“You’re Going To Be Mad At Me”—Todd Responds To Rededicate 250

Summary

Podcast Summary: Wretched Radio with Todd Friel

Episode: “You’re Going to Be Mad at Me” — Todd Responds to Rededicate 250

Date: May 18, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode sees Todd Friel respond to the recent “Rededicate 250” event in Washington D.C., where thousands gathered to publicly rededicate America to God. Todd shares his concerns about the biblical basis (or lack thereof) for rededicating a nation that isn’t theocratic Israel, and offers his perspective on what Christians’ true priorities should be. The episode ranges widely, touching on social news, medical and mental health controversies, and the unique challenges facing the church and American culture today. True to the show’s style, Todd is pointed, sometimes curmudgeonly, and deeply concerned with biblical faithfulness—while blending in news analysis and survivor testimony on psychiatric medication.

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Main Discussion: Can We Rededicate America to God?

[00:04 – 11:34]

1. Introduction to the Rededicate 250 Event

• Event Recap:
  • Major Christian leaders and politicians gathered for a large, ecumenical prayer event on the National Mall to “rededicate America to God.”
  • Attendees included figures like Chris Tomlin (worship leader), politicians, Cardinal Dolan, and Paula White.
  • Quote (Todd Friel, 01:53):
    “There were politicians, there were actors, there were cardinals, there were prosperity wackadoodles—who gave them the right to dedicate America?”

2. Todd’s Central Questions and Biblical Analysis

• Is Rededicating America Biblical?

  • Todd questions the legitimacy and biblical foundation of dedicating a secular, non-covenant nation like America to God.
  • He compares America to Old Testament Israel, emphasizing that only Israel had a direct covenant with God.
  • Quote (Todd Friel, 04:35):
    "My question is, when did God cut a covenant with America?"
  • He pokes at the logic of a small group claiming to devote an unwitting population to God’s service.
  • Raises the issue that dedication in the Old Testament was rooted in God’s initiative, not human ceremony.

• What Effect Would Such Dedication Have?

  • Todd highlights the ambiguity: “Does that mean people are going to raise their children to love the Lord Jesus Christ? ... What is the dedication?”
  • He stresses that what America needs isn’t re-dedication but regeneration—a real change of heart among individuals.

3. The True Christian Response

• Encourages listeners not to be discouraged by the critical tone, but to look beyond symbolism to substance in Christian activism.
• Suggests the best use of large gatherings is united prayer for salvation, not for symbolic gestures.
• Quote (Todd Friel, 08:32):
  “If a group of Christians, 15,000 got together to call out to God: Oh Lord, send your Holy Spirit, blow on this nation. Bring salvation to the home of every American ... then I say rock on, because we’re the church and that’s what we should be praying for.”
• Todd concludes that only widespread conversion—not ceremonial rededication—will truly transform society.

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Morality & Regeneration: How Change Actually Happens

[15:44 – 17:00]

• Todd and Jimmy discuss news reflecting both cultural decline and rays of hope (e.g., policy shifts on gender clinics in Texas and Costco’s refusal to sell the abortion pill).
• Todd drives home that lasting moral reform comes from people being reborn as Christians, not via legislation or ceremonial acts.
• Quote (Todd Friel, 16:30):
  “Born again Christians don’t do things like this. ... If we want to see a better America, we need to see souls saved.”

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Bible Insight Segment — 1 Peter 3 & Christian Character

[17:00 – 19:30]

• Todd shares insights from his recent sermon on 1 Peter 3, highlighting five Christian traits (harmonious, sympathetic, loving, compassionate, humble) and the chiasm structure in the text.
• Emphasizes that the Christian life flows from a changed heart, not a checklist.
• Quote (Todd Friel, 18:06):
  "We don’t just act harmoniously. We are harmonious people. ... That’s why we need to be evangelizing. That’s what we need to be doing."

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News Roundup & Reflections on Societal Decline

[19:30 – 29:00]

• Major news topics include:
  • Texas Children’s Hospital ending gender transition procedures and opening a detransition clinic.
  • Violence and decadence in world news (e.g., atrocities in Israel).
  • Economic decline: male unemployment rates, challenges in the US job market, and the impact of H1B visas.
  • Legal/religious conflicts in Australia, China, and US banks' “debanking” practices.
• Todd uses these stories to underscore that laws reflect the character of those who make and follow them; society improves when individuals are made new by Christ.

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Mental Health, Medication, and Personal Stories

[43:36 – 54:50]

1. Segment Introduction

• Todd is critical of prevailing trends in psychiatric care, particularly the widespread and sometimes careless prescription of psychotropic drugs to children and adults.
• Suggests secular therapy (like group Dungeons & Dragons sessions) is a shallow answer to profound suffering.
• Notable quote (Todd Friel, 43:37):
  "The best they have to offer when it comes to therapy. ... The other alternative, of course, which would be worse, are the over prescribed psychotropic medications that are getting people hooked and affecting them forever."

2. Survivor Testimonies

• Cameron Labar [46:03 – 51:00]:
  • As a child, diagnosed with anxiety, OCD, and Tourette’s—prescribed SSRIs at age 9.
  • Describes emotional flattening, years of numbness and loss of normal development due to medication.
  • Eventually discovered his “symptoms” were actually drug side effects, not a fixed trait.
  • Quote (Cameron Labar, 47:35):
    “I was always told that I had a chemical imbalance and that this was treating that ... It took a really long time for me to realize that the things that I thought were character traits ... were side effects of a medication.”
  • Grieved lost years:
    “I never got to experience the full range of emotions and feeling of being human. That’s been really, really hard.”
• Unidentified Woman [51:21 – 54:20]:
  • Put on psychiatric medication at age 7, labeled with ADHD, later subjected to a cocktail of psych drugs.
  • Normal childhood behavior was pathologized, side effects caused severe suffering and neurologic damage.
  • When she tried to get off SSRIs, experienced catastrophic withdrawal and was not believed by doctors.
  • Quote (Unidentified Woman, 52:34):
    “Every drug-induced effect that made me feel terrible was blamed on my so-called underlying disorder.”
  • Ends with a plea for awareness and skepticism regarding over-medication in psychiatry.

