The American Soul
The American Soul
Virtue in an Age of Entitlement
The cornerstone of a nation rests on the family. The cornerstone of the family lies in marriage. And the cornerstone of marriage is found in our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. This foundational hierarchy forms the central message of today's American Soul Podcast, where Jesse Cope examines how our collective drift from these principles threatens not just religious practice but our very liberty.
Drawing from historical examples in Fox's Book of Martyrs, Jesse shares the story of Timothy, a deacon who proclaimed he would "sooner deliver up his children to be sacrificed than part with the word of God." Such devotion stands in stark contrast to our modern tendency to prioritize entertainment, social media, and superficial pursuits over spiritual growth and family connections. Jesse challenges listeners with a penetrating question: "How much time are you giving to sports, TV, workouts, social media, YouTube... versus how much time you're giving to God and the Bible and Jesus Christ and prayer?"
The podcast examines Matthew 27, focusing on Judas's remorse and Christ's crucifixion, highlighting the stark difference between Peter and Judas in their responses to betrayal. One found redemption through repentance; the other, destruction through despair. This biblical parallel offers profound insight into personal and national restoration—it's never too late to turn back toward foundational truths.
Citing Ulysses S. Grant's declaration that we must "hold fast to the Bible as the sheet anchor of your liberties," Jesse makes a compelling case that America's drift from biblical principles directly correlates with our loss of freedom. Just as the American colonists recognized that "nothing but a firm, vigorous and united resistance could shield from the attacks that threatened the total extinction of civil liberty," today's challenges demand a return to the principles that uniquely unified our diverse founders.
What choices will we make daily? Will we continue consuming spiritual junk food that weakens our moral fiber, or will we nourish ourselves with the truths that sustain freedom? The future of our families, communities, and nation depends on how we answer this question. Join us in practicing virtue wherever you have the chance.
The American Soul Podcast
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Hey folks, this is Jesse Cope, back with another episode of the American Soul Podcast. Hope y'all are doing well, wherever y'all are, whatever part of the day you're in, I'm sure to appreciate y'all joining me and giving me a little bit of your time and attention, a little piece of your day. I'm glad you're here. I know you'll have other things probably almost assuredly pulling, demanding your attention, and so I'm glad that you're spending a little bit of it here. Hopefully we'll all get something out of it and hopefully it'll help us all draw a little bit closer to God and Jesus Christ, both as individuals and as a nation. For those of y'all who have been around for a while and are starting this fifth year with us, I'm glad you're still here. For those of y'all who are new, I'm glad you stopped by. Hope you enjoy it, hope you decide to stay, hope you're able to listen to it with somebody else and, most of all, for those of y'all who pray for the podcast and for me. Thank you so very much. Need those prayers, so grateful for them, father. Thank you for today. Thank you for you, father. Thank you for today. Thank you for you, father, and your Son, jesus Christ and your Holy Spirit. Thank you for your love and your mercy, your grace and your forgiveness. Thank you that your Son was willing to come and die for us, sacrifice his life for ours, even though he'd done nothing wrong, father, nothing deserving of death. Forgive us, father, those sins that we go back to time and time again, when we go back to wallow in the mud or like the dog returning to its own vomit. Help us to overcome them. Forgive us our unbelief, our cowardice. Help us to overcome them as well. Help us to seek for the lost in the same way that your son sought for us when we were lost. Sought for us when we were lost. Be with those who are hurting right now, who are alone. Be with those who are struggling in their faith, father, who, for whatever reason, feel far away from you. Draw us close to you. Help us to draw near you. Help us to be the seed that the farmer scattered on good soil that grows up and multiplies 30, 60, 100 times. Father and God, my words here, please, in your son's name, we pray Amen.
Speaker 1:Tell you what I have an ulcer right on the inside of my lip. You never realize right how important little parts of your body are until, whatever job it is that you do, requires the use of that little body part on a daily basis. There's nothing serious about an ulcer, but talking with it is not the most comfortable thing in the world. Maybe that's God telling me I need to be quiet more often. Huh, so well.
