Now is the time for the 'least likely' to step up to the plate

Oskar Schindler was an alcoholic womanizer. MLK cheated on his wife. Moses stuttered. What was it about these unlikely individuals that allowed them to change the world in such powerful ways for good?

Glenn brought historian and theologian Dr. Jim Garlow and his wife - a direct relative of Oskar Schindler - onto his radio program to talk about what set these people apart.

"Do you believe there is something to the idea that it's the ones that have nothing to lose that do it?" Glenn asked.

Garlow replied, "Well, it's the ones who have an obedient responsive heart. They're faithful, they're available, they have a teachable spirit."

Listen to the segment or read the transcript below.

Below is a rush transcript of this segment, it might contain errors.

GLENN: I -- I -- I'm a stutterer. Nope. I got the right guy, Moses. It's you. No, you really got the wrong guy.

And you can see that he always selects -- and I'm not convinced that it is that he is selecting as much as he'd like to select all of us. But not all of us are willing to do it. Not all of us are willing to do it. And it's usually the least likely because the most likely is the one that already has the power and the prestige and the money and the following and everything else. It's the rich man that comes into Jesus. And he says, "Hey."

And the way I read this. He comes in and says to Jesus. "You know, Jesus, I can really help you because I'm really well connected. And I can smooth things out for you." And Jesus is like, "No, you don't need to do that. I tell you what, leave all of that. Just come follow me." I see the rich man looking at the apostles going, "Would somebody tell this guy who I am? Doesn't he understand what's coming his way? I can help him. No, listen, Jesus, I can help you."

Yeah, I get it. Leave all of that and come follow me.

No, you're crazy.

That's what happens with the most likely person to do the job is they're going to do it their way because they've had everything. They've already done it. They know how it all works. They can grease the skids. It's always in the case of Oskar Schindler the alcoholic womanizer that is like, here's the call. Like, all right. All right. Okay. Well, I'll do it. They don't have anything to lose. And they're the least likely person.

So welcome to your day to recognize yourself as the least likely person and wear that as a badge of honor. Because now is the time that we are going to see ourselves either step to the plate or be dust away into the dustbin of history.

Jim Garlow is a very good friend of mine. He joined us last hour. He is the head of the Skyline Church. He has his doctorate in what kind of theology?

JIM: Church history and historical theology.

GLENN: Okay. And is fascinating to talk to. He is married to Rosemary, who is Rosemary Schindler. How distant are you in the Schindlers?

ROSEMARY: Like a second or third cousin.

GLENN: So Rosemary Garlow is joining us as well. And Rosemary brought with her something that is truly remarkable. In my hands right now on the radio desk is a Bible. And it is the Schindler family Bible. How old is this?

ROSEMARY: This Bible is this year, 333 years old.

GLENN: And he was Catholic. But this is -- this is a Martin Luther Bible.

ROSEMARY: Yes, Catholic and Lutheran, translated by Martin Luther. One of his first translations on letterpress in Germany.

GLENN: And tell me what else that you have. Because I find this fascinating. One is a passport.

ROSEMARY: Yes. That's a German passport allowing a citizen to be able to travel through and out of -- in and out of the country.

GLENN: And, again, it's a Schindler. It's his brother, right?

ROSEMARY: Yes. Yes.

GLENN: Then there is this -- this is -- a work pass?

ROSEMARY: Yes. It's a passport or a book, certifying that a person could have employment as a Nazi. It's something very valuable because it provided the citizen the chance to provide for their family.

GLENN: Okay. And then there's these two books. And I don't even know -- Aukum Pass (phonetic)?

ROSEMARY: Aryan Pass. It's a genealogy passport. Actually, Oskar Schindler died at age 66 on October 9th, 1974, 46 years ago this week. But genealogy was incredibly important to Adolf Hitler because he had a false theory of racial purity. And he was a father of racism. And in it, the foreword, he signed himself telling how significant it was in his estimation and for all German people to be free, particularly of Jewish blood, and to teach this theory to their children.

GLENN: Okay. I find this interesting in my faith. We are very into genealogy. And we're very into, you know, the hearts of the fathers turn to the sons and vice-versa. And connecting that family. You'll see that in the Scriptures too. The genealogy. I've always hated this part of the Bible where it's like so-and-so begat so-and-so. And you're like, okay, I get it. They're all related. But it's important for some reason. And as I said on yesterday's broadcast just like with the United States. We won't be destroyed by evil. We will be perverted by evil. That's the way -- there's no idea. Evil doesn't have a new idea. He takes what God has built and he perverts it.

