- The discovery of Auschwitz
was like a bucket of cold water
00:00:01.36\00:00:03.97
in the face of
Western civilization.
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We suddenly realized,
00:00:06.53\00:00:07.70
hey, this isn't
somebody else who did this.
00:00:07.70\00:00:10.04
This was a civilized
industrial technological nation.
00:00:10.04\00:00:13.44
And yet they managed to
do something so horrible
00:00:13.44\00:00:16.34
that two generations later,
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we still haven't
come to terms with this.
00:00:17.68\00:00:20.28
Today on Authentic I'm afraid
00:00:20.28\00:00:22.08
I'm gonna confirm
your worst fears because
00:00:22.08\00:00:24.45
you and I had more to do
00:00:24.45\00:00:26.12
with what happened there
than we might want to admit.
00:00:26.12\00:00:29.69
[upbeat music]
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When the Nazis
first said about the task
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of trying to purify
the bloodlines of Germany.
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Nobody was talking about death
camps, not in the beginning.
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That was something
that emerged later under
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a program they
called The Final Solution.
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What they talked
about in the beginning,
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say around the year 1933
was trying to create a situation
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where the Jewish population
would suddenly feel unwelcome
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and make their
own decision to leave.
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And the way they
tried to make that happen
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was by creating two
classes of German citizens.
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You had those with
reliable German ancestry,
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and then everybody else.
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The way they
were thinking was that
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anybody could live in Germany,
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but not everybody
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could exercise the
full rights of citizenship.
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So what they did was
passed something called
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the Nuremberg Laws.
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Where Jews and other groups
they thought of as undesirable
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were suddenly relegated
to a second class status.
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And while there
were three things
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these laws actually implemented,
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there were two in
particular designed to make
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Jews feel unwelcome.
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Number one, you had to be
a member of the German people
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to be a citizen of the Reich.
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And number two, it
suddenly became illegal
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for Germans to marry
members of other races.
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Let me just put the wording
of these laws on the screen
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because they're so brief
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we can pretty much
quote them in full.
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This comes from the second part
of this new citizenship law.
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It read "a Reich citizen
is exclusively a national
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"of German blood, or
racially related blood,
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"who demonstrates
through his conduct
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"that he is willing and
suited to faithfully serve
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"the German Volk and Reich."
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Then you get this just a
couple of sentences later.
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It says "The Reich
citizen is the sole bearer
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"of full political rights,
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"to be exercised according
to the measure of the laws."
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So now you suddenly
had two classes of people
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living in the German Republic.
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You had full citizens
who enjoyed all the rights
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and privileges of the nation
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and you had partial
citizens who did not.
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And it was all based race.
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And as if that wasn't bad
enough, they passed another law
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in an effort to
make sure the two groups
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stayed away from each other.
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Here's what that law said.
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"Marriages between Jews
and nationals of German blood
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"or racially
related blood are forbidden.
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"If such marriages are
nevertheless entered into
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"they are null and void,
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"even if they
are concluded abroad
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"in order to evade this law."
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Of course, the whole
thing is absolutely horrific.
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Particularly when you read
it from our side of history
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because we know full
well where that policy ended.
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What they called
the definitive solution
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back in the very beginning
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eventually became
the final solution
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where human beings
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were actually being
slaughtered wholesale.
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It's completely mind-boggling
that this actually happened
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not at some point in
the very distant past
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but within the last 100 years.
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But here's the part that
most people don't remember
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and this is a big deal.
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This is something we
should know, but we don't.
00:04:04.14\00:04:07.04
When Hitler was preaching
about keeping Germany pure
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he occasionally pointed to
the United States of America
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as an example of
how this could be done.
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Now in case you
think I'm making this up
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let me read you a key
passage from "Mein Kampf"
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and well you might
want to buckle your seatbelt
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because this is pretty bad.
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Hitler is complaining
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that foreigners are watering
down the German population
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and he insists
that part of the problem
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is that outsiders
are given the same rights
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as born and bred Germans.
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So how could this
be different he asks.
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Well you create
two classes of people.
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Those who merely
occupied German soil
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but are disenfranchised.
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And those who
have all the rights
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that belong to
the German people.
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So how could we do that he asks.
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Here's what he said in 1927.
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"There is today
one state in which
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"at least weak beginnings
toward a better conception
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"are noticeable,
00:05:01.63\00:05:02.93
"of course it's not
our model German Republic
00:05:02.93\00:05:05.90
"but the American union
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"in which an effort
is made to consult reason
00:05:07.87\00:05:10.11
"at least partially
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"by refusing
immigration on principle
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"to elements in poor health,
00:05:13.74\00:05:15.48
"by simply excluding certain
races from naturalization.
00:05:15.48\00:05:19.05
"It professes in slow beginnings
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"of view which is peculiar
to the Volkish state concept."
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Now admittedly,
it would be a stretch
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to suggest that the
United States and Germany were
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actually on the very same
page at this point in history,
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because in many fundamental
ways, they really weren't.
