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The Riley Gaines Show
Allie Beth Stuckey: Progressive Christianity Exposed | The Riley Gaines Show
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- [00:00]
KFC Narrator
A KFC tale in the pursuit of flavor. The greatest insult the Colonel ever suffered was being served a wrap that was just a snack by a friend. So he took two crispy tenders, lettuce, tomatoes and pepper mayo and wrapped them in a soft tortilla. It wasn't a snack, it was a meal. He called it a twister and never called that friend again. The Colonel lived so we could chicken the Twister. Now back at KFC Classic or with bacon. Also try it spicy. It's finger licking. Good.
- [00:29]
Ali Beth Stuckey
Prices and participation may vary.
- [00:35]
Riley Gaines
You guys asked for her and she's finally coming on the show. I am so excited for today's guest. I put a lot of thought to it and I don't think there is a better role model for your daughters than today's guests. But before we get into that, I want to tell you about today's sponsor. It is Cozy Earth. I wear their pajamas, their bamboo pajama set every single night when I go to bed. They are made from viscose from, from bamboo. It's one of those things that you don't really know you need until you try it out. They're unbelievably soft. They are lightweight. Of course they are cozy. They sleep cooler than cotton, which is one of the things that I really like. We also have Cozy Earth sheets on our bed. My husband loves those. And I've got this Cozy Earth Classic cuddle blanket right here. Actually I have two of these. This one here with me and then I have another one on my downstairs and couch. It is so plush and it's kind of weighted. It's like the perfectly perfect amount of comforting weight on your body when you're watching TV. Highly, highly recommend. So you guys can go to cozyearth.com you can use my code, GAINES G-A I N E S for 20 off. There's also a 100 night sleep trial so you can try it out totally risk free. You're not going to want to return them, but if you did, it's hassle free. Plus There is a 10 year warranty which says a lot about the quality and they trust that they have in their brand. So cozyearth.com code gains for 20% off. Today we are talking to Ali Beth Stuckey. You'll see in today's episode if you don't follow her online, if you don't watch her, which you should, she has a podcast called Relatable with Ali Beth. She is just an incredible disciple for Christ and I would argue an expert in what it means to be biblically literate. Check it out here. Well, Ali, thank you for joining the Riley Gaines Show. When I first announced the show on social media, I put up like a little comment box, you know, let me know who you want to see on the show. And I had you as the most requested person to come on.
- [02:42]
Ali Beth Stuckey
Oh, I know. I'm so honored. I love the show. You're doing such a good job. So I'm so glad to come on.
- [02:47]
Riley Gaines
You're so sweet. Well, you are someone, truthfully that I constantly and consistently watch to form a lot of the thoughts that I have. So thank you for being so, so fierce and just keeping a basis of biblical, a biblical worldview. I think that's few and far between, especially of these people, commentators and influencers, if you will, online. Before we get into anything, it was a big week for the state of Texas. Of course, you are a Texan. You had a pretty special role in the attorney general debate. You got to moderate that. Can you speak to some of the races that we saw in Texas this week and what that means going into to midterms into the next few years?
