October 27, 2026 · 49:48

("Best-of" Edition from 2/6) Stephen McDowell, President and Co-Founder of The Providence Foundation, steps into “The Corner.”

Parental Rights & EducationPolitics & PolicyBible & Theology

Show notes

How can eternal hope shape the way we live today? In this episode, Abraham Hamilton III unpacks Philippians 1 and the Apostle Paul’s desire to see Christ exalted in every circumstance. Then Steven McDowell joins the conversation to discuss biblical worldview, parents’ role in education, and the film Educated for Liberty.

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Transcribed with OpenAI Whisper (base.en). Timestamps are approximate. Lightly cleaned for readability; quotations from on-air callers may include filler words. Use the audio player above for the authoritative recording.

0:00Darkness is not an affirmative force.
0:02It simply reoccupies the space vacated by the light.
0:06This is the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio.
0:10It should be uncomfortable for a believer to live as a hypocrite.
0:15Delivery people out of the bondage of mainstream media.
0:18And the philosophies of this world.
0:20God has called you and me to be his ambassador.
0:24Even in this dark moment.
0:26Let's not miss our moment.
0:28And now, the Hamilton Corner.
0:33Good evening, everyone.
0:34Welcome to the Hamilton Corner.
0:35My name is Abraham Hamilton, the third host of the program
0:38joined by Purdue's extraordinaire,
0:41often imitated, never duplicated the real J. Mac.
0:45Ladies and gentlemen, we are ready to rock and roll
0:48with today's edition of the program.
0:51At this very moment, many of you, if not most of you,
0:53are making your transition from your part-time jobs,
0:56where you generate an income to your full-time jobs,
0:59where you cultivate an outcome.
1:00And as you do so, I want to remind you to do it with intentionality, understanding the
1:05promise that God places on family and allowing that to govern, guided, instruct, instruct our
1:11engagement.
1:12You know, before coming on, Jeff and I were talking about being grateful and how it's
1:19circumstances, small things sometimes can remind us of our need to be grateful, certain
1:24things we take, you know, for granted, you know, my own family.
1:28We have in a little situation with hot water and all following the ice storm we just had,
1:33but it's easy to take for granted small things like turning on your faucet and having hot water
1:40to come out and forgetting that man, that's a blessing from God.
1:46I want to have a conversation with us this morning from Philippians, sorry, this evening,
1:52Philippians chapter 1 verses 15 through 24 and there's a sometimes an expression
2:00that's offered and I know what people mean when they say this. They're so
2:04heavily minded that you know earthly good you know and in the truth is for a
2:09person who is properly heavily minded that person will be maximally good in the
2:18earth because it is the reality of the eternal hope, the blessed hope that really provides
2:26outsized and appropriate meaning to the time we get to live in the here and now. So we're going to
2:31get into that in a moment. But as you are making your transition to your full time jobs, and I'm
2:38describing it that way intentionally because outcome cultivation is the obligation and opportunity
2:43of every believer. And we need to truly have a radical recalibration of our mindsets,
2:49concerning what it is God gives us the opportunity, opportunities to participate in and to be a part of.
2:56You know, so in Philippians chapter 1 you're going to see from the text the Apostle Paul is
3:00writing, he's incarcerated at the time, and he's writing to the church at Philippi, and the text will
3:06bear will demonstrate that he's keenly aware that his natural life may be ending, you know,
3:14and he has some things to share with us inspired by the Spirit of God. And I truly commend this
3:22to you for your consideration and to also ponder how might the truths conveyed from this scripture
3:29inform your lives. How should you respond in light of the
3:36truth contained here? So Philippians chapter 1 verses 15 to 24
3:39and read it first all the way through then kind of dig into it
3:42a bit. The Apostle Paul is writing and he says this,
3:45some to be sure are preaching Christ even from envy and strife
3:50but some also from good will. The latter do it out of love
3:55knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. The
3:59former proclaimed Christ out of selfish ambition, rather than from pure motives.
4:05Thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.
4:10What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth,
4:17Christ is proclaimed. And in this I rejoice.
4:24Yes. And I will rejoice for I know that this will turn out for my
4:31deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
4:37according to my earnest expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in anything but that
4:44with all boldness Christ will even now as always be exalted in my body whether by life
4:54or by death, for to me to live as Christ and to die as gain.
5:03But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me,
5:08and I do not know which to choose.
5:11But I am hard pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart
5:19and be with Christ, for that is very much better,
5:23yet to remain on and the flesh is more necessary for your sake."
5:29Oh man, Lord thank you for your word.
5:34So the Apostle Paul is writing and he's confronting people who are proclaiming the gospel with false
5:42motivations and some who are doing it genuinely, but the point of Paul's rejoicing is that Christ
5:48is being proclaimed.