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But the same time, as
painful as this is to admit
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the ideas that eventually
gave birth to Auschwitz
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absolutely were in
play during the latter part
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of the 19th century
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and all the way up to the
1920s right here in America.
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There's just no way to
simply excuse ourselves
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from the table and say this
never happened, because it did.
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I mean, let's just begin
with the immigration policies
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that America passed.
00:06:06.66\00:06:07.96
Once they realized
that the American dream
00:06:07.96\00:06:10.03
was appealing to
people other than those
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who had Northern
European heritage.
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Up to the mid 1800s
most of the immigrants
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who made their way to the
new world came from England,
00:06:18.67\00:06:21.44
or Germany, or some other nation
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whose culture and background
was pretty much similar.
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But then we suddenly had
waves of Irish immigrants
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in the wake of the great famine.
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And there were
settlers coming from Eastern
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and Southern Europe,
which meant that the melting pot
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of America actually had
to become a melting pot,
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because a greater
variety of cultures
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was suddenly showing up.
00:06:43.63\00:06:45.70
And so while the
American constitution
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officially
preached equality for all.
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We had lawmakers
creating legal workarounds,
00:06:49.84\00:06:53.41
designed to keep
the new foreigners
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from actually
obtaining citizenship
00:06:55.71\00:06:57.78
with things like
well literacy tests.
00:06:57.78\00:07:01.85
And of course
after the civil war,
00:07:01.85\00:07:04.52
we had a number
of Midwest States
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suddenly passed laws
designed to keep freed slaves
00:07:06.25\00:07:09.19
from moving and
settling in their midst.
00:07:09.19\00:07:12.66
Then starting with the
gold rush in California,
00:07:12.66\00:07:15.33
and the building of
trans continental railroads.
00:07:15.33\00:07:18.27
Chinese
immigration boomed to the point
00:07:18.27\00:07:20.67
where president
Arthur signed the
00:07:20.67\00:07:22.57
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882,
00:07:22.57\00:07:25.84
which forbid more
Chinese immigration.
00:07:25.84\00:07:29.74
In other words America
had race-based legislation
00:07:29.74\00:07:34.38
designed to create two tiers
of citizenship here in America.
00:07:34.38\00:07:38.15
Add to that the way
that the native population
00:07:38.15\00:07:42.09
was continually
displaced and marginalized
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by Westward Expansion.
00:07:44.39\00:07:46.36
And you suddenly had something
that Hitler could point to
00:07:46.36\00:07:49.86
and say, wow
America job well done.
00:07:49.86\00:07:53.23
In fact, he
deliberately admired the way
00:07:53.23\00:07:56.14
that the native population
of North America was treated.
00:07:56.14\00:07:59.84
And he insisted that
all he was doing in Germany
00:07:59.84\00:08:03.65
was creating a Homeland
for Germans through expansion.
00:08:03.65\00:08:07.22
The same way that
America was creating a home
00:08:07.22\00:08:09.72
for it's new
settlers in the West.
00:08:09.72\00:08:13.15
After the white man had shot
down the millions of reds skins
00:08:13.15\00:08:16.49
to a few hundred thousand.
00:08:16.49\00:08:18.99
Then you have this
00:08:20.26\00:08:21.46
this again comes
from "Mein Kampf"
00:08:21.46\00:08:24.80
"The racially pure
and still unmixed German
00:08:24.80\00:08:27.37
"has risen to become master
of the American continent,
00:08:27.37\00:08:31.01
"and he will remain the master,
00:08:31.01\00:08:32.91
"as long as he does not fall
victim to racial pollution."
00:08:32.91\00:08:37.35
Look, I know this is
kind of embarrassing.
00:08:38.51\00:08:41.18
But this really happened,
00:08:41.18\00:08:42.78
and we have no
choice but to admit it.
00:08:42.78\00:08:46.02
And then if you can imagine
this, it gets even worse.
00:08:46.02\00:08:50.23
So you're not
gonna wanna go anywhere
00:08:50.23\00:08:51.76
I'll be right back after this
to show you how that might be.
00:08:51.76\00:08:55.53
- [Narrator] Dragons,
beasts, cryptic statues.
00:08:57.03\00:09:01.30
Bible prophecy can be
incredibly vivid and confusing.
00:09:01.30\00:09:05.87
If you've ever read
Daniel or revelation
00:09:05.87\00:09:08.08
and come away, scratching
your head, you're not alone.
00:09:08.08\00:09:11.11
Our free focus
on prophecy guides
00:09:11.11\00:09:13.18
are designed to help you unlock
the mysteries of the Bible
00:09:13.18\00:09:16.28
and deepen your
understanding of God's plan
00:09:16.28\00:09:18.75
for you and our world.
00:09:18.75\00:09:20.39
Study online, or
request them by mail
00:09:20.39\00:09:22.79
and start bringing
prophecy into focus today.
00:09:22.79\00:09:26.33
- As we got to the
turn of the 20th century
00:09:26.33\00:09:28.56
people's imaginations were abuzz
00:09:28.56\00:09:30.67
with the potential
of human technology.
