The American Soul
The American Soul
The Christian's Toolbox: Making Time for What Matters Most
What do your actions say about your faith? Jesse Cope dives into a powerful challenge from his pastor: if someone watched how you lived your daily life as a spouse, parent, or Christian, would they actually want what you have? This question cuts to the heart of authenticity in our faith journeys.
The disconnect between what we profess and how we allocate our time speaks volumes. Many believers give hours to social media, sports, and entertainment while claiming they have no energy left for their families or spiritual disciplines. Jesse makes the provocative point that this misalignment of priorities is its own form of unfaithfulness – perhaps not physical infidelity, but giving our best to things rather than the people and purposes God has called us to prioritize.
Through an exploration of Revelation 20, we confront the reality that believers will be judged "according to their deeds." This isn't about earning salvation, but rather how our earthly choices impact our eternal experience, connecting directly to Jesus's teaching about storing treasures in heaven. The podcast also challenges listeners to consider persecuted Christians worldwide when forming political opinions, particularly regarding conflicts in the Middle East where believers face imprisonment, torture, and execution for their faith.
The episode weaves in powerful historical examples through Medal of Honor recipients' stories and accounts from Fox's Book of Martyrs, providing sobering context for understanding religious freedom and the high cost many have paid for their convictions. These narratives serve as both inspiration and warning – reminding us that our faith should be evident not in empty words, but in consistent, Christ-honoring actions that would make others want what we have.
The American Soul Podcast
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Hey folks, this is Jesse Koch, 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 appreciate y'all joining me, giving me a little bit of your time and energy, a little piece of your day. I will try and use it wisely. Hopefully it'll give us all some extra tools for our toolbox and 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. I'm very, very grateful for that. For those of you all who continue to pray for me and for the podcast, I appreciate that Most grateful for that, definitely need the prayers in one.
Speaker 1:Father, thank you for today. Thank you for you, father, and your and your Son, jesus Christ and your Holy Spirit. Thank you for your love and your mercy, your grace and your forgiveness of sins. Thank you for all the many blessings you bestow on us, the ones we admit and the ones we don't, for whatever reason. Father, thank you for health families, cars that run, food to eat, water to drink, parents who love us, healthy children, healthy spouse For those of us that have it. For those of us that don't, father, give us strength and courage, perseverance, wisdom. Help us to do your will above all else. Thank you for the time to record this podcast For the people that listen to it.
Speaker 1:Please be with them and their families, god, and bless them. Surround them with your angels, protect them from evil of any kind. Be with our leaders, father. Please, here in America and around the world, wherever people are listening, help them to rule in fear of you, not in fear of man, and help us to encourage them, father. Help us to support them. Help us to remember that they too are just men and not perfect. Help us to love with actions, father, not just words, to love you with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength, to love our neighbors as ourselves and to live in such a way that people see just a little bit of you and your son and are drawn to you and your son.
Speaker 1:Please be with all those around the world who are hurting, father, those who are suffering because they follow your son, jesus Christ. Be with those who don't, father, those who are suffering because they follow your son, jesus Christ. Be with those who don't know you, who are lost and draw them close to you. Be with the people in Israel and Iran. Come to them, draw them close, be with our military, protect them as they go out. Our law enforcement, our firefighters, our EMS too.
Speaker 1:And God, my words here, please, in your son's name, we pray. Amen, our Father who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, For thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Have you made time for God today? Have you made time to read his word? Have you made time to pray? Have you made time to pray? If people and if you're married, have you made time to your spouse?
Speaker 1:Our pastor started a new series last week or two and one of the I guess really the main component of the first sermon in the series was words are cheap. What are you actually doing? Because it's easy to say stuff, folks, sometimes too easy, right? We like to talk too much. We say things we shouldn't say. I'm reminded of the girl in college that I played tennis with and she would say think, speak Just a little bit before you know. Even 10 seconds before you open your mouth, think about what you're about to say. But words are cheap. Actions take effort, and one of the ways that he phrased this is he said if people saw the way that you were acting, would they want to be a Christian, would they want to know Jesus Christ?
