The American Soul
The American Soul
When Faith Demands a Line in the Sand
What do our actions reveal about our true priorities? Most of us claim to want deep faith, strong marriages, and good relationships with our children—but when the price comes due, our enthusiasm often wanes. We want spiritual growth but don't carve out time for prayer. We desire strong marriages but fail to prioritize our spouses. We long to be good parents but hesitate at the necessary sacrifices.
This tension between our stated desires and our actual choices forms the heart of this episode. Drawing from scripture, history, and contemporary events, we examine how this same disconnect plays out not just in personal faith but in our national identity and response to global conflicts. Through a powerful reading of Revelation 14, we're reminded that believers will eventually rest from their labors—no more pain, sickness, heartache, or tears awaits those who persevere.
The concept of neutrality receives particular scrutiny as we tackle the troubling rise of anti-Israel sentiment among some Christian communities. Just as Roosevelt recognized that appeasing Hitler might temporarily buy peace while ultimately endangering future generations, we must question whether moral neutrality is even possible. History shows that isolationist thinking—the belief that distant conflicts aren't our concern—ultimately leaves us vulnerable when evil gains strength unchecked.
Through compelling historical examples from both the Spanish Inquisition and the American Revolution, we see how power corrupts when Christ's principles are abandoned. The episode concludes with practical guidance for today's believers: resist through every legal means available, prepare local communities, and recognize that our daily choices are always moving us either toward Christ or away from Him. Your priorities aren't what you claim them to be—they're revealed by where you invest your time, attention, and heart.
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 still do appreciate you joining me and giving me a little bit of your time and a little piece of your day. I will try and use it wisely. Hopefully I will give and use it wisely. Hopefully I will give us all some extra tools for our toolbox, so to speak, and hopefully it'll draw us all a little closer to God and Jesus Christ and our nation closer to God and Jesus Christ as well. For those of y'all who continue to share the podcast and tell others about it, thank you so much, very, very grateful for that. For those of y'all who continue to pray for me and for the podcast, thank you Very grateful for your prayers. You need them and want them, 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, the ones we admit, father, and the ones we don't, the ones we try and hide, the ones we go back to time and time again. Help us, lord, to do your will above all else. Bring us home safely to you. Help us, lord, to do your will above all else. Bring us home safely to you. Help us to trust in you and to know that you will keep our souls safe, because you told us you would. Because of your son, jesus Christ, not because of anything we've done. Thank you for those who are listening to the podcast.
Speaker 1:Father, please be with them. Be with their families, guide them, bless them, surround them with your angels. Protect them from evil of any kind. Be with those who go into the prisons to visit prisoners, to visit the sick. Be with those who feed the hungry, clothes the naked. Help us to all do those things, to follow the commands of your Son, jesus Christ, in actions and not just words.
Speaker 1:Father, be with our nation. Be with our leaders. Help them to rule in fear of you, father. Help us to elect men who rule in fear of you, both here in America and around the world and the nations where people are listening. Be with our military, our law enforcement, those who go out into the cold and dark. Comfort them, protect them, bring them home safe to their families. Comfort their families. Our firefighters, our EMS workers, comfort their families. Our firefighters, our EMS workers. God, it's back to you, father, please, and God, my words here. In your son's name, we pray, amen. Have you made time for God today? Have you made time to read his word? Have you made time to pray, to talk to him, letting him know you care?
Speaker 1:You know we ask God so often for so many things when we get in a jam, but how often do we go to him when we're not in a jam? Before we get in a jam? Or maybe the worst question for us is how often do we go after he's gotten us out of that jam that we got ourselves into? It really just boils down to priorities, folks. I was talking to my wife about this tonight. You know, so many of us claim we want something but then, when the time comes to pay the price, we're not really that interested.
