The Biblical Right Of Self-Defense – Part 2: What is the right of self-defense? What should citizens be allowed to arm themselves with? Where should they be able to carry those arms? There is evil in the world. The 2nd Amendment is to protect Americans’ natural right and is especially important for women. How can you be prepared to defend yourself and other innocent people? Is it statistically worse to take a weapon off the street? Tune in to hear the biblical, historical, and constitutional perspective on the right of self-defense!

Air Date: 04/13/2021

Guest: Green Family

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 talk about the hot topics of the day from a biblical, historical, and constitutional perspective. This week, a very hot topic, Gun Control: the Right of Self-defense. What does the Bible say about this? What is history teaches about this? And what does the Constitution specifically say about the right of self-defense? Of course, found there in the Second Amendment.

So we’re going to cover all of that, not only today. We did a little bit of that yesterday. We started this four part series on the biblical right of self-defense, today will be part two, then we’ll pick up the last two parts throughout this week. And then Friday of this week, we’ll have one of our regular Good News Fridays.

My name by the way, is Rick Green. I’m a former Texas legislator and America’s Constitution coach, normally sharing the program here with David Barton, a great honor of my life is to work for the Barton family and be a part of this program. David Barton is America’s premier historian. I learned these things about self-defense and about the history of this from David has a Great primer on the Second Amendment, you can get today at wallbuilders.com. Be sure and check that out. It’s a great way to learn.

Frankly, everything we’re going to talk about this week is detailed in that little book, and just fantastic information, the Supreme Court decisions, the other court decisions, the things the Founders said about this, there’s so much great history there, and also great biblical perspective as well. And then Tim Barton, national speaker and pastor, he’s president of WallBuilders, also normally here with us, but David and Tim, of course, get the day off, because we’re sharing this presentation with you on the Biblical Right of Self-defense.

The American Story

And by the way, David and Tim Barton, they never take the day off, I don’t think so. Even when we’re not recording radio, they’re off speaking somewhere in the country, or doing TV programs, doing something to educate America. And I would encourage you to help support them and support us here at WallBuilders Live, because I tell you, there is so much truth needed in the culture today. 

And whether one of us is appearing on a national television program, or coming out with a new book, by the way, The American Story, we can’t even keep it in stock, you’ve got to get that book, wallbuilders.com today is where you can get the book The American Story, David and Tim’s new book. It’s a defense of the American story. It’s not just Pollyanna, it’s not just wave the flag and feel good about it. It tells the good, the bad and the ugly. But it makes it clear that the American story is unique in the history of the world, and absolutely phenomenal. Check that out at wallbuilders.com today.

But anyway, we were talking about the fact that these guys are always going, I’m telling you, speaking somewhere in the country, at a church, or a conference, sharing truth. And let me tell you, folks, the WallBuilders organization, I believe this, I’ve been with them 20 years, but I’m telling you, more impact on restoring and preserving the Constitution than any organization in America. 

And you know, you know, is under attack like never before. We need that truth to be taught. We need to reach as many people as we can. The training that WallBuilders does have legislators and pastors and young people and all these different things, that happens because of supporters just like you.

Now you may be saying, well, Rick, I’ve never supported WallBuilders. I’ve been listening for a long time and enjoyed the programming, but I’ve never contributed. Well, today, I’m asking you to do exactly that. A lot of you that are listening, you’ve been contributing for years, you do it on a monthly basis or once a year, you make a nice contribution. 

Join Us!

Every time you give $1 to WallBuilders, it makes it possible for us to reach more people, to put them through our Constitution classes, as I said to train pastors and legislators and young people, all of that happens because of people just like you. So thank you so much.

If you’ve been a donor in the past, thank you. If you haven’t, I would ask you to pray about that and consider going to wallbuilderslive.com today, making a one-time or monthly contribution, help us to grow this audience to reach more people. It’s a blessing to get to see how many people are impacted by the ministry of WallBuilders and it happens because of you as a donor.

So please consider doing that today at wallbuilderslive.com. While you’re there, if you’re just tuning in today and you missed yesterday’s program, you can actually get yesterday’s program on the website right now at wallbuilderslive.com, and that way, you can catch up, because we’re going to do a four part series here on the Biblical Right of Self-defense.

Let’s jump in where we left off yesterday. I’m going to take a quick break, when we come back from the break we’ll dive right back into Biblical Right of Self-defense, picking up where we left off yesterday. You’re listening to WallBuilders Live.

