got testimony in Congress yesterday where our friend Brandon Gill, congressman from right here in Texas, uh, did a great job questioning them. Uh, what do you guys see on this? Y'all have been talking about this ever since I've been around. Yeah, you you you've looked at what the Smithsonians done and tried to improve what they're doing. Might we be at a turning point for these institutions?

Inside The Smithsonian’s Massive Reach

SPEAKER_01 1:42

Hey, Rick, before we do that, let me just kind of set up how big the Smithsonian is. Because you're not talking about something small here, and because they are so big, they have massive penetration and influence throughout the culture. They got massive impact on education, on higher education universities, on research facilities. I mean, there's so much that these guys have have their fingers into and therefore are able to control. And I don't know in my lifetime that they've ever been brought to the surface for sunlight. I don't know that they've ever come up and said, hey, this huge institution is teaching really bad stuff. Why don't we give it a look and see what they're doing? And so, just in terms of how big the Smithsonian is, they've got 21 separate museums and galleries, and then they've got the National Zoo. So I I guess you could call that a museum of animals if you want to. Um, so they have museums in New York City. Um, they've got them in Virginia, and they've got them also in Washington, D.C. And they have a hundred and fifty seven million items in their museum. So I I mean, they they've got that's got to be the biggest museum in the world.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

And just sorry, David, I just pictured when you said that Raiders of the Lost Ark at the very end, you know, when they they found the arc and then they box it up and they wheel it into that big warehouse. It's just like one of millions and millions of items. Sorry, I was just picturing that when you said up, what, a hundred and what?

SPEAKER_02 3:11

Yeah, so Rick, along those lines, little do we know that Indiana Jones might have been a documentary. Um, add to the fact, right, that literally like night at the museum that showed similar things, right? These underground storage areas, room upon room, boxes on boxes. But but that literally is kind of what's there, Dad. I remember years ago when we were talking to somebody who worked in Nisonian, and they were telling us um that that they honestly don't even know what all they have. They had this unbelievable collection, they don't even know what's there. That they were going through, was it a box that was labeled, I think my recollection, as a box labeled like World War II? It was Pearl Harbor. The box was labeled Pearl Harbor, which, okay, so so World War II, yes, but Pearl Harbor specifically. Yeah. And they they open up the lid on this box and look in there and they find letters from like James Madison. And they're like, not only, not only did we not know we had these letters from James Madison, like we nobody's opened this box. And so with even the labels now, we can't even trust what's on the labels, these boxes. They have no idea what they have. And so, a little bit like uh, you know, dad, as you're mentioning, they've never really been brought to the light to to reveal what's there. Um, I I think you could say honestly that with most of the government agencies, you know, there's people that are saying we need to out of the Fed, how much gold do we have at Fort Knox or wherever else? Like there's so much we don't know. But when it comes to Smithsonian, the reason this is a major deal is the Smithsonian is supposed to be the place where a lot of the history is not only recorded and kept, but it's where some of the best stories should be told. And if you look at the stories the Smithsonian has been telling for many, many decades, they're not stories that encourage young people in America to want to become entrepreneurs, to dedicate themselves to doing great things. You don't have more of like the Wright brothers, you don't have this encouragement along the way. Instead, especially over the last several decades, what we've seen from the Smithsonians is the promotion of wokism. So instead of telling some of the greatest stories that could be told, and again, with 157 million items, can you imagine all of the amazing treasures they have and the stories they could tell that would inspire the rising generation, that would encourage patriotism, that would show how good overcame evil, truth overcame error, and when people rejected truth, the errors that appeared, when people rejected good, the evil that was there, there's so many incredible stories that could be told that instead that they have chosen not to be a purveyor and promoter of good or a storyteller of good. The Smithsonian largely has been a very bland, plain institution that has not shown us the greatness of the treasures they have. Instead, they have embraced more of a woke-fied vision. And I know this is probably where we're going in a minute, but just thinking as for all of us, as as we tend to be storytellers and we give presentations, because we want to reintroduce people to the amazing stories of the founding fathers, that the people that built the nation and all these different generations. If we had some of their treasures, the stories that we could tell from those original documents and artifacts, so it really is a travesty. Wait a minute. A what what's the word I'm looking for? Tragesty? That's not right. Travesty? That's the one. It's a different letter in there. A travesty. It's a travesty. It's a travesty, I couldn't say that word correctly. It's a travesty that they have taken these amazing treasures and they have buried them instead of using them to tell the story and encourage rising generations.

