Roger Marsh: Hello and welcome to Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk. I'm Roger Marsh. Thanks so much for joining us and thank you for making us a part of your day. Family Talk is only possible because of the prayers and faithful financial support of listeners just like you. And before we get into today's program, let me just express that as a listener, you have such a huge impact on the success of Family Talk. Right now there is a special opportunity happening just in this month in December, and it's a matching grant. Thanks to some special friends of the ministry, every dollar you donate this month will be doubled to have twice the impact on our ministry programs and resources. To take advantage of this special opportunity, visit drjamesdobson.org. That's drjamesdobson.org, or give us a call at 877-732-6825. We always want to hear from you, your prayers, your questions, your comments as well as your gifts. So don't hesitate to reach out especially during this holiday season. Again the number to call is 877-732-6825.
Now the program you're about to hear is included in our 2023 Broadcast Collection and it's a powerhouse presentation from a guest speaker who is also a dear friend of our ministry, the Hon. Michele Bachmann. Michele served as a member of the U.S. Congress from 2007 until 2015, representing Minnesota's sixth Congressional District. She currently serves as the dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University.
Also worth noting, Mrs. Bachmann is also a member of the board of directors for the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute. In addition, she also serves as co-chair of the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast. Michele and her husband Marcus, have been married for over 40 years. Together, they've raised five biological children and, get this, 23 foster children. On top of all that, they are also the grandparents of seven as well. Wow.
As you're about to hear, Michele Bachmann really leans into biblical truth that it is okay to love Jesus first and foremost and your country as well. Here now is the Honorable Michele Bachmann on today's classic edition of Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk.
Michele Bachmann: Well, I want to thank Dr. James Dobson and Shirley Dobson for hosting the Gathering. It is our privilege to be able to be a part of this event. It is one of the premier events in the United States for conservative Christians, and I am so grateful that they have gone to all of this effort to make sure that we are here and to treat us with a first class experience. I want you to plan all of my parties, so I'm so thankful to be here.
Well, tonight I want to speak to you about a subject that came to my attention. I didn't seek this subject, this subject came to me and it came to me through the form of the person who's effectively the president at Regent University. And he walked into my office, I was at my desk. My first thought was, "what did I do wrong?" And he came in and he said, "I've just come from a psychology conference," he's a clinical psychologist, and he said "they were discussing this whole issue called Christian nationalism," and he said they were adamant about it. It's a terrible thing, a dangerous thing, and we're all supposed to be aware of it. So he had a copy of the book they were referring to, academic research on the topic, and he said, I thought maybe you'd like to read it and he walked out.
I took a look at the book. I picked it up, I'd never heard of it before. I never called myself a Christian nationalist. I doubt any of you in this room have ever called yourself a Christian nationalist. What I discovered very quickly is that this is a national smear campaign that is going on right now today. Directed at the epicenter of this smear campaign is people who consider themselves both conservative and Bible believers. They have a high value on Scripture, on their relationship with God. They're serious about their faith. They're spiritually active, if you will, but they're also governmentally engaged. They're conservative. They're watching what's happening in our country. They're praying for our country, and they're engaged because they're taking their God-given First Amendment right, and they're speaking out about the events that are happening in our nation, taking the biblical values that we learn from Scripture and hear from the pulpit and applying them into the public square.
What I learned very quickly from reading this fraud book that's considered the Bible on this topic written by a couple of sociologists is that this is how they want to change the perception of Christians, conservative Christians, who want to speak out. This is how they want to change the perception in our nation of how other people see those of us who are conservative Christians, I'm one of them, how other people see us. But what their real goal is to change how we see ourselves. Christians are being identified and they're being defined. And in this book I was listed as a Christian nationalist. Regent University was listed as a Christian nationalist. Pat Robertson was listed as a Christian nationalist. And you can all imagine Dr. James Dobson and his ministry, JDFI, is also listed as Christian nationalist.
What is the definition? What is a Christian nationalist? We're going to get into this, but the bottom line is that they say in their articles, their tweets that Christian nationalists are people who are haters, they're racist, they hate women, they are militaristic, they're violent, they're violent extremists. As a matter of fact, they border on insurrectionists, they border on terrorists. Now this seems bizarre. I'm just minding my own business. I can imagine you're just minding your own business. The Bible says the highest and best place to be is to live a quiet and peaceable life. I agree. Just be happy. Get on with it. But if you observe in the media, we're not allowed to get on with our lives, are we? Because continually they're coming up with a scenario of who the evil ones are in our society and what we're all about.
Let's go to what they're saying about us in their own words. I think it's as a tax lawyer, I always use primary source documents, so I'm going right to some of the people who are making these accusations. The one thing you see initially by what they say about conservative Christians is they're very open about this, they're not trying to be subtle at all. They're using pejorative terms, which are negative terms about the people that they subscribe as evil in this country. And very quickly you see the epicenter of what they truly believe is the most dangerous part of America are conservative Christians. This is who they think is violent. This is who they think is evil.
