We Are Living in EXTRAORDINARY Times | 4/6/26

Summary

Steve Deace Show Podcast Summary

Episode: We Are Living in EXTRAORDINARY Times | 04/06/2026
Host: Steve Deace (with Todd Erzin, Aaron McIntyre)
Network: Blaze Podcast Network
Air Date: April 6, 2026

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Overview

In this episode, Steve Deace and his co-hosts tackle the dizzying pace and gravity of current events both at home and abroad, declaring that Americans are indeed living through “extraordinary times.” The show digs into the “Easter miracle” high-stakes rescue of a downed U.S. airman in Iran, President Trump’s increasingly provocative rhetoric and political calculations, cultural currents of faith and masculinity, and looks ahead to the GOP’s very real 2026 “midterms” challenge. Steve and his guests wrestle with themes of Western and Christian identity, offer pointed critiques of political and religious leaders, and answer a wide variety of audience "Ask Me Anything" questions—from church purity to gender roles to the historic nuanced relationship between Christianity and Judaism.

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Key Segments and Insights

1. "What Happened While We Were Away" News Montage

(01:45–06:43)

• Easter Miracle Rescue in Iran

  • President Trump hails U.S. military rescue of a missing airman from Iran as an "Easter miracle."
  • The operation involved deception by the CIA, covert extraction, and the destruction of U.S. planes to prevent their capture.
  • Steve and Aaron frame this as not just a military triumph but also a humiliation for the Iranian regime.
  • Aaron: "Just an astounding story and a total humiliation for Iranian forces unable to locate an injured enemy combatant on their own soil." (03:09)

• Trump's Ultimatum to Iran

  • With heightened rhetoric, Trump threatens: "Open the strait you crazy bastards or you'll be living in hell. Just watch. Praise be to Allah. President Donald J. Trump" (03:35) — raising questions about foreign policy clarity and tone.

• Israel-Iran Tensions Escalate

  • Israel kills IRGC’s Chief Intelligence Officer; oil prices surge.

• Artemis II Moon Mission

  • Crew sets record for farthest humans from earth; astronaut Victor Glover offers a cosmic, faith-tinged reflection.
    • Glover: “As we are so far, far from Earth and looking back at the beauty of creation… I can really see Earth as one thing... this spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live…” (04:18)

• David Daleiden Exonerated

  • Final charges dropped against pro-life journalist after nearly a decade-long effort to silence Planned Parenthood exposés.

• Banter: The “Other Disciple outran Peter” Bible Joke

  • A lighthearted exchange over scriptural detail—why John mentions beating Peter to the tomb (06:08–06:34).

2. Extraordinary Times: Faith, America, and Western Values

(06:43–25:32)

• The Uniqueness of the Biblical Narrative
  • Steve: "Those sorts of nuances is how you know the Bible is real... the Bible leaves room for the imperfections of human nature. And that's how you know it's true. Because it's ultimately about a God who was fully man and fully God." (06:43)
• Astronaut Easter “Easter Eggs”
  • Steve believes astronaut Victor Glover’s remarks—about Earth’s specialness—are subtle pushbacks against secular astronomers (Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson) who say humans and Earth are insignificant.
  • “I think he is specifically… dropping Easter eggs... this is the kind of language that Mission Control would know. This is a dog whistle.” (10:25)
  • Todd: “There is nonetheless opportunity in almost every endeavor… to make the main thing the main thing and to smash idols wherever you can...” (11:50)
  • Aaron: Noting that select astronauts, across generations, instinctively see Earth as special and not an accident when gazing back from space. (12:44)
• Military Bravado & National Identity
  • Steve frames the Iran hostage rescue as not only a marvel of Western (Christian-rooted) values—leaving "none behind"—but also a litmus test for patriotism.
    • “If you don't have some of your residual 'hell yeah, America'... you probably just hate your country at this point.” (17:02)
  • The team debates the need to sustain this identity amidst skepticism of endless military adventures.

3. America, Iran, Trump, and Political Calculus

(25:32–31:25)

• Political Risks at Home

  • Steve’s concern: If the U.S. topples (or fatally weakens) Iran’s regime, then fumbles the midterms or domestic issues, the right will hand fuel to critics accusing them of caring more for Israel than for American problems.
  • “If you think it is very difficult pushing back on the antisemitism narrative on our side right now… [just wait if] we’re in the first quarter after getting annihilated in the midterms because we didn’t adequately address our own issues as a country.” (21:05)

• Finish the Job vs. Cut Losses

  • Steve argues it's better at this point to “finish the job”—neutralize the regime to prevent a future crisis—than cut and run, suffering greater political and international costs.

• Trump's Leadership and Messaging

  • Todd and Steve critique Trump's imprecise, sometimes confusing messaging—especially his ill-timed, unclear social media posts on Easter.
  • Todd: “That message... it was tone deaf being on Easter. And... your messaging has just got to be better on behalf of the American people. It has to be.” (26:16)

4. Midterms & the GOP Message with Bob Vander Plaats

(32:40–47:48)

Segment Highlights:

• GOP Needs a Positive Vision

  • Steve: “I don’t think we can hold serve in the midterms on just simply, ‘here’s how radical the Democrats are.’”
  • Bob: “We need to have a vision… a positive message. The 2026 election has to get beyond President Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson… just saying how bad it was in 2024. You have to give us another shot in 2026.” (35:37–37:48)

• Results, Not Excuses

  • The base and persuadable voters want proof of progress on pocketbook issues after years of promises on Iran, immigration, etc.
  • Vander Plaats: “Message real results. People need to start seeing oil prices drop… a safer America… things that are tangible results here versus saying, ‘Blame it on the Democrats.’” (41:21)

• Stop Wasting Political Capital

  • Steve objects to spending enormous energy on internal GOP fights (e.g., ousting Rep. Thomas Massie) instead of leveraging capital to advance substantive legislative priorities (such as judicial appointments and the SAVE Act).
  • “Getting your people appointed … is going to have way more to say [in] whether you’re just doing impeachment palooza all next year…” (43:30)

• Advice for Trump (If Asked):

  • Bob: “You’ve got to make America affordable again… kitchen table economics… they’re going, ‘I can’t afford the America that I’m in today.’… Get Epic Fury done. Make sure you win… then make America affordable again.” (46:38–47:46)

5. Ask Me Anything: Faith, Gender, and Church Q&A (53:52–97:32)

Sample of Questions Answered
(with timestamps)

• On Trump’s Behavior and Faith (53:52–56:23):
  • Steve: “Trump still makes me wince. Often.” But ultimately, it’s the policies that matter more than trolling or tone. “We can both simultaneously think there’s literally 97,000 other messages on Easter you could have given, bro, while at the same time thankful he’s president and not Joe Biden.”
• On Women in Church Leadership (59:32–61:31):
  • Steve: “I would not go to a church that has women teaching the church… most of the time a church puts a woman in this position, it’s not because she’s a uniquely gifted Deborah… it is because they are trying to exert their own feminist philosophy into the church.”
• On Sexual Purity Conversations with Sons (61:31–66:18):
  • Ongoing, honest conversation is key; adapt depth and timing to each kid.
• On Discipling New Believers (66:20–75:23):
  • The church’s main mission is to equip the saints (not seek the lost), via faithful, full teaching of Scripture and by instilling deep knowledge of Church history.
  • “The main vehicle of discipleship… is from the pulpit on Sunday morning where people are mass assembled.” (67:58)
• On Replacement Theology & Israel (81:44–92:49):
  • Steve explains historical nuance: Early church fathers and major Christian traditions vary widely; divorcing Christianity from Judaism is heretical.
  • “You cannot divorce Christianity from Judaism. Christianity’s MAIN argument is it is the fulfillment of everything Judaism pointed to.” (82:09)
• On Netflix and Ancient "Other Gods" (93:15–97:11):
  • Steve rebuffs the old claim that the Old Testament allowed for lesser gods; echoes New Testament exclusivity of Jesus as Messiah for all.
  • “Your Jewish friends need to know: there is not another Messiah coming. He already came.” (93:15–97:11)
• On Modern Singleness and Idolatry of Comfort (97:11–97:32):
  • Steve: “The first commandment God gives… is to go forth and multiply. This is paramount to the human existence… If you’re just so worth it that there’s nobody that measures up to you, that’s another form of idolatry.”

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Notable Quotes

• Steve Deace (On recognizing the Bible’s authenticity):

  • “It leaves plenty of room to entertain and display the imperfections of human nature. And that's how you know it's true.” (06:43)

• Aaron McIntyre (On astronaut awe):

  • “When they leave Earth, they look back and they say, ‘This is special. This is different.’” (13:48)

• Steve Deace (On U.S. identity & Christian roots):

  • “It is a precisely Western ideal that says the opposite. Where does that Western ideal come from? Well, it's not Western, it's Christian... It comes from our Lord who leaves 99 behind to find the one lost sheep.” (17:02)

• Todd Erzin (On masculinity and calling):

  • “That's the other side—we do not want to get so drunk on… [the idea] there’s nothing worth fighting for, there’s nothing worth dying for. Because that is idolatry of the first sort.” (19:35)

• Bob Vander Plaats (On Republican messaging):

  • "We need to have a vision. We need to have a positive message… people need to realize, and message, real results." (41:21)

• Steve Deace (On faithfulness and leadership):

  • "God is both imminent and transcendent. He is able to transcendently keep his covenants while imminently holding people accountable for their sins and mistakes at the exact same time." (56:32)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:02 – Show welcome, preview of topics
• 01:45–06:43 – Aaron’s news rundown (“What Happened While We Were Away”)
• 06:43–25:32 – Faith, American identity, Iran rescue, Western/Christian values
• 25:32–31:25 – Iran/Trump/political calculus, operation “Epic Fury”
• 32:40–47:48 – GOP midterms and party message (w/ Bob Vander Plaats)
• 53:52–75:23 – Ask Me Anything (Faith, church leadership, purity, discipleship)
• 81:44–97:32 – Ask Me Anything (Replacement theology, Israel, “other gods,” singleness)

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Overall Tone and Takeaways

• Principled Conventionalism with Snark: Steve blends analytical, sometimes humorous, sometimes stern insights with unapologetic Christian and conservative worldview.
• Candid About GOP Flaws: Sharp criticism toward Republican leadership for too often being reactive, obsessed with the “enemy,” or failing to “deliver results.”
• Unwavering on Christian/Biblical Orthodoxy: Stands firm against modern revisionism about faith, gender roles, or the relationship between Christianity and Judaism.
• Skeptical of Public Intellectuals' Bandwagoning (e.g., Tucker Carlson): Warns about trendy new “boogeymen” and hasty ideological shifts—both in theology and politics.
• Call to Courage, Results, and Historic Awareness: Whether for political action, church discipline, or everyday living, listeners are encouraged to “know your history,” finish what you start, and model their public and private lives on both historic and Biblical truths.