Speaker 1:Have you read? Have you made time for God today? I ask this every day, folks have you made time to read your Bible? Have you made time to pray and I ask it because we don't seem to be doing a very good job of that or, if you're married, have you made time for your spouse? Have you made time to make sure that they know that they go to bed each night and wake up each morning knowing that they are your second priority? And all you have to do is look around society to see that we don't do that.
Speaker 1:We've become a Bible illiterate society. We don't really know what's in the Bible. We certainly don't talk about it on a regular basis and don't teach our children it anymore. Right, we kicked it out of school as a nation. And then you look at the marriages, you look at the dysfunctionality, you look at the abandonment, the joke of no fault, divorce, which is the really evil, sad joke, and so this is why we talk about it each day, and I know some of y'all out there probably kind of roll your eyes and go come on, cope, we got it and and maybe you do, and that's awesome. But there's a lot of people that don't still, and so we keep talking about it, because that's what controls the soul of our nation. When we get down to it, folks, if all I did each day was get on this podcast and talk about those two things, that would be what's going to affect the soul of our nation.
Speaker 1:Reagan said the family was the cornerstone of the nation. Well, the marriage is the cornerstone of the family, and our faith, our relationship with God and Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of the marriage. The only way you can have a good marriage is to follow those principles of Christ, stone of a marriage. The only way you can have a good marriage is to follow those principles of Christ, and that's true. It doesn't matter whether you're a Buddhist or a Hindu or an atheist, anywhere in the world. It doesn't matter whether you're in China or South Africa or Colombia or Germany or Siberia. If your marriage is going to be successful, you have to follow the principles of Christ in that marriage, right? If your nation is going to be successful, you have to follow the principles of Jesus Christ in order for that nation to be successful. It makes it a heck of a lot easier if you choose to follow Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. But even if you don't, the only way you're going to have a successful marriage, the only way you're going to have liberty, is to put those principles into execution.
Speaker 1:I had two thoughts that I'll share in this little monologue. It may go a little longer than normal today and I apologize, but I think they're pretty important. So one of them just kind of popped in as I was getting ready for the podcast today and that is Memorial Day, and I thought, god, cope, you didn't, you didn't do a very good job celebrating Memorial Day. And and then, the more I got to thinking about it, I thought well, you know, we read through the Medal of Honor winners each day, and so that's often because a lot of those awards were given posthumously. That's that's kind of like celebrating Memorial Day each day and that's a pretty good deal.
Speaker 1:And I don't say that because I'm doing it. I say it because of some commentary I heard from a marriage counseling group years ago and I've heard it from multiple different groups talking about marriage in particular. But this one couple they seem to harp on it pretty frequently, about marriage in particular. But this one couple, they seem to harp on it pretty frequently. And this is they say look, if you're waiting until special days to love your spouse and they're talking about emotionally, they're talking about physically, sex, they're talking about whatever it is that's important to your spouse If you're waiting until Valentine's Day or anniversary or birthday or whatever, to love your spouse, you're failing, you're not doing marriage right. They said that loving has to be an everyday affair, and I was thinking about that in regard to Memorial Day.
Speaker 1:Folks, it's great that we have a day to celebrate those who have given their lives. I'm not knocking Memorial Day at all, please don't think that. But don't those men and the women who've sacrificed, those men who've been willing to trade, those men, don't they deserve more than just one day a year, day a year, those husbands and sons and brothers and fathers who have given their lives for our country, don't they deserve more than just one day a year? Shouldn't they kind of always be on our mind a little bit? It was just a thought that kind of came as I was getting ready for the podcast today, so I thought I would share it.
Speaker 1:And the other one was, if I can find it, we were talking in boxes book of the martyrs about a Jim, a gentleman. There he is Timothy. He was a deacon of Maritania and his wife Mara, and he was brought before Aranus. Well, however, who was the governor of Thebes or Thebes, and he wanted to know where the Holy Scriptures were. Apparently, timothy, this deacon, he knew where the Bible was, their version of the Bible at that point, these scriptures and this governor wanted them.