Speaker 1:I heard a pastor talking recently about the Israelites leaving Egypt Exodus right and which is kind of interesting because we were just talking recently about the seal that Benjamin Franklin and John Adams and Thomas Jefferson came up with and they incorporated those ideas of Moses and the Israelites escaping Pharaoh because they felt connection with that and their plight of trying to escape the tyranny of the king and parliament and Britain. But anyway, he said you know, wouldn't it be nice, like we have a map on our phones, wouldn't it be nice to have an app that showed us the path we needed to go? You know, we could ask God, okay, how do I get here? And God would map it out and say these are the things you need to do. And notwithstanding you know whether we really needed to go there or not. The question is, would we really follow those commands that God gave us to begin with, or would we try and pick our own route anyway, because so often we want something until the price comes due for that. We want a strong faith, but we don't want to make sure that we spend time each day. We don't want to carve time out of our day to pray and to talk to God. We want a strong marriage, but we don't want to make our spouse the priority each day. That that requires we don't want to give of ourselves to our spouse. We want to be a good parent, but then the price comes. Okay, well, you've got to spend time with your kids, you've got to do these things, you know. And so I wonder how many of us and the pastor said this. I'm stealing his words, but I wonder how many of us would really pay attention to that app even if we hadn't. Anyway, you know. And the second question, of course, is with your spouse If you're married, is there enough evidence to convict you of being a loving spouse or being a Christian, if you claim to follow Christ?
Speaker 1:Revelation, chapter 14, the lamb and 144,000 on Mount Zion. Then I looked and behold, the lamb was standing on Mount Zion. Then I looked and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion and with him 144,000 having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. And the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, and no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been purchased from the earth. These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been purchased from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb and no lie was found in their mouth. They are blameless.
Speaker 1:Vision of the Angel with the Gospel. And I saw another angel flying in midheaven having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people. And he said with a loud voice Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and the springs of water. And another angel, a second one, followed, saying Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality. Doom for the worshippers of the beast. Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice If anyone worships the beast in his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. They have no rest, day and night, those who worship the beast and his image and whoever receives the mark of his name. Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying Write. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. From now on, yes, says the Spirit, so that they may rest from their labors for their deeds, follow with them the Reapers.
Speaker 1:Then I looked and behold a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe. Then he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple, which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar and he called with a loud voice to him, who had the sharp sickle, saying Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe. So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth and threw them into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden outside the city and blood came out from the winepress up to the Again.
Speaker 1:A lot of things here, folks. It's just kind of above my pay grade. But a few comments. Verse 7, I don't know what that worship looks like for every single one of us, but I know we have a responsibility to give God glory and to worship him and I find it hard to believe that there's a better way to do that than to follow the commandments of Jesus Christ. You know Jesus told us if we really love him we follow his commandments. We're not going to follow him perfectly and thank God we have Jesus to cover, to atone for our sins when we fall short. But we have that responsibility to praise God and to give him glory.
Speaker 1:Verse 8, fallen.
Speaker 1:Fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality, for whatever reason. When I read this, it just reminded me of our need not to get ourselves tangled up in the immoralities of the world and the lusts of the world and to store up for ourselves treasures in heaven. There's things that I can think of right now failings that I have, of my own, sins that I fall into again and again, and and it's just a reminder folks, I don't know, I don't want to stay here and stumble over it for too long, but for us to make sure, or to do the best that we can, not to get tangled up with this world, but to focus on God and Jesus Christ in all of our dealings. When you deal with the world, when you deal with fellow believers, in every situation in your life, are we trying to focus on God? And how do we do that? You know what helps?
Speaker 1:Reading scripture each day, praying continuously, minding our own business, living a quiet life, right those things help us stay focused on God and not on the world Verse 13,. And I heard a voice from heaven saying Right, blessed are the dead who die, and the Lord from now on, yes, says the Spirit, so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them. That was just comforting so that they may rest from their labors. There's going to come a day, folks, when we get to relax forever, when we get to rest from our labors, from our pains, where there's no more pain, there's no more infirmity, there's no more broken bodies, there's no more sickness and disease, there's no more heartache and pain and loss for other ones, there's no more tears, there's just joy and happiness and fulfillment and, beyond our imagination and our mortal body, what God has planned for those of us who have chosen Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and I know for some of you.