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This episode delivers a passionate, provocative call for both bold, principled action and serious, self-critical reflection—in faith, politics, and personal life—arguing that only by knowing (and living) what truly makes Western, Christian civilization unique can Americans meet the challenge of these ‘extraordinary times.’

Transcript

[Steve Day]

Spring Fest is happening now at Lowe's. Keep the spotlight on your yard with stay green premium 2 cubic foot mulch, 5 bags for $10. Plus when you want more help indoors, get up to 40% off. Select major appliances that help you supercharge your chores. Our best lineup is here at Lowe's, valid to 422 while supplies last. Selection varies by location. See lowe's.com for details. Mulch offer excludes Alaska and Hawaii. And Greetings. Happy Monday. Welcome to the Steve Day show here live and on demand on Blaze tv, radio and podcast. I'm Steve Dase alongside Todd erzin and Aaron McIntyre. Coming up on today's show, what exactly is the reelection message for Republicans in the midterms? We're going to discuss that at the bottom of the hour with our good friend Bob Vander Plaats. Next hour, your turn to ask me anything. How we look in Todd.

[Todd Erzin]

There's lots of anything.

[Steve Day]

So it's kind of a, a mishmash is kind of a goulash. A cornucopia, if you will. Yes, it is. I like that. All right, so we'll get through as many of those as we can and then what remains we'll do in the overtime today for Blaze TV subscribers at BlazeTV.com days. Use the code days for a discounted subscription today. But let's kick this thing off as we always do with Aaron's rundown of what Happened while we were Away what

[Aaron McIntyre]

happened while we were away Brought to you by an Easter Miracle President Donald Trump hailed the rescue of a missing US airman from a downed F15 in Iran as an Easter miracle after US forces recovered the second crew member following a high risk mission behind enemy lines. The rescue followed the downing of the F15, which triggered a multi day search operation inside Iran. US forces had already recovered the first crew member before locating the second, who had been missing in a mountainous terrain region as large numbers of Iranian forces searched the area. According to the New York Times, the CIA initiated a deception campaign to try to confuse Iranian forces and convince them the airmen had already been rescued and was moving out of the country in a ground convoy. In a final twist, after the weapons officer was rescued, two transport planes that would carry the commandos and the airmen back to safety got stuck at a remote base the US had set up within Iran. Commanders, according to the Times, decided to fly in three new planes to extract all the US Military personnel and the airmen and they blew up the two disabled planes rather than have them fall into Iranian hands. Just an astounding story and a total humiliation for Iranian forces unable to locate an injured enemy to them combatant on their own soil. In other news, President Trump set yet another ultimatum for Iran put the ocean in the basket. Whoops, wrong clip. Trump posted on Truth Social quote Tuesday will be power plant day and bridge day all wrapped up in one in Iran. There will be nothing like it. Open the straight you crazy bastards or you'll be living in hell. Just watch. Praise be to Allah. President Donald J. Trump those were President Trump's words on Truth Social after his announcement of the operation to rescue that stranded U.S. airman. Trump later clarified the deadline to reach a deal is 8pm on Tuesday Eastern time. Iran, whatever that means anymore, has reportedly rejected ceasefire talks, Israel eliminated IRGC's Chief Intel Officer and overnight strikes. IDF says Majid Kadami was effectively the second in command of the Revolutionary Guard. Oil prices continue ticking up the crew of the Orion spacecraft on the Artemis II mission will set a record today as being the furthest away from planet Earth any human being has ever been, eclipsing the record set by the Apollo 13 crew over 50 years ago. Artemis 2's mission will take the crew around the moon later tonight before returning course back towards Earth. Astronaut Victor Glover told media his perspective as he watched the Earth getting smaller and smaller on Good Friday.

[Steve Day]

As we are so far, far from Earth and looking back at the beauty of creation, I think for me one of the really important personal perspectives that I have up here is I can really see Earth as one thing and when I read the Bible and I look at all of the amazing things that were done for us who were created. You have this amazing place, this spaceship. You guys are talking to us because

[Todd Erzin]

we're in a spaceship really far from

[Steve Day]

Earth, but you're on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe, in the cosmos. Maybe the distance we are from you makes you think what we're doing is special. But we're the same distance from you. And I'm trying to tell you, just trust me, you are special in all of this emptiness. This is a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe. You have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together.

[Aaron McIntyre]

Final bogus criminal charge against David Daleiden and the center for Medical Progress has been dismissed and his case completely expunged. It's the final step in a victory for the pro life advocate who exposed Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry for selling dead baby body parts. The dismissal ends a nearly decade long Democrat led prosecution launched to silence his undercover videos that expose Planned Parenthood's dirty and grisly deeds. The dismissal fulfills the terms of a January 2025 settlement with California. They dropped all charges against Delighted and undercover reporter Sandra Merritt, and the agreement required no jail time, no fines, no admission of wrongdoing and no probation. The prosecution began under then California Attorney General Kamala Harris after Daleiden's 2015 videos were released. And finally, especially on Resurrection Day, everybody's thinking this when reading John 20. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter. What? And reached the tomb first. John, what are you writing that for?

[Steve Day]

The other disciple?

[Aaron McIntyre]

Yeah, John, you could just say your name. People know it's whom Jesus loves. Okay, we get it. Reached the tomb first. But John, why do you need to mention your faster?

[Steve Day]

Because it's accurate, Peter.

[Aaron McIntyre]

John, I'm an old man. Of course you're going to beat me there. Why are you trying to flex? Do you want me to bear false witness? I can't lie, Peter. I got there first. Just say we got there together. Did I get there first? It doesn't matter. Did I get there first? John, I got there right after you. I got to the tomb first. Are you going to deny this as well? Peter, John, I got there right after. You don't need to go there.

[Steve Day]

Peter. Listen, you're the rock.

[Bob Vander Plaats]

You're slower.

[Aaron McIntyre]

I got to the tomb first.

[Steve Day]

Let me just write that.

[Aaron McIntyre]

Why does it matter? Because the people need to know. Need to know what, John? That I'm faster than you and I got to the tomb first and that's what happened while we were away.

[Steve Day]

Here's the thing, those sorts of nuances is how you know the Bible is real. Because anything that was just constructed to be perfect and uniform, utilitarian, doesn't allow for that level of nuance or personality or imperfection within its own perfection. You see what I'm trying to say? I mean, you leave all that kind of stuff out because you're. I mean, grifters and scam artists give you margin to question their narrative. They come up with the absolute perfect scenario, narrative, outcome, situation for every one of your checks and suggestions or questions. The Bible leaves room for those kinds of things. And in the midst of its perfection, in the midst of its inerrancy, it leaves plenty of room to entertain and display the imperfections of human nature. And that's how you know it's true. Because it's ultimately about a God who was fully man and fully God. Genesis through Revelation that's what it's ultimately about. Aaron's montage brought to you by this new book here, an unholy alliance from Dr. Michael Youssef, who of course grew up in the Middle east and has a PhD now in cultural anthropology. He's been a prolific theologian, writer, preacher now for decades. He traces back over a thousand year history of cultural jihad, explains how it's now merging with what we now call the modern American left, the sort of the so called red green alliance revolution. That's what he gets into here in Unholy Alliance. Check it out now. Get your copy today available at Amazon or wherever books are sold. An Unholy Alliance How Progressivism brought an Islamist Invasion from our friend Dr. Michael Youssef. Check that out. All right, let's get to a couple of items in Aaron's montage that I want to tackle. First of all, Victor Glover, the astronaut. I had not heard of him prior to this mission, so I can't say this for sure, but I don't think that he is, that he is using some of the terminology that he is using. I don't think it's coincidental that you're special, that our place in the universe is special. I think I'm picking up what he's laying down and I think these are Easter eggs. Arguably the most famous astronomer in American history is Carl Sagan. Sagan's book Contact was turned into a major motion picture when you and I were teenagers with Jody Foster and a very young Matthew McConaughey. He had a very popular television show. I think it was called Nova, if I remember correctly. Is that what Sagan's show was called, Nova?

[Todd Erzin]

I think so.

[Steve Day]

On public television for decades. I remember Nova.

[Aaron McIntyre]

Yeah.

[Steve Day]

All right. And didn't the show start with the universe is all there, is all there was and all there ever will be, or something along those lines.

[Aaron McIntyre]

That was Cosmos.

[Steve Day]

Cosmos, was it? Okay, thank you. And, and, and he was famous for the phrase pale blue dot. That was Carl Sagan's favorite phrase. And this idea that there's really nothing special about the Earth, nothing special about her inhabitants whatsoever, just a pale blue dot in the vastness of the universe. I do not think it's a coincidence at all that the guy who. Isn't he the captain? Isn't he the lead pilot of this mission?

[Todd Erzin]

He's the pilot.

[Steve Day]

He's the pilot. He's not the one that the guy piloting us further into deep space than humanity as far as we know has ever gone before. I don't think It's a coincidence, especially over Easter, that he is using this language. And I think he is specifically. This is an Easter egg man. Okay? I think that he's dropping Easter eggs. And this is the kind of language that a lot of people at Mission Control would know this language. Sagan's work, Sagan, was to give for you young people. He was kind of the proto version of Neil DeGrasse Tyson in our. When we were kids and growing up, he was all over network tv. He was on panels and stuff like that. Now, media is not as profligate as it was as it is today under Neil DeGrasse Tyson, but we all. We've all would have seen his videos in public schools. Growing up, he was a celebrity astronomer in America. And I think Victor Glover is checking him live here on that spaceship over Easter. I don't think that's a coincidence at all. I think the language that he is using is a very specific dog whistle within kind of his own ecosystem and subculture that he comes out of. So I wanted to make a point of that before we got to the other big topic I want to talk about. You guys have any thoughts on that really quick?

[Todd Erzin]

I hope you're right. Because whether it's an actual spaceman in a tiny capsule floating around in space on Easter or the rest of us living our far more pedestrian lives. Lives, there is nonetheless opportunity in almost every endeavor. Whatever issue comes up to do something similar to make the main thing the main thing and to smash idols wherever you can, large or small. And that kind of Easter egging is one way of doing that. Taking a paradigm that has dominated and trying to reset it with whatever opportunity you have.