- [03:29]
Ali Beth Stuckey
Yeah, I had an interesting perspective on the Texas attorney General debate. I think a lot of people don't really pay attention to the attorney general position and not every state. This isn't always an elected position, but in the state of Texas it is. And we reached out to the Attorney General association and just said we want to host a debate. We thought it would be fun. And so I really got a front row seat to see, okay, not only what policies do these attorney general candidates represent, but also what is their personality for the top lawmaker in the state or the law enforcer in the state. Rather, I want them to be aggressive. I want them to be assertive. I want to see moral clarity from them on what good versus evil is. And like, how are you going to use your power to make sure, for example, if a student is not abiding or a school rather is not abiding by Title 9, is not abiding by the law, that you should not be allowing boys into girls restrooms. I want to know what are you, as the attorney general, going to do about that? That is in a runoff. So we've got Congressman Chip Roy, a Republican representative, and we've got state, state Senator Mays Middleton, who doesn't actually have any lawyer experience, which is not necessarily a bad thing. He's just bringing a different kind of experience to the table. I actually think my opinion is that either of those guys could Beat the Democrat for attorney general in Texas. Not worried about that race. What I'm more worried about is the Senate race. Right now. We're in a runoff between John Cornyn, who has been the Republican senator from Texas for a very long time, and then we've got Ken Paxton, who is the previous Texas attorney general, very aggressive on conservative policy. A lot of people like him Turning Point USA endorsed him. But he's got some, you know, personal things in his past. He's had some very open public marriage problems, different kinds of allegations related to. To that. And I. The only reason I bring that up is because whoever wins that runoff will be going against a state representative named. Named James Talarico, who is extremely progressive. And why I find him very troubling is because he kind of weaves in his form of Christian theology into justifying his unfettered support of abortion, believing that boys can become girls. All kinds of extremist progressive positions. He presents in a way that's like, okay, these positions are not only sane, but they're also holy. They're also what Jesus would think about abortion and gender and all of these things. And his Christian, a Christian shtick is actually very persuasive, I think, for a lot of moderates and independents that might be turned off by some of Paxton's, like, personal things and maybe even just his aggressive disposition. And so I just encourage the Texans out there, when you are voting for someone in this runoff, to vote for the person. I'm not even giving my opinion on who this is, but vote for the person, especially for Senate, that you think will beat the Democrat. That's really all that matters. Whatever you think about their past record, whatever you think they're going to do once they're in office, they will be better than James Talarico. So vote for the person that you think gives us the best chance to beat him in November.
- [06:31]
Riley Gaines
Yeah, and James Talarico, of course, he beat Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett. And in watching some of the clips that I have seen surface online of James Talarico and his stance on several of these, especially cultural issues, I think this is far more consequential, him being the Democratic nominee as opposed to Jasmine Crockett. Because what Jasmine Crockett does is she argues politics. Now, whether she does that effectively or intellectually, that that's up for debate, but she argues politics. Talarico, as you alluded to, he argues that Jesus supports progressive ideology. So one is partisan, the other one reframes Christianity itself. We have actually have a video really Quick, let's play it of James Talarico.
- [07:14]
James Talarico (clip)
Before we go further, I want to acknowledge that our trans community needs abortion care too. Defending trans Texans is something we have to do every day at the state capitol, and you better believe I'll be giving sermons on that too. So when I use the word woman, it should not be understood as an exhaustive term, but rather as a, as a lens through which to understand, examine and interrogate patriarchy, similar to how we specify anti black racism.
- [07:43]
Riley Gaines
He's talking trans and abortion and anti black racism and patriarchy and the word woman. Like there were so many buzzwords in like a 20 second clip, I can't even keep up.
- [07:54]
Ali Beth Stuckey
What in the world does that mean? Like, okay, you're bringing a woman into the emergency room and she's got like uterine pains and you're like, hey, this woman has pains. And the doctor is like, do you mean biological woman or are you talking about the mechanism by which we are trying to tear down the patriarchy? I need to know before figuring this out. This is such a convoluted way to see the world. And when you listen to this presented as a sermon, not just, you know, a politician behind a podium, but really like a preacher behind a pulpit saying that it's okay moral normal to transition to the opposite sex. That's one position that he articulated. And that these people who transition to the opposite sex, particularly trans men, need the legal taxpayer funded right to kill their unborn children. And also when I say woman, I'm talking about dismantling the patriarchy, not actually what it means by woman. And actually, and also I am talking about the systemic racism that plagued our country today. I mean, he got that all into like a 30 second clip. It's kind of impressive. Yes, is sermonizing in front of a church. And so I think you're absolutely right that this is more troubling to me than Jasmine Crockett. She was kind of a ridiculous person. Of course she's got bad policies. But this person is also appealing to spiritual seekers. He is kind of like the left wing atheist version of a good Christian. Someone who is locked up with the secular world when it comes to every issue, is not really interested in the exclusivity of Jesus or sin, repentance or salvation, but simply sees Jesus as a mascot, as a means to his progressive ends. And I'm more concerned, even more concerned about the effect that that has on people's souls than I am the effect of his policies on our country.
- [09:39]
Riley Gaines
Yeah, that's right. And in Watching this. Is he himself? Is he a pastor?
- [09:45]
Ali Beth Stuckey
He's not. He comes from a line of pastors. He says that his grandfather was a pastor, maybe even his father, too. He definitely has the oratory skills and the cadence of a preacher, which I think has probably really helped him in his political career.