Speaker 1:All that has to resonate. You have to be tired and you just have to keep going, folks, because you have no idea what God has around the corner for you in this life, and the encouragement to keep going is because we do know what God has around the corner for you in this life. And the encouragement to keep going is because we do know what God has around the corner for us in the next life. We may not know what it looks like, we may not understand even how it's going to look, and that's one of the things that's so, so encouraging about the imagery that CS Lewis puts in some of his works is just this idea of this land of heaven, and it just goes on and on and it's just wonderful and whatever it is, folks, it's going to be wonderful and we get to be there forever because of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:So, before we get into the Medal of Honor and I don't know if we're going to have time to get into the Medal of Honor today or not, in that segment that we normally do I wanted to go over something and it's really disturbing and I'm probably fair warning. I'm probably not going to do the best job at explaining this, but I'm going to give it a go because it is a big deal to me and I felt, talking with my father recently, just a little bit before we recorded this podcast, the need to say something, because I think a lot of times people need to hear somebody else say it, to be encouraged to say it, or even just that it's okay to feel that way themselves. Maybe this will make sense once we get into it.
Speaker 1:So there's a large element in the American Christian church today that are blatantly anti-Semitic, anti-jewish, anti-israel. You can frame it however you want and they do a pretty good job of trying to separate themselves from anti-Semitism and really splitting fine hairs and saying you know, well, it's just the modern state of Israel or it's. There's a number of different ways they try and frame it, but the bottom line is that there's an element from professed Christians whether they really are or not, you know, we don't know their heart but they profess Christ and they do not like Israel. They openly dislike Israel. I would argue that it's a hatred, and the reason I'm bringing this up right now is because it's so hateful that it blinds people to logic. So the situation with Israel right now and Iran and just the Middle East in general, has it changed for centuries? No, the technology is a little different, maybe the geography is a little different, maybe the geography is a little different, but the game is still pretty much the same. Just because the game isn't changing doesn't mean that we have a reason to step out of it. And so the argument that you hear a lot today is this isn't our war, this isn't our business. Why are we sending Americans over there to die in the Middle East? It's been going on forever. That's their problem, let them deal with it, and it's the same kind of isolationist mentality that got us into trouble in the 20s and 30s.
Speaker 1:And so I'm going to read a little excerpt here out of William Manchester's Winston Churchill biography. The second volume of the last line, titled Alone, covers the years from 1932 to 1940. And well, I'll just read this and then we'll talk about it a little bit. He knew talking about Roosevelt in this book actually. So President Roosevelt's been talking back and forth briefly with Churchill. He knew he could buy peace for a generation of Americans, but the more he pondered the character of the regime in Berlin, the more convinced he became that the next US generation would lie at Hitler's mercy.
Speaker 1:On September 1st, as the Wormrot Panzer tracks chewed their way toward Warsaw, phelps Adams of the New York Sun had asked FDR can we stay out of it Privately? Roosevelt was doubtful, but after a long pause he had replied I not only sincerely hope so, but I believe we can, and every effort will be made by this administration to do so. This amounted to duplicity, but the president could not become a great wartime leader unless he won a third term in the following year. If he were blunt now, he would lose then. However, on Sunday, the day Britain entered the war, he had sounded an unmistakable kneel. It was quote easy for you and me to shrug our shoulders. He told his countrymen in a fireside chat and to quote dismiss the conflicts thousands of miles from the continental United States as irrelevant to Americans. But passionately though we may desire detachment, we are forced to realize that every word that comes to the air, every ship that sails the seas, every battle that is fought does affect the American future.
Speaker 1:In 1914, woodrow Wilson had told the Senate that the United States must be neutral in fact as well as in name. We must be impartial in thought as well as in action. Fdr now declared that impossible. The nation will remain a neutral nation, but I cannot ask that every American remain neutral in thought as well. Even a neutral cannot be asked to close his mind and conscience. So there's a lot here.
Speaker 1:There's a great little section in this biography by Manchester, but it really highlights the problems we have today in America. And it's not just this episode with Israel. It's really this idea which is a fantasy. It's a fallacy of values neutral you hear that term a lot. Values neutral education, values neutral politics, values neutral whatever else, and it's just a lie. It's just a cover for supporting evil. For supporting evil. Because every action we take, folks, is good or bad. Now I'm not talking about whether it's good or bad for your life. You know, we can make multiple different decisions that are all good and they take us down different paths. Or we can make multiple decisions that are all bad and they take us down different paths. The point is whether we, whatever that decision is we're making ourselves, we're becoming as an individual, as a country, as a community, whatever, either a little bit more like Christ or a little bit more like the devil. And and so this idea, you know, you hear Roosevelt quoted here.