[Aaron McIntyre]

Yeah, it's kind of reminiscent of. Is it Jim Lovell, the. The astronaut who passed away last year, reading Genesis as they departed and having the same. I mean, what does it say, though? What does it say? Astronauts are 1% of 1% of 1% of 1%. Astronauts who leave low Earth orbit are 1% of 1% of one percent of 1% of 1% of. You get the idea. Very small groups select group of people. And now there's two from two different generations. Their first instinct, their first takeaway. As they see the Earth getting smaller and smaller and smaller, their first instinct is what? Holy cow, this is special. This is not random. This is not an accident. That's their first instinct. That's their first reaction takeaway. I just think there's something interesting about that from a very select small group of people out of all of humanity. And when they leave Earth, they look back and they say, this is special. This is different. I don't know, something that makes you

[Steve Day]

go, all right, let's get into Iran. And the latest on that. This mission that was done to rescue this second fighter in Iran yesterday, this is the stuff of movies. I mean, this is like a movie script. I mean, the amount of subterfuge, I mean, went down.

[Aaron McIntyre]

Went down on. On Good Friday.

[Steve Day]

Right.

[Aaron McIntyre]

Rescued on Easter Sunday.

[Steve Day]

Right. At some. On some level, the locals had to play in to concealing his identity. On some level. Right. Had to. Yep. I mean, this level of crash and everything else. And then we blew up some of our own equipment so that the Iranians could not have it and try to, you know, reverse engineer it, retcon it, etc. I mean, this is. This is literally the stuff of movies. And it's the kind of thing that. I mean, I don't care how much you didn't want to do this. And I think I made it pretty clear I wasn't all that enthused about the idea going in. Right. Didn't I make that pretty clear? Okay.

[Todd Erzin]

Yeah.

[Steve Day]

Wasn't, like, high in my priority list for 2026. Right. But this is, if you want to know. Okay. Who. Just because there's a lot of discussion right now on our side about this Alexander Dugan guy. And here's the reason I have not talked about him all that much on our show. I kind of think most things when someone comes out of nowhere, both for and against my belief system. When someone comes out of nowhere, I have a tendency. These guys can just tell you I'm not big on. This is just like a sudden boogeyman, you know? I mean, did you ever heard the name Alexander Dugan all that much, like, even a year or two ago? No, no. But he seems to be kind of, like, everywhere, not, like, all of a sudden. Okay. And. And I'm not. I'm not here to play Alexander Dugan's press agent. Right. I. I think the idea that he's controlling all of these figures, like Tucker and Candace, who have multimillion dollar empires all on their own that they built, I think is a little silly, frankly. Not that I don't think his ideas are awful, because for the most part, I do. And he's an admitted occultist, but I. I think sometimes we have a tendency. It's. Why when you guys ask me labels like, well, Steve, what theological camp are you in? And I always tell you, just ask me a question. What do I think? Don't ask me what camp I'm in. I, I think we have a, a tendency as a species to get fixated on personalities and labels because we are flesh dwelling beings and we need something kind of physical, tangible to hold on to, to grasp, you know, and we have a tendency to maybe blow, you know, these things way out of the water as either saviors or boogeymen. In both cases, we can turn things both positively negatively into idols, right? Yes. All right. Here's the other thing too. I can turn my disdain for that into an idol as well and sometimes miss things that, that I, that maybe I should acknowledge because I have a tendency to just dismiss it if I didn't know about it or it hasn't been long simmering. Then is it really a, is it really a thing if it's just, you know, showed up on Twitter six months ago? Right. Okay, but how do you kind of know who's just really skeptical overall after the failures of Middle east adventurism for a generation? And then who is actively rooting against America? I think kind of this, this hostage operation or not, I'm sorry, this rescue operation after this downed American pilot. I think this is kind of your litmus test for something like that. Right? Like, if you don't have in your DNA somewhere some of your residual hell yeah, America. If, if you don't have like three seconds for that after a mission like this, then you probably just hate your country at this point. I'm comfortable saying that. Like, if your overall skepticism is to the point that you cannot individually marvel at the level of precision, skill, and devastating effectiveness it took to rescue one of our own, and then what it says to the world, the expense that we will spend to leave no man behind. Because the utilitarian ethic says, well, the good of the many. I weigh the good of the fewer, the one leave him behind. Why would we risk all of this for that? Right. It is a precisely Western ideal that says the opposite. Where does that Western ideal come from? Well, it's not Western, it's Christian. We just took, we just put the title Western on it in order to make it more palatable. But it comes from our lord who leaves 99 behind to find the one lost sheep. That math doesn't work in the natural, does it? Right. No. Only works in the supernatural. And so I think everything about this, if you are at the point that you can't for a second have some like, residual in your American DNA, like, hell yeah, then you probably just hate your country at this point.

[Aaron McIntyre]

Yes. Thoughts yes, we're doing we the stuff of movies over a three day period. the same time we're slingshotting human beings around the moon.

[Steve Day]

But Tucker's telling us the American empire is crumbling.

[Aaron McIntyre]

We're living in extraordinary times. And yeah, that doesn't automatically mean that the economy is just great. That doesn't automatically mean that Republicans are gonna win in the midterms. That stuff may all go to pot. This entire country next year may go to hell. I don't know that. But in this moment, if you can't just appreciate those things, I got nothing for you.

[Todd Erzin]

There's the picture that's been around after he's rescued and on the helicopter and he's holding a flag and they're all smil. That's AI it is AI. Yeah, that's okay. I haven't shared it. I just saw it on there.

[Steve Day]

That's damn good. AI for the record. Go ahead.

[Todd Erzin]

Yeah, yeah, the points.

[Steve Day]

That's the kind of AI slop that we are looking for. Darn it. Go ahead.

[Todd Erzin]

Yes, the point stands about the. The kind of man. There's a flip side to the sending other guys sons to war. Steve, you said, you know, Ukraine don't want my son fighting for that. There is a flip side to that. That makes your point as well about being too. Turning things into idols. There are men, and there have always been men, but we have fewer than perhaps ever before because of the culture we've created of softness and comfort. To Aaron's point, there are men who want to find whatever that edge is where. Where. Where transcendence is, where God is. And yes, that brings life and death into stark contrast. The possibility of losing my life. And perhaps it's because the greatest love is this he who lays his life down for his friend. But all of that, putting all those cards on the table to be an astronaut, to be a soldier fighting for a righteous cause, that's the other side we do not want to get so drunk on. These wars have been so poorly fought, so poorly chosen, that there's nothing worth fighting for, that there's nothing worth dying for. Because that is idolatry of the first sort where we just lock ourselves into this cocoon of comfort and never dare to challenge ourselves as men. And quite frankly, because we won't be those men. That's why we get a lot of the women we get. If they saw more men like that, they wouldn't be the women.

[Steve Day]

They might go back to factory default settings. Yes, in fact, I would actually say if you were concerned that we were kind of losing our own identity as Americans by getting involved in another Middle Eastern, you know, adventure. And I don't fault anybody for that at all, by the way. I would think you'd be even more. More prone to be like, all right, for a second here. I gotta celebrate this because this is what we did over the weekend. It's just uniquely American. It's uniquely Christian, it's uniquely Western. It's just the combination of American bravado, Western Christian values, American skill and precision and bravery and courage. At the very least, we're not losing our identity as a people via Operation Epic Furor. You should at least take some heart in that. Now, let me share, though, with you the flip side of this, because this is what, this is my great concern about how this is all going to go. And, and I'm going to say it now because I don't want this to be the case. And I'm hoping anyone within the sound of my voice who works anywhere within the Republican Party nationally or in Washington, D.C. who, for reasons that I can't even contemplate, would take my opinion seriously. If you're. If you're one of those people, maybe you need to go make sure you're seeing a licensed mental health professional. But if you are taking my. My opinion seriously for whatever reasons. All right, Blind squirrel, acorn, whatever you think. All right, here's the scenario that cannot happen, okay? If you think it is very difficult pushing back on the anti Semitism narrative on our side right now. And now. And now we have Tucker just openly saying that the Persians were the victims of Esther, by the way. So just Purim and an entire book of the now he gets. This is just full Marcion. We're just going to completely divorce the Old Testament from the New and completely divorce Judaism from Christianity in every way, shape or form. But if you think these voices have some momentum now, what I'm about to say next cannot happen, because it'll be even harder. What cannot happen is a year from now, Israel's mortal enemy, Iran, is mortally wounded, if not outright toppled. And we're coming out, we're in the first quarter after getting annihilated in the midterms because we didn't adequately address our own issues as a country. And all we're doing is just talking impeachment palooza every single day this time next spring because we lost 50 House seats in the United States Senate. If you're concerned now about the narrative of we care more about Israel than ourselves, that outcome cannot possibly occur. So then what is the solution? The solution is, at this point, we're this far into this operation. In my opinion, maybe you guys will disagree and I'll ask you. I think we'll take way more of a political hit for leaving too early and having this regime reassert itself six to 18 months from now, and then have to go back to the American people a third time under Trump and say they're close to a nuclear weapon. We have to act. I think. I think the political hit we'll take for that is way worse than just absorbing another few weeks of bad polling. I mean, the polling sucked going into this for us. I mean, who cares at this point? You know, we're judgment proof on polling. Just take another bad few weeks of polling and just do whatever is possible to make it that the. That even if we can't outright topple the regime without a massive invasion, which I'm not in favor of, then do everything it can so that within the next couple of years, like, it's Chernobyl, like the. Every office building, every square piece of real estate in Iran where the high command may reside, is so radioactive and so targeted and so leveled and devastated, they can't come out for, like, three years. Like, finish the job to some degree. At this point, we've taken on so much bad polling and everything else, the dumbest thing we could do now, I think, is prematurely leave thoughts.

[Todd Erzin]

I think that might be right. I am open to that. But here we are yet again. I think this is the third time I've set this premise, and it's just become more clear to me since Easter. I am less clear ultimately, what the point is in Donald Trump's mind as every day goes by. And that becomes only more clear to me when he has that post that Aaron put in his montage. I mean, Pope Francis called and said, that's kind of confusing. I don't know what you're talking about, Willis. An Easter of all days.

[Steve Day]

Listen, my guess is he's trolling them with the uplaw stuff.

[Todd Erzin]

No, no, it's Easter. That message.

[Steve Day]

Well, you're assuming Donald Trump ever puts. Ever puts anything ahead of himself and his own thoughts and his place in the universe. Don't make that assumption, but go ahead.

[Todd Erzin]

Well, if we're gonna. I have to make assumptions that if he's going to do this and run against his base and going back to putting US Armed forces in harm', it's not going to be that level. I mean, that was just nonsense. I'm not under any illusions I don't think Donald Trump is a Christian. I think we need to think of him as like an old Roman emperor talk. Hey, all your gods are groovy. If this was on any other day than Easter, I may be able to make more sense of it. But it was tone deaf being on Easter. And he's got. If we're going to do what you're suggesting, which tactically, I can wrap my brain around that math, your messaging has just got to be better on behalf of the American people. It has to be.