00:09:30.67\00:09:33.87
I mean, the advancements
of the last few decades
00:09:33.87\00:09:36.30
had been astonishing.
00:09:36.30\00:09:37.84
We were automating work
and inventing new machines
00:09:37.84\00:09:40.81
and traveling further and
faster than we ever had before.
00:09:40.81\00:09:44.51
We were brimming with confidence
00:09:44.51\00:09:46.31
because the sky
seemed like the limit.
00:09:46.31\00:09:49.38
And there was a new idea
00:09:49.38\00:09:50.65
that had shown up in
the world of science.
00:09:50.65\00:09:52.92
The idea that human beings
were the product of evolution.
00:09:54.32\00:09:57.49
Survival of the fittest
is how Herbert Spencer put it
00:09:57.49\00:10:00.33
after reading
Darwin's origin of species.
00:10:00.33\00:10:04.07
Somehow they said
life on planet earth
00:10:04.07\00:10:05.93
was progressing upward
00:10:05.93\00:10:07.67
and getting better
with each generation.
00:10:07.67\00:10:09.90
The process of evolution
preferred positive genetic
00:10:09.90\00:10:13.78
changes the ones
that favored survival,
00:10:13.78\00:10:15.61
and over time humans
were going to get better,
00:10:15.61\00:10:18.28
and stronger, and
smarter, and faster.
00:10:18.28\00:10:21.95
But what would happen they said
00:10:21.95\00:10:23.79
if we were to take our
new found love for science
00:10:23.79\00:10:26.49
and actually
help evolution along?
00:10:26.49\00:10:29.39
I mean, we were already
breeding plants and animals
00:10:29.39\00:10:31.86
to weed out undesirable traits
00:10:31.86\00:10:34.56
and promote advantageous ones.
00:10:34.56\00:10:36.43
So what if we could
do that with people?
00:10:36.43\00:10:41.37
Now, my guess is you didn't
hear much about this in school.
00:10:41.37\00:10:44.84
But up through the 1920s,
00:10:44.84\00:10:47.21
the idea of scientifically
breeding a better race of humans
00:10:47.21\00:10:51.28
was actually all the rage.
00:10:51.28\00:10:53.28
They called it Eugenics
00:10:53.28\00:10:54.92
which is a compound Greek word
00:10:54.92\00:10:56.85
that literally means well born.
00:10:56.85\00:10:59.75
And we made a science
out of trying to guess
00:10:59.75\00:11:02.06
which people were the
fittest of our species
00:11:02.06\00:11:04.83
so that we could breed them
00:11:04.83\00:11:06.86
and solve the
problem of disease.
00:11:06.86\00:11:09.70
Now, I know that sounds
like a dystopian nightmare,
00:11:11.10\00:11:13.34
the kind of thing that
00:11:13.34\00:11:14.57
makes for a horrific
science fiction novel,
00:11:14.57\00:11:17.34
but this is absolutely true.
00:11:17.34\00:11:19.37
We openly talked
about weeding out people
00:11:19.37\00:11:21.98
we thought were "feeble-minded"
00:11:21.98\00:11:24.78
the dregs of society that
perpetually lived in poverty.
00:11:24.78\00:11:29.05
We actually had
contests like the
00:11:29.05\00:11:31.42
Better Baby Contest at
the 1911 Iowa State Fair,
00:11:31.42\00:11:35.42
and the Fitter Families
for Future Firesides Contest
00:11:35.42\00:11:39.19
at the Kansas
State Fair in the 1920s.
00:11:39.19\00:11:42.60
These were kind of
like 4H competitions
00:11:42.60\00:11:46.70
but for human beings.
00:11:46.70\00:11:48.64
And we actually
conducted studies
00:11:48.64\00:11:51.31
and developed algorithms
00:11:51.31\00:11:52.91
for breeding a
superior race of people.
00:11:52.91\00:11:56.68
Man, I wish I was
kidding, but this stuff is true.
00:11:56.68\00:12:00.98
So imagine how that appealed
00:12:00.98\00:12:03.45
to a rising group of
totalitarians in Germany
00:12:03.45\00:12:06.92
who were poised to
blame ethnic groups
00:12:06.92\00:12:09.42
for all their problems.
00:12:09.42\00:12:12.06
The tragic fact of history
00:12:12.06\00:12:14.60
is that American
and German Eugenesis
00:12:14.60\00:12:17.63
were communicating regularly
00:12:17.63\00:12:19.23
in the first part
of the 20th century.
00:12:19.23\00:12:21.30
They were
sharing their discoveries
00:12:21.30\00:12:23.87
and sharing their enthusiasm
for selective human breeding.
00:12:23.87\00:12:28.88
Now, of course it's
possible to prove too much here
00:12:30.25\00:12:33.21
because there were
also some key differences
00:12:33.21\00:12:35.55
between the Third Reich
and the American Republic.
00:12:35.55\00:12:38.39
But in hindsight, it's
also impossible to deny
00:12:39.55\00:12:43.53
that this country exerted
an unmistakable influence
00:12:43.53\00:12:48.16
that helped the Nazis
formulate their policies.
