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>> buckeye broadband supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> next former congresswoman and 2012 presidential candidate joins the discussion on the christian nationalism movements. this event runs an hour and 15 minutes.

>> politics in america, these were to talk seaman officer talk about, religion and politics. he has written one, did america have a christian founding, that is controversial today. his next book is titled ukraine liberty

what was really used, and it is

rarely used as it is used today, we should be clear about this. cushions were not running around calling themselves christian nationalists. which is were not saying we need to advocate for christian nationalists, christian nationalism cared -- came about in 2006 really is a term of criticism i people that were highly critical of what they describe as a toxic mix of americans who wanted to conflate god and country, but that is not all, they are racist and sexist, -- sexist militarist, think about every is you don't like, and that is christian nationalists. if you go to my academics, if you go to polemicist, you see things like the freedom from religion foundation which is again were some of these are coming from, and they make these ridiculous arguments, 20 -- many of them attribute christian nationalism to an obscure

calvinist theologian who almost no one has heard of. they like him because he doesn't say he is a post-millennialist. this is the kingdom of god will advance and societies will become christian and adopt typical law, and that homosexuals will be put to death if they engage in's homosexual activity, men will dominate the church and the state, they will encourage juvenile delinquents, and they will be put to death. so this sounds really scary, right? for christians who want to live in this little society. the problem is, it is pretty easy to document, really no one but really, not a lot of critical influence there. this is when 2006 began a trickle of books that came out

every couple of years and our book would come out, and things escalated with the january 6 2021 attack -- attack on the u.s. capitol building, something involving u.s. christian nationalists and they attacked the u.s. capitol billing. and that i got a message from a reporter who wanted to -- wanted to comment on the christian images among the writer -- writers of the capitol riot. and i said send me some, she sent me about five images, three of them were literally 1.5 miles from the u.s. capitol, there was a rally that they were christians came together to overturn the results of the election as is their constitutional right, they have some signs and crosses for that sort of thing. they are not necessarily among the rioters. they were far more people there, and if you turn to the actual right, you have people with the

pine state flag, which says on it and appeal to god. that sounds kind of christian. it could be from judges, but it could be from second treaties, or they could have brought it because it is a revolutionary era flag. they called it a distinctly christian photo, it was a guy holding a bible in front of the writers. and i said to the partner you might want to be careful with this narrative, she completely ignored my thoughts, she headlined the next day and the sojourners magazine article, everywhere, christian nationalists have attacked the u.s., if you look for images from that day, this sea of american flags. this sea of mega-hats, a confederate flag, a crazy viking dude, and it did come out a christian flag was there, and if you images are there, so there was certainly some christians there who thought they were acting as god would have them

act, but they were not. let's be krista clear about that. attacking anything is never acceptable. since any -- january 6, more serious books have started to come out by academics, people like samuel perry, paul miller and others. now these are scholars acting in good faith, attempting to measure the phenomenon of christian nationalists. now they describe toxic myths, racism sexism militarism, this is a horrible scary thing, and i am kinda terrified if there are in fact americans out there who hold those views, and i'm unfortunately afraid that there are. i would like to think it is a really tiny number in rural parts of -- other parts of the country, i want safe what part because i do not want to insult any particular region. but they came up with a way of measuring this that included in

fact, 50 prude -- 52% of americans are either fully supportive or partially supportive of this horrible toxic -- toxic stew that we call christian nationalism. if over half of american citizens are fully or partially supportive of christian nationalism, may be in trouble. fortunately, there measures are fundamentally flawed. they are really good at measuring what the separate -- they are not good at measuring what the separation is. it involves things like should religious memorials be permitted on public land, should crosses be permitted in public, or should they be torn down. should the ohio holocaust memorial be permitted to have a stronger presence, or should this be prohibited as a freedom -- as the freedom from religion foundation says. should they be allowed in public schools or should they ban prayers?

it is a really bad set of measures to measure this horrible toxic stew that we call christian nationalism, i think, and again i want to assume that they are acting in good faith, but there are a few lines throughout the worth -- the work that make it seem otherwise. if you are pro-life, you are concerned with controlling women's bodies. i wonder if the women who note -- who are here know this. women are as likely to be prone life as men. you can be the most pro-choice american in the world and its and understand that pro-lifers are meant to protect human life. but they accuse them of something being interested in controlling humans bodies. it's just wrong. many people say that christian nationalists are attentive to define religious liberty is something more than the freedom of worship. this is news to me. we respect and astonishment of

religion, and never restrict the practice thereof. religious liberty has always meant something more than freedom to worship. we have freedom to act upon our religious convictions whenever possible. you don't get to sacrifice a child to the son god, but we had the freedom according to parity, if you defend a more robust understanding of religious liberty, you a bigot. i think these measures are bad. now not all sociologists are the same, there are a few sociologists that have come up with a recent article, a smith and adler, i think the names are, which i think have a much more reasonable, i think christian nationalism is a thing. i assure you it is not this horrible toxic mix that is described by the critics of christian nationalism.

