WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:03.080 Good evening, viewers, thank you for joining us on this 2 00:00:03.240 --> 00:00:06.639 lovely Wednesday night. Tonight, we have an article that examines 3 00:00:06.679 --> 00:00:09.560 the use of the Bible, particularly the Book of Revelation 4 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:14.839 throughout American history, in characterizing certain immigrant groups by demonizing 5 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:19.120 them with revelation like rhetoric. However, is this still occurring, 6 00:00:19.320 --> 00:00:21.839 and if so, is it being done on purpose or 7 00:00:21.960 --> 00:00:24.480 is it just a case that immigrant groups usually just 8 00:00:24.600 --> 00:00:28.079 happen to be demonized similarly, regardless of the time period 9 00:00:28.199 --> 00:00:31.079 or the circumstances they fall into. That is, are they 10 00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:34.880 blamed for a given society's problems and used to prey 11 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:38.840 upon a given society's greatest fears. The Bible has not 12 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:42.159 or is not only used to vilify immigrants, by the way, 13 00:00:42.200 --> 00:00:45.399 but it has been the justification for slavery, the subjugation 14 00:00:45.479 --> 00:00:48.320 of women, the slaughter of ethnic groups. It is a 15 00:00:48.520 --> 00:00:52.439 convenient instruction manual for any group in power to oppress 16 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:55.799 smaller groups, the ones not in power, and those who 17 00:00:55.880 --> 00:00:58.960 also perceivedly pose a threat to the group that is 18 00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:03.119 in power. Is from RNs by ye John Lynn on 19 00:01:03.119 --> 00:01:06.480 October twenty fourth, twenty twenty four. All right, so we 20 00:01:06.519 --> 00:01:10.480 are looking at an article, right now that characterizes Americans 21 00:01:10.519 --> 00:01:15.840 throughout history as people who use the Bible to vilify immigrants. Obviously, 22 00:01:16.120 --> 00:01:22.079 immigration is an issue, a hot button issue in this country. So, Kelly, 23 00:01:22.239 --> 00:01:25.920 what's the significance of the author's message in this article. 24 00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:30.400 I think his name speaks volumes in that respect, right eye, 25 00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:34.400 John Lynn. It seems like he's getting he's a Christian 26 00:01:34.599 --> 00:01:38.120 and he's trying to get fellow Christians to re examine 27 00:01:38.120 --> 00:01:41.280 the rhetoric that they use. As far as I can see, 28 00:01:41.319 --> 00:01:44.959 I mean, here's it here. It's funny because he's really 29 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:49.640 talking to non white over to white Western Christians who 30 00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:53.159 don't get the message that they themselves have been trying 31 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:56.239 to spread around the world. That's kind of funny in 32 00:01:56.239 --> 00:01:58.560 that respect to me. But I think that's it. I mean, 33 00:01:58.680 --> 00:02:02.640 Jesus said to walk in the four oigners into your lands, 34 00:02:03.079 --> 00:02:06.920 and that's exactly what Christian nationalists aren't doing. You know, 35 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:11.159 they're using religion by cherry picking Bible passages to push 36 00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:15.560 bigoted ideas. So is a refutation of the lessons in 37 00:02:15.639 --> 00:02:18.719 the Bible altogether that we're getting here, That's what I'm seeing. 38 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:19.080 You know. 39 00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:21.800 It's like he's saying, hey, look Christians. You need to 40 00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:25.479 start being better Christians or stop calling yourself a Christian. 41 00:02:25.800 --> 00:02:29.159 Yeah, you know, I got that from the article. I 42 00:02:29.240 --> 00:02:33.439 also thought, you know, this is kind of this article 43 00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:38.639 is a little bit misrepresented. It misrepresents American history somewhat 44 00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:41.639 because I think, especially you know, as you go through 45 00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:45.759 American history, you can survey that not all Americans are 46 00:02:45.879 --> 00:02:50.039 using the Bible to uphold these kind of values. I 47 00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:52.719 think that the Bible is used by people who benefit 48 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:54.400 from vilifying certain people. 