00:12:48.16\00:12:52.73
Now that doesn't mean
that America is to blame
00:12:52.73\00:12:55.10
for the death camps, by
any stretch of the imagination
00:12:55.10\00:12:58.04
because we did after all
help put an end to those things.
00:12:58.04\00:13:02.88
But it does mean
that misguided ideas
00:13:02.88\00:13:06.38
can act like viruses
infecting the people around us
00:13:06.38\00:13:10.05
long before they ever
reach their logical conclusion.
00:13:10.05\00:13:13.79
The American constitution
was a historical miracle
00:13:15.22\00:13:19.56
a legal and political
Marvel that guaranteed rights
00:13:19.56\00:13:22.93
and Liberty for
absolutely everybody.
00:13:22.93\00:13:26.43
But when it came to living
those principles, we blew it.
00:13:26.43\00:13:30.47
I mean for starters,
00:13:30.47\00:13:31.71
even though we knew
that slavery was wrong
00:13:31.71\00:13:34.28
and a direct
violation of the principles
00:13:34.28\00:13:36.48
we were enshrining in law
00:13:36.48\00:13:39.08
we refuse to deal with it.
00:13:39.08\00:13:41.02
They kicked the
can down the road
00:13:41.02\00:13:42.65
until a bloody civil
war became the answer.
00:13:42.65\00:13:45.85
It was Justice Thurgood Marshall
who said the constitution
00:13:45.85\00:13:50.09
"was defective from the start,
requiring several amendments,
00:13:50.09\00:13:53.80
"a civil war and
momentous social transformation
00:13:53.80\00:13:56.80
"to attain its respect
for the individual freedoms
00:13:56.80\00:14:00.10
"and human rights, that we
hold as fundamental today."
00:14:00.10\00:14:04.04
In other words,
we might've said it,
00:14:05.24\00:14:08.04
but we weren't living it.
00:14:08.04\00:14:10.31
Which brings me to
another really painful topic.
00:14:10.31\00:14:13.18
And that's well, the history
of my own Christian Church.
00:14:13.18\00:14:16.82
Here, we have a book
00:14:16.82\00:14:19.39
that exhibits the highest moral
standards known to humanity.
00:14:19.39\00:14:23.39
We have the teachings of Jesus
00:14:23.39\00:14:24.99
which even the harshest skeptic
00:14:24.99\00:14:27.66
has to admit are cut
above the moral teachings
00:14:27.66\00:14:30.00
of anybody else.
00:14:30.00\00:14:32.47
We have instructions on
how to care for the poor
00:14:32.47\00:14:35.17
and the sick and the afflicted.
00:14:35.17\00:14:37.57
We are told to love others
the way we love ourselves.
00:14:37.57\00:14:42.14
And yet what we have
is a 2000 year record
00:14:42.14\00:14:45.51
of abysmal behavior on
the part of the church.
00:14:45.51\00:14:50.29
The problem was succinctly
summarized by Mahatma Gandhi
00:14:50.29\00:14:53.56
who was hurt by
Christians who treated him badly
00:14:53.56\00:14:56.96
during his young
years in South Africa.
00:14:56.96\00:15:00.10
He said this
00:15:00.10\00:15:01.23
"I like your Christ.
00:15:01.23\00:15:02.86
"I do not like your Christians.
00:15:02.86\00:15:04.47
"Your Christians are
so unlike your Christ."
00:15:04.47\00:15:08.67
Now I can respond to
that thought in two ways.
00:15:08.67\00:15:12.64
I could try to
argue that he's wrong.
00:15:12.64\00:15:14.61
That Christians
are misunderstood.
00:15:14.61\00:15:16.71
That what he said
was an unfair assessment.
00:15:16.71\00:15:20.08
But unfortunately I've read
too much history to do that.
00:15:20.08\00:15:23.05
So I've got a different response
as embarrassing as it is
00:15:23.05\00:15:27.12
what he says is absolutely true.
00:15:27.12\00:15:30.43
Over the last 2000 years
00:15:31.36\00:15:33.70
the Christian Church has
been anything but Christlike.
00:15:33.70\00:15:37.47
And if you stick around, I'm
gonna come back from the break
00:15:37.47\00:15:40.50
and I'll give
you some specifics.
00:15:40.50\00:15:42.47
I'll just admit
this stuff to you.
00:15:42.47\00:15:45.34
I'll be right back.
00:15:45.34\00:15:46.37
- [Instructor] Life
can throw a lot at us.
00:15:48.14\00:15:50.55
Sometimes we don't
have all the answers
00:15:50.55\00:15:53.58
but that's where
the Bible comes in.
00:15:53.58\00:15:56.35
It's our guide to a
more fulfilling life.
00:15:56.35\00:15:59.45
Here at The Voice of Prophecy.
00:15:59.45\00:16:00.99
We've created the
discover Bible guides
00:16:00.99\00:16:03.16
to be your guide to the Bible.