it does exist and it is embraced by maybe 20% of the american population. recently, christians have started coming out and talking about the label. marjorie taylor greene is one. they are writing books saying we should embrace christian nationalism. and i assure you they are not racist and not sexist and not militarist. they writing books saying that let's reclaim christian nationalism. i understand what they mean. they are not advocating for racism, sexism. they are advocating for the importance of culture. i think this is a very imprudent move. christian nationalism is a term invented by critics. we should not embrace it. we should just simply identify ourselves as christians.

we are followers of christ. we have an obligation to be involved in politics, to be involved in the city, to fight for justice, liberty and freedom for all. that is our obligation. we cannot embrace this term of christian nationalism, it is just imprudent. it is handing victory to our critics. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you, dr. hall. you can take out your phone if you would like, and we are going to have a poll question. you will see a qr code on the screen and you can take a picture of it. if we can pull that up on the screen. take a snapshot of that with your phone, and that will bring up the link, and you can take the poll question.

if anybody is having trouble, we have a group of five-year-olds in the back who can help you use your smartphone. [laughter] can we bring the poll question up on the screen? here it is. what is christian nationalism? not certain, but definitely not what the left says what it is. it is a creation of the media. it is an attempt to intimidate christians who care about their country. go ahead and take that poll question. we will get the results and share those with you. those online, go ahead and take that poll question. in september of 2001, he was mobilized from his private sector career and assigned to the director of intelligence and strategic communications.

he has been recognized as the pentagon's leading expert on islamic law as it relates to national security. today, he is principal of unconstrained analytics, a 5013 c dedicated to analysis of evidence unconstrained by preconceptions and biases. i will repeat that. that is what the media used to do. he is dedicated to the analysis of the evidence unconstrained by preconceptions and biases. it sounds like the perfect guy to unpack for us how words and labels are being used for a particular end. please welcome him. [applause] >> thank you very much. it is a pleasure to be here.

what i would like to say before anything else i was in louie , gohmert's office and he has a little thing that memorializes the treaty between america and britain at the end of the revolutionary war. you know the witness of that document was? the witness of the document was the holy spirit. the question people have to ask themselves, we all grew up god and country. when did that stop being the rule? why did it stopping the role? how did he get so far? today, we take a look at issues from a political warfare perspective. this is not a political analysis, you get that from people better at that than me. we are not going to look at it theologically because it is not my area at all. but we are going to say, how would we define it? we're going to run with it. political warfare is the insurgency model. that is the dominant form that

occupies the united states right now. as relates to this discussion, what i want to point out is that one of the things that exists if , you read the books at colleges about critical race theory, you -- or intersectionality you read , too much. what we want to do is get people to understand it is much more simple. if you understood how simple it was you were notified back. -- you would know how to fight back. what is intersectionality? that is to take a value that is held in a culture and they are going to make up a phony term. then they will give the term every negative attribute they can come up with. that there focusing. so patriotic christians have now become christian nationalists and it will be defined negatively, the dewpoint will be in the media to collide the one with the other in what would be called in the language of

marxism. it is as simple as that. they create these intersectional lines of operation. black lives matter. what does that do? it attacks on race. lgbt says we demand you accept our metaphysical claim of gender over the scientifically verified fact in biology of facts. that is what this is all about. it is about intimidating people. they do not care they get their fellow travelers to say lgbtq and let their children go to a litter box in the school. they have one in their mind when they have got you two accepted by not doing anything about it -- got you to accept it by not doing anything about it. what i am going to do is instead of over engineering this, i am going to take things they have said. i'm going to focus on them, they are the leading voices on this. i want you to know how they define it in their own words. is that fair enough?

what i am going to do is i am going to go through the slides. fair enough? christian nationalism is an information campaign designed to synchronize with january 6 narratives. reading these twitter feeds, three things will emerge, one they say what they think, so you don't have to assess what they are saying at this level of analysis. two, they are broadcasting it openly through twitter and in the media. three, the little political warfare point as they are so confident that they are in charge, they are engaging in open communication. they are not worried because they are confident that you are -- even if you understood what they said was not right you're not going to know what they meant. here's one. i will let you read that, has to do with january 6.

and now we will move to the next one. it directly attacks american christians for being american christians. for being politically active. as such it is an attack on , identity. it denies your right to say you are an american, that you are a christian. lgbt says you are not allowed to call yourself a woman if you are a woman or man if you are a man. when you add up all of these intersectional lines of attack, they have destroyed your ability to call yourself a person. and that is the objective. so, christian nationalism is also designed to synchronize with the new york times 1619 project. the objective, to alienate and disenfranchise christians from their own history. you now have to take classes in a church to find out what your american history is anymore.

and your kids are being told something that gets them so spun up you cannot even talk to your kids. that is an outcome. whether directly or indirectly, the christian nationalism narrative is designed to tie into marxist critical race theory that identifies all american institutions as racist. of course these are their own words. the narrative is delegitimizing along christian lines. mr. roberts has powerful international clients. -- tie-ins. robert likens american christians to money changers at the temple. if i am going too fast, just say. the goal is to see what they are

saying in their own words. suggesting that christians who defend themselves and the institutions they created, their values and their way of life is unchristian for that reason. suggesting that christians do not have a right to defend themselves and their way of life. implying maybe that republican leadership is just as anxious and alienated from its own base as is the left. after all, it appears to have lincoln project guidance. -- tie-ins. we had to break this graphic into two. there is the one holiday ambassador and harry -- here he is with the lincoln project. and not just a little support from the white house.

