← The Tim & April Show
Loading summary
Transcript319 lines
- [00:00]
A
You're listening to a new evangelicals production, New Year, New Me. Cute, but how about New Year, New Money? With Experian, you can actually take control of your finances. Check your FICO score, find ways to save and get matched with credit card offers, giving you time to power through those New Year's goals. You know you're going to crush. Start the year off right. Download the Experian app based on FICO's Score8 model offers an approval not guaranteed. Eligibility requirements and terms apply subject to credit check, which may impact your credit score. Offers not available in all states. See experian.com for details. Experian. The Tim and April show, where we unravel faith, politics and culture.
- [00:53]
B
We're live. We're on.
- [00:54]
A
Hello. Hi. Hello.
- [00:56]
C
Hi.
- [00:56]
A
Hi. Hi. Hello.
- [00:58]
B
Are you eating?
- [01:01]
A
No, I have a cough drop in. I still have a lingering cough and now I have a bruised rib because of this stupid cough and oh my gosh. I know, it's fine. I know. Well, I mean, not officially diagnosed, but I don't know what else it would be because every time I like it's like, ow. So that's just lovely.
- [01:21]
B
On that note, welcome everyone to the Tim and April Show. I am Tim Whitaker.
- [01:25]
A
I'm April Ajoy.
- [01:26]
B
Good to see everyone. Welcome into the live. A lot to get to today because, you know, Mag is crashing out over a politician that says we should have affordable health care in the country and that our neighbors should have access to, you know, gender affirming care. And somehow MAGA thinks this is the end of the world. Not, not like the end of the world rapture style. I mean, the end of like the, you know, political world. What has different, what has America come to? The fact that people would vote for someone who would say those horrific, evil, vile things is they just can't fathom it. So we're going to get into that today for sure. If you're watching on YouTube, please make sure to give this video a like subscribe to the channel. If you're watching on substack, please make sure to lightly tap the heart button. It would mean so much to us and hello to our substack audience as well. So yeah, that's our. That's my intro. That's what I got.
- [02:18]
A
Can I just say, you know, Donald Trump was in Kentucky yesterday, which is where I live, and there's this clip going around where he mispronounces Kentucky in front of a bunch of Kentuckians.
- [02:36]
B
Let me see if I can get it. I think I pulled it for you. Like you asked. Okay.
- [02:41]
A
I just have to show this. Like, I mean, of all the things that Trump has done. Okay, you know, this is not that bad, but. Oh, it just proves more that we're just in the stupidest timeline.
- [02:54]
B
I have the wrong screen up. Hang on, friends. Let me fix this. Boop. There we go. Okay, here's what we got. I'm going to play this from the beginning. Kentuckian pronounces it. But if I Brand new construction jobs in Kentucky. Okay, Kentucky. What? I love the way a real Kentuckian pronounces it. But if I do it, I'll get. But I love Keen Tucky. More American.
- [03:24]
A
Keen Tucky.
- [03:25]
B
Yeah. You're a local, right? Like you live in.
- [03:27]
A
I am a local. So now I've only lived here a few years, but I've never heard a single person pronounce it Keen Tucky keen. I made a video about it yesterday because I was just so, like, annoyed. Like, that's. That's just something that's so easy. And you know that he said he can say it, right? Cause he said Kentuckian. Correct. King Kentucky.
- [03:47]
B
This is the same guy who says 2 Corinthians and Evangelical leaders are like, what a God fearing baby Christian this man is.
- [03:56]
A
So I just don't know what he's thinking. He just makes stuff up. How do you talk to a group of people from a place and then mispronounce that place and then comment on how I get in trouble if I say it like the Keen Tuck Ians.
- [04:10]
D
What?
- [04:11]
B
I. I don't know if anyone else out there. Someone put in the chat. Fried chicken. That's a good one, Danny. Man, I'm tired of that. But yeah, I mean, if anyone else is out there who's also from. From Kentucky wants to dispute April's claim that no one says Keen Tucky. By all means.
- [04:32]
A
I feel like it's just how people pronounce it. If they're like making fun of people from, like, they, like, they think everyone here is just like, redneck. And we're like, keen ducky.
- [04:42]
B
This is such a random ADHD moment. But there's a show called Forged in Fire. It's like a reality show where they make, you know, knives and swords out of, like, you know, literal metal from scratch. And one of the, one of the judges, he always says if something is like really sharp, he goes, it will kill. He says it like that.
- [05:00]
E
It will kill.
- [05:01]
B
And I'm like, that's what reminded me of Kentucky. It would kill. I don't get it, that, that is very random.
- [05:09]
A
But I feel, I feel you.
- [05:10]
B
I'm obviously getting too comfortable on the air. That's the problem.
- [05:13]
A
So it's all right. We have a very jam packed show because I don't know if you all have seen the right maga. It's like, especially maga. Christians are losing their minds because James Talarico is now the Democrat candidate for Senate in Texas. I actually saw a poll that released last week where he was actually pulling ahead of either Ken Paxton or John Cornyn because they are currently in a runoff. So they're scared, I think.
- [05:52]
B
I don't even know how we're going to get through this with our composure. Because every time we go live on the show every week, we always try and bring people things that are just like, wow, how do people think this way? This is like another escalation of that. Because some of the videos we're going to show you and play, they're just jaw dropping. Especially consider who they're coming from. Maybe we can start off with this person first. Good old Josh Howerton. Okay, Josh Howerton. Oh, what's up?
- [06:20]
A
Yeah, I was going to know. Should we explain who James Talarico is first, for those who may not know, like, just give a little background on him.
- [06:26]
B
Sure, go ahead.
- [06:27]
A
I just want, I just want to point out. So he's obviously a Texas Democrat. He just, he's a candidate for Senate. He's been a state congressman, I believe, for the last little bit. But he actually has, he's, he's a seminary student. He has a master's in theological studies, and he knows what he's talking about in many ways. He's probably more educated in theology than a lot of the clips we're going to, going to be showing you about maga. But I think what makes them the most mad is that James Talarico talks about his faith and in justification for certain policies that he supports, kind of like, you know, standing up for the marginalized. He supports trans rights, he supports women's rights. He's very vocal about being anti Maga. And so he really, he does what you and I do all the time, which is to use scripture as a kryptonite to the way MAGA uses scripture, which they use it like a weapon. And James Talarico is using it as a, A tool of freedom.
- [07:32]
B
Yes.
- [07:32]
A
For the oppressed.
- [07:33]
B
That's right. In fact, for anyone else, for anyone out there who follows the New Evangelicals, the organization that, that produces this show, we have another podcast called the New Evangelicals podcast. I had the pleasure of interviewing James Talarico not once, but twice on that podcast. Once remotely and once in person at his seminary in Austin. We brought a film crew in, we had a live audience. About 120 people showed up. And I, he's, it was great. Both conversations are out there. This, this is not new for me. Like, seeing James, I'm like, oh, yeah, this is what James does. Like, James is a Christian. He, he, he advocates that because of his faith. He wants a society full of human flourishing. Of course, though, for MAGA Christians, that is a major problem because. Because as we always say, Christian nationalism is built on an ethic of power and control and domination over the other. So the idea of a society where other people who are not like these Christian nationalists can flourish and have access to healthcare or other rights that you have access to is a major problem for these folks. Especially if you're gonna justify it in the name of Christianity. Right? Because these people really believe, like they have the corner on Christian truth and anyone else is just a heretic. So the first video we're gonna play, it's a little bit longer, but I think it's worth it. We can maybe pause this as we need to. April, this is the caption is mega church Pastor rips mask off Texas Dem James Talarico. This is his own team. This is his own video. This is Josh Howerton, who is indeed a mega church pastor. This man preaches to tens of thousands of people every single Sunday. Let's hear his critique of James Talarico. You ready?
- [09:13]
E
Progressivism will hollow out your religion and wear it like a skin suit. That's what this dude does. In the biblical category, this guy is a false prophet and a false teacher. That just so happens to also be in politics. So, number one, this is his quote unquote church, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church. You got the LGBT flag, by the way, draped around a cross like visual blasphemy. Number two, James Talarico. Our trans community needs abortions too. I don't even know what that means. I got questions that I don't want answers to. Actually, for me, prophetic voices like Jesus have helped me reckon with my own whiteness, my own masculinity, my own certainty, my own. It's a never ending process. It's a painful process. Here we go.