Speaker 1:Bible at that point, these scriptures and this governor wanted them. And his response was had I children, I would sooner deliver them up to be sacrificed than part of the word of God. And the governor got so irritated he ordered his eyes to be put out with red hot irons and saying those books shall at least be useless to you, for you shall not see to read them. You shall not see to read them. And the guy stood up under this pretty well, apparently Survived it, well enough that the governor got even more irritated, hung him up by his feet with a weight tied around his neck and a gag in his mouth, and then his wife begged for him to recant right when the gag was taken out, he said no. He said you're mistaken, I'm gonna, I'm more than willing to die for my faith. And his wife, in that moment, got courage and imitated him and the governor ended up ordering her to be tortured as well, and then they crucified both of them together and this was around 8304.
Speaker 1:And, as with so many of these stories, it's just, it's hard to even fathom in today's age that gruesome. Although there's stuff like this going on around the world, we just don't choose to pay attention to it, especially some of the Christians and Muslim and communist nations like Syria and Nigeria and Iran and China and North Korea. There's horrible things going on in those places to Christians. But the point of this, the reason this struck me and I wanted to talk about it today, in this little section where I always ask have you read your Bible today? This was likely the only copy that these people had of the Bible and this deacon, or Timothy, whatever he was, he was the keeper of those scriptures and he was not even willing to give them up to save himself Torture.
Speaker 1:I wonder how many of us just have our Bible sitting on top of a desk collecting dust in our houses. How many of us really open that Bible and read it as if it's the source of life for us each day, versus how many of us scroll through social media or watch sports or workout or watch TV or YouTube or whatever, right? What's the balance there? What's the balance on your ledger? How much time are you giving to sports, tv, workouts, social media, youtube, et cetera, et cetera, and and some of this stuff? Folks, this is another little antidote.
Speaker 1:I know I'm taking a lot of time in this part today, but there was an article recently in the epic times it's a newspaper I talk about pretty frequently for those of y'all who are new to the podcast Great newspaper produced once a week. Highly recommend it if you like newspapers at all. Phenomenal, one of the best newspapers I've read in decades, really. And they had an article in there talking about the connection between YouTube and China and it's like the TikTok connection, right, and what Americans are shown you know what the algorithm feeds them on these platforms versus what the Chinese children, for example, are shown and the goal obviously, based on what's fed to Americans, is moral decay, weakness, cowardice, laziness, versus. You know, the Chinese children are shown these videos that, at least educationally, are supposed to push them and patriotically are supposed to push them, are supposed to push them and patriotically are supposed to push them.
Speaker 1:And so not only are we giving our time to things that we really probably shouldn't be, just in general, you know, you sit there and you watch sports for three hours, but then you look at some of the commentary from people involved in Major League Baseball or the NBA or the NFL or college sports, or you look at some of the commentators on a TV program like ESPN. Right, and you can stretch this to all these different areas, folks, but we're giving our time not to God and the Bible and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit and prayer, not to our spouse, who is our closest neighbor on this earth, the love of our life, the person, the one out of 7 billion that we're supposed to have, the only one. Right, we're giving it to all this other junk. And then this junk is really bad, right, it's like with food. Right, you take in good food, but there's a point even where good food becomes too much. Right, if you're eating good food, but you need 2,000 calories a day and even though it's good food, you're eating 4,000 or 5,000 or 6,000 calories a day. That's not good, but we're not even doing that. We're eating 4,000 or 5,000 or 6,000 calories a day, but we're eating Cheetos and Oreos, which I use those all the time because I love those. You can pick some different ones, whatever junk food you like. Maybe it's M&Ms and Doritos or Ruffles or something, or I don't know. Whatever. It is junk food that you really like, throw that in there. Coke, pepsi. That's what we're doing Physically, spiritually, emotionally're. We're taking in too much junk and it's really bad junk.
Speaker 1:And then you look at this example back in this fox's book of the martyr. You look at these, going back to our memorial day conversation. You look at these medal of honor winners and and their families who gave them. What are we doing? What are we doing, folks? What are we doing?
