Below is a transcript of this segment from Wednesday's "Ask Glenn Anything" special:
I will tell you, go back and read the New Testament and read it and dismiss, say to yourself I’m going to read this for the very first time, and I’m going to just not pay attention to all of the miracle parts, I’m going to read this as if I don't believe he is the son of God, that I am just looking at this group of people who are trying to find their way in a very tough time. And you read that, and it’s absolutely amazing. It is a book of revolution. And all of the answers are right there.
And Jesus is killed, he comes back, and I love this, in Acts 1 and 2, amazing, Jesus comes back, and he’s talking to him. And he’s like okay, Thomas, I know you doubt, go ahead, put your finger. And he does, so this miracle has happened, and then they say all right, so now we get him, now we go, now comes the revolution. How Jesus must have gone, “Oh my gosh, would you…no.” And what does he say?
Somebody who betrayed me, because Judas wanted revolution, he wanted it his way, just like Moses wanted it his way, so he went, and he killed the Egyptian. He wanted it his way. Jesus betrayed the revolution. He’s not going to take it by force. That’s not what we were looking for. So he betrays, so Jesus says no, guys, just get yourself together and appoint somebody else to replace that guy.
There’s 150 of them. So they do. He leaves, he says I’m going to send you the spirit, I’m going to send you something that will help you along your way. What does it say in Acts 1? It’s says they had all gathered themselves in one place, and they were of one accord. Then what happens? Once they’ve done that and they’re of one heart of one accord, they’re all peaceful, they all are just waiting for whatever it is to be given their instructions, then the spirit comes, and it’s like the sound of rushing wind.
The name of God, we would say it’s Yhwh, but the way it’s actually pronounced in Hebrew, it has no vowels. And so the real actual name of God, and if you’re Jewish, this is what you’re not supposed to say, is Yhwh. So it’s the breath of heaven. It sounds like rushing winds, Yhwh. And so they hear that, and what does it do? This is what we have to learn, it doesn’t change the people around.
If I were God, I would’ve done the opposite. This is why I’m not God. I would’ve done the opposite. I would’ve said, “Okay, good, you 12, everybody’s going to be able to understand you now, so just go out and tell them.” That’s not what happened. The spirit comes, and it changes the language of the apostles. So they’re not being translated. What’s happening is they’re actually speaking the language of other people. And so all the people are saying he’s speaking my language – critical, critical.
This is why I’m asking you to watch your language. We all have to watch our language, I, the most of all. I didn’t realize, I’m getting heat because people are saying, you know, “Why are you having friends who are liberal?” Are you kidding me? First of all, that’s a weird question. Second of all, I spent two hours with a guy last night who really doesn’t understand us. He really doesn’t understand us. And I talked to him for two hours, and I’m seeing the way he’s thinking. And we’re not that far apart.
Now, there are some that want to destroy America and everything else, but the most part, all of us are the same. We’re just speaking different language. And so if we can just learn to speak the language of others so we can get our point across to be understood, what happened? They start to speak another language, and they go from 150 to 5,000 to 100,000, that fast. We have to learn how to speak other people’s language, because we’re not that far apart. We really aren’t.
The average person, I’m not talking about the politicians and those who are, you know, conspiring. I’m talking about your neighbor, the ones that we no longer talk to. I read something today, a guy wrote and said to a liberal blog and said I can’t even talk to my father anymore, and he’s just ripping everything apart, he doesn’t understand that his politics are destroying us and destroying the country.
And here, I am happy to say, here’s what the liberal blogger wrote back, go back and read your letter to me and then go back and read it again and then go back and read it again. Did you notice you didn’t speak about your father as your dad? You’re only speaking about his politics. We’ve reduced ourselves to enemies. We don’t even see people anymore. We see your politics only. Once that happens, there’s no chance.
Go to Auschwitz, go see how close the churches are to Auschwitz, I mean, I’m not kidding you, right down the street. Now, how did you miss that? Answer, you didn’t. They weren’t people anymore. We have to see people not as enemies but as human beings that we just disagree with. That’s different than those who are actually plotting to destroy us.