Speaker 1:And you know we ask on the podcast. We talk about this often if it's from the old Marine Corps recruiting poster ad. You know if there was enough. If somebody accused you of being a Marine, would there be enough evidence to convict you? If somebody accused you of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? What are we giving our time to? What are we giving our time to If somebody accused you of being a good spouse, husband or wife, a good parent, father or mother, a good child, son or daughter, sister, brother, right, but you could also ask it, the way our pastor did, if somebody saw you in that role each day, at the end of the day, as we're going to bed and we ask ourselves if somebody saw me today as a husband or a wife, as a father or mother, brother or sister, whichever, son or daughter. If somebody saw me at the end of the day, would they want to be that? Would that encourage them to get married? Would that encourage them to have kids, et cetera, et cetera. And I thought that was that's pretty tough way of asking that question.
Speaker 1:I also had another interaction with somebody on X recently and I made the comment you know, a lot of us like to point fingers. Right, we look at somebody who gets caught cheating on their spouse and man, god, that's so bad, can't believe they did that, especially when a lot of us have done it mentally, if not physically, ourselves. But we like to keep that part hidden. But then there's a lot of us who maybe we haven't cheated on our spouse, but we like to look down on people and yet we give a ton of our time to sports, tv, phone, social media, all these other things, hours even, and then we claim that we don't have time and energy for our spouse. And I made the comment that those of us that do that we're not really any better than the people that go out and cheat on their spouse. And somebody on X road back and they're like wow, so if I, you know, if I work out just a little too much, I'm the same as somebody that cheats and first of all, that's kind of a well.
Speaker 1:At any rate, if we give our time and energy to something other than our spouse when they have a right to it, you can call it what you want, but we're definitely not being loyal or faithful to our spouse. We're not honoring our vows to cherish our spouse above all others, and I think I know we use that as an excuse too often, folks. Well, at least I'm not cheating Maybe not with a person, but you are with your workout or with watching sports or TV social media. You're giving time and energy to a thing. It's not even a person. In a way it's almost fatter, at least, than giving it to a person. You're giving it to a thing. You're definitely not honoring your vows.
Speaker 1:All right, I took longer on that than I thought I was going to Revelation, chapter 20, satan bound. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand, and he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years and he threw him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were complete. After these things, he must be released for a short time. After these things, he must be released for a short time. And those who had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand, and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
Speaker 1:Satan freed, doomed. When the thousand years are completed, satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, gog and Magog to gather them together for war. The number of them is like the sand of the seashore and they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them, and the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also, and they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever. Judgment at the throne of God. Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away and no place was found for them, and I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds, and the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them, and they were judged, every one of them, according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire, and if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire, and if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Speaker 1:There's a ton here, folks, it's just over my pay grade but a couple of things that seem pretty apparent even to a layman, just a simple man reading the Bible, is that in the end, those people that don't put their faith in Jesus Christ are going to spend eternity in hell, and it sounds like a pretty real place and it sounds like a pretty unpleasant place, and Satan isn't going to win. The other thing that seems pretty clear is that those people that put their faith in Christ, that have their names, as it says here, written in the book of life, are not going to go to hell, they're going to go to heaven. And then the last thing, which I really it's interesting to me, is that a couple times here we're told that we're going to be judged, every one of us, according to our deeds. The only way that I can square that folks with other parts of the Bible is that the judgment not only involves whether you go to heaven or hell, but how you spend your time in heaven and possibly hell. And I think that fits with what Jesus talked about storing up for ourselves treasures in heaven, not here on earth. And I could be wrong. And again, always go back to the Bible. Everything I talk about here on the podcast, whether you really agree with it or whether you really disagree with it, go back to the Bible. But when it says here that we're all going to be judged for our deeds, at some point we're going to have to answer for what we've done here on earth and I don't know how that's going to look. I don't have any idea. I know that Jesus Christ, his blood, his sacrifice, is the only thing that's going to get us to heaven in the end. But that's an encouragement, motivation. I would say here, these couple of verses talking about being judged for according to our deeds, to continue to strive to do what God tells us to, regardless of whether we feel like we're getting any credit for it here on Earth or not, like we're getting any credit for it here on earth or not.