5:51goes on to say in verse 19, for I know that this will work out for my deliverance. Now,
5:59most people, when you point out or would say to a person who was incarcerated, that the
6:06Lord God is at work, the Lord is making himself known through his people, and that there is
6:12a direct application to how it will work out for my benefit, for my deliverance, that incarcerated
6:18person might immediately conflict that the deliverance of the Lord will come through what? What would
6:23you expect? You would expect? Well, he surely delivers means I'm getting out of jail. I'm getting
6:31out. But that's not what Paul says at all. Paul's concept of the circumstances that he is in
6:40at the time he is addressing the church at Philippi and that the Lord's work will work out for his
6:46deliverance, he explains what his deliverance is and even adds a personal
6:51investment in his own deliverance. He says, I know that this will turn out from our
6:55deliverance through your prayers, right? The prayers are the same. So what are the
6:59same as praying for? Release him from jail? That's not what Paul is talking
7:06about guys. I know that it's just turned out from our deliverance through your
7:10prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Verse 20, according to my
7:16I earnest expectation.
7:17The people of God are praying.
7:19The Spirit of God is at work on Paul's behalf.
7:23And Paul has an earnest expectation and a hope
7:26based on all of those things coalescing together.
7:30The prayer of the saints, the Spirit of the Lord
7:33and His own expectation and hope.
7:35What is that expectation and hope?
7:37What is his expected deliverance from the Lord?
7:40That he will not be put to shame in anything,
7:42but that with all boldness,
7:45Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body.
7:56Hmm, Paul is saying that the circumstances that work out
8:00for his deliverance following the prayers of the saints,
8:03the work of the Spirit of God.
8:05And according to his earnest expectation and hope,
8:07is that he would not be put to shame,
8:08how is he not be shamed?
8:10That Christ, even in these circumstances,
8:13will be exalted in his natural, temporal, physical,
8:17life engagement, then he adds this, whether by life or by death.
8:24Guys, Paul is saying that his deliverance and his expectation
8:30that will result in him not being shamed is that even in these circumstances,
8:34where he's incarcerated, he ultimately faces martyrdom via execution at the hands of Nero,
8:39his earnest expectation is that Christ will be exalted in his body.
8:44Oh, brethren, that that would be our greatest desire, that our earnest expectation and our
8:53hope would be that Christ would be exalted in us and through us, in the lives that we live,
9:00or even if that life requires us to lay down our lives, that Christ would be exalted.
9:08Then He goes on to state a familiar and somewhat popular passage of scripture for to me to live
9:14is Christ, but the die is gained. Then he offers this, but if I am to live on in the flesh,
9:23this will mean fruitful labor for me. To live on in the flesh will mean fruitful labor for
9:31me. This concept of fruitful labor for Paul put him in a position where he didn't know
9:37what to choose. This is what the text says. Look at verse 23 in Philippians chapter 1.
9:42He says, I'm hard pressed from both directions. Having the desire to depart, I want to be with
9:47Jesus in the tangible presence of my Lord. And he says, for that is very much better, but
9:54to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. And I don't know which to choose. There
10:00is no one who will ever be able to persuade me that Paul was confused as to what was the
10:05better circumstance for himself. Being in the tangible presence of Jesus in heaven or to
10:11be on earth. Well, you still have to do things like, you know, sweat, to do things, you know,
10:18No, no one will be able to convince me that Paul is confused.
10:21Well, what is this tension that Paul is expressing
10:23that he doesn't know which to choose?
10:24The tension that he is expressing is the tension
10:28that flows from him, loving his Lord, so much so
10:32that he loves the Lord's purpose for him.
10:36This idea being so heavenly minded
10:38that you're not earthly good is actually a misnomer
10:40for those who are appropriately heavenly minded.
10:43Having this blessed hope, this earnest eternal expectation
10:47gives appropriate and necessary significance to our engagement in the here and now. Remember
10:53Acts 17, for he has determined before time the boundaries of our habitations and the times
10:58in which we live. Why? So that men should seek God.
11:02Brothers and sisters, God is ordained for you and me to be alive right now in the 21st century.
11:09He's not surprised by all of the craziness that is happening in our world, the sexual confusion,
11:15the trans insanity, you know, the current cultivation
11:19and stoking the flames of lawlessness that's happening,
11:21like in Minnesota and other places.
11:23God knows about all of that,
11:24but He's ordained you and me for this moment.
11:28If we love the Lord, as we say we love the Lord,
11:30we simultaneously will love His purposes for us,
11:34that we would have a similar disposition,
11:36like the Apostle Paul.
11:38Yes Lord, I want to be in your tangible presence.
11:40I likewise want to be all that you call me to be.
11:43I likewise want to fulfill all that you call me to fulfill.
11:46And because I had this blessed hope that I want to be able to stand at the judgment seat of Christ
11:51and have a triumphal entry into the eternal state that as the quality of my life as a believer is
11:55evaluated to determine whether or not my life consists of wood or hay or stubble or whether or not
12:02it consists of precious stone eternal investment that I want to stand before you in that stage
12:11At that time, being able to lift up holy hands and to glorify your holy name, because like
12:21the Apostle Paul said, I have fought the good fight.
12:24I have finished my race.
12:26I have finished my course and I have kept the faith.
12:29This idea of being heavenly minded, so heavenly minded that you are of no earthly good is a
12:34misnomer biblically.