the people who created the american republic are america's greatest threat. two america's republic. precisely because they do not want to make it a democratic, marxist republic. america's christian roots are being reduced to mythologies. a first step in delegitimizing a people's history. and disenfranchising them from it. remember the total separation , from you from your own identity. gaslighting the values of american christians based on assumptions that are turned into facts and declared erroneous. wash the weasel lit -- watch the weasel language they perceive that they do this but rest of

the sentence is perceived as a fact to attack you. appears to be on board from traditional christian ideals. to see the bottom of the attacks, the gaslighting campaigns -- do you see the bottom of the attacks, the gaslighting campaigns mothers nothing to them. accusations based on manufactured perceptions. they will do anything to win. clearly, americans christians are dangerously untethered. a clear indicator of downstream terrorism. this feeds into the narrative. going way back that we had many battles with. this is how the violent extremism narrative will come into play. it will not be used against bin laden as a iraq is designed to be used against you. simply paranoid and undone. that is you, is it not? take a look at yourself.

when christians mobilize politically to defend our constitution, it is described in covert terms. again, gas lighting. let the gaslighting campaign -- if the gas on campaign is not clear enough, beneath every christian nationalist, is a racist seeking to get revenge. i had to break this in two. so you can see the message was about a little child that wants to grow up and shoot people. that's just the message. i think it is important for you to get a sense of how these people communicate this in their own words. you can get a feel for it. you can easily say i was only talking about perceptions. maybe i will change my mind. what he is really saying, maybe

you have to abide game -- up my game. i would like to thank everybody for your time. i hope this was helpful. [applause] >> thank you. i know that you are thinking up -- of some questions so go ahead and write those questions down. i will give you means by which you can ask those questions when we get into our panel discussions. we are getting a lot of information and we will be unpacking that as we go through our evening. i want to give you the results of our poll question thus far. in terms of our question what is , christian nationalism? 74% say it is all of the above. 19% an attempt to intimidate christians who care about their country. 3% not certain. but definitely not what the left says that is. it is never what the left says it is. 3% said it is a creation of the media. now, in just a moment i will introduce our next speaker.

we are building up to this understanding why is this , happening? there is an outcome they want. i'm going to get a jump on it because i want to challenge you to take the pray, vote, stand pledge to pray for our nation, the upcoming election, pledged to vote your biblical values no -- and take the pledge to stand for biblical truth no matter what people say, no matter what they put on social media, no matter what label they assign to it, that you will stand for truth. i want you to put that slide back up there. all you need to do is text the word pledge. 202-748-8922 202-748-8903 202-748-8903 202-748-89202 -- take the pledge to pray, vote, stand. text the word pledge to devote your biblical values and to

stand for biblical truth. the family research council is blessed to have incredible board of directors led by our chairwoman michele bachmann. in addition to being a former congresswoman and presidential candidate michelle is in -- genuine prayer warrior committed to interceding for our nation. and for our leaders. last year, she took on a new assignment as the dean at regent university. we are grateful for the opportunity to partner tonight with the regent university for this special town hall event. regent university is an incredible education institution. i am thankful that they are dedicated to pursuing clarity and intellectual honesty.

and these issues that challenge us today. to help shine the light on the political intentions behind the term christian nationalism, please welcome to the stage, michelle bachmann. [applause] fmr. rep. bachmann: thank you. thank you so much for opening up this beautiful church that reminds me of an aspen ski lodge. every time i come here, it is so beautiful. i want to also thank mark davis hall who gave beautiful remarks. and what academia is saying about this issue. and also my very good friend, stephen. who gave me a lot of briefings when i was in the u.s. congress and understands deeper, beneath the service. he looks at people and what they say about issues. the reason we are here tonight is because some of us had noticed there was something happening in the culture and it

was aimed at all of you. it was aimed at the church. it was aimed at pastors. it was aimed at the church because the church has been doing something right. believers have been doing something right. the pastor of this church has taken on the whole counsel of god and preaches it freely and bravely from the pulpit. [applause] we want to see more of that. and that means the issues of the day in our own culture, whatever culture we live in, the bible has something to say about every issue. in every culture. this church has not been afraid, together with other pastors at other churches prior to elections or before elections or with no thought of elections,

they have been trying to preach what the word of god says. this is a good thing. too many pastors have been frightened into silence. they maybe didn't have a board of directors that would back them. they may be thought their congregants would not like it if they talked about the issues of the day. but when we do that, when the church goes silent, bad things happen. bad things happened in the 1930's when the church in europe went silent. when that church went silent, it took the young theologian, who saw what was happening in his own nation in germany and she -- he had to stand up within the lutheran church and stand for what is true and against the scapegoating that was coming against one particular group of people, the jewish people in germany. ultimately, he paid for his