Speaker 1:I think perhaps a lot of y'all who are listening, a lot of people who were raised in the church their whole lives and have been pretty decent people not perfect, because no one is, but decent individuals. Sometimes you wake up and you go. Why am I even trying? It doesn't matter and maybe even a little selfishly or with some self-pity, you go. You know I'm over here busting my rear end to try and do what God wants me to, and these people over here have lived this whole life of opulence and debauchery and sin, and they get to go to heaven too because they came and put their faith in Christ. And so why am I even trying?
Speaker 1:Well, I would offer a couple things there. One is this out of Revelation 20, that there's going to come a point, folks, where we're going to have to answer for all the things we've done and said, which makes me shudder, honestly. Thank God for Jesus Christ in the end, because that's the only thing that's going to save me is Jesus Christ. But the other thing is that there are consequences here on earth, folks, for our actions. You know, if you go rob a bank, you can have forgiveness for that, but there's going to be consequences. The police are going to arrest you. There's going to be jail time. You're going to hurt other people by stealing from them. You know, if you go out and you cheat on your spouse, there's going to be consequences. You can have forgiveness eternally. You look at the woman caught in adultery. You look at David and his actions. So many others, the woman at the well. You can have eternal forgiveness, but there's still going to be earthly consequences. Your marriage is going to be weakened, if not broken. Your kids are going to struggle with that. The community that you're part of you're going to take your strength away from them, and so there's going to be problems there.
Speaker 1:So again, I just offer you encouragement. And there's a positive side to this too. It's not just negative encouragement, right, there's positive encouragement. When we do what God tells us to. We have no idea what the ripple effects are like a stone or a pebble thrown into a pond how much our positive actions are helping those around us. How much our positive actions are helping those around us. You know it goes back to the original question we asked from my pastor a week or two ago when you do what you're supposed to, how many people see? Because people see positive or negative folks. They see what you do. How many people, when they see what you do, does that draw them closer to Christ? Maybe there's somebody out there and they see you and you don't even realize it, but they see you doing what you're supposed to as a follower of Christ and they're not, and that encourages them and they go. Man, that looks pretty interesting. I'm interested in whatever that guy's got, whatever that girl's got, whatever she's doing, whatever he's doing, and it turns them to Christ, right, all right, one more thing before we move on.
Speaker 1:Going back to Israel and Iran over the last couple weeks, one of the things that's been really more and more clear to me as I watch these conversations especially people that claim to be Christian is there seems to be kind of a callous disregard for our brothers and sisters in Christ over there, and what I mean by that is I just don't hear many Christians talking about the fact that weakening or even destroying this Muslim regime in Iran might have the effect of making life better for the Christians that are there in Iran and in the Middle East in general, brothers and sisters in Christ who have been raped and tortured and imprisoned and executed their family members right because they believe in Christ. That destroying this Muslim regime might possibly give them a little relief, and I just don't hear people talking about that aspect of it too much, and all these commentaries that I see on the news or or on X and social media, and and it strikes me as a little bit reminiscent of some of the things that we read about the Catholic Church out of Fox's book in the martyrs, you know, in Europe for centuries and that is as opposed to being concerned for the well-being of fellow Christians who were Protestant, the Roman Catholic Church was concerned about power instead of being concerned about spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. Right, because that's the other opportunity here. How many more doors are going to be opened in Iran and the Middle East in general, not to mention how much safer people are going to be because the funding for terrorism that's been funneling through Iran, a lot of those pipelines are going to be closed. But how many more doors are going to be open to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ in that area, the gospel of Jesus Christ in that area?
Speaker 1:And yet we see so many American Christians that are so against Israel that they don't even seem to be concerned about the welfare of our brothers and sisters in Christ already. Or the opportunity, the larger opportunity, to make more disciples of Jesus Christ and bring lost souls, because the people that have died over the last couple weeks A lot of them, you have to assume were Muslim or Jewish and in either case, they had either delayed turning to Christ or completely rejected, turning to Christ. And when they died, folks, and they woke up, they were in hell, like we were talking about in Revelation 20. And that's terrifying folks for eternity. There's no second chances there. There's no one more day, which really ought to be a lot of motivation for people here in America and in Western civilization. If you're listening to this and you think you have one more day and you're going to turn to Jesus Christ, maybe tomorrow or next week or next month you have no idea whether you have one more day or next week or next month. There are things worse than death and there are things worse than death and there are things worse than war, folks, and there are positive outcomes that are possible from war. Just some thoughts that are possible For more. Just some thoughts. Let's see Quote from Benjamin Franklin the Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness.