How Agenda-Driven History Gets Built

SPEAKER_01 6:44

You know, the other thing that goes with the number like 157 million is let's say that you come into uh the position of running one of the big Smithsonians, like American History Museum, and I think she's the one that has been in front of the committees doing the testimony. But let's say you have an agenda that's really woke. And let's say that out of 157 million items, you can only find one percent that supports your woke position. That's still 1.57 million items. It still looks like a landslide, and she can present that in such a way that it looks mainstream. It looks like this is what America's always believed and always done. Because now that's only 1% of the collection. But if you pick and choose that and you're you frame the whole thing.

SPEAKER_00 7:34

That's right. Yeah, you frame what people see. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:37

That's right. If you're determined not to tell the truth, but to tell an agenda and make it look like the truth and to convert everybody to your see, we believe you tell the good, the bad, the ugly. I mean, that's what what we do, that's what we put out there. Um we try to openly acknowledge that, just as the Bible does with man, there's good stories, there's bad stories, there's ugly stories sometime in the same person. As Tim points out with the with King David, you've got all of that, but you tell the truth. But if you got an agenda, man, you can you are you have a powerhouse of stuff behind you to make that look like a freight train coming down the track, even if it's only half a percent. That would be 800,000 items if it's just half a percent that you can find that that supports your view. That's still 800,000 items. That's why it's so important to have people of character and integrity there. And that's why I think s shining sunlight on this through these congressional hearings is such a big deal because this affects textbooks, it affects textbook publishers, it affects uh the the the way colleges teach. And and and by the way, the all these museums have all these internships and they have all these classes that they teach, and they bring all these professors in for fellowships and other things. I mean, there's so much they do, and it affects in ways that we just haven't even thought about in the last 20 to 25 years. And I think this has been one of their buried secrets that they've had that has been so helpful to them in so many ways.

The Smithsonian’s Accountability Gap

SPEAKER_00 9:00

And and help help me remember who who does what. So, like the Smithsonian is is it is it part of interior and and do they answer to the administration or is it kind of independent? And it's not really the the the monuments, right? It's not like the the Washington Monument or the or the um you know National Park Service, like independence hall, that kind of stuff. It's separate from that, or am I wrong? Are those all kind of the same thing?

SPEAKER_01 9:26

Man, I hate saying this. It doesn't really have any adult supervision, quite frankly. Wow. Um it's an it's an independent trust of the United States. It is separate from all three branches. It doesn't come under any cabinet level. It's not an executive branch agency. It actually goes back to what was it, 1826 or 1829 when John Quincy Adams received the Smithson bequest. Uh, there was a guy in England who had a huge collection, and he thought it'd be helpful for America. And so he gave it to President John Quincy Adams, and he started sitting up the Smithsonian. And so when you see the castle, what what they call the castle there on the National Mall, the the old Smithsonian, which I think was finally built in the 1840s, that that came from that original Smithson bequest to share this knowledge with Americans. But it's a separate trust, it's independent. Um now it's technically under the executive branch, but it's still independent. And it ha it has its own board of regents, it has its own secretary, it's kind of like a separate university, maybe kind of like Princeton or Yale or Harvard or some of those those kind. Um, but it doesn't it doesn't really have anybody you can directly hold accountable, which is why the sunshine may be one of the best things that happens for it, or maybe even just changing the regents, because the the government can place several of the regents owned there, and and that may be another way to get this under control.

SPEAKER_00 10:53

Man, I had no idea they had that kind of uh independence, you know. Um button.

SPEAKER_01 10:58

Who would have ever thought you would be threatened by a museum? Come on. Right. You mean right, right? The threat to national security is a museum? Who who would have, in their wildest imagination, thought that and and therefore, you know, done anything to prepare for that? I uh that's just crazy stuff, which is where we are now.

SPEAKER_00 11:15

Yeah, yeah, no doubt. And of course, you know, the old Bill Bennett thing about sunlight being the best uh disinfectant and uh so bringing that sunlight in and doing these hearings.