3. Todd’s Takeaways on Christian Counseling

• Recommends resources for Christians struggling with mental health (“Life Without the Numb”, “Lies My Therapist Told Me”).
• Warns against blind trust in the medical and psychiatric establishment.
• Suggests secular attempts at healing (like “Dungeons and Dragons therapy”) are a poor substitute for biblical counsel and honest community.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Todd Friel (04:35): “My question is, when did God cut a covenant with America?”
• Todd Friel (08:32): “If a group of Christians, 15,000 got together to call out to God ... then I say rock on, because we’re the church and that’s what we should be praying for.”
• Todd Friel (16:30): “Born again Christians don’t do things like this. ... If we want to see a better America, we need to see souls saved.”
• Cameron Labar (47:35): “I was always told that I had a chemical imbalance ... It took a really long time for me to realize that ... those were side effects of a medication.”
• Unidentified Woman (52:34): “Every drug-induced effect that made me feel terrible was blamed on my so-called underlying disorder.”

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Key Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |------------|------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:04 | Show intro; “What is the Bible?” montage, Rededicate 250 event | | 01:43 | Event’s ecumenical mix and patriotic appeal | | 04:35 | Old Testament context and covenant vs. America | | 07:16 | Practical issues and logical questions about dedication | | 11:34 | Focus on salvation, not ceremonial dedication | | 15:44 | Reactions to Todd’s critique; the relationship of faith & reform | | 17:00 | 1 Peter 3 exegesis: chiasm and true Christian character | | 19:30 | News segment – culture, gender clinics, Costco, atrocities | | 29:03 | Labor market woes, men and work, societal consequences | | 43:36 | Psych Meds: Dungeons & Dragons therapy, survivor stories | | 46:03 | Cameron Labar’s testimony | | 51:21 | Anonymous woman’s testimony |

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Conclusion

Todd Friel calls Christians to see through well-meaning symbolism (“rededicating America”) and place their hope in the true means of transformation: widespread salvation through the gospel. He urges careful discernment about public events, skepticism of shallow or misleading cultural answers for suffering, and prioritizing prayer, evangelism, and biblical faithfulness as the path forward for both the church and the country. The episode’s testimony segments provide a sobering reminder of the consequences of neglecting wisdom and genuine care, both in spiritual and medical spheres.

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Transcript

[Todd Friel]

Wretched radio begins in 3, 2, 1. What is the Bible? Who wrote the Bible?

[Cameron Labar]

The church will continue to be even more irrelevant when it quotes letters from 2,000 years ago.

[Todd Friel]

Jesus loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells

[Jimmy Hicks]

me so, is where our trouble began.

[Todd Friel]

This sounds to me like the voice of someone who really has an appalling ignorance of what the Bible says about itself and what Jesus said about it. It's time for Wretched Radio told you're going to be mad at me. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. You always have to be such a curmudgeon. Hey, it's my spiritual gift. Let me exercise it. Let's span the globe to bring you the constant variety of stuff going on that should be of interest to Christians. Should. Anyway. It's kind of a hodgepodge, a disparate group of stories. But it all becomes coherent when you put them together, slap on an antiquated TV theme song and call it Wide World of Christian News. Boom. This is Wretched Radio. Please don't be mad at me. I am not trying to rob the joy or the encouragement out of an event just because I happen to have the spiritual gift of being a curmudgeon. That is not my intention. It is my intention, though, to ask a question about a major event that took place in Washington D.C. over the last Was it a one day event?

[Jimmy Hicks]

I think so.

[Todd Friel]

I know Chris Tomlin was there singing his songs. There are a bunch of politicians, there are a bunch of pre. Oh, the Catholic. Jesus was there.

[Jimmy Hicks]

He was there.

[Todd Friel]

He was chosen to be a part of the big event. Cardinal Dolan was there praying.

[Jimmy Hicks]

He was there. Paula White was there, of course.

[Todd Friel]

So it was a bit of an ecumenical affair intended to dedicate rededicate America back to God. And when we see something like this, I get it, our patriotic hearts can go pitter patter. Yes, a big, overtly Christian event, albeit ecumenical. A big Christian event on the National Mall. It makes you feel like, okay, there's a little bit of sanity left. Okay, not everything is dark and dismal here in this country. However, I would ask the question. Well, actually a number of questions. Can we rededicate America to God? And who did the rededicating? What makes it official, perhaps? Before you get agitated with me, Friel, it's too late for that. Let me ask you how you'd respond to me announcing that we got together, Mrs. Friel and I, over the weekend. We got together. We have some Presbyterian neighbors and so we decided to dedicate our little sub Development, the little neighborhood that we live in, about 40 some homes, I think something like that. When we dedicated the neighborhood to God, you would do well to ask some questions. Well, what do you mean you dedicated the neighborhood to God? What exactly does. So you're going to use it for church services? No, we dedicated it to God. So everybody there is dedicated to God. How did you do that? So your unbelieving neighbor has been dedicated to God. How do you have the ability to do that? Just because a couple of you got together and decided to dedicate the entire neighborhood to God, does that make it efficacious? Does it really happen? And what Bible verses suggest that we can and should be doing that? Now, somebody would jump in and say, Old Testament, that the nation of Israel, they would be dedicated to the Lord. And I say, absolutely, they certainly were. Why? Because they were God's chosen nation underneath the Abrahamic covenant. The land, the nation, the seed, this was God's chosen people in God's chosen land to bring about the appearance of his chosen one, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so that nation could, underneath the Abrahamic and the Mosaic covenant, be dedicated to God because God cut a covenant with Israel in both the Abrahamic and the Mosaic covenant. My question is, when did God cut a covenant with America? Don't shoot me. I'm not a communist. When did God establish America formally as his chosen nation? I know there are a lot of people who would argue we certainly are. But I would ask you biblically, where that is indicated. Where is America identified as God's chosen nation? And I think that's an important question to answer because it resolves the riddle of dedicating America to God. How can we do that? And who are the people who did that? Were they the prophets of the nation? Are they the official priests of the nation? There were politicians, there were actors, there were cardinals, there were prosperity wackadoodles who gave them the right to dedicate America. And what if there are people in this country that don't want to be dedicated to God? Is it too bad for them? They've been dedicated, so that's all there is to it. And I would continue to ask the question, what does that look like? Does that mean that people are going to raise their children to love the Lord Jesus Christ? Or is it simply a dedication that will behave more morally, that will stop aborting our children? What is the dedication? Now, I know there was a hearkening back to the founding of the nation, when the founding fathers got together and they made some references to an almighty being. But as far as it being dedicated to the trinitarian God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I would still ask the question, how can they do that? It requires gods, covenant, cutting authority, not ours. And so whilst I think we all get. It's just nice to see something like that, people getting together to pray on the National Mall, we can kind of be encouraged by that. But I do believe that as the church, we need to be asking some questions about that. To not be deceived and misled by an event like that. To think that somehow now, because I don't know how many people attended. Thousands were there, no doubt. Jimmy, do you know what the attendance of that clambake was?