Speaker 1:It was easy for you and me to shrug our shoulders at this conflict that was thousands of miles away from the United States, right, and pretend like it was irrelevant to Americans. But they knew, roosevelt knew that Hitler and the Nazis, they weren't irrelevant to Americans, that if they treated them as irrelevant they would buy peace for a generation. And then they would look up and they would see that Hitler and the Nazis had a firm hold on all of Europe and there was nothing between them and America but the Atlantic. And that was easily crossable when they, you know that they would come and they were already making headway. In another part of this book he talks about the fact that the Nazis were already making pretty good headway down in South America, and so Roosevelt knew that it was just a matter of time if Hitler and the Nazis remained in power before that noose would tighten around America.
Speaker 1:This has been the same with communists in the 20th century after World War II. It's still the same today with the left, and it's definitely true also of Muslims, of followers of Islam. There is no neutrality there, folks. The values of the left are evil. The values of communism, socialism, nazis and fascism they're evil. The values of Islam right, based on their actions, are evil. And so this idea that we can just sit here in America and we don't have to worry about that conflict in Iraq or Afghanistan or Israel, we don't have to worry about China, for example, it's just, it's illogical, it doesn't make sense. We very much have to worry about it.
Speaker 1:You can look at it. You can take the religious part almost out of it, or you can try to and just look at it from a secular point of view. Israel is the only country in the Middle East that we have. That's a true ally, even when you look at the Muslim countries that we've dealt with for a long time, like Saudi Arabia and Jordan. That Muslim ideology that undergirds those nations is absolutely antithetical to our founding principles that are based on the principles, the general principles of Jesus Christ, and at one point one or the other is going to have to win out. That's what makes citizens inside the United States that support the values of the left or support Islam so dangerous, because by the very fact that they support those ideologies, they undermine our founding values in America that produce liberty, those principles of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:And so I just wanted to supporting Israel right now. It doesn't make you a Zionist, if that's really even a bad term. It doesn't make you a warmonger. That means that you just want to get in their fight against Islam in general. Your support is not out of step with what's right with history. Step with what's right with history their antagonism toward Israel and their seeming indifference toward Islam. That's out of step with reality and with history. Because, look, if you just magically could take Israel out of the equation, like today, if we could just wipe Israel off the map, if we could just pick it up, pluck it out, it's just not there. The Mediterranean comes in and fills in that space and Israel is just magically gone.
Speaker 1:What do you think the Muslims would do? Where do you think their attention would turn? Europe, maybe for a while? Yeah, you might be right. They might turn to Europe for a while, and we can already see that they're making huge inroads in Europe and taking over those European countries. Just from the fact that they've mass immigrated there. You see the problems that Germany and the UK and like places are having. Okay, so how long do you think it's going to take them to take over Europe? A generation, maybe two? And then what do you think?
Speaker 1:You think that the idea that was so faulty in so many British citizens in the late 20s and early 30s was this pacifist idea that if we just placate Hitler and the Nazis enough, they'll leave us alone. And every time Hitler emitted one more atrocity, they said, okay, that's the last one, because he said that. He said, hey, that's it, that's all I wanted, I'm good, and they went along with it. I wonder whether they really believed him or whether they just were trying. They hoped that he would really stop, but every time the Muslims create some atrocity, right. And there's a little village in Nigeria where they have recently gone door to door executing Christians. So every time the Muslims for centuries commit these atrocities and then they say, hey, we're just peaceful, we're just tolerant, we just want what's ours, we're not going to come after you, we buy into it and it's just. You could take Israel and the Jews completely out of the equation. Folks and the Muslims would turn their attention toward us and America in a heartbeat, and Christians in general around the world. And if you don't think that a nuclear Iran, once they got done dusting Israel off the face of the map, would turn toward America, I hate to tell you but you're wrong. It's a great little excerpt here. I thought y'all would enjoy it. I hope you did, hope you got something out of it, and I think we do have time maybe for at least one medal of honor. So we'll go through. See where we left off. I think Charles H Baker was the last one we did. So we'll do.
