The American Soul
The American Soul
Heroes Forgotten, Principles Abandoned
What happens when a nation forgets its foundations? Jesse Cope tackles this critical question by examining the unbreakable link between America's founding principles and Christian values. With characteristic candor, he challenges the modern notion that faith and liberty are separable concepts, drawing on historical perspectives from Frederick Douglass and Theodore Roosevelt to demonstrate how our republic was deliberately built upon "the general principles of Christianity."
The podcast offers a refreshing perspective on priorities in both national identity and personal relationships. Cope makes a compelling case that genuine love—whether for country, spouse, or God—manifests through obedience and action rather than mere words. "If you're not obeying God's commandments, if you're not fulfilling your role as either a husband or a wife, you don't really love your spouse," he states, drawing a direct parallel between our spiritual and marital obligations.
Perhaps most thought-provoking is Cope's examination of why God's commandments often feel burdensome in modern life. Using the analogy of healthy eating, he suggests that when we prioritize spiritual nourishment before indulging in the "junk food" of entertainment and distraction, both our faith and relationships thrive naturally. This reframing challenges listeners to consider whether perceived oppression in traditional roles actually stems from disordered priorities rather than the roles themselves.
The episode honors several Medal of Honor recipients, sharing their stories of sacrifice and creating a striking contrast with our culture's celebration of celebrities and athletes. This comparison prompts listeners to reconsider what truly deserves our attention—those who gave everything for principles or those who merely entertain. As Cope reads from historical texts about America's founders who risked "their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor," we're reminded that liberty comes with responsibility.
Whether you're concerned about America's future, struggling in your marriage, or simply seeking to align your priorities with eternal truths, this episode offers both historical grounding and practical wisdom for navigating today's challenges through the timeless lens of faith.
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 and whatever part of the day you're in. I do appreciate y'all joining me and giving me a little bit of your time and attention. A little piece of your day. I will try and use it wisely. Hopefully it will attention a little piece of your day. I will try and use it wisely. Hopefully it will draw us all a little closer to God and Jesus Christ, both as individuals and as a nation. For those of y'all who continue to share the podcast and tell others about it, thank you For those of y'all who continue to pray for me and for the podcast.
Speaker 1:Thank you Very, very grateful 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 of sins. Forgive us when we fall short, father. Forgive us our cowardice and our unbelief. Help us to overcome them. We do believe. Forgive us our doubts, our fears, our lack of trust and our lack of gratitude for all the many blessings you've bestowed upon us in the times and our lives when you have watched over us. Please be with those who are alone, father, and scared. Be with those who come from broken families, broken families. Be with those who are hurting, whether it's illness or injury or recovery from surgery. Comfort them, ease whatever pain they may be having and help them to feel your presence. Strengthen our faith, father. Help us to help those that have less than we do. Help us help our country turn back to you. Be with our leaders. Give them wisdom and courage and a strong faith. Thank God, my words are Father, please, in your son's name, we pray Amen.
Speaker 1:Have you made time for God today? Have you made time to read his word? Have you made time to pray to him, to talk to him? And if you're married, does your spouse know it? Somebody asked them if they were your second priority each day, behind only God and Jesus Christ. What would their answer be? If your spouse was grading you?
Speaker 1:Perhaps that's not the best way to say it. Perhaps the best way is the way we've been saying it lately If somebody, an impartial party, was to watch your life for a day or a week or a year for the last five years, last 10 years, would there be enough evidence to convict you of being either a Christian or a good spouse. And the only way that you can be a good spouse, folks, is to follow Scripture. For being a good spouse 1 Corinthians 7, ephesians 5, titus 2, 1 Peter 3, hebrews 13, 4, proverbs 5, 19 Song of Solomon you don't get to pick and choose and you certainly don't get to tell your spouse how they're failing when you refuse to acknowledge your own roles and responsibilities.
