Transcript
Todd Friel (0:00)
So here's the deal. We are not going to begin the podcast, which features a review of the new movie A Great Awakening, the story of Ben Franklin and George Whitfield, until you participate in the no Retreat matching gift campaign. We just won't. We can't start the show. We won't start the show. You need to give more money. That's what you need to do. You need to give more money. Otherwise, we are not going to start the show.
Jimmy Hicks (0:22)
Todd. So you're not Joyce Meyer.
Todd Friel (0:24)
You're right. I'm so sorry. That's what she does. She actually does. We are not going to do that. Instead, we would simply encourage you, if you have the opportunity and the means to participate in our spring match giving campaign. It's titled no Retreat. We have absolutely no intention of quieting down. In fact, we're going to get louder with the proclamation of the gospel. It's a matching gift campaign with love, love, love it. If you would partner with us so we can do more, reach more and see the sun exalted more. You can learn more@fortisinstitute.org donate fortisinstitute.org I guess we'll start the show.
Wretched Radio Announcer (1:05)
Wretched radio begins in 3, 2, 1.
Jimmy Hicks (1:11)
I identify as a transgender woman.
Todd Friel (1:13)
I identify as a straight, transgender female. There is no such thing as transgender. You're either XX or xy. But honestly, I don't really identify as human. I'm tired of being humanized for the comfort of other people. God made man male and female. That is determined genetically. That is physiology. That is science. That is reality.
Wretched Radio Announcer (1:38)
It's time for Wretched Radio with Todd Friel.
Todd Friel (1:46)
This is Wretched Radio, bringing you celebrity infotainment, gossip and such. But it's sanctified because we're like. Caleb will occasionally allude to a Bible verse and therefore make it sanctified. Did I say that out out loud? I didn't mean to. Let's get to a movie review. Did I mention this is fragment Radio went to see a Great Awakening, not the Great Awakening. There were multiple in the US Of A, at least three of them that were substantial revivals. They weren't scheduled like you see on a lot of church signs. Wednesday, 7pm Revival. Because you got to schedule those things because, you know, the Holy Spirit needs to know when to show up and be there. These were very clearly a great movement of God. Now, I think the first awakening, some might argue, actually, I think that the second awakening may have been even greater. The third awakening, I think, lags behind them. Nevertheless, the First Great awakening came underneath the influence of very sound preaching. These were not like 40 minute rock shows and then sort of a flimsy gospel presentation. No, they were just straightforward preaching from men like Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, and one George Whitfield, who is. Well, I wish he had been in the movie more, to be honest. It was a great film. I, I recommend it. I'm, I, I commend the film to you. You should go see it. Because if you have ever bellyached about bad movies and haven't we all, and you wish, why can't they make anything that I can go see with my family? Go see this, and I suppose everybody will have their perspective and take on it. I thought the production was way better than average for most Christian productions. I thought the storyline at least was not predictable. It had layers to it. It didn't have a ton of characters outside of Whitfield and Franklin, but it did show them growing up. So we were flashing back to show the influences on them and they each came from kind of bad dads, really. Franklin's was different than Whitfield's. Franklin's dad was kind of a religious zealot who apparently could have been a bit hypocritical, according to Franklin. And it influenced it, repelled Whitfield, if you will. Now, no, I'm sorry, Franklin, Whitfield's dad was mia. So we just saw a stepdad who was not a nice guy at all. You get to see that. And so that was decent storytelling. And you see the conversion of George Whitfield, you see Benjamin Franklin. The narrative throughout the movie is Benjamin Franklin. He's dealing with the Constitutional Congress, trying to figure out, hey, it's 1787. Things are not looking great. We fought for liberty. It is not bearing the type of fruit we anticipated. We got to come up with some sort of a constitution. They were fighting, they were wrangling, just like they did during the Declaration debates. And Whitefield kind of led the charge to y' all based on presumably his relationship with George Whitefield. We got to get back to praying like we used to at the opening of these sessions. They did put together the Constitution. The rest is genuinely history. There were storylines, there were narratives that were weaving throughout and not in a great deal of complexity, but better than. Definitely better than average when it comes to Christian script writing. But I think the most effective parts of the movie, I think there were really three. First of all, I thought the conversion of Whitfield was really, really interesting. He bumped into a group of individuals when he Was studying at Oxford called the Holy. Holy Holiness Club. Holy Club. The Holy. Jimmy, would you like the Wesley brothers, John and Charles were a part of it. Now I think it seems to me, if I recall my Reformation history at the time when, when Jonathan Ed. When Jonathan Edwards. John Wesley was in the Holiness Club at Oxford, he actually wasn't saved. My recollection is he was in the Holiness Club really trying to be holy. Self righteously, most likely. I don't mean that negatively. He was just trying to clean himself up and be holy. He went to America, he did some revival preaching. It was on a boat back to Great Britain when he met a Christian on the boat who just seemed different. He was more fervent and he sounded like he actually had a relationship with Jesus Christ. And Wesley was convicted and he was persuaded he really wasn't born again, got saved, went back to England and then of course he did come back to the States to do more preaching. So Wesley is. The two Wesley brothers are at the Holiness Club and George Whitefield was there basically as well. I think this is fair to say a servant academic. He couldn't afford the schooling, but because he had a commendation from a former Oxford grad who was an actor, he could go, Whitfield could go to Oxford, but he had to serve the other students. He had to be really just their, their, their servant. Food delivery, clothes, etc bumps into the Wesley brothers and they show him a great deal of kindness. The, the scene in the movie was they actually washed his feet. Something I didn't need to see, but nevertheless it affected him. They went into prisons, Whitfield went along into prisons and as he was reading the Bible out loud to prisoners with his booming voice, John chapter three. At least this is how the, the movie portrayed his conversion. He was reading John Chapter three and it was about of course the gospel that he didn't come to condemn the world, but he came to save the world. For God so loved the world and you could see him being impacted by it. And I found it very effective. It was like any. See, I'm kind of a softy for that. Anytime I hear a conversion story, I'm like. Because I. It's just seeing God at work in the life of a human being. You saw that on the big screen and I thought that was really, really impactful. Jimmy, you got that info?