[Jimmy Hicks]

I don't, but I will find out.

[Todd Friel]

I don't know how big it was. It appeared there were lots of folks there. Who are they? And it's what percentage of America praying to God that we are rededicating this nation to him? How many people does it take to do that? And what if some Christians get together? Can they somehow dedicate other parts of the nation to God? Can we dedicate businesses to God? Can we dedicate universities to God? What does that look like? How does that change thing? And the reason that I bring this up, it's not to just be a wet blanket, but it is to suggest if you're going to get together in a large group of people to pray for the nation, we need to remember we're the church. And the prayers that can be powerful in actually affecting change in the nation is not a rededication, whatever that happens to mean, but a prayer for salvation. Jimmy, do you see how many people attended that thing?

[Jimmy Hicks]

Over 15,000.

[Todd Friel]

Okay, so it wasn't massive, and that's probably double. So it's about 7,500 folks. We're probably there. Okay, we'll go with the 15,000. Although events typically always double or triple the attendance. Even so, how is it that these people have the authority or the power to rededicate the nation? But if a group of Christians, 15,000 got together to call out to God, oh Lord, send your Holy Spirit, Blow on this nation. Bring salvation to the home of every American. Revive this nation through regeneration. Send your Holy Spirit to convict people of sin, righteousness and justice. Bring them to repentance and faith. Grant that to Americans. Grant that to all Americans. And they cried out to God incessantly mixed in with a little Chris Tomlin, of course. Then I say rock on, because we're the church and that's what we should be praying for. I don't mean to just be a jerk about this, but we can't drive by somebody's house and say, that house is now dedicated to the Lord. It's like the people living inside don't agree with it. They don't affirm that. And furthermore, what does that even look like? Are they going to start doing rituals, leading their kids in Bible studies? What does it mean? Those folks were praying for a rededication. But I'm not even sure on any level, certainly not biblical level, that that makes sense. But I do know this, that if we want to see America revitalized and if we wanted to see more and more people get together and say, hey, we're Christians living in this land, and we're going to be a salt, and we're going to be a light to the nation, and we're going to go about the business of proclaiming the good news. And that group of people prayed like a nobody's business for the salvation of countless souls, that there would be another great awakening, that there would be preachers of the gospel. Raise up preachers. There's another prayer. Raise up more evangelists. Raise up more individuals who will hit the streets and bring the great news that your son died for sinners to lost souls. That is the prayer that we should be praying. I know that we want to see America improved. We certainly do. But we have to ask the question how that happens. And I'm sorry, I don't believe it's from dedicating America to God. It's proclaiming the gospel so that myriads of souls will get saved that will change a nation. This is wretched radio.

[Jimmy Hicks]

No Retreat. That's the name of Fortis Institute's Spring Match campaign, and here's why. The culture we live in right now has made it pretty clear it has very little interest in the true gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We're being told to keep our faith quiet in public or to soften what we believe so it goes down easier. Fortas Institute has no intention of doing either one. We exist to advance the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And this spring, we're doing it as loudly and as boldly as we know how. Your gift will help launch two new podcasts. It puts Todd Friel's new book, Go Serve youe King, into print through HarperCollins. And it puts the gospel back onto college campuses where it's least welcome and most needed. Our goal is $250,000, and we're asking if you would prayerfully consider helping us get there. You can find out more right [e-mail].

[Todd Friel]

Perhaps you've been wondering, is there a Christian university that isn't woke or that hasn't compromised on important biblical doctrines like, you know, the Age of the Earth? There is. It's the Master's University in Southern California. Beautiful campus, all of the athletics and activities that you've come to expect from universities. But it's more than that. The academic programs are most excellent. Preparing students for the future. The Washington Post just said number six for preparing students for the real world. All that, plus the Master's University isn't woke and it is thoroughly biblical. Would you like to learn more? I encourage you to visit the Master's university at masters.edu wretched masters edu Wretched.

[Jimmy Hicks]

You've tried everything. You've sent articles, you've had the conversations. You've probably argued more than you wanted to. But you have a loved one who is still neck deep in the Prosperity Gospel or the new Apostolic Reformation, and nothing you seem to say gets through. It's exhausting, I know, and it's also heartbreaking. Snatch Them from the Flames was made for exactly this reason. Todd Friel and Justin Peters sit down and they tackle why your loved one is attracted to these movements in the first place. Because until you actually understand that, you're just going to be swinging in the dark. Then they walk through the things that you can actually say and do to help pull them toward Christianity. This isn't about winning an argument, it's about understanding someone you love and pointing them to something real. If you've got a family member or friend caught up in a false gospel and you don't know what else to try, Snatch Them from the Flames is for you. It's streaming for free right now on Fortis Plus. Download the app on your smartphone, your smart TV, or simply go to fortisplus.org.