12:37Now we understand the realities, you know, living in the earth where sin and the evidence
12:41of the fall are all around us where, you know, we read about Daniel and his friends in the
12:46book of Daniel, though they were Yaled when they entered Babylon during their Babylonian
12:51exile. Yaled meaning that there were miners, there were boys when they arrived in Babylon.
12:58But they had a time prior to being in Babylon. Well, we in many ways are living in in a modern
13:06day Babylon, and nevertheless called to be faithful to the Lord. I simply want to encourage
13:11you and to challenge you. What will you do with the moment that God has ordained for you? What will I
13:17do with the moment that God has ordained for me? If we love the Lord as much as we say we love the
13:23Lord, that love should be evident in how we live our lives. What is our personal true life definition
13:32of success? How do we evaluate whether or not we're living the quote unquote good life? Our challenge
13:38that we shouldn't seek to live the good life,
13:41we should seek to live the abundant life.
13:43What is the abundant life?
13:44Is the abundant life made evident by the quantity
13:48of consumerism that we enjoy?
13:50The accumulation of material possessions?
13:53The number of vacations that we take?
13:55Or is the abundant life reflected in us living lives
14:00given wholly fulfilling our Lord's purpose?
14:04It's not that the Lord doesn't want us to enjoy life.
14:06He gave us bodies that require fuel,
14:08And then he gave us an incentive to fuel our bodies
14:11by giving us taste buds.
14:12What we can distinguish, vanilla ice cream from mashed potatoes.
14:17But my challenge and my encouragement
14:21is to ascribe towards a life disposition
14:24similar to the Apostle Paul.
14:26To what we mature to the place,
14:28what Paul says I know is far better
14:29to be in the presence of our Lord.
14:32But because he's ordained me to serve his purposes
14:34in his time, man, I don't know which to choose.
14:39God has ordained you and me for this moment guys,
14:41By his divine providence, we have been made a citizen of the greatest nation in the history
14:47of this world.
14:49Our engagement is for our king.
14:53Because our king has deposited us here, we are invested to be salt and light in the time
14:57and the land we use to deposit it to us.
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15:53That's 877-616-2396.
15:58Shining light into the darkness,
16:07this is the Hamilton Corner,
16:08an American family radio.
16:10Welcome back to the Hamilton Corner, Abraham Hamilton III here.
16:13I am just delighted to have on the program with me a brother in Christ a shepherd in the Lord's
16:21Body, you know, I view him as a general frankly in the Lord's army
16:26It's a brother who is the president and co-founder of the Providence Foundation
16:31He's led the Providence Foundation for 42 years in counting. I learned that
16:36He's trained people from 100 countries to apply biblical truth in all spheres of life
16:41He's traveled to 45 nations and six continents where he's consulted with government officials,
16:46assisted in writing political documents, advised political parties, and started Christian schools
16:50and biblical worldview training centers.
16:52He's authored and co-authored over 40 books, videos, and training courses, and his books
16:57and writings have been translated into 18 languages and distributed to more than one million people.
17:02He holds a master's degree in geophysics, which I just learned, and he also has served as
17:07as a pastor for several years prior to founding the Providence Foundation.
17:14He's been an adjunct professor at Regent University and he and his wife live in Charlottesville,
17:19Virginia, where they have four children and 10 grandchildren.
17:21My guest is none other than Stephen McDowell, as I mentioned, president and co-founder of
17:25the Providence Foundation.
17:27Mr. McDowell, thank you.
17:28Brother McDowell for joining me here on the Hamilton Corner.
17:32Well, it's great to be with you, Abraham, and I appreciate all that you've been doing.
17:37to transmit the truth.
17:39So it's great to spend a little time with you.
17:42Oh, the pleasure is mine and I am confident
17:45that the audience here will enjoy what you have to share.
17:49Now, I want it just a personal thing
17:53that I am grateful to be able to do.
17:55And when I get the opportunity to talk to people like you,
17:57you know, being in ministry for 48 years,
18:00you know, you've been in ministry longer than I've been alive,
18:03you know, and not only being in ministry,
18:06being faithful for that time period,
18:10what is one thing that would come to mind
18:14that you've learned over that time period
18:16that you would say is probably one of the most important,
18:19or the top two or three most important things
18:21you've learned in serving in Lord for that duration faithfully
18:25for approaching really half a century now?
18:28Well, there's a whole lot of things, obviously.
18:31Something that always comes back to me as a teacher
18:34and what God has me doing in teaching biblical worldview
18:37is that what God says is true, and His principles work.
18:45And if we obey His truth, if it's personally
18:48and our family and our nation, we are blessed.
18:52We have good fruit, but if we disobey Him,
18:54we go backwards like Jeremiah said.
18:57So that comes over, all over and over again.
19:01I remind people like, ask the question,
19:04why has Venezuela suffered so much?
19:06in the last few decades.
19:08Why are the average person lost 10 kilograms of weight
19:11and they can't feed their own people?
19:13It's because we live in God's world.
