CNN’s Lowest Rating Yet, Major Win For Fox: We call it Good News Friday because it’s a chance for David and Tim to share some good news from across the nation and around the world. We don”€™t often hear good news from the media but here on WallBuilders Live we are about to share with you just some of the good things happening right now. In this episode, we talk about how Trump Announces exit from Iran deal! How we can help stop taxpayer money from going to abortion clinics!  How CNN has its lowest ratings ever while Fox”€™s ratings are soaring! And so much more!

Air Date: 05/18/2018

Guest: Jeff Jimerson

On-air Personalities: David Barton, Rick Green, and Tim Barton

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Transcription note:  As a courtesy for our listeners’ enjoyment, we are providing a transcription of this podcast. Transcription will be released shortly. However, as this is transcribed from a live talk show, words and sentence structure were not altered to fit grammatical, written norms in order to preserve the integrity of the actual dialogue between the speakers. Additionally, names may be misspelled or we might use an asterisk to indicate a missing word because of the difficulty in understanding the speaker at times. We apologize in advance.

Faith And The Culture

Rick:

Welcome to the intersection of faith and the culture. This is WallBuilders Live! Where we”€™re talking about today”€™s hottest topics on policy, faith, and the culture. We always do that from a biblical, historical, and constitutional perspective.

It’s Good News Friday which means we’re going to get some great news today of things that are happening in the culture all across the country. We’re here with David Barton, he”€™s America’s premier historian and the founder of WallBuilders. Also, Tim Barton, national speaker, pastor, and president of WallBuilders. And my name is Rick Green, I’m a former Texas legislator.

You can find out more about us at WallBuildersLive.com where you can get archives of the program over the last few months. In fact, today being a Good News Friday you’re going to be encouraged and inspired and you’re going to want more of this. So, go to the website WallBuildersLive.com and you can click back through those past few weeks and listen to some other Friday programs as well as the rest of the week.

And then also visit WallBuilders.com, that’s our main website. There’s a lot of great tools there that you can download, that you can purchase, DVDs, and books, and different things for your family, for your Sunday school class. Get educated, get inspired, and get out there and get engaged in the culture.

David, Tim, looking forward to our Good News Friday today. I always like getting some good news. There’s always bad news you could focus on, but it’s like Andrew Carnegie said when he had so many millionaires working for him and a reporter said, “€œHow’d you get all these millionaires to work for you?”€ He said, “€œThey weren’t millionaires when they started working for me. They became millionaires because I learned how to work with people the same way you mine for gold. You don’t look for the dirt – you’ve got to move a lot of dirt. You look for the gold.”€ I want to look for some good news today, so you guys share some good news with us, David–

Iran Deal

David:

Well, I’m going to start with Iran. I love the good news and the fact that the president has pulled out of the Iran deal. It’s interesting that people use the word “€œdeal”€ with that Iran thing that happened with President Obama because it was not a deal. Iran signed nothing, they agreed to nothing. It was simply President Obama saying here’s what America has got to do to Iran, with Iran, for Iran. And that was a quote “€œdeal”€.

So, the perception was that well this is a deal. And that’s why it was never ratified by the Senate because there was no deal. It was just America saying, “€œHey, Iran, we’re going to lift sanctions, we’re going to give you 150 billion dollars in cash, and please promise not to do anything with nuclear weapons.”€ “€œOh sure, happy to do that.”€

Rick:

Because you”€™ve got such a great track record in being honest brokers and players on the world stage, so we’re just going to trust that you’ll do the right thing.

David:

Exactly. We can trust you just like those 20 missiles you just sent into Israel. We can trust you to keep the peace, we can trust you to do the right thing. No, not by a long shot. And we now know from intelligence that they’re still continuing their nuclear program. Why not? There was no incentive to encourage them to do otherwise. And we’ve seen the media cover the fact that, “€œWell, this is really bad. Look how Europe responded. Europe doesn’t like us pulling out of this Iran thing.”€

Of course not Europe wants to trade with Iran. And when you look at France, and Germany, and the other nations, they were trading with Iran. They did not like the U.N. sanctions that were on Iran. They want him as a trading partner and there’s a lot of stuff they sell to them on technology and military equipment etc., so they consider them a trading partner. Of course they’re not going to like this “€œdeal”€.