[Steve Day]

I don't disagree with that. So, Aaron, I'll bring the second part of this equation to you, since we're short on time, when this is over, as much as we can, within the limits of what our constitutional republic will provide, we have to be every bit as ruthless in pursuing our own agenda for the American people as we have been in pursuing the defeat of the Iranian regime. We have to. We cannot fight Iran harder than our own enemies here at home. That just cannot happen. It just can't. And if we don't do that, the scenario I fear a year from now, when all we're doing is impeachment and Israel is a bustling metropolis of rebound and flourishing economy because we lost 50 House seats and everything else. We can't do that. We just can't. I'm sorry, we can't.

[Aaron McIntyre]

No. And we'll see. I mean, I think an indicator of whether or not that's going to go to the left or to the right in terms of, you know, the Bible. Speaking of left or right, not our political left or right, is the appointment of the Attorney General. Whoever Trump chooses to be the next Attorney General, that's going to be indicative of that. But I do agree, the political calculus, we're now baking in probably months of disruption. We just are. So it would be foolish now, tomorrow to just leave if we're not totally sure that we've done everything we can do. The big question that I have, what is Iran now? Who is Iran? Iran rejects ceasefire. Who did that?

[Steve Day]

Exactly.

[Aaron McIntyre]

Who I mean is, I think, basically Iran's power projection. They just have IRGC along the straits of Hormuz, and they're not really irgc, they're more like the Houthis in Yemen and the Mandeb, the Al Mandeb Straits on the other side of the.

[Steve Day]

Of.

[Aaron McIntyre]

Of the peninsula there. So I don't know what Iran is. It's just going to be. I think it's going to be a long, slow operation. If this is part of the plan. To reopen the straits. But I really do not know for sure what what Iran is at this point.

[Steve Day]

Well, now, now that we're here and we've taken on this much political water already. What cannot happen is four to eight months from now, four to seven months from now. The election is seven months from tomorrow, four to seven months from now. We cannot have this regime coming out of a spider hole and causing chaos in the world or carnage in the world, because then we didn't finish the job. We took on all this political calculus and capital for nothing. You see what I'm saying? Then it was just a complete waste. It's the equivalent of I worked out all week, I did this for weeks, and then I just decided I was just going to eat nothing but sugar for the next month. Well, then you just. That was stupid. All the workouts you did before that you put yourself through, all the punishment you put yourself through, you did it for nothing. And then at the same token, we have to, when this is done, we have to put the same level of relentlessness on our own issues and our own problems and getting our own agenda enacted and bettering the American people's lives as we have in decimating the Iranian regime. More in a moment Foreign. 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting four hours or more, can make me feel like a spectator in my own life. Botox Anabotulinum toxin a prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine. It's not for those with 14 or fewer headache days a month. It's the number one prescribed branded chronic migraine preventive treatment Prescription Botox is injected by your doctor. Effects of Botox may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. Alert your doctor right away as difficulties swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems or muscle weakness can be signs of a life threatening condition. Patients with these conditions before injection are at highest risk. Side effects may include allergic reactions, neck and injection site pain, fatigue and headache. Allergic reactions can include rash, welts, asthma symptoms and dizziness. Don't receive Botox if there's a skin infection. Tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions including als, Lou Gehrig's disease, Myasthenia gravis or Lambert Eaton syndrome and may medications including botulinum toxins as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. Why wait?

[Todd Erzin]

Ask your doctor.

[Steve Day]

Visit botoxchronicmigraine.com or call 1-844botox to learn more. We are happy to be doing another year of this partnership with Preborn because you guys have been so generous after the last few years of this partnership, because for as little as $28, you could provide the ultrasound that saves a child's life as soon as today. $140 might save five babies today, I would argue also may save mama's soul, because I do think it does a unique, a unique diminishing of our, of our souls when we murder our own offspring. And that's sometimes why you've seen some of God's harshest disciplines against his people when they have collectively engaged in this kind of behavior. So let's keep this going. You can make your tax deductible donation today to the five star charity known as Preborn and as simple as. Preborn.com Steve that's it. Every dollar goes to help save babies. Preborn.com Steve, head over there today. Head over to Preborn.com Steve let's welcome in our good friend Bob Vander Plaats. Good to see you, brother. How are you?

[Bob Vander Plaats]

I'm doing really well. Good luck to you tonight. And the Big Ten and Michigan should be a fun ball game, but I don't see anybody stopping them now.

[Steve Day]

Well, I appreciate that. Our league has not won the NCAA men's tournament since 2000. No, we hadn't won the women's tournament since 1999, but our league won that yesterday.

[Bob Vander Plaats]

That was a blowout.

[Steve Day]

Are we, are we counting ucla? I know, I know they're in the league, but isn't this still just odd?

[Bob Vander Plaats]

It is odd, but they won and they're Big Ten, so.

[Steve Day]

Okay.

[Bob Vander Plaats]

Okay.

[Steve Day]

All right. So we have arguably the greatest program of the 21st century so far. UCONNs won, what, six national championships since 1999. And if you look at the metrics on places like Ken Palm, we might be the best team in the 21st century. So these two things are going to collide tonight. It should be something. No doubt about it.

[Bob Vander Plaats]

The best team wins.

[Steve Day]

Well, that usually happens when elections take place as well. It's usually not necessarily the most correct team or the most moral team, but the best team, the one that executed its message, first of all, found the right message and then executed that message into what mobilized voters usually wins. Right. And one of the things. Here's. So I wanted you and I to discuss, what messaging are we running on this year? I mean, the midterms are seven months from tomorrow. All right? And I don't believe that there's a reason why the party in presidential power almost always loses midterm elections or is lucky to even get a stalemate. And the Reason why is because when you're running in an executive election, like governor or president, you are affirmatively choosing one of two people that you have that, that you size up individually and often determining how much do I really want to look at this person on my screen for the next four years? Right. But when, when you get to, when you get to off year or mid year or midterm elections, a lot of times you don't have to do that. And if you just don't like something or the direction of something, you don't even have to consider who the guy running against your congressman is because you're, you're typically voting to send a message to the person that sits in the White House. That's kind of the face of all of this, one way or the other. Right. And that's worked in our favor. It worked in our favor against Bill Clinton, it worked in our favor against Barack Obama. It's worked in their favor against Donald Trump, and the polls are showing it may work in their favor again. And so it is. If you look at the one midterm election that Republicans have won in modern times with a Republican president, it was George W. Bush coming out of 911 with an affirmative view of how we should now defend our country after 9 11. Right. So I don't think we can hold serve in the midterms on just simply, here's how radical the Democrats are. I think we'll, we'll more mobilize our base than it currently is, but I don't think that's gonna be enough to win. Let's start with that point first. Agree or disagree?

[Bob Vander Plaats]

Well, I definitely agree. Matter of fact, I go back to the last election, 2024. And in 2024, you had the Biden administration, Kamala Harris, you had a just complete crap show, so to speak, on that side. Not only was it incompetent, and the people of this country were seeing incompetence at every step of the way as they watched their tv, but they also saw their agenda as crazy. And you combine crazy and incompetent. You're like, why would I go there? But with President Trump. And President Trump is arguably probably 21st century's best spokesperson, best candidate out there to mobilize, energize people. And he's given a message of common sense. He's also exposing the crazy and the incompetence. But he's saying, you know, come back with me. We're going to end these wars. We're going to do all this on day one. But he had a very positive message that would unite Americans around that campaign. We don't see that today. Matter of fact, when I take a look at it, I think, as Steve, you and I have talked about before, on the national level, seems like we're divided on about everything. State levels were divided on about everything. And the Democrats, in my opinion, especially in our home state of Iowa, they're united on one big thing. They're letting all their things that divide them kind of filter away. The one big thing that they're focused on is winning. We need to win. And so that's why they're staying united. And I think I told you this about our own governor's race in the state of Iowa. You know, we need to have a vision. We need to have a positive message. Rob Sands out there giving his agenda. Whether you like it or not, he's at least giving you an agenda. And I believe the 2026 election has got to. Has to get beyond President Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, John Thune, whoever else saying how bad it was in 24, and now at least give us another shot in 2026. I think that people are paying higher gas prices at the pump, at the grocery store. They are completely underwater with this war in Iran. And so there's a lot of things that are dividing people. To say that I'm energized to go vote in the midterm election.

[Steve Day]

Right? Because if you're not gonna fix the things that you supposedly were gonna fix that won you the last election, then just running on how crazy everybody else is, sure won't work, at least not to the critical mass of voters you need. Because the obvious retort is, well, when you had the power to do anything about this, what did you do? Right? And, hey, those of us who work in this arena for full time, we're well aware of what Trump's up against, Congress and everything else with his own party.

[Bob Vander Plaats]

And we also know the long play. There's a lot of long plays here. The problem is the American people isn't in a long play to immediate satisfaction. What have you done for me lately?

[Steve Day]

Right? And on one hand, you can't on one hand, go to the electorate and say, well, we were gonna get these things done for you, but I didn't have enough, you know, Republican support in Congress. Well, you had majorities. Why would that not be enough support? Well, you need more of the. So you need more of the very people that didn't do what you wanted the first time. It doesn't. On the other hand, it doesn't. You're trapped. And so here's what, here's what I think needs to happen. And get your take on this one. We're taking on now so much political liability. The polling on this thing with everybody outside of the most hardcore Trump voter. The polling on the Iran thing has tanked in the last week or two. People are tired of it. At this point, though, I would actually say, barring an invading force on the ground, stay as long as it takes. Now, at this point, you cannot have the Iranian regime come back in four to six months and then you go to the American people a third time and say, well, guys, we had to go back. You can't do that.

[Bob Vander Plaats]

Cannot do it.

[Steve Day]

If you were going to go in at all, you have to do something now that makes it very clear that they are Chernobyl to some degree. All right, that's step one. Otherwise all of this political liability we took on for Epic Fury will mean will be pointless.

[Bob Vander Plaats]

Right.

[Steve Day]

Number two, when we come home, there needs to be a clear level of relentlessness in terms of messaging and execution from this White House and the Republicans. On the domestic front, as we have seen on Operation Epic Fury, we cannot be seen. If you're worried about certain forces like Tucker and Candace demoralizing our voters, you cannot hand them the talking point. We fought harder for Israel than we did our own country. You can't just hand them that talking point. You can't do that. So whatever, short of the max of what the Constitution will not permit you to do, do everything else as ruthlessly as you possibly can to advance your own agenda on the domestic front, to relieve, to make the American people feel like they are a priority again. Those two things, I think are the first step, first two steps anyway, into turning around the direction of things. But what are your thoughts?