Speaker 1:You have to catch it yourself. There's a sentence here this is out of the Patriots Bible by Dr Richard Lee that I think is huge. In the same way Franklin was talking about I'll just read this paragraph when Benjamin Franklin, the most famous founding father at our country's birth, was confronted by a disgruntled American that his country had failed to provide him with the happiness that had promised. Franklin is said to have smiled and calmly replied that constitutionally gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself. Similarly, jesus gave his life to ransom our lives, but we must join Peter and confess that Jesus is the Christ our personal Savior, and confess that Jesus is the Christ our personal Savior, to receive the eternal life he has for us. And that's why it's so important, folks and I say it on the podcast off and on Jesus Christ is today, is the Son of God. He died for my sins on a cross 2,000 years ago and yours, whether you acknowledge it or not, he still did. God raised him from the dead. He's very much alive. He's my Lord and my Savior and I choose to believe that.
Speaker 1:Folks, I have doubts. I can't even tell you how many doubts I have and fears, but I make that confession and I choose to believe in Jesus Christ. I have no other hope, folks. There's absolutely no way in any possible other faith, even if I wanted to go to a different faith, even within Christianity, there's no way that I make it into heaven on my own. I have to have the blood that Jesus Christ was willing to spill for me to pay for my sins, of which I've got numerous, in order to make it to God and eternal life. When I lay down and go to sleep for the last time and whatever means, whether that's in a war or a car accident or literally I lay down when I'm 80 or 90 years old one last time the only hope that I'm going to have to cling to is that when I wake up and God's looking at me, jesus Christ is going to stand there for me and say, no, no, he's good, he's covered by me. I paid for his sins, all right, all right, let's see if we can get at least one medal of honor winner. I think not for the life of me. I think we end with James Barnum.
Speaker 1:Charles L Barrow, first Lieutenant, highest rank Captain US Civil War, charlie Company, 102nd US Colored Infantry, us Army, april 1865, near Camden, south Carolina, usa. Hazardous service in marching through the enemy's country to bring relief to his command. Lighten, accredited to Lighten, allegan County, michigan, not awarded. Posthumously presented May 14, 1891. Born August 1, 1842. Conquest, cayuga County, new York, united States. Died April 19, 1914, ann Arbor, michigan, united States. Buried Hooker Cemetery. Wayland, michigan, united States, buried Hooker Cemetery, wayland, michigan, united States. Charles L, barrow or Barl, we got time for one more. Yeah, carlton W Carlton.
Speaker 1:William Perrette, private High Strength Technical Sergeant, world War II, 18th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, us Army. June 6, d-day 1944, in the vicinity of St Laurent-sur-Mer, france, for gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life, above and beyond the call of duty. On 6 June 1944, in the vicinity of St Lawrence-sur-Mer, france, on the morning of D-Day, private Barrett, landing in the face of extremely heavy enemy fire, was forced to wade ashore through neck-deep water. Disregarding the personal danger, he returned to the surf again and again to assist his floundering comrades and save them from drowning. Refusing to remain pinned down by the intense barrage of small arms and mortar fire poured at the landing points, private Barrett, working with fierce determination, saved many lives by carrying casualties into an evacuation boat lying offshore. In addition to his assigned mission as guide, he carried dispatches the length of the fire-swept beach. He assisted the wounded. He calmed the shock. He arose as a leader in the stress of the occasion. His coolness and his dauntless, daring courage, while consistently risking his life during a period of many hours, had an inestimable effect on his comrades and is in keeping with the high traditions of the US Army.
Speaker 1:Accredited to Albany County, new York, not awarded posthumously. Presented November 17,. Presented November 17, 1944, parish, france, by General JCH Lee, born November 24, 1919, fulton, oswego County, New York. Died March 3, 1986, yonkville, california. Buried Napa Valley Memorial Gardens MH4, tacky, napa, california. Location of Metal First Infantry Division Museum at Cantigan, wheaton, illinois.