The Sanctions Were Working So Well

David:

And by the way, did you notice that when we gave 150 billion dollars, one sided, just gave it to them, to Iran, that all the news of the revolution Iran went away? What was happening was the sanctions were working so well that the people in Iran were rising up against their government. There was a revolution brewing. It looked like that that radical group was going to be overthrown. We put 150 billion into it and suddenly that kind of gave them some breathing space. And there’s no impetus for a revolution.

So, we were looking at really on the verge of possibly toppling that radical government in Iran and now it is not. Now it is stable again and now they’re still doing their nuclear research, and now they’re attacking Israel straight on. Which is what they’ve been promising they would do.

So, I’m really grateful that we have pulled out of this thing and that we’re back to re-imposing sanctions on them. I don’t know that Europe will go along with those sanctions, but there was no business with us having made that deal with Iran.

Tim:

And probably specific to identify that when you speak of Europe, and I feel great Britain is probably on board with–

David:

Right.

TIm:

–some of the stuff.

David:

Right, they are.

Tim:

So, when you talk about Europe it depends on how we define Europe because not everybody in Europe–

David:

That”€™s true.

It Depends On How You Define Europe

Tim:

–probably Poland is also not supporting what’s going on. So, it depends on how we define “€œEurope”€ as to who all is favoring Iran. But certainly there are nations in Europe that favor Iran.

David:

Great great point because what we would consider the more “€œChristian”€ nations right now – whether it be Poland, or Hungary, or Czechoslovakia, or others, they’re really different. Another thing to point out about those nations in Europe, and you’re right, because it’s great Britain particularly, it is Germany, it is France, those are the ones that are the loudest against it. And they’re considered the more traditional older European nations, but they’re also very pro Palestinian.

So, while Germany does have a good relation with Israel, and France has got a very strained relation, and Great Britain does as well, they are very pro Palestinian. Which is another reason that this would not be something that they would care for. They’ve really come down on the wrong side of the pro Israel position. But, you”€™re right, Tim, Poland Hungary, Czechoslovakia, those groups are going to be for us having pulled out of this for sure.

Rick:

And surprisingly, again, we talked I think it was last week that we had Mitch Danzik on and talked about the Saudi Crown Prince. And now he’s actually come out and said he’s glad that Trump has pulled out of this deal as well. So, he’s getting, he’s actually getting praise from some interesting places.

David:

It”€™s CNN that keeps alive that thing about how this is damaging our relationships with our European allies etc.. And they’re happy to tell you about France, and about Germany, and about England, but they’re not happy to tell you about all the others.

Where the Free Market is Headed

David:

I’ll just throw in another piece of good news here that I think is good news and that’s the fact that the most recent ratings show that CNN has got dismal viewing. The most watched program on CNN is Anderson Cooper”€™s 360 which has 1.1 million viewers. And that’s a sizable percentage, but I will point out that’s only one third of one percent of the United States.

But what’s interesting is over on FOX the least watched program on Fox is Shannon *, and that’s because she comes on so late at night. Most of the East Coast has gone to bed long before that, but she’s got 1.5 million viewers at her program. That’s the lowest rated program on Fox. And so even with her time that she has which is very late at night she’s still got nearly 40 percent more viewers than the highest rated program on CNN.

So, it’s good news to me that the American people are not going in the CNN direction which is very negative toward America, and very progressive, and quite frankly, very openly liberal. And they are going in the Fox direction which is more openly conservative for sure. So, that, to me, is a piece of good news show on where the free market is headed when people have their choice. They’re going to more conservative things not more liberal things.

Rick:

And I think the shows that are the higher rated shows on Fox News that have more than,  like you said, she’s late night, that’s the least watched. The other ones have two, and three, and four, million viewers. So, it is a 300, 400, percent of what the best show is on CNN. So, that’s just a good indicator of the attitudes of people and what they’re feeding their minds in terms of the opinions of the day is, for the most part, on the right side of things.