Speaker 1:Jed Colby Parker, lance Corporal Vietnam War. Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division, reinforced Fleet Marine Force, us Marine Corps. 21 September 1967, near Con Thane, republic of Vietnam. Probably murdered that name, citation For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life, above and beyond the call of duty. While serving as a machine gunner with Fox Company During a reconnaissance operation, lance Corporal Barker's squad was suddenly hit by enemy sniper fire.
Speaker 1:The squad immediately deployed to a combat formation and advanced to a strongly fortified enemy position when it was again struck by small arms and automatic weapons fire, sustaining numerous casualties. Although wounded by the initial burst of fire, lance Corporal Barker boldly remained in the open, delivering devastating volume of accurate fire on the numerically superior force. The enemy was intent upon annihilating the small Marine force and, realizing that Lance Corporal Barker was a threat to their position, directed the preponderance of their fire on his position. He was again wounded, this time in the right hand, which prevented him from operating his vitally needed machine gun. Suddenly, without warning, an enemy grenade landed in the midst of the few surviving Marines. Unhesitatingly, and with complete disregard for his personal safety, lance Corporal Barker threw himself upon the deadly grenade, absorbing with his body the full and tremendous force of the explosion. In a final act of bravery, he crawled to the side of a wounded comrade and administered first aid before succumbing to his gr previous wounds. His bold initiative, intrepid fighting spirit and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of almost certain death, undoubtedly saved his comrades from further injury or possible death and reflect great credit upon himself, the Marine Corps and the US Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
Speaker 1:Accredited to Park Ridge, bergen County, new Jersey, awarded posthumously, presented 31 October 1969 at the White House. Presented by Vice President Spiro T Agnew to his family. Born June 20, 1945, franklin, merrimont County, new Hampshire, united States, died September 21, 1967, republic of Vietnam. Buried at George Washington Memorial Cemetery. Mhm Tech 63, tech A, tech 2, paramus, new Jersey, united States. Jed Colby Barker Just another name, folks to throw in there. All right, we will move on. We're going to get back into the Book of the Martyrs, and this is under the heading Some Private Enormities of the Inquisition Laid Open by a Very singular occurrence. We'll pick up where we left off A project of raising an insurrection.
Speaker 1:Having felled, the Inquisitors determined to excommunicate Legault unless he would release their precious silver saints from imprisonment in the mint before they were melted down or otherwise mutilated. The French commander absolutely refused to release the images but said they should certainly travel and do good, upon which the inquisitors drew up the form of excommunication and ordered their secretary to go and read it to Le Gall Gall. The secretary punctually performed his commission and read the excommunication deliberately and distinctly. The French commander heard it with great patience and politely told the secretary he would answer it the next day. When the secretary of the Inquisition was gone, le Gall ordered his own secretary to prepare a form of excommunication exactly like that sent by the Inquisition, but to make this alteration instead of his name to put in those of the Inquisitors. The next morning he ordered four regiments under arms and commanded them to accompany his secretary and act as he directed. The secretary went to the inquisition and insisted upon admittance which, after a great deal of altercation, was granted. As soon as he entered he read in an audible voice the excommunication sent by Le Gall against the inquisitors. The inquisitors were all present and heard it with astonishment, never having before met with any individual who dared behave so boldly. They loudly cried out against Le Gall as a heretic and said this was a most daring insult against the Catholic faith. But to surprise them still more, the French secretary told them they must remove from their present lodgings, for the French commander wanted to quarter the troops in the Inquisition as it was the most commodious place in the whole city.
Speaker 1:I don't know whether it's best to stop here or later on, folks, but there's two things. One, a bully often changes their tune pretty quickly when they finally run into somebody that's willing to stand up to them. We could use a lot of that today. I was having a conversation with my father recently, talking about a number of the men from his father's generation would be viewed as pretty callous individuals today because they drew a line in the sand and that was the line and there wasn't any discussion or debate about it. That was just the way it was going to go and there were consequences if those lines weren't abided by. We're so terrified today of consequences in drawing lines, not in crossing the lines. We let people rob stores, murder babies, rape women and children. You look at the grooming gangs over in the UK right now. We're terrified of women, apparently because we let feminism run rampant. We desperately need some more men today that draw lines in the sand and stick to those lines. God-fearing men that draw lines and stick to those lines.