Speaker 1:And then I was talking to a police officer recently and they were talking about a function that they ended up running security at and they were talking about the entitlement that you saw it, just this really wide range of of the public, right, you had all sorts of people there and he said just the amount of entitlement that you could just see in the people. How many were obese, how many were overweight, how many were dressed completely inappropriately and modestly, how many expected everybody to get out of their way and do what they needed them wanted them to do. Right, what are we doing? All right, I told you that was going to take longer and I'm sorry, but both of those things popped into my head and I think I think they were both. Both of those things popped into my head and I think they were both valid. I may have taken a little too long on them, but that's my fault, not that the subject wasn't worthy. All right, matthew, I think we're in 27.
Speaker 1:Judas' remorse oh, this was always brutal. 27. Judas' remorse oh, this was always brutal. No-transcript. And they bound him and led him away and delivered him to Pilate the governor. Then, when Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that he had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying I have sinned by betraying innocent blood. But they said what is that to us? See to that yourself. And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed. And he went away and hanged himself. The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said it is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury since it is the price of blood. And they conferred together and, with the money, bought the potter's field as a burial place for strangers. For this reason, that field has been called the field of blood to this day. Then, that which was spoken through jeremiah, the prophet, was fulfilled, and they took the 30 pieces of silver the price of the one whose price had been set by the sons of israel and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me.
Speaker 1:Two things strike me here with Judas. One what would have happened if he would have waited? If he would have waited until Jesus was resurrected and then gone to him for forgiveness? You never know what's around the next corner, folks. You never know what's around the next bend. We've talked about Peter so often. Peter abandoned. What if Peter would have gone away and hung himself after he betrayed Jesus? Was his betrayal any worse or better than Judas? I think you can make the argument that it's at least as bad, if not worse, because he claimed he would never abandon him, and then he did so. What would have happened if Peter would have hung himself. And the other part of this is you know, judas took the money back to these people that he had agreed to sell Jesus to and said I can't take this money. I've condemned innocent blood. And what's their response? What do we care?
Speaker 1:People that are doing evil folks. They never really care about you, no matter how good it sounds. It doesn't matter whether you're talking about something criminal like theft. It doesn't matter whether you're talking about something immoral like sex outside of marriage. It doesn't matter whether you're talking about hurting somebody. So you can get what you want, what you feel entitled to. We'll go back to that. Those people could not care less about you, no matter what they say. And the reason you know this is because someone who loves you truly loves you. They can never encourage you in sin, right, right, if you're, you feel like you're part of the LGBTQ crowd, right, and you want to get married to somebody that's your own sex or gender or whatever word you want to use, and you've got somebody that, hey, we're going to support you, we're going to encourage you, we're going to come to your wedding, we're going to encourage this relationship. Folks, they're not loving you, not in that regard, not in that moment they're not loving you, they're not caring about you, they're not being kind or compassionate, they're being cowardly. They're helping you destroy yourself, right? It's the same thing as if you've got somebody that wants to go cheat on their spouse and they're encouraging you in that they're not loving you, spouse, and they're encouraging you in that they're not loving you. Don't ever mistake encouragement to do something wrong for love. The two can't ever go together.
Speaker 1:Jesus before Pilate. Now, jesus stood before the governor and the governor questioned him saying are you the king of the Jews? And Jesus said to him it is as you say. And while he was being accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. Then Pilate said to him Do you not hear how many things they testify against you? And he did not answer him with regard to even a single charge. So the governor was quite amazed.
Speaker 1:Now, at the feast, the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted. At that time, they were holding a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when the people gathered together, pilate said to them whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas or Jesus, who is called Christ? For he knew that because of envy they had handed him over. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message saying have nothing to do with that righteous man, for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of him.
Speaker 1:But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and put Jesus to death. But the governor said to them which of the two do you want me to release for you? And they said Barabbas. Pilate said to them then what shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ? They all said crucify him. And he said why? What evil has he done? But they kept shouting all the more, saying crucify him. When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying I am innocent of this man's blood. See to that yourselves. And all the people said His blood shall be on us and our children. Then he released Barabbas for them. But after having Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified.
