Lessons in Forgiveness From Persecuted Christians

October 27, 2016

The Glenn Beck Program

Editor's Note: The following is based on Glenn's monologue from October 27, 2016.

I saw a quote a couple days ago from Robert Kennedy. A revolution is coming. A revolution, which will be peaceful, if we're wise enough, compassionate, if we care enough, successful, if we're fortunate enough. But a revolution, which is coming, whether we will it or not, we can only affect its character. We cannot alter its inevitability.

What's coming our way is coming --- and I don't know what it is, but it's coming --- all we can do is alter its character.

A Punch in the Face

Yesterday, I received a pretty hard punch in the face. And it's a punch in the face that really opened my eyes, but not for the reason that the person who was doing the punching thought. I don't know if this has ever happened to you, but have you ever heard yourself through somebody else? This happens when you're with your kids. You will hear the words that you've said to your kids come back, and you're like, Oh, dear heavens. Or you will hear your parents' words come out of your mouth, and you're like, I'm my dad.

People may tell you about your faults, but if you're fortunate enough to hear what you sound like coming out of another person, it's really stunning. And if you don't punch back and you actually start hearing your own voice, it's a rough and eye-opening experience.

I heard somebody yesterday channel me, and it was amazing because somebody said, This is going to piss you off. And I heard it, and I was stunned for all of the opposite reasons. I was stunned because I thought to myself, My gosh, I think I sound like that.

My brother Robert has been saying to me for a while, mainly during the primary, Glenn, I agree with you. I agree with you, but, man, you're pissing me off. What are you talking about? You're just so high-minded and just, Oh, it's this way, and I know it. And I could understand what he was saying, but not really, because I didn't feel my words. Yesterday, I heard a version of me, and I felt it. And I thought, Ick. That is how I sound.

I'm Sorry

I want to tell you that it's never been my intention to be self-righteous or pompous or a know-it-all. But I have to tell you, if I've made you feel like I felt yesterday, man, am I sorry for that. Because I felt stupid. I felt like you're calling me stupid. You're telling me I'm stupid. And I realized, I don't think I've ever said that, but I bet you I have sounded that way at times, especially when I get all geared up. I just want you to know, I say this all the time, but I don't think you may have ever felt this. And I wish I knew how to make you feel this.

Because this is the real drive of this show, for me at least, is I'm no different than you are. I'm no better than you are. I am just like you are in many ways. We have different lives, but we have different problems and different names to our problems, but it's the same. We're both afraid for our kids. We're both afraid for the future. We both want to have hope and optimism. But we can't seem to find it because nobody is really articulating it. But we know it doesn't have to be this way. We try to live our faith, but we usually fail. At least we fail in being imperfect.

But, man, you are smart enough to figure this out. You're smart enough. Don't ever take my word for anything. You've got to look it up yourself. You have to empower yourself.

I say this time and time again, but I fear I have maybe at times made you feel the opposite. I was thinking about it last night as I was laying in bed. How many people did I make feel that way while I was at Fox? How many over the last year?

Most people won't hear this. Most won't even believe it. But on the off chance that you have felt that way, I'm really sorry. It was not my intent.

Coming Together

It's funny how blind we can be at times. Even if we end up being right in the end, then sometimes we even get more blind because our instinct is to say, See, I told you so.

But we get so blind to the way I think we sound. This is something that has really been on my mind a lot because I'm talking to different people. I am trying to reach out to different people. We're not going to make it if it's just this small group, even just on the right or just on the left. We're not going to make it. We have to be able to reach out to people who think differently than we do. And the entire world is closing itself off.

When people say, If Megyn Kelly is on Fox, then Megyn Kelly has completely sold out, or, If Bill O'Reilly, if he's the way Fox is going, then that's it. Wait. They have how many different hosts? We can't live in a world like that. What you're asking for there is a safe zone. A television safe zone. And it's getting more and more narrow. And a lot of times we say things that we don't mean. People hear things that we didn't intend. Sometimes we misspeak. Sometimes we're just jerks.

But if we're lucky enough, if we're humble enough, if we're quiet enough, if we're peaceful enough, if we're wise enough, everything bad will be used for his good. If we're willing to not get angry and examine ourself instead of excusing or examining other's faults.