19:16We don't live in the made up world of Karl Marx.
19:19Those principles don't work.
19:21But God's principles work and produce good fruit.
19:24We just need to discover them and apply them
19:27and we'll bring flourishing.
19:30Oh man, that's so true.
19:31It's almost like rebelling against God has consequences.
19:34Yeah. Yeah, we learn that in the Bible, don't we?
19:37We learn in real life.
19:38We certainly do.
19:39You know, some people may be aware, some may not be aware.
19:42The mission of the Providence Foundation is that it is a Christian educational organization
19:48whose mission is to train and network leaders to transform their culture for Christ and
19:51to teach all citizens how to disciple nations, how to disciple nations, which is what Jesus
19:58commands us as recorded in Matthew 28.
20:00Yeah, he said to go into all the world and make disciples of all the nations. Matthew Henry,
20:06the great Bible commentary read by the founders of America, said, the principal intention of this
20:11passage is clear. It's to do your utmost to make the nations Christian nations. That's our job. That's
20:18our task. What he meant by that is not with a national church, but he meant build your nation
20:24upon biblical principles. Every nation is built upon a set of principles that are ultimately
20:29rooted in what they consider to be ultimate. It's their God. The
20:33founders of America built this nation upon biblical principles.
20:37That's why we became the most free and prosperous nation in history. Not perfect,
20:41we had problems, but they looked to the scripture. How do we deal
20:45with things that face us and it produced
20:49good fruit? Now one other thing I learned and prepared for this
20:53interview is that you actually have a master's degree in geophysics.
20:57So how do you go from being a geophysicist basically by training to surrendering to the
21:03Lord and becoming basically a biblical worldview teacher and a disciple maker in that regard?
21:09Well I grew up in a church but it's what I call a head only church.
21:13It didn't really introduce me to the living God.
21:17So my mom got saved during the Jesus revolution in the late 60s and gave me books and Bibles
21:23and after God chased me down for a number of years, well, I discovered God is alive and
21:30real.
21:31And at that time I was studying undergraduate school at the University of North Carolina studying
21:35physics.
21:36I was going to be an astronomer.
21:37I loved science and things.
21:39And so, but when I got revealed himself and I saw the God of the Creator God of the Bible
21:47is alive and real and he has a purpose and a mission for me that over a few years in graduate
21:54school I began to recognize a calling of God. So when I finished graduate school I had an
21:59opportunity to go work for an oil company with oil exploration, art to go help start a church
22:05at a university. So I chose the latter not for the money but I believe that's God's calling.
22:13So about six years I've passed through churches and began to, as I was studying, read the Bible,
22:19see that the Bible not only tells us how to have a personal relationship to God to transform
22:25in, but the Bible has principles of transforming culture, transforming life.
22:30It speaks to all of life and it's our duty to learn what God says and apply.
22:36That's how we disciple nations by teaching all that Jesus commanded and Jesus taught
22:41all kinds of subjects, not just personal,
22:44pietistic subjects, but economic, governmental, familia,
22:49every area of life he addressed and the scripture addressed.
22:52And so to help facilitate training, the church,
22:56in these wonderful principles, I resigned my pastorate
23:00and in 1984 went to help start the Providence Foundation,
23:04which teaches biblical principles of law,
23:06government, education, economics.
23:08and i've been doing that for forty two years
23:12that is profound you know you said earlier in quoting
23:15uh... matthew hymnries commentary on matthew twenty eight
23:18that he said the the the the in the instruction of the passage is clear
23:23that the disciples of christ should seek basically to christianized nations you
23:27know and as you mentioned
23:28not advocating for national church but to have the institutions built upon
23:33the truth of god's holy word well i'm sure you're aware
23:36that today
23:37having that statement where the word Christian
23:40is said right before nation,
23:42kinda makes you a Christian nationalist.
23:47How do you address that whole phenomenon
23:51and people who listen to this show
23:54and watch this show know where I stand, that's kinda absurd.
23:56But how do you navigate that when you assert rightly
23:59what Matthew Henry explained that Matthew 28
24:02is directing the disciples of Christ to be and to do?
24:05Yeah, you know, anytime someone uses a phrase
24:07like Christian nationalism or anything else,
24:10you have to ask them, what do you mean?
24:11How do you define that?
24:13Everybody has a different understanding of terms.
24:16So I always have to find out, well, what are you talking,
24:19meaning when you're asking the question,
24:20but it's our duty, it's our task.
24:26God is sovereign over all things.
24:28He created all things, He's sovereign over this earth.
24:31Kings, He's the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords.
24:34And so he demands that everybody submit to his truth.
24:41And it's for our good, because if we obey him,
24:43we're blessed as we were talking about before.
24:46So my duty as an ambassador for Christ
24:49is to exert the crown right to King Jesus
24:52in every sphere of life.
24:53And when Jesus came into the world
24:55and he rose again in bodily form
24:58and gave us the mission, all right,
25:00now go out, I've bound Satan
25:01and I've given you the capacity to reclaim the earth that was given up at the fall and fulfill
25:08the mission that I created at Adam and Eve to do in the very beginning, which was to rule
25:12over the earth, take dominion, cultivate the earth, because God's given that to us.