[Todd Friel]

Books of the Bible the Book of Ruth tells of a Moabite widow who chose to follow the God of Israel and found favor in the eyes of a godly man named Boaz, who claimed her family's land as her kinsman Redeemer. Ruth and Boaz are the ancestors of Jesus and a foreshadowing of Jesus work as our kinsman Redeemer. This is Wretched Radio with Todd Friel. Hey Jimmy.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Yes?

[Todd Friel]

How was the weekend?

[Jimmy Hicks]

The weekend? It was good.

[Todd Friel]

Good.

[Jimmy Hicks]

How was yours?

[Todd Friel]

It was good. Church was good on Sunday. The weather was sweet. Just sat out on the back deck. Just kind of enjoyed stuff.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Oh yeah?

[Todd Friel]

Yeah. Yeah. Did you do any grilling?

[Jimmy Hicks]

Did I. No, I didn't this weekend. Okay. You know, we started the show. Yes.

[Todd Friel]

Oh, it's okay. We can just chat. Nobody's listening. They all left. Oh, yeah, you got that right. This is wretched radio. Jimmy, correct me, am I off base in my observation about the rededication of America at the rededicate 250?

[Jimmy Hicks]

I don't think you are off base. I know how some people are. It's going to come across and how they're going to take it, but you're not off base at all.

[Todd Friel]

They're going to take it poorly, probably. Yeah. Look, I want America to be better, too. I miss America. I really do. It used to be so much better than what it currently is. I mean, we see some good news story. All right, we're spanning the globe. There was a good news story in here. Now, that's a bad news story. No, that was a bad. Wait a second. I got. I got one for you here. It was the Supreme. Okay, the Supreme Court. There was some redistricting things that happen in Virginia. That's a good thing I saw. Okay. Justice Department. Oh, this is a good one right here. I got a good news story right here. Justice Department announces resolution to shut down pediatric gender affirming care clinic in Texas. And it's going to be replaced with a detransition clinic. That's cool. Let's talk about a 180. All right. We want more stories like that. How do these stories happen? Well, I would ask a different question. Why do we have a need for this kind of story that the government's getting involved to stop the mutilation of children? Well, do you think that if the people at this Texas hospital were born again Christians that they would be slicing and dicing boys and girls? Do you think they would be doing that? No, they wouldn't be doing that. We wouldn't need this story. It's salvation. We need to be praying for regeneration. We do need a great awakening. We need sinners saved. That's what. That's what makes the news very difficult for the networks to do. Because there's not as much bad news. Because born again Christians don't do things like this. Born again Christians, they are more moral. They are more obedient to laws. They are more submissive. We do what we're told to do as long as it doesn't contradict what God wants us to do or what he's called us to do. Or they impose something that makes us do something that God Said that is verboten. That is a nation that has an internal moral clock compass. It has a thing inside of us that says, I want to do good. I want to behave. I want to be moral. I don't want to insult. I don't want to return evil for evil. I want to be harmonious. I want to be humble. I want to be sympathetic. I want to be compassionate. That was first Peter 3, 8, 12, by the way. I just bring it up because we happen to preach about it this Sunday at Alpharetta Bible Church. Yeah. And interestingly enough, when Peter, he lists, he does a chiasm. I don't know if you're familiar with it. It's a literary device to really help make a point. And so in First Peter three. Eight. Yeah, I think it's eight. There's a chiasm where he gives five. It looks like in your translation commands, it says, be harmonious, be sympathetic, brotherly, love one another, be compassionate. And then it ends with be humble. Okay? So that's called a chiasm. It's got five. So it goes A, B, C, B, A. So in other words, the A, the two A's, they're separated by three other points, but the A's go together and the B's go together. But then you got that C in the middle there. And that C in the middle is crucial because the C in the middle, it really helps to shape and define the A, B, B, A structure. And in your translation, it probably looks like it. Like it's a command. It's not. It has an imperative force, but they're actually adjectives describing who we are. So in other words, we don't just act harmoniously. We are harmonious people. We don't just sympathize. We are sympathetic people. We don't just love the Brethren, we do acts of love and kindness. No, we genuinely have fervent love for the Brethren, a warm, familial love for the. Because that's who we are. We don't just check about. Okay, today I was a little bit harmonious. Today I did a little bit of sympathetic. No, no, no, no. It's who you are. That's what Christians, they're different. They have an internal desire to be moral and to do good. And that, incidentally, will bring down your taxes in your town because you won't need as many police. Because the more Christians there are, the less crime there is. That is just a fact. I'm talking about genuine born Christians. If we want to see a better America, we need to see souls saved. Because if you don't have that internal mechanism, you need an external force. Those are called the police. They will make sure, or at least desire to make sure that you keep the law. Because people don't desire it on the inside. You've got to have a larger force on the outside. And that is why you will see a decrease in your taxes to pay for police. If you got more Christians, there's nothing but upside. In other words, we need to be evangelizing. That's what we need to be doing. Evangelizing. People need to get saved. You've got a neighbor that's inconsiderate, who's not a Christian. Okay? It doesn't mean Christians are never inconsiderate, but they'll probably be more considerate if they are a believer. Because they're going to do what they're going to be humble, they're going to be harmonious, they're going to be sympathetic and compassionate and love people. It's what they become. It's what they are. That's why we need to be evangelizing. If you disagree with this, by the way, please send your response. Your comments welcome them. I truly do. Ideaetched.org, ideaetched.org Back to Texas we go. Sex rejecting procedures is the name that the Justice Department used to say. You're not going to be doing those anymore. To the Texas Children's Hospital. The attorney general, they decide they, they worked a deal, shall we say? It's commitments to not perform procedures on children which include the administration of puberty blockers, cross sex hormones, of course, the scalpel. The Children's Hospital of Texas also agreed to collectively pay over 10 million in damages and civil penalties and to dedicate millions to the provision of medical care to children harmed by the provision of such procedures. That is awesome news. That's really good news. Now, if we get the next administration that doesn't have those same values, what are we going to have? You're going to see that Texas Children's Hospital go right back to it because it's a moneymaker baby. And they will go about the business of slicing up kids. Doctors who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ would never do that to a child. That's why we need doctors to be saved. That's why we need people to witness to medical professionals, to Wall street fat cats. We don't like Wall street with the way that they act and the hoarding of the money and the insider trading. Born again Christians don't do that stuff as a rule. You don't like it. How's about some missionaries to Wall Street? Let's go to Costco. Here's some good news. We got some good news coming out of Costco. Not going to sell the abortion pill at their pharmacies. That's a good thing. Our position at this time is to not sell it. That has not changed. It's based on lack of demand from our members and other patients who we understand generally have the drug dispensed by their medical providers. No. If it's true that Costco members, as a rule, don't want to buy that pill, that's good. That's good. Because that's an indication possibly, that the type of customer that they have has more of an internal compass. Let's go to. Oh, no, let's not do. I can't share this story. There's a. Then don't, Todd. Okay, I'll summarize it for you. The headline, October 7th report. It's detailing how the Muslims tortured civilians, maimed bodies. Sorry, this is the headline. And raped corpses for fun. I didn't read the report. This is for. Just a summary from not to be. Heads were decapitated, pelvic bones shattered. Even after death, sexual assault continued. Terrorists shot the eyes of Jewish people, shot them in places you don't want to be shot, Made family members do things to one another in front of other family members because that's a tactic, then that just destroys families. If they're allowed to go free afterwards, it just destroys families. That's the October 7th report. One wonders what Tucker Carlson will have to say about that. But why do those acts happen? Well, it's pretty safe to say that Muslims are not born again Christians because born again Christians don't act that way. This is Wretched Radio.

