Bishop Jim Lowe: Charleston shooting an attack on all houses of worship

June 18, 2015

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As the news continued to unfold out of Charleston this morning, Glenn asked Bishop James Lowe to join the show and talk about the news through the lens of the larger movement of love they have championed together in recent weeks. Bishop Lowe described the shooting as not only an attack on the black community and the Christian community in Charleston, but on all houses of worship all over the world.

"We have to take it beyond black and white. We start to see this thing as human beings that God created," Bishop Lowe said.

Listen to the whole interview below:

Below is a rush transcript of this segment, it may contain errors:

GLENN: So we should know more as the hours continue, and I'll be in South Carolina tomorrow. And I just feel like something good is going to happen there. Bishop Lowe, who is the bishop from the Guiding Light Church in Birmingham, Alabama, that so graciously invited us to be there on 8/28. And something really big is going to happen in Birmingham, Alabama. I'd invite you to join us. But if you're anywhere in the Charleston, South Carolina, region tomorrow, I hope my family is going to be joining me there. And we're going to do the show from there tomorrow. And then we'll get together and try to hold the arms up of the community and just have a prayer vigil. We'll give you details as we go along. But Bishop Lowe is with us now. Hello, bishop, how are you?

JIM: Hello, Glenn, how are you?

GLENN: Here is the oldest African-American church in America. Started in the 1760s. Martin Luther King preached there. And last night, this guy comes in and sits for an hour in Bible study and then shoots nine people. A 5-year-old escaped because she laid on the floor pretending she was dead.

How do you make sense of this, Bishop?

JIM: It's -- it's what's going on in the climate that we've created, that we've created around us. And we talk about what we're coming together about, all lives matter. It's so very important that we begin to proclaim that. We have to stop distinguishing between black lives, white lives, Christian lives, Muslims lives. We have to start recognizing that all lives matter, Glenn. We have to stop distinguishing between black lives, white lives, Christian lives, Muslims lives. We got to start recognizing that all lives matter.

And this was an attack -- what we need to look at, it's not just an attack on black people here. This was a house of worship. And being in a house of worship, this is an attack on all houses of worship. And if we sit silently by and we don't join together, then we create another climate that allows more of this. The greater thing that's before us is that this is an attack against worshiping people who believe in an Almighty God. That's what needs to be seen here. And if we don't -- if we don't start getting people to recognize we need to unify, then we're going down that way that I'm afraid it might be able to turn back.

GLENN: Yeah. I'm afraid that too many of us sit on the sidelines and we say, where are the good people? Well, the good people need to stand up. And really, quite honestly, I don't know if you remember this, bishop, but when the Amish had a guy come in and shoot the children -- Pat, stop. Thank you.

As people were shooting their children, the Amish children, this guy walked in, they had this beautiful moment of forgiving him and forgiving the family and standing together and teaching us what Christianity and what God's people really do and how they behave.

JIM: Uh-huh.

GLENN: And we have to learn that again. We have to teach that again. When this guy walks --

JIM: I'm sorry. We've had too many preachers that are encouraging these kinds of things. Encouraging the vision. Encouraging people to be mad with other folk. We going to get it right. We're going to take somebody down. We're going to do this. It's time for that rhetoric to stop. The words of Christ must be spoken more. That's what must be heard. What he said, love ye one another as I have loved you. And that's not being preached. That's not being said, and that's what has to be said for our nation and for our world.

GLENN: How do you -- how do you --

JIM: Sorry. I'm passionate about it.

GLENN: That's all right.

How do you speak up against people like Al Sharpton? Al Sharpton is already there. He's already holding a rally. How do you speak up about people like Al Sharpton, without speaking words of anger or divisiveness or hatred? How do you do that, Bishop?

JIM: I don't have anything to say about Al Sharpton. He can do whatever he thinks he wants to do. But I know one thing that must be done is that the people of God must speak up. The people who speak the love message that Christ said. That's what must be said. Love conquers. Love overcomes. No matter what others say. No matter how they are. I'm not concerned about their words. But what I'm talking about is what we must do. And if we preach the gospel, if we preach the Word of God, it will triumph all of the time. We don't have to worry about naysayers or people preaching politics. It's not about politics. This is about a warfare between light and darkness.