Rick:

I think we get a skewed view of the influence of CNN because of the airport and so many airports that have the contracts with them because they give away the programming to the airport. We”€™ve even talked about that on the program before.

Quick break, guys. We’ll be right back. Tim”€™s up next with some good news. Stay with us. You’re listening to WallBuilders Live.

Moment From American History

This is TimBarton from WallBuilders with another moment from American history. In the early seventeen hundreds the Reverend John Wise preached that all men were created equal, that taxation without representation was tyranny, and that God’s preferred form of government was the consent of the governed.

All of which is language recognizable in the Declaration of Independence. Why? Because in 1772 the Sons of Liberty led by Founders Sam Adams and John Hancock reprinted and distributed the Reverend Wise’s sermons.

Four years later, much of the Declaration reflected the language of those sermons by John Wise.  In 1926 on the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, President Calvin Coolidge affirmed, “€œThe thoughts in the Declaration can very largely be traced back to what John Wise was saying.”€

Few today know that the Declaration was so strongly influenced by the Rev. John Wise. For more information on this and other stories go to WallBuilders.com.

Rick:

Welcome back. Thanks for staying with us 0n WallBuilders Live Good News Friday today. Tim Barton is up next with our next piece of good news, Tim–

Tim:

Alright, guys this one deals with the church, specifically, the United Methodist Church in America. And one of the things we have seen from the United Methodist Church is, as well as a couple other United denominations, is they’ve really strayed from a lot of biblical principles in certain areas.

Well, the good news I have, I have two different articles, one is a Mississippi Church votes to leave United Methodist Church over failure to uphold scripture. And they cite abortion, homosexuality, the resurrection, Christ”€™s divinity, etc. some very basic Biblical understanding, biblical principles they say that their denomination is not upholding. So they’ve voted to leave the denomination, so they can go and uphold these principles.

United Methodists Making Some Changes

Tim:

Now, one of the things they pointed out, which, I did not know about this but they identified that back in 2016 there was a book of discipline for the United Methodist Church. And in this book of discipline it goes through and identified the biblical principles, the biblical positions, and what would happen if you violated those inside the church. So, it describes that self-avowed practicing homosexuals are not to be certified as candidates, ordained as ministers, or appointed to serve in the United Methodist Church. So, they actually line out some of these biblical positions.

And what this Mississippi church pointed out is that they’re just not upholding the biblical positions they’ve already outlined in this book of discipline. So, first of all kudos to the church Mississippi for saying, “€œWe’d rather uphold biblical principles than be a part of this denomination with whatever it brings with it”€ – the notoriety, recognition, or whatever else – “€œWe”€™ll leave the denomination, uphold biblical principles.”€

But the second article I have is a United Methodist pastor loses license for marrying same sex couple in Tennessee. And this was a female pastor who married a homosexual couple. It was found out what she did. But this is interesting because the denomination in Tennessee looked at what she did and recognized that it violated their 2016 Book of Discipline because that is contrary to what the book says they’re supposed to do. So, this is a situation where, in Tennessee at least, the church said that “€œWe’re not going to allow that kind of behavior.”€

Now, for me it’s kind of opened my eyes to see that there’s a lot more in these denominations when it comes to states and areas and who’s upholding what. Because I didn’t even know there was a book of discipline for the United Methodist Church that outlined biblical grounds. Well, let me back up, so, first of all because there’s a Bible I don’t know that you need much else beyond that. If you’re not following the Bible then you’re doing the wrong thing. But outlined at least in the book of discipline that there are certain things that, “€œFor our denomination we’re going to follow, we’re not going to allow this behavior. If you do this, this happens.”€

The Clarification Might Be Good

Rick:

Which, maybe in a world where there’s so many different “€œinterpretations”€ of the Bible, and people claiming they’re following the Bible when they’re way off track, probably a good idea to have that clarification for them as a denomination.

David:

Well, let me point out that this changed really about two years ago. And it changed at the International Methodist convention, which was held in the United States. It changed because the Methodists from Africa came in and said, “€œHey, you Americans are crazy. The Bible is really clear on marriage, it’s clear on Israel, it is clear on life.”€ And at that point with the high attendance of African delegates, the Methodist Church went back to its former roots.

