By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
On Friday, August 28, conservative talk radio and cable TV host, Glenn Beck will be in Birmingham as part of an effort to raise money to help persecuted Christian families in the Middle East, where ISIS has brutalized, imprisoned, enslaved, and murdered the Christian minorities in Syria, Iraq, and Libya.
Beck said on his show, “A genocide is going on now and we all know it. The pictures are on the web, yet we turn our eyes. We must be brave enough to look, and Christian enough to act. God specifically tells us: When you happen on someone who’s in trouble or needs help . . . don’t look the other way pretending you don’t see him – don’t keep a tight grip on your purse. No. Look at him; open your purse; lend whatever and as much as he needs. . . . Give freely and spontaneously. Don’t have a stingy heart. The way you handle matters like this triggers God’s blessing in everything you do – all your work and ventures.
First they came for the Coptic Christians but I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t Coptic. Then they came for the Homosexual and stoned them to death, but I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t homosexual. Then they sold the Kurdish women and children in to slavery but I wasn’t a 9 year old Kurd so I didn’t say anything. Then they came for the Muslim who wasn’t Muslim enough and the Christian that wouldn’t convert but I didn’t say anything because I didn’t think it involved me and I didn’t think I could do anything anyway. Eventually they will come for you, and there will be no one left to speak out for you. Not to speak is to speak, not to stand is to stand. God will not hold us blameless.
Evil exists. But so does God. As the sky grows darker, it is only then that we can see the stars that begin to shine. We must be those pinholes of light and as others begin to join us, the sky will grow bright and it will be those very stars that are in fixed positions of stability that will guide all those lost in the darkness to safety. The world may tell you that it is foolish to stand for things that are right and just, that you are too weak but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise: and He has chosen the weak to confound those things that are mighty.
Let us develop a dangerous unselfishness. Let us be the new righteous among the nations, those who declare themselves free of all men, yet make themselves servants unto all, that they might gain the more. Let us be the next Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Fredrick Douglas, Booker T. Washington, Hilda Solis, Nelson Mandela, Oskar Schindler. All giants that had nothing more than you. Just a willingness to stand against injustice and bend the arc of History. We are those that have been called for this time. This could have happened in any other generation, but it didn’t; it happened in ours. It happened now, and We can be the civil rights leaders of this generation. It will take dedication, hard work, and perseverance on our part – it will require actually living by the teachings of faith that so many of us so casually profess. But we will not give up and we will not give in to hopelessness or hate.”
Beck continued, “Where there is true hatred, murder, corruption, power and evil, it will not be tossed aside easily. We fight not against flesh and bone, but principalities. Nevertheless, we will stand against them. Whenever you take a stand for truth and justice, you are liable to scorn. Often you will be called an impractical idealist or a dangerous radical. It might even mean physical death. But if physical death is the price that some must pay to free their children from a permanent life of spiritual death, than nothing could be more Christian. We should not worry about persecution. We should expect it because we know that is what happens when any individual stands for a great principle, for a great principle – a great truth – is often unpopular. We will be troubled at every side but not distressed, we will be perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken; cast down but not destroyed.
I will not silently sit by as others redefine bravery as Caitlyn Jenner while a Father in Erbil watches his children slaughtered in front of him because his children would not deny Christ. I will not pretend that free on demand abortions constitute a war on women while women are murdered in cold blood by their own families in so called honor killings here in our own country. There are many things to fix in America and racism, sexism and injustice does exist here, but we must recognize how grotesque we have become in our cry of ‘injustice’. We are a country who has lost not only its way, but history will show we have lost our mind. When finger guns constitute a class three look alike weapon in schools, while children are being slaughtered in schools by Isis, when teachers can take their students to porn stores for a field trip and parents are told that they need to embrace this, when people claim there are 82 genders when God created two and some now are arguing for transableism – the person who feels they were born handicapped but were born in a fully able body and so they want the medical system to remove a limb, our society has gone over the edge of no return. I am announcing today that I am a community organizer of sorts and I would like you to join me. We are going to start with the clearest injustice on the planet today. One that will bring us together and something we can all unite on. This is something that our houses of worship should be leading on, but far too many are silent. It is time we turn the tables over and chase the money changers out of the churches and hold the arms up of those brave enough to say the things that need to be said.”
Beck said, “I am not a preacher, but I am going to be starting a tour of churches this summer. We are going to begin to shake ourselves awake and we will begin with the pulpits. God is not dead, but many of his pulpits are. I will be speaking at churches where the pastors can be trusted to say the difficult things. Places were pastors know what time it is and will sleep no more. NEVER AGAIN IS NOW. Our faith requires us to put our Christian belief into action. Together we will wake the most powerful force on earth — the people of God, together we can be an army of good. I am beginning where Martin Luther King began — in Birmingham, Alabama. Guiding Light Church in Birmingham, Alabama is just down the street from the building where MLK began his historic stand against Bull Connor. Bishop James Lowe is a brave and outspoken man. We may not agree on everything, but He and his congregation are unafraid and have welcomed us for the anniversary of Restoring Honor and Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech. Friday August 28th.”
