The Bible Is A Dangerous Book? How the Bible Has Shaped Our World: In today”€™s program Steve Green will be with us to talk about his new book called, “€œThis Dangerous Book.”€ He shares with us the incredible history and impact of the Bible. As a Founder of the Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C., the Greens have a unique perspective on the Bible”€™s journey. How can one book have such power? Tune in now to find out.

Air Date: 10/03/2018

Guest: Steve Green

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, all of it from a biblical, historical, and constitutional perspective.

We’re here with David Barton, 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 state legislator, national speaker, and author.

At WallBuilders, we always look at issues from a biblical, historical, and constitutional perspective. That means we take an issue, then we look back in time and look at what the Bible says about it. What do we learn from history? What does the Constitution say about it? With those three perspectives, you’re going to get to the right answer on virtually any question—no, I’d say every question.

We”€™ll be Talking with Steve Green Today

You can find out more about us at WallBuildersLive.com and WallBuilders.com, two websites, WallBuilders Live is the radio website, and WallBuilders.com is our main website. There’s a lot of great information there for you, a lot of great tools for you. There are links to the trip we”€™re taken to Israel in January- February. There are links to all kinds of great resources for voter guides and everything else you want to share in your community right now. So check all that out at WallBuilders.com.

Later in the program, Steve Green, President of Hobby Lobby, will be with us talking about his new book called, “€œThis Dangerous Book,”€ talking about the Bible.

David, Tim, I thought we could start today just talking about the Bible’s influence in our country.

You’ve got a great DVD on the influence of the Bible in America, David. This is not acknowledged, I think, in our education system at all anymore. They’ve done everything they can to scrub the Bible out.

Thankfully, we can trace these things down in our Constitution and our Declaration and our founding President’s quotes, and Congress. It’s all over the place. That’s what WallBuilders is all about, is bringing back those truths. Certainly the Bible, at the heart of who America is, is our topic today.

The Single Most Cited Source when we put Together the Declaration and the Constitution, was the Bible

David:

Yeah, Rick, you’re right. The Bible, in what it”€™s done in shaping America, is really clear. Even political science professors have documented that, in the founding era, the single most cited source when we put together the Declaration and the Constitution, was the Bible.

34% of all quotes and written documents in the founding era, that they checked through, were quoted back to the Bible. We have founding father after founding father referencing a Bible principle, such as John Adams referencing Jeremiah with separation of powers. You get the reference to circuit court judges that are in first Samuel by James Kent.

The Bible has a huge impact in shaping who we are now. Most folks today don’t know that.

Today the biblical illiteracy is so high, folks know so little about the Bible, they know so little of what”€™s in it that they don’t recognize the principles. They’re just so used to them being a part of America, but they didn’t know the source and origin of those principles actually came out of the Bible.

“€œDo you believe that man is inherently good?”€

We’re just so used to living in a system where the Bible influenced it that we really don’t see that anymore. I heard a great, statement just a night or so ago, from Dennis Prager. I was with Dennis Prager, and we were speaking to a group—and Dennis Prager is a national talk show host and columnist writer. He said he was at a university recently. He said, “€œHow many of you believe that man is inherently good?”€ And he actually set up a debate with them.

So they took some of the sharpest kids there from the university to debate him, and he said, “€œDo you believe that man is inherently good?”€

They said, “€œAbsolutely.”€

He said, “€œI know that’s what they’re going to say.”€ Then he said, “€œDo you know the reason you believe that?”€ And they couldn’t answer.

He said, “€œThe reason you believe that is because you’ve been raised in America. If you’d been raised in any other country, you would think that man is not inherently good. But you’ve been raised in the country that biblical principles so shaped our culture, the way we think, the way we treat each other, our morality, the golden rule, and the good Samaritan. People don’t know what it is, but they live by it. The reason you think that man is inherently good is because you’ve been raised in this nation of America,”€ and that really is true.

We have so many blessings that we don’t even know where they came from. And Rick, you’re actually right. The Bible shaped America in ways that we don’t even recognize today.

Get People to Read the Bible

Rick:

Well, I think it’s not going to happen because churches or schools do it anymore. I think it’s going to have to happen because we do it. We get people to read the Bible. We get people to read books about the Bible and its influence on the country, so when we go to Steve Green’s interview talking about his book, “€œThis Dangerous Book,”€ I would challenge people not just to read that book, but to share that book and get your DVD set on the influence of the Bible in America. Knowing this foundation, just like you said, we’re getting to live the benefit of it.

But how long will that last if we don’t know the source? We can already see it being chipped away at in those values that have allowed us to live in a good society. It’s getting worse and worse because of that lack of a biblical foundation.