Moment from American History

This is Tim Barton from WallBuilders with another moment from American history. Many today assert that religion is something private, that it has no place in the public square and that it is incompatible with government. But the Founding Fathers believed exactly the opposite. They held that religion was absolutely necessary in order to maintain our free system of government.

For example, John Adams declared “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion.” And signer of the Declaration, Benjamin Rush, similarly affirmed “Without religion, there can be no virtue and without virtue, there can be no liberty. And liberty is the object and life of all republican governments.”

The Founding Fathers understood that limited government required public morality from the people, and that public morality was produced by the Christian religion. For more information about the Founding Fathers views on religion and public life, go to wallbuilders.com.

Rick:

Welcome back to WallBuilders Live. Thanks for staying with us. As I promised before the break, let’s dive right back in where we left off yesterday with the Biblical Right of Self-defense.

Biblical Right of Self-Defense

Since you mentioned voting, I heard several people over here say voting, so we did not let them know that was what they were supposed to say. Great job, you fed right into the next part of our presentation. Because you do, you have to vote, you got to pay attention. I know sometimes we say, oh, there’s nobody good to vote for, there’s no perfect candidate.

There’s never going to be a perfect candidate. Can I just tell you that? I have yet to find a candidate I agree with 100% of the time. I don’t even agree with myself 100% of the time. How am I going to find somebody out there, there’s never going to be a perfect candidate?

So you do the best you can with what you got where you are, and then you work hard to have better candidates next time. But we want to be engaged and involved every time. So that right to vote is extremely important to help us understand where that’s protected in the Constitution for every one of us and why it’s so important to do that in order to have the right to defend ourselves. Please welcome my baby girl who’s been making those headshots since she was 12 years old, by the way, Cameron Green.

Cameron:

Alright, guys, I am so excited to share this message with you all. I just want to start off by saying thank you for being here. I truly hope that when you leave this place this weekend, you are fired up to defend your family and your freedom.

So I’m going to get started by explaining the four amendments to our Constitution that actually protect our right to vote. You all ready? Yeah, okay. So the 15th Amendment protects our right to vote, no matter the color of our skin. Secondly, the 26th Amendment says you must be at least 18 years old to vote. That means I’ve got one more year to go. Amendment 24 protects your right to vote whether you’re rich or you’re poor.

An Amendment Vital for Women

Now, lastly, this is actually my personal favorite, is the 19th Amendment. This guarantees that we ladies have the same rights as the guys when choosing our leaders. Isn’t that good?  Now, speaking of the ladies right to vote, I’d also like to point out the importance of the lady Second Amendment right to defend. 

And then my brother Reagan, he shared a little bit about the history of the Second Amendment, and I’m always so glad to see men learning to use this right to defend their families. But if I could just emphasize that for us ladies, this right is sometimes even more critical, because, if we are ever caught in a bad situation, a firearm is often the equalizer for us.

Now, I hope that you are never in a bad situation where you have to use your firearm. But I hope even more that you are never in a bad situation where you don’t even have a firearm. So I just want to encourage all the ladies out there, whatever your age, come to Front Sight, get yourself trained and learn to defend yourself, it will be worth it. 

Because of this, whether we like it or not, we must consider the single inevitable, that there is evil in the world, and that leaves each of us with two choices. The one we make will determine our grit in the battle.

Will we sit down, or will we rise up? Will we cower in the corner, or will we stand in defense of the defenseless? Will we allow the unfortunate results of apathy and ignorance to rest upon us when the battle calls, because we have no idea how to use our weapons, because they feel uncomfortable in our hands, unused and unfamiliar, though they were given for a purpose? 

Or will we fight? Will we train for the task at hand preparing for the day that evil knocks on our door, but the evildoer is shocked to find that we are ready, willing, and able to use our weapons because we trained, because we knew we were strong, because we knew that there was a reason and a purpose to defend what was right? It’s not just a fight, it’s not just a fire a weapon, much better for all of the evildoer just stays away, but it is so we’re not caught off guard when the fight comes.

Rick:

Alright, folks, quick interruption here, we’re going to take a quick break. Then when we come back, we’ll jump right back in, you’re listening to WallBuilders Live, the Biblical Right of Self-defense this week.

Patriot Academy

Have you noticed the vacuum of leadership in America? We’re looking around for leaders of principle to step up and too often, no one is there. God is raising up a generation of young leaders with a passion for impacting the world around them. They’re crying out for the mentorship and leadership training they need.

Patriot Academy was created to meet that need. Patriot Academy graduates now serve in state capitals around America in the halls of Congress, in business, in the film industry, in the pulpit and every area of the culture. They’re leading effectively and impacting the world around them. Patriot Academy is now expanding across the nation and now’s your chance to experience this life changing week that trains champions to change the world.