Live Your Own Life

Last night, I heard somebody unleash, punch me in the face, and I thought, Boy, did he just use the worst of me to teach me a lesson.

I want to thank you for listening, and I want to thank you for being cool and actually trying to being a better human being.

I want you to hear this clearly: Vote your conscience. Live your own life. Question absolutely everything. When you find the truth, no matter where it takes you, you have a decision to make. Wow, this truth, if I'm going to be consistent, this truth takes me down this path, and I don't want to be there.

Now, be honest with yourself. So I have to detach myself from the things that I know are true because I want to do this. And if you say, I'm choosing to believe this, even though I know it's not true. I'm choosing to stand over here. That's your choice, man. And who can blame you for that? That's your choice.

Lessons in Forgiveness

But here's what I learned from the Archbishop of Mosul. Last night, he came in, we spent about four hours together. He told me some amazing stories.

Last Friday, two suicide bombers walked in with their chest loaded with dynamite. They walked into a home that Mercury One had paid for to get these girls out of where they were and put them into a safe house so they could go to college, remain going to college.

You want to talk about Divine protection? These seven girls are in this home. Two suicide bombers, ISIS, kick the front door open. They search the entire house. The seven girls are now -- college age -- are now under a bed upstairs. They are hiding, and they're all saying the rosary. They're all Catholics, and they're all saying the rosary. One of them texts on their cell phone, Our house is under attack.

The two suicide bombers go into that room because the windows are facing out front, so they can see out front. They spend three hours sitting on that bed on top of seven girls that they have absolutely no idea are hiding under the bed. They're waiting for the girls to come home to kill them. They're there for three hours. The girls are quiet enough for those three hours that they never hear them. Finally, they get up, walk outside into a crowd and blow themselves up.

The girls are safe. (The Archbiship said, thank you, by the way, to everybody who has donated to the Nazarene Fund. Thank you.)

He came here this morning to say goodbye, and we put him on a plane to go back to Iraq. He was offered a job to stay here in San Diego but turned it down. My people are in Iraq, he said. He also said, I'm excited to go back. I'm excited to go back because there are churches that have been burned to the ground. There are churches that have been desecrated, and we're going to go in and clean up again and start celebrating mass in. Christmas this year is going to be a celebration of victory, of God's victory.

I said, what is it going to be like for the 4- to 6,000 people that are returning home? Most of their houses are gone. Everything has been stolen.

Their neighbors watched them as they left, their neighbors chased them out of town as they left, their neighbors went through their houses and stole all of their things. Their neighbors will have some of their furniture, their clothes, their gadgets. And the people returning will know it.

I said, How are you going to stop the cries of, 'That's mine?'

He said, There's going to be some cries of vengeance, but we're all Christians. We don't do that. God works it out. Vengeance belongs to him. Our task is to love, to love our neighbor, even as ourself. Nowhere does it say, unless they chased you out of town and stole all your stuff.

Let's Do Better

I have to tell you, we have to be better people than we are. I have to be better people than I am.

I felt something last night, and they were my words. I didn't like the way that made me feel. And so I chose not to feel that.

I chose, instead, to recognize the things in me and say let's lead by example. Last night, I posted something on this. Last night, I had so many listeners say, I have been trashing you so much. I'm sorry. You're right. Forgive me, and I'll forgive you. Done, done.

We need to let it go. If we can't learn from people who have had everything in their house taken and they humble themselves and say, Neighbor. Forgive me for anything I've done. I forgive you. Let me love you." If we can't do that, we don't survive.

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Trump is INDICTED: Here are the TOP 5 questions about Trump's indictment ANSWERED

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BREAKING NEWS: Trump has been INDICTED.

Today marks the first time in U.S. history that a President has been criminally indicted—but what does that actually mean? Unless you have a legal or political background, it is difficult to follow what will actually happen surrounding Trump's indictment.

Glenn will provide more clarity in coming days as this story continues to unfold. In the meantime, Americans are wondering what Trump's indictment means and what comes next.

Here are five things you NEED to know about Trump's indictment.