- [09:52]
B
He said this. Hold on. I, I, I. Hey, I, I just need a breather from, from that torrent of utter nonsense. James Talarico has his, his M. Div. From a respected seminary. He obviously knows the Bible. He knows the Christian tradition. Okay. And just because Josh Howerton would disagree with Talarico's theology does not mean that Talarico is wearing Christianity like a skin suit. It just means that Josh Allerton is living in a different part of the Christian house, which I would argue is the basement, because of how. Of how constricting it is, because of how fundamentalist it is, because of how uncurious it is. Right. It's just judgmental. And it's just kind of odd watching a mega church pastor be so sly, especially someone who claims to know the Bible and understand Christianity, be so condescending towards someone who has different opinions and interpretations than he does about the Bible, which we all have. That Josh. Like, it's a big tradition.
- [10:56]
A
Well. And when you're a white evangelical in this world, you are taught that your belief system is the only true form of Christianity.
- [11:04]
B
Yeah.
- [11:04]
A
Like, I didn't know that there was an affirming interpretation, like a queer affirming interpretation of Scripture. Until I started deconstructing. I didn't even know it existed. And so there are multiple different interpretations of Scripture, which is why you have over 45,000 Christian denominations worldwide. There is no one way to be a Christian, because the Bible is not clear, and many verses can be interpreted in different ways.
- [11:31]
B
Yep.
- [11:32]
A
And we understand that.
- [11:33]
B
Right.
- [11:33]
A
But people like Josh don't.
- [11:37]
B
No, they don't. They don't for Congress.
- [11:39]
E
Modern science obviously recognizes there are many more than two biological sexes. In fact, there are six. I got questions. I don't want answers. This is him giving a sermon. So he's preaching at his St. Andrews Presbyterian quote, unquote church, Synagogue of Satan.
- [11:53]
B
Wow.
- [11:54]
E
Okay.
- [11:55]
B
This. Okay, so for friends out there who do not understand this world, Synagogue of Satan, first off, is a trope for anti Semitism. A lot of evangelicals or a lot of anti Semitic Christians will use that term because Jesus uses it in the Bible. They'll take it out of context. They'll apply it to all the Jewish people today. So for me, when Josh Howerton says that, I'm immediately like, yikes, dude. I'm not sure if you even realize who you're appealing to here. Even though Josh is a Zionist. Different discussion. But synagogue of Satan is a pretty strong term coming from a guy who simps for a president that brags about assaulting women. I'm just saying, like.
- [12:32]
A
And don't worry, after we show you what several people are saying about James Talarico, we are going to show you what they say about Trump. We are Going to make the comparison.
- [12:41]
B
Not to, not to clickbait you all, but you want to stick around because the videos we have of the A and B comparison of Telo and Trump response is. It's hilarious. Okay, we'll keep going.
- [12:51]
E
He starts. He gave a disclaimer about how he knows that trans people need abortions too. Again, I got questions. I do not want answers. Next quote. James Talarico. Trans children are God's children. Children made in God's own image. There's nothing wrong with them, nothing at all. They are perfect, they are beautiful, they are sacred. So notice what he's doing is he's using overtly theological language to sort of cloak his extreme progressivism. Now I'm going to play you two.
- [13:19]
B
I just want to make sure I heard Josh right. It's extreme progressivism to affirm that trans kids do exist and that they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect as sacred image bearers, like all humans do. That, that's extreme.
- [13:35]
A
Also their basic argument that there's only, they would say only two genders. But gender and sex are two different things. Gender is a social construct. And then biological sex is really what they're talking about. When they're talking about gender, they conflate the two. But also they are wrong because intersex people exist.
- [13:54]
B
Yes.
- [13:54]
A
Like even if you take out like inward chromosomes that make up, you know, that, that, that literally make up your, your internal composition differently, which is how trans people exist. Take that away biologically, like your sex organs. There are people that are born with both. They are called intersex people. They make up about 1 to 2% of the population, which is the exact same percentage as natural born redheads. So if you've ever seen a redhead, you, you have seen an intersex person. So by default, their argument that there's only two sexes is wrong. Because them trying to ban the existence of trans people completely ignores that 1 to 2% of the population are born with both parts. Part of one part, part of the other. Born. Born with both. And a lot of times they have to make a decision later on in life. On. I don't know why I'm blurry.
- [14:49]
B
Oh, your camera. Yeah, get closer.
- [14:52]
E
There we go.
- [14:54]
A
But anyway, like, and for the record, you don't have to be intersex to be trans, but that they're a very, they're just like in, in and of itself prove their entire MAGA argument about trans people wrong.
- [15:04]
B
Well, this is what happens when fundamentalism meets reality. Right? They're forced to choose the dogma in face of facts that people who are intersex exist, which are, do not fit into these categories that they have created that are neat. Also, one more thing I want to mention because I need to just say this. It is absurd. It's absurd that trans kids are like one of the biggest talking points for maga because first off, it is incredibly uncommon. A study in, in last year, according to NPR, found that only 0.1% of all teenagers are seeking some kind of gender affirming care, which is completely via like puberty blockers or some kind of medication, nothing to do with any kind of surgery. So not only is this narrative incredibly uncommon and rare, it's also false because they call it, you know, child genital mutilation. That's not what's going on at all. And furthermore, furthermore, it is not the business of Josh Howerton to get in the middle of the, of a parent and their child and their healthcare provider trying to do the best thing they can for that child who might be experiencing legitimate gender dysphoria. And we have research and data that suggests and demonstrates that gender affirming care lowers the risk of unaliving thoughts. It is life saving and it affects very few people. But for Josh Howerton, right, his audience is laser focused on point 1% of the population for no reason. They don't affect Josh's life at all. That's a distraction from the man that they vote for who's currently in the Epstein files, embalming schoolchildren in Iran. So I just find it just so incredulous that Josh has this kind of audacity to make this a major controversial point. It is irrelevant to the broader conversation. These are kids who deserve gender affirming care. The end. Moving on, next issue.
- [16:58]
A
Right, and also there is a clip of him that we've played on a previous show, I don't remember when, where he's talking about end of the world and Iran specifically. And this was an older video, so it was before this. I think it was after the first
- [17:12]
B
time we watched it a little over a year ago.
- [17:15]
A
Yeah, yeah, but he's literally smiling as he's talking about the end of the world.
- [17:22]
B
I mean, I do have that clip. Like, I can pull it. It's on my hard drive if you want. I'm just saying I can pull that. Maybe later.
- [17:29]
A
We've got a lot of clips, but anyway. Is there more to this?
- [17:32]
B
Josh Howard, halfway through, hey, this was your clip. I pulled it.
- [17:37]
A
I forgot how long it is.
- [17:38]
B
Let's keep going.
- [17:40]
E
Two short clips of him. And then I want to read a
- [17:43]
C
Bible verse in the Gospel of Thomas, which was later omitted from the Bible.
- [17:49]
E
I'm sorry, let's keep going.
- [17:51]
C
The Gospel of Thomas quotes Jesus as saying, when you make the male and female one in the same, when the male is not male, when the female is not female, then you will enter the kingdom of God.
- [18:07]
E
First of all, he's misquoting the Gospel of Thomas. Even the heretics are like, bro, you're really out there. And he's misquoting it to like essentially do queer theory and trans ideology that men are women and women are men. And then last one, this is testifying, I think, before Congress.
- [18:23]
B
Okay, wait, really quick. I want to respond to this. And again, I always have the sources here. Great book by an actual bona fide scholar. Dr. Jennifer Byrd wrote a book called Marriage in the Bible. What do the texts say? And she makes the argument that in Matthew, when Jesus is talking about divorce and marriage, later on in the passage, he talks about eunuchs and eunuchs in the ancient world. According to Dr. Jennifer Byrd, some of them were kind of like a in between gender. Like they weren't seen as fully male or fully female. They were castrated. Sometimes they were used to sleep with women because they couldn't get women pregnant. And they were kind of seen as like an in between. They, they, they, they didn't really fit into these neat categories. I'm not saying that it's the same thing as what we understand today when it comes to being transgender, but the point is that even in the ancient world there were people who bent gender norms. This is not uncommon at all. And Jesus even says, I wish you could all be like the eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom. So this is not like a super far fetched concept at all that we're talking about here. Again, Josh can disagree, but the, the, the pride and arrogance he has. Like, like, like, like, like, like James is just so stupid and dumb and Josh is so smart and intelligent. It's just really telling, in my opinion.
- [19:35]
A
Well, it's because James Talarico is bringing nuance to a conversation that Josh Howerton and the Maga Christians like him have made a black and white issue are very fundamentalist about.
- [19:47]
B
Yeah, all right, we'll keep going.