Tim:

Really, it was an international convention, right, so there’s Methodists from all around the world. And we didn’t even realize at that point how many Methodists were in Africa, right. Certainly, if you look back to early Methodist missionaries and the evangelistic work they’ve done, and really, over the years the Methodists have done some good things when it’s come to evangelism and helping other nations.

But these other nations have followed the Bible, they haven’t looked at the political environment and culture of America saying, “€œOh, well we should allow politics to shape our biblical and theological views.”€ No, no, for them they’ve said, “€œLet’s just read the Bible, do what it says.”€

So when they saw how ridiculous things were getting and actually many of the ministers in America from the United Methodist Church were proposing that they change basic biblical doctrines. That’s when these other Methodists from around the world, and so many of them being from Africa, said, “€œLook, we’re not going against the Bible.”€ So, that’s where this came from. Nonetheless, it is just really encouraging to see that in the midst of this denomination that’s done a lot of crazy things. First of all, you have churches that recognize that the word of God is more important than the denomination.

Leaving For Truth

Tim:

So, if the denomination won’t uphold truth than we’re going to leave to uphold biblical truth. But secondly, you have a situation where, at least in Tennessee, you have people in the denomination going, “€œWait a second, we’ve already outlined the behavior that is and isn’t acceptable and if you violate that, then there are consequences.”€

And so in this situation where a female pastor married a homosexual couple she lost her license and can no longer minister inside the church. So, it’s at least good news to see that there is some polling of biblical doctrine from churches in the United Methodist Church. And from Tennessee, the leaders in Tennessee.

Rick:

It’s an ongoing battle within most denominations in America and we’ve seen so many reports going the wrong direction. So, great to see one going the right direction. Got to take a quick break. When we come back, I get to share a bit of good news. It’s actually coming out of Oregon and I”€™m going to have a special guests here to talk about it. Stay with us. You’re listening to WallBuilders Live.

Share a veteran’s story

We Want To Hear Your Vet Story

Rick:

Hey friends! If you have been listening to WallBuilders Live for very long at all, you know how much we respect our veterans and how appreciative we are of the sacrifice they make to make our freedoms possible. One of the ways that we love to honor those veterans is to tell their stories here on WallBuilders Live.  Once in awhile, we get an opportunity to interview veterans that have served on those front lines that have made incredible sacrifices have amazing stories that we want to share with the American people.

One of the very special things we get to do is interview World War II veterans. You’ve heard those interviews here on WallBuilders Live, from folks that were in the Band of Brothers, to folks like Edgar Harrell that survived the Indianapolis to so many other great stories you heard on WallBuilders Live.

You have friends and family that also served.  If you have World War II veterans in your family that you would like to have their story shared here on WallBuilders Live, please e-mail us at [email protected].  Give us a brief summary of the story and we’ll set up an interview. Thanks so much for sharing here on WallBuilders Live!

Rick:

Welcome back to WallBuilders Live. Thanks for staying with us today. Jeff Jimerson is with us from Oregon Life United. Jeff, thanks for coming on, sir.

Jeff Jimerson:

Thank you for having me.

Oregon Trying to Stop Taxpayer Funding for Abortion

Rick:

Hey, you guys are in a very interesting– I started to say battle, it’s kind of a battle, but it’s starting to look like a potential victory and just a great way to get people involved in the life movement. I was actually at a dinner in, believe it or not, Pará, Nevada. So, we were out there doing our handgun training Constitution class at Frontside out there. And some your friends and great patriots from there in Oregon – Randall and Karen Everson – were telling me about you and telling us about how you guys were working to stop taxpayer funding for abortion in Oregon. You’re not a conservative state. How is this going?

Jeff Jimerson:

It’s going pretty well actually. We’ve been working on this ballot initiative for a number of years. And this being our, technically, third attempt at qualifying for the November ballot, we have just built a lot of momentum, we’ve got thousands of supporters and volunteers around the state, and we’re just pushing towards the end here. We’ve got about two months until our final deadline.

