On Tuesday's Glenn Beck Program, Glenn made an argument that he has made many times before: history is repeating itself. This time, however, Glenn looked at history from a religious perspective. In Europe, we have already seen a movement toward the eradication of religion from society, and it is safe to say the global consequences of such a movement would be dire.
“We must unite now. History is beginning to repeat itself," Glenn said. "In Europe, there is a very strong radical movement towards erasing all religion."
In the years leading up to World War II, a similar movement existed because the state attempted to compete with religion for "moral authority." In Russia, Stalin closed 40,000 Christian churches. In Germany, Hitler turned National Socialism into a national substitute to religion.
As a society, we may not yet have reached such an extreme, but Glenn sees us facing very similar problems if nothing is done to thwart attacks on religion.
“God is being driven out of the public square. God is openly mocked and hedonism and darkness are being embraced,” Glenn explained. “A society that continues to accept and applaud wrongdoing will destroy itself from within, it must. It becomes a virus to nature’s laws."
In light of the ongoing immigration debate and the countless scandals plaguing the United States, it is easy to be discouraged. Instead of fixing the problems, Glenn explained that we are simply redefining them "to make ourselves feel better." We are watching our culture, history, and customs change right before our eyes.
But there is hope.
"Citizenry armed with truth does not slide into slavery," Glenn said. "Arm yourself with the truth and stand with confidence, because the truth lives here."
Glenn turned to David Barton, Rabbi Daniel Lappin, and Pastor Ken Hutcherson to brainstorm ideas for a cohesive message all Americans can unify around and use to fight back against those who are trying to devalue our culture.
David Barton suggested six principles from the time of the nation’s founding:
- There is a God
- God gives rights
- Government exists to protect the rights that God gives
- There is a moral law
- Below the moral law, people get to govern
- If the government doesn’t do those five things, the people have the right to a new government
Pastor Hutcherson, meanwhile, reminded America that we have overcome far worst in the past. "God and I are on fire, and I’m just excited about what’s going to happen," he said. "Because the greatest thing in all the world is what I believe many of the people that overcame when it didn’t look like there was any way to overcome: enemy on the right, enemy on the left, enemy in the front, enemy in the back, and you know, what did you do? You just turn and around and look, says, 'We got ’em where we want ’em. Let’s get ’em.'"