advocacy with his life. which he happily did. happily i say because he wanted to be obedient before god. because he saw in his culture, he gave some of the most astounding messages to the clergy, telling them do not go silent. wake up. otherwise bad things are going to happen in germany and in europe. as we all know, the lights went out in europe. europe has never been the same since world war i and world war ii because the church went silent. it is highly consequential when the word of god is pervasive in the nation. like pastor gary said. that nation is blessed, whose god is the lord, when we preach that whole counsel, when the

people know, my people perish from lack of knowledge. what does a godly church do? they inform the faithful and they inspire the faithful to bring up biblical values into their lives, into their businesses, into their communities and the political life of the nation and that is how a nation can be a nation best serves the lord. because it understands the lord. it is not just behind these beautiful church doors. it is not meant for just these beautiful church doors. the values of the church are meant for the community, the nation, the public, for those who do not get understand that there is a loving god who has a plan for every person on this planet. that is why the church preaches.

[applause] and we have had so many wonderful churches. we had pastors and churches that woke up profoundly prior to the 2016 election. and they were preaching faithfully for almost 50 years about the issue of the value of the unborn. since the roe v. wade decision, the church understood what the bible said, that we are made in the image of holy god. pastors preached on that topic people came informed and they , understood and they voted their biblical values. because they voted biblical values, ultimately presidents , were elected who appointed supreme court justices, who now in this last year as we have seen in the dobbs decision issued a decree that the roe v. , wade decision after 50 years

of contending would be overturned. so now that decision goes to the 50 states. now it is no longer roe v. wade in the nation. [applause] that came about through prayer and because of faithful pastors who were preaching. we were very effective. i want to put up the first slide up. so effective were christians in going to the polls, that people who were spiritually active and governmentally engaged turned out in the 2016 election, when it was trump, they were not sure. they were very sure about hillary clinton. 91% of people who were spiritually active turned out and they gave a chance to donald trump in that election, primarily because of the supreme court appointments. if you notice, in 2016, 60% of the general public turned out.

91% or 9% of the american population got out and voted. because of that vote in we have 2016, the result of overturning roe v. wade this last year because of that election. in 2020, we saw again those who were spiritually active, governmentally engaged, turned out. 99% of those who are spiritually active, governmentally engaged turned down and voted in of that amount, 97% voted for donald trump. his vote totals went up with those who were spiritually active and governmentally engaged. and the national turnout was 67%. when that happens in 2016 there was a decision made by the progressive left that this would never happen again. they started this effort to come

against those that they saw were thwarting their plans to turn this nation into something more akin to mao, more akin to communism. they are trying to fundamentally transform the united states and throw out the traditional history and understanding of who we are. they are very intentional about this. this is very much a plan. they see that what is standing between them and victory is the church. the church and faithful pastors and believers who take biblical values into the voting booths. i want to show you a video clip. right now that demonstrates this. >> too much of what is happening in our country today is not normal. donald trump and the maga republicans represent an extremism.

that threatens the very foundations of our republic. i want to be very clear up front, not every republican are maga republicans. not everyone embraces their extreme ideology. i have been able to work with these mainstream republicans. but there is no question that the republican party today is dominated and intimidated by donald trump and the maga republicans. that is a threat to this country. fmr. rep. bachmann: this was specifically designed and done for the purpose of intimidation. the stage lighting and the marines that are stationed there. this is explicitly done to show intimidation, to use the word extremism. the epicenter of that is christian nationalism, saying that we do not think it is good for the nation. we don't think it is good, very

bizarre but we are the ones who , are called extremists. next click. >> in here in my view is what is true, maga republicans do not respect the constitution. they do not believe in the rule of law. they do not recognize the will of the people. they refuse to accept the results of a free election. they are working right now to give power to decide elections in america to partisans and cronies and empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself. maga forces are determined to take this country backwards. backwards to an america where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love. they promote authoritarian leaders and they fan the flames of political violence that are a

threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country. fmr. rep. bachmann: if you stand for natural marriage, you are an extremist. according to the president. if you stand for biological truth, you are an extremist to the president. if you stand for the rights of the unborn, you are an extremist to the president. it is a mental jiu-jitsu that they are trying to do. they are trying to exchange what extremism is and make those of us who believe in biblical values the extremists. one more clip. then we will move on. >> he has called trump and the extreme maga republicans a danger to our democracy. the threat to american democracy is real. i want to say it as clearly as we can. we are not powerless in the face

of these threats. we are not bystanders in this ongoing attack on democracy. there are far more americans from every background and belief who reject the extreme maga ideology. then those who accept it. fmr. rep. bachmann: he is creating a group of people that he calls maga republicans, but the other people are using the term christian nationalism. that is the epicenter of the people that they want everybody else to look at and scapegoat as the bad guy extremists. those who are standing up for biblical values. the rubber is meeting the road because these people have all the reins of power in washington dc and they want to continue holding onto that power. you think they don't mean this?

look at the fbi rates that have happened in the last few weeks. our fbi has been unleashed by the department of justice on who? pro-life fathers who have been praying at abortion clinics and singing at abortion clinics. and the fbi shows up with the body armor and knocking down the door and guns at little kids. this is for intimidation. that is why we have to wake up in the church and realize we cannot allow ourselves to be intimidated in this moment of time. [applause] that is what they're trying to do. if you put up the next slide, please, there is a brand-new book i read this weekend, i listen to on audible. i recommend this for every pastor to read this book. a letter to the american church.