Rick:

And so to get this on the ballot, and when I say “€œthis”€, this is an effort to prevent folks in Oregon from having to pay for abortion. This goes back to right after Roe v. Wade one of the first things that even folks who weren’t pro-life, just constitutionalists, said, “€œLook, if you’re going to do this, you shouldn’t force people that clearly believe that this violates their conscience to pay for it even if you’re going to allow it to happen.”€ So, you guys aren’t outlawing abortion in Oregon you’re just simply saying, “€œLook, don’t make me pay for the taking of a life.”€

Funding at the State Level

Jeff Jimerson:

Yeah, at the federal level most people recognize that tax dollars can’t be used to directly fund abortions. But at the state level, states can do pretty much whatever they want with their own money. And so here in Oregon state lawmakers are requiring all taxpayers to fund about thirty seven hundred abortions per year. This is directly funded abortions by way of reimbursements to abortion clinics like Planned Parenthood.

Rick:

So, if you’re paying the taxes that go to the state, and then the state is spending that money to pay for abortion, then you’re having to pay for the taking of innocent life. So,  as I’ve read from some of your materials, man, it”€™s basically 10 state funded abortions every day that the taxpayers of Oregon are paying for. Som y”€™all are trying to get it on the ballot to say, “€œLook, you can’t do state funded, taxpayer funded, abortions in Oregon.

Jeff Jimerson:

That’s right. Yeah, we need a hundred and seventeen thousand signatures to qualify for the ballot and we’ve got about 110000 that have been mailed to us so far, so we’re getting close.

Rick:

Wow.

Jeff Jimerson:

We’re really looking for the church in the state of Oregon to pick up and take this opportunity, gather signatures on Sunday mornings, there’s about 60 days or so until that deadline.

Rick:

Jeff, back up just a second. Say that again because our listeners need to realize what a victory you’ve already got here – 110,000 signatures in Oregon to say no more state funded abortion.

In Oregon!

Jeff Jimerson:

Yeah. And really that’s only a fraction, of course, of the Bible believing Christians in the state. So, this is just about the church stepping up and saying, “€œYeah, I can help a little on this.”€ And so we’ve got all sorts of resources on our website. We’ve got, really, hundreds of churches already helping and being a part of this. But there’s definitely some room for additional churches to get on board.

Rick:

And the website to go to either to sign the petition or to potentially and hopefully take it to their church, and get their pastor involved, and get the entire church to participate in getting signatures. Where do they need to go?

Jeff Jimerson:

They should go to www.StoptheFunding.org.

Rick:

www.StoptheFunding.org

Jeff Jimerson:

That’s right. And there’s a link at the very top of the page that says “€œfor churches”€ and all sorts of good resources there for pastors, for anyone who wants to make an announcement on a Sunday morning, we want to make this easy on people to get involved.

Rick:

Love it, love it, man. You guys, God bless you for what you’re doing. Like you said, time is short. We’ve got to act now. So, folks that are listening, as soon as you hear this get on that website and follow the links. As an individual you can make a difference, as a church, as a pastor, everyone can get involved in this.

And certainly those of you that have a circle of influence, and frankly all of us do, your circle of influence may be five people. But you pastors and others that have 500, or a thousand, or a hundred, or whatever it is, you can really make a difference here and getting the numbers over the hump. And you mentioned, Jeff, it’s– what is it? You what you have to have 117, but you’re wanting to get to more like 150 because they look for ways to throw out signatures on something like this.

Looking For Ways to Toss Out Signatures

Jeff Jimerson:

Oh sure. There’s all sorts of reasons they toss out signatures, so we really need to go above and beyond here and have a good cushion.

Rick:

Yeah, alright. So, the goal is roughly 150. There’s time, but not a lot of time. So, folks, take some action right now. Jeff, a lot of people will tell us, “€œI don’t have a radio program”€, or “€œI don’t have a  pro-life organization or a lot of money”€, or whatever excuse that I can’t make a difference. Well, here’s an easy one, right? This is an easy life saving, life saving, way to make a difference. Go to that website right now today, folks, and get involved and take some action on this – www.StoptheFunding.org. Jeff, God bless you guys for leading in this way. We look forward to having you back here in a couple of months to talk about the victory.