Speaker 1:We have a lot of that today, sadly, inside the church we have people that want to pick on one role or the other, right or the other, right, either the husband or the wife, and they want to really hammer that role, but they don't want to talk about the other one. They want to tell a husband that they have to love, nourish and cherish their spouse, or they want to tell a wife that they have to love, nourish and cherish their spouse. Or they want to tell a wife that they have to respect, submit to and physically satisfy their husband, but they don't want to talk about the counterpoint, as is almost always the case, at least, the more I talk about it, the more I see it. That's reflected in our relationship as the church with Christ. We have a lot of people that want to talk about how important it is to follow Christ, for example, but to love Jesus. But when Christ clearly tells us that if we love him, we'll obey him, we'll follow his commands, people aren't that interested in that. I think that was like Franklin said so many people love to celebrate Christ's birthday, so few people to obey his precepts, his teachings. Like our pastor said a couple weeks ago, folks, we can't really love if there's not obedience. And that's true inside the marriage and that's true in our relationship with Christ as the church.
Speaker 1:1 John, chapter 5, overcoming the World. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of him. Father, we acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ born of you. Please help us to love you, father, and to love your son, jesus Christ, and obey his commands. In your Son's name we ask and pray Amen. By this we know that we love the children of God. When we love God and observe his commandments For this is love that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome. If you really love God, you obey his commandments. If you really love Jesus Christ, you obey his commandments. If you really love your spouse, you obey God's commandments.
Speaker 1:If you're not obeying God's commandments, if you're not fulfilling your role as either a husband or a wife, you don't really love your spouse. You can say it all you want to, but you don't. You need to understand that. Folks on both sides. Maybe you have a spouse who refuses to follow their roles and responsibilities. We still have a responsibility in those kind of marriages to love our spouse the best that we're able to. But there's nothing wrong with acknowledging that our spouse doesn't love us, right? But we need to remember the flip side too. We can tell our spouse we love them all day long, but if we don't act like it, if we're not following God's roles and responsibilities, then they know that we really don't love them. And this last little part of verse 3, his commandments are not burdensome. That strikes me so much.
Speaker 1:You hear so many people talk today about how oppressive and burdensome it is to follow their roles and responsibilities. Really, feminism has sold that lie to women really well, that it's somehow liberating to go off to work and serve a man that doesn't love you, that you don't know each day to dress the way that they tell you to, to act the way that they tell you to, to do what they tell you to. But if you apply that to your husband inside the home, then somehow it all of a sudden becomes a burden and oppressive. Or you hear both husbands and wives so often talk about the fact that I'm just exhausted, I'm just too tired, you're asking too much, but yet we still have time to watch multiple hours of Netflix or Amazon or Hulu Prime right of Netflix or Amazon or Hulu Prime right. Or we have multiple hours to scroll our phones or watch sporting events or go to sporting events or work out. We have all this time for this other stuff. The problem isn't that God's commands are a burden. The problem is that we have our priorities out of order and we're trying to tack his commands on at the end of our priority list. Whether that's the end of the day or not, it's still not important to us, and so then it feels like a burden because we do all the stuff we want to.
Speaker 1:First, it's like eating a meal. Folks, as a kid most of y'all if you had parents that were really paying attention you had to eat all your good stuff before you got dessert right, and, ironically, the good stuff is what fueled your body. What really made you healthier? The dessert, the junk food? It didn't help any, in fact it kind of made it worse. Tastes good but it doesn't really help your body any. And you can think about your marriage the same way. The commands of God love, nourish, cherish, respect, submit to, physically satisfy those are what feed your marriage. That's the good food, the healthy food. If you put those things first, as you should A, then you're not as desirous of the junk food and B your body, your marriage is healthier.
Speaker 1:Right, and that's the same as individuals in our spiritual life. Individuals and our spiritual life. If we focus on what God tells us to first, then we don't have to worry about all the junk at the end so much, for whatever is born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that has overcome the world our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world? But he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. This is the one who came by water and blood, jesus Christ, not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth, for there are three that testify the Spirit and the water and the blood, and the three are in agreement.