- [10:01]
Riley Gaines
Yeah. Which is, again, another concerning thing.
- [10:03]
Ali Beth Stuckey
Yep.
- [10:05]
Riley Gaines
To that point, do you think that churches in general, Bible believing churches, or at least those that claim to be, do you think that they are doing enough to disciple people in this culture that is increasingly hostile to Christian beliefs?
- [10:21]
Ali Beth Stuckey
Yeah, I mean, obviously I want politicians to oppose and completely conquer the policies that are represented. But even more than that, I want pastors to stand up and to speak the truth in opposition to what he's saying. Because right there, he's not saying primarily political or cultural war things. He's making theological statements. He's saying that Genesis 1:27 isn't true, which says that God made us in his image, male and female. He created us. He was on Joe Rogan, I'm sure your listeners and viewers know, several months ago, saying that the reason that he supports abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, so poisoning, dismembering of babies, is because Mary consented to being pregnant with Jesus, which, by the way, what he said actually happened in that interaction between Gabriel and Mary isn't even true. True. But even if it was an accurate description, using the conception of Jesus to justify violently butchering babies in the womb is absurd and it's evil. And so pastors, when the political becomes theological, which when it comes to sexuality and gender and marriage and abortion, it is theological. They've got the responsibility to say something because this is their turf. And pastors who are unwilling to talk about abortion and things like that, it's not that they're unwilling to be political and you're unwilling to be biblical because the Bible is so clear on all of these issues. When politicians get into your turf, then it is your responsibility as the shepherd of your flock to say something about it.
- [11:48]
Riley Gaines
Yeah. You know what a big red flag for me was and ultimately led me to switching churches. I went to the same church my entire life, but it was actually after President Trump was shot at back in 2024, leading up to, of course, the election. I go to church the next Sunday, and I wasn't expecting my. My pastor, my preacher to stand up there and deliver this political sermon. That's not what I was expecting. But of course, I recognized the. The moment that we were in, and I was certainly expecting us to pray. Not just for Donald Trump even, but for the direction of our country. But I didn't get that. My pastor didn't mention the. The circumstances situation at all. And it was a big red flag to me. And so I ended up looking into my church, ultimately switching church after I found other things that didn't necessarily align with the life that I want to live and the Christ that I follow. Flash forward several months to Charlie Kirk's assassination. I go to church and my pastor, the message that he delivered was so very needed, and every single seat in that entire church was filled by people who were desperate to hear that message. So now I have confirmation. I believe that I'm at a place that fulfills the need that both me and my husband spiritually have from a biblical lens. Yeah. And in listening to you talk about James on Joe Rogan, it reminded me of you on the Jubilee Forum, the debate that you had. Can you kind of explain the setup of this and if you were nervous going into this? Because admittedly, they have asked me to engage in this, this debate format before, but truthfully, I was very scared to do that. It's a. It's a pretty nerve wracking thing. No.
- [13:32]
Ali Beth Stuckey
Yeah. And if you do decide to do that, we can talk beforehand and I can tell you, like, what I learned and my tips going into it. I do just want to say something about what the story that you told about switching churches. I think so many people can relate to that. And I always want to make clear my perspective that a pastor isn't a newscaster and a pastor isn't bound to the 24 minute news cycle that we have, and they're not politicians. However, when something major happens that, you know, your entire congregation was disturbed by or wondering about, like President Trump almost being assassinated, like Charlie Kirk being assassinated, I believe that it is your responsibility to shepherd your flock with clarity and compassion. It doesn't have to be that you are going through every political position and talking point and all of that. It's to acknowledge that this happened and then to give them clarity from the word of God. And I always tell pastors that do a great job of this because there are so many pastors who do that. A clear and courageous pastor makes my job. Makes your job, Riley, a lot easier. Because when Christians are leaving church every Sunday and they're like, okay, yeah, like, I got a good story, but I'm still totally unsure about what to think about this subject. Wait, does the Bible have anything to say about abortion or gender or even immigration? I'm left still really confused about what I should clearly think about these issues. And so they have to tune into Relatable or the Riley Gaines show to