- [19:49]
C
Both masculine and feminine and everything in between. God is non binary.
- [19:59]
E
Whoopsie daisy.
- [20:00]
D
God.
- [20:01]
B
Do you want to respond to that, April?
- [20:02]
A
Stupid. Yeah, I, this is, this is the clip that a lot of them are really mad about that he said that God has both masculine and feminine forms. And so based on that criteria, God is non binary. And my question for Maga out there is, when have you ever seen God's penis?
- [20:20]
B
Right?
- [20:24]
A
We are all made in the image of God, right? And if that's. Then God would have both masculine and feminine traits. Just tell me, where's God's penis?
- [20:32]
B
By their own fundamentalist logic, right? If they read Genesis 1 literally, and like Ali Sucky says God made male and female in his image, then obviously God has both the divine masculine and divine feminine traits. Also in the Bible, sometimes God is referred to as a mother hen, as a nursing mother. Saying that God is non binary, again, in our context, is not a crazy statement to make. God doesn't have genitals. He doesn't have a penis or a vagina. I'm just saying, you know, like it's. This is not crazy. It's wild. Just the, the, the. It's bizarre. Like, why, why? Anyway, here you go. Almost done.
- [21:09]
E
It's non binary again. He's using this to advocate for queer theory and transgender ideology. Hey, man, you guys are being really hard on this guy. We're not supposed to take it light on people who are like, actively leading people to hell. So I will simply read.
- [21:25]
B
Wait, wait, hold on. To be clear, everyone, I. Especially for the substack audience who might not have come from this world, let me explain something to you. In the Christian tradition, there are some widely held Christian beliefs, like the Trinity, the virgin birth, physical resurrection, those kinds of things. The Apostles Creed. James Talarico would affirm all the major Christian tenets today, okay? But because he has a different perspective on advocating for the humanity and rights of. Of his trans neighbors, according to Josh, he is leading people to hell.
- [21:59]
A
What?
- [22:00]
B
That doesn't even make sense in the Christian tradition. Crazy.
- [22:04]
A
I also just want to point out too that in Judaism, they view the creation story, it's called Miriam, where it's describing two ends of a spectrum. So you have, you know, God created night and day, but. And it doesn't mention sunsets, doesn't mention dawn, dusk, but yet those exist, right? So it's saying God created night and day, and then everything in between. Same thing with land and water. It only says land and water, but swamp lands and marshes exist. So we made land, water, and everything in between. And in that same, it says male and female. And if you're going through the. The way that's mentioning the others, it's male and female and then everything in between. And we know for a fact that the in between exists because of intersex people.
- [22:51]
B
Yes, yes. Yeah, almost done with this clip from
- [22:55]
E
hell verse from 2nd Corinthians 11. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. Watch out. Watch out for this dude. Watch out.
- [23:23]
B
You know what's so funny about this? First off, we could easily throw this verse back at Josh because look at his deeds and his ends. Look at who he votes for, look at what he defends. Like you said, we have the other video of Josh being gleeful about the war to end all wars, where presumably millions, if not people, if not billions of people are going to die. Josh is gleeful about that. So if we're going to take that verse out of context and, you know, apply it to someone, I would easily apply that to Josh Howard and say, look at what you vote for. Look at the policies and the person that you advocate for. And I cannot wait to show people how Josh treats Trump later on. So we're going to get into that. It is wild. It's wild. God, these people. It's crazy. Okay, next, that we wanted to share, again, we're trying to give you guys the lay of the land because keep in mind that we are dealing, as we all know in America with a president who is. Is. Is unhinged, is doing insane things, is. In the Epstein files, the FBI released a credible interview with a woman who claims that she was assaulted when she was a child by Trump. And again, that seemed to be a credible interview. According to the FBI, we have all these obligations of who this man is, but right wing media and these Christians are not talking about that. They are too busy talking about telo. So here's Ali Stuckey, our favorite. Sorry, Tandyman, if you're watching, I mentioned whose name we talked about. Say here is what she said about James.
- [24:48]
D
These are the people that aren't going to get on board with Talarico that he basically is saying is a lost cause. We evangelicals, because we are so staunch in our biblical beliefs and we are so staunch in our views on abortion and gender and immigration and things like that.
- [25:03]
B
So I'm sorry, I just need to say it is such an oxymoron for Ali to say biblical beliefs and then talk about her views on immigration, which fly in the face of what Jesus teaches and even what Many passages in the Hebrew Bible teach about welcoming the foreigner and the sojourner and the stranger. So I just want to point that out. Like she doesn't even see it. But okay.
- [25:26]
D
I'm not really worried about our crowd. I am worried about those and the white non evangelical Protestant world who might be conservative if it weren't for this deadly dose of toxic empathy that they are imbibing every day. This propaganda that makes them think that loving your neighbor means opening the border or loving your neighbor means affirming someone's so called gender identity, or that it's loving to women to legalize aborting their children because they might have a hard life otherwise.
- [26:01]
B
There you go. There you go. It's because of toxic empathy, everyone, that it's, it's this, it's this toxic dose of empathy that is the.
- [26:09]
A
I do think she brings up a good point. Like, I think the reason why. It's almost like they all received their marching orders and that was this week. We attacked James Talarico a hundred percent.
- [26:19]
B
100%.
- [26:20]
A
Yeah, they, they're all doing it. I mean, we, we, we, we're showing you a few today, but it's all, it's everywhere. It's everywhere. I've seen him called the Antichrist. I've seen him called the embodiment of Satan, false prophet. I mean, pretty much any biblical villain name you can think of, I've seen him called except for Jezebel, because that's reserved for women.
- [26:37]
B
Well, obviously, duh, April, duh.
- [26:42]
A
But I actually find it. I, I'm actually taking this as a sign of hope, actually, because they would not be going this hard against James Talarico if they were not scared that he could win Texas.
- [26:56]
B
I agree. Can I just show everyone Ali's thumbnail for her Talarico video? That was an hour long, which, by the way, I spent two and a half hours responding to yesterday. I'll post it later. But look, look at the, the thumbnail says Satan loves this. And then the title for the episode is, James Talarico is more demonic than you think. Abolishing prison, transing God and more. Didn't Jesus say, I've come to set the captives free again, I'm no, I'm no biblical expert.
- [27:29]
A
How can you trans God who has no genitals?
- [27:33]
B
I can't. I don't understand. Is God all powerful and supersedes all human reason and logic and domination, or do we have the power to do things to God? Like, I don't understand. I don't.
- [27:48]
A
I Hate the way that they've turned trans. Like the existence of trans people into a verb. When they say, like transing kids, like, that's not a thing. You are trans or you are not trans. Nobody goes up to someone and makes them trans.
- [28:01]
B
It's just so stupid. It's just, it's. We live in just one of the stupidest timelines imaginable. I don't know how in the multiverse we ended up here, April, but we did.
- [28:11]
A
Also, can I also just say I hate the term trans ideology?
- [28:15]
B
Same.
- [28:15]
A
There's no such thing as trans ideology. It would be like saying redhead ideology because I'm a natural redhead. I believe in some radical redhead ideology because I believe redheads should exist. Because we do. Like transgenic. Trans ideology is not a thing. It's like a fear mongering term that the right uses to make it seem menacing, but literally, it's just that trans people exist. They have always existed. Hey everyone. Melinda Hale here, executive director of the New Evangelicals. Thanks for listening to our podcast. I just wanted to take a minute to personally invite you to be a part of our community. At tne, we're creating space for people of faith who care about justice, compassion, and living out the teachings of Jesus in real, tangible ways. As a nonprofit organization, not only do we offer thought provoking podcasts, but on our new app and online platform, TNE Connect, we offer free educational resources, additional
- [29:10]
B
content, and a space to connect with
- [29:12]
A
like minded people for meaningful conversations and encouragement. So if what we're doing has been helpful to you, if you've learned something, felt, seen or been challenged to grow, head over to thenewevangelicals.com to join TNE Connect or make a donation. Your support means the world to us.
- [29:27]
B
Thanks for being a part of the movement. Friends, welcome in. If you're just joining us live, we're talking about the right wing backlash to James Talarico, the newest villain, apparently who hates people so much and therefore is demonic. Make sure to give this video a like. Subscribe to the channel if you're watching on YouTube. If you're watching on Substack, please give this video a little heart. And we are. What we're doing is we're showing you all a few clips of how the right has responded to James Talarico. And then in a few minutes we're going to show you how they respond to Trump. And then we're going to compare and contrast. I think it's just really worth it. Okay, this is Megyn Kelly and you know she's just been on one lately. So here's what she had to say about James Talarico.