Sharp Questioning In Congress

SPEAKER_00 11:24

Uh before we go to break, are you guys as impressed by Brandon Gill as I am? I I just think he, I mean, I've seen so many clips of this kid. He can't be 30. I don't know how old he is, but he's young. And uh, I know he's Dinesh's son-in-law. Maybe that's the deal. He has to he has to constantly do well for you know Thanksgiving dinner with Dinesh. You're gonna be grilled, right? But um, I'm just impressed.

SPEAKER_02 11:43

Yeah, he's very impressive. I I think probably a condition um, you know, before dating Dinesh's daughter was like, hey, you have to watch all my documentaries, you have to review all the research. Um it's it's not surprising at all in my mind, knowing right who he's connected to, um, that just the dinner conversations they must have had uh would have been phenomenal. But but certainly when you have a guy like that who just is is showing some basic common sense, it it's it reminds me of when Nick Freitas was a member of the state legislature in Virginia. And, you know, he's just he's a logical common sense guy, but in a world that is not often driven by logic and common sense that makes a difference. But I will say he was not the only one of our friends uh in that committee asking questions. And even today, as as the lady over the Smithsonian, uh the American history Smithsonian is back in front of Congress today. Um we have a lot of friends, Dad. The the last two nights, you and I have been on the phone with our friends uh who are in Congress who sit on some of those committees, and they were saying, Hey, what are some good questions? Like, what are some good topics and directions? And I'm saying all of this that what is great is there are members of Congress who do have logic and common sense, who do love America, who do respect our history, the founding fathers, et cetera. And so the fact that you have people asking some pretty basic questions is great. It's also interesting, and this could be for after the break, that that one of our friends uh that we talked to, Dad, you and I talked to last night, uh, this member of Congress pointed out that this individual has already perjured themselves because of testimony they gave that actually contradicts a video they released for one of the exhibits. And we can, I'm teasing that, we can talk about it after the break. Uh, but it is great to see our friends up there uh that are really fighting to defend uh the the foundational truth of America, but also expose the nonsense of what the Smithsonian has been doing.

SPEAKER_01 13:38

Hey, let me go back to Brandon Gill for a minute because you asked about Brandon. I I it's been a long time since I've been really, really impressed with how quick someone is of mind and how quick they can pivot and how they can be really uh sharp and sarcastic or really kind of play the the kind of ignorant dumb. I don't understand, explain it to me. I mean, just so brilliant. And and quite frankly, he he reminds me of a John Quincy Adams. When you read about John Quincy Adams and the way he handled debates and the way he handled the pro-slavery side and anti-slavery debates, he just really strikes me as someone with that kind of sharpness and that kind of brightness that can argue the same thing from 43 different directions. Uh he just he is a really cool guy.

SPEAKER_02 14:23

Dad, I think the word you're looking for is homeschooled. He looks like he was homeschooled, not public school education.

SPEAKER_01 14:31

Yeah, John Forty Adams is homeschooled as well. That's true.

SPEAKER_00 14:35

All right, quick break,

Lives Fortunes And Sacred Honor

SPEAKER_00 14:36

guys. We'll be right back, folks. You're listening to the Wall Builder Show.

SPEAKER_02 14:43

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National Parks Versus Smithsonian Oversight

SPEAKER_00 15:46

Welcome back to the Wallbird Show. Thanks for staying with us talking about what happened with the Smithsonian hearing yesterday and just the exposure to some of this woke nonsense that's been used in these institutions that uh David, you alluded to this in the in the first segment, that schools lean on and and rely on. I mean, how many how much credibility comes when you say, well, the Smithsonian exhibit says this, or I you know, here's a here's a paper that came from the Smithsonian, so it it carries a lot of weight in the education world as well. So this is this is very important. Um do you guys think that the anything's happening yet with regard to I even was telling somebody today about you know they had gone to the Washington Monument. I think it was the Washing Monument, one of the monuments in DC, and had a you know, bearded lady giving them the tour, and of course I've I've been through that at Independence Hall. Um so you so you've got kids coming in and getting that kind of you know, that's what they remember, what they talk about instead of the history that they're supposed to be there to learn. So is this only the Smithsonian, or do you think we have some movement in some of these other areas?