25:17And so in the past 2000 years in the Christian era, that is what the church is supposed to
25:22be doing.
25:24Satan's bound, but we've got to plunder what he stole or what was given up to him.
25:30And that includes reclaiming education, reclaiming government, reclaiming the family, the biblical
25:35family, biblical morality, the value of life.
25:40God speaks to all of these things and it's our task to do that.
25:44And unfortunately, the church, especially in the last hundred years, has relegated, they've
25:50preached a truncated gospel message.
25:52They preached only part of the gospel, the part that says we're sinners, we need a redeemer,
25:58Christ came to redeem us and restore our relationship and get us to heaven. This is true, it's central,
26:03but that's not all the truth. Because what the Bible teaches is God created all things good.
26:09It's very good, this earth. Man fell, Jesus came to redeem, but not just to get us to heaven,
26:15but what does the Lord's prayer say? Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
26:21So, our task is to bring his kingdom, his government, his rule, his authority to earth,
26:28just like it is in heaven. So I would submit that making Christian nations essential to that
26:35aspect of the mission that the cultural mandate has called it, or the Creation Commission,
26:41the part of the Great Commission that Jesus gave us.
26:45Now I've often lamented and decried on this program, though Jesus instructed when he was
26:52asked what's the greatest commandment and he gave two, he quotes from Deuteronomy 6 and
26:56says you should love the Lord with all your heart,
26:57your soul, your mind, and your strength.
27:00Jesus in answering in that way literally lays out
27:04that the cultivation of the mind is central
27:07to being a worship of the Lord, but in our nation,
27:10and though we have texts like Proverbs 1-7,
27:12the fifth of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
27:13The fifth of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
27:15And knowledge of the whole one is understanding
27:17that we have an entire system of instruction
27:19and mind cultivation that denies the knowledge of God.
27:22And I've simply said that we shouldn't be surprised,
27:26surprised if we have relegated mind cultivation
27:29generationally to people who hate God
27:31that that result in a society can comprise the God haters.
27:36And so if we are going to be obedient to the Lord's command
27:39and execute in the Great Commission,
27:40the body of Christ has to once again lead
27:43in cultivating the mind.
27:44And I've had the privilege in participating
27:47in a film that the Providence Foundation
27:49has commissioned called Educated for Liberty
27:52and that you are the host and the moderator for,
27:56what caused you to want to participate in this film?
28:00And in a moment, here we're gonna play a snippet
28:02from the trailer and then talk a little bit more
28:04how people can watch it.
28:05But what made you want to participate
28:07in the creation of this film?
28:09Well, of course, my work at the Providence Foundation
28:12for the past 42 years has been all about biblical education.
28:16And I have the same concerns and have for decades
28:20that you've just expressed.
28:22And so we've written lots of books, we've put out DVDs,
28:25and so we decided we need to provide
28:29a easy way for millions of Americans
28:33to understand the value and the importance of education.
28:38We call this film Educated for Liberty
28:42because to live in liberty is difficult.
28:46The default state of sinful man is not to live free.
28:49You live man to himself, he won't spire, you know, he won't become more and more free
28:53and prosperous, he'll spiral downward into more bondage.
28:58And so to live in liberty, it takes a lot of effort, education, knowledge, character, truth.
29:03In essence, it takes the Christian faith because Christianity changes the heart, the only religion
29:09if you will, if you want to call it a religion that changes the heart, but it also gives us
29:14principles of how to live.
29:17So in this film, it explores how home-centered biblical education produced the free and flourishing
29:25nation of America, but the last hundred plus years, secular education has led to a great moral
29:33and academic decline.
29:36And when government took over schools and the secular philosophy captivated our government
29:40schools, it s sowing bad seeds that we re seeing the fruit of today.
29:46for centuries and in the beginning we sowed good seeds. That s why colleges were started
29:51to train godly ministers, schools were started to teach people to read the Bible, Bible centered,
29:57good seeds were planted, produced good fruit. Unfortunately, in the last many generations,
30:03we ve been producing a lot of bad fruit. But the solution then is to restore biblical education
30:11to our nation and the good news is God is doing that and this film is our contribution which
30:18people can see free by the way at educatedforliberty.com. It's our contribution to help show parents
30:26you have the right and responsibility to govern the education of your children. And you might
30:33delegate aspects of that to others but it's still your responsibility and parent churches
30:38ought to help them in that responsibility.
30:41So it's primarily the God gives families the primary responsibility, not civil government.
30:47If soon that responsibility, primarily because families have given it up and we see the bad
30:53fruit of that today.
30:55You know, I've said there are a couple of things I want to say in light of this and we
30:58won't have time to get to it before the next segment, but I want to play a snippet from
31:02the trailer for the audience here. But I've said that there is no way to reverse course
31:09in our nation if we continue to see the discipleship of subsequent generations of Americans to the
31:19world. There's no there's no way around it because a lot of the negative things we see
31:23in government policies, for example, that we see in social statistics that are indicative
31:30of negative benchmarks of our society, all of them highlight and really amplify deficiencies
31:37that abound in the home, starting with the cultivation of the mind.