Speaker 1:If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for the testimony of God is this that he has testified concerning his Son. God is this that he has testified concerning his Son. The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. The one who does not believe God has made him a liar because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. And the testimony is this that God has given us eternal life and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has the life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
Speaker 1:This is written that you may know these things. I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence which we have before him that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from him. If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will forgive. Well for him. Give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death. I do not say that he should make requests for this. All unrighteousness is sin and there is a sin not leading to death. We know that no one who is born of God sins, but he who was born of God keeps him and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one, and we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him, who is true and we are in him. Who is true in his Son, jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
Speaker 1:Little children, guard yourselves from idols. Life. Little children, guard yourselves from idols. This is the true God and eternal life. And Jesus Christ, his son, right. There is no other God, folks. There's no coexist. That's not part of the American faith, history, heritage, principles. There's one true faith Christianity. There's one true God the Father, jesus Christ, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And the last verse folks, guard yourselves from idols. How many of us make idols out of sports, social media, entertainment of all kinds, alcohol, sex food, drugs, folks Anything that we put in that place over God is an idol. Any person, the disciples, peter Paul, mary Joseph, anything we put a denomination Baptist, methodist, catholic, orthodox, church of Christ doesn't matter. If there's something work cars, if there's something that we put above God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, we have made an idol of that thing. There's a lot here, folks. That's just honestly. It's just above my pay grade.
Speaker 1:The only other verse I'll comment on is verse 14. This is the confidence which we have before him that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us, and if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked for him. A pastor years ago made the comment that at some point in our prayers we always ought to ask for God's will to be done. I wonder how often we do that and I wonder how often we really mean that. How often do I pray and ask God for something? But I'm really kind of hedging my bets. God, I really want your will to be done, you know, just as long as your will is this X, y or Z, and I think, at least for myself, folks, a lot of that boils down to just simple trust. Do I really trust that God wants what's best for me from an eternal point of view, even if it's not from an earthly point of view? Because if I trust that, if I really believe that and trust that God wants what's best for me from an eternal point of view, then it's easy to pray that I will be done.
Speaker 1:Got a little side note before we get into Medal of Honors. I won't belabor this too long. It's pretty simple. I had the opportunity to go to a hospital recently and you don't even need to go to a hospital, folks, you can just go out in town in America today. But I noticed the number of people that I saw that were not just a little overweight but a lot overweight, and and it just it. A, it just made me think about how unhealthy a population, a society, we've become just in general. But b, it made me think about how we got there, based on what we take in the junk that we eat and put into our system. Right and again, folks, I'm a huge fan of, oh, dr Pepper, oreos, cheetos, candy, big fan, okay, but it's not just the food.
Speaker 1:That that has made us unhealthy today. It's our lifestyle, our choices sitting and staring at screens constantly instead of interacting with the people that God put in our lives, whether it's video games, computer games, tv, social media, iphones. Games, tv, social media, iphones we are so disconnected from the real world and real people who are in our lives, and that's not healthy, folks. We take in all this junk and what we watch and listen to read and we expect our spirit to be healthy. Just the same way we expect to be able to eat whatever candy and cookies and Cokes and alcohol and drugs and whatever else we take in, and we expect our body to be healthy. Just like we take in empty platitudes in our marriages. Right, we say things like I love you, but we don't really mean it, we're not really taking in any substance, we're not developing our marriage and we expect it to be healthy. And it's not folks. It's the same principle all along and it's just like a lot of those old cliches you get in or you get out what you put in, you know. Anyway, just if you want a healthy body, folks, you really need to pay attention to what you're eating and how you're working, what you're doing. If you want a healthy spiritual life, you need to pay attention to what you're taking in, what you're listening to, reading, watching, right, the work that you're putting into those relationships around you. If you want a healthy marriage, same thing. What are you putting into your marriage? What are you expecting? All right, so, medal of Honor, I think we stopped with William Batters the last day.
Speaker 1:Oscar C Badger that's where we're going to start today. Oscar Charles Badger, rank Henson, highest rank admiral. Conflict Mexican campaign, veracruz, us Navy. Medal of Honor. Action date 21 April 1914. Action place Veracruz, mexico. Citation for Distinguished Conduct and Battle Engagements of Veracruz, 21-22 April 1914. Ensign Badger was in both days fighting at the head of his company and was eminent and conspicuous in his conduct, leading his men with skill and courage. Accredited to Washington, district of Columbia. Not awarded posthumously. Born June 26, 1890, washington DC. Died November 30, 1958, glen Cove, new York, united States. Buried Arlington National Cemetery, em-2 TAC-3760, tac-ws, arlington, virginia, united States.