get any clarity. Obviously we want people to tune into us. That's part of why we exist. But I want to be a fun addition to People's week. I want to be like auxiliary to people's walk with Christ. I don't want to be the main or the only source of clarity and truth that they have in their lives. I want their pastor to be that. I want their husbands to be that if they're married. And then I can, you know, add a little spice and information to their day. But when people are getting more clarity from podcasters than from pastors, we've got a big. We've got a big problem. So I just wanted to give my soapbox. All right, Jubilee, um, Jubilee was very nerve wracking. I remember when I was originally asked to do it, it was, you know, go against these 20 so called progressive Christians, which is kind of like the perfect niche for me. I will not. I'm not the kind of person that will debate on anything. I'm not like Charlie, who really could just pull anything out of his hat at any moment, no matter what the question was, and always have this very historically precise answer. I know range and I know the realm that God has like given me some wisdom in. And so I stuck right there, like within my niche because I kind of battled these progressive so called Christian arguments all day and I knew that I could probably hold my own. But I was nervous going in. And this was the last texting conversation that Charlie and I had because he had gone on Jubilee, crushed it. But they were very cruel to him, very harsh, very intense towards him. And I just remember texting him, asking him, you know, what should I do? How should I think about it? And as you experience too, in your friendship with him, he was such an encourager, just gave me so much wisdom, said, you know, I'm praying for you. He was so excited for me. And the filming of Jubilee was the day before his memorial. And so it was a crazy weekend. We were all sad, tired, it was hectic. I didn't want to do it. The last thing I wanted to do was be surrounded by a bunch of liberals. But let me tell you, when I walked in and everyone is super serious, it's very hot in that room. It's very like an intense, just, just feeling. I walk in and the first person comes to approach me and the first thing that he says, and they didn't leave this. In the final cut of the debate, he just reaches out his hand and he says, I'm so sorry about your friend Charlie. And when he did that, it just felt for me at least, that the tension just melted and that I was like, okay, like, I'm not actually doing this to try to defeat this person or to own this person, but to persuade this person, because, wow, this is like a person made in God's image whose soul I care about. So, like, how can I charm them? How can I try to persuade them? And when I shifted my mentality to that, rather than just thinking about the camera and what the audience is going to think, I actually think that's what helped me try to really win them over. That would be my biggest tip to anyone in a debate. Don't worry about what's going to be clipped and how to get the right talking point in, or if you're going to get trapped, try to persuade them. And that does take some logical jiu jitsu and all of that kind of stuff, which I can get into. But, yeah, I was nervous, and then I just really felt like the Holy Spirit met us there, and it ended up being a productive dialogue.
- [18:12]
Riley Gaines
Well, and what I saw in watching the debate online, of course, the clips, I think you really did just that. And not just the 20 progressive Christians in the room, but the millions and millions of people who interacted with this clip as well. I think you did a really, really beautiful job of that. And you mentioned Charlie and just the kind of friend that he was to you, obviously, how intellectual, how effective he was in communicating, especially in influencing my generation, young men, young women who are just like me, recent college graduates. I mean, that was his. His passion. And since his murder, we have seen just some of the most crazy and insane and profitable, quite frankly, conspiracy theories that are circulating online surrounding his death, who was involved in his death and. And I don't even know if it's worth mentioning the names or what those conspiracy theories are, but I took so much comfort and strength, truthfully, and watching you come out very quickly and combating that and combating it with the truth from a biblical lens. And because of that, you have people like Candace Owens who says that, you know, you're using the Bible as a shield, just some of the most crazy things. But I guess I just wanted to ask you, how do you personally decide when to speak out versus when to say silent on a trending controversy? Because for me, honestly, as someone who's called courageous and brave all the time, I was a Coward. Initially, Charlie was a friend of mine. He was a mentor. He was technically my boss at Turning Point usa, But I didn't know what my role in defending him and his legacy and his wife and the organization that he dedicated his adult life to, I didn't know what role I had there. But watching you so beautifully do this, it gave me a lot of courage.