[Jimmy Hicks]

And it's now time for your daily Fortis News break, a production of Fortis Institute. Australian entrepreneur Saul Grover built a women only social app called Giggle, and a man named Jason Tickle decided he wanted in. Grover said no, and Australian courts said yes and just doubled her fine to $120,000 for the crime of believing women are women. Reality doesn't bend because the clowns are running the courtroom. Closer to home, detransitioner Chloe Cole was set to speak at University of Washington with Turning Point usa. She postponed the event after Antifa's local chapter made what she called explicit threats on her life. Her message that God made us male and female and girls don't need pharmaceutical companies turning them into boys is apparently enough to attract death threats. Cole says that she's not afraid, but after what happened to Charlie Kirk, she's choosing brave or stupid. Better news out of Texas, where Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the nation's first detransition clinic, built through a settlement with Texas Children's Hospital. For five years, services will be free to patients picking up the pieces of what was done to them. The hospital also pays $10 million for billing Medicaid for transgender procedures, and several doctors lost their jobs. Paxton called it a monumental day. And it's hard to argue that on the financial front, Capital One is taking heat over allegations it's been debanking gun stores. A Maryland firearms retailer is suing after the bank flagged the gun industry as a prohibited industry. The Trump administration has its own lawsuit over more than 300 accounts cancelled after the president's first term ended. What's in your wallet is starting to sound a lot less like a question and more like a threat. The Justice Department is also issuing subpoenas to Apple, Google, Amazon and Walmart Walmart to identify around 100,000 people who used a car diagnostic app called EasyLink, which the government claims helps bypass emission controls. The company's lawyers points out correctly that investigating EZ Link doesn't require dragnetting every customer who ever clicked download. The DOJ also concluded last week that Yale Medical School illegally considered race and admissions for three straight years after the Supreme Court told them to see stop. White and Asian admits scored in the hundredth percentile on the MCAT, while Black admits the 95th. Yell's response was a word salad about rigorous process translation. They got caught and in New York, a 64 year old was convicted of running an unregistered Chinese police station in the middle of Manhattan's Chinatown. He helped Beijing track a pro democracy activist in California and faces up to 30 years. China called the the charges fabricated, which is exactly what you expect a country running secret police stations in Manhattan to say. And that wraps up today's Fortis News break. I'm Jimmy Hicks. If you want more, you can download Fortis plus or sign up to become Fortis Insider for exclusive daily content, both of which can be [e-mail] and don't forget, you can subscribe to Fortis News on your favorite podcast app in order to get these updates daily. And until tomorrow, go serve your king.

[Todd Friel]