the author is seeing what is going on in this country with this level of intimidation and is pleading with pastors, please do not go silent. please speak out. thank god cornerstone chapel is one of those churches. we need to pray there are more like that. with the next slide, this is a wonderful book that has been written by pastor jim. for those pastors who would like to be able to preach on these topics but do not know how, this book is meant for pastors to be well versed on what the scripture says about the issues of the day. i want to thank this church and i look forward to our conversation. thank you so much. [applause] >> thank you, michelle. any questions? that is why we are here. it is a town hall meeting.

how many will make a commitment that i will not be intimidated? [applause] i will not shrink back into the silence. i will not hide in the shadows. i will boldly speak and stand on the truth. i want you to encourage to pray, vote, stand. text the word pledge. those of you who are joining us from across the country, i challenge you as well to take the pledge to pray, vote, and stand. i am going to ask all of our speakers to come up. join me on the stage. please put up the qr code on the screen. so that you can join me up here. i think they are afraid we are going to play more videos of the president. it's ok. no more trigger warnings.

you can take a snapshot of the qr code, it will take you to a link and you can put your question in. we will be taking your questions here as we enter into our time of discussion. i am going to begin. i think i must've done something wrong. i am over here by myself. but that is ok. i am to everybody's right, so that is appropriate. good one. [laughter] i am going to start with pastor gary. we have heard from the academics how this term is being , used, white is being used. -- why it is being used. let's talk now about, as followers of jesus christ, as those who believe the bible is a guidebook for life, how should we as christians be responding? should we avoid conflict and go

away like they would like us to? >> what is so tragic about this is we are talking about terminology today. to be patriotic, they are conflating with this term that now makes everybody who just wants to be a christian who wants to vote your values appear to be extreme and appear to be somebody who is so far right that you should not have a voice. as christians, we need to know who we are in christ. we need to stand in that identity in christ. we need to continue to be people who espouse the principles of god's word. we have to get more tenderhearted and thick-skinned because people are going to try to intimidate you, they're going to try to accuse you. jesus said blessed men, for my

name's sake, greater reward in heaven. we have to keep the focus and remember we are serving the lord and what people say, let them say it. we want to ultimately glorify him. [applause] can i just add one thing? there is a clip that michelle did not play that struck me because i watched it live when the president gave the speech. at the very end, he talked about the soul of america. he mentioned the soul of america. it reminded me, sumwalt lambaste me -- some will lambaste me, but hitler talking about the soul of germany. he gathered the clergy in berlin and told them about how, with him in charge their subsidies would stay intact.

he was the one who stepped forward and said, we're not concerned for the church because jesus christ will take care of the church. what we are concerned about is the soul of germany. that is when hitler's said i , will take care of the soul of germany. it is the right, privilege, duty and responsibility in honor of the church of jesus christ to take care of the soul of america in the sense that we have the gospel, which is the only good news that heals the soul of america or any country. [applause] >> i want to go to you for a moment, stephen. michelle was talking about the church played a very influential role in the elections because we gathered together. when you have pastors who preach about the issues, christians act on that. but we see something happening,

it is not just the left that is marginalizing or using these labels. we see it coming from the media as well. there is an effort to cut off national discussion from certain segments of society. how do we deal with that and what is their ultimate objective? >> i think one of the things we are trying to build out is what we are seeing is not random. it is part of semantic marxism. discourse theory has a large explanation, but basically, it means we get to get up and say what we want. we get to turn off the microphone on you. it is a line of attack. we have to organize to push back the attack. i wrote something michelle said and i wanted to make sure i did

not forget it. michelle, i think it was right before president biden talked about maga conservatives are the most dangerous threat to america. i think the faux chair of the january 6 committee had her dad say the same thing. we do know, that when cheney said maga was the greatest threat to america we saw the , raid at mar-a-lago. we are looking at something a little more big than just the left. although that is an extremely bad thing. >> michelle, do you have thoughts on that? >> i would like to add to what steve was saying. i was actually at the capitol on january 6. i was there with a group of believers. we were on the lawn, praying that day. it was probably one of the happiest days. it was like a family reunion. it was like a picnic, people

were so happy. it was not angry, it was not violent. i remember distinctly thinking when i was there, that this was planned, this was insurgents. this is in real time. we were just praying for peace. we were just there praying for the nation. the nation was in an uproar. i distinctly remember thinking this was a branding exercise. we just had a very popular president get more votes in 2020 then he got in 2016. he got more votes. people went out and voted and his agenda was wildly popular. gasoline was $1.89. that was pretty popular. this was a rebranding exercise to label the president an insurrectionist.