- [20:12]
Ali Beth Stuckey
Look, I think it's really hard to know, especially when it's something that is personal. It's one thing when it's an issue. Sometimes we look at an issue or an event that happened, and I might say, you know what? I don't really know that I have a lot to contribute to that. That's not my area of expertise. I don't. You know, I'm not the top expert on geopolitics, so maybe I'll just give my Christian perspective, but I'm not going to be, like, leading the leading voice about, like, the war in Iran. That's just not what people are coming to me for. And I can say my piece and just kind of move from that. Sometimes there are stories, like, I remember with the Russia collusion thing, I ended up never covering that on my podcast because I'm like, that story got away from me, and now I don't even know what's happening. I'm just gonna let Dan Bongino and other people talk about that. I think that's fine. You have to pick and choose because you don't have the capacity to talk about everything. You don't have the capacity to know everything about everything. And there are so many different commentators, I think, that we, like, really have to stay within the niche in which God has placed us and just do our very best there. Like, what is my audience? What they craving when it comes to clarity? What are they confused about? What kind of traps of deception do I see them falling into? And am I falling into those traps? Do I have experience in that area? Do I have wisdom and experience that I can give my audience? Am I helpful in this, or am I just going to contribute more confusion because I don't have it figured out myself. When it came to the whole Candace thing, basically making all these kinds of insinuations about people who were close to Charlie, not based on evidence, but based on hunches based on different, alleged. Alleged patterns that she claimed to see. And I just didn't see truthfulness behind the things that she was saying or a lot of substance. And, you know, I can't say, oh, I was so courageous and clear out front because Honestly, for a while, I had so many people messaging me and saying, what do you think about this? What do you think about this? What do you think about this? I don't want to say anything about it. I just didn't. I didn't want to comment on it. And so I started just kind of saying things, not trying to attack anyone, but just to say, hey, guys, like, insinuation and investigation aren't the same thing. Implication and critical thinking aren't the same thing. Asking questions is good, but questions framed as accusations or accusations framed as questions actually have the power to ruin people's lives. And we just need to be really, really sure about the things we say, because we're actually judged by the things we say. We're going to have to give an account to Jesus about all of the things that we say. So we just need to be really careful not only about what we're saying, but what we're listening to, and especially if we're believing allegations that have the potential to really harm people. I'm all for questioning the government, by the way. I'm all for questioning the FBI, state authorities, media narratives. That's all fine. But I am going to stop short of making public allegations or insinuations about people based on no evidence. You know, and so I would say all of that, but I didn't want to, like, mention any names because there was a level of fear in me, and there was also a level of, like, I want to maintain alliances and friendships. Maybe there was, like, some pure motivations behind that, but there was definitely fear because, like, you're not only afraid of someone attacking you, but if someone doesn't have moral limits and someone is willing to lie just, like, completely, then there's really no, like, there's no parameters around what a person could try to do to you. And I understand why people would be fearful of that. But ultimately, and there's been a lot of different times in my career like this where I had to. To face my own cowardice and say, why am I not being clearer about this? And so that's when I just came out. I tried to be as gracious as possible. And yes, one of the things that she tried to hit me on was using scripture and trying to, like, I don't know, use scripture for my brand. Of course I'm a Christian. That's what Christians do. Christians use the word of God because we actually don't think our wisdom and knowledge and strength comes from our. Comes from ourselves. I actually don't think I have as much to offer as the word of God does. And so, yeah, I'm always going to be seeking truth and seeking clarity from that. That's what I do on every episode. And in confronting that, I wanted to also use the truth of God's word. And I won't apologize for that at all or change that part of what I do. But it was scary. And, you know, I still wonder sometimes. I'm like, do I still have a role in this? Is there something else that needs to be said? Like, am I being cowardly? Am I being discerning? Can I contribute anything that would be helpful? Or have I done my part and I just need to stay in my lane and focus on what I need to focus. I don't know what you think about that, but I think it can be difficult to make those kinds of decisions in the midst of it.
- [24:54]
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- [25:23]
Riley Gaines
Britain no, I, I absolutely agree. I think there's almost this level of pressure and I don't know if it's. It's self inflicted where you feel as if, at least speaking for myself, I feel as if I need to comment on everything because of the platform that I have. Because there are millions of people who follow you on Instagram and X or Tick Tock, whatever it is, you feel as if there's an obligation to speak on every single thing. And it is so funny. I actually attempted to do a podcast episode with my husband who grew up in the Middle east, actually in Kuwait and Dubai. He lived over there, so he's like my foreign policy expert, if you will. We attempted to do a podcast episode talking about Iran. It was so bad that I was like, why did I even just do that? Like, we filmed it, we did it, cut it up, put it together. And then I'm like, like that. Just as you just said, it's like my audience is not coming to me for that. I need to remove this pressure from myself to speak to things that, truthfully, I feel ill informed about. So I absolutely agree with you. And it's kind of funny you say that.