Speaker 1:The other thing here that you see is the Inquisitor's response that this was a most daring insult against the Catholic faith. They're not upset that de Gaulle is insulting God or Jesus Christ, for the Holy Spirit. They're just upset that he's not going along with their particular denomination, their institution, anybody, folks, that tells you today that gets upset about the fact that you're not following along with their institution, whether it's Greek, orthodox, roman Catholic, protestant or anything else in between. They're telling you up front that their concern is not Jesus Christ, their concern is their denomination, and you shouldn't be very concerned about their concerns.
Speaker 1:The inquisitors exclaimed loudly upon this occasion when the secretary put them under a strong guard and sent them to a place appointed by lagal to receive them. The inquisitors, finding how things went, begged that they might be permitted to take their private property, which was granted, and they immediately set out for madrid, where they made the most bitter complaints to the king. But the monarch told them he could not grant them any redress as the injuries they had received were from his grandfather, the king of France's, troops by whose assistance alone he could be firmly established in his kingdom. Had it been my own troops, said he, I would have punished them, but as it is, I cannot pretend to exert any authority.
Speaker 1:In the meantime, le Gall's secretary set open all the doors of Inquisition and released the prisoners, who amounted in the whole to four hundred, and among these were sixty beautiful young women who appeared to form a seraglio for the three principal inquisitors. Seraglio and I'm not sure that I'm pronouncing that word correctly, but if you don't know, it basically is just a fancy word for harem. So the inquisitors of the Catholic Church were keeping these women for their sexual gratification, which I'm pretty sure at this time that wasn't allowed for priests, but I might be getting it wrong here. The bottom line is still that these people, who were supposed to be standing up for the Catholic Church, which theoretically, at least at this time, was infallible, were keeping a harem as part of their persecution of the Protestants. This discovery, which laid the enormity of the inquisitors so open, greatly alarmed the archbishop, who desired Legale to send the women to his palace, and he would take proper care of them, and at the same time he published an ecclesiastical censor against all such as should ridicule or blame the holy office of the Inquisition. The French commander sent word to the archbishop that the prisoners had either run away or were so securely concealed by their friends, or even by his own officers, that it was impossible for him to send them back again and therefore the Inquisition, having committed such atrocious actions, must now put up with their exposure.
Speaker 1:One of the ladies thus happily delivered from captivity was afterward married to the very French officer who opened the door of her dungeon and released her from confinement. The lady related the following circumstances to her husband and to Mr Gavin, author of the Master Key to Potpourri, from the latter of whom we have selected the most material particulars. I went one day, says the lady, with my mother to visit the Countess Atteros, and I met there Don Francisco Tarragon, her confessor and second inquisitor of the Holy Office. See how much time we've got. We've got a little time left.
Speaker 1:After we had drunk chocolate, he asked me my age, my confessor's name and many intricate questions about religion. The severity of his countenance frightened me, which, he, perceiving, told the countess to inform me that he was not so severe as he looked. He then caressed me in a most obliging manner, presented his hand, which I kissed with great reverence and modesty, and as he went away he made use of this remarkable expression my dear child, I shall remember you till the next time. I did not, at the time mark the sense of the words, for I was inexperienced in matters of gallantry, being at that time, but fifteen years old. Indeed, he unfortunately did remember me for the very same night, when our whole family were in bed, we heard a great knocking at the door. The maid who laid in the same room with me went to the window and inquired who was there. The answer was the Holy Inquisition. On hearing this, I screamed out Father, father, dear Father, I am ruined forever. My father got up and came to me to know the occasion of my crying out, and I told him the Inquisitors were at the door. On hearing this, instead of protecting me, he hurried down the stairs as fast as possible and, lest the maid should be too slow, opened the street door himself.