GLENN: When somebody goes into the church, like this guy did --

JIM: Yes.

GLENN: And he sat there for an hour and he was listening to the words of God. We have a pretty good idea he was a radical racist. But for him to choose church and then be able to go in there and sit there for an hour and then turn around and get his guns and come back, doesn't that say something about evil really truly working in him? Because if you're listening to the words of God for an hour, it should do the opposite to you. But he -- he was wound up after an hour. I think he went in there wanting to kill people, but not -- not necessarily ready to kill people. But he sat there for an hour. How does that work, bishop, where a guy will sit there and listen -- how is evil working in him?

JIM: Well, this is the hardness of what his heart was. You see, he's had perhaps a lifetime of this type of words that have been spoken into him. He has heard that. And if there's not another word that's preached, and we don't say to people that are sitting out there that are incubating these type of activities -- we must speak more about unity. We must speak more about togetherness and oneness than we do about divisiveness. I spoke to my congregation last night. I said, you have to stop seeing yourself by the surface. You have to see what God sees. The more you're like God, the more you see a person for what's inside than what's on his outside. And that's a problem with us blacks, whites, and everybody. We have to become more like God told us to be, to imitate the image of Christ who didn't see on the outside.

That man saw on the outside, but not realizing he's part of a greater scheme that's out to destroy worshiping individuals, people of God. He doesn't recognize that. He sees it as black and white. And, Glenn, we have to take it beyond black and white. We start to see this thing as human beings that God created. Please understand what I'm trying to say.

GLENN: Bishop, I love you, and I admire your stance and your bravery. And I pray for your strength and your humility. Because I think you have a lot of work ahead of you.

JIM: Glenn, when we get ready for 8/28, people that may be listening, I'm trying to get the mayor right now to get me a stadium. I want people to call him to ask to talk in Birmingham. We need to join together. Invite them to come. 8/28 and 8/29. Let's bring an explosion of love out of Birmingham. Let's get an explosion of people joining together. All types of people. All ages. All backgrounds. And let's show from Birmingham, Alabama. Let's start showing people love. Not division. Not divisiveness. Not political parties. Let's show the kingdom of God.

GLENN: You got it, bishop. I love you, and I'll see you tomorrow in Charleston.

JIM: Well, you make it happen, Glenn. I'll be there.

GLENN: You got it. Thank you very much, Bishop.

I'm going to be in Charleston, South Carolina, tomorrow. I'll be broadcasting from WSC. We may be on location. I don't know. I don't have all the details. But I would like you to join me. If you can join me and you and your family can join me, get in the car and come to Charleston tomorrow. And we will -- at some time in the afternoon, I don't know when, but we will gather together and be who we're supposed to be. And the bishop will be there. I will be there. Rabbi Kula from New York, he just called and he said he wants to be there. So I invite you to join me tomorrow in South Carolina. Then like the good bishop said in -- in Birmingham, we're going to be there on 8/28. And as he said, I mean, he's trying to get the stadium there. And he's trying to get some streets cordoned off. And I think there's going to be an explosion of light and love there as well. And I would invite you and your family and your church. I want you to gather your church and get into a bus. And come to Birmingham, Alabama. And join us on August 28th. Because all lives matter. And now is the time that we're going to stand together.

How PREPARED is Glenn's audience? The results are IN!

Last week, Glenn published his updated "Preparedness Quiz" to see how prepared his audience is for a big crisis—and the results are in! Thankfully, not very many of you are "Toast." In fact, most of you could survive a big disaster, and even some of you could survive a nuclear apocalypse—not very many could say that!

If you haven't taken the quiz already, you can take it HERE, and be sure to download Glenn's "Ultimate Preparedness Guide" filled with practical tips on how to keep you and your family safe for a future crisis.