SPEAKER_01 16:40

Hey, you you have just jumped ship in midwater. You're on a different, you jump from a ship to a plane somehow here. Because when you when you get into the parks, you're now under the now you do have accountability. That is the Department of the Interior is got a cabinet level official over it, and the Department of the Interior, they are working on changing a lot of things right now. The the presentations of their history and their sites on the web. Uh they're trying to clean up a lot of the wokeness and get that out of there. And they are accountable. So you have a cabinet level secretary over the Department of the Interior, which is the National Park Service. And look, there's a ton of National Park Service and National Monuments. Uh I I don't know that they can get it done in four years, but they're working at it. And and and they're gonna, I I think, well, I don't, I don't think, I know they've already made progress and and watched on some of those sites, and we've seen that. Tim and I have personally seen that and and actually had been able to contribute to some of that.

SPEAKER_02 17:34

Well, Rick, uh to your point, backing up, I I do think um when we talk about uh you know kind of the the craziness of what we are seeing in general from from federal government related or connected things, um, the the promotion of different ideologies and worldviews, but certainly more recently with some of this transgenderism stuff, um, that there's been a lot of promotion of sexual proclivities, uh uh sexual behavior and lifestyles, uh adult themed kind of things, and obviously in many cases sinful and wicked kind of things, uh, but there actually uh was a section of a Smithsonian uh of American history that highlighted some of this uh sexual proclivities, and I'm saying that as uh kind of the the most friendly way I can for a generally family-centered audience and program.

Kid-Facing Exhibits And Moral Boundaries

SPEAKER_02 18:22

Uh and the idea that in the midst of what we're gonna talk about with 157 million items and things that pertain to American history, the fact that they would choose some of these things that are overtly sexual uh and not in the hetero sense, uh, is just crazy, but it has shown that that's where a lot of it's been. And and the reason I bring it up is because that was one thing that came up in the hearing. Uh, and as you mentioned, sunlight's a great disinfectant. The the reason this is good is because I I think there's a lot of a lot of teachers that uh assume the best or and assume the intelligence if it's from the Smithsonian. And uh the the fact that there is exposure is great, but I will even throw in dad when you said that he's jumping ship onto a plane, uh it just reminded me that over the weekend when I was flying back from California, um, I my flight attendant uh was a dude with facial hair in a dress, and I am so tired of us normalizing things that is not normal, it is not moral, uh things that do not allow us to sustain as a nation. And and the reason I'm saying this because I am glad that at this hearing there was a member of Congress that said, Hey, look, let's talk about this for a second. Why would you in a museum where you know kids are coming through, why would you put things that really are not children appropriate, and honestly, it's overtly immoral, and the Bible would call it sinful and wicked and evil. Why are we putting that in front of kids? This is something that I am glad more people are waking up to, but it's time as Christians that we start waking up more, and instead of us being this incredibly passive, uh that we need to go back and read those verses in the Bible where Jesus braided a whip and went and cleaned out the temple. Uh, it it it's about time we get over this just really passive turn the other cheek, which by the way is a misunderstanding in a lot of ways that doesn't apply today. And it it's time to start being the the whip braiding Jesus instead of the turn the other cheek. And I'm not saying that that we should on any level discount any part of the Bible or we don't follow all of the Bible. What I'm saying is a lot of what Christians have done to this point has not been a full representation of what the Bible teaches or who God actually is. God is not only a God of love, he's also a God of justice, he's a god of war, he's a god of wrath. God is lots more than a lot of times we have microcosmed him down to one thing being. Uh, and and I think it's time as as Christians and Americans, we wake up. And I do think that's why we're seeing some of the positive things happening in Congress, because there are members of Congress that are finding a new backbone, and even Brandon Gill being a newer member, we're getting some newer members of Congress there that are showing up for the right reasons and they are motivated by the right things, and it is really encouraging.

Righteous Anger And Speaking Up

SPEAKER_01 21:14

You know, Tim, you you mentioned something I think is really important talking about Jesus. I think we have a picture of Jesus as sitting around with the kids and the lambs, and and the way we've seen the artworks often with with, you know, the the Jesus that is just always under control. And I think he always is under control. I don't think there's ever a time when Jesus was not under control. And yet, there are five times recorded in the scriptures where that he got so angry he took action as a result of his anger. And you know, well, you shouldn't do things when you're angry. Well, don't tell me Jesus made a mistake. Five times he got angry, and Tim, as you just mentioned, one of those times he braided a cord and chased the guys out of there and whooped them really good. Oh, did Jesus sin? No, he did not sin. He knew exactly what he said. He was doing and that anger, there's a righteous anger. Uh you know, there's the scripture says, be angry and sin not. And did Jesus sin? No, he didn't sin. Jesus is sinless. So he set an example that this wimpy kind of Christianity that we don't confront someone, we don't even tell them when they're wrong. We we, you know, much less why why am I I'm not even talking about picking up a cord and chasing people out and whipping them, which Jesus did. I'm just talking about getting them backbone and having an opinion and even saying something's wrong and speaking out as some of our friends did in Congress at the hearings with this lady uh that's over at Smithsonian. I mean, they they called it out. Now the problem is there's no accountability there, but that that anger was still

Truth Telling On Gender And Sports

SPEAKER_01 22:42

there.