1. What does "indictment" actually mean?

To "indict" someone is the formal term used when a person is notified that they have been officially charged with a crime. In this case, the Manhattan grand jury found that the Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, brought forward enough evidence to criminally charge Trump with a crime.

2. What crime is Trump being charged with?

Though the story is still developing, at the time of this article's publication, Trump was apparently being charged with mislabeling campaign finance funds. A week before the 2016 Presidential election, adult film star Stormy Daniels claimed she allegedly slept with Trump years prior and threatened to go public with the story. Trump's then-advisor Michael Cohen paid Stormy Daniels $130,000 and labeled the fee as "legal fees" in their campaign finances. Trump repaid Cohen once he was elected to office.

Mislabeling legal fees is a misdemeanor—not a felony—yet Trump is being federally charged. Hillary Clinton was guilty of the same misdemeanor, mislabeling funding for the Steele Dossier as "legal fees" in her campaign finances. Why did she get away with paying $130,000 to the Federal Election Commission, while Trump is facing federal criminal charges?

Mislabeling campaign finances can't be considered a felony unless there is evidence it was used to shield a federal crime. So what was Trump covering up? Even NBC admitted that Bragg's case to prove this point was flimsy to begin with. It has not been revealed what evidence was presented to the grand jury to determine that Trump is guilty of a federal crime.

3. What is a "grand jury" and how are they able to indict Trump?

A "grand jury" is a type of federal jury that evaluates criminal cases. A U.S. prosecutor has to submit evidence before a grand jury, who will determine whether there is “probable cause” to believe an individual has committed a crime and should be put on trial. In this case, the Manhattan grand jury ruled that the evidence submitted by Manhattan DA Bragg was sufficient enough to believe that Trump had committed a federal crime.

Grand jury proceedings are closed to the public, thus, we don't have access to the evidence Bragg submitted before the jury.

4. Will Trump be arrested?

The simple answer is: yes.

Trump's arrest won't look like your typical crime shows with police officers busting through Trump's door and handcuffing him. The district attorney’s office will ask Trump’s attorney when he plans to come to New York to be arraigned, which means to appear before a court to face criminal charges. Once Trump arrives in Manhattan, he will likely surrender himself at the courthouse where he will be formally "arrested," taken to get fingerprinted, get a mugshot taken, and even a DNA test. He will then await his trial to defend himself against the charges.

5. Will Trump appear in court?

Yes. Once Trump is arraigned, he will await his court date to defend himself against his charges. Trump will likely pay bail to avoid being confined to the courthouse or a jail cell.

Buckle up, America! Be sure to tune into the Glenn Beck Program to stay up-to-date on all the developments surrounding Trump's indictment. And if you haven't already, be sure to check out last week's episode of Glenn TV where Glenn dove deep into the "big distraction"—the REAL reason they're going after Trump.

Message to America after the Nashville massacre: We are worshiping a FALSE GOD

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / Contributor , DEA / A. VERGANI / Contributor , Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images.

We had yet another tragic school shooting. There is only one way to begin to address this tragedy, a tragedy that has repeated itself all too often. We must begin by mourning with the families of the victims. Our hearts break for the victims, their families, and the entire community affected by this senseless act of violence.

I'm a parent, and I mourn with you as one.

I'm also a concerned citizen deeply concerned with the profound brokenness that pervades our current culture. All of us fear for the safety of our children and our loved ones. We share the same goal of creating a safe and secure environment for everyone, especially for our children, in our schools, in places of learning and growth.

It is natural for all of us to feel anger and fear during these times, and it may seem unnatural to rise above it. But we must. It's essential to remember that we have to come together as a society, together, and address the root causes of violence. Let me state it plainly: the root cause is not the gun, but rather, the misuse of them by individuals who are mentally ill or have criminal intent. I, for one, want to address the problem of gun violence. I am worried about this with my own children. Every American, regardless of who you voted for, feels the same.

But enough is enough.

When will we address mental health? Do you know the damage we have done to our children, just because of COVID? We have destroyed the mental health of our children. Our country's suicide rate is proof enough that something has gone deeply awry within the soul of our nation—the souls of our children. What is causing all of this? It is the loss of the old guards of our civilization.