1.7% of Glenn's audience is TOAST! Thankfully, that's very few of you.

There is little chance you'd survive repairing your kitchen table, not to mention enduring a massive economic crisis or natural disaster. With no money, food, or supplies stocked up, you will have to rely on the altruism of your more-prepared friends and family. But then again, if you can't even navigate to their house without your phone, you may still be TOAST.

13.8% of Glenn's audience could survive a little disaster.

Congrats on having some of your finances set aside for emergencies... and some useful tools and skills tucked away in case of an emergency. You could potentially endure a "little disaster" of financial hardship. However, if you want to survive a massive financial crisis or natural disaster, you're going to have to start stockpiling some more money and supplies.

68.9% of Glenn's audience could survive a big disaster.

Congrats on being more prepared than most! You have some investment in precious metals, an emergency fund, some food and supplies stockpiled, and maybe an extra generator. Even though you may not be a "prepper," you have taken steps to prepare for hard times, which will protect you and your loved ones for weeks... even months—which is way better than nothing!

14.7% of Glenn's audience could survive a nuclear apocalypse.

Congratulations on being one of the few people in this world who could actually survive a nuclear apocalypse! Seriously... there are very few of you. Your bunker is stocked with food, water, and supplies to last you MONTHS. Your silver, gold, and emergency fund will help you cruise in times of financial distress. You can secure more goods because you have learned a bunch of "barter" skills. Congrats on being able to keep yourself and your loved ones safe!

THESE 19 states joined Desantis' alliance against ESG. Here are their 2 main goals.

On Monday, Biden exercised his veto powers for the first time to strike down a bill that would ban states from taking ESG into consideration when investing state pension funds. In his veto message, Biden said:

Retirement plan fiduciaries should be able to consider any factor that maximizes financial returns for retirees across the country. That's not controversial — that's common sense.

At the risk of using the loaded word "gaslit," it continues to be the operative word in describing the policies coming out of the Biden White House. It is painfully obvious that ESG itself inhibits investors from "maximizing financial returns." That was never ESG's goal in the first place. Yet Biden said the opposite.

ESG aims to incentivize investors to make "socially conscious" (a.k.a woke) investments, even if they are at odds with the greatest return on investment. It has enabled state governments and investment firms to use their monopoly over the investment space to force companies to choose between adopting their woke ESG standards and losing critical investment. Isn't there a word for that? Extortion? Or modern-day politics?

ESG enables state governments to force companies to choose between adopting their woke ESG standards and losing critical investment.

That is the sole reason why Republicans brought the bill to his desk in the first place: As Glenn said, "ESG poses a clear and present danger to the American way of life, the soul of our nation and every sector of our economy. ESG was never about ROI. It was always about pushing a leftist agenda.

And Biden knows this.

Why would he want to give up something that enables his political party and corporate elites to control and manipulate the political affiliations of their people? Who would want to give up that power? Biden certainly doesn't.

And he didn't.

Instead, he boldly asserts the exact opposite: that ESG itself "maximizes financial returns," relying on the divided American people to debate the policy into oblivion, while he gets exactly what he wants: the retention of power over the American consumer. Dare I say again that "gaslit" is the operative word here?

If one thing is clear, it is that we cannot rely on the federal government to act in the best interests of the American people. However, in this critical moment, the state governments are stepping up to do what the federal government refuses to: protecting the rights of the American consumer.

In a joint resolution led by Florida Governor Ron Desantis, 19 states have pledged “to protect individuals from the ESG movement" at the state level. This is critical.

We cannot rely on the federal government to act in the best interests of the American people.

Florida leads Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming in signing the historic policy agreement among all 19 states, pledging to ban ESG practices within their jurisdictions.

The anti-ESG alliance calls ESG what it is:

A direct threat to the American economy, individual economic freedom, and our way of life, putting investment decisions in the hands of the woke mob to bypass the ballot box and inject political ideology into investment decisions, corporate governance, and the everyday economy.