it was meant to label his followers or supporters as insurrectionists. in the make america great again agenda, a terrorist agenda. that is what i was hearing from the president in his speech up there. this is continuing. this was not just a one off. that is how you knew january 6 was not random. this was intentional. we are seeing it still today. that is part of what we need to know from this tonight, just before, this is going to continue. they are not going to give up. when a prior president said we are going to fundamentally transform the united states of america, they meant it. it was not a political phrase. they wanted to transform and what they see standing between their goal to turn the country into completely different nation is believers. ,believers at the epicenter. because we will stand for something. something that is more important than politics. that is what the bible says.

we will stand for biblical values no matter what. [applause] >> i am going to go to some of our questions. dr. hall, i want to make a confession of my activity on january 6. i was in the office with mike pompeo with a group of pastors and we were praying for the nation. would that fit the definition of what the left is calling christian nationalism today? >> it might fit some definitions. i'm not sure exactly if it's the more academic definitions. this is a good thing to distinguish. i love what michelle said. as christians, we have an obligation to bring our faith into the public square. it starts with being typically -- biblically moral ourselves. it starts with sharing the

gospel. it starts with prayer. praying for the nation, for mike pompeo or our local bible study. what it does not involve is having the federal government force people to become christians. that is what the critics of christian nationalism would say christian nationalists want. i know almost no christian, i am sure you can find some out there that think the federal government should make christianity the official religion of the u.s. and punish people who do not follow christianity, but they are precious few. it is not 52% of the american population. praying for the countries not, christian nationalism. but they are stretching that term to suggest that anybody bringing faith into the public square is advocating for christian nationalism. it may not be the historic definition but it is how they are using it. let me go to some of these questions, and pass it to pastor gary. most of these are for you.

the first one is, why are you not wearing a tie? [laughter] >> first of all, michelle is not either. >> we still distinguish between the sexes here. i am the only sensible one. moving right along. >> how do we lovingly challenge pastors who we observe are shrinking back from important and polarizing social issues? i get this question often, sadly. i do not know how to lovingly do that. that is a keyword in your question. how do you lovingly do that? i'm not so sure jesus was loving when he called them hypocrites. >> he might have said it with a smile. >> i think it's time they need to get called out. it is going to take some courageous people to call them out.

[applause] i might add to that. if you have a pastor and you have prayed for him, then you pray for him first. then you talk with him, and if they continue to avoid the issues of our day in terms of applying scripture, then you need to find a church that preaches the whole counsel of god. [applause] >> but also, they can buy the book and buy the audible version of it. >> by the way, i have been texting him this week, we're trying to work out a date in november. >> it is such a good book for pastors. to give them the courage, why they should do it. >> i am going to throw this one out there for any of our panelists so that would like to handle this one. how do we handle our adult children who are so swayed by this woke agenda?

great question. do you want to answer? who wants to take it? >> i have five kids and none of them are swayed by the woke agenda. it started in the cradle. >> trained them up when they are young. >> there is a lot of truth in that. a worldview is formed between 13 months and 13 years. as parents we need to be intentional about teaching our children not bible stories but biblical truths. why do you think the left once -- wants early childhood education? they want to give them this liberal ideology that would steer them away from truth so we have to be intentional about that. and not be afraid to have these conversations with our children. i am more concerned about my children's eternal destination than i am about their current

pleasure and their desire to feel comfortable in this world. we need to be challenge in our -- challenging our children just like we would challenge our pastors to live by and speak the truth. if i am called a christian nationalist, how should i respond? dr. hall, i will give that one to you. >> i think a good approach would be to say what you mean by christian nationalist? if someone is accusing you, they might say things like, well, that means you are racist or sexist or militarist. you can say, what happens -- what actions have i done, what words have i said that would give you reasons to believe i am many of those? hopefully it will fall apart. it might come back, you are a christian who brings your faith into the public square. you argue for the protection of innocent human life. you can say, yes that is true. i am a christian who argues for

moral policies. let me add, it is funny, even the critics do not say no one can bring their faith into the public square. they explicitly praise civil rights movements. the civil rights leaders. martin luther king jr.. if you bring your faith into the public square to argue for something that the left or right likes, that is appropriate. it's only if you bring your faith into the public square to argue for the sanctity of all human life that you are christian nationalist. we can discuss the issues instead of debating a label. >> that is really good advice. jesus would often ask questions when he was challenged with something to get to the heart of the matter. it exposes what they are saying and what they are doing. it's good advice. michelle i will go to you. how do we inspire christians to vote, who feel their vote will not count as they see elections

as being rigged? >> i think the main thing is, we always -- whatever we do in my life, we are doing it for an audience of one. that is the lord. so, no matter what, we need to know that we have voted in a way that will honor him. to me, that is also part of the we live our life. it's part of the way we worship god. how do we conduct ourselves? the vote is part of it. just from a political point of view, you cannot believe the number of races that are decided, literally by one vote. by one vote. you not think so but actually, it happens. for instance in 2020, in arizona, it was 10,000 votes separated biden from trump. something of that same number in georgia. we can argue. i know. >> in virginia, eight years ago,

maybe a bit longer, the control of the legislature was decided by one vote. >> that is right. in virginia. are we not glad that we showed up and voted for the governor in the state of virginia? glenn youngkin. what a great choice. [applause] >> let me add to that. there's a lot of people who are feeling that their vote doesn't count. there were not a lot of irregularities in the last election. you have about 19 states, bumping up towards two dozen states that have passed election reform measures. they have been working the last two years to address these issues. the other thing we need to do, this is why we are doing the pledge, challenging people to pray, vote and stand, you have to overwhelm them and know there's probably going to be cheating on the other side. but we're going to show up in numbers, that it doesn't matter if they steal a few votes or so.