Speaker 1:Under such abject and slavish fears, our bigoted minds. They came for me. He fetched me with great solemnity and delivered me to the officers with much submission. I was hurried into a coach with no other clothing than a petticoat and a mantle, for they would not let me stay to take anything else. My fright was so great I expected to die that very night. But judge my surprise when I was ushered into apartment decorated with all the elegance that taste, united with opulence, could bestow Soon.
Speaker 1:After the officers left me, a maidservant appeared with a silver salver on which were sweetmeats and cinnamon water. He desired me to take some refreshment before I went to bed. I told her I could not, but should be glad if she could inform me whether I was to be put to death that night or not. To be put to death, exclaimed she. You do not come here to be put to death that night. Or not To be put to death, exclaimed she. You do not come here to be put to death, but to live like a princess. And you shall want for nothing in the world but the liberty of going out. So, pray, don't be afraid, but go to bed and sleep easy, for tomorrow you shall see wonders within this house, and as I am chosen to be your waiting maid, I hope you'll be very kind to me.
Speaker 1:I was going to ask some questions, but she told me she must not answer anything more till the next day, but assured me that nobody would come to disturb me. I am going, she said, about a little business, and I will come back presently, for my bed is in the closet next to yours. So she left me for about a quarter of an hour and then returned. She then said Madam, pray, let me know when you will be pleased to have your chocolate ready in the morning. This greatly surprised me so that, without replying to her question, I asked her name. She said my name is Mary. Mary then said I, for heaven's sakes, tell me whether I am brought here to die or not. I have told you already, replied she, that you came here to be one of the happiest ladies in the world.
Speaker 1:We went to bed, but the fear of death prevented me from sleeping the whole night. Mary waked. She was surprised to find me up, but she soon rose and after leaving me for about half an hour, she brought in two cups of chocolate, some biscuit, on a silver plate. I drank one cup of chocolate and desired her to drink the other, which she did. When we had done, I said Well, mary, can you give me any account of the reasons for my being brought here? To which she answered Not yet, madam, you must have patience and immediately slipped out of the room.
Speaker 1:About half an hour after, she brought a great quantity of elegant clothes suitable to a lady of the highest rank and told me I must dress myself. Among several trinkets which accompanied the clothes, I observed with surprise a snuff box, in the lid of which was a picture of Don Francisco Tarragon. This unraveled to me the mystery of my confinement and, at the same time, roused my imagination to contrive how to evade receiving the present. If I absolutely refused it, I thought immediate death must ensue, and to accept it was giving him too much encouragement against my honor. At length I hit upon a medium and said to Mary Pray, present my respects to Don Francisco Tarragon and tell him that, as I could not bring my clothes along with me last night, modesty permits me to accept of these garments which were requisite to keep me decent. But since I do not take snuff, I hope his lordship will excuse me not accepting the box.
Speaker 1:Mary went with my answer and soon returned with Don Francisco's portrait, elegantly set in gold and richly embellished with diamonds. The message accompanied it that his lordship had made a mistake, his intent not being to send me a snuff box, but his portrait had made a mistake, his intent not being to send me a snuff-box but his portrait. I was at a great loss what to do when Mary said Pray, madam, take my poor advice. Accept the portrait and everything else that his lordship sends you, for if you do not, he can compel you to do what he pleases and put you to death when he thinks proper, without anybody being able to defend you. But if you are obliging to him, continued she. He will be very kind and you will be as happy as a queen. You will have elegant apartments to live in, beautiful guards to range in and agreeable ladies to visit you. Therefore, I advise you to send a civil answer, or even not to deny a visit from his lordship. A civil answer, or even not to deny a visit from his lordship, or perhaps you may repent of your disrespect. Oh my God, exclaimed I, must I sacrifice my honor to my fears and give up my virtue to his despotic power? Alas, what can I do? To resist is vain. If I oppose his desires, force will obtain what chastity refuses, I know now fell into the greatest agonies and told mary to return. What answers she thought proper. We'll keep going the next time. You can see pretty dark stuff here from somebody that's supposed to serve Christ and the church, and particularly somebody that's supposed to serve infallible denominations, the TAME.