Speaker 1:Arlton, william Barrett or Barrett Just another name, folks, another individual that gave so much for our country. Oh, lord, god, forgive us when we do less. All right, we'll move on. We're going to get into back into fox's Book of the Martyrs. Every once in a while we go back and read the title page. I just kind of think it helps to recenter us. Fox's Book of the Martyrs, or A History of the Lives, sufferings and Triumphant Deaths of the Primitive Protestant Martyrs, or a History of the Lives, sufferings and Triumphant Deaths of the Primitive Protestant Martyrs, from the introduction of Christianity to the latest periods of pagan, popish and infidel persecutions, embracing, together with the usual subjects contained in similar works, the recent persecutions in the cantons of Switzerland, persecutions of the Methodist and Baptist missionaries in the West India Islands and the narrative of the conversion, capture, long imprisonment and cruel suffering of Assad Shaddik, a native of Palestine. Likewise a sketch of the French Revolution as connected with persecution, compiled from Fox's Book of Martyrs and Other Authentic Sources, printed Philadelphia E Claxton Company, 930 Market Street 1881. All right, so we will get back into we're going to go with the Life of William Gardner.
Speaker 1:William Gardner was born in Bristol, received a tolerable education and was, at a proper age, placed under the care of a merchant named Paget. At the age of 26 years he was, by his master sent to Lisbon to act as factor. Here he applied himself to the study of the Portuguese language, executed his business with assiduity and dispatch, and behaved with the most engaging affability to all persons with whom he had the least concern. He conversed privately with a few whom he knew to be zealous Protestants and at the same time cautiously avoid giving the least offense to any who were Roman Catholics. He had not, however, hitherto gone into any of the Popish churches.
Speaker 1:A marriage being concluded between the king of Portugal's son and the infanta of spain. Upon the wedding day, the bridegroom, bride and whole court went to the cathedral church attended by multitudes of all ranks of people and, among the rest, william gardner, who stayed during the whole ceremony and was greatly shocked at the superstitions he saw. The erroneous worship which he had seen ran strongly in his mind. He was miserable to see a whole country sunk into such idolatry when the truth of the gospel might be so easily obtained. He therefore took the inconsiderate though laududable design into his head of making a reform in portugal or perishing in the attempt, and determined to sacrifice his prudence, paid his debts, closed his books and consigned over his merchandise. On the ensuing Sunday he went again to the cathedral church with a New Testament in his hand and placed himself near the altar.
Speaker 1:The king in the court soon appeared and a cardinal began mass in the court soon appeared and a cardinal began mass. At that part of the ceremony in which the people adore the wafer, gardner could hold out no longer but, springing towards the cardinal, he snatched the host from him and trampled it under his feet. This action amazed the whole congregation, and one person drawing a dagger wounded Gardiner in the shoulder and would, by repeating the blow, have finished him, had not the king called him to desist. Gardiner being carried before the king. The monarch asked him what countryman he was, to which he replied I am an englishman by birth, a protestant by, and a merchant by occupation. What I have done is not out of contempt to your royal person God forbid it should but out of an honest indignation to see the ridiculous superstitions and gross idolatries practiced here. The king, thinking that he had been stimulated by some other person to act as he had done, demanded who was his abettor, to which he replied my own conscience alone. I would not hazard what I have done for any man living, but I owe that and all other services to god.
Speaker 1:Gardner was sent to prison and a general order issued to apprehend all englishmen in lisbon. This order was in a great measure put into execution. Some few escaping resided in the same house with Gardner, was treated with unparalleled barbarity to make him confess something which might throw a light upon the affair. Gardner himself was then tormented in the most excruciating manner, but in the midst of all his torments he gloried in the deed being ordered for death. A large fire was kindled near a gibbet. Gardner was drawn up to the gibbet by police and then let down near the fire, but not so close as to touch it, for they burnt, or rather roasted him by slow degrees. Yet he bore his sufferings patiently and resigned his soul to the Lord cheerfully. It is observable that some of the sparks were blown from the fire which consumed Gardner towards the heaven, burnt one of the king's ships of war and did other considerable damage. The Englishmen who were taken up on this occasion were, soon after Gardner's death, all discharged, except the person who resided in the same house with him, who was detained two years before he could procure his liberty.