This alliance takes aim at two specific practices used by left-leaning states to force companies to adopt ESG-approved practices.

First, the alliance promises to protect "taxpayers from ESG influences across state systems."

While other states are using YOUR taxpayer dollars to fund pro-ESG corporations, these states pledge to BAN this practice to ensure "that only financial factors are considered to maximize the return on investment."

The chief factor behind any investment should be determining whether that investment yields the maximum return on their investment. However, many states are using YOUR taxpayer-funded pension and retirement funds to invest in ESG-approved businesses. This not only forces businesses to consider adopting ESG standards in hopes of obtaining investment. Moreover, states are using YOUR taxpayer dollars to fund them! Would you want your government to invest your hard-earned money for partisan purposes?

The anti-ESG alliance is taking the politics out of investment and putting consumer power back in the hands of the American people. These state governments pledged to make investment decisions based solely on maximizing the return on investment, not in using your taxpayer dollars to fund their political agendas.

Second, the alliance promises to protect "citizens from ESG influences in the financial sector."

ESG standards force businesses to consider the political leanings of their customer base. For example, Discover announced they will begin tracking its customers' gun-related purchases. One of the leaders behind this push is Amalgamated Bank, which boasts on their website that their institution "supports sustainable organizations, progressive causes, and social justice." Amalgamated Bank CEO Priscilla Sims Brown said:

We all have to do our part to stop gun violence and it sometimes starts with illegal purchases of guns and ammunition The new code will allow us to fully comply with our duty to report suspicious activity and illegal gun sales to authorities without blocking or impeding legal gun sales.

This virtue signaling at the cost of your privacy is earning both Discover and Amalgamated ESG brownie points.

There are countless stories of Americans, like YOU, getting locked out of their bank accounts, dropped as clients, tracked and targeted, all because their personal political beliefs don't align with big corporations' ESG goals. Their individual privacy and dignity as a consumer aren't worth the risk of lowering the company's ESG score.

That's why the anti-ESG alliance is pledging to protect the residents in their states from this corrupt ESG exploitation. The alliance promised to ban "so-called social Credit Scores' in banking and lending practices aimed to prevent citizens from obtaining financial services like loans, lines of credit, and bank accounts."

They also promised to stop "financial institutions from discriminating against customers for their religious, political, or social beliefs, such as owning a firearm, securing the border, or increasing our energy independence."

In short, they have targeted the political extortion hidden behind the virtuous ESG veil to protect citizens from being discriminated against based on political affiliation.

It's time to step up.

Biden may have struck down the effort to restore the freedom of the American consumer at the federal level. However, these states are taking it upon themselves to do what they ought: to ban practices that threaten the freedoms and privacy of their citizens.

If your state did not joining the anti-ESG alliance, it's time to demand that they step up and do their job to protect you and the rest of your fellow citizens from corrupt ESG practices. As Glenn said, "The conservative movement is best when it moves in unison." We must act and unison and push our states to protect our economic freedom and our way of life.

Are YOU prepared? Download Glenn's ULTIMATE preparation guide!

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THESE 12 Republican states are smuggling digital currency through THIS sneaky bill

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Editor's Note: Arizona House Bill HB2770 has since been shut down! AZ Rep. Rachel Jones tweeted that the AZ Freedom Caucus shut down the bill before it could reach the board. It is encouraging to see states stepping to protect the American people from getting one step closer to a Central Bank Digital Currency. Hopefully, Arizona will be a precedent for the other states!

This gem was buried in a 113 page bill pushed by a lobbyist through one of my clueless colleagues. It passed out of the Commerce Committee, but then @AZFreedomCaucus blocked it from even going on the board. @glennbeck you'll be happy to know we killed it.
— AZ Representative Rachel Jones (@RJ4arizona) March 17, 2023

On today's radio broadcast, Glenn warned about dangerous Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) language being smuggled into routine legislation in REPUBLICAN-led states. This is unacceptable, and as Glenn said, we can't let this legislation pass as it now stands.