SPEAKER_02 22:42

Now, Rick, I am gonna ask you a sports-related question that ties in directly to this. Uh, because I never thought this was well, it's it's not. But this was somebody that was at a UFC event recently. Do you know who Sophie Cunningham is?

SPEAKER_00 22:55

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course, the pointing thing. The the the pointing meme I've seen.

SPEAKER_02 22:59

She's the pointing girl from basketball. Now, I mean, just hilarious for lots of reasons. So if people don't know, um, if you saw a meme over the last week or two with a a girl in a basketball uniform pointing, uh white girl, that's probably her. Uh anyway, not to digress too much. Um, I she had a post uh yesterday, two days ago, um, where she because of all the attention she's been getting, um, she was drawn into the conversation of, hey, so where where you stand on, you know, this this trans issue, sport, etc. Uh, because also this week there's been some hate up in uh Congress, our friend Congresswoman Mary Miller, um uh called somebody a liar uh who was testifying, and and actually she was correct. That person was lying, um, but then the person lost their mind anyway. Uh it was regarding um protecting girls in girl sports. And Sophie Cunningham was asked about this, and she said, Look, I I want to respect and love everybody, but I think one of the best ways you can love people is be honest with them and tell them the truth. And she said, I want to make sure that young girls are safe in their locker rooms and that they're they're not violated by having biological males in the locker room. And and I say this because, dad, to your point, one of the things I think a lot of people get wrong is the most loving thing you can do for someone is tell them the truth. And a lot of times people embrace the most loving thing we can do is support them in their error, in their delusion, in their incorrect assessment direction, whatever it is. And the most loving thing you can do in most situations, and I say most, there might be an anomaly nuance, but I would maybe then say every situation, the most loving thing you should and can do is to be honest and truthful with people. Uh, and I just thought it was incredible that that Sophie Cunningham, uh, who by the way, like I was only moderately interested in the WNBA when Caitlin Clark first went in out of college, and you're like, man, let's, you know, this this girl's incredible, what she can do. And she was the only thing mildly interesting to me. And then because of how woke the WNBA is, I uh have not noticed any news about it intentionally. You know, sometimes they try to force feed you things and algorithms, and you're like, no, get out of here, scroll past that quickly. But when this Sophie Cunningham thing happened, um, I paid way more attention. And then when she was uh at the UFC event, when she was a ringside girl for the Connor McGregor fight, and she walked around uh holding up a sign, I just thought, man, incredible. But in the midst of her getting notoriety, the fact that she's identifying that in in the midst of you wanting to love people, one of the ways you love them is you tell the truth. And that is that biological boys are not girls and shouldn't play in girls' sports. So I I do think we are seeing some really positive things in the culture from from Congress all the way to, dare I say it, the WNBA and the UFC. Uh a lot of good things happening.

SPEAKER_00 25:55

Your your point is so well taken, Tim, that when you when you love them, you tell them the truth. And and we had a clip last night on on Flashpoint that that was this, you know, kid just going crazy because he was misgendered. And it broke my heart because we've lied to these kids. And what was a mental illness years ago, we treated and we found ways to take care of that. And now we've put the this horrible poison out there. And like you said, you see it and then you just you're sick to your stomach because it's been um um normalized, but it's painful too. It creates great pain in in these people's lives and and in their families and in the whole community. So truth solves that, but we've got it, we've got to speak truth and we've got to treat it with truth. So, yeah, great, great

Send Questions And Final Thoughts

SPEAKER_00 26:33

stuff, guys. Okay, so this is uh yeah, tomorrow we've got Foundation's Freedom Thursday. So send in your questions, folks, radio at wallbuilders.com. And then Friday, don't miss Good News Friday. Thanks for listening. You've been listening to the Wall Builders Show.