Tim:

Let me jump in on this one. Because it is, we are seeing culture shift in a very negative direction, where we think that there is moral ambiguity and moral plurality. Plurality is the idea that all morals are equal. That as long as you believe in something deeply enough, that’s all that matters, and it doesn’t even matter what we do.

Everybody determines truth for themselves. It’s all up to the individual right. You see this kind of conflation of this ideology and philosophy, that morality is really up to the individual.

An Objective Standard of Measurement

One of the things that’s so interesting about the Bible is it’s an objective standard of measurement. It wasn’t something people came together and voted on and said, “€œWe have determined and agreed that murdering is wrong, and therefore, it’s one of the Ten Commandments.”€

Those were things that were given by God. That’s an objective standard of measurement. It wasn’t something that collectively we determined; it wasn’t subjectively determined. But what’s fascinating about this is when the Bible— through the dark ages there’s great illiteracy— and the Bible really is very protected, in the sense of that the king, and your church leaders, and the Popes, and the bishops, and these monks—they’re keeping it very close to them where they actually are not allowing people to read the Bible for themselves. You have some of these early reformers and translators, whether they’re Wycliffe or Tendo and then Hus and these guys.

Many of them are actually murdered. They are killed. Burned at the stake. Whatever the case might be, because of the fact they’re trying to get the Bible into the language of common man.

It’s interesting seeing that, for the history of humanity in the Bible, that this was viewed by many governments as a very dangerous book.

Right now in China there are issues where churches are being shut down, crosses are being removed, they’re removing religious symbols. It is viewed as a dangerous book, and I would argue that the only way it can be viewed as dangerous is if you are a communist supporter or lover.

The Bible Promotes Liberty and Freedom

The Bible actually is very transformative and promotes freedom, individual liberty, and responsibility. It’s very anticommunist, and a lot of regimes, and they don”€™t like that. But the Bible has been viewed for generations as a dangerous book. So I think Steve”€™s title is actually a really interesting title. I have not read the book yet, it’s on my list. I’m going to get to it, so I’m excited to have Steve on the program today and hear more about what This Dangerous Book really covers and some of these details.

It is really an interesting thought, and the Bible is a dangerous book. Because as a believer I would say, “€œThis isn’t a dangerous book. This is God revealing truth and His love and His grace and mercy, and you still see His Justice and wrath.”€

But I wouldn’t think of it as a dangerous book. And yet, historically, there’s definitely been moments through world history when this was viewed as a dangerous book. So, I’m excited to have Steve on the program, and here’s some of these details of what he’s done in this book.

Rick:

Steve Green, President of Hobby Lobby, with us when we return on WallBuilders Live.

 

Front Sight Handgun Training.

Rick:

Imagine being able to study the Constitution while also getting world class training on how to defend yourself and your family with a handgun. I want to personally invite you to come spend the weekend with our family as we get expert handgun defense training from Front Sight Firearms Training Institute during the day and then provide a constitution crash course in the evening. The Barton”€™s and the Green”€™s had an amazing time doing this with many of you back in April, so we’re headed back in the fall.

Visit RickGreen.com today for the dates and the details. We”€™re giving away this $1,000 course for free to the first 100 supporters of WallBuilders Live that register for the course at RickGreen.com. Come learn the real purpose of the Second Amendment and why the Founding Fathers believed it was so important for we citizens to be armed.

If you’re a marksman, or you’ve never held a gun in your life, I can promise you that you will leave this training with improved skills and the confidence to protect your family. It’s going to be a great time of fun, fellowship, learning, and sending a lot of lead downrange.

And the $1,000 course registration is completely waived for the first 100 WallBuilders Live supporters to register. You pay for your travel and ammo, but we’re giving you the course for free as a gift to our supporters. I look forward to seeing you on the range this fall. For all the details visit RickGreen.com today.

Welcome Steve Green!

Rick:

Welcome back and thanks for staying with us here on WallBuilders Live. Steve Green”€™s back with us, President of Hobby Lobby and also chairman of the board from Museum of the Bible, which you”€™ve got to check out (that’s another show where we’ll be talking about that), and also author of three books: Faith in America, The Bible in America, and now, This Dangerous Book (that one with his wife Jackie).

Steve, good to have you back bro.

Steve:

Thank you Rick. I appreciate being back and looking forward to it.

This Dangerous Book

Rick:

I love the title, “€œThis Dangerous Book: How the Bible has Shaped our World and Why it Still Matters Today.”€ First, how did you guys come up with the title?