- [30:11]
A
Talarico is a white Christian male. Nothing wrong with that. But Democrats it is. There is something wrong with that if you're a Democrat.
- [30:21]
B
What?
- [30:22]
A
However, they were willing to take.
- [30:23]
B
Sorry. There are so many Democrat males. Democratic males. What are we talking about?
- [30:27]
A
I think she was saying about the Christian part. I think it's. I think she's saying there's something wrong to be a Christian and Democrat.
- [30:34]
B
I. Okay, okay.
- [30:36]
A
Despite the fact that there are a lot of Christian Democrats.
- [30:38]
B
But Got it. Okay. Yeah, okay, got it.
- [30:40]
A
Because they apparently thought that this was their best chance to win in red Texas. Get a white guy. Somebody said, oh, and Christian. Okay, that'll do it. That's all you need, white Christian man. We're gonna win. But I'm not sure how comments like this one are going to play in the Lone Star State. Take a listen to Talarico in January of this year.
- [31:04]
C
What I've said is that our southern border should be like our front porch. There should be a giant welcome mat out front and a lock on the door. We can welcome immigrants who want to live the American dream. We can build a pathway to citizenship for those neighbors who have been here, making making us richer and stronger. And we can keep out people who mean to do us harm.
- [31:24]
B
He's a. Okay, Sorry. Can we. April, the.
- [31:26]
A
What is wrong with that?
- [31:27]
B
What? I I. Isn't this what they say? Don't they say, just come here legally? Isn't that what Megan Kelly says? What? What am I missing? Yes. Sorry. That. That's the bomb drop.
- [31:42]
A
Okay.
- [31:43]
B
Okay. Wow. What's the next Ben Kelly tell us
- [31:47]
A
and his interpretation of scripture? I mean, it might not connect with your average Texas voter. Check out this one from 2021.
- [31:55]
C
The first two lines of the Bible.
- [31:57]
A
The non binary one. Again.
- [31:59]
C
The first two lines in Genesis use two different Hebrew words to describe God. One is the masculine Hebrew noun for divinity.
- [32:11]
B
Okay.
- [32:12]
C
The second is the feminine Hebrew noun for spirit. God is both masculine and feminine and everything in between. God is non binary.
- [32:27]
A
Oh, my.
- [32:28]
B
What he gave, he gave what the Bible in Genesis 1 says in the Hebrew and makes a great point that God has both traits and everything in between.
- [32:39]
A
And look at Megan's face. She's rolling her eyes.
- [32:43]
B
Okay,
- [32:46]
A
that's it.
- [32:47]
B
Sorry, I thought there was more. What are we doing here?
- [32:53]
E
We can't.
- [32:54]
B
Yeah, go ahead, you go.
- [32:55]
A
Oh, I was just gonna say she's talking about. I don't think this is gonna Go great with the average voters. And I would agree. I don't think James Talarico is going to reach maga. They are. They've drunk too much Kool Aid by any means. It's. It's hard to reach people that are in maga. But as we have seen, there's a lot of people from MAGA that are waking up that are regretting their Trump vote, that are not happy with what Trump is doing. And when you are a Christian nationalist.
- [33:21]
B
Yeah.
- [33:21]
A
Usually you don't realize you are. Your political beliefs are intertwined with your theology. And when you start questioning one thing.
- [33:29]
B
Yeah.
- [33:30]
A
Everything else becomes vulnerable and open.
- [33:34]
B
It unravels.
- [33:36]
A
Right. And James Talarico, if you, if you take out, just objectively listen to what he's saying, you can still disagree if you actually listen to him, but if you listen to him, he makes sense. He uses scripture in a way that a lot of these people have never heard. And it's, and it's like it's good interpretation. It's just as valid as their interpretation.
- [34:00]
B
I'm just trying to, you know, I keep asking myself, like, what exactly are they saying is bad here? What is it like? James, first off, James talks very monotone. He's very kind even to his opponents. He doesn't dehumanize people. He sounds reasonable. I mean, that immigration comment sounds very reasonable to me. It sounds like, honestly how George Bush talked about it back in the early 2000s. Even Ronald Reagan sounds like a pretty typical neocon view, frankly, when it comes to immigration. Right. You. Yeah, we're a welcoming country, but there's also a lock on the door and we got to make sure that you're vetted. Okay, that sounds pretty consistent. Like, what's the problem here? What's the problem? Are you cool? April, if we skip Michael Knowles and go to Benny Johnson because we have so many more cups to get to, and I think, I think Michael Knowles, we all know it's going to be nonsense, but this clip with Benny Johnson I think really sums it up. Well, here's him. He's talking to a congressman. Right? Is that correct?
- [34:56]
A
Yeah. So he's talking to the US Representative from West Virginia named Riley Moore.
- [35:02]
B
Okay, here's a little clip from, from Benny Johnson talking to him on his show. Now we just got to make sure that James Talarico doesn't get into the Senate. I mean, that guy saying that, saying that Jesus loves abortion and loves transiting of the kids and that God is non binary. Like, I, I feel, I feel dirty. Congressman. Just Repeating his blasphemes and heresy on my show. I'm, I'm just, I'm telling you what he says. It is antithetical to the Bible. It's actually anti Christian. It's actually antichrist. Really quick, I need to say here. This is the same person who goes to turning point USA's americ speaks from the stage. The same stage that Donald Trump Jr. Said. I know you've been told to turn to other cheek, but that's gotten us nowhere. That is actual blasphemy. That's actual antichrist rhetoric. And Benny Johnson loves Trump and the Trump family and supports them wholesale. And by the way, Talarico did not say Jesus loves abortion, abortion or transing kids. That is a gross misrepresentation about what Talarico actually said. But again, friends, your, your neighbors, your family members who are right winger maga, this is often who they're listening to. This is their only source of their understanding of who James Tellarico is. They're not going to go fact check Benny. They trust Benny. That's why this stuff is so dangerous. Ideology is straight up inversion, polar negative of the Bible.
- [36:26]
A
So.
- [36:27]
B
Totally. Yeah.
- [36:27]
E
I mean I, I think he's evil.
- [36:29]
B
I think he is demonic. Yeah. And I think we need to keep
- [36:32]
E
a, keep an eye on that, a
- [36:34]
B
watchful eye because there are other forces that work. In my view. It's exactly right. There always have been. You know, it's kind of comforting to know that it's just the same evil that's always. Yeah, it's the same evil that's always. There's a, you know, the reason that why the bathomet like image of Satan is transgender. You know, there's a, there's a reason for that. True. Exactly. It's a, it's a defiling of God's order. It's a defiling of God's nature. Yeah. And it's pretty simple.
- [36:57]
E
It's nice.
- [36:57]
B
Even, even, even a community college graduate like me can get it, Congressman. Yeah. Well, maybe you're telling yourself here, Benny.
- [37:05]
A
Yeah.
- [37:06]
B
As someone with no college degree, I just think it's kind of ironic for him to say this.
- [37:09]
A
Right. And James Tall Rico seminary.
- [37:12]
B
Yeah.
- [37:13]
A
So I think he knows more theologically than Benny Johnson does.
- [37:16]
B
To your point earlier, this world is not curious. Right. They are judgmental. The whole framework is protective, the in group from the threat of the out group. And that's what we're seeing here.
- [37:26]
A
Would, since he just brought up the abortion issue, would it make sense to show what James hico actually said about abortion recently on the Holy Post podcast.
- [37:36]
B
Why don't we read a few super chats? Yes, I'm trying to get better. And then we can. We can go to that. You want to read these? Can you see them?
- [37:43]
A
Yeah. No, hold on. I got to make my screen bigger. Okay.
- [37:45]
B
All right.
- [37:46]
A
From 10 demand, no pledge challenge today, but for next week, I will pledge $50 if we can see a video of Tim playing drums with a mohawk. Since April shared her appearance on the Jim Baker show and my wife and I voted for Dallarico.
- [37:58]
B
I can do that. I can do that.
- [38:00]
A
You can do that.
- [38:01]
B
I got some clips of me with mohawk Tim drumming. Tim. I had that. All right.