Speaker 1:This is History of the Rise Progress Termination of the American Revolution. Again, mercy Otis Warren. The Rise Progress Termination of the American Revolution. Again, mercy Otis Warren. And yeah, we're in Chapter 4.
Speaker 1:The tame acquiescence of the colonies would doubtless have given great advantage to the corrupt party on one side of the Atlantic, while their assiduous agents on the other did not revolt at the meanest and most wicked compliances to facilitate the designs of their employers or to gratify their own inordinate passion for power and wealth. Thus, for a considerable time, the struggle was kept up between the power of one country and the perseverance of the other, without a possibility of calculating consequences of the other. Without a possibility of calculating consequences, a particular detail of the altercations between the representatives, the burgesses and the provincial governors, the remonstrances of the people, the resolves of their legislative bodies and the dissolution of their assemblies by the fiat of a governor, the prayers of corporate and populational societies or the petitions of more public and respectable bodies, the provocations on the side of government and the riotous and in some degree unjustifiable proceedings of the populace in almost every town on the continent continent, would be rather tedious than entertaining. In a compendious narrative of the times, it may therefore be well to pass over a year or two that produce nothing but a sameness of complaint and a similarity of opposition on the one side and, on the other, a systemic effort to push the darling measure of an American taxation, while neither party had much reason to promise themselves a speedy decision. Two things One it's interesting to see the passion for power and wealth that we're talking about here in the American Revolution, with Parliament and the king and their agents in the colonies, kind of compared to that same passion, breed for power and wealth and lust that we're reading about in the book of the martyrs. It doesn't really matter what organization it is, folks, when you start to get away from following the principles of Jesus Christ, striving to follow those principles, those evils are going to come along with it. The other thing here that I think is interesting to note relative to today no-transcript Confusion, and that state held on for years and years before the war actually began. We have a lot of tension in the United States today and it certainly looks like we're headed toward a fight, and it may be a long fight, just like the Revolutionary War was. You forget that? That was almost twice the length of the Civil War and World War II. But it may be a while before we get there, which is good in the sense that it might give us the opportunity to resolve this without a fight, but either way it's going to take a lot of perseverance and consistency.
Speaker 1:It has already been observed that the revenue acts which had occasioned a general murmur have been repealed, except a small duty on all indieties, by which a claim was kept up to tax the colonies at pleasure, whenever it should be thought expedient. This was an article used by all ranks in America. A luxury of such universal consumption that administration was led to believe that a monopoly on the L's of T might be so managed as to become a productive source of revenue. It was generally believed that Governor Hutchinson had stipulated for the agency for his sons, as they were the first in commission, and he had solicited for them and obtained this odious employment by a promise that if he were appointed sole agents to the East India Company, the cells should be so executed as to give perfect satisfaction both to them and to the administration. All communities furnish examples of men sufficiently based to share in the spoils of their country. Nor was it difficult to find such in every colony who were ready enough to execute this ministerial job. Thus, in consequence of the insinuations of those interested in the success of the measure, a number of ships were employed by government to transport a large quantity of teas into each of the American colonies, poured a large quantity of teas into each of the American colonies.
Speaker 1:The people throughout the continent appraised of the design and considering, at that time, all teas a pernicious article of commerce, summoned meetings in all the capital towns and unanimously resolved to resist the dangerous project by every legal opposition, before they proceeded to any extremities project by every legal opposition before they proceeded to any extremities, and we'll get back into that next time. You can kind of see where this is leading right. That's another good point there. At the end, though, too, to resolve to resist the dangerous project by every legal opposition before they proceeded to any extremities. That's good to remember. Today too, folks, we need to resist by every legal means possible before we go to any extremities, before we go to any extremities, and part of that, I would reiterate again, is doing all we can to build up Our local law enforcement, firefighters, ems, state militias. It's perfectly legal, and it would. It would give steps, it would take steps to better prepare us for any conflict that might be forced upon us in towns, cities, churches, schools that are predominantly Christian conservative, just like the committees of correspondence leading up to the Revolutionary War.
Speaker 1:God bless y'all. God bless your families. God bless your marriages, if you're married. God bless America. God bless your nation, wherever you are around the world. Listen, we'll talk to y'all again real soon. Folks Looking forward to it.