49 00:02:54.479 --> 00:02:54.639 Right. 50 00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:57.439 We saw this with the slave Bible. We saw this 51 00:02:57.560 --> 00:03:00.400 throughout slavery. We see this in a lot of different areas. 52 00:03:00.439 --> 00:03:03.680 Like I, Like I mentioned in the in the intro, 53 00:03:04.280 --> 00:03:06.400 but what the author also talks about is the use 54 00:03:06.520 --> 00:03:11.759 of imagery, the kind of fire and brimstone stuff from 55 00:03:11.919 --> 00:03:15.879 revelation that really strikes fear into people. And I wanted 56 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:18.759 to talk to Eli about that. Eli, what is the 57 00:03:18.800 --> 00:03:24.319 significance of religious imagery in promoting the policies in the 58 00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:27.039 United States or any policy in general. 59 00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:30.080 Well, I kind of I touched on this on Monday Night. 60 00:03:31.080 --> 00:03:33.800 They the politicians have learned that don't have to believe 61 00:03:33.960 --> 00:03:35.840 what they're saying, They just have to get the right 62 00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:38.159 imagery like we're talking about or say the right things. 63 00:03:38.759 --> 00:03:42.759 So and it basically is is if they can terrify 64 00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:45.639 their voters enough into thinking that like, you know, hell 65 00:03:45.719 --> 00:03:48.919 awaits if you don't, you know, stop this terrible thing. 66 00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:51.560 That's clearly the devil causing this, and this is against 67 00:03:51.560 --> 00:03:54.560 what God wants. You know, if you don't vote against this, 68 00:03:54.759 --> 00:04:00.919 you're compliant or complicit and that it's it's ecological torture 69 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:03.479 essentially to get into voting into their policies. Like I 70 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:06.879 gave the example on the last episode about like immigration, 71 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:08.840 if they just decide, okay, well here's the reason I 72 00:04:08.879 --> 00:04:11.479 really want more strict immigration. But that's not going to 73 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:13.360 get the voters. What'll get the voters as if I 74 00:04:13.400 --> 00:04:16.120 say this thing about immigrants and the people, there are 75 00:04:16.199 --> 00:04:18.560 enough people who agree with that that it'll get me 76 00:04:18.600 --> 00:04:20.480 those votes. And that's essentially all it is. 77 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:24.199 Yeah, Yeah, the the kind of hot button topic, right, 78 00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:28.000 the buzzwords that really get people and the images that 79 00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:31.399 are associated with those things. It's almost like a marketing 80 00:04:31.399 --> 00:04:35.959 tool using the Bible to vilify the people that you 81 00:04:36.360 --> 00:04:39.120 that you can in order to I guess gain support, 82 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:42.279 you know, praying on the fears of Americans by vilifying 83 00:04:42.319 --> 00:04:45.639 a certain group and using imagery to do that. The 84 00:04:45.639 --> 00:04:48.759 thing that I think is funny about this that we 85 00:04:48.839 --> 00:04:51.199 really need to apply, and this comes with an education 86 00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:54.399 on the Bible, is that Revelation was written as kind 87 00:04:54.439 --> 00:04:58.439 of a cryptic text. It was written about the Romans, right, 88 00:04:58.680 --> 00:05:01.759 And you couldn't be you couldn't be a Hebrew and 89 00:05:02.839 --> 00:05:06.480 say things about the Romans without you know, being punished, 90 00:05:06.519 --> 00:05:07.839 as we see in the case of Jesus. 91 00:05:07.959 --> 00:05:08.079 Right. 92 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:14.079 So this is essentially written by a smaller group about 93 00:05:14.120 --> 00:05:17.800 an invading force, right, about the Romans, about people from 94 00:05:17.879 --> 00:05:21.439 foreign lands coming into their country. And now we see 95 00:05:21.480 --> 00:05:24.160 it being used again that way, right, And we've seen 96 00:05:24.199 --> 00:05:27.480 it used multiple times throughout our history and throughout other histories. 