- [26:30]
Ali Beth Stuckey
Yeah, I think it's funny that you even. I think it's great that you even, like tell that story though, because all of us have had moments like that, like, I actually prepared an episode the other day, and I was going to respond to Huckabee and Tucker and some of the things they said, which I had done to the Ted Cruz interview. And I really felt equipped to do that for the Ted Cruz interview. I, like, had a whole document prepared, and I was looking at this. I was like, I don't freaking know enough geography for this. And I could go up there and read this document, but I'm not going to be confident because it's going out of the realm of theology, into the realm of geopolitics, into the realm of geographical history, and I am not going to get up there and pretend like I'm an expert on it, because I'm not. Not so.
- [27:14]
Riley Gaines
Yeah.
- [27:15]
Ali Beth Stuckey
I think it's just a part of, like, of learning and learning your limits, and there's actually a lot of freedom, like, to stay within your limits.
- [27:22]
Riley Gaines
Totally. It is. It's almost like a liberating feeling when you understand the people who watch you or follow you or what they're looking for advice on. And if you're able to deliver that in a way that I think impacts someone, even if it's just one person's life or how they think in a way that is beneficial or good, it is. It's liberating. It's a. It's a satisfactory feeling.
- [27:45]
Ali Beth Stuckey
Yeah, totally.
- [27:46]
Riley Gaines
Following Charlie's assassination and in talking about some of these bad actors, I think we've witnessed a fracture amongst the conservative movement. Do you view Charlie in a similar light that I do, where he really was like a connecting fiber and a coalition builder, kind of like the glue of the conservative movement? And in that, I guess, looking forward, there's kind of two ways you can handle this. You could overlook some of the things and, you know, kind of hold hands and unite. We hear this all the time. We need to unite if we want to win the midterms in 2028 or 2026, whatever it is, or do you feel it necessary to call out the bad actors?
- [28:33]
Ali Beth Stuckey
You know, I've debated this a lot. There was definitely a time when I was kind of think least in my mind, like, yes, no enemies to the right, especially after Charlie. Because I'm like, okay, clearly this is the one enemy I need to focus all of my attention on this radical form of progressivism that is killing people or is motivating people to kill people on our side and to kill Christians. But then as I've started thinking about it, especially as we see so much fracturing on the right, I'M like, gosh, defining your terms, though, is so important. What does it mean to be on the right? Right. What does it mean to be a conservative? Because the reason why it's so much harder to unite and build things on the right than it is on the left, it's actually a feature of progressivism versus conservatism. Progressivism is trying to destroy. They want to dismantle the system, they want to dismantle Western civilization. They don't think America and how it's built or even the Constitution is good, so they want to tear it down. If you're tearing down a building, you don't have to agree with the people who are trying to tear it down with you. Okay, you use a malice it, I'll use a bulldozer. You take the roof, you take this. It doesn't really matter. You just whack at it until it's destroyed. But if you're trying to build something, which I would say conservatives are trying to do, you're trying to preserve and build something good, you have to agree on the foundation, you have to agree on the materials, you have to agree on who does what and what tools you use. And that is a lot harder, which is why we have so much debate and disagreement on our side, which is not inherently a bad thing. But we have to agree on the foundation. If we don't agree on the foundation of what we are, who we are, and what we're trying to build, then none of the other debates that we have really matter. So can you be a conservative and believe that? I don't know. Like, that Islam is not that Judaism is a bigger threat than Islam, or like, whatever it is, that Israel is a bigger threat than the radical Islamification that we see in our country. Can you be a conservative and reject the idea that we are all made in God's image and that we were all given inherent rights by a creator? So those are the things fundamentally, we just need to decide. And maybe the Israel question isn't even, like, part of the fundamental identity debate that we need to be having, although it seems to be, like, a center of so much of our disagreement. But we just need to be able to define our terms and work from there, because I'm not sure that everyone who calls themselves on the right, like, is actually on the right. And I think it's okay for us to say that, but we need to come to a consensus on what that actually looks like.
