The Glenn Beck Program

Episode: Glenn's Message to Christians After the Michigan Church Shooting
Date: September 29, 2025
Host: Glenn Beck
Network: Blaze Podcast Network

Episode Overview

This episode is an emotional, urgent response by Glenn Beck following a violent weekend in America. Two major stories drive the episode: a targeted shooting at a Mormon church in Michigan, and a mass shooting in North Carolina. Beck delivers a heartfelt message to Christians (and all Americans) on how to respond, speaking extensively about grief, unity, and the critical importance of living out Christian principles in a chaotic, increasingly evil world. The episode also discusses the rise of digital ID in Western nations, shifts in military strategy, and larger societal trends toward chaos and control.

Main Segments & Timestamps

1. Opening & Personal Reflections – [06:00]
2. Christian Unity & Responses to Tragedy – [10:30]
3. Michigan Church Shooting – [22:00]
4. North Carolina Shooting & Mental Health – [25:40]
5. On Evil, Seven Deadly Sins, & Self-Improvement – [41:51]
6. Digital ID and Surveillance State – [66:00]
7. Military-Political Shifts: Pentagon Meeting – [87:44]
8. Veterans, Mental Health, and Societal Destabilization – [112:00]
9. Super Bowl Halftime (Bad Bunny) – [122:22]

1. Opening & Personal Reflections

Key Points:

• Glenn starts with a somber reflection on the violence over the weekend: targeted shootings—including one at a Latter-day Saint (Mormon) church—and the death of Church President Russell M. Nelson.
• Expresses gratitude for condolences and reflects on Nelson’s legacy: a pioneering surgeon and a leader who “only spoke about love for one another” in his later years.
• Beck expresses sorrow over online comments from self-described Christians rejoicing at the deaths, comparing it to hateful responses to other recent tragedies.
• Invites listeners to “forget about doctrine” and focus on Christ’s core teaching: “By their fruits ye shall know them.” [09:11]

Notable Quote:

"I wept with the same kind of pain that I had on the death of Charlie Kirk when the non-Christians celebrated his death. ... What is the difference between these Christians and the non-Christians?" – Glenn Beck [09:11]

2. Christian Unity & Responses to Tragedy

Key Points:

• Calls for Christians to measure faith by the fruit it bears, not by doctrinal purity or denominational squabbles.
• Shares data on Latter-day Saints’ charitable efforts, family life, and patriotism to demonstrate “good fruit.”
• Cites personal experience: his charity (founded by a Mormon) has raised and distributed over $250 million in aid, regardless of recipients’ beliefs.
• Highlights cross-denominational cooperation in disaster relief (mentions working with Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse).

Notable Quote:

"By their fruits ye shall know them. ... We saw the hungry, the grieving, the refugee running for their life, and we acted, because that is what Christ commands his disciples to do." – Glenn Beck [13:26]

• Critiques division and “purity tests” among Christians:

  • “The world doesn’t need any more purity tests. Right now, the world needs Christians that actually live their faith—and that faith bears fruit.” [16:00]

• Stresses unity (“not uniformity”) and acting with “Christlike love,” especially in mourning and crisis.

3. Michigan Church Shooting

Key Points:

• Describes the horrifying scene: shooter drove through the church doors during a children’s event, apparently targeting people based on their religion (“Who do you worship? Jesus or Joseph Smith?”).
• Expresses hope that the attack was the act of a disturbed individual, not an ideological escalation.

Notable Exchange:

"Fox and Friends’ Caroline Levitt ... said, based on her conversations with the FBI director, all they know right now is this was an individual who hated people of the Mormon faith." – Stu [23:00]
"I thank God for the loving gospel of peace that will keep Mormons from retaliating against something like that." – Glenn Beck [23:32]

4. North Carolina Shooting & Mental Health

Key Points:

• Shooter was a former Marine, decorated but unstable—had made bizarre legal complaints and was clearly in mental distress.
• Beck discusses how an atmosphere of chaos combined with untreated mental illness is dangerous.
• Warns of future manipulation: how technology or “an evil overseer” could target unstable individuals for violence.

Dark Knight Analogy:

• Plays a scene from “The Dark Knight” (Joker manipulating unstable people), likens the Joker to Satan whispering to the mentally ill that violence will end their pain.
• Evil is “on the rise,” and “we are now living in Gotham.” [29:00]

Notable Quote:

“Satan is whispering to people: this is good, I will make all that pain stop ... And then they die in the end because Satan does not care. Another soul destroyed.” – Glenn Beck [32:46]

5. On Evil, Seven Deadly Sins, & Self-Improvement

Key Points:

• Asks: What is really on the rise? "Evil, chaos, disorder."
• Reflects, with his wife, on the seven deadly sins (pride, envy, wrath, greed, sloth, lust, gluttony), and how each manifests in today’s society.
  • Pride: Root of polarization and collapse.
  • Envy: Drives class warfare, identity politics.
  • Wrath: Destroys civil debate and fuels violence.
• Proposes addressing these, starting with small personal changes (e.g., don’t post about yourself; don’t envy others; take a breath before responding in anger).
• Urges focusing on what individuals can change, rather than waiting for sweeping national solutions.
• Reframes the “fight”: build a city on a hill by conquering the small sins within the scope of daily life.