Speaker 1:Oscar Charles Badger. Albert E Basil, ranked 2nd Lieutenant. World War I Bravo Company, 148th Infantry, 37th Division, us Army. Medal of Honor. Action Date 27 September 1918, place near Ivory, france Citation. Citation the wounded corporal, after thrice repeating his requests and permission having been reluctantly given, due to the heavy artillery, rifle and machine gun fire and heavy deluge of gas in which the company was at that time accompanied by a volunteer, he worked his way forward and, reaching the wounded man, placed him upon his shoulders and was instantly killed by enemy fire.
Speaker 1:Accredited to Baria, cuyahoga County, ohio. I probably murdered both of those. I apologize if you're from there, us if you're from there. Awarded posthumously. Born March 21st 1890. Beria, cuyahoga County, ohio. Died September 27th 1918, france. Buried Woodville Union Cemetery. Mh7tac 31, cleveland, ohio, united States. Location of metal American Legion Post 91, berea, ohio. Albert E Basel. Maybe one more? Yeah, one more.
Speaker 1:James E Bailey, indian campaigns, apache campaigns actually Sergeant Echo Company, 5th US Cavalry, us Army Action date 1872-73. Action place Apache campaigns During Campaigns and Engagements with Apaches Accredited to Boston, suffolk County, massachusetts. Not awarded posthumously. Presented April 12, 1875. Born 1849, dexter, Penobscot County, maine, united States.
Speaker 1:There's no guide. Interesting there aren't very many with that died. Interesting there aren't very many with that If they're still, I mean unless they're still alive. James E Bailey, albert E Basil, oscar C Badger.
Speaker 1:There's some names, folks, to add to our overgrowing list of names of people. I promise this won't take but just a minute or two, I can't help but tell you here. There's a lot of examples like this, but there's a controversy going back and forth that I've seen right now in one of our professional sports based on skin color, and there's a really good player in this professional sport, this particular sport, and they're not the same skin tone as the majority of players in that sport and there's a lot of little details. If you're really into it, you probably already if you pay attention to a lot of sports you probably already know who I'm talking about. But the point is, it's not even the bigotry or the racism that's involved in this particular. It's the fact that we give so much attention we, the citizens, we give so much attention to these people no-transcript, we give them control over our lives because we pay so much attention and give them so much of our time and energy and money and we know so little about the men, like we just read about, that have given so much for our country, not to mention the fact of how much time we give to these people that are playing a game and ripping apart our country, often by their own comments and actions, while our marriage is crumbling and our kids are struggling and our parents are getting older. I just mind boggling. All right, we'll move on.
Speaker 1:We're going to talk about a little bit of history today. A couple of quotes. One is from Frederick Douglass. Today, a couple of quotes. One is from Frederick Douglass. If you don't know much about Frederick Douglass abolitionist orator, author, you can find him on.
Speaker 1:The Declaration of Independence is the ring bolt to the chain of your nation's destiny. So indeed I regard it. The principles contained in that instrument are saving principles. Stand by those principles, be true to them on all occasions, in all places, against all foes and at whatever cost. You hear a lot today from people who talk about the fact that well, declaration and the constitution, those things don't apply to me. Because of my skin color or my gender or my ethnicity, I'm oppressed, I'm trodden upon or whatever. And here you see Frederick Douglas. I'm oppressed, I'm trodden upon or whatever. And here you see Frederick Douglass who, despite growing up in the midst of slavery as a black man, is telling us to cling to the Declaration of Independence, the principles there, to be true to them on all occasions, in all places, against all foes and at whatever cost.
Speaker 1:The problem, folks, isn't the founding principles of America based on the teachings of Christ. The problem is when we ignore them, which is what we've been doing more and more consistently for the last 80 to 100 years. That's the problem. The problem isn't following the principles, the problem is abandoning them. And what are some of those principles? Right, you look at the beginning the unanimous declaration of the 13 United States of America.
Speaker 1:When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitled them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires them that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. What are the laws of nature and of nature's God? We don't know. We don't teach it anymore. The people that do know either aren't given the opportunity to teach it or they know the truth and they don't want the truth out there.