Titles of Christ in the Bible, Jesus is given many titles that teach us about who he is and what he has done. Jesus is called the Son of Man. Daniel Chapter seven describes the Son of Man who came from heaven, received worship from all nations, and rules a kingdom that will never be destroyed. Jesus uses this title to affirm that he is fully human and fully divine. This is Wretched Radio with Todd Friel. This will not have a happy ending. This is Wretched Radio. As we span the globe, let me take you to America. You say friel, we're in America. I know. The point is, we're going to take a look at the Labor Department statistics of men not working. Even worse, they're not looking to work. It's not because they're necessarily lazy. They've quit looking because they can't get a job. The number is one in three men have stopped working. They don't look for work anymore because it is futile. These statistics are not good. These are the lowest numbers since 1948. The labor market continues to weaken. Most job opportunities are typically dominated by women. So it's healthcare, it's education. Women flourish in those sectors, so the job market for them is just fine. But in the meantime, male dominated industries like manufacturing or transportation or mining, they're just going down the tubes and guys can't find work. And in the meantime, we've got the H1B visa program that's working just fine. As we bring in so many workers from overseas, when we've got so many people in this country who are willing to work, they just can't find work. And then we're told, well, we need to bring in foreign labor because Americans won't work. That is just not true. Furthermore, if they're not trained for those jobs, then let's start training them. This is not good for a nation because men, they're going to channel their energy somewhere now. It won't be a good channeling. Usually not many men who stay unemployed for a long amount of time do a lot of volunteering work, go about the neighborhood. You know, I'm just going to start trimming the neighborhood's lawn, trim their bushes. I'm going to edge their lawn for them. They don't do that. Where does it typically go for most men that aren't working because we are supposed to be working, it will go towards something nefarious or just something totally worthless like video games, just constant video gaming or watching things on the Internet that nobody's eyeballs should be looking at, or even worse, taking it to the streets. They got to channel that energy. And without labor, it's probably not going to squirt out in a very good direction. Let me take you to Great Britain. Don't know if you saw this story, this is just if it is accurate, so agitating. I'll just describe the scene for you. Well, I'll let the Daily Mail do it. A university student, I think the kid was like 20 years old, was repeatedly stabbed by a man with a Sikh S I K H ceremonial sword. It's an 8 inch blade, just in case you don't have one of one of your own. 18 years old, was on his way home from a night out when he was attacked by a stranger. Vikram Digua, 23 years old with a Shastar blade. The guy who murdered him, who stabbed him to death, was caught on camera saying, I'm a bad man. Before the fatal attack, jurors were told he's now on trial, accused of murder alongside his mother, who assisted him in getting rid of the knife so that her boy wouldn't be arrested for stabbing somebody to death. Now, what makes this story egregious is the fellow is claiming that the reason he stabbed the young man is because the man, the young man, the university student, he offered him some sort of racial epithet. In other words, he said something that offended him is his claim. And the reason that this is, I think, a worthy story is because the police came and the boy was bleeding on the street. And rather than immediately helping him, because the individual who stabbed him claimed that he had said something racially offensive to him, they put the boy in handcuffs and he bled out on the street. Why? Because you can't have a racist running free even with his guts bleeding out. I think this is from not the Bee. I think their comment was demonstrating racism is the greatest crime that you can commit. By the way, the laws in Great Britain, they're just getting tighter and tighter and tighter. After he was stabbed, he tried to climb a fence to escape his assaulter, who was aggressively pursuing him, leaving a trail of blood. Police were called to the scene but arrested the victim after. After the guy with the 8 inch blade claimed he'd been racially abused. Now that, that was an accusation. Hey, he said something. As if somehow that justifies stabbing somebody four times to death. But the police here, oh, racist racism. That's the real bad guy. Not the guy who stabbed him, but the guy who said something racial. Racially charged. He suffered four stab wounds, including two in the back of his legs, one in his lung. The Daily Mail points out it's illegal to carry a knife in Britain, but Sikhs have a religious exemption that allows them to carry them. Hesitate to share this story because I know that this is a hot potato And I'm not going to comment because I don't know. I'm just going to share a story that is for your consideration. You do with this as you see fit. I know that people are on both sides of the aisle of this subject, so I'm just sharing because it seems that this was a valid enough study that it should at least warrant our attention to some degree. It was a meta study. They take all of the studies that were done and they put them together to kind of give one narrative. Because studies will tend to focus on this aspect, that aspect, another aspect. Well, this puts everything together regarding the subject of vaccines and autism. I'm not commenting, I'm just sharing. This is from the Journal of Independent Medicine. It says it's devoted to advancing unbiased multispecialty medical research with a focus on alternative therapies, repurposed drugs, medical ethics and healthcare policies. It says that it operates without funding from pharmaceutical companies or government agencies. So they claim, like we all do, independence and objectivity. What did the study results report? New onset of ASD. So this is autism spectrum before age 9. Included the following. Advanced parental age, premature delivery, genetic variants, sibling recurrence, maternal immune activation in utero drug exposure, environmental toxicants, gut brain axis disruption, and here it comes. Cumulative routine childhood vaccination. That's a bit of a bomb because this debate has been going on now for quite a while. The report itself says this is not conclusive. They just state these conditions highlight a need for independent longitudinal studies assessing the safety of the full cumulative pediatric vaccine schedule and should guide future research and policy decisions aimed at mitigating the growing autism burden. They do not say that it proves that there is a link between vaccinations and autism. But they are saying there's enough data here that there should be some serious, intense work done to determine is there a connection? Most medical professionals say no. There are a lot of parents who would say yes. The debate continues. In the meantime in Canada. Speaking of health news, a Canadian physician thought that assisted suicide might be a good option for babies. Oh, man, Cilla, you know, babies who can't speak, who can't formulate a sentence to express, you know, their desire to say live. A member of the Quebec College of Physicians stated that maid, this is their death program in Canada where they will help kill you. It's not assisted. It's they're taking your life at your request. But it may be appropriate, according to this position at the Quebec College of Physicians, may be an appropriate treatment for babies from birth to 1 year of age with severe deformities. Oh, I see. So suddenly they're deformed. They're not human. The Netherlands has been leading the way, by the way. They've been doing this since 2005. So, Canada, you're on your way. But in the meantime, the Netherlands, they have been terminating the lives of children under the age of one since 2005. If a baby is born with severe medical conditions, then we, the big people, because it would be really expensive or really challenging or quite a burden, we can make the decision for them that they will die. Hmm. I think there's a name for that, not the least of which, frankly, would be bully. That's the big people imposing their power on the little people. Okay, one last story about news, health news, specifically. I only share this. It's so dopey. I only share this because this is the psychological industry. This is the biggest psychiatric industrial complex. What are they recommending these days for group therapy? This is very sophisticated. I'll try to just dumb this down as much as possible. Actually, that's impossible because this is about as dumbed down as possible. The big words are Dungeons and Dragons. That's right. To help people with their mental and emotional issues, they're recommending Dungeons and Dragons, followed apparently by some bloodletting is what the prescription is. This is Wretched Radio.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Thanks for listening to Wretched Radio today. If you're a man, you're trying to figure out what it actually means to be one. And you've probably noticed the world doesn't make it easy. They say be strong, but not too strong. Lead, but you don't want to be toxic. Look, it's a lot of mixed signals, and after a while, you just stop listening to any of it. And the thing about it is, Scripture is not confused. God has a lot to say about what it means to be a man, and Dr. Adam Tyson unpacks that every week on way of manhood. Dr. Tyson is a pastor. He's also a professor at the Master's University, and he's one of our Fortis Institute fellows. And he's not interested in cultural trends. He's interested in what the Bible actually says. And if you're an ongoing monthly gospel partner of Fortis Institute, it is your support that helps make content just like this possible. If you've ever been impacted by this ministry, would you prayerfully consider becoming an ongoing monthly gospel partner today? All you have to do is go to fortisinstitute.org right now to find out what it would look Like. Like in your life to do just that. Wretched Amazing Grace. Amazing Gospel no Retreat. That's the name of Fortis Institute's Spring Match campaign. And we chose that name for a reason the church has been quietly backing up for years. A doctrine gets a little uncomfortable. A truth sounds a little too exclusive. So we set it aside, and before long, the gospel sounds more like an apology than an announcement. Fortas Institute is determined to push the other direction to encourage churches to hold fast to hard truth and to proclaim the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, rightly and loudly. That's why we're inviting you to join us on the no Retreat Spring Match campaign. Right now through the end of May, every dollar you give is matched dollar for dollar, and your gift will help launch two new podcasts, published Todd Frill's new book, go serve Your King through HarperCollins, and fund Gospel proclamation on college campuses. The gospel doesn't move backward, and neither should we. You can find out more right [e-mail] donate okay, so if you admit it, you're like the rest of us. You've got 47 streaming services and you're paying for at least six of them. But somehow every night you sit down on the couch and you say, there's nothing to watch. Meanwhile, Fortis is sitting right there for free on your Roku, your Fire tv, Apple tv, Android, hundreds, maybe even thousands of hours of content on theology, marriage, parenting, manhood, cultural issues, stuff that actually matters. And you know what? We keep adding more. Of course. You could scroll through Netflix for like 45 minutes looking for something that won't rot your brain. Or you could pull up Fortis and learn something that'll actually help you be a better husband, dad, or Christian by the time the credits roll. Download the Fortis app right now. It is absolutely free and it's on your tv. And unlike that true crime documentary that you've watched three times, at least, it might actually do you some good.