31:41Do you think I'm overstating that case?
31:43No, not at all.
31:45I think the primary reason for the decline of America is government control of education,
31:51because education is discipleship, as you know, talked about in the film.
31:57Everyone's going to be disciples.
31:58So we're going to either be discipled toward Christ in his truth or we're going to be
32:03discipled to anti-Christian ideology.
32:08And so we now, 90% almost of youth in America are being discipled toward anti-Christian ideas.
32:17And we have to take that back.
32:20We have to be getting with Christians.
32:22Reassume that responsibility.
32:25There is no hope.
32:26I agree with you.
32:28Alright, I got a break in right here because of disrespectful music.
32:31That's what I call a bumper music.
32:32It's disrespectful because we have a great conversation, but we'll continue it on the
32:36other side of the break.
32:37My guest is the president and co-founder of the Providence Foundation.
32:40We're discussing the brand new film that you can see with for free.
32:45No charge by going to educatedforliberty.com.
32:49More on our conversation.
32:51More of our conversation was Steven McDowell on the other side of the breaks.
32:54Stay with us.
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34:00The Hamilton Quarter Podcast and One-Minute Common Terrets
34:07are available at AFR.net.
34:10Back to the Hamilton Quarter on American Family Radio.
34:14Welcome back to the Hamilton Corner.
34:16Steve McDowell, President and Co-Founder of the Providence Foundation
34:19is our guest.
34:20We're discussing the film, Educated for Liberty,
34:23that you can watch right now by going to educatedforliberty.com.
34:27Steve McDowell is the moderator of the film.
34:29I've had the privilege to be a part of the film, and I have to tell you it's a wonderful,
34:33wonderful resource that will bolster your commitment, frankly, to the Lord and your discipleship
34:39responsibilities, and will provide some resources for you to enable you to do that well.
34:45Brother McDowell, I had the opportunity one time to address a group of pastors, and I
34:49was talking about this very topic.
34:51And I just say it very plainly.
34:53You know, where do you think the idea is
34:55that the young people in your church are struggling?
34:57What do you think they come from?
34:58You know, I said, do you think that they're at home
35:00and their parents are telling them,
35:01hey, you need to go and smoke weed,
35:04you need to fornicate, you need to steal,
35:06you need to go rob, you need to do,
35:07what are these ideas that come from?
35:09And they're like, no, I don't think the parents are doing it.
35:11I said, what do you think is coming from?
35:13They said, well, probably it's coming from their peers
35:15and what they're learning at schools.
35:16And I said, by seeding this ground outside of what God mandated, as you said in the previous
35:22segment, God has called parents really and fathers ultimately be responsible for the
35:27pidea and new thesis of our children, ultimately we're responsible for it.
35:30But by seeding that to God haters, we as pastors are working against ourselves.
35:37We are creating the environments that are working, the circumstance that are working against our
35:42efforts to rear our children in the nurturing admonition of the Lord.
35:46Who else does that?
35:47That's like running on the treadmill and eating ice cream sundae at the same time.
35:51Why would we continue to do that when we see the evidences of it?
35:55You know?
35:56And so when I said that, there were a couple of passes, the lights went on in their heads.
36:00But because we've done things in this way for so long, even though it really is a relatively
36:08recent departure from the way we've done things dating back to our founding era, that some people
36:12have kind of been imprisoned by the most recent practices.
36:16Is that something that you have found as you alluded to earlier that we need to appeal to
36:20get Christians to understand that this is something that parents and families need to
36:23lead out on in their homes?
36:25Yeah, exactly.
36:26That, you know, there's three main things we want to accomplish through this film.
36:30One, to show parents you have the right and responsibility to govern the education of
36:35your children.
36:36Not just the right, but responsibility.
36:39Two, the church should assist parents in this mission.
36:45And then three, the reason, the way to become a free nation
36:49and live as a free nation is to be educated
36:51in biblical truth.
36:52But you know, you were saying that Psalm 127 tells us
36:56that our children are arrows in the hands of the Lord.
37:00The greatest weapon God has given us to transform culture
37:03and affect the future is to our children.
37:06And so we're preparing them and sharpening them,
37:08we're aiming them to be effective
37:11at transmitting the kingdom of God.
37:14but unfortunately we've given our greatest weapon to the enemy.
37:18When we send them to government schools,
37:20they then are preparing them in their philosophy
37:24and turning around and using that our greatest weapon
37:27against us and against God's kingdom.
37:30Colossians 2.8 says Paul writes,
37:33see to it that no one takes you captive
37:35through philosophy and empty deception
37:38according to the tradition of the world,
37:40according to the elementary principles of the world.
37:44So worldly philosophies, man-centered, worldly philosophies bring captivity.
37:51Rather, and then he goes on to say, rather than according to Christ, Christian principles
37:55bring liberty.