Something has gone deeply awry within the soul of our nation.

There are several groups that we need to address. First, to the parents and families of the Nashville victims, I'm sorry. We love you. Our society is sick—it is sick and unrecognizable to most of us. Your loved ones have paid the ultimate price for that illness. I'm sorry because I'm part of the society that has an unwillingness to see the truth, apparently.

Second, to the mother of the 27-year-old shooter, we mourn with you as well. I've read your old posts. You've been fighting against guns in school. While we disagree, we both want this violence to end. I've also read your posts about your children, and how proud you are. There were so many moments of beauty. You feel the same way every mom and dad feels about their child, and you were right to feel that way.

Today, I can only imagine how confused you must be. You should know, we love you too. You lost a child as well. You lost a child to the same society that has an unwillingness to see the truth. You should also know, you are part of our community, and we mourn with you as well.

You lost a child to the same society that has an unwillingness to see the truth.

Now, lastly, to the political class and the media elites. You have been dividing us for years. At first, I think I was a part of that. I've tried really hard not to be. However, you're not sincere in anything you do. At first, maybe you thought you were right in your motivations, but then every time society proved you wrong and you just dug your heels in.

Why do you continue to divide us? Is it just to win over your opponent? Is it just to crush the other side? Is it because you believe that everyone who doesn't vote your way is evil? Or is it that you just no longer care? I'm one American among many who no longer believe in you.

I can understand how easy it is to think people who vote differently than me are the problem. I really can, and those people aren't the problem. The problem begins with people, like you, who only care about money or power, or are so arrogant that they think they know better than the rest of us. You make yourselves and your system into a false god. The arrogance.

You make yourselves and your system into a false god.

You go after the disaffected, the weak, and the hopeless, and you prey on these people, promising to be their savior, hoping they will help you gain power over those who you call your enemies. You have lied. You have lied through half-truths. You have lied through omission. You have lied through fabrications. You have distorted the truth to the degree that it's no longer recognizable.

You call men women, and women men. In your world, our children are legally children until 25 for insurance purposes. Yet you also consider our children "adult" enough to alter their own bodies at eight years old. You have called evil good, and good evil. We do not have a gun problem in America. Per capita, there were more gun owners 50 years ago than there are right now, yet they didn't have these problems. Is it the gun, or is it the people?

What we have in America is a TRUTH problem. We have turned ourselves inside out. We have turned ourselves against the basic principles that gave us life and freedom, and the promise of a fuller life. Our women have no more children, and our men have lost all meaning, reason, and faith.

What we have in America is a TRUTH problem.

Just yesterday, the Wall Street Journal released a poll that showed what principles the American people value most. Children, God, family—the values that used to define us as Americans—were LAST on the list. What was on the top? Money was in the top three. Money? Since when has money become a principle?

Perhaps it is because money is the god that so many worship—money over principles every time a corrupt bank is bailed out, money over principles for those who never want to pay their school tuition, every time we make someone who didn't go to school pay for someone else's tuition.

What kind of god do we worship, that makes children so allegedly flawed that we lay them on our metal alters to the gods in the surgical gowns, who can mutilate and sterilize them to make them "just the way they were intended?" That's an ancient god I don't recognize.

We all know the words that were written in the summer of 1776: "We hold these truths." But other words were written later that year when things weren't so sunny. It was December 21st: "These are the times that try men's souls." These words turned our nation around. These truly are the times that try men's souls, and the modern-day patriots—the lovers of truth and justice—must stand firm in the face of an ever-growing storm of disinformation and division. The weak-hearted are not going to be able to weather the storm, but those with the courage to fight for what is true will emerge victorious.

Lovers of truth and justice must stand firm in the face of an ever-growing storm of disinformation and division.

We live in a time when our faith in institutions, our faith in everything we know, is at an all-time low. Our republic is under siege, and the only way out is to remember our founding principles. We are drowning in a sea of lies. Cling to the life raft! Cling to the enduring belief in life and liberty, truth and justice. We'll only be able to find our way out if we can rekindle the flame of unity and embrace the American spirit that carried us through so many crises before. We have been here before.

