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Glenn responds to critic who says rights come from man not God

October 30, 2013
Wilson

Writer

On radio this morning, Glenn offered an in-depth response to James Kirk Wall, an author and philosopher, who took issue with Glenn’s recent remarks about our rights originating from God.

“Where do our rights come from? Our rights don't come from religion. They don't come from a pulpit. They come from God,” Glenn explained. “[Wall] wrote a response to my claim, and let me attribute where actually I first heard the outrageously ridiculous claim that our rights come from God: America's Founding Fathers. That's how ridiculous my source is… In fact, I think you'd probably actually have to go back to Moses maybe, but why quibble here?”

In an article for ChicagoNow, “Dear Glenn Beck, human rights have never come from god,” Wall argues that anyone who claims rights come from God actually wants to take those rights away. “That is someone who wants a theocracy,” he writes in the October 27 post. “It’s not about using god to claim that you have rights (even though that in itself is absolute nonsense), it’s about others claiming that their rights come from their god to take your rights away.”

“So James, the common theme among the atheists is that people of God are the ones that take away the rights and human life. But if you really understand Christianity, human life is sacred and it is absolutely absurd to think otherwise,” Glenn said in response to that particular claim. “But sadly, James had much more to say:”

Our rights do not come from god as no one has ever had the authority to speak for god any more than anyone else. We can’t even get people who follow the same book to agree on the interpretations and meanings. We don’t even know what god is or even if god exists at all. Someone stating, or even taking the impressive effort of writing down that they speak for god doesn't make it true.

“And James, I mean this sincerely: You may not, and that's totally cool. It's totally cool that you don't think there is a god or you may not know if there is a god. It's totally cool. I do, and I respect your right to not believe in God. And I'm not going to kill you or take away your right. I don't want to take away your right,” Glenn said. “I was an atheist for, it was about a month... maybe. But I was an atheist too. I couldn't get my arms around it. I read Carl Sagan. I've read Stephen Hawking. I get it. I get it. Stephen Hawking – I think black holes and baby universes explain God. Now he thinks the exact opposite, but that's okay. Hey, to each his own.”

Wall continues: “In reality, our rights come from mankind. Our creator is not a divine moral law giver, it's 3.6 billion years of evolution.

“Well, then James, I just want to make sure I have this right. You would have no problem whatsoever when mankind takes your right away. You should simply accept it as the new reality that we've evolved into, right? If we just evolve into a society that says God should make sure that James doesn't have a right to speak about his godlessness, then we have evolved into that. Or is it only evolution one way or another?”

“You have it exactly backwards… Here's what you have wrong: Rights dictate laws, not the other way around,” Glenn said emphatically. “The United States Constitution dictates our rights. The United States Constitution, based on the rights given to us by God. From there, the Constitution says these things cannot be changed at all. You cannot change these things because these come from God. Now, make all the laws you want. And that's where mankind changes his mind: Slavery's right, slavery's wrong; smoking's good, smoking's bad. That's man. That's not God.”

“You're confusing laws with rights. If rights come from people, then they can be taken away,” Glenn continued. “For instance, in China the people have rights. We know it. They're living in abject poverty and slavery of a system, and we know that if they come over here, they have the same rights that we have. If you were over there, James, if suddenly let's say there was a transporter and you could say, ‘Beam me to China’ and it beamed you over to China, you would say, ‘But wait, I have rights.’ No. No, no. They would say, ‘Where do you think you are? America?’ No, we have laws, and this man who's in charge, he's the one who says who has rights and who doesn't have rights. You have no rights [because] there's no place to go because there is no higher authority than the man in charge.”

Using Wall’s argument the people in China (regardless of where they live) do not have the right to be free. They do not have the right to speak their mind. They do not have the right to protest.

“So it's not about taking away your rights. If you're looking at all laws come from God, well, then you are talking about a theocracy,” Glenn conceded. “If you're talking about all rights come from God, you're talking about freedom because then man cannot touch those rights.”