00:16:03.16\00:16:04.76
They're designed to
be simple, easy to use
00:16:04.76\00:16:07.23
and provide answers to many
of life's toughest questions.
00:16:07.23\00:16:10.23
And they're absolutely free.
00:16:10.23\00:16:12.23
So jump online now
00:16:12.23\00:16:13.74
or give us a call and
start your journey of discovery.
00:16:13.74\00:16:17.17
- There's A humble
group of Christians
00:16:17.17\00:16:18.81
living in the
Northern reaches of Italy,
00:16:18.81\00:16:20.74
way up in the mountains.
00:16:20.74\00:16:22.04
And they've been there
a really really long time.
00:16:22.04\00:16:25.38
They're known as the Waldenses.
00:16:25.38\00:16:27.78
and their origins are
something of a mystery.
00:16:27.78\00:16:31.52
Now, if I had a
little more time today
00:16:31.52\00:16:32.99
I'd tell you where
I think they come from
00:16:32.99\00:16:35.02
but I've already done that
in a little inexpensive book.
00:16:35.02\00:16:37.73
You can get a copy of it's
called "A Pale Horse Rides."
00:16:37.73\00:16:40.60
And man, you can go get a copy
00:16:40.60\00:16:42.06
by visiting vop.com
and checking out the store.
00:16:42.06\00:16:46.07
In the middle ages though
00:16:46.07\00:16:47.57
the Waldenses were known
for making copies of the Bible
00:16:47.57\00:16:51.01
and distributing them
all over Western Europe.
00:16:51.01\00:16:53.51
The problem was that the
official church of the day
00:16:53.51\00:16:56.75
had made that activity illegal.
00:16:56.75\00:16:59.28
Now I know it seems unbelievable
00:16:59.28\00:17:01.02
to us that practicing Christians
could make Bibles illegal
00:17:01.02\00:17:04.89
but honestly,
that's the way it was.
00:17:04.89\00:17:08.19
You see the church had been
married to the state a long time
00:17:08.19\00:17:11.56
previously in the wake
of the emperor Constantine,
00:17:11.56\00:17:15.16
and the church sincerely
felt they had to reign in
00:17:15.16\00:17:17.50
any independent thinking
in order to secure their grip
00:17:17.50\00:17:20.50
on all the European States.
00:17:20.50\00:17:22.90
So what the Waldensians
were doing by copying the Bible
00:17:22.90\00:17:26.98
and handing it
out was very risky
00:17:26.98\00:17:29.94
and they were
forced to do it undercover.
00:17:29.94\00:17:32.21
So that they posed
as traveling merchant
00:17:32.21\00:17:34.52
selling luxury items from
the far East door to door,
00:17:34.52\00:17:37.52
things like silk and pearls.
00:17:37.52\00:17:40.62
And then they would find someone
00:17:40.62\00:17:42.02
they thought might be interested
in the copy of the Bible
00:17:42.02\00:17:44.56
and they would risk their lives
00:17:44.56\00:17:46.66
to share the
gospel with that person.
00:17:46.66\00:17:48.60
These people were so wildly
successful in this mission
00:17:50.03\00:17:52.50
that before long
Waldenses had so many converts
00:17:52.50\00:17:56.37
that their missionaries
00:17:56.37\00:17:57.91
could travel all the way from
Cologne Germany in the North,
00:17:57.91\00:18:00.18
to Florence Italy in the South.
00:18:00.18\00:18:02.08
And they could stay in the
house of a Waldensian convert
00:18:02.08\00:18:04.85
every single night.
00:18:04.85\00:18:06.25
Man, that is a
distance of more than 700 miles.
00:18:06.25\00:18:09.62
And they did this all on foot.
00:18:09.62\00:18:12.39
Now that drove the
official church crazy
00:18:13.52\00:18:17.19
because the Waldensians
were also teaching things
00:18:17.19\00:18:19.49
that were well
radically different
00:18:19.49\00:18:21.40
from the stuff
people were hearing
00:18:21.40\00:18:22.96
from the
mainstream pulpits of Europe
00:18:22.96\00:18:25.40
back in those days.
00:18:25.40\00:18:27.34
For example the Waldensians
had the nerve to teach people
00:18:27.34\00:18:30.97
you could pray in a barn
00:18:30.97\00:18:32.57
just as well as you
could pray in a church.
00:18:32.57\00:18:34.94
Now that didn't bode well
00:18:34.94\00:18:36.48
with a state church that
had invested huge sums of money
00:18:36.48\00:18:39.91
to build elaborate cathedrals
all across the continent.
00:18:39.91\00:18:43.42
The Waldenses also taught
00:18:44.29\00:18:45.99
that a number of
official church teachings
00:18:45.99\00:18:48.39
well, couldn't be
found in the Bible.
00:18:48.39\00:18:50.96
And they said that
expensive pilgrimages
00:18:50.96\00:18:53.76
to visit so-called holy sites
00:18:53.76\00:18:55.40
didn't nothing for you
except deplete your savings.
00:18:55.40\00:18:59.03
And they said the relics you saw
00:18:59.03\00:19:00.47
when you got to these places.