Speaker 1:I've always wondered if Pilate ended up before God innocent because of Christ. I'm not a history buff. I don't know anything outside of the Bible about Pilate. After this episode, I don't know what he did or became, and I know that there's a couple additional pieces of information in the Bible. But I've just always wondered what happened to Pilate? Did he end up before God covered by the blood of Christ? Because obviously he and even his wife knew that Jesus was righteous. He didn't want anything to do with killing Christ. Just my own curiosity, folks. It's not necessarily some deep theological point. Not many of the things I offer here probably are.
Speaker 1:Jesus is mocked. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him and, after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and a reed in his right hand and they knelt down before him and mocked him, saying Hail, king of the Jews. They spat on him and took the reed and began to beat him on the head. After they had mocked him, they took off the scarlet robe and put his own garments back on him and led him away to crucify him. As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear his cross.
Speaker 1:Two things here. One, the humiliation, I think, even in little things maybe we don't look at often enough. With Christ, he's the son of God. He literally created the universe because he's fully God as well as fully man. And if you know anything about men, we have typically an ego, we've got some pride and it's pretty brittle and Jesus obviously was perfect. But it had to be embarrassing as a grown man to have a bunch of other grown men strip you down, dress you up like play doll with you and then strip you down again after they had beat you doll with you and then strip you down again after they had beat you, and that just had to be utterly humiliating. If you can imagine yourself it doesn't really matter, I guess, whether you're male or female but being stripped down in front of this group of men to be made fun of and hurt and then had your clothes put back on, to be drug away, to be crucified.
Speaker 1:And the other thing here is how many of us mock Christ through our actions? How many times have I sat around and talked about somebody, gossip, slandered, when I should have just kept my mouth shut? And is that not the same kind of as mocking Jesus Christ, because he tells me not to gossip, not to slander. And yet here I am doing it, and as I'm claiming that he's my Lord and Savior, that's not saying, folks, there's not forgiveness. There's eternal forgiveness, because Christ knew, god knew every sin that we have committed will commit, are committing. But maybe just thinking about that a little bit, for just a few seconds, before we do something stupid will help us. Not do something stupid, right, maybe?
Speaker 1:The crucifixion. And when they came to the place called Golgotha, which means place of a skull, they gave him wine to drink, mixed with gall, and after tasting it he was unwilling to drink. And when they had crucified him, they divided up his garments among themselves by casting lots and sitting down. They began to keep watch over him there and above his head they put up the charge against him, which read this is Jesus, the King of the Jews. At that time, two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right, one on the left and those passing by were hurling abuse at him, wagging their heads and saying you who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days? Save yourself. If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. Save yourself. If you are the son of God, come down from the cross. In the same way, the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him and saying he saved others. He cannot save himself. He is the king of Israel. Let him now come down from the cross and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he delights in him. For, he said, I am the Son of God. The robbers who had been crucified with him were also insulting him with the same words.
Speaker 1:Now, from the sixth hour, darkness fell upon the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour, jesus cried out with a loud voice saying yeah, I'm going to murder this folks, eli. Yeah, I'm going to murder this folks, eli, eli lama. I've heard it so many times in my life and I can't say it, folks, but that is my God. My God, why have you forsaken me?
Speaker 1:And some of those who were standing there when they heard it began saying this man is calling for Elijah. Immediately, one of them ran and, taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the rest of them said Let us see whether Elijah will come to save him. And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised and coming out of the tombs. After his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now, the centurion and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said truly, this was the son of God. Many women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ministering to him, and among them was Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
Speaker 1:Three things out of this section, folks. One my God, my God, why have you forsaken me, christ, in this moment? From everything I've ever been taught and from this, it sounds like God's presence was gone in that moment. His father, who he had always depended on, who he trusted, was gone in that moment, even though he had done nothing wrong. He took all of our sins on himself and in that moment God turned away Because he couldn't recognize. You know, god's perfect. He can't associate himself with sin.