The legislation being used to smuggle in this CBDC language is the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), a routine piece of legislation passed on the state level that helps standardize commercial and business transactions. However, a new round of UCCs being deliberated RIGHT NOW amongst a swath of Republican-led states anticipate the use of "electronic money." In a public letter sent to the Republican states currently deliberating this legislation, the Pro-Family Legislative Network said this can only refer to the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) under consideration and testing by the Federal Reserve. Biden's Executive Order 14067 issued in March of 2022 started the push for CBDC, and now these states, knowingly or unknowingly, are laying the legislative groundwork for making CBDC a reality.

There is absolutely no reason why Republican-led states should aid in laying the foundation for CBDC, yet 12 of them are deliberating it RIGHT NOW, with one UCC bill already on one GOP governor's desk! We have to act NOW to stop these UCCs in their tracks and demand our lawmakers amend the bills without the "electronic money" language.

If your state is listed below, contact your representative NOW to put an end to CBDC language.

1. North Dakota

North Dakota House Bill HB1082 passed BOTH chambers and is now sitting on Governor Burgum's desk. Burgun has 3 DAYS to veto this bill once it's placed on his desk—if not, it will pass automatically. If you are a North Dakota resident, it is absolutely CRUCIAL that you contact Governor Burgum's office NOW and demand that he veto this bill and re-introduce it without the "electronic money" language.

2. Arizona

Arizona House Bill HB2770 has been SHUT DOWN! See the above editor's note for more details.

Arizona House Bill HB2770 passed the House majority and minority caucuses. Arizona residents, contact your representative's office NOW so that they amend this bill without the "electronic money" language.

3. Arkansas

Arkansas House Bill HB1588 is in committee, and if passed, will head to the House floor. Though the bill is only in its beginning stages, it's important for Arkansas residents to stop this bill in its tracks and amend it without the "electronic money" language.

4. Missouri

Missouri House Bill HB1165 is also in its beginning stages in committee. That means it's important to contact your representative as soon as possible to amend it without the "electronic money" language.

5. Oklahoma

Oklahoma House Bill HB 2776 passed the House Committee and will go to a chamber vote soon. If passed, it will go to the Senate, then the governor's desk. If you are an Indiana resident, contact your representative's office NOW to amend the bill without the "electronic money" language.

6. Indiana

Indiana Senate Bill SB0486 passed the Senate and is headed to the House. Republicans control Indiana's executive office and BOTH chambers of the legislature. There is no excuse for this bill to pass. If you are an Indiana resident, it's vital you contact your representative NOW and demand they amend this bill without the "electronic money" language.

7. Kentucky

Kentucky Senate Bill SB64 passed the Senate and is now being deliberated in the House. If you live in Kentucky, contact your representative's office to amend the bill without the "electronic money" language.

8. Montana

Montana Senate Bill SB370 passed the Senate and was sent to the House on March 3rd. If you are a Montana resident, contact your representative's office NOW so that the bill doesn't without changing the "electronic money" language.

9. Nebraska

Nebraska's Legislative Bill LB94 passed committee and the first floor vote. As Nebraska only has one legislative chamber, this bill is dangerously close to passing the legislature and being sent to the governor's desk. If you are a Nebraska resident, contact your representative's office NOW and demand they amend the bill without the "electronic money" language.

10. New Hampshire

New Hampshire House Bill HB584 is currently in House committee deliberations and has not yet reached the House floor. If you are a New Hampshire resident, contact your representative's office NOW to amend the bill without the "electronic money" language.

11. Tennessee

Tennessee House Bill HB0640 didn't successfully pass the House. However, it was deferred to a Senate committee and has now taken the form of Senate Bill SB0479, which is now in committee. This bill is still alive, and it's important for you, Tennessee residents, to stop it before it reaches the floor! Contact your representative to amend the bill without the "electronic money" language.

12. Texas

Texas House Bill HB5011 was filed and is ready to be taken up by committee. Fellow Texans, let's not let this bill progress any further! Contact your representative and demand they amend the bill without the "electronic money" language.

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