But this time, in our current American crisis, we have to constantly remind ourselves that our fight isn't against an external enemy that we conquer. Our enemy is causing the internal divisions that are threatening to tear us apart, divisions that are created by monsters of men. These monsters are not just tearing us apart individual to individual, but tearing us and our children out from the inside out.

Cling to the enduring belief in life and liberty, truth and justice.

America, it is high time to reaffirm our commitment to the values that define us as a people. It is our collective responsibility, as free people, to stand up for those principles of truth. The seeds of division have been sewn by those who seek to manipulate and exploit us for their own gain. They shatter our trust in one another to instill fear and hatred where there should be understanding and compassion.

Truth is now clouded by conspiracy. The lines between fact and fiction have been blurred. Truth is a light. Everything we face is not insurmountable, but now is the time to return to truth and decency and justice for all.

Our kids are the ones who are going to pay the highest of prices for what we do now.

What's on Glenn's desk? THIS graphic novel's dystopia has TERRIFYING similarities to our world.

Matt Battaglia

Imagine a global health crisis. Everyone is ordered to "stay-at-home" and only to venture out for "essential" purposes. Travel is regulated by government surveillance, with only permitted workers allowed to go into the city. Inflation is at historic levels, and basic necessities, such as food and gasoline, become invaluable commodities.

Sound familiar?

As the COVID pandemic begins to recede into our cultural memory, it is harrowing to remember the sheer breadth of power we surrendered to our government in order to "keep us safe." We would be foolish to think that the pandemic wasn't a repetition of an age-old tale in the west, and we would be even more naive to believe that we aren't at risk of repeating it in the future: the government's manipulation of a crisis to secure its complete control over its people.

We would be foolish to think that the pandemic wasn't a repetition of an age-old tale

Filmmaker Matt Battaglia published a first in what is likely to become an emerging genre of post-pandemic apocalyptic literature, bringing to life the harrowing consequences of what could happen if we continue to surrender our liberty to the government for the sake of "safety and security."

Battaglia's graphic novel, House on Fire, brings this world to life in an even more vivid dimension through pictures, telling the story of a single day of a man living in this apocalyptic world that doesn't seem too distant from our own.

The setting

Imagine there is another global pandemic of a respiratory virus that is similar to COVID. The government implements COVID-like lockdowns and restrictions from their 2020 blueprint, but this time, the regulations are here to stay. After all, this pandemic isn't the only threat allegedly facing the American people. The future of our planet is at stake. On top of the pandemic regulations, our government restricts the types of food available for consumption, implements individual carbon quotas, mandates electric vehicles, eliminates gas-powered heating, cars, stoves, etc.

Of course, the pandemic and climate change policies require major government funding, so the President uses his emergency powers and executive orders to push through a multi-trillion-dollar proposal that secures the funding necessary to finance the "clean and safe transition." Yes, inflation will be an issue, but that is a small price to pay to secure our health and the future of our planet. Don't forget to include foreign aid for our warring allies in the multi-trillion-dollar packages as well.

Inflation is a small price to pay to secure the future of our planet.

Now fast forward 20 years of living under these all-too-familiar draconian policies. This is Battaglia's apocalyptic world where we meet our nameless main character, causing the reader to question whether our world could devolve into Battaglia's in such a short amount of time.

The plot

Battaglia's story begins with our character kissing his wife goodbye and leaving their country home on a one-day mission to the city in search of a cure for his wife's most recent bout of the illness that is, presumably, a result of the pandemic.

All of the themes that contribute to the apocalyptic nature of Battaglia's world are familiar to us, disturbingly so. Our character drives through country roads, passing by gas signs that list $20 per gallon prices. His radio reports on another invasion of Poland, while country fields transform into steeple-like towers of run-down factories, like old monuments to former industries of a time long past.

Our character reaches the city limit, a border-like security checkpoint where he is required to scan his identity card to enter the city, the likes of which we see in China today. Masks required. He then drives through empty streets of a once bustling city, save for several suspect people who seem to blend into the crevices of alleyways and corners, shrouded by their masks.

Finally, our character meets with his "contact," who gives him some type of canister, supposedly a remedy for his wife's ailment. He barters with several cuts of meat, a rarity more valuable than inflated cash in this "Green New World." From this point onward, things take a turn for our character—for the worst.