Steve:

After lots of different options that went around, we landed on that one and loved it. It Kind of grabs your attention, a bit of multiple meanings there, that this— if you want to follow this book, it can be dangerous. It may take you down paths that you didn’t plan on going down. There have been people who have lost their lives because of their love and passion for this book.

I think that if we lose the knowledge of this book, and we don’t know this book, there’s a danger that our society goes off a cliff as well.

Rick:

So true.

Steve:

So it’s a bit more than one meaning there, and I loved it when when we came up with it.

Rick:

It’s even— I would add one more in that it is dangerous to the status quo of a world without the bible, right? That’s going to change that culture, in a positive way, but it typically would scare those that are in charge. Certainly those that prefer tyranny and those kind of things, because the Bible is what brings freedom to a culture in society.

Steve:

Yeah. It has changed our world without a doubt.

In the year 2000, Life Magazine came out with the publication of the 100 most important events, and number one was Gutenberg printing the Bible.

That event changed our world.

The Bible in America

Rick:

Now, for our newer listeners, we had you on back when you did The Bible in America. What’s the difference here? So if The Bible in America talked about its impact on our nation, how is this book different?

Steve:

The Bible in America was based off of a survey that we did as we were working on the concept of the Bible Museum. The primary question was, “€œIf we build it, will they come?”€

We had a hundred questions, but the primary one was, “€œWould you come? Is there an interest in a Bible museum?”€ So we did a survey.

The book really explores that survey, talking about the Bible’s influence and impact and what people thought about it. So This Dangerous Book is a little different in the fact that it really is the journey of my wife and my involvement in building the museum, how we got started with it, and that journey. It tells a little bit about just how the Bible was influenced and had been an impact on our life, both growing up in Christian homes and it being central in our lives.

Thirdly, it just briefly explains, “€œHere’s what this book is all about.”€

So it kind of combines those three, where The Bible in America is more based on a survey.

A Business on Biblical Principles

Rick:

I’m glad you talked about the personal impact of This Dangerous Book in your own lives. I had your dad on a while back about his book, In the End, and I don’t think people realize that the success you guys have had at Hobby Lobby, and the environment that you created, without the scriptural basis, I think every one of you would say that it wouldn’t ever happen.

Steve:

Well, if you go to our website, and you look at information about the company, we have our statement of purpose. The very first statement we make is that we want to operate our business according to biblical principles. We believe it is because of that, that we have been blessed by God. It doesn’t mean that just because you follow that principle for business that it’s going to work. Some business ideas just aren’t good ideas and don’t make it.

But for us, it has been foundational to the way we’ve operated our business. We strive to do that on a daily basis. We’ve never done that perfectly, but that’s what we strive to do. Operating with honesty and integrity, working hard, and treating people the way we want to be treated. These concepts that are taught as servant leadership from Scripture. They are what we strive to do, and let it be the guide in how we operate our business. It has blessed us in our business. As I mentioned, I grew up in a Christian home and I’ve been blessed to grow up in a nation that was built on principles found in this book. So my life has been blessed in multiple ways by this book.

Bible Museum

We want to invite all people to consider that book, and that’s the purpose of the museum that we’ve built, is to invite all people to engage with the Bible. We want to point, and hopefully they’ll be inspired to get to know it better.

Rick:

Yeah. That impact on your life— your dad told me some inside stories that we shared on the air, I’m not going to tell you about them right now though, you might have to have a response to him. But let’s talk about some of those artifacts. You talked about this in the book because some people think, “€œOK, that Bible museum a minute ago”€¦ Do they just look at Bibles?”€

You guys went all over the world and collected some amazing artifacts that are on display there at the museum, as well as some of those stories in this new book, This Dangerous Book.

The First English Bible in America

Steve:

Yes. And we have multiple curators, if you ask them their favorite, everybody would come up with a different one because there’s a lot of good, good stuff to be shared.

One that I will typically mention, if I’m asked, is an Aitken Bible. That was a Bible printed at our founding when we declared independence.

We were not allowed to print an English Bible in the US.

When we declared independence, we weren’t getting Bibles from England anymore. So Robert Aitken asked permission from the Congress at the time if he could print a Bible. The Bible was reviewed and it went through a committee.

The chaplains reviewed it and then it went to the Congress for approval, and he was given permission and was allowed to print that permission however he wanted.

He put it right in front of the of the Bible when he printed it, and we have one of those on display. It just helps tell a bit of the environment of the founding of our nation. What the mindset was of Congress when asked for permission.