- [38:05]
A
Yeah. And that's actually true. I actually shared for the first time my entire song that I sang when I was a Christian nationalist on the Jim Baker show on my YouTube channel at Aprilajoy. If you want to go cringe with me. From John Williams. Thank you for all you do to keep us sane in these difficult times. I wish I could vote for Talarico. Thank you for the super chat from Joseph Compton. Compton. This is why I'm skeptical of most white preachers at this time. I listen for evidence of MAGA in their messages. I would never set foot in his church. Totally fair. Stevie. Clown, trans and drag queens are not the issue. It's Christian nationalism. Completely agree. From Joseph Compton. Again, men like Josh Howerton are leading white evangelical Christians straight to hell. They're the ones disguising themselves as angels of light. Dol Dogan. I wonder if Ali would have the same stance with rich people distributing their wealth, because if they didn't quote, they might have a hard life otherwise.
- [39:02]
B
Exactly.
- [39:04]
A
And friends, thank you all for the super chats.
- [39:06]
B
If you're watching on YouTube, please hit the like button. It really helps us out. It helps get this video out to more people in the algorithm. So do us a favor, hit the like button. Okay. Yeah. You want me to play the clip of Telorico that's kind of been, for some people, seen as a little controversial, I think, in more left wing spaces. Is that right?
- [39:22]
A
Yes. I mean, it hasn't been a huge push, but I've seen a few online that I actually I'd like to address. But let's watch the clip first.
- [39:29]
B
All right, here we go. This is him talking on. Is this the Holy Post?
- [39:32]
A
Yes. So. And for context, he's speaking to now, the Holy Post is pretty anti Trump and anti Christian nationalist, but they're still relatively conservative.
- [39:41]
B
I would agree with that.
- [39:42]
A
They would be anti abortion still, but a little more nuanced about it. Like, I don't think they would support abortion bans, but so I would agree. So is he speaking to a more conservative audience?
- [39:53]
C
Yeah, someone like Pope Francis, who may be anti abortion, but is also anti war, anti poverty, anti climate change. If someone like that can't find room in our coalition, then we have a huge problem. And we're never going to build a big enough coalition that to really win the power that it's going to take to transform this country and improve people's lives. We don't win power by force. We don't win power by domination. We win power through persuasion and building a big coalition of people who may or may, may not always agree on every issue. Right. I was asked on another show if there was room for pro life Democrats. I have some problems with that framing, but people who oppose abortion rights, I do think there is a, a ton of room in our party for that because all of us can agree on the measures to reduce the number of abortions, to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies. There's plenty of tools in our toolbox to do that, if that's actually the problem we're trying to solve. Of course, I think it's been shown that usually a lot of the positions and policies that are supported by Democrats, accessible forms of family planning and contraception, that those things all reduce the number of abortions. Making sure people have health insurance, all of these things work. And that should be a huge area of common ground. Even if folks have objections to abortions themselves, the moment requires that all of us who believe in the American experiment band together so that we can save and fix this democracy and make it work for everyone.
- [41:26]
B
What do you think?
- [41:28]
A
Okay, so I've seen some pushback on that from people on the left that took what he said and said that James Talarico is basically a secret Republican and is anti abortion.
- [41:39]
B
Interesting.
- [41:40]
A
Because of that clip. And I think the pushback was that, you know, in this day and age, we shouldn't be catering to maga, you know, and that we should be clearly pro abortion. But I don't think that messaging works for people that come from a conservative background because we. You are taught if you grew up in this world, that abortion is always wrong. So if you hear someone just saying, like, I'm just for abortion rights or women's health care or however you want to say it, these people are going to hear that you're for baby murder, even though it's Wrong. Right. It's, it's the wrong interpretation to take. But if you're trying to, let me just say, as some from someone who has personal experience, I think you need people that are outright talking about women's rights and talking about the need for health care and abortion care. And I also think you need people like James Talarico who speak the language of conservatives. And I think it's noble to want to lower abortion, the abortion rate, because it's like to me, abortion is a medical procedure that nobody really wants to have. Kind of like open heart surgery or you know, a root canal. You know, like I think saying like, we want to lower, we want to lower the rate of root canal, meaning like we want to do preventative services so that people don't need that. I don't think there's anything wrong in saying that. And for me personally, abortion was the last thing that I had to let go. Like that was the hardest one for me to overcome in order to vote for a Democrat. And it was actually a pro life Democrat in Tennessee who was running for a state Congress that convinced me that I could vote for a Democrat. And it was in 2020 and he was not actually pro life. He said that he called himself a pro life Democrat, but he was really pro choice because everything that he said, he's like, I don't believe we should do abortion bans. I think we should really focus on universal health care, on access to birth control, on comprehensive sex education, on fable paid family leave and you know, provide all of the things that, that would keep people from wanting an abortion or needing an abortion. Because, because really abortion is a symptom of a problem. And that problem is unwanted or unplanned or unviable pregnancies. Like, you know, like you, you need to have it for the sake of women. Because women die if without having access to abortion health care. But I just think there's ways that we can talk to people that will help people to, to move across the aisle. And because I had someone who spoke like that to me, then I started doing my own digging and realized I, like, I just had no idea what abortion healthcare was because it was never explained to me. Because for so long Democrats, and I understand why they would just when asked the question, like, the only time I ever heard from a Democrat was when I watched presidential debates.
- [44:36]
B
Yep, yep.
- [44:37]
A
And when the abortion issue would come up, the Republican always had a long, drawn out answer for abortion and how it was murder and how we, we protect the sacred, the sanctity of Life and we value family and babies and blah, blah. And it's, it sounds good on paper, especially if you already believe it's murder. And then when they would hear from the Democrat candidate, all they would say is, it's a woman's right to choose.
- [45:00]
B
That's right.
- [45:01]
A
And so that would have been a perfect opportunity for Democrats to actually explain why abortion is necessary and helpful and to explain the ways that we can actually lower the abortion rate. Because at the end of the day, our goal is the same. But. And then you learn that the Democrat policies are actually the one thing that actually lowers the abortion rate.
- [45:18]
B
Exactly.
- [45:19]
A
So I think it's good that James Talarico is, is, is actually speaking about this, because that is the main issue for a lot of people, and I know a lot of conservatives that cannot stand Donald Trump but still voted for him because of abortion.
- [45:33]
B
Yep.
- [45:34]
A
And those people you can reach.
- [45:36]
B
Yeah. I mean, when you're taught, I mean, I used to wear a shirt when I was 15 that said in all caps, abortion is homicide. I mean, that's how I was taught to think about this stuff. Right. And that's a hard mountain to get over when you think that every day people are killing their literal children. That's the picture painted.
- [45:51]
A
Right. That's what they believe. Genuinely.
- [45:52]
B
Right. But to your point, that was also what led me out, was I started thinking more pragmatically, like, wait, if we really think this, then wouldn't we do whatever we needed to do as a society or as a group of people advocating for certain policies that would lower the abortion rates? And when I saw that people did, didn't actually want to do that, all he wanted to do was just do these blanket bans. I was like, wait, that, that, that doesn't make any sense. Right. Because we know that contraceptives and access to affordable health care, livable wages, all contribute. Right. To lowering abortion rates. And I, I, I, I agree with, with what you said. I think it's definitely needed because I think we can all agree, like, like you said, no one wants to get a root canal. Right. No one wants to have to go through a procedure if they don't have to. And I get that. So if we can do our part, if we can create a society where those things really are not, you know, as needed because preventative care is happening. Great. And then, of course, we have abortion access when it's needed, whether it's the ectopic pregnancy happens or something else goes really wrong. Right. That's when those things come into play. So yeah, I'm with you on that. I think that makes a lot of sense. I think that, yeah, it's a hard one for right wingers to get over because as you heard from Benny Johnson, right, Jesus loves abortions, according to James Talarico via Benny. And so when all you're doing is listening to these people all day, that's what you think about the left. They just, they love killing children. That's why it's hard to get over. So well said. Well said. Okay, let's do this. Let's take a short break in a minute here and then we will come right back and we will get into the other side to see how these God fearing biblical Christians who are just warning their flocks about the demonic and satanic James Talarico. Let's see how they talk about Trump and what they think. So stay tuned and we're back here in a few minutes.
- [47:41]
A
Hi, my name is Ashley and I live in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I'm a tne donor because I believe wholeheartedly in the work that they're doing. Growing up, the word Republican was synonymous with Christian. It was implied that to be a Christian you had to vote a certain way. But around 2015, 2016, I started waking up and noticing the harmful us versus them mentality in our country. The harmful rhetoric from people like Trump or Sean Foyt, for example, just did not match up with the Jesus I knew and had been taught about for, you know, almost 30 years at that point. I'd say that was the catalyst for me to really just examine my faith. Tne content. I believe it inspires us to be a better and more loving neighbor to the people around us. And that is what I believe Christianity is about.