“I could go on, James Kirk, but I know you have planets and stuff to go visit and places to explore that no man has gone before. It would make a lot of sense if you would look things up and you would look up the definition of rights and the definition of laws. I highly recommend, James Wall, that you would read our Founding Fathers… I don't know where you're getting your information, but actually look into it with an open mind because atheists can come to an understanding and be totally cool with natural rights, nature's god, and nature's rights, different than man's laws… So you keep your prime directive. I'll hold fast to the divinely inspired United States Constitution and rights, where I know the difference between the two.”

You can read Wall’s entire commentary HERE.

The West is dying—Will we let enemies write our ending?

Harvey Meston / Staff | Getty Images

The blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, and soldiers built our civilization. Their sacrifice demands courage in the present to preserve it.

Lamentations asks, “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?”

That question has been weighing on me heavily. Not just as a broadcaster, but as a citizen, a father, a husband, a believer. It is a question that every person who cares about this nation, this culture, and this civilization must confront: Is all of this worth saving?

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

Western civilization — a project born in Judea, refined in Athens, tested in Rome, reawakened in Wittenberg, and baptized again on the shores of Plymouth Rock — is a gift. We didn’t earn it. We didn’t purchase it. We were handed it. And now, we must ask ourselves: Do we even want it?

Across Europe, streets are restless. Not merely with protests, but with ancient, festering hatred — the kind that once marched under swastikas and fueled ovens. Today, it marches under banners of peace while chanting calls for genocide. Violence and division crack societies open. Here in America, it’s left against right, flesh against spirit, neighbor against neighbor.

Truth struggles to find a home. Even the church is slumbering — or worse, collaborating.

Our society tells us that everything must be reset: tradition, marriage, gender, faith, even love. The only sin left is believing in absolute truth. Screens replace Scripture. Entertainment replaces education. Pleasure replaces purpose. Our children are confused, medicated, addicted, fatherless, suicidal. Universities mock virtue. Congress is indifferent. Media programs rather than informs. Schools recondition rather than educate.

Is this worth saving? If not, we should stop fighting and throw up our hands. But if it is, then we must act — and we must act now.

The West: An idea worth saving

What is the West? It’s not a location, race, flag, or a particular constitution. The West is an idea — an idea that man is made in the image of God, that liberty comes from responsibility, not government; that truth exists; that evil exists; and that courage is required every day. The West teaches that education, reason, and revelation walk hand in hand. Beauty matters. Kindness matters. Empathy matters. Sacrifice is holy. Justice is blind. Mercy is near.

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

If not now, when? If not us, who? If this is worth saving, we must know why. Western civilization is worth dying for, worth living for, worth defending. It was built on the blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, pilgrims, moms, dads, and soldiers. They did not die for markets, pronouns, surveillance, or currency. They died for something higher, something bigger.

MATTHIEU RONDEL/AFP via Getty Images | Getty Images

Yet hope remains. Resurrection is real — not only in the tomb outside Jerusalem, but in the bones of any individual or group that returns to truth, honor, and God. It is never too late to return to family, community, accountability, and responsibility.

Pick up your torch

We were chosen for this time. We were made for a moment like this. The events unfolding in Europe and South Korea, the unrest and moral collapse, will all come down to us. Somewhere inside, we know we were called to carry this fire.

We are not called to win. We are called to stand. To hold the torch. To ask ourselves, every day: Is it worth standing? Is it worth saving?

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Pick up your torch. If you choose to carry it, buckle up. The work is only beginning.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Stop coasting: How self-education can save America’s future

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

Coasting through life is no longer an option. Charlie Kirk’s pursuit of knowledge challenges all of us to learn, act, and grow every day.

Last year, my wife and I made a commitment: to stop coasting, to learn something new every day, and to grow — not just spiritually, but intellectually. Charlie Kirk’s tragic death crystallized that resolve. It forced a hard look in the mirror, revealing how much I had coasted in both my spiritual and educational life. Coasting implies going downhill. You can’t coast uphill.

