and then you love your neighbor as yourself and how you love your neighbor will test your love of god. so he says, well, who is my neighbor? oh, that's the most important question for a democracy. who is? my neighbor, jon meacham, the great the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., may 31, 2024.

to the senate: under the provisions of. rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable thomas r. carper, a senator frob e state of delaware, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patty murray, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the y, june 3, 2024. is trying to replace these individuals and i want to go back to that study of that report that was done by pri, because. nearly one third of white

evangelicals, regardless party affiliation, reverend express, support for political among americans with a favorable view of 41% of people are open to violence from two american patriots who feel that they're being replaced by not these neighbors, but invaders. and the that i encountered now has been transferred formed into this weapons ized warrior who will be resurrected with an ar 15. can you explain in the shift of thisf jesus, not as a person who welcomes a neighbor, but will be armed to the teeth and repel them at the border if necessary. it's a reimagin a manipulation. it's a distortion. using religion for power. i'm startled and concerned about those those numbers you just laid out fors and a lot of people are saying a lot of your media colleagues are saying this is a test of democracy in is

election up as usual, i always say don't go left or right, go deeper. there are deeper issues here. it's a test of democra.lifetimee civil war. but this book says it's also a test of faith. test of democracy. but it has to be. and it those numbers point this out. so dramatically. it's a test for faith communities are would be and say who we say we are or are we going to be manipulated by? political trajectories donald tp political trajectory is fear to te to violence. that's now our tra afraid causeo hate the vermin, the animals, all these names are being used.

these are people made in the image of god from guess and violence becomes except and jesus is is not this way of violence. so i want to change the trajectory about x by raising the of faith. so let's have a discussion. let's have a conversation about what these texts mean and when jesus says how you treat the immigrant, talk about the immigrant is how you treat or talk about me. that's what text says. so hold peop aparticularly who'e they're christian or or they're holding a bibles or they're ll they're selling bibles for their own or literally. one of the things that most struck me, i'll just say, was the one that donald trump cour'e defense table and next to, him

at the defense table is a cartoon of jesus at the defense table with donald trump. he's more than any other past candidate. he's comparing himself to jesus christ. and then he says, i'm being indicted for, youtrue. and the way you treat immigrants, unless you talk about them before into a courtroom is literally andd tea. so i'm saying i am raised evangelical christian family. i was raised on that and it's wrong. it's just wrong and must be controlled and let's have a conversation. when dald trump was bible quote, what does the bible say. let's open it. let's read it. what does it say and what do you believe about that? and what do you your next to jesus on this on this defense

table by your dad yourself? what did you say? how to treat the poor, the immigrants, those whose who are in prison, mass incarceration. how do we treat people? so i want this to be i want the faith factoto be decisive this election not, just the democracy factor that's crucial. but the faith factor. what does our faith mean? christian. jewish as well. what does our food need and how do we apply our faith to this political dialog so important for this election year, i want to get into that later on in the conversation specifically how we reach out to the faith based communits. so i think are also being manipulated by fear, but if you don't mind me asking, you know, as a christian, as a person ■5wo believes in god and believes in jesus and the true jesus, how does it you feel personally when a twice impeachable guerin who was held for sexual assault by a

jury o his, compares himself to jesus and holds the bible. i mean, just the emotional, visceral reaction that this person is branding himself as the warrior for christianity and jesus. well, you recall he he he got a non violent, peaceful protesters from lafayette square. you want to st john's church now i know st john's church i know it rector the bishop there no permission and he held his bible ironically revealing upside down. he'sfortable with the bible. he held it upside down and now he's selling one. so that is that is the initial dx like the bishop when she was called by you're doing this after pushing protesters out and and so the

fit i believe it. so this is stunning. but no, i'm saying and in this book i'm saying, let's let's take the bible back. let's take a bottle back to him and his supporters and those who are christians. and let's say, what does the bible say if you get a hold it up like that you need to be accountable to what it says. so i'm trying to go back to what does it say in relation to behavior, language, who you attack, policies. let's, let's, let's some accountability here. i don't want to just be appalled. i want to bring back what biblical faith really does mean and the teachings jesus, which can be listened to by anybody no matter what their faith. this is contrary to the to the bible, contrary to what jesus taught. so let's deal with it in this campaign and not just be appalled, but take the bible