Speaker 1:And I think that fear that some of us have about how we're going to die and are we going to maintain our faith in whatever form or fashion we die in, I think that should be a great encouragement to us, that, even if just for a moment there Jesus felt alone. It there, jesus felt alone. And I don't know, maybe fear, if you combine it with his comments from the garden, certainly the human side of him. There had to be some fear. I would think of the pain and the torture and maybe even the death. I don't know, but the encouraging thing is, and the torture, and maybe even the death, I don't know, but the, the. The encouraging thing is God came, you know, he Jesus reconciled.
Speaker 1:However, that, and I don't understand it, folks, I can't explain it to you. I'm not a great theologian, I'm not a priest or a pastor, but that relationship was restored and ours, ours can be too, folks, no matter what, you know, somewhere else in the New Testament, neither death, nor height, nor depth, nor anything can separate us from God. Through the love of Christ right, through the love of Christ right, there's nothing you can do to earn your salvation, folks, and there's absolutely nothing that you can do, by default, logically, to lose it. In order to gain salvation, we have to accept Jesus Christ. The only way to lose it is to reject him.
Speaker 1:The second thing here in this is there's no other option besides Jesus Christ. Well, a good teacher just isn't an option. And I just reiterate this because when you hear somebody say, oh yeah, I like the principles of Christ, he was a good teacher. That's just not an option. And that's CS Lewis's old argument. He can be crazy, he can be evil, a liar, you know, or he can be who he says he is the son of God. Those are the only options. Just a good moral teacher, that's just not one of them.
Speaker 1:And the last thing isn't even in this part, but another gospel, where the thief is recorded as having turned to Christ for salvation, as they're on the cross, right? You want to talk about a deathbed confession? That's it. That thief had nothing else besides Jesus Christ, nothing. And yet he was saved. Particularly, I want to encourage you if you have somebody in your life trying to tell you that you're not part of the right quote, unquote right church, you don't belong to the correct denomination, so you can't have salvation. They are not preaching you the gospel of Jesus Christ and they are absolutely ignoring the thief on the cross. And that's just one example. There is no requirement for belonging to a particular denomination on top of Jesus Christ, it's just Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:Jesus is buried. When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him and Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock. And he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away. And Mary Magdalene was there and the other Mary sitting opposite the grave.
Speaker 1:Now, on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate and said Sir, we remember that when he was still alive, that deceiver said after three days I am to rise again. Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise his disciples may come and steal him away and say to the people he has risen from the dead and the last, excuse me, deception will be worse than the first. Pilate said to them you have a guard, go make it as secure as you know how. And they went and made the grave secure and, along with the guard, they set a seal on the stone. There's probably there. There's a lot there too, folks, but we're gonna. We're gonna move on for the day. Joseph of arimathea, damon, got his body, though from pilot, probably took a lot of risk.
Speaker 1:Interesting little story there, just little tidbits that you want to know. Right, you're going to want to look, talk to somebody about in heaven one day. It would be pretty sweet stories. I wanted to. We talked about a quote similar. Well, we talked about this quote and I wanted to read it. This is from Ulysses S Grant, the 18th president Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet anchor of your liberties, write its precepts in your hearts and practice them in your lives. To the influence of this book are we indebted for all the progress made in true civilization, and to this we must look as our guide in the future. Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. We read that quote from someone else recently and I was thinking about the Ulysses S Grant version folks, the Ulysses S Grant version folks. The Bible, the principles laid out there, that's the anchor of our nation. The farther we get away from there, the farther we get away from liberty. It's why it's so important, on an individual basis, for us to read our Bible each day, to read it to our children, to teach our children and to teach it to ourselves. So, so important. All right, we're going to pick up in Fox's Book of the Martyrs where we left off. I think we're still in the 10th persecution. I think we're still in the 10th persecution. Someday these names are going to get easier.
Speaker 1:Sabinus, bishop of Assyrium, refusing to sacrifice to Jupiter and pushing the idol from him at his hand, cut off by the order of the governor of Tuscany. While in prison, he converted the governor and his family, all of whom suffered martyrdom for the faith. Soon after their execution, sabinus himself was scourged to death, december AD 304. Tired with the farce of state and public business, the emperor Diocletian resigned the imperial diadem and was succeeded by Constantius and Galerius, the former a prince of the most mild and humane disposition, and the latter equally remarkable for his cruelty and tyranny. These divided the empire into two equal governments, galerius ruling in the east and Constantinus in the west, and the people of the two governments felt the effects of the dispositions of the two emperors, for those in the West were governed in the mildest manner, but such as resided in the East felt all the miseries of oppression and lengthened tortures.