[Bob Vander Plaats]

Well, there's a couple things there. First of all, how did we get here? And there's leadership axioms on. One of the leadership axioms is under promise but over deliver, meaning when you're casting a vision for something under promise, over deliver on the results. Steve, when we went into Epic Fury, the first thing we heard was, this is going to be like a two week war. Two weeks in, out, done. We're going to decimate them. And we got it done. That two, two to three weeks turned into another two to three weeks. Looks like it's going to turn into another two to three weeks and the people are just kind of tired. But it's because it was over promised and not saying it was under I mean our, our military has been phenomenal here. Israelis intelligence has been phenomenal here and what they have done. But the problem is we were never getting out in two to three weeks. But we cast that vision. We're getting out two to three weeks now. What we need to do, say, okay, we went in and we went in back in June, remember when we bunker bombed them. Now we're in again. But this time you have got to finish it. You have completely to decapitate it. You have to open up the Strait of Hormuz right away. People need to start seeing oil prices drop. What they're paying at the gas pump go down. They need to see a safer America, not a more dangerous America. Regarding international travel as well as being here at home. Those are things that they need to realize. And message, yes, but message, real results. See what you're paying at the gas price at the gas pump today, it's no longer 380 a gallon, but it's down to 242 a gallon. That's a result. You see, what we did is we decapitated this evil regime. The entire, the entire Arab world who doesn't really even like Israel. They're excited about it. Israel is excited about it. We are a safer world today. And that's why these international flights have opened up. But there's got to be things that are tangible results here versus saying blame it on the Democrats. Because, Steve, you're exactly right. The American people are smart enough to know that you had a trifecta here, a trifecta here to move the agenda the way you wanted to move the agenda. Now you need to be able to claim results and then cast a new vision by why they want to stay with you.

[Steve Day]

But that means we got to get some results.

[Bob Vander Plaats]

You have to get results. Especially when it comes to Iran.

[Steve Day]

We, we have got to, I mean, we have to negotiate with John Thune and leverage John Thune with at least some of the aggression that we have leveraged foreign entities like Iran. I mean, we just have to. And we have to. And the amount. There needs to be way more political capital by this president and this White House and this political team. Way more political capital expended on moving John Thune than trying to get rid of Thomas Massie in a, in a congressional primary.

[Bob Vander Plaats]

No question.

[Steve Day]

And I'm not a libertarian guy, by the way. I've known Congressman Massie for years. I love him to death. Don't agree with him all the time, but I love him as a human

[Bob Vander Plaats]

being, a great guy.

[Steve Day]

But but the reality is he still votes with the president, like, 91% of the time. So the amount of capital that is being expended in energy to get rid of him, when in reality it's John Thune has 84 appointments to the federal bench and to the federal government that, as we head into the halfway point of the second year of the Trump presidency, still hasn't, still has gotten approved the SAVE act and everything, which is the number one legislative priority of our base. All right. The amount of capital being expended on Thomas Massie compared to moving an agenda through the United States Senate. I'm sorry. And I, I could. You know, I can say this, because my, my paycheck doesn't rely on, on Donald Trump or the 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. All right, So I don't, I don't have to just take a crap sandwich and then go message it to people if I don't believe in it. Yeah, right. This is a terrible expenditure of political capital.

[Bob Vander Plaats]

Horrible.

[Steve Day]

And, and the, and, and, and getting an agenda passed and getting your people appointed to their positions to enact your agenda is going to have way more of a say whether or not you're just doing impeachment palooza all of next year, then whoever the hell, whichever Republican represents Thomas Massie's district does. That's just a personal ax to grind. That, and I get it, he's provoked you the whole step of the way. You just. We don't have time for this. Right. We have to get our agenda passed. Way too much capital being expended on crap like that.

[Bob Vander Plaats]

I totally agree with Thomas Massie, but take a step back. Think about this for a second. As much as there was applause and cheers from the base when Kristi Noem got replaced, she got terminated. She's going to a different level of government. This whole deal with Corey Lewandowski, this Homeland Security stuff, it's over. We're putting adults back in the room. People cheered that. And then you get to look at Pam Bondi. You know, you're not prosecuting anybody. Nobody's going to jail. The Epstein file collapsed, the whole deal. So Pam Bondi steps down and people cheer that. Can you imagine if President Trump put the political capital to say, we're removing John Thune. John Thune's done. Take another vote. You guys can vote anytime you want on who your leader is. Get rid of John Thune. If he's not going to advance the SAVE act, if he's not going to do the very things that we're asking the Senate to do, like get my judicial appointments confirmed and put somebody in there, like a Ted Cruz or whoever you name the rock star senator you want, but put somebody in there that the whole world knows it's a new day and you put your political capital on that. Thune cannot be allowed to play these games anymore because you're right, the SAVE act, that's a big deal for our base. If this can't get passed, I'm not sure how you're going to motivate them to go to the polls in the midterms.

[Steve Day]

So I've got about two minutes here. The President called you tomorrow and said, hey, we're getting ahead of the. We're getting ahead of this and what the domestic messaging and everything is going to be once Operation Epic Fury wraps up here in the next 30 days or so. Right. What would you say?

[Bob Vander Plaats]

I would say you got to make America affordable again. There are too many of the middle class to say even below middle class. They can't afford anything today.

[Steve Day]

And those are his voters, by the way.

[Bob Vander Plaats]

And this is a PhD.

[Steve Day]

The white collar people are not voting for Trump. It's the people you just described.

[Bob Vander Plaats]

This is a real deal. They're going to their gas pump today, and this is hurting them. What used to cost me 40 bucks now cost me $62. That's a big deal when I go to the grocery store or if I can afford that new home or if I can get that new home loan. You need to make America affordable again. So it's the kitchen table economics, right? They get around the kitchen table, they're going, we are way better off under a President Trump. But things have got to get resolved quickly. Right now, they're getting around that kitchen table. They're going, listen, I can't afford the America that I'm in today. And I think we're a more dangerous America than we were because of all the narrative going around the Iran war. Those things aren't helping. Get Epic Fury done. Close out this deal that I ran. Make sure you win, make sure you're successful, that this doesn't linger ahead back in October. But then you gotta make America affordable again. And you have to send a message to rule America very much as much as urban America.

[Steve Day]

Thoughts? Really quick, gentlemen, before we get out of here. Got about a minute left.

[Todd Erzin]

You know, people across the country, is there any leverage from the state of South Dakota in people that, you know to apply to John Thune, or are they just so addicted to. We saw signs with Kristi Noem up there. She Couldn't even stand against transgenderism because of what the corporate world wanted to say. Is there any going after them locally?

[Bob Vander Plaats]

Well, I think there's some going after it locally, but, you know, Thune is almost so insulated from all of that right now. He needs to have a target placed on his back by the President of the United States. Stop the smoke and mirrors. Stop playing games. I want my judicial appointments approved. I want the SAVE act advanced. If you can't get it done, give me a leader to get it done. Because now you'll have South Dakota residents around John Thune calling on that as well, but you'll have all of America calling on that as well. He needs to. He needs to deliver that message versus saying John Thune's just a great guy. He needs to be a great leader more than a great guy right now.

[Steve Day]

Good stuff, brother. Thank you.

[Bob Vander Plaats]

Thank you. God bless.

[Steve Day]

All right. God bless you. All right, when we come back, it's going to be your turn to ask me anything. Looking forward to another round of questions. These came in from our our followers over on Facebook. Todd, you've had a chance to to curate them. You've selected the ones you think we should answer.

[Todd Erzin]

There's a lot of them. No way we get through all of them. And I'm sure over time we'll take care of the rest.

[Steve Day]

All right, we'll do that here when we come back. Stay tuned. You go to Hawaii in your head all the time, but when you're actually ready to go, there's Expedia. Flights, hotels, vacation homes, cars. Save more when you bundle so you can stop dreaming and start saving. Expedia, the one place you go to go places. Members only. Savings vary. Are you stuck staring at your W2? Are tax refund worries holding you back?

[Aaron McIntyre]

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[Steve Day]

Start filing today in the Credit Karma appliance. All right, back here on the Steve Day show here, powered by Blaze TV, radio and podcast with our two. I'm Steve Dase alongside Aaron McIntyre and Todd Erzin. You can let us know what you think about what we think via the stevedace.com inbox. Take advantage of that by emailing the show [e-mail] that's d eace like us on Facebook. Me, we and Gab you can follow me at Steve Day show on x Instagram and TikTok. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel at day show on YouTube. That's at day show on YouTube. And then finally, if you are a podcast listener, thank you. You guys are the biggest part of our audience. You can leave us a five star review as tens of thousands of you have. Thank you. You can also subscribe or if you're on Apple itunes, click on follow. And that will ensure that every time we do a new episode, it is for sure right there in your podcast feed and you never miss one. So thank you to all of you that have done that and thanks to our friends over at Masa as well. Did you know the average chips on the on the store shelves that you're buying to snack have about 40 ingredients, seed oils, artificial flavors, mystery chemicals du jour. But Masa chips contain just three organic corn, sea salt, 100 grass fed beef, tallow. And by the way, they're also very good. Now you might be looking at that bag there and thinking, well, that's kind of a small bag. You know, you won't now that you're getting real food, you won't have to eat that many. You'll be full and that snack craving satisfied. All right. They're, they're brothers. Now the Vandy crisps, those I think are even better, by the way. That's now what the Masa chips do is they are a way healthier tortilla chip, but the vanity crisps are a way healthier potato chip. They're all delicious. So go to masachips.com dace right now. All right. And use the code dace. You'll get 25 off your first order if you do that. That's masa m a s a masachips.com use the code dace to get 25 off your first order. That [e-mail] as well. All right. Masachips.com code days for 25% off your first order. You won't regret it. All right. Hopefully I won't regret today's decision to do an ask me anything, but usually we've got really good questions. Last week, Erzin, you were pretty dour and I thought the questions were fantastic.

[Todd Erzin]

Well, I was dour about what they were going to do to you.

[Steve Day]

Oh.

[Todd Erzin]

And so I potentially. So I set the bar.

[Steve Day]

So it wasn't the audience that you had underestimated, it was me.

[Todd Erzin]

Yes.

[Steve Day]

Fair. Fair enough. Okay, sounds fair. What are they going to do to my mood today, do you think?

[Todd Erzin]

I think it's enough of a grab bag. I just. And there's a lot of them, so I just think you're going to stay on your toes the entire time.

[Aaron McIntyre]

All right.

[Steve Day]

All right, let's get to it. Ask Ace anything? I've not seen the questions. Thanks to our followers on Facebook that submitted one. Todd may or may not have selected your question. You'll find out here in a moment. Aaron has those questions. We'll get through as many of these as we can and then what remains we'll do in the overtime today. And to make sure you don't miss today's overtime, become a BlazeTV subscriber. Blazetv.com DACE is where you can go. Use the code DACE and you'll get a big discount. It'll cost you just about a quarter a day, eight bucks a month to be a subscriber to BlazeTV. BlazeTV.com DACE Code DACE for $20 off your annual subscription. All right, Aaron, let's roll.