Genealogy is very important. And it's interesting that Hitler -- I mean, if you look -- if you look at anything -- we do a genealogy in my church. And what happens is, you fill out a little slip of each person just like this. And you fill it out. You put the name, the date, the birth, the death, all of the details. And then it is signed and it is -- it's just like this. It's just like this. Except it's not for evil. And it is amazing to me how things are perverted. Always evil perverts.

Let's talk a little about the parallels between now and then. Tell me what you -- because you travel all over the world. Just, you have this with you because you just got back from Hawaii?

ROSEMARY: Hmm.

GLENN: Talking about Oskar Schindler and what's happening. You've been to Israel 56 --

ROSEMARY: Three.

GLENN: Fifty-three times. And things are changing in Israel there. You are still bringing survivors of the Holocaust back to Israel.

Tell me the parallels that you are seeing between then and now.

ROSEMARY: What's alarming especially to Germans who are alive in that time is the significant similarities between what is happening in our present government with gun control, socialized medicine, and all the different government regulations to control the populace.

It starts out very innocent. It starts out being promoted that, this is for the best of society. And we're all going to be much more well off if we cooperate together and share our information. And we, the government, are going to protect you. You do not need guns. They're only for criminals. What they did in Germany is begin by having everybody register their weapons. Because they said, that way, if there's a burglary or a crime and somebody gets shot, we get the gun, we know right who it belongs to. So the very obedient German citizens went and registered all their weapons.

Then the government came back and said, "Well, we still have a lot of crime. So I think the next thing is to do, we need to confiscate your weapons, and we'll be in charge of them all." And, of course, by that time, they knew --

GLENN: It was too late.

ROSEMARY: Yeah, everybody's weapon. Nobody could hide anything.

GLENN: Yep.

ROSEMARY: So it goes that way. More and more regulation, even down to having to have a little book to enter every time you bought a stamp in the Post Office and where that letter went. Everything was regulated to its utmost ability 80 years ago.

GLENN: I'm going to do something on either tomorrow's show or Monday's show that is something new out of China that is one of the most terrifying things I've ever seen. And it is now a new social media status. And they're saying by 2020. Right now it's voluntarily. But by 2020, they say it's mandatory in China. And what it is is, you get a ranking a or a rating as a person. What is it you're doing and saying on your social media? How much of it is against the government? How much of it is politically correct? How much of it is for the good of China? How much of it is not? Not only do you get ranked, but your friends get ranked based on what you post. So if you're my friend and I say, "This is a bad policy," you get hurt because you have friended me. So it is a way to isolate entirely. And this is the new thing over in China.

When I show it to you on probably Monday, it will boggle your mind. And if you think that's not coming into the West, you're sadly mistaken. All they need is the information. And people who -- who are not going to take this much metadata and do nothing when they can control populations.

So Oskar Schindler, not a -- not a guy that you would say -- would you agree with -- pastor, let me ask you too? God's last choice, right? That's usually how it works, right?

JIM: He wouldn't have become a member of my church.

GLENN: Right? Right? I love these people -- because a lot of people are like, "Glenn Beck, you're not a Christian. You're not a very -- whatever. A lot of people.

Oskar Schindler would not be on my list either. Martin Luther King, honestly, if I were his -- if I were his bishop or his preacher or pastor, I would have probably been sitting him down a lot saying, "So tell me about how you're treating your wife again." Not the ones that we necessarily pick. But do you believe there is something to -- to the idea that it's the ones that have nothing to lose that do it?

JIM: Well, it's the ones who have an obedient responsive heart. They're faithful, they're available, they have a teachable spirit.

GLENN: Yeah.

JIM: And they're willing not to hold back those things that would cause them to feed their own ego. In other words, there's a bigger cause. I did a study a few years ago on what causes Christian universities to stop being Christian? What causes denominations to slide? What causes local congregations to lose their Christian centricity and stop what they once were? And I was to lecture after the guy who was really an expert on this from Notre Dame. I wasn't the expert. He was. And I had to lecture after him, so I was very paranoid about trying to be in this environment.