This is hard to hear, but it's my opinion that we're in a revolution right now. We're in a coup right now and that's why we have to wake up to what's happening and not just drift along and realize these people are absolutely serious about this. You think I'm kidding? Look at what's happened in the last few weeks with our own Department of Justice and the FBI, how they've taken van loads of FBI agents with AK47s and they show up at pro-lifers homes to take a father in handcuffs in front of his children down to the police station because the dad was praying and singing hymns inside of an abortion clinic. Who would've ever thought this would happen? But our DOJ is now out of control. If you recall the terrorists, it's not Islamic terrorists blowing up buildings, now it's conservative Christians who are being portrayed as violent extremists.
The narrative is to de-legitimize believers. They're saying, we're not the real Christians, they're the real Christians. Those of us who believe the Bible, who love America, God and country, we are not the ones who are the real Christians in America, we're actually the anti-Christian because we're racist. Because the 1619 Project says that America is racist from its inception and we're so racist in all of our institutions, we're irredeemable. That's their language. And so therefore, we need to pull down all of our institutions. We have to change all of our institutions. We have to change the military. We have to change our public schools. We have to change corporations. Churches have to change. Everybody has to change because we're all race racists, irredeemable.
I'm looking around like are you people flipping nuts? I mean, nothing you say makes sense. They're serious. They say it over and over and as we go on, they're trying to make themselves the believers, not us. This is Bob Robertson, you can see where he is speaking at the World Economic Forum. These are globalists who believe in one world government and they want to end the nation state. He's one of their own. They have subverted Christianity and they're saying that the church has been subverted by Christian nationalism. It's like what universe are they living in? But this is the mainstream view that's going everywhere.
Jemar Tisby says, I've said it before, I'll keep saying it. "Christian nationalism is the greatest threat to democracy and the witness of the church in the United States today." They're coming right out and saying it. Then they go on to say that those of us who read primary source documents about America's heritage clearly we're a nation that was founded and established on biblical roots. They totally deny it. And they say, that's a mythology. We're making up America's godly heritage. We're not a godly nation they say, we're a racist nation. We're a terrible, evil nation. And that's what they're trying to teach children now in the public schools.
Why are they doing this? Very simple. One party, one political party holds every lever of power in Washington, D.C. Their numbers don't look so good this fall. They want to hold on to those levers of power. What they see is the greatest threat to their power source are Christian believers who vote. And these numbers are from George Barna, the great pollster and they're astounding. In 2016, believers knew that something was going on in the country and they needed to show up for that presidential election. The two options were Donald Trump, a lot of people weren't too sure about Donald Trump. The other option was Hillary Clinton, they were very sure about Hillary Clinton. And so they looked at Hillary Clinton and they said, I think I'll give it a go on Donald Trump. And so 91% of people who identify as spiritually active and governmentally engaged voted for Donald Trump. I'm here to tell you that's why he became president in 2016 because the believers came out and voted, 91% according to Barna, never happens. What other interest group votes with that level of unanimity? When Christians vote, the elections change. That's what this is about.
We're in an exercise right now where these people are trying to steal our identity from us. We are not God and country people who love the Lord Jesus Christ, who love our nation and are proud of our nation. Oh no. We are evil, dangerous, violent, insurrectionists. All of this venom is completely pointed to divide us. It's us against them, and we are the ones with the target on our backs, those who identify as Christians who love our country to dial it down and not speak. That is the biggest thing you hear about cancel culture, people being thrown off Twitter, thrown off Facebook. We're in a period of time where our identity is literally being taken away from us. You think I'm kidding? Take a look in the public schools, children aren't supposed to even identify as boys and girls anymore. Some hospitals, doctors aren't supposed to write down that it was a boy or a girl that was born. If a boy would who says he's a girl would violate a girl in the bathroom at school, a father was just fined and given jail time for referring to that boy who violated his daughter as a male because the judge said, that's a female. You can't say that. This is the madness. This is the lunacy of our time.
Roger Marsh: Roger Marsh here breaking in for just a moment to remind you that you're listening to Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk. Hope you're enjoying our program today. Our special guest, the Honorable Michele Bachmann. She is truly called to serve, as you probably can tell. As she shares with us her unique national perspective and life lessons as well. She's taking us on her inspirational journey to loving God and country. Michele also shed some light on current events and some distinct differences and how to better our national culture to create a godly place for us and our kids to live. And now let's jump back in to hear the conclusion of today's program.
Michele Bachmann: And my message to you is this. First, to let you know we're in the middle of this. We can't get away from it. And so what does our response need to be? Our response needs to be that as we're living in the sea of lies all around us, we have to keep our heads about us. We have to look at truth and understand truth. It is literally the greatest time in history to be alive because all we are seeing now is the evidence of the soon and coming return of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's coming back. This is great news, but we're all so told in Scripture that this is what the days would be like. We say to each other all the time, I can't believe it. This is happening so fast. How could this madness reign? That's why more than ever we love with unabandoned love just as Jesus loved. I have no hatred for those people with their quotes or for any of those reporters on TV. No hatred. I am in prayer. I want to love them. I want them to come and know the freeing gospel of Jesus Christ.