Speaker 1:Anybody that tells you that they belong to a church that follows Jesus Christ that would go along with this. Something is amiss, folks. Either that person Doesn't follow Christ themselves or the church organization certainly doesn't. Any organization that would approve of slowly roasting a person alive is not following Jesus Christ, regardless of what they claim, and it doesn't matter whether it's Roman Catholic or Greek Orthodox or Protestant. If you're burning people alive, you're not following Jesus Christ as a church. You will not find Christ's actions anywhere in the New Testament proving of something like that. It's just mind-boggling the church. It's one thing to see the pagans do it, the infidels do it. It's one thing to see the atheists, the communists, socialists, leftists, nazis, fascists, the Muslims do it. There's absolutely no way that a Christian can justify that. So the next one is an account of the life and sufferings of Mr William Lithgow, a native of Scotland, and it's a pretty lengthy narrative, so we'll start a little bit of it today, we'll definitely not finish it, and then we'll keep going through it over the next few days.
Speaker 1:Mr William Lithgow, this gentleman, was descended from a good family and, having a natural propensity for traveling, he rambled when very young over the northern and western islands, after which he visited France, germany, switzerland and Spain. He set out on his travels in the month of March 1609, and the first place he went to was Paris, where he stayed for some time. He then prosecuted his travels through Germany and other parts and at length arrived at Malaga in Spain, the seat of all his misfortunes. During his residence here, he contracted with the master of a French ship for his passage to Alexandria, but was prevented from going by the following circumstances. By the following circumstances In the evening of the 17th of October 1620, the English fleet, at that time on a cruise against the Algerian rovers, came to anchor before Malaga, which threw the people of the town into the greatest consternation, as they imagined them to be Turks.
Speaker 1:The morning, however, discovered the mistake, and the governor of Malaga receiving the cross of England in their colors, went on board Sir Robert Mansell's ship, who commanded on that expedition, and after staying some time, returned and silenced the fears of the people. The next day many persons from on board the fleet came ashore. Among these were several well-known by Mr Lithgow who, after reciprocal compliments, spent some days together in festivity and the amusements of the town. Then they invited Mr Lithgow to go on board and pay his respects to the admiral. He accordingly accepted. The invitation was kindly received by him and detained till the next day when the fleet settled. The admiral would willingly have taken Mr Lithgow with him to Algiers but having contracted for his passage to Alexandria and his baggage etc being in the town, he could not accept the offer.
Speaker 1:As soon as Mr Lithgow got on shore he proceeded towards his lodgings by a private way, being to embark the same night for Alexandria when, in passing through a narrow, uninhabited street, he found himself suddenly surrounded by nine sergeants or officers who threw a black cloak over him and forcibly conducted him to the governor's house. After some little time the governor appeared. When Mr Lithgow earnestly begged he might be informed of the case of such violent treatment, the governor only answered by shaking his head and gave orders that the prisoner should be strictly watched till the key. The governor returned from his devotions, directing at the same time that the captain of the town, the al-Qaed major and town notary should be summoned to appear at his examination, and that all this should be done with the greatest secrecy to prevent the knowledge thereof reaching the ears of the English merchants then residing in the town. All right, I think we'll stop there with Mr Lithgow for today and we'll go to Miss Warren and the history of the rise, progress and termination of the American Revolution. Uh-oh, if I can find where we stopped. All right, these acts were to continue in full force until satisfaction should be made to the East India Company for the loss of their teas. Nor were any assurance given that, in case of submission and compliance, they should be repealed.
Speaker 1:The indignation which naturally arose in the minds of the people on these unexpected and accumulated grievances was truly inexpressible. It was frequently observed that the only toleration of the present evils was that the recall of Mr Hutchinson accompanied the bills, and his leaving the province at the same period the port bill was to be put in operation seemed to impress a dawn of hope from time, if not from his immediate successor. We cling to hope, folks, folks. A lot of times, when we shouldn't, we forget to cling to the hope of jesus christ when we should. And then we cling to hope as if perhaps people prosecuting evil will suddenly decide that that was a bad idea and change their minds when we have no evidence of that. It's like clinging to the hope of peaceful coexistence with the left or Islam today, when there's zero historical evidence to support that notion.