Visit patriotacademy.com for dates and locations. Our core program is still for young leaders 16 to 25 years old, but we also now have a citizen track for adults, so visit the website today to learn more. Help us fill the void of leadership in America join us in training champions to change the world at patriotacademy.com.

Rick:

We’re back here on WallBuilders Live. Thanks for staying with us. Let’s dive right back into the Biblical Right of Self-defense.

Cameron:

It is our right, our responsibility, our duty to defend. This is about so much more than just becoming a great shot. It really is. Is more than just becoming freaking awesome with a gun and being able to put two in the thoracic cavity in 1.5 seconds, one in the cranial ocular if there’s a failure to stop.

A Just Cause

Okay, be honest, is anybody else feel super cool when they use these terms? Because I do. Thank you, Dr. Piazza. I mean, being able to do all of that is awesome, really impressive. But there’s more.

There’s a much deeper meaning to all of this, because this is a just cause. We’re given these hands to fight, these weapons to train our fingers with because there’s something that must be defended. Life is worth defending. Your life, your family, they are worth defending.

And if we do not pick up our arms, then who will defend them? Who will defend the ones who haven’t yet learned to fight, but evil has targeted?

Now some of my friends back home, they’ll say, but God is the avenger; He will protect us. Yes, God is a judge to the unjust, a defender for the innocent and the defenseless. But sometimes, sometimes he provides this defense through us. So we must learn to defend because life is precious, and it must be protected. So my question for all of us tonight is will we sit on the sidelines when we’re needed most? Will we sit down?

And I don’t say all of this to scare you. I say this to awaken you, to awaken the fighter in you, the defender in you. And the fact that you’re here tonight, that already tells me you’re ready, you’re willing and you’re able. And that’s why I’m so thankful that you’re here training to defend your families and those around you, but you’re also here to learn how to train to defend your rights and our Constitution because of this.

Our right to protect ourselves and our right to vote are both protected throughout the Constitution. So I beg you, do not waste these rights, but every chance that you get to vote, let your voice be heard and your values counted. And every chance that you get to train, you train hard.

Be like the sniper played in saving private Ryan where he would say “Blessed be the Lord my strength who teaches my hands for war and my fingers to fight.” So learn, train, and fight. It’s a worthy cause. Make the most of this weekend, guys. God bless you all.

Weapons On Campus

Rick:

That was awesome. Well done. You can maybe tell why we used to call them the queen and her subjects. Good job, baby girl. Alright. So look, she’s exactly right.

I mean, there’s so much about this that is a just cause and is absolutely necessary. And I do want to speak a little bit to the ladies, because you know, too often in our country, our government disarms people that need that defense the most.

Right here in Nevada, there’s the story of Amanda Collins, this happened right here in Nevada. And it was at, I think University of Nevada and she literally had her concealed weapons permit. She could have defended herself if the government had not disarmed her, but she was raped brutally in the parking garage, literally inside of the police cruisers and the police office that was there in that parking garage.

She said if I had been allowed to carry my weapon on campus, I could have stopped this guy. He raped and murdered others, after that was finally caught and convicted. Horrible story.

But a reminder that instead of government doing what it’s supposed to do protect our rights, too often government is preventing us from living out our rights, and putting people in danger, just like Amanda Collins. If you heard what Rhett said in his, he was talking about the fact that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.

So what’s the purpose of government? To protect our rights. Not to take them away, not to prevent us from being able to use them, like what happened to Amanda.

Mentally Equipped

That’s why this is so important for us not only to train to come here and get physically equipped and able to live out the Second Amendment, but also to understand the Second Amendment so that when we see it under attack, we can defend and protect it. So let’s go back to what Reagan was saying, well-regulated militia.

Now if you read this Second Amendment carefully, it would be great. I mean, I wish there was something very, very clear in the Second Amendment that this was the right of the people, not just like the military or something like that. I mean is too bad that they didn’t put a language in there that was very, very clear. But wait a minute, they did. How do we miss this?

See, people like to take the Constitution term, it get so confused, and it’s so difficult understand. It’s very simple. The Founding Fathers understood that…

Rick:

Alright, friends, we got to take another quick break, sorry to interrupt real quick. We’ll be right back, you’re listening to WallBuilders Live.

The American Story

Hey, guys, we want to let you know about a new resource we have at WallBuilders called The American Story. For so many years, people have asked us to do a history book to help tell more of the story that’s just not known or not told today. And we would say very providentially in the midst of all of the new attacks coming out against America, whether it be from things like the 1619 project, I’d say America is evil.