surrogates. and i think i think there are i think wouldn't written this book if i didn't think there were persuadable people. and so there are lot of people who are stuck who are confused. in fact, jesus said one of the texts explore in this book■bht. you'll know the truth so is jesus and the truth will make you free, make you free,no, th't just lies it's captivity. the loss of freedom. truth and freedom are individual. and a lot of people out there, good people out there are captive, they're captive. they're these lies. and they're just so i want to can help set captive people free and go back to what jesus and the bible really say. you mention that verse you talk about in your book. there's acally

john 832, which i want to quote. if you continue in my disciplesu will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. and yet here are in 2024 america. and according to the polls and studies emerge a majority of trump supporters, many of who are christian believe in conspiracy theories such as qanon and the deep state and the replacement theory. and i'm sure you've seen these very disturbing polls that say they believe more than their own paord family members. the question i have then is how do we win over these people when they their own truth and? they live on earth three and anyone who gives them a contrary truth to what certain news stations and certain media give, they're seen as the enemy of th people. well, you're a journalis yosee also how the world we' iny parallel universes, facts.

when i was growing up, we watched after dinner every night. our family, walter cronkite, only a half hour news every walter cronkite said. and he ended by saying and that's way it is. now, you might not like the facts. you heard and there was certainly racial bias those days and but most people believe that's way w now, we don't have any agreement on how how it is and people believe these lies. and as say websites and conspiracy theories and qanon and a networks that are deliberately lying and there are very few places where people can of different political persuasions can find agreement. and that's the way it is. that's the way it cold. cronkite is a real real danger right now for immigrants, immigrant families, for black

pastors who call me and they're afraid of the policing of their children and young people, their youth group. and so let's and i've learned over the years what changes people is proximity, ideologies. and so we have been separated from each other. and when when white evangelicals get to know immigrant families, refugees, and they take them in, it's, you know, so do we create places, environments where we get proximate tod how that conversation place is crucial? i can't calculate in pennsylvania, michigan, that's where i went on this book ur, first of all, to these states, when you have 500 people show up in grand rapids, michigan, for a conversation, you know something's going on. so so how do we have these

conversations in our communities show up to school board show up to local meetings and make your voice be heard. so a lot of the times i'm in boston here, we had a great conversation last night and said, don't walk. you're saying finally a good conversation and faith in politics. take the converse out of here in the streets, in the congregation ■ean synagogues and christian churches. take it there and let's have a conversation. so i want to make the faith factor a factor in this election. you're not accept that religion. and king king said it well, he said he said he reminded the churches he said, we are not the masters of the state. wei] are■ú not the servants of e state. we are conscience of the state that we have to become again. and i think a lot of people are stuck and they're captive and

they they need to hear the truth so they can be set free. you know, you talk about proximity. i love a good superhero origin story. let's take the delorean back. several decades when you were a young white teenager in detroit. can you tell us how your proximity and your relationship with black churches really formulate not just your faith, but your commitment to social jusyou about it a littlee book, and i think it will be very inspiring for our listeners right now. well, i'm in detroit, i'm in a white church, a white school, a white neighborhood, a white evangelical church. and at 1516, i begin to listen to my city means reading papers here in news, watching carefully, having my first conversation with adults and something really big and really wrong. and i couldn't get anyone in my white world to talk it.

whis life in black detroit so different than life? and why detit? at least that's why i'm reading it here. they said, oh no, it's always been that way. and and i hear there are black churches and we've never been or been visited. well, i don't know one honest answer. i got soul. if you keep askingot of trouble. that's proved to begeorgetown ir and let them take you wherever. they lead you. and for me, my questions took me to the city, what we call the inner city in those days. and just a few blocks or miles from where white people live. and i showed up. i got jobs in where9o■ó young bk men were working like me. i was working for money for college. they were supporting their families. and i met these young men whose life stories were so different

than mine. so their a their lif stories being proximate to them begin to change my life story. and i had these to use a religious word, epiphany, revelations and realizationndes, we were janitors at detroit edison and he took me home, meet his parents. his father passed. his mom was too. and siblings and got to talking about the police. and she said, which is mom said, yeah, that's why i tell my children, you ever lost and can't find your way home. you see a policeman ducking under a stairwell high up in a building and when the policeman passes, fine, get up and find your way home on your own and when she said those words, another militant person, mom caring for her kids. my mothers to her five children screamed into my head, if you ever lost, can't find your way, i'll