00:19:00.47\00:19:02.24
Well they're nothing bit of
dead body and rotting flesh.
00:19:02.24\00:19:06.57
They were a simple
people who built their doctrines
00:19:08.54\00:19:10.65
on the teachings of the Bible.
00:19:10.65\00:19:12.31
And that drove the
official church nuts
00:19:12.31\00:19:16.18
to the point where systematic
programs were launched
00:19:16.18\00:19:18.65
to wipe these
people out of existence.
00:19:18.65\00:19:21.36
In 1184 at the Senate of Verona
00:19:21.36\00:19:23.73
the Waldensians were
formerly ex-communicated.
00:19:23.73\00:19:26.76
In 1487 Innocent The
eighth issued a [indistinct]
00:19:26.76\00:19:30.43
calling for their extermination
00:19:30.43\00:19:32.47
and the stories
that followed after that.
00:19:32.47\00:19:35.54
Well, they're not
for the faint of heart.
00:19:35.54\00:19:37.57
There was the
Massacre of Mérindol in 1545
00:19:37.57\00:19:41.28
which completely eradicated
a number of Waldensian villages
00:19:41.28\00:19:44.88
and put thousands
of people to death.
00:19:44.88\00:19:47.95
There was
another massacre in 1655
00:19:47.95\00:19:50.62
when the Duke of
Savoy sent his forces out
00:19:50.62\00:19:52.85
to destroy these people.
00:19:52.85\00:19:54.59
Almost 2000 Waldensians
were raped, tortured, mutilated
00:19:54.59\00:19:59.59
and finally murdered.
00:20:00.33\00:20:01.63
And it was all done
in the name of Christ.
00:20:01.63\00:20:05.50
In 1488, so
called Christian armies
00:20:05.50\00:20:07.94
herded Waldensi
believers into a cave
00:20:07.94\00:20:10.77
and plugged the
opening full of wood
00:20:10.77\00:20:13.38
and suffocated 3000
people to death in the smoke.
00:20:13.38\00:20:18.38
Again, this was all
done by professing Christians
00:20:19.58\00:20:22.05
people who claimed they
also lived by this book.
00:20:22.05\00:20:26.69
So the question that you
and I have to ask is this
00:20:26.69\00:20:29.96
is the problem here
with the founding document,
00:20:29.96\00:20:33.40
or is the problem
with the people who ignore
00:20:33.40\00:20:35.30
the founding document.
00:20:35.30\00:20:36.97
When it comes to the
United States of America
00:20:36.97\00:20:38.83
I've got to admit,
I love this country.
00:20:38.83\00:20:41.17
And I waited a long time
to become a citizen here.
00:20:41.17\00:20:44.74
I admire the principles
of the American constitution.
00:20:44.74\00:20:48.31
I actually believe
00:20:48.31\00:20:49.51
they represent the
pinnacle of achievement
00:20:49.51\00:20:51.71
when it comes to recognizing
human rights and liberties.
00:20:51.71\00:20:55.35
And yet I'm painfully aware
00:20:55.35\00:20:57.49
of it how far short the
practice of those principles
00:20:57.49\00:21:00.32
has been in real life.
00:21:00.32\00:21:03.26
Likewise, I'm a huge fan
of this founding document,
00:21:03.26\00:21:06.46
the Bible because I have
never found anything else
00:21:06.46\00:21:09.73
that comes close to the
ideals presented in these pages.
00:21:09.73\00:21:14.00
But am I going to pretend that
Christians have demonstrated
00:21:14.00\00:21:16.47
the character of
Christ perfectly?
00:21:16.47\00:21:18.34
Not a chance.
00:21:19.47\00:21:20.98
And I'd have to admit
that my own example has been.
00:21:20.98\00:21:23.68
Well, let's just say that I fall
00:21:25.18\00:21:26.95
a long way short
of the glory of God.
00:21:26.95\00:21:29.28
If you wanna put
modern Christianity
00:21:30.82\00:21:32.49
under a microscope listen,
00:21:32.49\00:21:34.42
you're going to find
plenty that doesn't measure up
00:21:34.42\00:21:36.66
to the teachings of the Bible.
00:21:36.66\00:21:38.69
In a lot of ways
00:21:38.69\00:21:40.13
we've become a
tragically materialistic church
00:21:40.13\00:21:42.30
that mirrors the culture
00:21:42.30\00:21:43.97
more than it
challenges the culture.
00:21:43.97\00:21:46.40
We run our churches like
corporations or worse yet,
00:21:46.40\00:21:49.27
like entertainment companies
00:21:49.27\00:21:51.71
that often seem to be
more concerned about ratings
00:21:51.71\00:21:54.21
and popularity, than
we are about the truth.
00:21:54.21\00:21:58.15
Now here's the really
interesting part of all this.
00:21:58.15\00:22:01.45
It's not like the Bible
00:22:01.45\00:22:02.65
didn't anticipate
what's happening right now.
00:22:02.65\00:22:05.22
And that's the part that
critics don't understand.