And everything in America was built off slavery, which is certainly not true or things like even the Black Lives Matter movement, the organization itself, not out the statement, Black Lives Matter. But the organization that says we’re against everything that America was built on, and this is part of the Marxist ideology. There’s so many things attacking America.

Well, is America worth defending? What is the true story of America we actually have written and told that story starting with Christopher Columbus, going roughly through Abraham Lincoln, we tell the story of America not as the story of a perfect nation of a perfect people. But the story of how God used these imperfect people and did great things through this nation. It’s a story you want to check out wallbuilders.com, The American Story.

Rick:

We’re back here on WallBuilders Live. Thanks for staying with us. Let’s dive back into the Biblical Right of Self-defense.

Rick:

They’ve made it simple for us. They made it easy to understand. The problem is it has been twisted over time. And so let me give you some of the twisting that has taken place over the last 15-20 years in our culture.

The Reason Matters

When Clinton and Gore were in office, they love running around the country and saying support our gun control measures. Don’t worry, bubble, we’re not going to take away your shotgun. That was their big mantra. Oh, you’re still going to be able to hunt. Folks, if you listen to those guys, you listen to the people that constantly use that excuse, we’re going to take away your this or your that, but you’re going to be able to hunt.

It’s almost as if they think the Second Amendment says a well-regulated pheasant hunt, being necessary to the security of duck dynasty, the right of the people to keep, bear arms shall not be infringed. But that’s not what it says. Right? It doesn’t have anything to do with pheasants. It has everything to do with freedom, not pheasants and not hunting. It’s about protecting ourselves.

But of course, they get it backwards. They tell us that we don’t even have an individual right to bear arms in the Bill of Rights, that the law abiding citizens, the law abiding Americans have no unconditional right to firearms access. The idea that the Bill of Rights guarantees each individual right to own a gun is a constitutional illusion, they tell us.

The sale manufacturer in possession of handguns ought to be banned, banned, I’m telling you. We do not believe the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep them. The Austin, un-American statesman says there is no constitutional guarantee for private ownership of firearms.

Now, this is the mantra out there and it is growing right now because of this response to the school shootings. Why does this even matter? Why does it matter whether it’s an individual right or a group right or law of nature that is yours or are something else? Why does that even matter?

There Is Evil in the World

And the reason it matters, friends, is because there is evil in the world. And the question is not whether or not evil exists, and whether or not it will be used to perpetrate crime. The question is how do we respond to that evil when it occurs? How do we reduce the level of school shootings and other crimes that happen in our country?

What do we do when the wolf is at the door? The real question is how do you best deter and minimize that evil? How do we respond whenever it turns into criminal violence?

I know some people out there say they just, you know, get rid of the guns. It’s the gun culture. It’s the fact that there’s too many guns available. Somehow this inanimate object is causing these things to happen. You have these guys like Bob Costas, they get on television and say the problem is the gun; if we just get the gun out of the equation, it wouldn’t happen.

In fact, he said brilliant things like this gun, it’s a gun culture that almost always leads to tragedy rather than safety. Far too often, bad things happen than things where the presence of a gun diminishes or averts danger.

He even said I cannot think of a single instance involving a professional athlete whereby that athlete having a gun averted or diminished a dangerous situation. Not even a single instance? I mean, I can throw a rock from my house to multiple instances, including Colt McCoy when he was the quarterback at the University of Texas before he was a professional quarterback, where a crazy stalker came to his house.

And, he had to use a brandisher weapon in order to stop this guy that had a gun from perpetrating a crime on Colt and his roommates. If you really dig hard, you can get the stories of a good guy with a gun stopping a bad guy with a gun over and over and over again.

The Maryland School Shooting

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Maryland School shooting that the media doesn’t want to talk about, because instead of this guy able to go and kill as many as he wanted, he was stopped by the good guy with a gun, the resource officer that was there. So we see that happen.

And of course, if you read the studies, John Lots got a great, professor of law did a whole study on how guns are used five times as often to stop a crime as they are used to commit a crime. So that means statistically, every time you take a weapon off the street, you’re actually might be stopping one, but now you’re allowing five others to actually take place. So the data backs this up.

And of course, the anecdotal evidence, even the Sutherland Springs incident that happened right there in Texas, the bad guy with the gun was stopped by Stephen Willeford, the good guy with the gun, an NRA instructor using what kind of weapon? An AR-15 to stop the bad guy with the gun. I loved watching the few interviews that this guy did, how humble he was. In fact, here’s what he said.