[Aaron McIntyre]

All right, let's start with Jennifer Williams, who asks, wondering how you feel about Trump swearing on truth. Social people, the right in general, are offended. I'm not, because he isn't my spiritual advisor. I'd rather have a leader the world wonders about rather than one who is polite and pays taxpayer dollars for peace. Paying for peace hasn't protected us. I'm up for a new approach. Thoughts?

[Steve Day]

Trump still makes me wince. Often, often.

[Aaron McIntyre]

And

[Steve Day]

it just doesn't matter to me, though, as much as the policies that he actually pursues. But you also don't see me going out and defending it either. I don't know everything. I certainly think based on what I do know, that that truth social statement yesterday could have been, particularly for Easter, worded way better. Maybe not even worded at all since the deadline is not actually till Tuesday. That, that, like if that same post, Todd goes up this morning, do you have the same thoughts about it that you had 24 hours ago?

[Todd Erzin]

Well, as I said, I was under no illusions of him being a Christian, to your point. And he does lets everybody be groovy. Think of him as a Roman emperor, you know, worship whatever God you want to. I'll even put their picture after I put he what on Good Friday, didn't he unveil a picture of Christ up on his wall? Is that true? Like, he'd do this. He'd probably do the same for Buddha if, you know, if the right deal was there to be made. We shouldn't lie to ourselves. I just don't think the guy is a Christian. The one part. Absolutely. Whether it's today or Easter, when he. The part that was specifically about Islam, that's just. At the very least, that's just dumb.

[Steve Day]

See, I took it as a troll, but you might be right. I don't know. I mean, I can't read his mind. I don't know. Here's the thing that we need to understand about how God operates. We like to say things like, well, God works through problematic people. That's because there's only problematic people. We've only had one non sinner in the history of our species and we hung him on a tree. Okay, so there's only problematic people to work through. But that doesn't mean that God does not hold people accountable for their problematicism. Is that a word or did I just make that up?

[Todd Erzin]

I think you made it up.

[Steve Day]

How about problematics? Is that better? That's a better, isn't it? Problematics better?

[Todd Erzin]

Sure.

[Steve Day]

You're the ombudsman. What do you think? Problematicism. We're getting problematic.

[Todd Erzin]

We're getting closer to better.

[Steve Day]

We don't know what better is, but that's a little closer at least. All right. You get held accountable for your problematics as well. Right. David struggled to keep it in his pants throughout most of his adult life. God greatly blessed David, Right. In fact, he handed him an eternal kingdom, correct?

[Todd Erzin]

Yes.

[Steve Day]

But did God also just look the other way at all those times that David had problems because he couldn't keep it in his pants, he couldn't keep his zipper up? No. David paid huge costs, lost a child, had another child, revolt an adult child leader revolt against his own kingdom. Okay, what? Had one of his daughters raped by one of her half brothers? I mean, there were huge costs that David paid while still in the eternal cosmic sense because he was a man after God's own heart. God did bless him. Right. I mean, what, what by Son of man and Son of David are two of the most often cited descriptions of Christ by both himself and others in the New Testament. Right?

[Todd Erzin]

Right.

[Steve Day]

So God did grant David an eternal kingdom, but David still did pay consequences for all of his actions. Samson was a man of many problematics. Right? Many problematics. He was gifted the Holy Spirit. This is a pre Christian era when not every believer was granted such a thing. He was gifted that and performed great supernatural acts as a result. Correct. But then he also had great craven fallings and failings. Did he suffer consequences for each and every one of those? Sure. So I do think God has used Donald Trump to do some amazing things. And then I think that Donald Trump is underwater with people that he shouldn't be because he communicates in some of the ways that Jennifer, you're asking me about and needlessly offends people and needlessly hands his enemies ammunition to use against him. So I, I think that we have to understand that God is both imminent and transcendent. He is able to transcendently keep his covenants while imminently holding people accountable for their, for their sins and their mistakes at the exact same time. Right. And I think we are best when we try to emulate. I think we're always at our best in any context when we try to emulate our Creator in whose image and likeness we are made. So I, I think we can both simultaneously think there's literally 97,000 other messages on Easter you could have given Bro while at the same time being thankful that he is president and Joe Biden is not. We can do the same exact thing.

[Aaron McIntyre]

All right, next up, we go to this from Stephen Patrick Henry. Would you attend a church that had women fill in as preachers? Not full time pastors, but regular fill in preachers? I look at verses such as 1 Timothy 2:12 and 1 Corinthians 14:34 and 35, which seemed to make it clear that. Pretty clear. No. When it comes to women's role in church, where should the line be drawn? Leading the church in prayer, Reading scripture aloud to the church?

[Steve Day]

I would not go to a church that has women teaching the church. No, I think that is a very, very definitive line. I think there are likely other lines that are also definitive that you have alluded to. But there's a little bit more, I think, wiggle room than women being. Because I think the question was regular, Correct. Is that how it was? Yeah. No. If we're bringing in somebody on a specific Mother's Day event or something, I mean, I'm not going to, you know, and otherwise, the church is loyal and faithful to the word of God. I'm not going to get my own panties and a wad or anything else over that. But on a regular basis, no, I would not attend a church nor recommend others do so where women are regularly teaching and leading the congregation as teachers. But we see in the New Testament, okay. Is that deacons who serve the physical needs of the church do include a woman in one context. In Tabitha, there are no female elders. There are none. And at no point do we see Paul anoint women to teach the men or to teach the congregation as a whole at all. At no point. If I went to a church that had been otherwise faithful and then suddenly decided they were going to make this a regular part of the menu, I would want to know. I'd be very suspicious about what is going on. Right. Because most of the time, and when I say most of the time, like 98%, 98% of the time that a church puts a woman in this position, it is not because this is some uniquely gifted deborah of the 21st century. It is because they are trying to exert their own worldly feminist philosophy into the church. It's at least 98% of the time. So, yeah, I would not. No.

[Aaron McIntyre]

Next we go to Jonathan Roberts, who asks, how did you handle sexual purity topics with your son?

[Steve Day]

I wouldn't have that. I wouldn't frame that question in the past tense. I think that these are questions that likely go on forever. And. I don't know everybody else's sons, so I, I, I can't speak to your individual relationships. And you're probably not surprised to hear my son is pretty comfortable with very honest conversations about things. That's probably not a surprise, given who his dad is. So we've had some very honest conversations about these things, and we have, and they're ongoing, but as a general rule. So I'm hemming and hawing because I just don't, I don't think how it works for Noah and I necessarily is like something that applies on a blanket level to even a. Because human relationships are, are unique. I would say this, though. Whenever your children start asking the right questions, it's then they're ready for the right answers. I do think that's pretty true. And, and I think also that this will need to be an ongoing conversation that isn't just held in the past tense. All right? Our eyes don't go, we don't go blind after we get married. Our flesh isn't crucified by having children, you know, and they don't stop putting sexuality into, you know, virtually everything in the culture because you've just decided that I'm serious now about getting my hormones and desires under control. But the exact opposite is true. So I think that this will be an ongoing conversation. I mean, a couple times I've said to Noah just recently about several topics, you and I will probably have to have these kinds of conversations more times than you can count. And one of the reasons why I still need to have these conversations that didn't have a dad to have these conversations with me. So I think Honesty, how honest? That's up to you. I mean, you know your kid better than me, but. But I think it has to be an ongoing conversation. And as a general rule, when they start asking the right questions, then they're ready for the right answers. Any thoughts? So, no. I'm sure you're contemplating this, Aaron. Raising a. Raising a boy right now. You have any thoughts on this at all?

[Aaron McIntyre]

Yeah, I'm already trying to instill in Ben at an early age a comfortability and a normalcy of talking through just about anything. Now, forcing those conversations, that's not the way that you want to go, but just reinforcing to him that it's safe to talk to mom. And I'm not talking about anything sexually. I was just saying, hey, talking about your day, something that was embarrassing or something that you want to talk about. I try to have those conversations. I'm already trying to have those conversations. Just making sure that he knows that it is normal to talk to his parents about things that he's unsure about

[Steve Day]

from an early age. That's good.

[Todd Erzin]

I would say there's a. There is a way and it's not necessary. Like Steve said, you know, I have four daughters. They need to be addressed uniquely in some circumstances and the same in some circumstances. In one way, it was the same from the time they were little girls. Who your husband is is not something that is just your choice. First of all, you need to see whoever that's going to be through God's eyes. But this world tells you a lot of times that, you know, whatever you decide to do, whatever makes you happy, I am not going to surrender you to somebody who's going to take over my job to somebody I don't think is capable of that. And they heard that message from the time they were 3 and 4 and 5 years old, and the same message all the way up until they were 16 and 17, it was non negotiable. So there are ways to do that with young men in the same ways versus vis a vis how they will work with and choose the good versus manipulating the opposite sex just for their own gain. There are ways you can plant those seeds in fertile soil very early on.

[Steve Day]

Amen.

[Aaron McIntyre]

Next, let's go to Mike Karen Shoaf, who has this. With the wave of new young converts to Christianity, what steps can the church take to ensure that they are properly discipled? Parable of the soils.

[Steve Day]

Well, first the church has to understand that that's its job.

[Aaron McIntyre]

Baby steps.

[Steve Day]

I mean, yeah. I mean, first the church has to understand that that is its primary mission. The primary mission of the church is not to reach unbelievers. That is not true, never has been true. It's to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. That is the primary role of the church. Within that per primary purpose, there are several different gifts that are given to the church that Paul lays out. Preaching and teaching, by the way, are joined together as one gift. One of the gifts that is given is evangelism. So meaning it is a function of the church, but it is not the primary directive of the church. And much of the last generation of church on the evangelical side has been to message to people who may never come and may never believe and to not message things that God says we are to message. Because nothing says sola scriptura quite like we're going to edit God. That's an interesting position for a Protestant to take. And we're going to decide what parts of God's word you can handle and the people cannot.

[Todd Erzin]

I've noticed that by them.