Speaker 1:The laws of nature and of nature's God and this used at this time clearly meant God, the Father of Jesus Christ, the Son Blackstone. William Blackstone talked about that. We've talked about this on the podcast, right? So the principles come back to the general principles of Jesus Christ, not a particular denomination. By the way, I have to throw that in there, because so many today want to make America not Christian. They want to make it a particular denomination and that's just a tool of the devil. That wasn't what brought our union together.
Speaker 1:John Adams, our second president, made that comment. It was the general principles of Christianity. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness Again, our creator right. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed right.
Speaker 1:But the consent of the governed only works, again, as John Adams and so many others have stated, if we have a moral and religious Christian people. They don't work with Buddhism, hinduism, atheism, secularism, darwinism, communism, socialism, leftism, nazism, fascism, islam. None of those ideologies are compatible with liberty. And you can include the old world church and state marriage to the churches over there. If any of those were compatible with liberty, they had more than enough time to produce that. They didn't.
Speaker 1:You have to have the general principles of Christianity, out of Scripture, in order to produce liberty, because that leads you to the Spirit of God, and where the Spirit of God is, there's liberty. Those are our principles that Frederick Douglass tells us to cling to at all times, against all foes, at all costs. And what were our founders willing to risk? And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledged to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor. Are we willing to risk our lives, our fortunes, our sacred honor to maintain the principles laid out in the Declaration of Independence, to maintain a union crafted and anchored to the general principles of Jesus Christ? That's the only way that liberty can survive, folks, there's no other path. There's not one single other path in which liberty can survive, regardless of what people want to claim, what they want to pretend, that is the only path that maintains liberty is the general principles of Jesus Christ. Again, why the idea of fiscally conservative but socially liberal is so destructive? Right, there's no greater danger to America today besides Christless conservatism.
Speaker 1:We're going to go back and read this other quote by Teddy Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States, the youngest man, by the way, to ever hold that office. I think that's still true. Yes, the true Christian is the true citizen, lofty of purpose, resolute in endeavor, ready for a hero's deeds but never looking down on his task because it is cast in the day of small things, scornful of baseness, awake to his own duties as well as to his rights, following the higher law with reverence and, in this world, doing all that in his power lies so that, when death comes, he may feel that mankind is in some degree better because he lived. Every thinking man, when he thinks, realizes that the teachings of the Bible. Let me go back.
Speaker 1:Let me just again with that paragraph, a couple things. Are we as worried about the duties that we have as citizens as much as we are the rights? And you just take that across the board folks. Are you as concerned With the duties that you have toward God and Jesus Christ as much as you are there Promises to you? Are you as concerned with your role and responsibility toward your spouse as you are their job and their roles and responsibilities toward you as a husband or a wife? Same thing with kids, parents, right. Are we as concerned about our duties as much as we are our rights? It's kind of like. You know the old sports adage If you want the results, you have to put in the work. Right, are we willing to put in the labor, put in the work to get the results that everybody else wants? And a lot of people aren't folks, a lot of people want the results but they don't have any interest in putting in the work, they just want it for free, kind of like the welfare state right.
Speaker 1:At the end of the day, folks, when death comes, what's the best thing that we can hope for? To hear God, the Father of Jesus Christ, say well done, good and faithful servant. There is no greater hope, no greater desire goal than that. And second to that is leading others to that point, leading the lost to God through Jesus Christ, so that they will get to the end of their lives and look up and hear God say well done, good and faithful servant. That's it, folks. That is the goal.