He said, I’m no hero, I’m not. I think my God, my Lord protected me and gave me the skills to do what needed to be done. I just wish I could have gotten there faster.

Now friends, you know, I could take out my 45 and lay it down here and we could all stand around it and hold hands and chant the rest of the night, but the gun is not going to shoot anybody. Right? It’s an inanimate object. We know this. History teaches us this. But now of course, we got this movement that’s going and we see–

You know, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart and these others saying they’re going to change and they’re actually going to restrict who they sell weapons to. And look, I’m a free enterprise guy. Hey, that’s their choice. If they choose to sell to certain people and not to other people, that’s a private entity. That is not government’s perfectly fine.

An Inanimate Object

What’s a little confusing to me, so actually put this meme on Facebook wondering about it, if Dixon Walmart can choose who they sell their goods to based on personal belief, why can’t Christian bakers and florist do the same thing? It’s kind of one of those things that makes you go, hmm, I don’t know, but that’s where we are. So look, there’s no doubt, the gun itself is not the problem. And we could spend all night going through all the stats and the other things that far more people are killed with and by than even a firearm.

I’m preaching to the choir here tonight, obviously. But there’s no doubt that it’s not the inanimate object. And of course, you know this right, guns don’t kill people. You know, it’s not people compete with Chuck Norris kills people, the other half of that is typically the, he’s a good Texan, so we tend to give him most of the credit on that.

The problem Chuck Norris is he supported me in my Supreme Court race. And if he’s got your phone number, this is what it looks like when he calls. He’s just answer, answer, there’s no deny. There is no denying Chuck. So that’s a bit of a problem.

But no, no, of course it’s not Chuck, you got it right. You know, guns don’t kill people, people kill people. The problem is if you take away the guns, what happens? We’ll find something else. Right? The exact same day that Sandy Hook happened, the exact same day, in China, crazy guy takes a sword, a knife and goes into a school kills and maims, almost the same number of kids as what happened in Sandy Hook.

Constitutional Defense Course

Rick:

Alright, friends, we are out of time for today. This has been part two of the Biblical Right of Self-defense. We will pick up on part three tomorrow when you tune into WallBuilders Live tomorrow. If for some reason you’re going to miss the program one day this week, it’s all going to be available at our website wallbuilderslive.com.

And by the way, if you’d like to enjoy this presentation live, then you can come with us to our Constitutional Defense course. Go to constitutioncoach.com, get signed up for one of our courses, we go about once a month. And it’s an incredible time of fellowship. It’s a COVID fascism free area, so you get to enjoy fellowship, see smiling faces. During the day, you learn how to defend yourself and your family with a handgun. Don’t worry if you’ve never…

Most of the people that come with us have never shot a gun in their life. So it’s a great training. These instructors are the best in the world. It’s incredibly safe, and they take you step by step. If you have shot your whole life, but you’ve never had any really professional training like this, I really encourage you to do that.

I was one of those people that had shot my whole life, but I’ve never had any real training, had my handgun license for 15 years and did not carry my firearm so I would not have been ready to defend my family in the moment if one of those lunatics had shown up at the Walmart we were in or restaurant or our church. But that changed when I did this training for the first time. And it’s very important for more and more Americans, law abiding citizens to get this train. That’s how you stop these mass murder events.

We need more sheepdogs, more law abiding citizens, prepared and equipped, trained, good guys and good gals with guns in every Walmart, in every shopping center, in every church and restaurant, you name it. And you can be one of those people that is ready and able to defend your family.

The Biblical Right Of Self-Defense – Part 2

I’ll tell you this, Constitutional Defense Course, too, it’s not only the fact that you get the handgun training, you’re able to defend your family. In the evenings, I do the Constitution training. We have just a wonderful time learning about the history of the country and what we can do to save the nation, save the Constitution, but also just a fellowship, getting to be around like minded folks across the country, finding out you’re not alone.

And I want to tell you that today, you are not alone. There are patriots all over this country that love God, that love country, that love the Constitution, and are working hard to restore it and to defend it. That’s a big part of it: that we’ve got to learn how to intellectually defend the Constitution. That’s why we do the Constitution training in the evenings at this Constitutional Defense course, because the intellectual ammunition is just as important as the physical ammunition.

We have to know how to defend the Constitution and how to restore these principles and you can be a part of that solution. Check it out today at constitutioncoach.com. We’ve got classes coming up and you can be a part of them, constitutioncoach.com. Thanks so much for listening today. Tomorrow, we will pick up for part three of the Biblical Right of Self-defense. You’ve been listening to WallBuilders Live.