- [48:53]
B
So we just showed you a couple clips by some people who again warned everyone about James Tellarico. I I now we're going to play the, some of the, some of the same people like our guy Josh Howerton, about Trump and I I maybe before we say this or we show this clip, can we just, can we just reset and remind people of who Trump is? Like, like keep this in the back of your head as we are watching these clips. Donald Trump in 2016 bragged about assaulting women. Right? Donald Trump was on the COVID of Playboy magazine. Donald Trump paid off an adult film star while he cheated on his third wife with her. Donald Trump calls women piggy. Donald Trump lies about everything. He was BFF with the most prolific pedophile of our entire life, of our lifetime. He has credible accusations of child abuse. He is Bombing Iran for no reason because he got a feeling. And we're killing children, okay. We are killing children overseas. And he has funded the, he's funded ICE to a point where it's the most funded agency arguably in the government. Sending masked agents with guns into blue cities to wreak chaos and to essentially target brown skinned people regardless of immigration status. Kidnapping five year olds, putting them in detention centers and also killing unarmed citizens at point blank range with impunity. Right. I mean, Kristi Noem calls Nicole Renee Good a domestic terrorist. And that, that's just a 30,000 foot view of Hugh Trump.
- [50:33]
A
Did you mention his felonies?
- [50:35]
B
Oh, right, he's a convicted felon. Right, sorry. And also he's suing the federal government for $10 billion. Like he's trying to rob the tax payers of America of $10 billion. He's suing the IRS. So.
- [50:49]
A
Yeah, again, that's not even everything.
- [50:51]
B
No, of course not. We could be here all day.
- [50:53]
A
He sells Bibles. He signs Bibles.
- [50:55]
B
Yes, thank you. He's arrogant, he is proud, he is greedy. He's everything that Jesus warns you about. Let's see how mega church pastor and you know, biblical advocate Josh Howerton responds to this clip of Trump talking about heaven. You had talked a couple weeks ago, you were doing an interview and you talked about how you hope to end the war in Ukraine because it might help you get into heaven. How does, how does this help?
- [51:22]
F
Does this help?
- [51:23]
B
I mean, you know, I'm being a little cute. I don't think there's anything going to get me in heaven.
- [51:29]
A
Okay.
- [51:29]
B
I really, I think, I think I'm not maybe heaven bound. I may be in heaven right now as we fly an Air Force One. I'm not sure ape I'm going to be able to make heaven, bro.
- [51:39]
E
That's honestly like, I feel like you can hear a little emotion in him. It is a wonderful and good thing to have a president that cares about heaven. This is actually a bigger deal than I think people will realize. He might be saved. And I want to talk about why. Why I think that have some conversations with people who work, you know, directly with the President. And I do know from talking to those people, he has people around him who have for years been clearly sharing the gospel with the President, like very, very clearly.
- [52:15]
B
Do you hear the music? It's like this emotional cinematic music about, you know, just swells and he might be saved. Remember, same dude is calling James Talarico satanic and demonic. But don't worry, Donald Trump probably saved but he's not done yet. Howerton's not done.
- [52:34]
E
So he does have that. I do know that after the assassination attempt, as would happen with most people who had a near death experience, he had a significant moment of spiritual reflection in his life. And I do know that he prayed with someone in a very real way about his relationship with God. What you'll see is when President Trump says stuff like he does in that clip, what you immediately see is the reaction online is there's a bunch of theology nerds who, you know, have been in seminary for 50 years. They're like, see, he's not.
- [53:06]
B
This guy doesn't know anything.
- [53:08]
E
And he's. And they jump all over it. As a pastor, it's like, what people don't understand about President Trump is he talks about Christianity like a normal blue collar dude that didn't grow up around Christianity. Like, when I'm in the lobby and I'm praying with normal blue collar dudes that didn't grow up around Christianity to get saved, like, they're saying the F word in their salvation. Like, actually there are people at our Mesquite campus are putting weed in the offering basket. The theology nerd online would be like, oh, look at these degenerate. They're clearly not saved. Honestly, I think the Lord is so pleased. I think he's going, man. In the way that they know how with their best understanding. They're trying to honor me, bro. Here's.
- [53:49]
B
Now, if you're, if you're James Tellarico and you're doing that, you're obviously a heretic, but if you're, I mean, is it, what else does he say here? He's on. Okay, here we go. Yeah. All right. This is, this is the very end here.
- [54:00]
E
They're trying to honor me, bro. Here's the, here's what I got in my heart. What if President Trump trusts Jesus, becomes the first president that I'm aware of in United States history to be converted while he's in office. And can you imagine, like, him getting baptized on the South Lawn? Like, can you imagine if our nation was. Watched their leader humble himself before the living God, give his life to Christ and have a nationally public baptism.
- [54:27]
B
That be amazing, bro.
- [54:29]
E
Come on, do it again, Lord.
- [54:30]
A
Amen.
- [54:31]
E
Amen.
- [54:31]
B
Okay, okay.
- [54:32]
A
He's writing fanfiction about Donald Trump being a Christian.
- [54:37]
B
Do you mind if I take a quick stab at this, April? Because I, I, I, I, I just want to point something out here. I find it so ridiculous that even by evangelical standards of salvation, the fact that Josh Howerton is leading his audience to think that Trump might have prayed a prayer one time and Trump really might be saved. Or wouldn't it be amazing if he got baptized? Like, somehow these are real conversations. In the evangelical framework of conversion, a huge emphasis is repentance now, not repentance from systemic issues. Repentance from, like, you know, not smoking anymore or not saying the F word, or like, don't you know you were having sex outside of marriage? Then you stop. But the point is that they're really big on a lifestyle change. You go from death to life. The fact that this president has only gotten worse over the past 10 years has only descended down into madness, has been lying about his association and friendship with the world's most prolific pedophile. Okay. I mean, tens of thousands of times in the Epstein files, wrote Jeffrey Epstein a birthday card in the outline of a young, naked woman. And Josh Howerton, a pastor who claims to know the word of God, who claims to know what the Bible clearly teaches, has more toxic empathy for Donald Trump and thinks that he's probably closer to being a Christian than James freaking Talarico. Are you kidding me? Do you? This is why so many of us deconstruct. Because we grew up in a space like Josh Howerton's where they hammer sexual purity and being holy before God and living a holy, undefiled life, yada, yada, yada. And then when they tell you to vote for the guy on the COVID of Playboy who's a serial sexual assaulter, suddenly you're the woke liberal who's a heretic, and you're like, wait, what?
- [56:35]
A
What?
- [56:36]
B
And the guy preaching empathy who's a politician, who's like, I'm a Christ follower. Therefore, maybe we should welcome the stranger like Christ teaches. Maybe we should be empathetic to our neighbors. All of a sudden, he's the satanic heretic.
- [56:51]
A
Also, I'm old enough to remember when I grew up in evangelicalism, and I was told that if you have doubts about your salvation, you're probably not saved. Because a true Christian knows that they know that they know that they know that they know.
- [57:06]
B
That's right. That's true. That's true. Okay, so there's Josh Howerton. How about our favorite. Our favorite friend, Ali Stuckey? First, here's. Here's what she said when the election happened last year. Here's how she framed it.
- [57:22]
A
She's trying. She's saying that Christians should be celebrating that Trump won.
- [57:27]
B
Yeah. Here's why.
- [57:28]
D
Of course, we don't want that. But you could be happy Christian. Like, you can celebrate completely unapologetically that the person who represents the more orderly and peaceful and more righteous policies has won and that the candidate who represented policies of destruction and evil and chaos lost.
- [57:51]
B
That did not age well, Ali. That did not age well, because I'll tell you right now, Harris wouldn't be sending ICE agents into the street. Harris would not be bombing people in Iran. Harris would not be creating nonstop confusion and chaos by posting crazy memes of her taking dumps on protesters. That did not age well.
- [58:15]
A
Where's the order?
- [58:16]
B
Where's the piece?
- [58:18]
A
Also back to Josh Howerton for a second where he's like, I think he might be saved in 2016. A lot of these same people were arguing with me that I needed to vote for him because I brought up Access Hollywood tape where Trump brags about assaulting women. Brags, brags about it, like, admits that's what he does and is bragging. They knew about that tape, and they're still saying all this about him. But back then they said, oh, well, he's a baby Christian, so he's not perfect yet. We aren't voting for a pastor. We're voting for a president, and he's a baby Christian. Well, that baby is not thriving. Just saying.