37:58And as we've surrendered our children, our greatest weapon to the secular ideas, they've
38:03been led astray, they've been led into captivity, and of course not just they, but that impacts
38:08all of life, the way because our children's education determines the future of our nation.
38:14So they've been led astray. And so that is then the message, well let's take back the
38:21best weapon God has given us, let's prepare them to accomplish what education does. It
38:27forms godly character internally, it forms a biblical worldview, and it equips youth
38:33to fulfill their godly calling every sphere of life.
38:38So when we do that, we will have a tremendous impact
38:42upon the future.
38:43If we fail to do it, as you point out,
38:45we are going backwards.
38:48And it should be instructive to us
38:50that when you refer to Colossians 2-8,
38:52you know, I've talked about in the verse four
38:54of that same chapter, he warns against being deluded.
38:57And if the delusion is not intercepted,
38:59that delusion metastasizes into full-blown captivity.
39:02as you pointed out, but we should recognize that Paul by the Spirit of God is writing this
39:06to warn Christians.
39:07He's writing to the Christians so that you won't be taken captive.
39:11This is how you should be fortified against that captivity as you rightly pointed out.
39:16But let's do this.
39:17Jeff, would you please queue up a snippet from the trailer from the film Educated for Liberty?
39:23Go.
39:40All worldviews are simply trying to answer the major questions of life.
39:45Like where did we come from?
39:47What is our purpose for being here?
39:48A biblical worldview is answering those questions
39:51from the authority of scripture.
39:53If you can't think biblically,
39:55then what you have is a bunch of secular thinking people
39:59who attend church,
39:59which will never change the community in the right direction.
40:02We're not as a church,
40:04raising up parents that understand their responsibility
40:08in the education of their children.
40:10Summit School is fine.
40:13It's good.
40:14Education Bible School, fine and good, but it's not enough.
40:19Education is discipleship one way or another,
40:23discipling our children in a secularized society,
40:26or it's discipling them to Christ.
40:29How could you possibly segregate the concept of education
40:33from the duty and responsibility of the Christian faith
40:36and that they should be trained in the Christian faith
40:39and in a Christian way?
40:41For hundreds of years in this country,
40:43The Bible was the essential book.
40:45It was the foundation of everything.
40:48And yet here we aren't where it's actually controversial,
40:51that we should have the Bible in education.
40:53It's truly astounding.
40:56That last voice you heard was my friend Alex Newman,
40:58a lot of the people in the film.
41:00You've heard them and seen them on this show.
41:02As I mentioned, I'm in this film as well.
41:05My friends Will and Miky Addison are in the film.
41:10The Barton's Tim and David Barton are in the film.
41:12host of people
41:14uh... who i love admire and respect
41:16are in this film and and honestly i don't think there's a more critical issue
41:20that needs to be discussed and i and
41:22and on the show on a daily basis often say
41:24uh... that because i have an evening drive time show that you're transitioning
41:27from your part-time job
41:29to your full-time job and that we have an obligation to welcome the primacy that
41:33god places on family
41:35to govern and guide our engagement and family and as you rightly pointed out
41:39one of the greatest weapons
41:40If not the greatest weapons that God has given us to establish multi-generational
41:44faithfulness to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords is the family and with the
41:48privilege to rear children and the nurturing admonition of the Lord.
41:52And unfortunately, people who hate God seem to understand that more than others.
41:56You know, yeah, people like Linnenooth said, you know, give me your children at
41:59four years old and one generation, I'll change the world.
42:01You know, we could people have understood that.
42:03But unfortunately, the people of God have been a little bit slow on up
42:06taking this regard, but I believe this film is a vital resource in reversing that reality,
42:12and it's something that I believe can happen in a far more quick manner than we think that
42:17it can happen.
42:19To that point, Brother McDowell, what do you think in terms of what people will say, well,
42:23man, look how far gone we are.
42:26Can we really make an about face in our nation if we respond to the Lord's command to us to
42:31rear our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord with the cultivation of the mind
42:35at the center?
42:36we are having about face within a generation or two?
42:40Well, absolutely.
42:41You know, God's seed is good.
42:44You plant God's seed in good soil,
42:46it produces abundant fruit.
42:48I love the saying, you can count how many seeds
42:51are in an apple, but you cannot count how many apples
42:54are in a seed.
42:56One seed has the potential to producing millions
42:59of pieces of fruit.
43:01Now, secular seeds are bad.
43:03Weeds grow, but they're not good.
43:05They don't produce good stuff, but God's seed,
43:07it's so powerful that for a hundred years,
43:10we've been kicking God out of schools and government
43:13and everything else, but we're still the most free
43:15and prosperous nation in the world,
43:17even after backsliding for generations.
43:20That shows you the power of truth in God's seed.
43:24So there are, you know, I've been doing this,
43:27there's a, you know, ministry almost 50 years.
43:29When I first started, there were not so many people,
43:33you know, aware and teaching these kind of things of the impacting culture and worldview
43:39in the late 70s, 10 or 15,000 homeschoolers perhaps in America today, they're three to five
43:44million. Most of those are Christians and new seeds have been planted and are being planted
43:50and we already see some good fruit coming forth from that. So yes, because God knows the frailty
44:01if man in our tendency for the fire to go out, so throughout history, he sent revival.