[Steve Day]

Yes, that's very fascinating to me. That's not sola scriptura at all. What that is is sola growth Torah. This is you branding and packaging things in order to fit a bottom line or your ambitions and desires. But that's the kingdom of God is not for you. And you're probably among the people that Jesus says at the end. Many people come to me and say, did we not do this in your name and. And perform this miracle? But I depart from me into the den of iniquity. I don't know who you are. So the first thing we have to do is get the church to agree that it has to do this. And it's not a program on a Wednesday night or a program on a Sunday night. Those things can be a part of it for sure, right? I mean, you can only fit so many people into a room for only so long, right? So that can be a part of it for sure. But the main vehicle of discipleship that should take place in the church is from the pulpit on Sunday morning where people are mass assembled. I mean, that's actually what church means, means assembly ecclesia. That's what it means. That's where we get the term from. It means assembly. So it doesn't mean a Wednesday night function, it doesn't mean on Sundays. You know, we just. We water it down for you. And then the people who are really committed come back later. Again. Those are all corporate models about how to upsell people. And that has nothing to do with how the church supernaturally is to behave and actually works. So at first, we have to get the church to agree that this is its job. Now, if the church agrees to this, then I would have a couple of other points that may seem simple, but this is not very complicated. It's very simple. It's just not easy. Number one, open the Bible up and tell people what's in it, all of it. Because today, I mean, I don't know, his numbers aren't what they were a couple of years ago, but Tucker Carlson is still pulling huge numbers. Not as big numbers as he was pulling before he just decided to become, you know, Marcion reincarnated, but he's still pulling, like, way bigger numbers than, like, we are. And 97 of shows are. He's going to tell a whole bunch of people on his podcast now, in his most recent episode, that the Jews aren't the victims of the Book of Esther. The Persians were. It's about the genocide of the Persians. And the beauty of it is he's going to say that while he tells you, go read it for yourself, knowing that you're not going to do that. He knows you're not going to do that. So open the book up without error and without editing and tell people what's in it, all of it. Because it'll disciple all on its. It's sharp and active. It'll disciple on it all on its own just fine. And then the other thing that I would say is to have a deep and fun, a functional and deep knowledge of church history so you have some context to these things, so you know how these things were debated and discussed in the past. So it may help you understand how to debate and discuss them moving forward into the future. I absolutely believe tradition is sacred. Absolutely. I believe it is. And in fact, I would. I would struggle to find a single church leader that matters, Protestant or Catholic, that did not agree with what I just said. The question becomes, how sacred should it be placed on the same. On the same viewpoint as Scripture? I would say no. That's why I'm a Protestant. But the Protestant reformers all held Augustine in great regard. Where's Augustine in the Bible? Nowhere. He came afterwards. He's in the fourth century. That's tradition. So in a contextual understanding of how the word of God was rightly divided or wrongly divided, how it was fought, how it was not. See, this is one of the reasons why I get really slow to join trends, because I have a deep functioning knowledge of church history. So I kind of think I've seen all this Before I've read about all this before. I kind of feel like I'm that, you know, Leonardo DiCaprio meme without the lung dart. I know this one. That kind of thing. I mean, I just, you know, it's Alexander, call him Alexander Dugan or Tucker Carlson today. He was called Marcion and Arius before. Okay, great. It's all been done. There's nothing new under the sun. Just new people under the sun who haven't been. Haven't haven't heard it yet. And these sorts of figures always prop up when there is confusion about the word of God or they think they can get away with creating confusion about it. That's why it's important to know that's it. Most of the seminaries that you still. That you want to. That you want, if you, if you want to be a pastor or you want your pastor to be a graduate of. Most seminaries still teach. Uranius is against heresies today. That book is over, over 1800 years old. It's over 1900 years old actually. I think like 150 A.D or something like that. Right, right. So I mean people that were mentored by the apostle John were alive when Arrhenius wrote that. It's important to know these things. And they go a long way, a long way to us understanding. You know, there are reasons for why we believe what we believe. It's just not a fleeting emotion. It's just not. I felt really terrible about my sins one day and asked for forgiveness. And now I don't know what to do. That, that six to eight pound organ, gray organ resting between our two frontal lobes called, we call the brain. God is, who placed that there. He would. He would greatly like us to use it, invites us to commands it. In fact, even. Right. And so open the word of God, all of it, all of it and tell people what's in it and let it tell people what's in it and then teach people the context of our faith. Generations don't you have a longing of knowing where's my family from? Who is in my family? What do we believe? What do I come from? Of course you do. You have to have the same thing about your faith. Well, do we. Did Islam just start.

[Todd Erzin]

No.

[Steve Day]

Did it just start on even nine, 11? No. It's been here for 1400 years. So is the church older than Islam?

[Todd Erzin]

Yes.

[Steve Day]

So the church must have confronted Islam right at its infancy and ascendancy, Right?

[Todd Erzin]

It did.

[Steve Day]

Wouldn't we love to know how it, how it confronted it at the time? How many Times it had to confront it, how often it had to confront it, think that might be useful information in some way, shape or form? I'm certain, of course it would be. And I think it's vital to understanding how the word of God continues to play out and live out its timeless truths throughout all of history.

[Todd Erzin]

I echo that while simultaneously saying, if Tucker would come on and you've tried, but he would say he's doing that. He's opening his Bible, he's reading it all, he's sharing it.

[Steve Day]

He would.

[Todd Erzin]

This is why we desperately need.

[Steve Day]

Which is why he won't come up.

[Todd Erzin]

This is why we desperately need that. Well, but a lot won't. This is why we desperately need that Protestant Council of Nicaea. And I'm not kidding. Because if the church is ultimately anybody and everybody who will read the Bible for themselves, but we don't necessarily need know who their pastors are, they don't have to tell us. And they are saved forever once they make one prayer to ask to be saved. And they can't lose that. What is the church. That is why Protestantism at the very least has reached the point where it does need to bring in these definitions because not everybody can, as comfortably as you just said, point out the need for something other than me and my Bible. You did that without apology and aggressively right there. But Tucker would say, he's doing what you're saying.

[Steve Day]

I know. Which is why you can see him hand picking the audiences that he will go to and the shows you'll go on. Listen, Tucker has way bigger of an audience than we do. We have way bigger of an audience than several of the shows that Tucker has gone on. He is hand picking places where the questions we are bringing up and asking and challenging him. He can't get challenged on those things. That's why he won't come on. That's why I doubt we'll ever have this conversation because I think we've moved beyond now the. Whether or not. And you've even said this with him, we've moved beyond whether or not we're on some spiritual, magical mystery tour of, you know, I'm figuring myself out. He's. He's proselytizing now and he is now openly telling you what he wants instead. All right, and this is how. This is the. This is the. I said, I said, I told you. A couple months ago we debuted Deconstructor, Deconstructing TUCKER Deconstructing the second day of our 2026 show calendar, if I recall right. And I said the way this is going to end is either he becomes the Ron Paul of this era. Some really quirky things on. Some things that you're like, how did you get to that conclusion? But then some other things that he talks about that really matter to people. Right? Or the worst is he'll just become an outright, you know, deconstructing heretic and take people down with him. I'm. I'm here to tell you that we're heading down the ladder road, and I. And I can see prominent people in my feed, prominent Ron Paul people all over my feed. I. I get it. Your leader's 90, not getting younger. I get it. Rand Paul is not ideologically pure enough for you guys because he's made some compromises as a senator. I get all that, okay? I get that you need a leader, and I get that you want someone with a massive platform to be the hub of the future of Paleoism. I promise you. Not your guy. Not your guy. And if you try to make him such, I hope you're going to regret it. Or we're going to find out that you guys really didn't care about fiscal and monetary policy. Either you just hated Jews, because that's all he's going to give you. That's all he's going to give you. He's not going to give you any of the other stuff you want. None of the other stuff you want. Maybe you don't want that anymore, though. Maybe that maybe Catholics for Catholics, because a lot of you are in that kind of group. Maybe Catholics for Catholics is really all you want now. Maybe it's really not Audit the Fed, but Carrie Prejean. Long live the Queen. Okay, but we're. Because that. He'll give you that. That you're gonna get. Candace Owens. Long live the Queen. He's gonna give you that. You'll get all that you want. But all that other serious stuff about empires and debt and how that works. He's not going to give you any of that. No, he's not. Consider yourself warned. You're going to get Timu want Ron Paul at best, Marcion most likely at worst.

[Aaron McIntyre]

Coming up, we have questions about the church Fathers, what they believed about Israel, questions about the Netflix series on Moses, and an inquiry about what Jesus is my boyfriend music actually entails.

[Steve Day]

Can I just answer that one now from the famous Kentucky vs. Sanford obscenity case? I can't define it, but I know what it is when I see it, because that can get very subjective, too. I mean, not everything that gives you an Emotional feeling during musical worship is a Jesus is My Boyfriend just because it has a contemporary sound to it. That's not true either. Okay. But you kind of know what it is when you see it. You know, I will come back. We'll get to those questions and more next. The steve day show. I know it seems like we've got insane prices for lots of things and there's no hope they're ever going down. But that's not the case where hearing aids are involved. I mean, some are priced at $8,000 right now. That's where MD hearing comes in. They deliver high quality rechargeable digital hearing aids for just $297 a pair. I didn't make that number up. Less than $300 a pair. That's over 90% less than traditional clinical hearing aids. How do they do this? Well, MD Hearing was created by a medical professional who saw how his patients needed hearing help but were unable to afford it. So we set out to fix the system. And that fix is MD Hearing. Their new Neo model fits right inside your ear. It's nearly invisible. The Neo Xs, their smallest hearing aid ever. No bulky hardware, no learning curve. And you get big savings on just these tiny hearing aids from MD Hearing. So go to shopmdhearing.com use the promo code Steve, and you'll get a pair of hearing AIDS for just $297. Plus they're adding a free extra charge case that's $100 value just for our listeners here on the show. That's shopmdhearing.com promo code Steve, to get this awesome offer shopmdhearing.com for hearing aids that are 90% less. Shopmdhearing.com promo code steve, to get you started. All right, back to some more. Ask me anything, Aaron.

[Aaron McIntyre]

All right, we'll continue on with Ethan Bystrom, who says, did some early church fathers believe that when the prophets of the Old Testament spoke of a prophetic Israel, that they regarded themselves and the church at that time as the Israel that the prophets actually spoke about? Am I understanding correctly that this is more or less what replacement theology is?