Beck said, “The genocide perpetrated by the psychotic killers named ISIS must stop. So the first thing we are doing is raising money to help those innocents in the Middle East. I hope to be traveling to the Middle East in the next two or three months with a plane load of aid and my cameras to bring home the story of the children who are standing up against the evil of Isis. I may ask you to join me as we bring aid and comfort to those most in need. I would ask for your donation to help us in this goal of raising $2 million dollars in relief. We will also ask some of your churches around the country to take this money and actually fill the boxes and the planes. We will be asking your children to write letters to children in refugee camps so they know that America has not forgotten them.”
Beck said, “We must understand that we are now David and Goliath has all the power. I am asking you to be a man or woman of merit. Of honor, courage, love and discipline. It is an honor to have been born at this time. It is by the grace of God that he has allowed such a flawed man as me to have this platform and get to know you everyday. I don’t know how this all works, nor do I know where it all ends, but I do know it is a journey I must take and if we refuse to ask if God is on our side, but instead ask if we are on His side, Americans will again change the world with Malice toward none and charity for all.”
Beck said that this event was influenced by God, “For about five years, I’ve known what I’m now beginning, not wanted to do it, argued all the way—you’ve got the wrong guy, all of it. He doesn’t listen to me. At one point probably a year ago, probably last summer, I knew what we were going to be doing. It was like heavy on me. I said to Him finally, you’ve got the wrong guy. I don’t have the resources to do this. I don’t have the connections to do this. I’m a stupid TV guy. That’s what I do. You’ve got the wrong guy. You know what he said to me? Because we have kind of a contentious relationship. He said to me—in all due respect, this is literally what I heard: Sit down and shut up. I’m like well, that’s not helpful. I don’t know how that helps because I know you have me doing these things, but I can’t put them together because I don’t have any of the resources. You’re showing me things, and then you’re not giving me the ability to—shut up and sit down. There are others. Okay, so where are the other people? So, a year ago, shut up and sit down. This preacher comes, and I’m speaking. He’s from Birmingham, Alabama. I know I’m starting this event. I don’t know where to start it. I don’t know what’s going on, but I know it’s going to be big. This preacher is sitting there. I don’t know he’s a preacher, don’t know anything about him. He’s about the fifth row back. He’s about where you are. I’m talking, and I’m doing this whole thing. I keep looking at him. And God is like you’ve got to talk to him. By the end, I think I’m doing all the whole speech just to him, okay? God wouldn’t leave me alone. Everybody leaves. He’s gone. There’s about 500 people. I said to one of the guys on my staff, “There was a guy in about the fifth row.” He said, “Right, the African-American guy?” I said, “Did you feel something too?” He’s like, “Oh my gosh, yeah.” “God is telling me I’ve got to talk to him.” I go out, we find him, and I said to him I don’t know what we’re supposed to meet for, but we’re supposed to talk. Now, this happens to be the preacher, the bishop at this church, this black gospel church in Birmingham, Alabama. He said it’s funny because God told me I was supposed to write you a letter last Monday. He said I didn’t know I was coming here, so I wrote you a letter because I’m supposed to do something with you, but I don’t what it is. I said well pastor, the only thing I know is I’m starting this thing. At that time we both just kind of sat back, and he said I’m willing to do it. I said ooh boy, having me in a black church in Birmingham, Alabama, that’s not going to be popular. He said God sure tells me that’s what should be done. I said well, me too. If you’re in, I’m in. Now, I don’t have all the resources, God. Now, I say yes to him, and I immediately think that’s a 1,600-seat church. There’s only 1,600 seats. I say this on the air, do you know how many people are going to come, God? You know how many people are going to come? Sixteen hundred, much more than that. He calls me up the next day, and he said Glenn, the mayor has called. The city has called. They’re thinking now about possibly just giving you the stadium because so many calls are coming in. They’ve already talked about blocking the streets, because I’m thinking to myself, I see in my mind what God has planned, there’s a march, and there’s a march in Birmingham, Alabama, but I don’t have any of those resources to do that. All of a sudden, they’re talking now about possibly blocking off the streets in case you want to do a march. Oh, and there’s 22 acres over here where people can gather, and you can do something on this 22 acres. I didn’t have any of the ability. So, what I would say to you is we have to unite. We have to re—read Acts 2. We have to unite, be of one heart, of one mind, know exactly who we are, and then sit down and shut up because the Lord is going to use each of us in His own way at His time.”