00:22:05.22\00:22:07.49
Not only did the Bible
set a different standard
00:22:07.49\00:22:09.86
for the followers of Christ.
00:22:09.86\00:22:11.43
It actually anticipated
a moment when the church
00:22:11.43\00:22:13.83
would do anything
but reveal the character
00:22:13.83\00:22:16.56
of Jesus to the world.
00:22:16.56\00:22:18.23
Just listen to this.
00:22:18.23\00:22:19.63
This comes from the
teachings of Paul he writes,
00:22:19.63\00:22:23.00
"But know this,
that in the last days
00:22:23.00\00:22:25.41
"perilous times will come.
00:22:25.41\00:22:27.01
"For men will be
lovers of themselves,
00:22:27.01\00:22:28.84
"lovers of money,
00:22:28.84\00:22:30.38
"boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents,
00:22:30.38\00:22:33.75
"unthankful, unholy, unloving,
unforgiving, slanderers,
00:22:33.75\00:22:37.72
"without self-control,
brutal, despisers of good,
00:22:37.72\00:22:40.92
"traitors, headstrong, haughty,
00:22:40.92\00:22:42.92
"lovers of pleasure
rather than lovers of God,
00:22:42.92\00:22:45.73
"having a form of
godliness but denying its power.
00:22:45.73\00:22:49.00
"and from such
people turn away."
00:22:49.00\00:22:51.83
It's a problem that's as old
as the Christian Church itself
00:22:53.30\00:22:56.67
a lot of the new
Testament in fact,
00:22:56.67\00:22:58.64
was written by a
traveling missionary
00:22:58.64\00:23:00.71
who was forced to write
copious letters to churches
00:23:00.71\00:23:03.98
who were doing it wrong.
00:23:03.98\00:23:06.51
And some of the
sins that Paul mentions
00:23:06.51\00:23:08.95
that were taking place
in the church back then
00:23:08.95\00:23:11.39
they would make
your hair stand on end.
00:23:11.39\00:23:15.29
So here's the appeal I
guess I wanna make to you today.
00:23:15.29\00:23:19.03
And it really boils down to
a couple of different things.
00:23:19.03\00:23:23.37
Number one, if
you've avoided the church
00:23:23.37\00:23:26.50
because of the way
that Christians behave.
00:23:26.50\00:23:29.07
Well, I don't blame you
00:23:29.07\00:23:30.54
but I would encourage
you to take another look.
00:23:30.54\00:23:34.41
Not only are there
plenty of Christians
00:23:34.41\00:23:36.28
who actually do to
the best of their ability
00:23:36.28\00:23:39.11
try to emulate
the example of Christ.
00:23:39.11\00:23:42.78
But the whole point of the faith
00:23:42.78\00:23:44.59
of this book is that human
beings are tragically flawed.
00:23:44.59\00:23:48.99
And there is only
one person who isn't,
00:23:48.99\00:23:51.79
one person who
will never let you down.
00:23:51.79\00:23:54.76
And he's the
subject of this book.
00:23:54.76\00:23:58.07
Listen, I know the
church is full of hypocrites
00:23:58.07\00:24:01.30
and I'd be lying
00:24:01.30\00:24:02.84
if I ever tried to tell you
that my example was perfect.
00:24:02.84\00:24:05.17
It's not, not even close.
00:24:05.17\00:24:07.51
But I'm gonna challenge you
to have another look right here.
00:24:08.98\00:24:11.75
Because after all
00:24:11.75\00:24:14.08
we do have room for one
more hypocrite in the church,
00:24:14.08\00:24:16.85
one more person
who's gonna do this wrong.
00:24:16.85\00:24:19.79
Here's my second point.
00:24:21.22\00:24:22.89
And it's to people out there
who profess to be Christians.
00:24:22.89\00:24:26.59
Adolf Hitler,
and the Third Reich
00:24:26.59\00:24:28.86
were able to look at
America and say, see,
00:24:28.86\00:24:31.63
the ideal
Republic looks like this.
00:24:31.63\00:24:34.64
But what they were looking
at was a gross distortion
00:24:36.10\00:24:38.11
of the nation's founding
documents and principles.
00:24:38.11\00:24:41.18
And that distorted
image helped give birth
00:24:41.18\00:24:44.28
to an absolute moral monster.
00:24:44.28\00:24:46.38
In fact, the very
blight of the 20th century.
00:24:46.38\00:24:50.89
Now that's kind of how
it works with the church.
00:24:50.89\00:24:53.99
We might think
nobody out there is looking.
00:24:53.99\00:24:55.82
We might think
nobody is paying attention
00:24:55.82\00:24:58.06
to the behavior of
individual Christians
00:24:58.06\00:24:59.93
but let me assure
you, they're watching.
00:24:59.93\00:25:02.33
I can't tell you how many
times members of the community
00:25:02.33\00:25:04.70
have told me
00:25:04.70\00:25:05.87
about the stuff
going on in the lives
00:25:05.87\00:25:07.60
of church members I know.