So I read the study for like six months. And I could boil everything I studied down to this, a person will lose their Christocentricity. They'll lose their convictional center, once they long for the accolades of other people more than they fear God. It's that simple.

GLENN: So what happened with Oskar Schindler? How did that happen? Who was he before, and why did he do what he did?

ROSEMARY: Well, he was a businessman. And he thought, "What a great opportunity." I'm a Nazi official. And I can take over this factory and have basically slave work for me and make millions of marcs. And he did. But in the process, he got to know his employees. And he had also known Jewish people growing up. So even though all the propaganda was going and trying to persuade the German populace that they were vermin, they didn't deserve to live, he saw for himself, and he knew better. And he kept seeing in them more and more evidence of humanity and kindness under the worst possible conditions. And in his own German people, such as atrocities and sadism, he said they're just acting like pigs. He said, "I had to do something." He said, "I had no choice." So for him, it wasn't a huge dilemma. But when he realized that Hitler's intent was to annihilate all the Jews of Europe, he said, "That's it. I'm going to do everything and give all that I can to save them." And he fought back with all that he had. And he did use all his money and all his resources to preserve the lives of almost 1200 men, women, and children in his factory.

But the significant thing is that even though he cared for them and became like their parent and he called them his children because he had none, when it turned around, they were the ones that saved him. And this is where I think it will come to. As we're being tested right now in the eyes of the Lord, especially the nations. Are you going to stand with me and my people? Are you going to turn your back, America, on little Israel? Because in the end, I believe Israel will come out safe and shining.

GLENN: Oh, yeah.

ROSEMARY: But the other nations are going to reap a judgment. So the rest of his life, the Jewish survivors cared for Oskar Schindler. They provided at least a day's wage, giving him funds for he and his wife, Emily, to have money to live on. They gave them work opportunities, but Oskar was very much persecuted by his own German people.

GLENN: What was his life like? You see the movie ends at the train tracks.

ROSEMARY: Yes.

GLENN: What was his life for the next 10 years after the war?

ROSEMARY: Well, that was kind of his shining moment. But he was called a traitor by his own German people. When he would go back to Germany, they would spit on him and say, "You Jew kisser. You traitor." And he was never made a hero until Steven Spielberg's movie came out. And then it was recognized what he did.

GLENN: But he was recognized by the Jewish people.

ROSEMARY: Always when he went to Israel. He would go every year a few times. He was welcomed as a great hero. And the Jews he saved would just cry. They loved him so much. And I know many of the survivors. And they just said, "He was their messiah. He was their savior. He was their deliverer. He was the closest person they had ever seen to being a real Christian." As flawed as he was morally, they considered him a true Christian.

Civics isn’t optional—America's survival depends on it

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Every vote, jury duty, and act of engagement is civics in action, not theory. The republic survives only when citizens embrace responsibility.

I slept through high school civics class. I memorized the three branches of government, promptly forgot them, and never thought of that word again. Civics seemed abstract, disconnected from real life. And yet, it is critical to maintaining our republic.

Civics is not a class. It is a responsibility. A set of habits, disciplines, and values that make a country possible. Without it, no country survives.

We assume America will survive automatically, but every generation must learn to carry the weight of freedom.

Civics happens every time you speak freely, worship openly, question your government, serve on a jury, or cast a ballot. It’s not a theory or just another entry in a textbook. It’s action — the acts we perform every day to be a positive force in society.

Many of us recoil at “civic responsibility.” “I pay my taxes. I follow the law. I do my civic duty.” That’s not civics. That’s a scam, in my opinion.

Taking up the torch

The founders knew a republic could never run on autopilot. And yet, that’s exactly what we do now. We assume it will work, then complain when it doesn’t. Meanwhile, the people steering the country are driving it straight into a mountain — and they know it.

Our founders gave us tools: separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, elections. But they also warned us: It won’t work unless we are educated, engaged, and moral.

Are we educated, engaged, and moral? Most Americans cannot even define a republic, never mind “keep one,” as Benjamin Franklin urged us to do after the Constitutional Convention.

We fought and died for the republic. Gaining it was the easy part. Keeping it is hard. And keeping it is done through civics.