It was commended, and his work was seen as being a noble work and recommended to the people and the inhabitants of our nation. So it was the first and only Bible ever commissioned by the United States Congress to be printed. There”€™s only a handful left and we have one of those on display there at the museum with many great items like that. They all have a story to be told.

Where Can I Get this Book?

Rick:

In fact, I’ll have to ask David when we come back from the break, but I think that’s the one that Congress said would be a, quote, “€œNeat edition of the Bible for schools.”€

So they wanted it to be in our schools as well. All right, so what”€™s the best place for folks to get the book and share it?

Steve:

You can get it on online, at your favorite online retailer, or any of the bookstores. You should be able to get it. Obviously we’ve got it in the Hobby Lobby as well for those who want to run to the Hobby Lobby and pick it up there.

Rick:

Excellent, excellent. This Dangerous Book, by Steve and Jackie Green. God bless you and your family. You guys keep up the great work. Looking forward to having you back again soon. I also really want to encourage people to go to the museum this year.

Steve:

Absolutely. They’ll love it. It will make it worthwhile to make a trip to D.C.

Rick:

Well, let’s get you back again soon.

Steve:

  1. Sounds good. Thank you Rick.

Rick:

Stay with us folks, we”€™ll be right back with David and Tim Barton.

This Precarious Moment Book

David:

This is David Barton. I want to let about a brand new book we have called This Precarious Moment, Six Urgent Steps That Will Save You, Your family, and Our Country. Jim Garlow and I have co-authored this book and we take six issues that are hot in the culture right now.

Issues that we’re dealing with, issues such as immigration, race relations, our relationship with Israel, the rising generation Millennials, and the absence of the church in the culture wars, and where American heritage is, our godly heritage. We look at all six of those issues right now that are under attack and we give you both Biblical and historical perspective on those issues that provide solutions on what each of us can do right now to make a difference.

These are all problems that are solvable if we’ll get involved. So you can grab the book This Precarious Moment and find out what you can do to make a difference. This Precarious Moment is available at WallBuilders.com.

Is the Bible Really Dangerous?

Rick:

Welcome back to WallBuilders Live. Thanks to Steve Green for joining us and sharing his book, This Dangerous Book, by both Steve and Jackie Green. Back with David and Tim now.

Tim, you were talking about how the Bible was viewed as a dangerous book by any enemy of freedom, anybody who wants to hold on to power, and not allow the principles of the Bible to make people free.

Today it’s probably seen as a dangerous book by the left because, if people know these truths, they’re not going to move towards moral relativism.

Tim:

Yeah, it is interesting. Certainly a book that promotes a religion that is based on loving people would be viewed as dangerous. Seems ironic.

And yet—

David:

And by the way, I have to point out you guys were aware of the bill in California that essentially would have banned the Bible?

Tim:

Yes.

David:

So we’re even talking in the United States, there are political movements and agendas that see the Bible as antithesis to everything they want to accomplish in the nation. So this is still relevant even right now in America today.

Why Some People Hate the Bible

Tim:

Well, certainly. If you start in Genesis 1: 26-27, when when God says that He was going to create man, male and female, He would create humans in His image. The fact that He identified that there are two genders, male and female, is what He created in all of creation was created in such accord. When He creates the institution of marriage, it started with Adam and Eve in the garden. It’s one man and one woman.

There’s a lot of things that the Bible promotes. It actually is viewed as being a dangerous ideology by a lot of leftists today who would say, “€œWait a second, it”€™s too exclusive. It”€™s bigoted and it’s hateful because it tells us we have to have boundaries and there are certain things we shouldn’t do.”€

And so you’re right. It’s interesting that historically there were times that the Bible was viewed as very dangerous from a lot of tyrants and oppressors and communist leaders and communist regimes.

No Other Religion Says “€œBecause God so Loved Me, He gave His Son

Today the leftists in America are embracing a lot of that same philosophy about the fact that the Bible is dangerous when, again, no other religion in the world is based on the notion and narrative that because God so loved me, He gave his son. Jesus so loved us that He gave his life.

We’ve been called to show love to others, that we lay down our life for others. In fact, He said, “€œBy love all people would know that we were His disciples by our love for one another.”€

Love is supposed to be a characteristic that defines us, and we certainly talk about the fact that maybe Christians don’t do as well loving people as we should, and that’s not even a debate or discussion. That’s pretty much given.

Yes, we need to do better at loving people, but loving people doesn’t always mean accepting and embracing everything they do. Sometimes it’s unloving to accept bad things.

It would be unloving for me to be accepting of rape or murder or some things you shouldn’t tolerate. So the idea that being intolerant of certain behavior makes us unloving. This is really kind of a bad philosophical position to take. However, it’s certainly something we see in culture, that a lot of people in culture are now seeing the Bible, again, as a dangerous book.