[Todd Friel]

Attributes of God you can trust in God. Malachi, chapter three, verse six tells us that God is immutable. He does not change. He is faithful to fulfill his promises. Just as much today as when the Bible was written, you can rest assured that his word is still true. This is Wretched Radio with Todd Friel. Well, on second thought, maybe Dungeons and Dragons isn't such a bad idea. This is wretched, rad, and not kidding. Even institutions like Johns Hopkins University has its own Dungeons and Dragons therapy group. It's called Social Skills Quest. People play the game for Half a session, and then they use the other half of the session to talk about playing the game for the first half of the session. And that's supposed to help them with their mental and emotional issues? Yeah, I'm not kidding. That's the best they have to offer when it comes to therapy. The other alternative, of course, which would be worse are the over prescribed psychotropic medications that are getting people hooked and affecting them forever. Recently, the Secretary of Health, he decided it's time to address this issue and try to start helping people get off of these psychotropics. And when Mr. Kennedy spoke, he said, I have seen people that come off of heroin, that detox, it's nothing compared to people coming off of these psychotropics. And recently in Washington, the MAHA Institute, M A H A Institute, he spoke there and he announced, hey, we're gonna actually start trying to detransition people off of medication. I don't know that detransition is the right word, but I find it kind of funny and ironic. And they're going to spend money to help people because it is a beating to get off of these drugs. And that is usually not discussed. They also had four young people share their testimonies and their stories. Mom and dad, you need to know this, you need to be aware of these stories. Yes, they are anecdotal, but they get compiled one on top of the other until it becomes an actual force that needs to be reckoned with. This is just one of those stories.

[Cameron Labar]

Yeah. My name is Cameron Labar. I, I was diagnosed at age 9 with anxiety, OCD and Tourette syndrome. And we went into a neurologist office in northern New Jersey and walked out with a prescription for Paxil. And so I SSRI when I was nine. I'm already on the verge of tears. It's ridiculous. But this is, this is a win, honestly, that I'm even, I'm even feeling this now because it was really hard to even do this before.

[Todd Friel]

That is really telling, by the way, if it sounds a little bit fast, Jimmy, what did you crank this thing up to?

[Jimmy Hicks]

1.5 speed.

[Todd Friel]

Alrighty then. So for the poor people who might be listening to this, a 1.5 speed. This is a 3.0 speed.

[Jimmy Hicks]

That's right.

[Todd Friel]

This young man, 9 years old, went into a doctor's office, comes out with Paxil and he just said that he's about to cry, telling the story, because I think he's in his 30s now and he's happy that he can cry because he Wasn't able to feel that emotion for so long because that is what so many of those psychotropics will do. They just flatten you out. That's why. Greg Gifford, I'm telling you, life without the numb. It's still a great free [e-mail] you can watch it. You should watch. Wouldn't be a terrible thing to show in your Sunday school class, I'll tell you that much. Or you can get his book. It's still selling really, really well. Lies my therapist told me.

[Cameron Labar]

But anyways, so I'm 35 now. I've been on an SSRI. I was on Paxil for about 20 years and then switched over somewh 2020 to, to other SSRIs. But I've, I've been on SSRIs for collectively almost 26 years now. My adolescence, I had other antipsychotics and other things that I took for the Tourettes, but I was always told that I had a chemical imbalance and that this was treating that. And it wasn't just the doctor that told me that, right? It was, it was also the proxies of the doctor, which were my parents, my family. So, you know, growing up, entering teenage years and even into adulthood, I, I was, I was conditioned and I believed that, that I needed this and that I was, I was treating something very targeted to help me function. And it took a really long time for me to realize that the things that I thought were character traits about me being tired, drowsy, forgetful, numb, indifferent to going out and doing things or to having friends or to starting a relationship. It took a really long time for me to end up figuring out that those weren't character traits, those weren't parts of my personality, but that those were side effects of a medication. And it wasn't until, you know, about three years ago, I stumbled after hours and hours of watching videos and viewing message boards and things like that, I stumbled across a video from Mark Horowitz. And he's here in this room too. And he'll be speaking later, I think. But that helped me to understand that side effects are so common and that this isn't, you know, it's not a part of who you are necessarily, but it also, you know, another point I really want to make in this whole process is I was never approached or we ever had a discussion about an off ramp or a reducing of these medications. It was just every night I would take it, but there was never a discussion of when is the finish line, when Am I done taking this? That discussion never happened. And anytime I tried to go off, there were a couple of times when I was a teenager, a couple times during college, anytime I tried to go off and follow doctor's advice of cutting a tablet in half and then waiting and seeing for a couple of weeks, it would throw me into such a severe panic and response that, you know, I would immediately go back up on the dose. And, you know, when you go and you talk to a doctor about that, a very common response is that, hey, that is a. That is a part of your underlying condition and that you probably need the medication. But like I was saying, it wasn't until I, you know, stumbled across a video from Mark that. That suggested that these, in reality, these responses are withdrawal symptoms and that this is a part of some underlying, you know, part of who I am. And it took me 20 years to find that out. So trying to deal with that and. Right. I'm still going through the process of papering. I've been tapering about three years now, seven and a half milligrams Lexapro. It's probably gonna take me another three, four or five years to get the rest of the way, just given how wow Work. But imagine the, you know, the. The fury, the rage of, like, I could have figured this out a lot sooner.