Jeff Jimerson:

Amen. Thank you so much.

Rick:

Alright, that’s Jeff Jimerson. Check out the website – www.StoptheFunding.org. You can go there today. You can also check out Jeff’s website at OregonLifeUnited.org. Stay with us. We’ll be right back with David and Tim Barton.

Leadership Training Program

Rick:

Hey, friends! We’ve got a great program to share with you today. It”€™s the WallBuilders Leadership Training Program and it’s an opportunity for 18 to 25 year olds to come spend two weeks diving into the original documents we’re always talking about here on WallBuilders Live.

Tim, you’ve already been doing this a couple of summers and seen the results of young people coming to this program. We’re going to see more of them coming this year.

Tim:

Yeah, Rick, it”€™s something that”€™s been cool to see the transformation with young people coming in. The emphasis, for us, largely is a pursuit of truth. We have a culture that doesn’t know what truth is. We don’t know what biblical truth is, or constitutional truth, or the American heritage that we have. And so we really dive into original documents and say, “€œWell, what did they actually write? What did they actually do? Not just what did somebody say, what is actually true, and the truth is what’s transformational.

David:

Yeah, guys. This really is a remarkable opportunity. And for those who want to spend time with us and spend time in the original documents, this is a great program. So, if you’re from 18 to 25, or you know someone who’s 18 to 25, send them to sign up for one of our three sessions this summer at WallBuilders.com/leadershiptraining.

Rick:

Welcome back. Thanks for staying with us here on WallBuilders Live. Back with David and Tim Barton now. Guys, that’s good news coming out of a definitely not a conservative state, I would say a left leaning for sure. That they’ve already got that many petition signatures they’re that close to getting over the hump. We encourage folks that are listening to us now in Oregon to be involved in that. What a great thing to say, “€œHey,  look, we’re going to make sure that our money does not go to evil.”€ And they’ve got a chance of doing that in Oregon.

Libertarians Conservative?

David:

Yeah, that’d be really cool. And Oregon, it’s a really weird place in the sense that it’s very very libertarian. A lot of people tend to think that libertarians tend to be conservatives and that’s not necessarily the case. When you go libertarian on moral issues as they do in Oregon – everything from assisted suicide, to marijuana, to everything else, your whole politics starts moving to the left.

And so Oregon is considered one of the most un-churched areas in the United States. They’re very libertarian on moral issues – “€œLeave us alone. We’ll make our own values.”€ And when you do that it shifts everything to the left. So, that’s the problem with libertarian movement. And of course, we cover that at Patriot Academy and other places that it’s hard to have a limited government thing when you won”€™t take a position for moral things. As the founders have said, our Constitution is made for a moral and religious people and it just doesn’t work right outside of that.

So, that’s good, but the other good news is it would be great to see Oregon get in with all the rest of the states. And this is another piece of good news is that over the last six years we’ve had 334 pro-life laws passed at the state level. So, the people of Oregon, if this gets on the ballot, we”€™ll see how they handle this. It would not be surprising to see that they say, “€œHey, we don’t want the government paying for this.”€ The fact that they may still be pro-abortion might not go away, but we do know that even Democrats, the overwhelming majority Democrats, don’t think the government should be paying for abortions.

So, this very well could be– it’s very plausible this could be a pro-life law that does get passed in Oregon which would be great news as well.

CNN’s Lowest Rating Yet, Major Win For Fox

Rick:

Lots of great news to share. More than we could get to today. There’ll be more next Friday and there’s more on our website right now. If you like this good news helps share this good news, get it out there to your friends and family. Get on Facebook and Twitter right now and share this program with others. Make sure you get them to tune in next week and be a part of the program. And then help us spread the program all across the country by coming alongside us as a partner. Contribute to the program, we”€™re a listener supported program, it helps us add stations across the country and spread this good news.

So, check it out at WallBuilders.com. You can donate to the WallBuilders Live program. We’d love to have your help in that area. Appreciate you listening today. You’ve been listening to WallBuilders Live.