Rick:

This Dangerous Book by Steve Green, we’ll be right back for more. Stay with us, you’re listening to WallBuilders Live.

Join The Bartons and Greens In Israel!

Rick:

Hey Friends! Rick Green here from WallBuilders Live. The WallBuilders team is going to Israel and we’d love to have you go with us. It”€™s going to be January 28 through February 7th, a Holy Land tour that is the experience of a lifetime.

Just imagine sailing on the Sea of Galilee. Imagine going to the Elah Valley where David slew Goliath and even picking up pebbles from the very brook where he picked up those stones to slay Goliath. We’re going to go to Jericho, the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, the pool of Bethesda, and so much more. And you can go with us.

David and Tim Barton, and myself, Rick Green, you”€™ll just have a great time. The Fellowship’s going to be phenomenal and the Bible is going to come to life right before your eyes. Join us January 28th through February 7th, 2019. But you need to get in and make your reservations now. Check it out at WallBuildersLive.com for this very special trip to the Holy Land.

Warning: This Book May Cause Joy

Rick:

Welcome back. Thanks for staying with us on WallBuilders Live.

We’re talking about This Dangerous Book, it’s actually a new book by Steve and Jackie Green about this dangerous book, meaning the Bible.

Guys, we’ve been talking about how it’s viewed as a dangerous book by many. I mentioned in the interview with Steve how it’s dangerous in some ways even to an individual if you don’t want to give up power.

The negative side of your sin, and living in that moral decay that has very negative consequences, watch out, this dangerous book will give you answers and joy in life. So it’s actually dangerous to a sinful life as well.

The Bible is Full of the Principles of a Successful and Free Nation

David:

And I’ll point out that the book is dangerous to a lot of ideologies outside of just those of immoral behavior. Whether it be marriage, or LGBTQ, or whatever it is, it also is full of principles on economics. It’s also full of principles on limited government. Also full of principles dealing with numerous issues whether it be debt, or education, or immigration, or whatever. It is full of liberating principles. Every time those principles are applied they result in a successful, freedom loving people and nation.

For anybody who wants more government, this is probably not the book you’re going to enjoy.

For anyone who wants to say, “€œThere are no moral absolutes. Don’t tell me what’s right or wrong,”€ You may not enjoy this. So this book is dangerous to a lot of ideologies, not just in a moral sense, but also in the sense that it brings freedom and so many aspects of life.

Next Time You”€™re in D.C, go to the Bible Museum!

It’s interesting, the last several times Tim and I have been in D.C., one of the things I keep hearing buzz over is, “€œOh man, you guys seen the new Museum of the Bible?”€

The Greens were talking about it, Steve was talking about that in the program, the Greens built that museum and it is amazing, amazing, amazing. People hear museum and say, “€œOh, old dead stuff.”€

No no no. This thing is really interactive. It is really energetic. It is really wholesome and uplifting. In addition to getting the book, if you can get to Washington D.C. and go see the Museum of the Bibles right there, right off the National Mall with all the other big Smithsonian museums right there in that same region. It is a big time collection, interactive stuff, really good. It’s worth people going to D.C. to see it.

It is a must see when you get to D.C.

Rick:

I definitely want to visit the museum and it’s not just looking at old books or old copies of the Bible.

It’s very technologically advanced, one of the most technologically advanced museums in the country, and just a phenomenal, phenomenal experience. So folks should definitely go check that out as well, and be sure and get Steve Green”€™s book, This Dangerous Book.

This Dangerous Book, by Steve and Jackie Green

We”€™ll have links today to make that possible for you as well. Also go to WallBuilders.com and check out David’s presentation on the influence of the Bible in America. A lot of great additional information, specifically to the founding of our country, and how the Bible is what made the difference.

It’s the secret sauce to what made America so unique in the history of the world, becoming the most powerful, the most benevolent, the most free nation in history. Also at WallBuilders.com, we encourage you to help us continue the program and spread the word of the program by going to the donation page right there at WallBuilders.com.

You can do a one time donation or become a monthly donor or a partner of WallBuilders. That actually helps us to train legislators, to train young people that are going to be leaders in every area of the culture. All the different programs that we do, taking pastors to Washington D.C. and the Pastors Briefings we do there, all the things that we’re doing are helping to rebuild the walls.

In other words, rebuild their foundations that made America great in the first place, and we sure would love to have you coming alongside us to help with that.

So go to WallBuilders.com and you can do that. Thank you for listening to WallBuilders Live.