[Todd Friel]

Right.

[Cameron Labar]

And that the way I'm functioning now on this lower level of a dose, I haven't met on this level of a dose since I was, you know, in adolescence, basically. But this, the way I'm functioning now, I could have functioned as. As a human being all along. Right. I mean, and I could have. I could have had friendships and I could have been numb and I could have formed relationships. I don't know how I'm doing on time. Sorry. You're good.

[Todd Friel]

But almost.

[Cameron Labar]

Okay.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Almost.

[Cameron Labar]

But this is, you know, these are the things that I'm now struggling with is this. This portion of now that I've gotten through a really hard part of withdrawal. And I'm kind of taking a break over these last few months now. I'm dealing with the realization that I've. I've missed a lot of life. And a lot of my experience, year after year, has been discounted and affected by these drugs to where I never. I never got to experience the full range of emotions and feeling of being human. And that's been really, really hard. I'm here not necessarily because I want to be, but because of how important this really is and how much it's affected me and how much I'M really grateful as well that there's an audience to listen and members of Congress to help get this going. So I'm really grateful to be here and thank you.

[Todd Friel]

Amazing. And that's one of millions of stories, honestly, that simply do not get shared. What it does to you while you're on that medication and then getting off of that medication. Here's just one more young woman who has been so negatively impacted by psychotropics

[Unidentified Woman (Psychiatric Medication Survivor)]

so I have a brain injury from antidepressants at just 7 years old, I was prescribed psychiatric drugs. I was far too young to understand what they were let along the lasting impact they would have on my developing brain. It started in the second grade when a teacher noticed I was fidgety, distracted and not fully keeping up academically. My parents were advised to take me to see a psychiatrist for an ADHD

[Todd Friel]

evaluation and I for being fidgety. A classic case of ants in her pants. They take her to a doctor quickly

[Unidentified Woman (Psychiatric Medication Survivor)]

diagnosed, labeled and medicated. They even told me I had I had a learning disability. Ironically, the drugs later created the very disability they claimed I had. It began with ADHD stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin and I still remember how agitated and moody they made me feel. This was completely out of character for me as I was a happy, sweet, silly kid. Adverse side effects were interpreted as new diagnosis and more drugs were prescribed to treat the problems of the medications themselves had caused. This spiraled into a prescription cascade of antidepressants, benzodiazepines, mood stabilizers and antipsychotics, all before my 10th birthday. None of it ever felt right. But I was a child and I didn't have the words to explain what was happening and I didn't have the authority to challenge it. My completely normal childhood behavior pathologized. I wasn't in crisis. I wasn't struggling or acting out. I was simply a fidgety, shy, sensitive little girl who didn't fit the mold of how a child was supposed to

[Todd Friel]

behave in a classroom education.

[Unidentified Woman (Psychiatric Medication Survivor)]

Every drug induced effect that made me feel terrible was blamed on my so called underlying disorder. As I got older I found online forums of people describing their harms from antidepressants. Began to realize the drugs might be the problem. I brought my concerns to my doctor and asked if the medications could be making me worse or even cause brain damage. He insisted that was impossible. He was the expert and he knew best and told me it was just my OCD and anxiety and that I needed higher doses of treated effectively. My inner Reality was dismissed at every turn and the very harm I was told could never happen is exactly what I eventually lived through. As I got older, most of the other psychiatric drugs were eventually stopped, but SSRIs remain the one constant throughout my entire life. I After college, at 23 years old, I wanted to see who I was underneath the chemicals that had been hijacking my brain for all those years. Although I had been on antidepressants my whole life, all my brain was literally developing. My doctor tapered me off in just six weeks, which was far too fast. But my doctor wasn't acting recklessly. He was following the standard medical guidance doctors are taught to use. What followed was a severe full body neurological crisis. A nonstop living nightmare of physical and psychological torment and suffering I didn't know was humanly possible. My brain felt like it was on fire. Waves of visceral terror and violent inner agitation ripped through me. I was crawling out of my skin for hours each day. I rocked back and forth in the fetal position on the floor, screaming in excruciating pa. Rage surged through me that was completely out of character as I've never been, as I've never had this type of anger. I was always gentle and kind, but it brought out a violence in me that never existed. My brain and body were malfunctioning, feeling like I was being poisoned. It was an attack on my nervous system. Simply being alive felt unbearable. When I went back to my doctor and told him I was in withdrawal, I was told antidepressant withdrawal doesn't exist, that the medication was out of my system and my symptoms were proof I needed the medication. His credentials and expertise automatically outweighed my lived experience and the very injury caused by the drugs was used to justify putting me back on them. I spent months going in and out of hospitals, repeatedly dismissed. No one believed me. I had no medical support and I became completely bedridden and unable to care for myself. After many torturous months of non stop suffering, I had no choice but to reinstate the antidepressant, even though I felt as though it was poisoning me.

[Todd Friel]

Tragic. Tragic. True stories. Real people being so negatively affected by a group of people that have every appearance of trust. The buildings, the lab coats, the diplomas on the wall. And yet causing so much harm via psychotropics. Suddenly Dungeons and Dragons doesn't sound so bad. Until tomorrow. Go serve your.