00:25:07.60\00:25:10.87
But they watch and it happens.
00:25:10.87\00:25:13.38
So here's what
God has done with us.
00:25:14.98\00:25:18.05
He has taken an unimaginable
risk by putting his name
00:25:18.05\00:25:22.38
on our lives.
00:25:22.38\00:25:23.92
He plans to have
the world look at us
00:25:23.92\00:25:25.69
and see something different.
00:25:25.69\00:25:27.86
But when you and I
behave like everybody else
00:25:27.86\00:25:30.03
or maybe even worse, people
look at the church and they say
00:25:30.03\00:25:34.30
Oh, that's what God is like.
00:25:34.30\00:25:37.67
And unwittingly
you and I give birth
00:25:38.80\00:25:40.90
to countless moral monsters.
00:25:40.90\00:25:44.17
I know I'm using extreme
examples to make a point.
00:25:44.17\00:25:47.88
And they say that if you
have to bring up the Nazis
00:25:47.88\00:25:50.01
to make your point,
00:25:50.01\00:25:51.18
you've probably
already lost the argument
00:25:51.18\00:25:53.05
but this is what
I'm gonna stand by.
00:25:53.05\00:25:56.18
We might not be able
to earn our salvation
00:25:56.18\00:25:58.59
through our obedience.
00:25:58.59\00:26:00.12
That's clear in the Bible,
but God absolutely expects us
00:26:00.12\00:26:03.56
to show the world
that we know him well.
00:26:03.56\00:26:07.03
I mean, we put the name
Christian on our buildings
00:26:07.03\00:26:12.00
which literally
means one who is in Christ.
00:26:13.20\00:26:14.70
So like it or not, you and
I are ambassadors of heaven.
00:26:14.70\00:26:17.84
People are going
to look at us and say,
00:26:17.84\00:26:19.47
that's what God is like.
00:26:19.47\00:26:21.58
Fair or not people
are going to look at you
00:26:21.58\00:26:24.75
when they're
trying to figure out
00:26:24.75\00:26:26.18
if they should pay attention
00:26:26.18\00:26:27.75
to the words of this
book, I'll be right back.
00:26:27.75\00:26:30.79
- [Interviewer] Here
at the Voice of Prophecy.
00:26:32.42\00:26:33.89
We're committed to
creating top quality programming
00:26:33.89\00:26:36.16
for the whole family.
00:26:36.16\00:26:37.66
Like our audio adventure
series Discovery Mountain.
00:26:37.66\00:26:40.80
Discovery Mountain
is a Bible based program
00:26:40.80\00:26:43.23
for kids of all
ages and backgrounds.
00:26:43.23\00:26:45.57
Your family will enjoy
the faith building stories
00:26:45.57\00:26:48.34
from this Small
Mountain summer camp and town.
00:26:48.34\00:26:51.21
With 24 seasonal
episodes every year
00:26:51.21\00:26:53.71
and fresh content every week.
00:26:53.71\00:26:55.84
There's always a new
adventure just on the horizon.
00:26:55.84\00:26:59.05
- Look, I know you're not
responsible for the atrocities
00:27:02.08\00:27:04.22
committed in the name of Christ.
00:27:04.22\00:27:06.49
But I'm still going to
suggest that you join me
00:27:06.49\00:27:08.89
in apologizing for this anyway.
00:27:08.89\00:27:11.23
You'll notice when Daniel
prays in Daniel chapter nine,
00:27:11.23\00:27:14.23
he uses the word we, we
have sinned against you Lord.
00:27:14.23\00:27:19.23
Now he was not personally
responsible for what happened
00:27:20.64\00:27:22.60
but he understood
what was at stake.
00:27:22.60\00:27:24.71
And he owned the
sins of the church
00:27:24.71\00:27:26.21
along with everybody else.
00:27:26.21\00:27:28.08
It is time for you
and I to do the same
00:27:28.08\00:27:29.94
apologize for what
happened, admit that we did this
00:27:29.94\00:27:33.28
and that it had nothing to
do with the teachings of Christ.
00:27:33.28\00:27:36.32
And then we need to
get back to the business
00:27:36.32\00:27:38.75
of showing the world
what Jesus did teach.
00:27:38.75\00:27:42.09
You'll find in Revelation 14
God's idea for the last days.
00:27:42.09\00:27:45.43
It's a scene where God's
people deliver the gospel
00:27:45.43\00:27:47.76
to the whole world
and they have God's name
00:27:47.76\00:27:50.27
written in their foreheads.
00:27:50.27\00:27:52.87
It means that they're actually
reflecting his character
00:27:52.87\00:27:55.70
and it means there's hope
for the church to get it right.
00:27:55.70\00:27:59.54
You and I need to be among
those people and get this right
00:27:59.54\00:28:04.31
before Jesus comes.
00:28:04.31\00:28:06.18
I'm Shawn Boonstra.
00:28:06.18\00:28:07.65
This has been Authentic.
00:28:07.65\00:28:10.05
[upbeat music]
00:28:10.05\00:28:12.62