Speaker 1:Among the many martyred by the order of Galerius, we shall enumerate the most eminent. Amphianus was a gentleman of eminence in Lucia and a scholar of Eusebius. Julita, a Lyconian of royal descent but more celebrated for her virtues than noble blood. While on the rack, her child was killed before her face. Julieta of Cappadocia was a lady of distinguished capacity, great virtue and uncommon courage. To complete the execution, julieta had boiling pitch poured on her feet, her sides torn with hooks, and received the conclusion of her martyrdom by being beheaded. April 16, ad 305.
Speaker 1:Of Pantaleon's suffered martyrdom for the faith. On the same day and in the same manner as Pantaleon, eustradius, secretary of the governor of Armenia, was thrown into a fiery furnace and exhorted some Christians who had been apprehended to preserve in their faith. Nicander and Marcian, two eminent Roman military officers, were apprehended on account of their faith, as they were both men of great abilities in their profession, the utmost means were used to induce them to renounce Christianity, but these endeavors being found ineffectual, they were beheaded In the kingdom of Naples. Several martyrdoms took place, in particular Gennarius, bishop of Beneventum, socius, deacon of Messene. Proculus, another deacon, eutychus and Acutius, two laymen, festus, a deacon, and Desiderius, a reader, were all, on account of being Christian, condemned by the governor of Campania to be devoured by the wild beasts, the savage animals. However, not touching them, they were beheaded.
Speaker 1:Orinius, bishop of Scythia, being carried before Madanius. The governor, was ordered to sacrifice to the pagan deities, agreeably to the edicts of various Roman emperors. The governor, perceiving his constancy, sent him to jail and ordered him to be heavily ironed, flattering himself that the hardships of jail, some occasional tortures and the weight of chains might overcome his resolution. Being decided in his principles, he was sent to Amateus, the principal governor of Pannonia, now Hungary, who loaded him with chains and carried him through the principal towns of the Danube, exposing him to ridicule wherever he went. Arriving at length at Siberia, and finding that Quirinius would not renounce his faith, he ordered him to be cast into the river with a stone fastened about his neck. This sentence being put into execution, quirinius floated about for some time and, exhorting the people in the most pious terms, concluded his admonitions with this prayer it is no new thing, o all-powerful Jesus, for thee to stop the course of rivers or to cause a man to walk upon the water, as thou didst thy servant Peter. The people have already seen the proof of thy power in me. Grant me now to lay down my life for thy sake, o my God. On pronouncing the last words, he immediately sank and died, june 4, ad 308. His body was afterwards taken up and buried by some pious Christians.
Speaker 1:Amphilius, a native of Phoenicia of a considerable family, was a man of such extensive learning that he was called a second Origen. He was received into the body of the clergy at Caesarea, where he established a public library and spent his time in the practice of every Christian virtue. He copied the greatest part of the works of Origen with his own hand and, assisted by Eusebius, gave a correct copy of the Old Testament, which had suffered greatly by the ignorance or negligence of former transcribers. In the year 307, he was apprehended and suffered torture and martyrdom. Marcellus, bishop of Rome, being banished on account of his faith, fell a martyr to the miseries he suffered in exile, january 16, ad 310. I think we'll stop there for the day. Interesting, you think of exile as the less of some of these tortures, and yet being truly exiled, away from family and friends, to the point that the extremities of the exile kill you. Disease, cold starvation, that doesn't sound really that great either, does it? History of the Rise, progress and Termination of the American Revolution. Mercy Otis Warren. Of the American Revolution, mercy Otis Warren.