Speaker 1:Teddy Roosevelt here is saying that we may feel that mankind is in some degree better because he lived. There is no better leaving mankind better than leaving mankind closer to Jesus Christ. There is nothing better than that. There's no discovery for cancer or some other disease. There's no technology of space rockets or self-driving cars? There's, no. There is nothing possibly better in this world than at your death that will leave mankind better than at your death, having moved mankind just a little bit closer to God and Jesus Christ. And maybe that means that you're a world-renowned pastor like Billy Graham. Maybe that means that you're a world-renowned pastor like Billy Graham. Maybe that means that you are a father or mother that raised their children to know God and Jesus Christ. Maybe that means that you're a husband or a wife that saved their spouse through their example, their spouse through their example. But there is nothing better that we can do in this life that will leave mankind better off than to draw them a little closer to God and Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:Every thinking man, when he thinks how many of us don't think realizes that the teachings of the Bible are so interwoven and implined with our whole civic and social life that it would be literally impossible for us to figure ourselves what that life would be if those standards were removed. If any of us are really willing to think folks, if we're really—this is why I always say if you've got a really bright person and you give them the Bible, if they're really interested in the truth. You don't have to worry about them becoming Christian. They will Not. Denominational doctrine you can't give them the book of whatever from the Roman Catholic Church or Greek Orthodox or Methodist or Baptist or whatever you want to call it. Whatever your little book is that you have for your denomination, not that, but God's book. If you take a really bright person, male or female, and they really want to know truth and you give them the Bible, you don't have to worry about the fact that they will end up Christian.
Speaker 1:But so many of us, we don't really want to think, we just want, and we certainly aren't interested in the truth. We're just interested in hearing what we want to think, we just want, and we certainly aren't interested in the truth. We're just interested in hearing what we want to hear. And a lot of people don't want to hear the fact, as Teddy Roosevelt said here, that the teachings of the Bible are so interwoven and entwined with our whole civic, not just our private life folks in a closet somewhere but our whole civic, our laws, our constitutions, our courts, our institutions, education in a closet somewhere, but our whole civic, our laws, our constitutions, our courts, our institutions, education, law enforcement, firefighting just across the board, folks, the teachings of the Bible are so interwoven and so entwined that it would be literally impossible for us to figure ourselves what that life would be. If we removed those standards right, we would lose almost all the standards by which we now judge both public and private morals. We have all the standards toward which we, with more or less resolution, strive to raise ourselves. When you take away the unchanging standards of God, folks, and you replace it with the changing political whims of man, when you move the goalposts right, man, we just run into all sorts of problems, because then it just matters what day of the week it is and who we decide is important enough to tell us what virtue and morality is, as opposed to God giving us an unchanging standard day in and day out, for which we strive to raise ourselves up to. We've forgotten who we are, folks. We're completely lost. It's like a ship with no captain at the wheel because we've thrown God out. We don't even know who we are, who we belong to or what's going on, because we've taken those standards out. All right, we're going to read a little bit out of Fox's Book of the Martyrs, where we've been in. We're going to pick up around the early part of the 8th century. Persecutions from the early part of the 8th to near the conclusion of the 10th century.
Speaker 1:Boniface, archbishop of Minz, the father of the German church, was an Englishman and is, in ecclesiastical history, looked upon as one of the brightest ornaments of this nation. Originally, his name was Winifred or Winfrith, and he was born at Curtin in Devonshire, then part of the West Saxon kingdom. When he was only about six years of age, he began to discover a propensity to reflection and seemed solicitous to gain information on religious subjects. Wolfrid the abbot, finding that he possessed a bright genius as well as a strong inclination to study, had him removed to Nuscle, a seminary of learning in the Diocese of Winchester, where he would have a much greater opportunity of attaining improvement than at Exeter. After due study, the abbot, seeing him qualified for the priesthood, obliged him to receive that holy order. When he was about thirty years old, from which time he began to preach and labor for the salvation of his fellow creatures, he was released to attend a synod of bishops in the kingdom of West Saxons. He afterwards in 719, went to Rome, where Gregory II, who sat in Peter's chair, received him with great friendship and finding him full of all the virtues that compose the character of an apostolic missionary, dismissed him with a commission at large to preach the gospel to the pagans wherever he found them. Passing through Lombardy no yeah, lombardy and Bavaria, he came to Therignia, which country had before received the light of the gospel. He next visited Utrecht and then proceeded to Saxony, where he converted some thousands to Christianity.