Speaker 1:Every historical record will doubtless witness that he was the principal author of the sufferings of the unhappy Bostonians previous to the convulsions which produced the revolution. So deeply rooted was this opinion among his enraged countrymen that many apprehended the summary vengeance of an incensed populace would not suffer so notorious a parricide to repair quietly to England. Yet such were the generous and compassionate feelings of a people too virtuous to punish without a legal process that he escaped. The blow he had reasoned to fear would overtake him. When stripped of authority and no longer acting as the representative of majesty, chargend by the loss of place, mortified by the neglect of some and apprehensive for the resentment of others, he retired to a small village in the neighborhood of boston and secluded himself from observation until he embarked for london. This he did on the same memorable day when, by act of parliament, the blockade of boston took place.
Speaker 1:Before his departure, the few partisans that still adhered to the man and his principles procured by much assiduity, a complimentary address thanking him for past services and held up to him the idea that by his talents he might obtain a redress of grievances which they well knew had been drawn on their country by the agency of Mr Hutchinson. Much derision fell on the character of this group of flatterers, who were long distinguished only by the appellation of Hutchinson's addressers. Mr Hutchinson, furnished with these pitiful credentials, left his native country forever. On his arrival in England, he was justified and caressed by his employers. Parkinson, furnished with these pitiful credentials, left his native country forever. On his arrival in England, he was justified and caressed by his employers.
Speaker 1:And notwithstanding the criminality of his political conduct had been so fully evinced by the detection and recovery of his original letters, his impeachment, which was laid before the lords of the Privy Council, was considered by them in a very frivolous light. A professional character, by some thought to have been hired for the purpose, was permitted to abuse the petitioners and their agent in the grossest terms, grossest terms, scurrility could invent. And the lords reported that the petition is groundless, vexatious and scandalous and calculated only for the seditious purposes of keeping up a spirit of discontent that nothing had been laid before them which did or could, in their opinion, in any manner or in any degree impeach the honor, integrity or conduct of the governor or lieutenant governor, who had been at the same time impeached of his measures while governor of Massachusetts was so productive of misfortune to Great Britain, as well as to the United Colonies, that Mr Hutchinson soon became the object of disgust to all parties. He did not live to see the independence of America established, but he lived long enough to repent in bitterness of soul that part he had acted against a country once disposed to respect his character. After his mind had been involved many months in a state of chargé and disappointment and despair, he died on the day the riots in London, excited by Lord George Gordon, were at the height in the year of 1780. Those of the family who survived their unhappy father remained in obscurity in England.
Speaker 1:It must, however, be acknowledged that Governor Hutchinson was uniform in his political conduct. He was educated in reverential ideas of monarch government and considered himself the servant of a king who had entrusted him with a very high authority. As a true disciple of passive obedience, he might think himself bound to promote the designs of his master, and thus he might probably release his conscience from the obligation to aid his countrymen in their opposition to the encroachments of the crown. In the eye of candor, he may therefore be much more excusable than any who may deviate from their principles and professions of republicanism who have not been biased by the patronage of kings, nor influenced in favor of monarchy by their early prejudices of education or employment. That's pretty kind of the author, but perhaps true. You know, hutchinson really felt like he was doing his duty to the king and he believed in the monarchy as the only rightful ruler and system for Britain who claim to believe in republicanism. But then, when the crown offered them money or favors or title went that way, at least in the case of Mr Hutchinson, he seems to have acted in a manner that was consistent with what he always claimed, that he believed in the monarchy and he felt he had a responsibility to passively submit, which is an interesting choice of words.
Speaker 1:You hear her use that phrase. Um, oh, where is it? See, if I can find it passive obedience. We talk about that sermon every once in a while. We might need to go back and take a break from this and read that for a week or so, the sermon from Jonathan Mayhew on passive submission. But if that was Hutchinson's design, if that was the way he was raised and what he felt and he stuck to it better than those that claimed one thing and then did another when they were offered money or title or favor from the crown Interesting little piece of history, though. I certainly don't remember being familiar from my education with Mr Hutchinson, but maybe it's just been too long ago. God bless y'all. God bless your families. God bless your marriages. God bless America. God bless your nation, wherever you are around the world. Listening, good reminder to stick to your principles consistently right. We'll talk to y'all again real soon. Folks Looking forward to it.