we're going to show up and legally win these races, by being concerned and being engaged as american citizens. >> one thing i would like to mention, we completed, for the second year in a row 40 days of a prayer and fasting at the robertson school of government. we believe in the power of prayer. we completed it. i read that today, the supreme court overturned pennsylvania's supreme court ruling, so that now errors on the ballot will not be counted. that was part of the rigged election last time where they counted ballots that they should not have. the u.s. supreme court ruled today that that is not going to happen. that's a huge victory. i want to urge everyone to pray. pray yourself or get a few people together and just test got on this. pray. see what he will do. >> just a note on that.

a gubernatorial candidate in pennsylvania, doug mastriano, called his supporters to 40 days of prayer and fasting. the media use that as evidence that he is a nationalist. look it up. that is what we are talking about. that is why we cannot shrink back from these labels that are being assigned. dr. hall, i will go to you. you touched on this in your remarks. this comes from one of our viewers. the term christian was originally derogatory in the bible. can we not adopt the term christian nationalism and use it for good? >> you take it first, and i will let stephen hit it. >> i kind of think when you have a term created for the purpose of attacking you, that it doesn't become real until you

respond to it. once you respond your captured. everything from that moment forward, there is a methodology involved, it is not just an opinion. the minute you respond to critical race theory, that is all you're talking about. now it is a serious offense where the entire narrative, does not nip your rights have a defense. recognize it is campaign to delegitimize you. now you are managing the defeat. >> i think it is prudent. some of the people attempting to do this, solid christians, academics saying we should claim this label. it is not prayed it has not historically been our label. it is so polluted that let's just let it be.

we're christians engaging in politics, we are advocating for liberty, justice for all. for all americans, not just christians. we just are not christian nationalists and were not interested in being called christian nationalists. >> i want to go back to something you're talking about with critical race theory. stephen,, from the standpoint of critical race theory and how that has mobilized a lot of americans because they realized what their children were being indoctrinated with. in virginia, it's the epicenter of the battle over public education. you are not saying we should not educate ourselves on what the left is doing with this term christian nationalism, we should not adopt or labeling, just as we would not adopt crt as a good curriculum for our children? >> i think he would say, if i respond by saying, i am not a racist in critical race theory,

now you are on the defense. it takes time to figure out how to maneuver the space, but the other way of saying it, critical race theory is an attack narrative, we will not engage in that. i'll tell you why, it comes from the source, the source exist to delillo geminis -- to delegitimize and you build on that. the phrase that is used in that type of intersectionality attack is reified critical race theory meant nothing when they wrote about it. it only meant something when you responded, then the game was on. but now you are on quicksand. can you win? maybe, but you're in quicksand and they are not. they just made it up. if they lose they will go home for a year and come back with a new phrase. it will be the same attack. >> right. dr. hall, as the historian on the stage, this question is for

you. was the old russian empire christian nationalist where the state, -- where the state was the church and the church was the state, what happened to the church in russia? >> this is a fascinating question. i'll be involved in a couple of panels over the next couple of months, where we are inviting scholars from places like hungary and poland, the czech republic, england, france to talk about christian nationalism in those countries. is it similar to america? is it different? can it be a force for good? i have to admit i am skeptical that it can be a force for good, especially given the history of the term over the last 15, 16 years, where it has only been used as something critical of christians who bring their faith into the public square. i am not optimistic but i'm

interested to learn more. my sense in russia, you have a dangerous conflation of church and state in a way that is unhealthy. we have seen the russian war machine as it goes into combat. it's troubling. i hope it is troubling to all of us. >> we want to be clear. we are talking about being christians in america, our first allegiance is to the kingdom of god. but we are proud to be americans. i am proud to be in a country where we have freedom. i know many in here have served our nation and our military, or law enforcement. that's nothing to be ashamed of. we want the separation of church and state. we don't want the state meddling in the church's business which is where the origin of the phrase came from. we will not shrink back about bringing back our faith and engaging the public square. we cannot check our faith at the door until we are.

that ultimately is what the left desires for us to do. to disengage and to allow their values to dominate the discussion. i want to thank you all for being here. we have many questions but we will bring our time to a close tonight. as we do, i will ask our panelists a parting thought as we conclude this evening. then, we will close our time in prayer. i will begin with you, michelle. if you could give us your parting thoughts. >> christian nationalism is a pejorative term, a negative term. we need to understand that. we need to know that they are specific they are going after pastors, to encourage them to not have fourth of july services, do not honor and recognize veterans, do not have things about america or america's founding in your country. this is happening at pastors conferences. so this is happening right now.