Start small and local

In our homes, civics means teaching our children the Constitution, our history, and that liberty is not license — it is the space to do what is right. In our communities, civics means volunteering, showing up, knowing your sheriff, attending school board meetings, and understanding the laws you live under. When necessary, it means challenging them.

How involved are you in your local community? Most people would admit: not really.

Civics is learned in practice. And it starts small. Be honest in your business dealings. Speak respectfully in disagreement. Vote in every election, not just the presidential ones. Model citizenship for your children. Liberty is passed down by teaching and example.

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We assume America will survive automatically, but every generation must learn to carry the weight of freedom.

Start with yourself. Study the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and state laws. Study, act, serve, question, and teach. Only then can we hope to save the republic. The next election will not fix us. The nation will rise or fall based on how each of us lives civics every day.

Civics isn’t a class. It’s the way we protect freedom, empower our communities, and pass down liberty to the next generation.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

'Rage against the dying of the light': Charlie Kirk lived that mandate

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Kirk’s tragic death challenges us to rise above fear and anger, to rebuild bridges where others build walls, and to fight for the America he believed in.

I’ve only felt this weight once before. It was 2001, just as my radio show was about to begin. The World Trade Center fell, and I was called to speak immediately. I spent the day and night by my bedside, praying for words that could meet the moment.

Yesterday, I found myself in the same position. September 11, 2025. The assassination of Charlie Kirk. A friend. A warrior for truth.

Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins.

Moments like this make words feel inadequate. Yet sometimes, words from another time speak directly to our own. In 1947, Dylan Thomas, watching his father slip toward death, penned lines that now resonate far beyond his own grief:

Do not go gentle into that good night. / Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Thomas was pleading for his father to resist the impending darkness of death. But those words have become a mandate for all of us: Do not surrender. Do not bow to shadows. Even when the battle feels unwinnable.

Charlie Kirk lived that mandate. He knew the cost of speaking unpopular truths. He knew the fury of those who sought to silence him. And yet he pressed on. In his life, he embodied a defiance rooted not in anger, but in principle.

Picking up his torch

Washington, Jefferson, Adams — our history was started by men who raged against an empire, knowing the gallows might await. Lincoln raged against slavery. Martin Luther King Jr. raged against segregation. Every generation faces a call to resist surrender.

It is our turn. Charlie’s violent death feels like a knockout punch. Yet if his life meant anything, it means this: Silence in the face of darkness is not an option.

He did not go gently. He spoke. He challenged. He stood. And now, the mantle falls to us. To me. To you. To every American.

We cannot drift into the shadows. We cannot sit quietly while freedom fades. This is our moment to rage — not with hatred, not with vengeance, but with courage. Rage against lies, against apathy, against the despair that tells us to do nothing. Because there is always something you can do.

Even small acts — defiance, faith, kindness — are light in the darkness. Reaching out to those who mourn. Speaking truth in a world drowning in deceit. These are the flames that hold back the night. Charlie carried that torch. He laid it down yesterday. It is ours to pick up.

The light may dim, but it always does before dawn. Commit today: I will not sleep as freedom fades. I will not retreat as darkness encroaches. I will not be silent as evil forces claim dominion. I have no king but Christ. And I know whom I serve, as did Charlie.

Two turning points, decades apart

On Wednesday, the world changed again. Two tragedies, separated by decades, bound by the same question: Who are we? Is this worth saving? What kind of people will we choose to be?

Imagine a world where more of us choose to be peacemakers. Not passive, not silent, but builders of bridges where others erect walls. Respect and listening transform even the bitterest of foes. Charlie Kirk embodied this principle.

He did not strike the weak; he challenged the powerful. He reached across divides of politics, culture, and faith. He changed hearts. He sparked healing. And healing is what our nation needs.

At the center of all this is one truth: Every person is a child of God, deserving of dignity. Change will not happen in Washington or on social media. It begins at home, where loneliness and isolation threaten our souls. Family is the antidote. Imperfect, yes — but still the strongest source of stability and meaning.

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Forgiveness, fidelity, faithfulness, and honor are not dusty words. They are the foundation of civilization. Strong families produce strong citizens. And today, Charlie’s family mourns. They must become our family too. We must stand as guardians of his legacy, shining examples of the courage he lived by.

A time for courage

I knew Charlie. I know how he would want us to respond: Multiply his courage. Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins. Out of darkness, great and glorious things will sprout — but we must be worthy of them.