97 00:05:27.480 --> 00:05:30.160 In Aaron, I want to talk to you about that. 98 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:33.279 You know, how does the Book of Revelation, or maybe 99 00:05:33.319 --> 00:05:36.279 even the Bible in general relate to the human psyche 100 00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:39.480 and the kind of different circumstances we may find ourselves in. 101 00:05:39.519 --> 00:05:41.680 Well, the whole point of Revelation, like you said, is 102 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:45.800 that Jesus wins, and if you're not with Jesus, you lose. Right, 103 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:49.199 the revelations, there's some really poignant verses in the Book 104 00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:52.720 of Revelation about the people that you know make it 105 00:05:52.759 --> 00:05:54.759 to the end, that make it into heaven, their robes 106 00:05:54.800 --> 00:05:57.839 will be made white, and God will literally wipe all 107 00:05:57.920 --> 00:06:00.959 your tears from your eyes. Very poigt of right, who 108 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:03.120 doesn't want to be part of the group that God 109 00:06:03.160 --> 00:06:06.480 where God is wiping the tears from your eyes? So 110 00:06:06.600 --> 00:06:10.560 the Book of Revelation is definitely an US versus them narrative, 111 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:13.600 and it really encourages you to be part of the 112 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:16.600 US because you're not part of the us. Holy cow, 113 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:18.839 do you have some shit that you're gonna have to 114 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:19.360 deal with? 115 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:19.759 Right? 116 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:25.240 Plagues and death and famine and pestilence and all those 117 00:06:25.279 --> 00:06:27.319 awful horrible things. That's one of the points. 118 00:06:27.639 --> 00:06:30.000 And then an eternity in hell after. 119 00:06:29.720 --> 00:06:32.600 That, hell and fire and brimstone. And that's one of 120 00:06:32.639 --> 00:06:36.879 the points of this article is that when Revelation talks 121 00:06:36.920 --> 00:06:39.040 about the other they don't just say, oh, and then 122 00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:41.240 there's some other people that they just went their own way. No, 123 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:46.680 they call these other people filthy, dogs, sorcerers, murderers, idolators, 124 00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:50.120 and awful horrible words to describe this other group that 125 00:06:50.680 --> 00:06:52.600 isn't part of the in group. That isn't part of 126 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:57.000 the in crowd. And this isn't the Bible didn't come 127 00:06:57.040 --> 00:07:01.160 first and engendered this bigotry. It's the bigotry in all 128 00:07:01.319 --> 00:07:04.439 human beings that the Bible is then preying upon. Right. 129 00:07:04.680 --> 00:07:07.319 If we were to make way of our magic atheist 130 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:10.759 wand and get rid of all religions, guess what we 131 00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:13.439 would still have all the problems we have today because 132 00:07:13.759 --> 00:07:16.360 religion isn't the problem. Religion feeds on the problems that 133 00:07:16.399 --> 00:07:20.639 we have just being human beings. We are bigoted, and 134 00:07:21.439 --> 00:07:24.480 it's really easy to get us worked up and other 135 00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:28.040 and tribal against other groups. It's really easy to get 136 00:07:28.040 --> 00:07:31.759 that fear response going, especially in uncertain times where people 137 00:07:31.920 --> 00:07:36.360 can't make ends meet, they can't they can't find a job. 138 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:37.879 Even though people are saying no, it's easy to find 139 00:07:37.879 --> 00:07:39.879 a job, Well, how come I can't find a job, right, 140 00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:43.360 And so it's really when you're fearful and you're scared, 141 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:46.680 it's really easy for people in power to take advantage 142 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:49.040 of that fear. So I'm not getting into that as 143 00:07:49.079 --> 00:07:51.680 a skill that you have to learn to turn off. 144 00:07:51.839 --> 00:07:54.040 And that's what I'm talking about. You know, this kind 145 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:57.720 of cookie cutter type pattern when we see this kind 146 00:07:57.800 --> 00:08:01.560 of rhetoric surface. Okay, now I'm going to walk kind 147 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:04.120 of a fine line here because I don't want to 148 00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:09.120 be perceived as you know, kind of overtly bashing political 149 00:08:09.560 --> 00:08:13.360 candidates or leaders to be. But I do want to 150 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:17.360 harken back to what our vice president elect said about 151 00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:20.959 his future boss, and that he called Donald Trump the 152 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:24.759 Adolf Hitler of our time. And he's not alone in that, right. 153 00:08:24.920 --> 00:08:27.800 A lot of the language that Donald Trump has used, 154 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:32.720 such as yeah, talking about immigrants poisoning the blood of 155 00:08:32.759 --> 00:08:36.279 our country, right and really minimizing them down to the 156 00:08:36.399 --> 00:08:39.519 vermin level, if you will, reflects a lot. I don't 157 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:42.519 know if anybody has read mind Camp or even just 158 00:08:42.559 --> 00:08:45.559 skim through it, but Hitler's book, you know, really has 159 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:48.600 a lot of comparisons about the Jews, and I want 160 00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:52.279 to say that there were uncertain certain times there as well. 161 00:08:52.399 --> 00:08:55.960 The economy was not good. People needed somebody to blame, 162 00:08:56.039 --> 00:09:00.000 and so they kind of attack these people using religon. 163 00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:03.480 If you consider the religious difference between the larger population 164 00:09:03.559 --> 00:09:06.639 of Germany and the Jewish people, right, religion is also 165 00:09:06.679 --> 00:09:08.720 at play in the United States, and I don't think 166 00:09:08.799 --> 00:09:11.879 it's all Americans doing it again. I think that there 167 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:16.120 are certain people that are afraid of immigrants, and the 168 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:19.559 people that need their support are playing on their fears 169 00:09:19.559 --> 00:09:23.120 by using religion and so on that note, you know, Kelly, 170 00:09:23.159 --> 00:09:25.600 I want to come back to you and just talk 171 00:09:25.639 --> 00:09:27.720 to you about that a little bit. You know, is 172 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:33.000 it fair for this author to characterize Americans as people 173 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:37.919 who use the Bible against others? Or or is it 174 00:09:38.360 --> 00:09:41.120 a larger problem? Isn't this a worldwide issue that we 175 00:09:41.159 --> 00:09:43.360 see more and more? Yeah, I mean we it is 176 00:09:43.399 --> 00:09:46.360 a worldwide issue, and we see it a lot. Here's 177 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:48.799 the crazy thing. Though we don't see it in other 178 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:52.039 first world countries. We only see that here in America. 179 00:09:52.200 --> 00:09:54.559 Right when we see that, we see that in third 180 00:09:54.600 --> 00:09:57.840 world countries and South America and in Africa, we see 181 00:09:57.919 --> 00:10:01.519 that militant Christianity being that's going to cleanse all the 182 00:10:01.559 --> 00:10:02.559 evil from the world. 183 00:10:02.679 --> 00:10:02.879 Right. 184 00:10:03.320 --> 00:10:07.000 So, I mean, and that I think is bothersome. Why 185 00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:10.320 is it that we here in America who could be 186 00:10:10.519 --> 00:10:13.720 that shining city on the hill are the ones who 187 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:16.879 are spreading so much hatred. I don't get it. And 188 00:10:17.960 --> 00:10:21.840 especially when you talk to most Christians and they tell 189 00:10:21.879 --> 00:10:26.120 you that Jesus's message was a message of love and understanding, 190 00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:29.159 and yet they don't practice that, right it just do 191 00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:31.440 as I say, but not as I do. And it's 192 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:35.240 pretty it's pretty bad, and it's nothing new. It's been 193 00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:38.879 going on for decades in this country. When the Irish 194 00:10:38.879 --> 00:10:42.840 were coming over here, they were portrayed in political cartoons 195 00:10:42.879 --> 00:10:46.720 as monkeys. Now, personally, I don't mind living up to 196 00:10:46.759 --> 00:10:49.600 being a monkey. That it'd be like a step up 197 00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:52.759 for me. But I don't think most people of Irish 198 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:56.000 descent would agree with that. And it goes to show you, though, 199 00:10:56.080 --> 00:10:59.960 how US definitions of what is acceptable has changed. Right, 200 00:11:00.200 --> 00:11:02.919 You couldn't make fun of Irish people back then, but 201 00:11:03.080 --> 00:11:05.759 you can now have like the Notre Dame fighting Irish guy, 202 00:11:05.799 --> 00:11:07.960 which is still making fun of Irish people, but it's 203 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:12.039 acceptable now. So it's yeah, it's kind of weird, right. 204 00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:14.960 Yeah, I do. And you bring up an interesting point, 205 00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:21.840 you know, is our Americans sensitized desensitized to hate over time, 206 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:25.240 and do we just accept it as normal? Eli? You know, 207 00:11:25.879 --> 00:11:28.519 how long do we have to put up with this? 208 00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:32.519 I mean, should we accept it as normal? Or or 209 00:11:32.919 --> 00:11:35.840 or what's the alternative here? What do we do to 210 00:11:35.960 --> 00:11:37.440 denormalize the hatred. 211 00:11:38.440 --> 00:11:41.039 I think kind of between like the three of you, 212 00:11:41.039 --> 00:11:42.960 you guys have kind of touched on something that gives 213 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:45.759 me the answer. I think it probably is just a 214 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:49.639 sort of a thing that will naturally happen. I like 215 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:51.399 to say a lot that the two things as humans 216 00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:55.399 are best at are pattern recognition and tribalism. And that's 217 00:11:55.639 --> 00:11:58.000 basically like those two things go hand in hand when 218 00:11:58.000 --> 00:11:59.960 it comes to like who is in my in group, right, 219 00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:03.600 there is this common characteristic between all of these people. 220 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:05.759 They are were all born here in America or you 221 00:12:05.759 --> 00:12:10.080 know what we now call America. We're all born here. 222 00:12:10.120 --> 00:12:12.120 And you know, some people take that further. They're born 223 00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:14.480 here and they look a certain way, and they were 224 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:16.720 born here and they look a certain way, and they 225 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:19.159 believe this and they only sleep with these people. And 226 00:12:19.320 --> 00:12:22.879 the different people have different a different radius as to 227 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:26.200 how big that circle goes. But that tribalism and that 228 00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:29.039 pattern recognition is just kind of that's just a part 229 00:12:29.080 --> 00:12:31.039 of who we are as like it's a part of 230 00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:35.639 our identity as an animal on this rock. So I think, yeah, honestly, 231 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:39.279 it may just be a thing that just continues. 232 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:42.960 That was actually excellent. I really like that idea of tribalism. 233 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:47.279 You know, when I consider the political spectrum from conservative 234 00:12:47.320 --> 00:12:49.919 on the right to liberal on the left, and then 235 00:12:50.360 --> 00:12:54.919 fascism on the far right and socialism on the way 236 00:12:55.039 --> 00:12:58.720 or communism really on the way far left, the tribalism 237 00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:02.679 those people with the smaller radius tends to fall towards 238 00:13:02.679 --> 00:13:06.159 the fascist point right, and the people with the larger radius, 239 00:13:06.279 --> 00:13:08.519 those are a little bit more left leaning. Right, they 240 00:13:08.559 --> 00:13:12.360 will accept more people into their tribe, whereas the tribalism 241 00:13:12.360 --> 00:13:15.480 on the fascist side of things really want to keep 242 00:13:15.559 --> 00:13:19.320 their tribe small. They want to eliminate competition from other tribes, 243 00:13:19.320 --> 00:13:22.080 and that's where you kind of get the scale between 244 00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:25.440 fascism to communism, and so I thought that was spot on. 245 00:13:25.559 --> 00:13:27.759 You know, I think this kind of rhetoric comes from 246 00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:31.279 the tribal folks who are often associated with being conservative, 247 00:13:31.399 --> 00:13:36.600 who are often demonized as fascists, although I've heard leftists 248 00:13:37.320 --> 00:13:40.399 be called fascists and that actually doesn't work, that doesn't fit. 249 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:44.480 But that's a topic for another show. But you also 250 00:13:44.519 --> 00:13:46.919 bring up pattern recognition, and I think somebody who wanted 251 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:51.080 to talk about pattern humans being pattern matching machines is 252 00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:53.840 Aaron coming into the show. You talked a little bit 253 00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:55.080 about that, and I just wanted to see if you 254 00:13:55.080 --> 00:13:56.080 wanted to expand on that. 255 00:13:56.600 --> 00:13:59.200 Yeah. So yeah. As Eli said, our brains are literally 256 00:13:59.240 --> 00:14:02.200 wired to be pas matching machines. If anybody, if anybody's 257 00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:03.919 near a light socket right now, go ahead and look 258 00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:06.279 at it, or an electrical outlet, go ahead and look 259 00:14:06.320 --> 00:14:08.639 at it. What do you see a face? Right? You 260 00:14:08.679 --> 00:14:10.720 see two eyes in a mouth, But that's not it's 261 00:14:10.759 --> 00:14:12.639 not a face, it's electrical socket. Why do you see 262 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:16.240 a face? Because your brain is pattern matching right. And 263 00:14:17.240 --> 00:14:19.279 it goes to such an extreme that when some people 264 00:14:19.320 --> 00:14:22.320 toast their toast, they can see Jesus. And a few 265 00:14:22.320 --> 00:14:25.799 months ago, somebody posted pictures of themselves the shirtless online 266 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:28.559 and you can see Jesus in this person's abs. I 267 00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:32.639 kid you not. If you search for Jesus abs, there's 268 00:14:32.679 --> 00:14:35.519 a guy out there you can see Jesus in his abs. 269 00:14:35.639 --> 00:14:38.360 It's the craziest thing you've ever seen. This is such 270 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:40.279 a common thing. There's actually a name for it. It's 271 00:14:40.320 --> 00:14:44.320 called appo fenia. The tendency to see meaningful connections between 272 00:14:44.559 --> 00:14:47.960 unrelated things, or this patterned magic ability and this is 273 00:14:47.960 --> 00:14:50.440 why books like the Bible can be a little bit 274 00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:53.679 dangerous because the Bible, when you speak in generalities like 275 00:14:53.679 --> 00:14:56.480 the Bible, there's no really specifics in their prophecies or 276 00:14:56.480 --> 00:14:59.039 in their here tos and what force and here's what's 277 00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:02.159 going to happen. Because they speak in such generalities, the 278 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:04.919 human brain says, oh, well, I can map all these 279 00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:07.759 real world events onto these general things in the Bible, 280 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:11.039 and that makes the Bible true. That's really that's really dangerous. 281 00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:13.519 And that's even more specific version of apple Fini. It's 282 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:18.519 called paradolia, the tendency to impose meaning on things we 283 00:15:18.679 --> 00:15:22.759 perceive that don't actually have any meaning. Actual examples can 284 00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:27.000 include or shot rorshock block, blood tests, seeing the man 285 00:15:27.080 --> 00:15:30.039 in the moon, the face on Mars, and things like that. 286 00:15:30.200 --> 00:15:32.080 And so we have if we understand that's how our 287 00:15:32.120 --> 00:15:34.200 brain works, we can kind of take a step back 288 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:36.840 and think, am I really seeing a pattern here? Is 289 00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:40.639 prophecy really true? Or is my brain imposing some kind 290 00:15:40.639 --> 00:15:43.960 of pattern on it? Because our brain literally likes to 291 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:46.720 make shit up. Our brain has to know things, and 292 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:48.720 it will literally make shit up so that it has 293 00:15:48.759 --> 00:15:52.000 a cohesive story and a cohesive worldview on things, So 294 00:15:52.039 --> 00:15:53.799 you have to be really, really careful. 295 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:56.679 Yeah. I always thought my brain was the most important 296 00:15:56.679 --> 00:15:59.000 part of my body, and one day I realize what's 297 00:15:59.039 --> 00:16:01.679 telling me that exactly? 