- [58:59]
B
Don't these people talk about fruit all the time? What's the fruit of your faith? What's the fruit of Trump's faith? It's chaos. It's dehumanization. It's false narratives. It's not telling the truth. It's slander. I told you, April, before we started recording or going live, that I wish for, like, 10 minutes I could just put the headphones of their mind on my ears to hear how they really rationalize what is so illogical and indefensible. I. It's like we're being gaslit all the time.
- [59:35]
A
Yeah.
- [59:36]
B
Oh, my gosh, it's wild. So the other clip that I wanted to play or we wanted to play was also of Ali asking the same question, is Trump going to heaven? Okay, this is just. Again, think about the contrast between, between James Talarico being a demon and how they're treating Trump not losing American lives. We're not losing American soldiers. We're losing Russian and Ukrainian, mostly soldiers. If I can save 7,000 people a week from being killed, I think that's a pretty. I want to try and get to heaven if possible. I'm hearing I'm not doing well. I really at the bottom of the totem pole. If I can get to heaven. This will be one of the reasons. Mr. President, really quick, before she responds, just, I want to call out what he said, that we're not killing American lives, we're killing Ukrainian and Russian lives. Okay. Keep that in mind as Ali responds.
- [60:25]
A
And that. That's better.
- [60:26]
B
That's better.
- [60:27]
D
And I think that your heart is
- [60:29]
A
in the right place.
- [60:30]
D
I think you really do want to save people's lives. And I appreciate the expression of humility there, that you feel like you're at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to getting to heaven. And that is a really, really good place to start. Once we realize that we are all sinners, that something needs to happen to make us right with God so that we can spend forever with him, then that leads us to the true answer, which is that the only way to heaven is not by anything we do or how many lives we save or how many good works we accomplish, but only by faith in Jesus Christ and what he has accomplished for us on the cross by dying for our sins. And that faith in Christ isn't even our own. We don't get to take credit for that either. That comes into our heart by the grace of God. Then when we believe in Jesus's sacrifice, we become friends with God, we are reconciled to God, and our eternal destination in heaven is secured forever. We cannot earn it. Christ earned it on the cross for us. If you believe that, that will change everything.
- [61:45]
B
This is actually. I actually appreciate what Ali said here because she just summarized what so many of us were taught. Okay. Like literally, that's. And notice the level of certainty here. Once you do this, you can know where you're gonna go when you die. It's secured forever, of course, the right.
- [62:03]
A
It doesn't matter what you do.
- [62:04]
B
It doesn't matter what you do. Unless you vote for Democratic policies, unless you're James Talarico. This is the sleight of hand. And this is why it's so hard to pin them down, because they're so slippery. Ali can tell President Trump all he has to do is just believe and ask Christ to forgive him and no change is necessary. Okay? But when it comes to her political opponents or her theological enemies, suddenly right, how they believe, even if it's similar to that, because their policies, reviews are different. They are not true Christians. They are demonic. They are being used by Satan. This, and at any point, this church culture can enforce either one. If you're a kid or if you're a teenager in this world, the second you do something that's out of line. Well, we really doubt your salvation because the fruit of your life isn't lining up with what you professed. But when they want to, I don't know, sanction a serial abuser as one of God's chosen. Well, Mr. President, I'm so glad that you've acknowledged your humility here. As you just talked about killing Ukrainian and Russian soldiers but saving American lives,
- [63:14]
A
you said, I know your heart is in the right place.
- [63:19]
B
That and she says, because you want to save people's lives. That's the quiet part out loud. For Ali, her version of American is what matters here, right? This is why Iranians can be slaughtered. And no problem for her, she can cheer on whenever we snipe boats out of international waters. As we shared before, she said, I can't tell you how much I voted for this. In response to us literally killing people in international waters with no due process. Why? Because she doesn't see this fully human. The people that are most fully human are her and her tribe. Period. Period. That's the quiet part out loud. And they're running our country.
- [63:59]
A
Uh huh.
- [64:00]
B
Ugh.
- [64:02]
A
We have, we do have a tweet from Benny Johnson. Just honestly, there's so many options we could have pulled from Benny Johnson. If you go to his page, he is like, watch out all up on Donald Trump. Anyway, this one made me laugh though, the way that they, like take such silly little things that Trump does and try to make it out to be the silly, just okay. It's a picture of Donald Trump and Barack Obama. And he says Benny Johnson, who called James Helrico demonic earlier, says Trump is legitimately the most magnanimous human to ever live. Obama has done everything in his power to not only destroy Trump politically, but to raid his home, bankrupt him, and throw him in jail for the rest of his life. Yet Trump can laugh about it. Pure Christian virtue. You could say that about Obama because Donald Trump was the one who started the whole birther conspiracy theory about Barack Obama and also try to ruin Barack Obama's political career. But he's not saying that about him.
- [65:09]
B
Wasn't it recently that was it this term where the DOJ tried to go after Obama for something that happened like years ago and it was totally ridiculousness. Every accusation is the confession, right? I don't want to do this show anymore.
- [65:23]
A
Mental gymnastics that they do. It's so wild. It's so wild to watch in real time.
- [65:31]
B
Like, I'm consistently at a loss for words because it's so obviously wrong. It's so Obviously untrue. Why do I have to explain this to you? Why do I have to explain to Benny Johnson that Trump was the one targeting Obama, not the other way around? Why do I have to explain to Benny Johnson that the January 6th insurrection was violent, was violent, and wasn't some peaceful protest? Like, why do I need to explain to you what reality is? It's like. It's like Benny Johnson saying the earth is flat. And I'm like, I have to respond to this. I have to take this guy's words seriously and somehow debate him on these terms. What's the point? We're so. We're. We're in Looney Tune land, and I have to engage him in Looney Tune land to try and pull him back to reality. Oh, my goodness.
- [66:15]
A
Can I tell you what I'm really looking forward to? This is what gives me hope, and I'm really looking forward to this. I believe this is going to happen. Okay. I'm going to manifest it.
- [66:24]
B
I'm going to manifest it.
- [66:26]
A
Yeah. There is going to be a day when Donald Trump is not in office and history is going to look back on these years and not be kind to people who supported Trump in this way. And I am not gonna let the Ali Beth Stuckeys, the Josh Howertons, I am not gonna let them ever forget the way that they sold their souls to support that man.
- [66:54]
B
Amen.
- [66:55]
A
I'm gonna. If they have kids and grandkids, I'm gonna let them know. I'm gonna. Hey, you know, your great. Your grandmother, she thought Donald Trump had his heart in the right place and was humble. I'm not gonna forget.
- [67:09]
B
She was gonna let him live it down. Look, here's the clip. Here's the clip.
- [67:13]
E
Yeah.
- [67:14]
A
I'm gonna come back to our show. Like, look at this.
- [67:19]
B
Yeah. I hope it happens.
- [67:20]
A
You're not living it down.
- [67:21]
B
No, no, no. Absolutely not.
- [67:24]
A
And that day, And I really do believe that day is going to come, we are in the thick of it right now, but Donald Trump is old. He's not going to live forever. He's not going to be president forever. And this section of era that we're in, this season of chaos, is not going to be here forever.
- [67:39]
B
Yeah, yeah. Hang on. Hang in there, friends. We know it is. It's a tough time. It's not easy. But you know what's not a tough time? Clicking the like button on this YouTube video. If you could hit the like button while you're watching this live video, it would really help us out and get more into the YouTube algorithm. If you're watching on substack, give this video a little heart. That really helps us out again. The Tim and April show is produced by the New Evangelicals. If you're looking for a better path forward in your faith, make sure to check them out. We have the New Evangelicals Podcast. We have Advocacy Hour Podcast. We have a community space. We have all kinds of free resources to help you be equipped to dismantle Christian nationalism and find a better path forward. Forward in faith. Do you want to get to a more lighthearted segment? Wait, do we have more super chats? I'm trying to get better at this.
- [68:28]
A
Oh, we probably do have super chats. Get caught up in that and we'll do our last segment.
- [68:31]
B
Okay.
- [68:31]
E
Okay.
- [68:31]
B
Okay. Oh, here's one from Seacliff 34. Thank you for all you're doing. Talarico helped bring me back to the church and gave me some small bit of hope for the future, as do both of you. Thank you so much. That really means the world. 1. Another one from Joseph Compton. Josh Howerton has got to be joking. Imagine supporting a man who tells you he doesn't think he's going to heaven. That is kind of funny when you say it like that. Stevie the Clown Weeds in the collection basket. Now there's a great way to get funds for the church. LOL. That's funny. One from sissy7248. Thank you so much for the super chat. It really means so much. And last one here from Joseph Compton, Deeds don't get yout to Heaven. All BS Knows Better. Awesome. Thank you so much. All right, friends, let's get to a more fun segment. Hopefully. Here we go,
- [69:20]
A
Christian. Okay, just so you know, that was really quiet.