We need to support pastors so that they will speak the truth. Eric Metaxas has written so many brilliant books, but his book on Dietrich Bonhoeffer tells a story very similar to right now. We're in a very similar time to the 1930s in Germany and really throughout Europe, when there is intimidation going on against another group that was being scapegoated, the Jews. And while they were being scapegoated, Bonhoeffer pleaded with the church, do not go silent. He was in a meeting where Hitler was saying to the pastors, "I will take care of the soul of the nation." One pastor stood up and said, "Jesus Christ will take care of the church. Jesus Christ will take care of the soul of the nation." But if you want to continue your payments from this German state, you need to give up your pulpit to what Hitler wanted. Dietrich Bonhoeffer couldn't do that. He wouldn't do it. He was convicted by the power of the Holy Spirit. He gave one of the most amazing sermons to the clergy of his day, the highest echelon of the clergy. To say, this is an evil, a rank evil. If we go silent with the truth, with the truth of the gospel and with the truth of the issues in Germany in our day, if we go silent, that is evil. We cannot do that.
So he was advocating for Jews, not Christians. He was advocating for the Jewish people because he knew how sinful this was, and he knew that the lights would go out in Europe and the lights did go out in Europe. He willingly gave his life in that effort. Bonhoeffer was killed in a jail shortly before the end of World War II. Eric Metaxas wrote a book that I highly recommend to you. I read it last weekend, A Letter to the American Church. It's brilliant. He tells you the story of Bonhoeffer, but also, he's really speaking to the American church right now because he had spent years researching Bonhoeffer and researching the times and the era in Germany, and he is saying, church, people wake up in America, the same thing is happening here in the United States. A tide is rising and pastors, this is our moment to stand. This is our moment not to be silent. And he's urging the pastors in particular, but also the church, it's easier to go silent.
I hate getting in these controversies. I know I don't seem like it, but I hate getting in these controversies because I want to live a quiet peaceable life. But sometimes you don't have a chance. And Eric Metaxas says, This is our moment when we have to be engaged. He is exactly right and I'm urging you to get that book for your pastor and for people that you know, read it yourself.
Here's another book. Your pastor probably wants to preach on these things but may not be well versed on these topics. Pastor Jim Garlow wrote a great book where he breaks down maybe 45 current issues in very easy to understand format. I encourage you to get this book by Dr. Garlow as well because it lets a pastor know just some basics so he can give a message. A pastor's not expected to be a public policy expert. This is just a few helps that we can give.
But I hope in these few moments that we've had this evening that you now, when you leave here, will recognize and see what's happening all around us, in our community, to our kids. So we recognize this thing, so we keep our head about us and so that we understand the Lord's banner is over us and his banner over us is love. We need not fear, we need not despair. I have to tell you, I have more joy in my life now than I think I've ever had because I'm seeing the fulfillment of prophecy. I'm living in an era where I'm seeing the fulfillment of biblical prophecy in this day and what a privilege we have that we get to not only live in this time, but the fact that the Lord called us to have a voice and not go silent in this time, to rescue those who are being sucked in and pulled in, little children who are being pulled in, women who are being pulled in. This is our moment, our moment to not be silent. Thank you so much.
Roger Marsh: You've been listening to Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk and our special guest, the Honorable Michele Bachmann. A great presentation from her. I'm Roger Marsh, and if you missed any part of today's program, just go to drjamesdobson.org/family talk where you can listen to it again or share it with a friend. Now as I'd mentioned earlier in the broadcast, this program is also included in our 2023 Broadcast Collection. If you enjoyed today's episode, then you'll want to consider getting the entire 5 CD set. The 2023 Broadcast Collections is yours as our way of saying thanks for your gift of any amount in support of the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute today. So to have one sent to your door right away, simply visit drjamesdobson.org/2023. That's drjamesdobson.org/2023.
As always, thanks so much for your prayers and your faithful financial support. Family Talk is a listener supported ministry. We are on the air for you and because of you. It's because of your generosity that we can continue to help families grow and thrive. Now remember, during the entire month of December, we also have a matching grant in place. This is thanks to a number of generous friends of our ministry and it means that every dollar you donate will be doubled. So if you'd like to make a tax-free donation by phone, simply call us at 877-732-6825. That's 877-732-6825. Or give a gift online at drjamesdobson.org. That's drjamesdobson.org.
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Well, that's all the time we have for today. I'm Roger Marsh, and from all of us here at the JDFI, thanks so much for listening to Family Talk. Have a blessed weekend.
Announcer: This has been a presentation of the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute.