Join Jody Heiss in this riveting episode of Washington Watch as we delve into the ongoing government shutdown and its far-reaching impact on the nation’s infrastructure. With air traffic control under strain and federal workers missing paychecks, we uncover the political strategies at play and the potential long-term effects on American lives. Congressman Bob Onder sheds light on legislative efforts to ensure federal employees receive due compensation despite the gridlock.
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from the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today’s host, Jody Heiss.
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If you’re seeing an increase in shutdowns right now or delays, not shutdowns, more delays, more cancellations, it is because the Democrats won’t open the government back up.
SPEAKER 08 :
That was Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy expressing concern over the impact that this Democrat-led government shutdown is having on the nation’s air traffic controllers. Welcome to this October 24th edition of Washington Watch. I’m your Friday host, Jody Heiss. Thank you so much for tuning in. All right, coming up, President Trump is headed to Asia. He’s got some key stops in South Korea for an extremely high-stake meeting with China’s Xi Jinping. Well, what will make that trip a success? Ambassador Morse Tan will join us later to break all of that down. Also, Missouri Congressman Bob Onder will give us the latest regarding the impact of the government shutdown. The shaky Gaza ceasefire is already being violated by Hamas terrorists as they tighten their grip and actually kill opponents. And Secretary of State Marco Rubio is saying that Gaza’s security force must include only countries that Israel trusts, and Hamas cannot be part of Gaza’s future government. And joining me now with all the latest on what’s happening is Washington stand reporter Casey Harper. Casey, give us the latest, if you can, what in the world’s happening there with this very shaky ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
SPEAKER 20 :
Yeah, Jody, thanks. It’s quite the situation down there. But there’s a big question in all this has been, will Israel be forced to let these adversarial countries like Turkey, for instance, have a military presence for security in Gaza? But U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, while speaking in Israel, he seemed to put those fears at ease. He says plans for a new security force in Gaza will only include countries that Israel is comfortable with, which is a big development. Navrubio said they’re still working on getting those deceased hostages. And he also touched on another contentious question. Who is going to govern Gaza? Let’s listen in.
SPEAKER 15 :
We’re not going to forget about the hostage. We push every single day and we’ll continue to push until the remains of every single hostage is returned. Work is going on. Even as I speak to you now, that’s being pushed on. That’s not something we’re going to start talking about. Suffice it to say that everyone that signed on to this plan, all of these other countries agreed and everyone agreed that Hamas cannot govern and cannot be involved in governing the future of Gaza. Everyone’s agreed to that.
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, Rubio’s there in Israel on the heels of Vice President J.D. Vance’s visit, who are all trying to hammer out President Trump’s Gaza peace plan, Jody.
SPEAKER 08 :
So, Casey, I understand President Trump made some very interesting and many alarming comments regarding Judea and Samaria. What led to all this? What’s happening in that regard?
SPEAKER 20 :
Yeah, Jody, President Trump may have upset the apple cart with this one. He’s rejecting an effort from Israeli lawmakers to, as you said, annex Judea and Samaria, which is also known as the West Bank. Trump’s comments come after a preliminary vote in Israel to exercise sovereignty over that territory.
SPEAKER 05 :
the West Bank. Israel’s not going to do anything with the West Bank, okay? Don’t worry about it. Is that your question? They’re not going to do anything with the West Bank. Don’t worry about it. Israel’s doing very well. They’re not going to do anything with it.
SPEAKER 20 :
Now, that certainly raised eyebrows. Senior U.S. officials, including Vance and Rubio, have been in Israel this week reinforcing that same controversial message, Jody.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, I can surely tell you here, Casey, we here at FRC, and I’m sure millions across the country, strongly believe that Judea and Samaria are the biblical heartland of Israel. So certainly, as you say, that raises some eyebrows. I’m sure it certainly does. If we can, let’s shift gears a little bit, Casey, to the government shutdown debate. Boy, it’s beginning, it looks like, to affect everyday Americans.
SPEAKER 20 :
Yeah, that’s right, Jody, and it’s only going to get worse if they don’t sort this out. Government shutdown, as you know, we’re on day 24, the second longest in history, and if it goes any longer, travel plans could be disrupted. In fact, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that travelers should expect more flight delays as we have about 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 TSA officers who are going to be working without pay.
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If we don’t have enough controllers, If we have controllers that are more stressed and less able to do the job, we pay close attention to that, and we will reduce the capacity of airplanes taking off and landing, or we will cancel flights.
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Duffy went on to say that the FAA’s training academy is actually running out of funds and some students have already dropped out. Airlines, they’re bracing for more delays, but the administration says they’re doing all they can to help the flights be safe and keep things running on schedule. But meanwhile, as you know, paychecks for our troops, it’s been a big issue. But in the very interesting story here, Jody, President Trump said yesterday there was actually a wealthy private donor who gave $130 million to help cover any gaps in U.S. military pay during the shutdown. Trump called the donor a patriot, said it was a friend of his, but would not release the person’s name. And now that we have the Senate and the House in recess until Monday, President Trump heading to Asia, looks like it could be a while before we get to a deal, Jody.
SPEAKER 08 :
Wow. This thing keeps dragging out. Okay, you mentioned the president is headed to Asia. What are some of the key stops that he’ll be making? Do we know any of the agenda items he’ll be trying to bring up?
SPEAKER 20 :
Yeah, well, President Trump is leaving Washington later tonight, actually, for a five-day trip to Asia. He’s going to be focused on boosting U.S. trade and strengthening American relationships abroad. So he’s visiting Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea, and this is his longest overseas trip since taking office. This is important. Trump’s heading to South Korea on Wednesday to meet the president there and deliver remarks at the APEC Forum before meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday. That important meeting comes after Beijing restricted those important rare earth exports, which led to the U.S. responding with more tariffs. Trump says he’s optimistic about a deal, but he’s planning on pressing the Chinese president on their role in the flow of fentanyl into the U.S., Jody.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, thank you so much, Casey. A lot happening out there. We appreciate you keeping us up to speed with it all. All right. I want to go back now to the government shutdown and discuss the latest with a member of the House of Representatives and joining me now to discuss this. is Congressman Bob Onder. He serves on several committees, including the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which obviously now, as you just heard, is being majorly impacted. He represents the 3rd Congressional District of Missouri. Dr. Onder, welcome to Washington Watch. It’s a privilege to have you.
SPEAKER 06 :
Great to be with you.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay, so let’s try to break some of this down. Federal workers, it looks like some of them are beginning to miss their full paycheck, their first one. And I know there was a last-minute push by Republicans to try to compensate some of these federal workers, like military members, TSA workers, air traffic controllers, and some others. But how Democrats are not giving in. They seem to have kind of a it’s our way or the highway attitude. But it’s really the American people looks like that are hurting. What’s what’s your thoughts on this right now?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, that’s exactly right. Yesterday, the U.S. Senate held a vote and Democrats blocked a Republican bill that would have made sure that our essential workers, including our military personnel, our TSA agents, our air traffic controllers and others, get paid during the shutdown. So as mentioned, we have 1,300 air traffic controllers, for example, and so far they’re working. But on Tuesday, they will miss their first full paycheck. And already 19,000 flights have been delayed. 1,600 have been canceled because of air traffic controller shortages. You know, Sean Duffy yesterday said that he doesn’t want his air traffic controllers to have to work second jobs driving for Uber or for DoorDash. um and uh at the same time have to do their job so um this is terrible this is the schumer shutdown uh the schumer is coddling his radical left base and the american people are paying the price
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, they really are. And what you just brought up, I heard that comment yesterday from Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary as well. And that’s concerning. I mean, you think about these air traffic controllers potentially taking on second jobs during all this. You’re a member of the Subcommittee on Aviation. How serious do you think those concerns really are?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, and I’m a private pilot myself. It’s very, very serious. The air traffic controllers, especially when you get into these very busy airspaces, they have to be at peak performance all the time. They have very stressful jobs. They are multitasking like no other job on this planet. And lives are at stake, the smallest of mistakes. And I’ve even seen very small mistakes that did not result in bad things happening but could. But when they have to pay their bills, when they have the utilities threatening to cut off power or they have to pay for school supplies for their children or food to put on the table, no. They’re going to have to be doing exactly what what Secretary Duffy is talking about, which is taking second jobs like driving Ubers late at night. No, this is not this is not good. It’s not safe. And the economic impact of a flight cancellations of flight delays is enormous. It is just inhuman what they’re doing. And very soon, the food stamp program will run out of money. The Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Program is running out of money. This is just unconscionable. And Chuck Schumer is doing this because he wants $1.5 trillion of new spending that we don’t have. He wants illegal aliens to have free health care, and he wants leftist media outlets to have half a billion dollars of our money. We are not going to fall for this extortion, but it’s really a matter of time. How long will it be before Democrats put the American people first and their political interests second?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, you brought it up. The Democrats here are looking for another $1.5 trillion of spending. And just this week, the government’s gross national debt surpassed $38 trillion. I mean, who wants another $1.5 trillion? We’re nowhere near being able to afford this. What are they thinking?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, it is obscene. Right now, our most recent deficit figures are $1.8 trillion. We basically take in about $7 trillion a year. I mean, we take in about $5 trillion and we spend about $7 trillion. The Democrats want to add $1.5 trillion more to that. Well, what they’re thinking is they value radical left social programs. They value giving health care to illegal aliens. They value leftist political reporting more than they value the services and the work. that our air traffic controllers, our military personnel do. It’s really very sad, but Chuck Schumer, I saw him on the screen a second ago, he worries more about a primary from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez than he worries about the moms and kids who are going to go without food because of his intransigence.
SPEAKER 08 :
We’ve only got about 30 seconds, but you mentioned the SNAP program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, running out here November 1st. Do you think that gets the Democrats to reopen the government real quickly?
SPEAKER 06 :
I hope so. I hope so. You know, more, you know, first of all, more government employees are Democrats than Republicans anyway. And these social welfare programs, the Democrats claim to be champions of these programs. So I hope that gets their attention. They are inflicting real pain on the American people and they’ve got to end their games and get the government again.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yep, real pain. And as you mentioned, security issues, dangerous issues with the TSA and traffic controllers. Missouri Congressman Bob Onder, thank you so much for joining us today on Washington Watch. All right, friends, coming up next, President Trump’s going to Asia. Big, big high stakes meeting will be taking place. We’ll cover it right after the break.
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Our founding scripture for this is Ephesians 6, verse 13. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand in the evil day, and having done all to stand, stand therefore.
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Family Research Council’s Pray, Vote, Stand Summit 2025 brought together Christian leaders, issue experts, and government officials for a time of prayer, inspiration, and action.
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We are equipping the body of Christ to understand that what is happening around us is not just political, it’s not just cultural. At its heart, it is spiritual.
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We gather in a nation that has torn the foundation apart, and we have separated our governing documents from our divine source, Jesus Christ. We need truth now more than ever to guide us.
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I’m believing, God, let this be a testimony of the American church, that we become so full of the fire of the Word of God that we cannot contain it. We have to tell people about it. We have to make disciples.
SPEAKER 03 :
The idea of America was the idea that our rights don’t come from governments. They come from our divine creator, right? Government’s main job is to protect those rights. And because that was the foundation of America, we’ve enjoyed over the last 250 years, more freedom, more prosperity, more stability than any other nation anywhere in the world. And that should be celebrated.
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We are living in a moment. What’s that moment? It’s a prophetic moment on God’s timeline. That’s right. And so he needs the church more than ever to act biblically for the blessing of our political leaders and of our nation.
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The number one issue facing America domestically, which is the epidemic of fatherlessness. 40% of all American children today enter the world without a father in the home married to the mother.
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We cannot win the pro-life fight without acknowledging that this is the pro-family fight, that this is the pro-marriage fight. We’re never going to end abortion if we do not secure and shore up marriage.
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We pray that this would be an opportunity, Lord God, for you to use us mere little mortals, but we possess the name of Jesus. God, use us mightily. We pray in Jesus’ name and all God’s people said, amen.
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Looking for a trusted source of news that shares your Christian values? Turn to The Washington Stand, your ultimate destination for informed, faith-centered reporting. Our dedicated team goes beyond the headlines, delivering stories that matter most to believers. From breaking events to cultural insights, we provide clear, compassionate coverage through a biblical lens. Discover news you can trust at The Washington Stand, where faith and facts meet every day.
SPEAKER 08 :
Good afternoon. Welcome back to Washington Watch. I’m your Friday host, Jody Heiss. Thank you so much for joining us. All right, we’ve touched on it, but President Trump is departing this evening for his first visit to Asia since returning to the White House. And among his stops will be Malaysia and Japan. But without a question, the most important stop will be in South Korea at the APEC summit, where he’s expected to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Now, obviously, that meeting is exceedingly a high stakes meeting, a face to face meeting. It could determine the outcome of the trade war between China and the United States. So what will it take for this Asia tour of the president to be a success? Well, joining me now to discuss this and more is Professor Morris Tan. He served as ambassador at large for global criminal justice during the first Trump administration. He is now the senior executive director of the Center for Law and Government at Liberty University. Ambassador Tan, thank you so much for joining me today on Washington Watch.
SPEAKER 01 :
Glad to join you.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay, let’s go first to the president’s itinerary here on this Asian trip. Where all will he be headed? And what are the stakes that you see here?
SPEAKER 01 :
The stakes are huge. It is thought at this point, although, you know, the president’s schedule can change on the dime, given the nature of it. But he is planning, as I understand it right now, to go to Japan. and to also go to South Korea and potentially to other APEC member countries. But the stakes are very huge because the primary power trying to displace the United States right now is the Chinese Communist Party. And a key part of this battle is on the Korean Peninsula. And to give you an example of what’s at stake, the shipbuilding industry is controlled 83 percent by China and South Korea. And if there is not reliable shipbuilding that can happen in partnership with South Korea, then the US, which is already behind China in naval vessels, will potentially fall behind further. And even of even greater risk is the Chinese espionage that could potentially take U.S. trade and military secrets and appropriate them for China, which is why a key point in all this is that South Korea should invest in U.S. shipbuilding. I think it would be best through Hanwha, which purchased the Philly shipyard in the United States where there would be the legal safeguards and other safeguards to protect U.S. secrets from being stolen in the process of trying to make American shipbuilding great again. And so it would be very important to do that in the United States rather than in South Korea, where there are grave vulnerabilities to theft by the CCP.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I mean, you brought up a lot of different issues there, and all of these are major issues. I mean, obviously, I think the climax of this trip is going to be the conversation between Trump and Chinese leader Xi. But I… There’s a lot on the table, like you brought up there. And then there’s Taiwan. You have another possible peace talks in Malaysia. You’ve got issues there in South Korea with the change of government that at least seems to be kind of leaning in the direction of China right now. What do you expect to be on the table for their conversation?
SPEAKER 01 :
Boy, you’re right about all of these things. These are all serious issues. The Indo-Pac commander for the United States is saying that the Chinese military is no longer engaging in military exercises relating to Taiwan. but rehearsals to take over Taiwan. And South Korea is a huge vulnerability because the current regime, which is very deceptive and cunning, would not come to the aid of the U.S. protecting Taiwan. which is of huge concern, is also tilted towards North Korea, which has had its longstanding objective of taking over the whole peninsula. And so all of these things are major issues So if the current administration in South Korea decides to give 100 billion to buy offshore wind power equipment and solar equipment to China, and 100 billion to fund leftist infrastructure and NGOs inside of South Korea, and 50 billion in reserves, You know, rather than investing it in the United States, that would be a major issue. And they have the money to invest in the United States. And over three years, that would be those three sources alone would be $750 billion. All right.
SPEAKER 08 :
Our time is running out. Just a couple of minutes here real quickly. Do you think there’s any possibility that the president would meet with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un?
SPEAKER 01 :
I know there is speculation along these lines that is going around. I’ve read them, too. It’s not outside the realm of possibility. For example, during the first administration, Trump decided to step across the line separating the two Koreas. And so it is possible— I remember that. can do something along these lines whether he will or not it’s ultimately his choice but is it a possibility yes it’s a possibility all right less than a minute left what what does a success look like on this trip boy um There’s so many different fronts right now, but strengthening deterrence in regards to Taiwan and South Korea would be important. I think… Moving forward very aggressively against the current leftist administration in South Korea and the CCP, I think is very important. These are not trustworthy partners. And so while I think President Trump is trying to patiently and magnanimously give them more of a chance, the sooner he realizes that they are playing him, that they are seeking to deceive him, the better. And I think Trump would be able to take some strong, decisive actions to counter. Thank you.
SPEAKER 08 :
Thank you, Ambassador Morris Tan, Senior Executive Director at Liberty University Center for Law and Government. Incredible meeting coming up in Asia. All right, next, America and Israel. There’s a lot happening on that front, friends, and we’ll bring you the latest right after this. Stay tuned.
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For over 4,000 years, the Jewish people have had legal, historical, and biblical ties to the land of Israel, especially the heartland of Israel, Judea and Samaria, which much of the world still calls the West Bank. To Israelis, Judea and Samaria is far more than a name. It’s the center of their ancestral homeland where nearly 80% of the Bible’s events took place. Abraham purchased property in Hebron, Jacob in Shechem, Joshua made an altar on Mount Ebal and led the Israelites into a covenant before God. On Mount Gerizim, overlooking Shechem, Jesus talked to the Samaritan woman at the well about worshiping neither on Mount Gerizim nor in Jerusalem, but in spirit and in truth. Judea and Samaria is nearly a quarter of Israel’s current land mass, not a small strip of land on the Jordan River, but a vital and strategic part of the nation’s identity. The October 7th massacre, launched from Gaza, shattered the illusion that giving away territory brings peace. Gaza, which was once seen as the cornerstone of a two-state solution, became a launchpad for terror. Today, only 21 percent of Israelis support a Palestinian state. Trust in a two-state solution has all but collapsed. The Middle East is changing. Iran’s grip is weakening. New alliances are forming. But Western countries and some U.S. officials still chase the mirage of a two-state solution. History speaks clearly. The 2005 Gaza withdrawal, backed by the U.S., led not to peace but to a terrorist regime. Judea and Samaria are 24 times larger than Gaza, deeply woven into Israel’s geographic and spiritual fabric. To surrender them would not bring peace. It would invite conflict and existential danger. Family Research Council stands with Israel’s rightful claim to sovereignty. It’s time for America to do the same for history, for justice, and for lasting security in the Middle East.
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You’re tuned in to Washington Watch. Welcome back. Thank you so much for joining us. I am your Friday host, Jody Heiss. All right. While definitely we support the Trump administration and we pray for them on a regular basis, there are times that also we need to call them out when there’s something that they’re not getting right. For example, we’ve done that with the abortion drug. That drug is threatening women and the unborn because of the Biden and Obama era abortion expansions that the Trump administration could reverse, but they haven’t done so yet. Well, we’re now sounding the alarm on the administration’s push against Israel’s right to fully exercise sovereignty over the land that was promised to them by God, namely the region of Judea and Samaria, which some refer to as the West Bank. We have a clip of President Trump’s comments.
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The West Bank. Israel’s not going to do anything with the West Bank, okay? Don’t worry about it. Is that your question? They’re not going to do anything with the West Bank. Don’t worry about it. Israel’s doing very well. They’re not going to do anything with it.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, those were some powerful words from President Trump yesterday. He was responding to a reporter’s question about Wednesday’s preliminary vote in the Israeli Knesset to extend sovereignty to the settlement areas in Judea and Samaria. But will Israel yield to the U.S. when it should be yielding to God? I mean, that’s a huge question. And what danger does that put the U.S. in as well as Israel? Joining me to discuss this is Aaron Freese, board member, president, and CEO of Israel Team Advocates International. He served for 24 years as the lead pastor of the Noel Wood Church in Mobile, Alabama. Aaron, welcome to Washington Watch. Thank you for joining us.
SPEAKER 10 :
Thank you, Judy. Good to be here.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, so President Trump had a telephone interview with Time magazine that adds more details to the clip that we just played a little a moment ago. And I want to read what he said when asked about Israel moving forward with the annexation of Judea and Samaria. Here’s what the president said. It won’t happen. It won’t happen. It won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries. And you can’t do that now. We’ve had great Arab support. It won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries. It will not happen. Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened.” Wow. So if the U.S. does not give Israel support, I mean, that’s bad for Israel, but that is also bad for the United States, isn’t it?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes. And, you know, as a Christian Zionist, my basis of my belief comes from Genesis 12, verse 3, where God promises Abraham a land, a peoplehood, a nation. And then he said, I will bless you and I’ll bless the families of the earth through you. And then God says to Abraham something very interesting. Whoever curses you, I will curse. And whoever blesses you, I will bless. So there’s rich blessing on a nation that will support the Jewish people, that will fight against this present global rise of anti-Semitism and stands with the Zionist state of Israel. And interesting word there in Genesis 12, 3, God uses two words for curse. The first is kalel. It means to show contempt, to despise, revile, or humiliate. And the second word is arar, which means to cause to become fruitless and powerless. And if you look back in history, Jody, every nation… You think of the Romans. I mean, where’s the Roman Empire today? They showed contempt, vile contempt towards the Jewish people, towards Israel, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain. Every country that has dissed Israel, they have become fruitless and powerless. And any country that has colleled or shown contempt towards the state of Israel ends up in the dustbin of history. So I pray that, you know, the United States of America continues on its path of standing strong. I know there’s many voices around President Trump. that are isolationist. They’re not happy about his support of Israel. A lot of times he stands alone against the powers that be within his own party. And so I pray for him that he’ll stand strong for the Jewish state.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, we join you with that. And Aaron, I’ve got some more questions I want to get to you. We’ve got less than two minutes. If you can stay over the break, I’d like to get a few more questions in to you. You know, peace is what we all want. Okay, we want Israel peace in Jerusalem and globally for that matter. But looking back at the Bible, as you referenced, what sort of peace could there, would there be if Israel gives away Judea and Samaria? I mean, this is like giving up on the land that God gave them. What… Could there be any peace if they did that?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, you know, my opinion, Jody, there’ll never be peace with a fanatical ideology of Islamism. And Islamism has one… desire, and that’s first to destroy the Jewish state. If you look at the Covenant of Hamas, they not only want to kill every Jew in Israel, they want to kill every Jew globally. And once that happens, then the Western world is next. And already England, Great Britain has fallen to radical Islam. And now it is penetrating into the United States. And so we have to stand strong for Israel because we’re fighting an age-long fanatical ideology. And there’ll never be peace if we give up on the state of Israel, for sure.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I want to go down that path further when we get back. I mean, we’re talking about Muslim countries who do not want Israel to exist. So let’s continue this conversation after the break. Thank you, Aaron Free, board member, president and CEO of Israel Team Advocates International. We’ll continue that conversation right after this break. So stay with us.
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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory. The Family Research Council invites you to join our Stand on the Word Bible reading plan as we reflect upon the life of Jesus, the Word who dwelt among us. Come with us and discover the glory of the Word. Read the Gospels and witness the life-changing story of Jesus, His life, death, and resurrection. Come read how Jesus transformed the lives of common people and how those same people transformed the known world through the power of the Holy Spirit. Come with us for 10 to 15 minutes a day and read the entire New Testament before the new year. Find our Bible reading plan in daily devotionals from Tony Perkins at frc.org slash Bible. Join us in Stand on the Word.
SPEAKER 13 :
Three years ago, the Supreme Court issued its historic Dobbs decision, a ruling that overturned Roe versus Wade, which for nearly 50 years imposed abortion on demand, silencing voters and bypassing the democratic process across the country. The Dobbs decision was a huge step forward against abortion, but it didn’t outright ban it. It returned the power to the people. Now, 29 states have laws on the books protecting life. However, there’s a catch. Abortion numbers since Dobbs have actually gone up with an increase of 12% since 2020, climbing from 930,000 to over 1 million in each of the most recent years. So how can this be? The answer is simple, the abortion drug. Today, over 60% of US abortions involve abortion drugs, many of these without medical oversight. In 2021, the Biden administration quietly removed bare minimum longstanding safety protocols for the abortion drug that have existed for 20 years to protect women from life-threatening risks and ensuring informed consent. The Biden DOJ then declared that they would not enforce the Comstock Act, which prevents the mailing of anything that causes an abortion. This is not only illegal, but also dangerous. A study shows nearly 11% of women who take the abortion drug end up in the emergency room with serious complications. Unless the Trump administration reverses these reckless Biden-era policies, pro-life laws will remain largely symbolic. Without a full review and repeal of Mifepristone, unborn lives will remain in grave danger, and pregnant mothers will remain at risk. Let’s stand for life and end this mail order abortion drug pipeline. Sign the petition urging the Trump administration to take action at frc.org slash stop chemical abortion.
SPEAKER 08 :
Welcome back to Watch and Watch. Thank you so much for joining us today. I am your Friday host, Jody Heiss, and we have with us Aaron Free, who’s a board member and president and CEO of Israel Team Advocates International. Before I get back to him, he was mentioning some scriptures, and we’ve been talking about a lot of scriptures, and that just reminded me, here at FRC, we have Stand on the Word, which is just going viral. It’s going like wildfire all across the country, and we’d love for you to join us beginning November 1st, We’re going to start a brand new 14-day series going through Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. And you can get a study guide, Paul’s Prison Letters, and we encourage you to come join us. It’s going to be a powerful, powerful time through the Word right there. Simply text LETTERS—that would refer to Paul’s letters—text LETTERS to 67742. All right, let me go back now to Aaron. Aaron, first of all, thank you for staying with us over the break. I appreciate that very much. But there’s a reason we were talking about this, why Arab and Muslim countries do not want Israel to have any degree of authority in Judea and Samaria. The truth is they don’t want Israel anywhere in the land. I mean, they would prefer Israel to be gone, totally out of the Middle East picture as a whole. So if there is any nation that should be standing with Israel right now, it would be us, wouldn’t it?
SPEAKER 10 :
100%. And again, Jodi, what the Western world needs to be concerned about, if you, you know, during the war, I have a friend who’s an expert on Hamas, and there were posters all through the Gaza Strip. And the poster said, first the Saturday people, then the Sunday people. So the objective of Hamas is first the Jews, and then the Christians. And that is the ideology of their path. And one of the most frightening verses in the Bible for any Christian, and right now we’re seeing this huge rise of Christian anti-Semitism on the, not only the Christian left, but now on the Christian right. It’s very concerning. But, you know, for every Christian, should read the passage in Matthew 25. It’s, to me, one of the most harrowing passages in the Bible. And it’s where Jesus says in the Olivet Discourse, when the Son of Man comes, he’s gonna gather all the nations as a shepherd gathers the sheep and separates the sheep from the goats. And then Jesus goes into his teaching where he says, I was hungry, you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. I was naked and you clothed me. And then he says, as you’ve done it unto the least of these, my brethren, you’ve done it unto me. Who’s he talking about? He’s talking about his brothers, his Jewish family. As you’ve done it unto them, you’ve done it unto me. And so the righteous will say, when did we see you hungry and naked and thirsting? As you’ve done in the least of these, my brethren, you’ve done it to me. And then the unrighteous nations, he’ll send into everlasting darkness. And so, Jody, in my estimation, there are sheep nations, there are goat nations, there are sheep churches, there are goat churches. We’re seeing this huge divide today, even within the evangelical movement of churches that have gone back to replacement theology, supersessionism, proclaiming that God has finished with Israel and finished with the Jewish people. And 70% now of young evangelical Christians in America are rejecting Israel, 70%. And Jesus, in Matthew 25, he’s not just… giving a new sermon. He’s quoting Joel chapter 3 in Matthew 25 about separating the nations based on how they treat Israel. And Joel chapter 3, verse 1 through 3, “…for behold, in those days, and at that time when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.” and I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided my land and have cast lots for my people. So, you know, nations that divide the land of Israel, that, you know, want to hold Israel back from… annexing their own land. You can’t annex what rightfully belongs to you. It’s Israel’s land. So nations that do this to Israel and stand opposed to Israel and attempt to divide their land, they will enter into judgment with the Lord at the end of the age. So as a Christian, I don’t want to be on the wrong side of history, Jody. I know listeners don’t either, you know.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely. Powerful, powerful comment. And this is an everlasting covenant that God made with them, and it did not go away with the opening of the New Testament. Thank you so much, Aaron Free, board member, president, and CEO of Israel Team Advocates International. Great discussion. We appreciate you coming on. All right. Okay, friends, I want to bring on David Claussen now for our worldview segment. But one thing I want to talk to him about, over the past month, we’ve mentioned on this program how we’re hearing about an increase in church attendance ever since really the assassination of Charlie Kirk. And I don’t know, we may not have exact figures to go along with those reports, but we do have some solid figures to go along when it comes to Bible sales. According to a Wall Street Journal report that came out this week on the data of book sales, 2.4 million copies of the Bible were sold in the U.S. in September. That’s up from 1.5 million in August, and it’s a 36% jump from last September. So with more Americans obviously feeling a spiritual hunger inside of them right now, what does the church need to do And are they up to the challenge? Well, joining me now for this discussion and more, our weekly Biblical Worldview segment expert, David Claussen. He’s the director of the Center for Biblical Worldview here at the Family Research Council and author of Life After Roe, Equipping Christians in the Fight for Life Today. David, as always, thank you for joining me. Happy Friday to you.
SPEAKER 07 :
Happy Friday. Great to be with you as well, Jody.
SPEAKER 08 :
All right, so what the enemy meant for evil, God meant for good. I mean, that comes to my mind when we see what happened following the death of Charlie Kirk. And, I mean, is this the start of something? Increase in church attendance, increase in Bible sales. What do you make of all of this news right now?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, Jody, I’m incredibly encouraged. And actually in two weeks, I’m going to speak in Arkansas at a large gathering of Gen Z Christians. And so I’ve been kind of, as I’m preparing for those comments, kind of looking into some of this. And the number you just referred to, the fact that 2.4 million Bibles were sold in September, that is incredible. Like you said, 36% higher than uh than the previous september the barner group tells us the church attendance is getting back to pre-pandemic levels fueled by gen z particularly young men you also look and i think like you you mentioned charlie kirk’s assassination seems to have supercharged this but even predating uh that that fateful day in september we were seeing uh the downloading of religion and spirituality apps up over 50% over the last couple of years. The streaming of Christian music is up 79% over the last five years. And so there are signs, indicators, that there is something happening right now. They call it revival. Maybe we’re at the beginning of a revival. But there are indicators that as people are, they’re hungry for truth. They are hungry for something transcendental that goes beyond just what they’ve been getting in the culture. And so for those of us with preaching, teaching, discipleship opportunities, this is an incredible time to be in Christian ministry.
SPEAKER 08 :
You know, David, I recall, in fact, I came to Christ out of the Jesus movement in the early 70s, and that all started on the West Coast. And while we were at the Pray, Vote, Stand Summit, I actually took a little bit of time and went out to Pirate’s Cove, where they baptized thousands and thousands that were there. And I’ll tell you, it was a very moving experience to be a part of it, just to witness that, because knowing, because my spiritual roots really came out of what happened there. Christian high school, and they were about to have another baptism right there, and the instructors were teaching them in the Word, and it reminded me and brings up really my next question. I mean, the developments we’re seeing and that you’re talking about are very encouraging. Certainly, they’re a starting point for many new believers who But the church also has a duty at this point to take these people in and to be a guide for them, to feed them spiritually. Is the church right now equipped to do that? How are they doing with this task so far, do you think?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, and Jody, you know, the week of the Pray, Vote, Stand Summit just last Monday is when we released here at the Center for Biblical Worldview our major report. You know, over the last couple of weeks, you and I have teased aspects of that to our Washington Watch audience. But what’s really interesting, because that survey specifically looks at regular churchgoers, and it kind of gives us the pulse on really what I think you could call America’s most devout church. And it shows, while there are certainly some encouraging aspects of the report, there are areas of clear deficiency and clear weakness on what regular churchgoers believe about basic theological issues. And of course, I’m never someone who wants to beat up on pastors or those who have given their lives to teaching God’s Word. But some of these data shows that there are weak spots in some of the basic core doctrinal issues that And so I think this moment is important for a couple of reasons, Jody. But as people are coming back to church or coming to church for the first time, it’s an outstanding question in my mind. What kind of teaching will they be getting? What will they be discipled into? What will they be catechized on? And my hope is it will be orthodox biblical doctrine that comes straight from God’s Word. But I think the jury’s out. And so I think this is an opportunity for those of us in ministry to rise to kind of our cultural moment.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, let’s talk about some of the encouraging things that are there. I think that’s a reality check for us to begin with, that there are some weak areas that we need to focus on. But there were some encouraging things. I know we haven’t been able to talk about this, but how these churchgoers view Israel, where are we on that? Is that, maybe I should ask, is that a point of encouragement or concern?
SPEAKER 07 :
No, it was, Jody. 84% of these churchgoers told us that they believed that prayer support for Israel was either very important or somewhat important. It was, again, over 80% that believed the U.S. government should support Israel. It was a high percentage that also said they believed they should personally support financially Israel. So large, overwhelming majorities of regular churchgoers still, when they hear about Israel, they think about Israel, which has, of course, been in the news a lot. the last couple of weeks, believe that there is an obligation on churchgoers, in particular, to provide prayer support for Israel. I found that abundantly encouraging, especially as kind of the most recent events have unfolded these last few weeks.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I share that encouragement with you. What about issues like family, related to family? I know it’s been 10 years or so now since the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell that brought us same-sex marriage. Where do churchgoers stand on the Bible’s teaching on marriage?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, I was actually encouraged because, again, like you said, it’s been 10 years since the Obergefell decision was imposed on all 50 states by the U.S. Supreme Court. And so, again, the idea, you know, when is the last time you heard someone talk about marriage or, you know, publicly opposed same-sex marriage? You know, this is not even seen as a valid public policy debate anymore. What I found really encouraging was almost 70% of regular churchgoers, when we asked them the question, do you believe that marriage is the relationship between one man and one woman for life, it was 68% who affirmed that position. And again, given the assault that marriage has had over the last decade or so, and even before the Obergefell decision, tells me that at least a majority of churchgoers are being discipled and catechized well I will say, though, Jody, even though marriage polled pretty well, the definition of family was a little bit lower. It was only 46% of churchgoers who said when they defined family, they thought that a family consists of a married mom and dad and the children that come from that union. So, again, it shows that we live in a—
SPEAKER 08 :
46? Did you say it’s 46%?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, 46% defined family kind of according to the Bible. Another 20% just said, well, family is really any group of people who care for one another. 22% said, well, the definition of family changes over time and across culture. And so again, although marriage pulled well, Jody, when it comes to the definition of the family, it showed there’s still some confusion. So again, it speaks to the fact we live in a world In America, where 84% of our friends and neighbors are basically syncretistic in their thinking, so they might have some right, accurate beliefs, but mixed in there is some confusion and misunderstandings. So again, although there’s some bright spots, there’s work we need to do on that.
SPEAKER 08 :
What about on the issue of life? I mean, that’s an area you’ve just got a brand new book on. Where do these people stand on abortion and life?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, and again, I’ll just remind us, these are regular churchgoers. And when it came to abortion, this was actually more of the kind of discouraging part of it, whether it was those who identify as pro-life. That number two years ago when we did this survey was 63%. Now it’s at 43%. And kind of corresponding to that, those who identify in our churches as pro-choice went from 22% two years ago to 35%. And there was also just confusion on what the Bible teaches on the question of life. Only half of regular churchgoers told us they believe the Bible identifies a point when life begins.
SPEAKER 08 :
David, what you’re saying right now, we’ve only got a minute or so, but this says to me we have some major theological issues that have to be addressed in the church too. We’re missing something here. If we have those shifting numbers, agree or disagree?
SPEAKER 07 :
Agree entirely, Jody. yeah well again give me like for instance we got about 30 seconds yeah i agree entirely with you again again i’m never someone who wants to beat up on pastors or ministry leaders those who have given their life to christian ministry what i will say though is this survey can be used i hope as a tool because it does highlight areas of weakness and deficiency on theological issues political issues cultural issues And it shows, again, we can’t let the culture disciple or catechize our people. It needs to be taking place from the Word of God. And so there are bright spots. I don’t want to be just the bare bad news, but there’s some areas that show we need to step up in our teaching, catechizing, and discipling.
SPEAKER 08 :
David Claussen, as always, thank you so much. And look, I’m all for pastors too. I am one. I have been for 30 years. I just want to encourage them, call them forth to take God’s word, to dig into it without fear of man, that we serve God, not man. David Claussen, thank you for joining us, Center for Biblical Worldview here at FRC. Have a great evening. We’ll see you next week.
SPEAKER 19 :
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