that is why pastors need encouragement from congregants. it's why i am recommending this book. we need to encourage our pastors to realize, america has a wonderful history, a unique, godly history. we need to be proud of it and shared with the next generation. >> stephen? >> i think what we are living in is the liquefied reality. there's been an effort to get you to be confused about everything. in that state of being confused, the marxists call that a demoralization campaign. people feel demoralized. it's only a perception. you're allowing that to govern how you feel. i think that christian nationalism as an attack on your identity. it seeks to destroy your identity along with other things. at a certain point, there is a patch for the army basic

training. it says, this we will defend. sometimes you have to take your guide off and say this we will defend. >> amen. very good. [applause] >> dr. hall? >> i critique this notion that 52% of americans embrace sexism, militarism and racism. i know -- i do not mean to suggest that racism is still a program i -- problem in america today, that we have other problems such as poverty. we as christians should be first in foremost in addressing these in the lives of our churches, communities. many of these problems are best addressed without political institutions, their churches and voluntary organizations and that sort of thing. to the extent that government

should be addressing these problems. christians must have a voice. we must be active in the public square advocating for peace, justice, liberty, quality, for all americans. -- equality for all americans. [applause] >> to our wonderful host, pastor gary, your parting thoughts? >> a lot of this is a war on words. there's another term that is linked with christian nationalism, that is demeaning is -- dominonist. we know jesus is going to come again. when the millennial kingdom is the established -- establish there will be one true king and we will worship jesus. until that happens, all we are saying is christians, be aware of the war on words. know what these terms mean. just live your life serving and loving jesus, wanting other

people to know jesus. and express your values and let these principles that are governed and guided by god's word to be influenced in the world. so the world influencing you. until that day when jesus comes again, we are to be salt and light. be that salt and light to this dark and tasteless word -- world. >> amen. [applause] >> well, when he is king of kings there will be no elections or ballot stuffing. it is a done deal. he will be king of kings and the lord of lords. i want to thank each of you for being part of this tonight. i want to thank regent university. michelle,, pastor gary thank you for hosting us. dr. hall thank you for being here tonight. i want to thank you for joining

us across the nation online and for being a cornerstone, and for being a wonderful town hall gathering for us to discuss what i think is an extremely important issue, knowing how we should address it as we go forward. let's close our time together in prayer. let's stand together, and let's go to the lord. father, we thank you for our time here together tonight. lord, i pray that there will be a resolve that will come across your people. lord, we would not in any form or fashion deny you. but, we would live our lives in such a way that we would impact world around us. with your truth and love. lord i pray that you would guard our hearts against any anger or earnest towards those who would attack and assign labels, try to drive us from our citizenship and participation in this country. may we love them, as you have commanded us to do.

loving them does not mean we affirm what they do. lord, we love them because they are created in your image and they are worthy of love because they bear your image. lord, we pray for revival in the church in america and an awakening in our culture and return to truth. we pray that america would again be a nation that is blessed by you, because we obey you. we pray and we ask this in jesus's name. amen. good night everyone. [applause] ♪ >> coming up tonight on c-span, david barker, presents the 118th congress and prospects for divided government. at the american enterprise institute, he talks about his

upcoming book. after that we will show you new messages from the british prime minister and the russian president. later, at -- testifying on toxic exposure legislation. >> the new 118th congress convenes on tuesday at noon eastern, for the first time in two years they will return to washington is a divided government. republicans will control the house of representatives, while democrats regain the senate. the new incoming members are younger with an average age of 47 compared to the average age of 58 in the previous session. the new congress will be more diverse with a record number of women serving including more women of color. following the process, as it gaveled into section, for the newspeak of the house and new members take the oath of office. new congress, new leaders.

watch the opening day, tuesday at noon eastern, live on c-span and c-span2, also on c-span now, our free mobile video app, or online on c-span.org. >> house repns have released the rulkage for the 118th con according to an article by the , house gop leader, kevin in the package including assions motion to vacate the chair which will focus -- force a vote on removi the house speaker. to f a no-confidence vote in eir leader. oposed changes include the proxyoting, virtual or hybrid hearing, the requirement that all bills be posted 72 hours before final vote and the on of a special panel to investigate weaponizati the federal government. leader mccarthy needs aajity fall votes voting for speaker on opening day tme elected.

a vote on the package wl take place only after the house alexis speaker. for more information you can to the house rules committee at rules >> c-span announcer free mobile featuring your unfiltered view of what's happening in washington, live and on-demand. keep up with live floor proceedings and hearings for u.s. congress, white house events, campaigns and more for the world of politics. all at your fingertips. and also the latest episodes of washington journal and find scheduling information for c-span's tv networks and c-span radio, plus the variety of the podcast. c-span now is available at the apple store and google play, downloaded for free today. c-span now, your front row seat to washington, anytime, anywhere.

>> c-span is your unfiltered view of government, funded by these television companies and more, including charter communications. >> broadband is a force for empowerment, that's why charter has invested billions tilting infrastructure, upgrading technology, empowering opportunity in communities big and small. charter is connecting us. >> charter communications support c-span is a public service along with these other television providers, giving a front row seat to democracy. ur conversation now on the 118th congress, we are joined by david harper, center of congressional and presidential studies, and they seem to be two schools of thought about the productivity of congress. some view it as a recipe for gridlock and others see it as a dynamic that offers