298 00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:05.080 Well, you know, Kelly, you've got a fine brain. You 299 00:16:05.159 --> 00:16:08.440 often joke about being a monkey. Well you said tonight 300 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:10.120 being a monkey'd be a step up. And you often 301 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:13.000 joke about having two brain cells that stick together. But 302 00:16:13.720 --> 00:16:16.240 you know, I want to pick your brain cells and 303 00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:18.279 ask you. 304 00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:20.039 Never say pick your brain to a geologist? 305 00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:21.679 Why why is that? 306 00:16:21.799 --> 00:16:24.960 Because a rock picks a rock picks was a pick 307 00:16:25.159 --> 00:16:25.879 a rock pick? 308 00:16:26.039 --> 00:16:28.759 Oh, got it, got it? Got it? Okay, I thought 309 00:16:28.759 --> 00:16:30.960 you were telling me a really bad address for a second. 310 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:31.960 What it was? 311 00:16:35.200 --> 00:16:38.440 You know, Kelly, you think that this kind of thing 312 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:42.000 will eventually play out. You know, but what's the risk 313 00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:46.759 of not vehemently pushing back against this kind of thing? 314 00:16:46.919 --> 00:16:49.600 And should we be doing that? And where do we 315 00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:52.440 stand right now as a nation, as a as a 316 00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:58.360 country that has a history of weaponized marketing toward groups, 317 00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:00.000 you know, like immigrants. 318 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:03.240 Well, you know, I've got a lot of fears about 319 00:17:03.559 --> 00:17:06.839 where we're at right now. My son often says, we 320 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:12.079 are just one major economic crisis away from fascism, and 321 00:17:12.759 --> 00:17:15.920 I think we've been in a cold civil war for 322 00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:20.200 years now because of it. And when we're when I 323 00:17:20.279 --> 00:17:24.079 see like promises of twenty percent tariffs being put on 324 00:17:24.200 --> 00:17:28.480 all everything we buy a Walmart, think about that, and 325 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:32.720 that's going to be pushing us towards that economic maybe 326 00:17:32.759 --> 00:17:36.160 pushing us towards that major economic crisis. So I'm really 327 00:17:36.200 --> 00:17:38.799 worried about what could happen in the future. And I'm 328 00:17:38.839 --> 00:17:45.079 worried about people who don't fit the Christian nationalist demographic 329 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:47.319 and what's going to happen to them. It's like, I 330 00:17:47.319 --> 00:17:51.240 don't think they're making an America for everybody. They're trying 331 00:17:51.240 --> 00:17:53.720 to make an America for them, and that scares me. 332 00:17:54.079 --> 00:17:57.039 Yeah, you know, I think the fear is that maybe 333 00:17:57.079 --> 00:17:59.799 some people in power or people who are coming into 334 00:18:00.599 --> 00:18:04.680 might willingly drive the United States into a state of chaos. 335 00:18:05.559 --> 00:18:08.240 I didn't want to be conspiratorial, but I mean it's 336 00:18:08.279 --> 00:18:09.519 definitely a possibility. 337 00:18:09.599 --> 00:18:12.200 Well, you know, I mean, let's look at we're not 338 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:16.359 being conspiratorial, but this is an article that we're covering 339 00:18:16.359 --> 00:18:19.359 tonight that talks about kind of the patterns right of 340 00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:22.319 how religion can be used or how politics can be 341 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:27.440 used to be divisive, and we covered what World War 342 00:18:27.480 --> 00:18:30.680 two was like in Germany and how that kind of 343 00:18:30.759 --> 00:18:34.759 sparked the fascism that we're you know, it sparked fascism. 344 00:18:34.839 --> 00:18:37.160 I'm not going to take the leap and say the 345 00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:40.519 kind of fascism that we're afraid of, but it certainly did. 346 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:43.960 And yeah, you know, so in those fears that many 347 00:18:43.960 --> 00:18:47.599 people have, I think rests the possibility that some people 348 00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:50.000 might willingly be willing to go be ready to go 349 00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:52.400 down that road. And that's what strikes me. 350 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:55.680 But yeah, just to point I wanted to make real quick, 351 00:18:55.960 --> 00:19:00.160 is that if Jesus were born today and he's said 352 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:02.920 the same parable today, it would probably be the good 353 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:06.039 Mexican because that's the way Samaritans were looked upon in 354 00:19:06.039 --> 00:19:09.160 his day, which is why he chose the Samaritan, right. Yeah, 355 00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:11.880 So I mean, just to bring that to our modern times, 356 00:19:11.880 --> 00:19:14.319 that would be that purble today, the good Mexican, the 357 00:19:14.359 --> 00:19:16.880 guy from outside the country who came to my aid 358 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:18.039 when nobody else would. 359 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:21.519 Yeah. So, man, there's there's so many ways to take this, 360 00:19:22.039 --> 00:19:24.839 I think. I think in short, you know, this really 361 00:19:24.880 --> 00:19:27.480 comes down to, uh, since we're going to talk about 362 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:30.599 politics and religion, and we we harkened on that a 363 00:19:30.599 --> 00:19:32.519 little or we harped on that a little bit. On 364 00:19:32.599 --> 00:19:35.880 Monday Night show, we talked about education in politics. You know, 365 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:38.960 with a better education, people can get a better understanding 366 00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:43.079 of what it is they actually believe and ascribe to. Right, 367 00:19:43.319 --> 00:19:47.000 Jesus said, uh, accept, you know, love your neighbor and 368 00:19:47.200 --> 00:19:50.680 welcome immigrants and you know, be kind to everybody. But 369 00:19:50.720 --> 00:19:53.440 that's not what we see. And that's because there's no 370 00:19:53.640 --> 00:19:58.599 education really uh in working against these kind of tribalist 371 00:19:58.920 --> 00:20:03.039 views and have people open up their patterns or break 372 00:20:03.079 --> 00:20:07.119 their patterns. Lightning round, gentlemen, Eli, We're gonna finish off 373 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:10.839 starting with you, so we'll go Eli, Aaron Kelly, Eli, 374 00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:12.920 what do you have with us to close out on? 375 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:16.720 I didn't have another thought too, Like you mentioned like 376 00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:19.440 is it all Americans that's doing this or is it 377 00:20:19.599 --> 00:20:21.480 just like some of them are? And I think that's 378 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:23.720 probably a lot more accurate. There is a group that are, 379 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:27.359 but like there's groups of Americans that describe people based 380 00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:29.960 on like their Hogwarts house at the same time, so 381 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:33.200 I think like we should also like is it necessarily 382 00:20:33.480 --> 00:20:37.000 endemic that it is happening in the US. It was 383 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:39.480 just that's not that I had interesting comparison. The fact 384 00:20:39.480 --> 00:20:42.319 that you can describe someone that way doesn't mean anything 385 00:20:42.359 --> 00:20:45.039 about like the reality of who they are, which is 386 00:20:45.160 --> 00:20:48.799 the the point that gets missed most of the time. 387 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:52.720 Yeah, and Aaron, you know your your comment about seeing 388 00:20:52.839 --> 00:20:57.200 Jesus in someone's abs, there's probably a whole lot of 389 00:20:57.279 --> 00:20:59.799 clergy members that are living in the closet surfing the 390 00:20:59.839 --> 00:21:02.240 way right now trying to find that photo. So good 391 00:21:02.279 --> 00:21:05.440 on you, But what do you got for us to 392 00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:06.599 wrap things up? 393 00:21:06.759 --> 00:21:10.839 Be really careful, be really skeptical of people that use 394 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:14.039 fear to motivate you. They use fear to get power 395 00:21:14.599 --> 00:21:17.680 because they're trying to tie into our base in our 396 00:21:17.720 --> 00:21:21.680 tribalism as a human species. They're trying to get into 397 00:21:21.720 --> 00:21:25.599 that deep reptilian animal instinct part of us. We have 398 00:21:25.640 --> 00:21:27.720 to fight against it. Like I said, it's a skill. 399 00:21:27.759 --> 00:21:30.480 We have to learn to not let fear drive us 400 00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:33.960 and make us choose. Because from all everything that I 401 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:36.920