[Steve Day]

You're not wrong. Okay? But there's just way more to it than this. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to have the conversation with John Harris that I had last week. And John Harris told you that two of the founding members of what you call dispensationalism, John Nelson Darby and. And Scofield, with his Bible notes, didn't actually believe in a future nation called Israel. And yet Jonathan Edwards, who was not necessarily the most friendly to Jews. And then Charles H. Spurgeon, who hated dispensationalism as it came, was coming out of his native England at the time and pushed back against it, vehemently did believe that Romans 9:11 would probably have to be fulfilled via some reconstitution of the nation of Israel in its. In its approximate historical location. These things are all way. See, this is the thing you need to understand is that these things are all way more nuanced than what a lot of you are being led to believe. And, and that's why here's the most important thing to know, as far as I know, anyway. The most important thing to know is, number one, we have to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. That is the most important thing to know, regardless of which of these eschatological views you think are the most precise. We have to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. And if you think blaming all your problems on another people, group, Jews or anybody else is loving your neighbor as you love yourself, then I'm all ears. By all means, feel free to entertain me on how that is possible. Secondly, you cannot divorce Christianity from Judaism. Christianity's main argument is it is the fulfillment of everything. Judaism pointed to that Christ fulfilled all the scriptures of the Old Testament about the Messiah. In fact, the New Testament begins with a genealogy written by a Jew named Levi. You know him as Matthew. Tracing back throughout the history of the Jewish covenant to the birth of the Messiah, Christ Jesus. Every book of the New Testament was likely written by a Jew. There is some debate about Luke, but more modern scholarship seems to think he was more of a Hellenized Jew, which would mean every single book written by a Jew. The only two possible exceptions are Luke and Acts. In that case, they'd be written by a Greek who was not a Jew, but a very close personal association with Paul. So trying to divorce Christianity from Judaism is heresy. When I'm calling Tucker Marcion, that's what he tried to do. And that's not the same, though. Like, if you want to argue, for example, that you want to make the argument that the Father doesn't hear the prayers of the Jews anymore since they rejected Messiah and he won't again until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled. Okay, there have been people that believe that. But you are never permitted to not love your neighbor as you love yourself. Never, never, never. That's the second clause of the highest law according to Christ himself. So first we have to love our neighbors who love Ourselves. Second, it is heresy to try to divorce Christianity from Judaism. Third, we have a nation called Israel that has 9 million Jews and one of the most advanced devastating militaries in the world. What do we do with it then? Where does it go? This is kind of what we're. We're Todd's churches. They are the ultimate replacement or fulfillment theologians, whatever you want to call them, believing not just the Christian church, but the, the church in Rome in and of itself, is that fulfillment. Which is why prior to the reestablishment of Israel, Rome was typically anti Zionist. Correct?

[Todd Erzin]

Yes.

[Steve Day]

And then after the establishment of the nation of Israel, like, well, we got to deal with the reality of a nation called Israel.

[Todd Erzin]

Yes.

[Steve Day]

Yeah. So what are we gonna do with all these people then? And we're good. And they're all heavily armed. Okay. And willing to fight, so what are we gonna do with all that? And, and, and, and, and fourth, this is not a requirement, just a suggestion. Has anyone realized how dumb this all sounds? That we are now arguing this at the precise moment that we are seeing more Israeli Arab cooperation than we have ever, ever seen in our lives, would have ever guessed was ever possible? Don't you find that just greatly ironic about this entire point? And that's how, you know, it's not just a reactionary thing to the past. Because what we're seeing right now is the United Arab Emirates saying, we'll stand with Iran, with you closer than the UK will. Right now we've got the Prince of the House of Sod texting Trump on a daily basis. Finish him. Sweep the leg. And France is like, well, we. Where, where, where we're not sure really what we think. And ham, salami, and bacon. So at the very moment, this is how, you know, this stuff is not critical thinking, but something else more sinister. Because at the very moment that we are seeing more Israeli Arab alignment than we have ever seen, could have ever fantasized we've ever seen. Now we're going to second guess all this stuff. Does that make any sense to you? Hey, I stepped on the scale. I can see I've lost a whole bunch of weight. I should completely reconsider my methods for, you know, what it would take to, you know, get skinnier. Does that not sound retarded to you?

[Todd Erzin]

It does.

[Steve Day]

I mean, if you stepped on the scale and you've lost a considerable amount of weight, the first advice would be to do what? Kind of keep doing what you're doing. Well, maybe I should switch things up. No, keep doing what you're Doing. It's working. We're seeing more Jewish, Arabic alignment than we've ever seen, like, ever, like, in the history of the planet. And so now everybody's. Now some people, oh, we need to really rethink this thing. That's how, you know, it's not critical thinking. Something else is happening here. Because the. The. The natural evidence in front of us would seem to indicate, I mean, who would you rather have in a fight right now? Your partners? You guys tell me. United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Israel, or Ch. Or Germany, France and the UK Which. Which trio would you rather have with you in a fight right now? If you're the head of the United

[Todd Erzin]

States, probably the form.

[Steve Day]

And that's extraordinary to even contemplate that this debate is even worthy of having. Saudi Arabia is like, by all means, just, you know, rack up the body count. And we're looking at NATO like, well, maybe we'll just pull our bases out. This is how, you know, it's not based on some kind of reactionary critical thinking. It's from another place. Because the evidence of how it's working runs parallel to what is being suggested. Does that make sense? I'm asking. Oh, does it?

[Todd Erzin]

Yeah.

[Steve Day]

I mean, if. If we had a bunch of Arab countries that were standing up saying, listen, if you throw one more missile at Iran, we're all going in. And then Trump was like, well, we have to defend our little brother here. That would be a good time to have that conversation. Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. Is this worth World War iii? Right? Like, you know, what we did with Ukraine? Is it. Is. Is. Is the Crimean region of Ukraine really worth World War iii? With the largest nuclear stockpile on planet Earth called Russia, Is it really worth. It's not worth it to me. Maybe you think it is not worth it to me. That was. That was essentially our debate. Right?

[Todd Erzin]

Right.

[Steve Day]

Did we approve of Russia invading a sovereign country and murdering its people? Did we, like, sign up for that and say, hey, that was justifiable? Did we do that? No. Is it terrible? Do we think it's terrible what happened to those people there? You bet. It's also terrible about what's happening in Nigerian Christians. Anybody saying we say we should send Delta Force into the country. Anybody suggesting that lots of terrible things happen in the world? Can we fix everything? No. And most of the time when we act as if we can is when we do kind of our worst things as human beings. Right, Right. So explain then, at the moment that we are seeing more Israeli Arab cooperation than ever before. Now is when People want to start reassessing this thing that doesn't make any sense. You know why it doesn't make any sense?

[Todd Erzin]

Because it doesn't.

[Steve Day]

Because it doesn't make any sense. Correct. Now I would urge you to read everything you could. You're going to find, you're going to find that the earlier generations of Christianity were not any more morally better than you. And you're going to find that the early generations of the founding fathers were not any more morally better than you. About one third of the men who wrote all men are created equal went home to their plantations with slaves about 10 minutes after they drove the final bastion of redcoats from the shores of Yorktown. And they turned on each other. They turned on each other. It spent years, they took years, what, four or five years ratifying the Constitution, constructing it, ratifying it. They're not better than us. This is the human condition. This is why understanding and studying church history is so important to see these nuances. For example, if you, if you looked at Luther early in his time as a leader of the Reformation, he was very pro favorite friend of the Jews. We should evangelize the Jews. They are cousins to Christianity. Later he wrote the Jews and their lies. Well, what changed? You should know. And we're in an era, frankly, you're just gonna have to do this on your own. And you should, you should know the particulars of your faith as much as the particulars of your fantasy team. Who's on the injured report? What does he do against left handed pitching? What does he do if he plays back to back to back nights in the NBA? How does he run against eight man fronts in the NFL? You know all that stuff when you're drafting a fantasy team. We'll learn all this stuff when it talks, when it's hot, when we're talking about what you, you claim is your ultimate belief system. It's important to know these things. And what you're going to learn is. This is way more nuanced than I thought. It's not as simple as I thought. Human beings are complicated figures. And the two most important things I could do is to love my Lord with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and to love my neighbor as I love myself. Those things are certain and definite. Lots of other things are up for debate. Let's go to the next question.

[Aaron McIntyre]

Next is Tom, excuse me, who says, I watched a Netflix series on Moses this weekend and it's mentioned that there that even in the Ten Commandments it leaves the door open that God isn't the only God, just the only God that can be worshiped by the Hebrews. What are your thoughts? That the Old Testament leaves the door open to other, albeit lesser, gods.

[Steve Day]

So I've heard some of this. See, this theory is nuanced as well, that there are other gods, but they're all inferior to the God of the Bible. Or that they were all influenced by demons and they're all demonic or occultic manifestations of satanic deception. Okay, so number one, Jesus is not just a messiah for gentiles. A lot of your Jewish friends have been taught this to try to explain away the supernatural acts and things of that nature. Not true. There's only one Messiah. His name is Jesus. And that's why there hasn't been another one. And there won't be. So Jesus is Messiah to Jews and Gentiles alike. Your Jewish friends need to know there is no salvation, no other name under heaven by which men can be saved. See, I'm going to give you a way more offensive message than Tucker Carlson. Way more. The actual gospel most offensive message in the history of humankind. Paul says, in offense to the Greeks or foolishness to the Greeks and an offense to the Jew. Now, what does he mean by that? I'm going to explain to you right now with what I'm going to say. There's not another to. Your Jewish friends need to know. There's not another Messiah coming. He already came. It's not a gentile Messiah. It's the Messiah. And the only. The reason why your temple is no longer open for sacrifices is because the ultimate sacrifice was made. And now God wants to make your temple, your. Your body, a temple for His Holy Spirit, to make you more like His Son, the Jewish Messiah. That's an offense to our Jewish friends. It runs in the. It runs contrary to the nostalgia of their own cultural heritage, the own belief in their specialness. But to the unbeliever, to the Greek, to the unbelieving world, it's foolishness. It can't be that simple. There's got to be more to the formula, more to the story, and there's nothing. The greatest story ever told is for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whomsoever will believe in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that through him the world would be saved. That is the greatest story ever told. And that's the most offensive message of them all. So I know some of you are attracted to what offends the sensibilities of this era, regardless of whether it's true or not. And so you glom on to the likes of the Fuentes's and stuff of the world. What I just shared with you is the most offensive message of them all. And it's even offensive to the likes of Fuentes and others. It even offends them that you want hell, you desire it, and more so you deserve it. And to hell you will go in the aisle seat of the eternal smoking section without the recognition and faith and faithful obedience in the one who paid your due penalty on your behalf. Now you want. You want to believe in something offensive. You want to believe in something that'll rattle some cages. That's the most offensive message ever preached on this earth. Amen. That's the most offensive one of them all. And you'll notice those folks that you're following to find the most offensive messages, you'll notice that that's the one they don't want any part of because it offends them too.

[Aaron McIntyre]

Next we go to this from Summer. Summer says, why do you think so many singles have given up even trying to find a spouse? Out of the singles I know I'm the only one looking and I see a lot of comments on social media from singles saying they would rather have their peace. Is our comfort so addicting that we're not willing to fight for a relationship anymore?

[Steve Day]

Yes. Yes is the answer. Yeah, this is how idolatry works both ways. What you're describing is another form of idolatry. I mean, the first commandment God gives to his species is to go forth and multiply. This is paramount to the human existence. So the idea that you're just so worth it that there's nobody that measures up to you, I would argue if you're at that point, that's another form of idolatry. Frankly, you're not that high of mighty. You're not. Go hard. Romans 8:28.