- [69:26]
B
It was.
- [69:27]
A
Yeah. You could barely hear it.
- [69:29]
B
I heard it fine.
- [69:31]
A
I don't think it's connected. I don't think it's coming through.
- [69:35]
B
Really? Hold on. Yeah, I'm gonna play that again because we're here.
- [69:39]
A
We. Christian. No, it's really quiet again.
- [69:46]
B
Oh, all right.
- [69:47]
A
I mean, it's just me.
- [69:48]
B
Well, chat. Let us know if it's April or if it's me. Okay?
- [69:54]
A
Yeah. Is it me? Oh, they said they heard it. Fine. Okay, so it's just me, then. Great. Cool. Sorry about that.
- [69:59]
D
My be.
- [70:02]
B
Okay, so we all know that we are bombing Iran because Trump got a feeling. And we also know, because we covered this on last week's show, that many evangelicals believe that this is another sign that the Rapture is imminent and they're going to get sucked up to heaven naked, of course, and tribulation and all the bad stuff is going to happen. And we can thank a guy named John Nelson Darby, who fell off his horse in 1827 for this modern idea that we're all dealing with now. That's the context. Here is a video of this theology in action at a target.
- [70:36]
F
Everyone listen up. The rapture is coming. That's when all the Christians are gonna disappear. If you don't know Jesus, you will be left behind on this earth. I have to let you know the Rapture is coming soon. I promise you if you repent of your sins and you put faith in Jesus Christ Christ, you will be saved. You will make it into heaven. But there is no other way. And I want to tell you, there is no other name. Only the name of Jesus Christ can save you. He's the only one that rose from the grave. He's the only one that defeated death. And I promise you, he loves you so much. Turn away from your sins, Jesus Christ. Listen, the mark of the beast is coming. You will not be able to buy anything.
- [71:28]
B
Okay, just so you know, friends, we're only halfway through this video that felt like a three hour long clip. And we're halfway there.
- [71:36]
A
He's so loud too.
- [71:38]
B
Hey, this is weird. Christian bleep. We suffer together.
- [71:43]
F
Listen, the mark of the beast is coming. That will send you to hell. The mark of the beast is coming. You won't be able to buy anything or sell anything without a chip in your head. You think it's a game, you think it's a joke, but it's not. That day is coming soon. The day of Jesus Christ. He loves you. I pray that you are saved by the precious blood of Jesus. In Jesus mighty name. Amen.
- [72:15]
D
Hallelujah.
- [72:17]
F
Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And if you believe in Jesus Christ, comment? Jesus is Lord.
- [72:24]
B
Can I just say I hope the rapture is real so they can go away. Like, please God, take them, take them away, I beg you.
- [72:33]
A
I know that they would be the ones to go though, darn it. I think plot twist. What if they're the only ones left behind?
- [72:42]
B
I look, is it too much to ask to live in a world where we have universal health care and it's not, it's not sabotaged by right wing Christian nationalist Republicans in our government? Like, is that too much to ask for? Living in the world's wealthiest country, built on exploitation to get affordable healthcare and I have to worry about between choosing an ambulance ride or my, you know, my, my life savings like, is that too much to ask for?
- [73:07]
A
Good. Can I, I, I have a theory, and this is just speculation, but I think the reason why he went so long is because he was hoping that someone, an employee, was going to stop him so then he could turn that into a persecution video.
- [73:26]
B
Yeah, yeah.
- [73:27]
A
Despite the fact that he is, like, harassing and describing people shopping so abruptly.
- [73:35]
B
Someone did. I won't. I'm not going to play the audio because I'm like, traumatized by what this guy just did for. Felt like three hours. But right here, there it is. There's the employee. Oh, wait, you can't see him. Sorry, my bad. Right here, there's an employee coming. There she is. See? So she, she tried, but obviously, I'm assuming Target's policy is don't put your hands on a customer because you can get in a lot of trouble. So she tries and then, you know, he just kind of keeps moving, man. He. I mean, this guy towards the whole store. Look at this. So aggressive. You know, honestly, pragmatically, does he think that. Does he think that this actually works? Like, if he really believes that these people are going to burn in hell forever, aren't there more pragmatic ways to get them not to burn in hell forever? I don't think shouting in a Target while people are shopping is the best way to convince them of your position.
- [74:30]
A
No. No, it is not.
- [74:32]
B
Think.
- [74:33]
A
And if you, if your main goal is to save people's souls, you'd think you would do things that would actually pull people in and not turn people off. Because he's actually turning people off.
- [74:44]
B
Totally. Totally. That's why I do think ultimately the whole fear of hell thing is really just a weapon to use or an excuse to use to be a complete jerk to people. Right? Like, well, I care about your soul as I'm telling you that you're a horrible piece of human garbage and that I'm fighting against your rights to live, you know, comfortably in the country. Right? Queer people. Right? Like. Like, it doesn't. I don't think it's really about saving queer folks from hell. I think it's just about hating them. I think it's just about pure hatred that they find these people disgusting and they're going to use the God card to justify their hatred and they're going to cloak it in concern out of hell, when in reality they really don't care at all about that person.
- [75:24]
A
Sissy in the chat brings up, can you imagine if someone of the Muslim faith or another faith did that?
- [75:30]
B
Great point.
- [75:30]
A
Can you imagine if, like literally if, if a Muslim was doing that and trying to get people to convert?
- [75:36]
B
Yep.
- [75:37]
A
In a target.
- [75:38]
B
Yep.
- [75:38]
A
Chris. The right wing Christians would be playing that video as a sign of his Islamic takeover and totally freeism when they do it. It's holy work.
- [75:49]
B
And that's because they think Islam, broad statement, broad, blanket, you know, statement is evil. They think that Islam is demonic. They write off an entire religious because of their own ignorance. Right. And their own, frankly, colonized, colonized mind on what's happening somewhere over there where the Muslims are. I mean, it's a very dehumanizing, ignorant point of view, but they believe that Ali Stuckey believes that Ali Stuckey has said that Islam is demonic. That's a very common trope you hear in evangelicalism. So of course they're going to freak out because that's a demon.
- [76:24]
A
Right. But they'll use, you know, a small percentage of Muslims, like, you know, the government currently in Iran, the Islamic regime there, that is very problematic. That kills their own people. They'll use that as, as a blanket over all of Islam. And that's just not true. It's the same way when, you know, people will take Maga, Christianity and Christian nationalism and that's an extreme form of Christianity and they use that to blanket all of Christianity, despite the fact that there are a lot of types of Christians that do not subscribe to that, like us.
- [76:59]
B
It's just so funny watching them freak out about, you know, this, I guess an extreme version of Islam somewhere over there, while they themselves are the extreme version of Christianity. Who's, who's fighting for the reduction of rights of all their neighbors. I mean, Doug Wilson, who Ali Stuckey's a fan of, wants to repeal the 19th amendment. They want to take away women's right to vote. They want women to back in the home. They don't want them to have any kind of autonomy. Stephen Wolf, the author of the Case for Christian Nationalism, says women cannot lead in a Christian nationalist society because they're too empathetic. So they are literally again projecting who they are onto other people in a country that we have nothing to do with. Right. Trying to make it seem like somehow they're on the right side of God's truth. While those people are bad, meanwhile they're doing the same thing that they accused those people of doing. It's just unbelievable. It's unreal.
- [77:51]
A
Yeah.
- [77:52]
B
So anyway, that was a good rant session. Anywho, therapy completed, friends.
- [78:02]
A
Thank you so much for being.
- [78:04]
B
Yeah, no, please don't we are not qualified. Please see a legitimate therapist. Friends, thanks so much for being here. Again, we are Tim and April. We go live every Thursday at 12:00 clock Eastern right here on YouTube and on subset with our friends, Lincoln Square Media. The Tim and April show is produced by the New Evangelicals. If you're looking for a better path forward in your faith, make sure to go there at the New Evangelicals via Instagram or check out the free community tne connect@thenewevangelicals.com connect. It's a great, great space full of awesome stuff. We will be back here on Tuesday. Tuesday on YouTube and on podcast and live on Thursday. So, I'm Tew Whitaker.
- [78:44]
A
I'm April Lajoy.
- [78:46]
B
See ya.
- [78:46]
A
Bye.