- [31:06]
Riley Gaines
Yeah, I think there's a lot of people to your point who kind of hide under the cloak of conservatism. Even people like Nick Fuentes, who took to X the other day and tweeted after the strikes in Iran, you know, are you still happy with your vote for Trump? And it's like, yes, yes, I very much am. Like, what, what's the point you're trying to make here? Think of all of the wins and the success and the victories that we have seen. Now with that, are we going to agree with every single thing the President does at all times? No, I think it would be concerning if we did, but I think there are lots of people on the right who are certainly hiding under this cloak of conservatism. Yeah, I put a, a little text box up yesterday, engaging my followers and saying, you know, what questions do you want to ask Ali? And so I've got a few kind of rapid, rapid fire ones here for you. The first one being, how do you think toxic empathy plays into American foreign policy, which is obviously timely with the news the past week or so?
- [32:09]
Ali Beth Stuckey
Yeah, you know, I think I'm not sure about, in relation to Iran. I'd have to think about that a little bit more. Although, like, actually, I already have seen some reporting like the Ayatollah was basically described by some outlets as this, like, warm, cheery, grim, and fatherly man, instead of the brutal dictator he was that ordered the slaughter of men, women and children for protesting or simply being a Christian, jailed people for exercising their Christian faith, and even wrote an interpretation of Islamic law that justified the molestation of infants and justified the brutal rape of child brides. And so instead of just seeing evil for what it is, and I'm not saying even you could argue whether or not that justifies the bombing of Iran. But instead of just seeing evil for what it is, being able to call Islamic ideology and brutal authoritarians, what they are, which is evil, you have this softening of wickedness, which could be a form of toxic empathy. It could also be Trump derangement syndrome, that everything that Trump does is bad. So we have to cast the other side is somehow good. It's also a sickness that I think was injected into us by Obama, who had the exact opposite mentality when it came to foreign policy. Oh, America has been strong. We feel bad for that. We have to apologize for that. We don't want to be strong. We don't want to be first. We don't want to be top dog. So we just need you to apologize. Here's $56 billion. Iran is definitely going to infuse that into their economy and not use it to fund terrorism. Of course, the exact opposite was true. And so people just really need to step out of our feelings when it comes to not just foreign policy, but any domest policy, and ask ourselves, but what's true? Not what the tone is, not what the stated intention of a policy is, but what is the outcome of that policy? The outcome of the policy is one of the ways that we determine whether or not it's a good policy. Not by how well it's presented to us and not by how it makes us feel.
- [34:07]
Riley Gaines
Yeah, absolutely. Which I read your book. I'm going to plug your book for you right now because it really is such a fantastic read in approaching how to approach conversations, even like what we've seen recently with ice, where a lot of what you see, especially because of these media narratives that you mentioned, it does. It tugs at your heartstrings when you see this beautiful little boy and he's got this hat on and he's wearing his backpack and you're reading that he's been detained by ICE and they're deporting his father. As a Christian, I think those of us who don't have hardened hearts, naturally you're going to feel a certain type of way when you see that whether it's true or not is a different story. So how to approach even conversations pertaining to immigration. Really, really good read. Okay, next question for you. How do we specifically pray for our country? She says, what exactly do we should we be praying for?
- [35:00]
Ali Beth Stuckey
Yeah. And I just want to say it's not an either or either compassion or cold hard truth. It's. Yes, I feel for that little boy so much. Wow. An image bearer of God. An innocent boy who is vulnerable. And I don't want him to be in a bad position. And you want what's best for him. And what is factually true about this story? Uh, did his father put him in that position? What is biblically true? What is politically true? So having feelings is good, having compassion is good. But we can't let that cloud our judgment completely and steer us away from what is actually true. Okay, second question. How we can pray for our country? Is that what she said?
- [35:35]
Riley Gaines
Yes, yes, yes.