Speaker 1:When the new parliamentary regulations reached America, all the colonies, in their several departments, petitioned in the most strenuous manner against any American taxation and all other recent innovations relative to the government of the British provinces. These petitions were, when received by the ministry, treated by them with the utmost contempt. But they were supported by a respectable party in the Parliament of Britain who did not neglect to warn the administration of the danger of precipitating measures that might require, before the termination of a contest thus hurried on more virtue and abilities than the ministry possessed by some steps taken by the administration previous to the present period. There was reason to suppose that they were themselves apprehensive that their system for governing the colonies in a more arbitrary manner would give great offense and create disturbances of so alarming a nature that perhaps the aid of military power might become necessary to enforce the completion of their designs. Doubtless, it was with a view of facilitating the new projects that an extraordinary bill had been passed in Parliament making it lawful for the officers of the British Army to quarter their troops in private houses through the colonies. Thus, while mixed in every family, it might become more easy to all the people into submission and to compel them by military terrors to the basest compliances. But the colony agents residing in London and the merchants concerned in the American trade remonstrated so warmly against the injustice and cruelty of such a procedure that a part of the bill was dropped. Of consequence, a clause was left obliging the several legislative assemblies to provide quarters for the king's marching regiments and furnish a number of specified articles at with part of the British Constitution which provides that no monies should be raised on the subject without his consent. Yet rather than enter a new dispute, the colonists in general chose to evade it for the present, and without many observations thereon had occasionally made some voluntary provisions for the support of the king's troops. It was hoped the act might be only a temporary expedient to hold up the authority of Parliament, and that in a short time the claim might die of itself without any attempt to revive such an unreasonable demand. But New York, more explicit in her refusal to obey, was suspended from all powers of legislation until the Quartering Act should be complied with in the fullest extent.
Speaker 1:By this unprecedented treatment of one of the colonies and innumerable exactions and restrictions on all, a general apprehension prevailed that nothing but a firm, vigorous and united resistance could shield from the attacks that threatened the total extinction of civil liberty through the continent. You get the feeling, folks, that we're knocking on the door against, and for a number of reasons. You get the feeling that people are kind of awakening again to their Christian faith, awakening again to their Christian faith and maybe that's just me being hopeful as they did in the first great awakening in the early 1700s, early to mid-1800s, before the Civil War. And so you get the feeling that that's happening again, that people are kind of waking up to the realization that we've got to have God and Jesus Christ in our lives as individuals and as a nation. And there's the possibility, with that, almost the guarantee, that war will follow, because, just like in the other previous instances, evil men and women are never going to willingly let go of power.
Speaker 1:And this last sentence here, this unprecedented treatment of one of the colonies and innumerable exactions and restrictions on all, a general apprehension prevailed that nothing but a firm, vigorous and united resistance could shield them from the attacks that threatened the total extinction of civil liberty throughout the continent. Folks, there's seemingly nothing again today but a firm, vigorous and united resistance that has the potential to shield us from the attacks that threaten the total extinction of civil liberty through the continent. And you really can add religious liberty to that as well. First and foremost, I suppose. First and foremost, I suppose the left is never going to stop and that whole bucket of isms, any of those leftism, socialism, communism, nazism, fascism, the people that support that they're never going to willingly say oh, you know what? This was a bad idea.
Speaker 1:Let me give you back this power that I've got demanded, stolen Islam. Same way, you're never going to see Islam get into a situation of power. And then you know what this ideology that we follow? It's really evil and it's caused a lot of problems. So let me give you back some of that power. So, barring a miracle by God, which would be wonderful, you have two choices folks coming down the pipe, slavery under the tyranny of the left, or any of that bucket of isms, or Islam, which goes hand in glove with that bucket of isms, which will mean slavery for our children and our grandchildren, our wives, daughters, granddaughters, grandsons.
Speaker 1:Or A fight Daughters, granddaughters, grandsons, or a fight firm, unified resistance said about the principles that were unified around by these men of such different faiths and regions and ideas. The only principles that could unify them were the principles of Christ. Wherever you have a chance, folks practice virtue. As Patrick Henry said, practice the principles of Christ and encourage that in others. God bless y'all, god bless your families, god bless your nation, wherever you are around the world, god bless your marriage. If you're married Again, god bless America. We'll talk to you all again real soon, folks Looking forward to it.