Charlie Kirk lived defiantly. He stood in truth. He changed the world. And now, his torch is in our hands. Rage, not in violence, but in unwavering pursuit of truth and goodness. Rage against the dying of the light.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck is once again calling on his loyal listeners and viewers to come together and channel the same unity and purpose that defined the historic 9-12 Project. That movement, born in the wake of national challenges, brought millions together to revive core values of faith, hope, and charity.

Glenn created the original 9-12 Project in early 2009 to bring Americans back to where they were in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. In those moments, we weren't Democrats and Republicans, conservative or liberal, Red States or Blue States, we were united as one, as America. The original 9-12 Project aimed to root America back in the founding principles of this country that united us during those darkest of days.

This new initiative draws directly from that legacy, focusing on supporting the family of Charlie Kirk in these dark days following his tragic murder.

The revival of the 9-12 Project aims to secure the long-term well-being of Charlie Kirk's wife and children. All donations will go straight to meeting their immediate and future needs. If the family deems the funds surplus to their requirements, Charlie's wife has the option to redirect them toward the vital work of Turning Point USA.

This campaign is more than just financial support—it's a profound gesture of appreciation for Kirk's tireless dedication to the cause of liberty. It embodies the unbreakable bond of our community, proving that when we stand united, we can make a real difference.
Glenn Beck invites you to join this effort. Show your solidarity by donating today and honoring Charlie Kirk and his family in this meaningful way.

You can learn more about the 9-12 Project and donate HERE

The critical difference: Rights from the Creator, not the state

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When politicians claim that rights flow from the state, they pave the way for tyranny.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) recently delivered a lecture that should alarm every American. During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, he argued that believing rights come from a Creator rather than government is the same belief held by Iran’s theocratic regime.

Kaine claimed that the principles underpinning Iran’s dictatorship — the same regime that persecutes Sunnis, Jews, Christians, and other minorities — are also the principles enshrined in our Declaration of Independence.

In America, rights belong to the individual. In Iran, rights serve the state.

That claim exposes either a profound misunderstanding or a reckless indifference to America’s founding. Rights do not come from government. They never did. They come from the Creator, as the Declaration of Independence proclaims without qualification. Jefferson didn’t hedge. Rights are unalienable — built into every human being.

This foundation stands worlds apart from Iran. Its leaders invoke God but grant rights only through clerical interpretation. Freedom of speech, property, religion, and even life itself depend on obedience to the ruling clerics. Step outside their dictates, and those so-called rights vanish.

This is not a trivial difference. It is the essence of liberty versus tyranny. In America, rights belong to the individual. The government’s role is to secure them, not define them. In Iran, rights serve the state. They empower rulers, not the people.

From Muhammad to Marx

The same confusion applies to Marxist regimes. The Soviet Union’s constitutions promised citizens rights — work, health care, education, freedom of speech — but always with fine print. If you spoke out against the party, those rights evaporated. If you practiced religion openly, you were charged with treason. Property and voting were allowed as long as they were filtered and controlled by the state — and could be revoked at any moment. Rights were conditional, granted through obedience.

Kaine seems to be advocating a similar approach — whether consciously or not. By claiming that natural rights are somehow comparable to sharia law, he ignores the critical distinction between inherent rights and conditional privileges. He dismisses the very principle that made America a beacon of freedom.

Jefferson and the founders understood this clearly. “We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights,” they wrote. No government, no cleric, no king can revoke them. They exist by virtue of humanity itself. The government exists to protect them, not ration them.

This is not a theological quibble. It is the entire basis of our government. Confuse the source of rights, and tyranny hides behind piety or ideology. The people are disempowered. Clerics, bureaucrats, or politicians become arbiters of what rights citizens may enjoy.

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Gifts from God, not the state

Kaine’s statement reflects either a profound ignorance of this principle or an ideological bias that favors state power over individual liberty. Either way, Americans must recognize the danger. Understanding the origin of rights is not academic — it is the difference between freedom and submission, between the American experiment and theocratic or totalitarian rule.

Rights are not gifts from the state. They are gifts from God, secured by reason, protected by law, and defended by the people. Every American must understand this. Because when rights come from government instead of the Creator, freedom disappears.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.