44:06And revival is not just a, you know, kind of a one time little outborn and people get
44:12saved, but biblical revival results in the permanent transformation of society and societal
44:19institutions and laws.
44:21And so God, I believe is pouring out his spirit in America.
44:26He is awakening a lot of people.
44:29You know, American family radio and ministries like that in the past number of decades or
44:35indication God is doing something.
44:37He's awakening people.
44:38We're sowing seeds that used to not be there.
44:42So God hasn't given up on us.
44:44I still believe he has a plan in accordance with the vision of the founders for America
44:50to be a city set upon a hill and an example to the nations.
44:54So he is at work.
44:56Good seeds are being planted.
44:57Now we've got a lot to do.
44:59You know, we haven't tanked out, but you know, we've got a whole lot more.
45:05But I love John Quincy Adams, the sixth president, said he said, duty is ours.
45:11The results are the Lord.
45:13And so the fact that there are many people recognizing their duty, acting upon their duty
45:19is an indication to me, God is bringing forth the fruit.
45:23We can't cause seeds to grow, but we sow the seed, we can water the seed.
45:27we can pull up the weeds.
45:29So yes, I do have hope,
45:31but I also recognize it's gonna take a whole lot of prayer,
45:35a whole lot of work, a whole lot of God's mercy
45:38to turn this nation around.
45:42I'm so encouraged and moved and stirred
45:46by what you said because it is so true.
45:49I was talking earlier in the first segment
45:52before you came on from Philippians chapter one,
45:54when the Apostle Paul being keenly aware
45:56that he may very well be at the end of his life,
45:59and he remarks on not knowing what to choose,
46:01to be with Jesus or to be engaged in fruitful life labor.
46:05And I said, there's nobody who can persuade me
46:07that Paul was confused as to which one is better.
46:09But he loved the Lord so much so
46:11that even though he was in a first century
46:13Roman Empire dominated world,
46:16that he didn't have an escapist orientation
46:18because he loves God's purpose for him.
46:21And so that put him in that position,
46:23yes, I wanna be in Jesus' presence,
46:25But I likewise want to fulfill all these call me to in the here and now.
46:28And I feel that there's a similar reality on our standpoint,
46:33that the focal point that we need to have is not kind of limiting it to an
46:37external analysis and observation based on how we feel the nation is
46:42succeeding or not, but giving ourselves wholly to what God has called us to
46:46personally, that we find ourselves being poured out in service of our Lord's
46:51purpose out of a worship filled response to the transcendent
46:55eternal gift of salvation. And as we respond in that manner,
46:59embracing John Quincy Adams' statement, duty as ours, results
47:04of the Lord that we invest ourselves in duty in a worship
47:07filled response to the one who saved our souls. Do you see
47:11that as of means by which the body of Christ in our nation right
47:15now? I'm grateful for what the Lord is doing all over the world.
47:17But I desire for the believer in our nation to respond to our
47:20what it's called. Is that a way for the believer here to invest ourselves in what God is calling us to?
47:25Yes, if you know all of God's people working together, if we fulfill our calling and duty,
47:32you know, we're all together, inching forward the kingdom of God, you know, biblical education
47:39will advance God's kingdom with good fruit. It will. It can't help but do that. It will produce
47:46and advance liberty. And again, all of us fulfill our duty in whatever God's called us to do. So,
47:53if we're a businessman, we conduct our business providing a needed, good or service to our fellow
47:59man, do it in a biblical manner, that's actually advancing God's kingdom. Parents, if we assume
48:05responsibility to train our children and do all our other responsibilities, we're advancing
48:10God's Kingdom. Farmers, when they produce, you know, food, excellent food at the cheapest price,
48:17that's advancing God's Kingdom. So we do that in every sphere. We don't have to think, oh, you know,
48:23I'm not a preacher or I can't make a film or something like that. We just do our duty in every area in
48:29every sphere of life and we will inch forward the Kingdom of God. So, and this is good news because
48:37I can do that. I might not know the president. I might not be able to enact a law, but I can fulfill
48:44my duty and responsibility to my family, my community, my church. And I can do that. And if each of us
48:52understand and act that way, we can have great confidence God will bring forth the fruit because
49:00he's the one that's directing the events of history. He has a plan for history. They will be
49:04fulfilled. Amen. Where America fits in, you know, that's up to him, but it's up to us too because we have
49:10responsibility in that. But I know God is moving among the nations. I've been to many nations. He's
49:16pouring out his spirit in an unprecedented way among all the nations. And I believe he's at work in the
49:23United States as well. Amen. Educated for Liberty is the film. You can watch it for free at
49:29and educate it for Liberty.com.
49:31Liberty.
49:32Educate it for Liberty.com.
49:34Watch it, share it with your friends, family, and loved ones, and let's live for the glory
49:37of our King.
49:40The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American
49:45Family Association or American Family Radio.

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