Last night, my wife and I re-engaged. We enrolled in Hillsdale College’s free online courses, inspired by the fact that Charlie had done the same. He had quietly completed around 30 courses before I even knew, mastering the classics, civics, and the foundations of liberty. Watching his relentless pursuit of knowledge reminded me that growth never stops, no matter your age.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures.

This lesson is particularly urgent for two groups: young adults stepping into the world and those who may have settled into complacency. Learning is life. Stop learning, and you start dying. To young adults, especially, the college promise has become a trap. Twelve years of K-12 education now leave graduates unprepared for life. Only 35% of seniors are proficient in reading, and just 22% in math. They are asked to bet $100,000 or more for four years of college that will often leave them underemployed and deeply indebted.

Degrees in many “new” fields now carry negative returns. Parents who have already sacrificed for public education find themselves on the hook again, paying for a system that often fails to deliver.

This is one of the reasons why Charlie often described college as a “scam.” Debt accumulates, wages are not what students were promised, doors remain closed, and many are tempted to throw more time and money after a system that won’t yield results. Graduate school, in many cases, compounds the problem. The education system has become a factory of despair, teaching cynicism rather than knowledge and virtue.

Reclaiming educational agency

Yet the solution is not radical revolt against education — it is empowerment to reclaim agency over one’s education. Independent learning, self-guided study, and disciplined curiosity are the modern “Napster moment.” Just as Napster broke the old record industry by digitizing music, the internet has placed knowledge directly in the hands of the individual. Artists like Taylor Swift now thrive outside traditional gatekeepers. Likewise, students and lifelong learners can reclaim intellectual freedom outside of the ivory towers.

Each individual possesses the ability to think, create, and act. This is the power God grants to every human being. Knowledge, faith, and personal responsibility are inseparable. Learning is not a commodity to buy with tuition; it is a birthright to claim with effort.

David Butow / Contributor | Getty Images

Charlie Kirk’s life reminds us that self-education is an act of defiance and empowerment. In his pursuit of knowledge, in his engagement with civics and philosophy, he exemplified the principle that liberty depends on informed, capable citizens. We honor him best by taking up that mantle — by learning relentlessly, thinking critically, and refusing to surrender our minds to a system that profits from ignorance.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures. Every day, seek to grow, create, and act. Charlie showed the way. It is now our responsibility to follow.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck joins TPUSA tour to honor Charlie Kirk

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

If they thought the murder of Charlie Kirk would scare us into silence, they were wrong!

If anything, Turning Point will hit the road louder than ever. On Monday, September 22, less than two weeks after the assassination, Charlie's friends united under the Turning Point USA banner to carry his torch and honor his legacy by doing what he did best: bringing honest and truthful debate to Universities across the nation.

Naturally, Glenn has rallied to the cause and has accepted an invitation to join the TPUSA tour at the University of North Dakota on October 9th.

Want to join Glenn at the University of North Dakota to honor Charlie Kirk and keep his mission alive? Click HERE to sign up or find more information.

Glenn's daughter honors Charlie Kirk with emotional tribute song

MELISSA MAJCHRZAK / Contributor | Getty Images

On September 17th, Glenn commemorated his late friend Charlie Kirk by hosting The Charlie Kirk Show Podcast, where he celebrated and remembered the life of a remarkable young man.

During the broadcast, Glenn shared an emotional new song performed by his daughter, Cheyenne, who was standing only feet away from Charlie when he was assassinated. The song, titled "We Are One," has been dedicated to Charlie Kirk as a tribute and was written and co-performed by David Osmond, son of Alan Osmond, founding member of The Osmonds.

Glenn first asked David Osmond to write "We Are One" in 2018, as he predicted that dark days were on the horizon, but he never imagined that it would be sung by his daughter in honor of Charlie Kirk. The Lord works in mysterious ways; could there have been a more fitting song to honor such a brave man?

"We Are One" is available for download or listening on Spotify HERE