Speaker 1:During the ministry of this meek prelate, pepin was declared king of France. It was that prince's ambition to be crowned by the most holy prelate he could find, and Boniface was pitched on to perform that ceremony, which he did at Sossens in 1752. I know I'm murdering some of these names. Some of y'all that know French, forgive me. The next year, his great age and many infirmities lay so heavy on him that, with the consent of the new king, the bishops etc. Of his diocese, he consecrated Lullus his countryman and faithful disciple and placed him in the sea of mints. When he had thus eased himself of his charge, he recommended the church of mints to the care of the new bishop in very strong terms, desired he would finish the church at fold fold and see him buried in it, for his end was near.
Speaker 1:Having left these orders, he took boat to the Rhine and went to Friesland, where he converted and baptized several thousands of barbarous natives, demolished the temples and raised churches on the ruins of those superstitious structures. A day being appointed for confirming a great number of new converts, he ordered them to assemble in a new open plain near the river Bord Thither. He repaired the day before and, pitching a tent, determined to remain on the spot all night in order to be ready early in the morning. Attempt determined to remain on the spot all night in order to be ready early in the morning. Some pagans, who were his inveterate enemies, having intelligence of this, poured down upon him and the companions of his mission in the night and killed him and 52 of his companions and attendants on June 5, ad 755. Thus fell the great father of the Germanic church, the honor of England and the glory of the age in which he lived. Forty-two persons of Amorian and Upper Phrygia were martyred in the year 1845 by the Saracens, the circumstances of which transaction are as follows In the reign of Theophilus, the Saracens ravaged many parts of the Eastern Empire, gained several considerable advantages over the Christians, took the city of Armoryan and, in numbers, suffered martyrdom.
Speaker 1:Flora and Mary, two ladies of distinction suffered martyrdom at the same time. Perfectus was born at Corduba in Spain and brought up in the Christian faith. Having a quick genius, he made himself master of all the useful and polite literature of that age and at the same time was not more celebrated for his abilities than admired for his piety. At length, he took priest's orders and performed the duties of his office with great acidity and punctuality. Publicly declaring Muhammad an imposter, he was sentenced to be beheaded and was accordingly executed, ad 850, after which his body was honorably interred by the Christians. Aldebert, bishop of Prague, a Bohemian by birth, after being involved in many troubles, began to direct his thoughts to the conversions of the infidels, to which he repaired to Danzik, where he converted and baptized many, which so enraged the pagan priests that they fell upon him and dispatched him with darts on the 23rd of April AD 997.
Speaker 1:Make sure I didn't skip anything that previous folks. Muhammad an imposter. I wish I had the quote in front of me and I cannot for the life of me remember where it was, but we have that in our court cases. Maybe it was Kent up in New York, I can't remember. It's one of the court cases that we've read this year talking about the fact that we were a Christian nation and that the other religions were imposters and that we're just straight new folks. There aren't multiple paths to God, to eternal life and salvation. There's just one and that's through Jesus Christ. Any one or any institution that says otherwise is telling you. It's a fallacy. They're not telling you the truth. So let's see yeah, we'll read a little bit today out of Mercy Otis Warren History of the Rise, progress and Termination of the American Revolution. Let's see where we left off.
Speaker 1:In consequence of the spirited proceedings of the House of Representatives, the General Assembly of Massachusetts was dissolved. Nor were they suffered to meet again until a new election. These transactions were carefully transmitted to administration by several of the plantation governors, and particularly Mr Bernard, with inflammatory observations of his own, interlaid with the most illiberal abuse of the principal leaders of the late measures in the Assembly of Massachusetts. Their charter, which still provided for the election of the legislature, obliged the governor to summon a new assembly to meet May 24, 1768. The first communication laid before the House by the governor contained a haughty requisition from the British Minister of State, directing in His Majesty's name that the present House should immediately rescind the resolutions of a former one which had produced the celebrated circular letter. Bernard also intimated that it was His Majesty's pleasure that a non-compliance with this extraordinary mandate, the present assembly should be dissolved without delay. What heightened the resentment to the manner of this singular order signed by Lord Hillsborough, secretary of State for the American Department, was that he therein intimated to the Governor that he need not fear the most unqualified obedience on his part to the high measure of administration, assuring him that it would not operate to his disadvantage, as care would be taken in future to provide for his interests and to support the dignity of government without the interpositions or existence of a provincial legislature.