Glenn's warning

Many of these scenes bring to life themes that Glenn has been warning about for years, from the government's use of a pandemic to seize control over its people, the depleted dollar and record-high inflation resulting from government spending and foreign conflicts, the Great Reset's goals to eliminate meat, gas-powered products, and other "high emissions products." All of these will be done in the name of seemingly righteous goals: "health," "safety," "security," and the "future of our planet" come to mind. However, we won't realize our freedoms will be a faint memory of the past until it is too late.

All of these measures will be done in the name of seemingly "righteous" goals.

House on Fire's poignant ending leaves the reader with a terrifying yet vitally important question: are the issues plaguing our society latent within society itself, or do they stem from the troubles within our own souls? Does society mold the human soul, or is society, as Plato puts it, the human soul "writ large?"

Battaglia's short yet powerful graphic novel brings to life many of the themes that Glenn has been warning his listeners. It is sitting on his desk, and we hope it will sit on yours too. It gives the reader a glimpse into our society after years of decay and oppression, calling on the reader to halt its progression before it's too late.

Click HERE to get your own copy!

Elon Musk comments on Glenn's podcast with David Sacks, takes jab at U.S. foreign policy

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Elon Musk chimed into Glenn's conversation about foreign policy with PayPal's founding COO David Sacks on the most recent installment of the Glenn Beck Podcast.

Musk tweeted, "US foreign policy is bronze tier on a good day!" He hit the nail on the head, as Glenn and Sacks discussed the deterioration of U.S. foreign policy and the rising probability of war with Russia and China.

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Glenn asked Sacks, "How likely do you think it is that we'd be headed towards war?" Sacks responded that he has been warning about the imminent threat of war since the Ukraine situation started and lamented that we have entered into a "proxy war of choice" with Russia.

"We engaged in a series of actions going back to 2008 that the Russians have viewed as highly provocative," Sacks said, decrying the continued expansion of NATO into Ukraine. Russia has continually warned the U.S. against expanding NATO into Ukraine, yet the State Department "crusaders" have persisted in their NATO-driven objective, which is "unacceptable to the Russians," Sacks said, "in the same way the Soviet Union trying to put nukes in Cuba was unacceptable to us in 1962."

If NATO expansion isn't enough to provoke a response from the Russian bear, our ongoing and escalating aid to Ukraine certainly is. As Sacks explained, "We're not just providing [Ukraine] with money and weapons. We are providing them with intelligence, we have commandos on the ground" and we are even directing Ukrainian soldiers on how to use our weapons on how to hit specific Russian targets. As Sacks said, "We are providing the kill chain" for Ukraine.

To put this in perspective, that would be equivalent to Russian soldiers instructing Taliban members on how to use Russian weapons to hit specific U.S. camps in Afghanistan. In that situation, wouldn't we accuse Russia of engaging in an act of war? The term "proxy" is increasingly diminishing in its relevance towards the U.S.'s involvement in the Ukrainian conflict. We aren't engaging in a "proxy war" anymore. As Sacks said, "We are effectively a co-belligerent in this conflict."

It is no wonder that we are driving Russia into China's arms while both Putin and Xi continue to forge ties with sworn enemies of the U.S., including Iran and North Korea. If we continue to "poke the bear," it is only a matter of time before Russia finds its confidence with its newly-forged allies to retaliate against its aggressor.

Musk rightly said, "US foreign policy is bronze tier on a good day." But U.S. foreign policy has not even had a "good day" in some time. We are not only jeopardizing our own international reputation with ongoing aid to Ukraine; we are jeopardizing the whole world order by marching NATO increasingly toward war. Elites in the Biden administration and the military industrial complex may benefit from aggravating Russia towards war, but it certainly doesn't benefit anyone else, in the U.S. and abroad.

There are few tools in the conservative's kit to fight back against the elites' dangerous agenda. However, Musk mentioned one of these vital tools in a comment he tweeted on Glenn's interview with San Fransicko author and Twitter Files contributor Michael Schellenberger back in January: "Citizen journalism is vital to the future of civilization."