Notable Quote:

"Think small, but realize the dream is big: to change the country." – Glenn Beck [56:39]

6. Digital ID and the Rise of the Surveillance State

Key Points:

• Discusses UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s announcement of mandatory digital ID (as in Switzerland and Australia).
• Asserts this is not truly about illegal immigration but about establishing total population control.

Notable Exchange:

“Let me spell that out. You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID. It’s as simple as that.” – Keir Starmer [66:24]

• Glenn lists domains digital ID will touch: financial, healthcare, travel, e-commerce, banking, social and government services.
• Predicts digital currency integration is next, with full surveillance.
• Argues the state is creating problems (e.g., unchecked immigration) to justify the solution (digital ID), calling this a classic progressive tactic.

Notable Quotes:

“Digital ID lays all the framework ... it will be in every aspect of your life.” – Glenn Beck [70:00]
“They want digital ID to control the population. That’s what all of this is about—control your every movement, your every thought, your every word. Control it, regulate it, and make sure you’re kept in line.” – Glenn Beck [74:54]

7. Military-Political Shifts: Pentagon Meeting

Key Points:

• Discusses an unprecedented meeting called by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, bringing together every top brass general.
  • Possibilities: resetting military ethos, signaling a doctrinal or technological shift, responding to global instability.
  • May involve Venezuela and threats in the U.S. hemisphere, or developments in drone and AI warfare.

Notable Exchange:

"I could see him do something like ... here’s what we’ll tolerate, here’s what we will not ... this is the way we’re moving. If you don’t like it, get out." – Glenn Beck [41:51]

• Beck and his team analyze this as part of a global trend: Western societies setting up frameworks (digital ID, mass surveillance, shifting military priorities) as their systems near collapse.

8. Veterans, Mental Health, and Societal Destabilization

Key Points:

• Both recent shooters were Marines, one evidently suffering from deep mental health issues.
• Discussion of how failure to provide mental health resources, in an atmosphere of chaos, contributes to violence.
• Glenn and his military analyst, Jason Buttrell, warn of future political attempts to paint veterans as unstable and to justify removing their gun rights—a tactic for increased state control.

Notable Quote:

"Veterans, you will be the number one target once a totalitarian, progressive regime comes into power. You will be their target number one. And that’s scary." – Jason Buttrell [116:24]

• Glenn reflects on the risk of losing control of the country if Christians and conservatives do not actively oppose these trends, especially regarding digital ID and mental health surveillance.

9. Pop Culture & Super Bowl Halftime Choice

Key Points:

• Brief final segment on Bad Bunny’s selection as the upcoming Super Bowl halftime performer.
  • Criticism: anti-Trump, anti-ICE, primarily Spanish-language set viewed as a questionable choice for a national event.
  • Points to NFL’s global ambitions as the reason behind the selection.

Closing Thoughts

Glenn Beck frames the weekend’s tragedies as emblematic of a profound moral and spiritual crisis, not just a political one. He mourns division within Christianity and urges his audience—and all Americans—to reject ideological purity tests, act with Christlike love, and focus on practical ways to confront evil in their lives. Large societal moves—toward digital IDs, mass surveillance, and centralized control—are seen as a coordinated effort to create the conditions for authoritarianism. Beck’s call to action: stand firm, live fruitfully, unite beyond doctrinal differences, and choose real, local acts of love over despair.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• "By their fruits ye shall know them." — Glenn Beck [13:26]
• "The world doesn’t need any more purity tests. Right now, the world needs Christians that actually live their faith—and that faith bears fruit." — Glenn Beck [16:00]
• "Evil is on the rise. ... We are now living in Gotham." — Glenn Beck [29:00]
• "If humility would return in our culture, in leaders, in media, in ourselves, truth would then come to the top." — Glenn Beck [53:02]
• "They want digital ID to control the population. That’s what all of this is about—control your every movement, your every thought, your every word." — Glenn Beck [74:54]
• "Veterans, you will be the number one target once a totalitarian, progressive regime comes into power." — Jason Buttrell [116:24]

Takeaways for Listeners

• Personal Action: Focus on living Christian values and building unity across denominational lines in times of crisis.
• Societal Vigilance: Be alert to policy shifts—such as digital ID or military changes—that may threaten liberty.
• Mental Health: Recognize failures in mental healthcare as a key driver of social violence, and push for real solutions, not scapegoating.
• Hope Over Despair: Change is possible, but it starts with small, consistent acts rooted in humility, gratitude, and restraint.

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