- [35:36]
Ali Beth Stuckey
The next question, how can we pray for our country? Well, we should always be praying for our leaders. We should be praying for them, whether they're Democrat or Republican. I pray for President Trump that he humbles himself before God and that he realizes that the strength and the wisdom that he needs doesn't come from him, but it comes from the God of The universe. I pray for God's favor over his life, that God would bring him into relationship with himself. And I pray for all of our military. I pray for all of the people in charge on the state, local level, whatever, that they would know the gospel. That's the best thing that could possibly happen, even to someone evil like Gavin Newsom. We want him to be saved. That is the best case scenario. And the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We want wise leaders. That means we want God fearing leaders. And so even the politicians that you hate so much that you feel like have made your life a living hell, pray for them to come to know Christ. That's the best case scenario for all of us.
- [36:27]
Riley Gaines
And it was one of the most remarkable things at Charlie's memorial service when you had all of these elected officials appointed officials who were on stage in front of millions and millions of people watching online declaring the name of the Lord and even amidst tragedy, the goodness and our merciful and just heavenly Father really, really special to see with my own eyes in person. Okay, next question for you. There's only two left. Next. One, can women have it both ways? So can women have a career and family? Or is that a false belief?
- [37:01]
Ali Beth Stuckey
You can, but you can't have all careers and be a present mom. That's just the truth is that it is possible to do a job like Riley or I do, that is flexible, where you essentially your own boss, you and your husband, you know, you, Riley and your husband work together. My husband and I work together, which not everyone can do. But that makes it possible for us to bring along our family as much as possible and really intertwine what we feel like God has called us to do professionally with what God has called us to do first and foremost as a mom and dad and husband and wife. And so it's possible for you to possibly have an Etsy shop, for you to be an artist, for you to work part time, for you to have the kind of job that gives you autonomy and flexibility and still be the present mom that God has called you to be. I don't think it's possible to have a corporate job where you have to clock in at 8 o', clock, clock out at 5:30, if you're lucky, only spend two hours at home at night and be as present as you want to be as the chief discipler of your kids. Now, for those out there that you're like, I'm a single mom, that's the only way that I can provide for my family. Like there's so much grace for you. I understand there are different exceptions and circumstances, chances, but for those who have the option, there is a period of time in our kids lives that goes by so, so fast that working, constantly working, you know, 50 hour weeks away from home, it's just not conducive to shaping them in those little years. So it's a little bit of a nuanced answer, which is kind of a yes and no.
- [38:29]
Riley Gaines
Yeah, yeah. And I entirely agree with you and to the point you mentioned your husband. My husband is the exact same way, where we really are a team and we do things together and without his support and kind of being like a constant for me, a rock for me throughout all the ups and downs of this, these crazy lives that we live, I wouldn't be able to do what I do. So I thank God every single day for a supportive husband. Same same last thing for you. This person asked what is the best book to read or podcast to listen to and how do you form your thoughts?
- [39:06]
Ali Beth Stuckey
Ooh, the best book to read overall? Well, if I can just let people in on something which might be a little surprising or disappointing. So one, I don't listen to very many podcasts. Riley knows this. When you record your own podcast and you have other things personal, professional to do throughout the day, it leaves very little time to consistently listen to podcasts. I listen to Riley, I listen to Megyn Kelly, I listen to Ben Shapiro, I listen to Al Muller the Briefing. I listen to all kinds of people when I can. For reading, I actually mostly only read fiction, which I know is kind of crazy for people. I do. I will listen to an audiobook that is informative, especially like science type books. I like learning about all different kinds of scientific things, even though I'm not really a sciencey person. But I like to listen to those because I'm more likely to listen while I'm doing something else to the informative books, the historical books. I'm reading a fiction book called the Correspondent right now. It has no necessarily redeeming value except that I think reading fiction makes you a better thinker and a better writer and a better communicator and more creative. And I always, I never want to lose that part of my mind and I love being creative and reading fiction consistently helps me be that. So I know that's not a very good answer to what this person asked, but that's the truth of it.
- [40:26]
Riley Gaines
No, I love it. And it shows you're a real person, I think. Oftentimes when people are so intellectual and articulate. You think they spend all of their time just consuming and consuming as much information as they can. But you reading a fiction book, it personalizes you. It shows you're a real human being. So thank you. I really, really appreciate you and everything that you do and how you do it, most importantly. So thank you very much. Ali.
- [40:53]
Ali Beth Stuckey
Likewise. Thank you so much, Riley.
- [41:06]
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