Speaker 1:These messages were received by the representative body with a steadiness and resolution, becoming the defenders of the rights of the free people. After appointing a committee to consider and prepare an answer for them, they proceeded with great coolness to the usual business of the session without further notice of what had passed. Within a day or two, they received second message from the governor, purporting that he expected an immediate and an explicit answer to the authoritative requisition and that if they longer postponed their resolutions, he should consider their delay as an impugnation to his majesty's authority and a negative to the command by an expiring faction On this. The house desired time to consult their constituents on such an extraordinary question. This being peremptorily and petulantly refused, the House ordered the Board of Council to be informed that they were entering on a debate of importance, that they should give them the notice when it was over over, and directed the doorkeeper to call no member out on any pretense whatever.
Speaker 1:The committee appointed to answer the governor's several messages were gentlemen of known attachment to the cause of their country who on every occasion, had rejected all servile compliances with ministerial requisitions, all servile compliances with ministerial requisitions. They were not long on the business when they returned to the house. The galleries were immediately cleared and they reported on answer bold and determined, yet decent, and yet dissent and disloyal. In the course of their reply they observed that it was not an expiring faction that the governor had charged with appugnation to his majesty's authority, that it was the best blood of the colony who opposed the ministerial measures, men of reputation, fortune and rank equal to any who enjoyed the smiles of government, who enjoyed the smiles of government that their exertions were from a conscious sense of duty to their God, to their king, to their country and to posterity. The principal members of this committee were Major Joseph Olley of Northampton, james Otis Esquire of Boston, samuel Adams, james Warren of Plymouth, john Hancock and Thomas Cushing Esquires.
Speaker 1:This committee at the same time reported a very spirited letter to Lord Hillsborough which they had prepared to lay before the House. In this they remonstrated on the injustice as well as absurdity of a requisition when a compliance was impracticable, even had they the inclination to rescind the doings of a former House. This letter was approved by the House and, on division on the question of rescinding the vote of a former Assembly, it was negatived by a major of 92 to 17. The same committee was immediately nominated to prepare a petition to the king to remove Mr Bernard from the government of Massachusetts. They drew up a petition for this purpose without leaving the house and immediately reported it. They alleged a long list of accusations against the governor and requested his majesty that one more worthy to represent so great and good a king might be sent to preside in the province Thus impeached by the house. The same minority that had appeared ready to rescind the circular letter declared themselves against the impeachment of Governor Bernard.
Speaker 1:In the journals of the House, their servility was marked with peculiar odium. They were stigmatized by the appellation of the infamous 17 until their names were lost in a succession of great events and more important characters. And a succession of great events and more important characters. I think we'll stop there for the day, folks. That last little bit is kind of important to note, I think, and that when we decide to go against truth, against God, when we decide to stand on the side of evil, when it's easier, when it's more popular and you can make the argument, maybe, that it wasn't more popular since these were such a minority, the infamous 17, as it was, such a minority, the infamous 17, as it was but when we stick to, even as a minority, when we stick to something that isn't good, that's evil, we're going to be forgotten, folks, at least in any good sense. The only way we'll be remembered is as people that were part of something infamous, something immoral Even. You know, we go through this book of the martyrs each day. These men and women died for Christ, for truth, but their names are remembered and those who killed them are not, except in an infamous manner. And those Christians were often in the minority, almost always, I guess. In the moment of execution they were in the minority. Here you see the reverse. You see the men who ended up succeeding because they clung to truth, to liberty and therefore to the principles of God and Jesus Christ. They were in the majority in this particular moment in this house, although they were still a minority across the country at large.
Speaker 1:The point isn't whether we're in the majority or the minority. That doesn't matter. Being in the minority is not a virtue. Being in the majority isn't a vice. Automatically, either way, what matters is whether we cling to God and Jesus Christ and truth. It's the same. You know that we say about being rich or poor. Being rich isn't a vice, being poor isn't a virtue. It matters whether you're doing what's right, whether you're clinging to God and Jesus Christ. God bless you all. God bless your families, god bless your marriages. God bless America. God bless your nation. Wherever you are around the world, listen, we'll talk to you all again real soon, folks, looking forward to it.