Jenna Ellis: Rights that our founders recognize come from God our Creator
: Jenna Ellis in the morning on American Family Radio.
Jenna Ellis: I love talking about the things of God. Because of truth and the biblical worldview, the U.S. constitution obligates our government to preserve and protect. The rights that our founders recognize come from God our Creator, not our government. I believe that scripture in the Bible is very clear that God is the one that raised up each of you and God has allowed us to be brought here to this specific moment in time.
: This is Jenna Ellis in the Morning.
Florida Democrats flipped two seats in special legislative elections two nights ago
Jenna Ellis: Good morning. It is Thursday, March 26th, and Florida is becoming a little bit of a bellwether perhaps for the midterms. And very frustratingly, Florida Democrats flipped two seats in special legislative elections, two nights ago. So in the shocker of the night, a Democrat, Brian Nathan defeated Republican Josie Tomkow in Senate District 14, in that race by 408 votes. So not really a wide margin. so it was 50.25% of the vote to Tomkow's 49.75. And so, the seat has been vacant since August when Governor Ron DeSantis appointed GOP, incumbent Jay Collins to serve as his lieutenant governor. surprisingly, Collins didn't make any effort whatsoever to promote turning out the vote to ensuring, keeping that seat Republican. So it's gotten quite a bit of flack, I think deservedly on social media for it, but the in the only state Senate election on the ballot, Democrat Brian Nathan, who's a Navy veteran, union organizer and first time candidate, shocked the Republican state representative, who had the the Trump endorsement. And everyone just kind of assumed that. And she also had a huge fundraising lead over Nathan and was heavily favored in a district that Collins won by 10 points in 2022, the last time the seat was on the ballot. And Trump also won that district by more than seven points in 2024.
Daniel Horowitz says Republicans need a new party because they're running on MAGA
So what exactly is going on in Florida? Well, my good friend Orin McIntyre, who's a host at the Blaze, is here and Oren, our, our friend Daniel Horowitz, commented on this and I'd like to get your reaction to his commentary, you know, first and then we want to hear your thoughts as well. But he's just really frustrated and I think kind of echoes a lot of sentiments, when Daniel Horowitz is saying, you know, we need a new party because, you know, everybody's just sort of sick of the, the GOP just running on, you know, maga, MAGA and everything is great and you, you know, Trump, Trump and not really Articulating policy and allowing Democrats to just basically lie, but run on essentially our message, but articulate policy that they have no intention of actually fulfilling as candidates. So let's listen to, Horowitz. This is cut to.
Ryan Helfenbein: We need a new party and a new movement built upon pro human versus transhuman land, food, ranching, currency, sovereignty, ordered, liberty. You know, you, you, you watch all these TV ads from these Republicans. They're pathetic. Trump, Trump, Trump. Huh? Fight. I mean, they're literally. I'm sorry, they're like a 70 IQ. You know what Democrats are doing? You know the guy that beat that, that hacked Perez, liberal Republican in Tampa, He's a Navy veteran electrician running as a family man. Again, they obviously get in there and lie, but I'm telling you, they're not stupid. They're running on our message.
Jenna Ellis: All right, Oren, your thoughts?
Marth Horowitz: Republicans are far from consistent on their message ahead of midterm elections
Good morning.
Auron MacIntyre : Well, I think the problem is that that's not always the Republican message. I agree with a lot of what Mr. Horowitz said there, but I think he knows as well as we do that ultimately Republicans are very far from consistent on that message. And that's certainly one of the issues that they've run up against. I think that while it can be frustrating that many Republican candidates are just kind of doing the cheerleading thing, I'm also somewhat skeptical that, like, properly articulated policy is also the problem. we know that midterms are always dicey for an incumbent president, for an incumbent party, that's pretty much politics 101. But on top of this, we saw a radical shift in foreign policy right before we started to run into these special elections. And everybody watched their gasoline in Florida go up a dollar overnight. And, you know, these were already, issues that the president was facing with, you know, the idea that ICE was too rough and these kind of things that ultimately, I think you have to go forward with deportations and that kind of thing. But the optics issue was already on the table, and involving us in a new war obviously was not helpful to this. Now, I think, again, the messaging is a problem, but I think near term, the obvious answer to this question is the Republican Party decided to go full bore into something that was radically unpopular with most of the country and, and is now going to pay the cost as pretty much everybody who is warning them about this saw coming.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah, and, you know, I mean, in here, in Florida in particular, though, I mean, do you, do you think that these special elections really reflect, more of a national sentiment, or is it, more that the, the Republican base is just overall, discourage and depressed in terms of you know, even being aware of the turnout or wanting to engage in politics because I just don't see the enthusiasm overall. And while, you know, there may be specific issues and certainly, you know, we can point to, to different, federal issues, I mean, not even yet passing the SAVE Act, I mean, you know, things that obviously should be really simple wins, it seems like just overall the Republican Party or isn't able to resonate with the average Republican conservative voter in the same enthusiasm that we saw coming out of 2024.
Auron MacIntyre : Well, that's certainly true. And of course the fact that Governor DeSantis is term limited and will not be around providing the same level of executive leadership and energy to the party is also a big deal in Florida itself. So there are certainly state and regional questions here. I don't think that two state level races can give you this deep understanding of where we'll be in the midterms, but it certainly is an indicator, especially with the dramatic turn that you saw in those races. And so, you know, this is, I think if we're, if our thesis is that the problem here is that Republicans simply were not energized and didn't turn out well, that's probably very true, but I think that would apply just as easily nationally as it would statewide. There could be compounding factors due to Florida's current situation, but I don't think this bodes well for those larger issues. Again, you know, you have radical changes in kind of the view that I think many people had of the Trump administration and the momentum of the Republican Party in addition to the war, as you pointed out, there's very little that Congress has done when it came comes to things like the Save that Save act when it comes to enshrining many of Trump's early wins in this, in this term, they simply did not take a lot of action and largely seen as useless by most Republicans, which is not going to help drive turnout either. So unfortunately, I think there's just a lot of factors that point to the idea that we're not going to see a, ah, highly energized Republican base now or in the actual midterms.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah, yeah. And I think, the Hill shockingly kind of articulated this well as well, during their coverage where they said Democrats, Democrats flipped two, state House seats, including the district where President Trump's Mar A Lago residence is located. That seat, ah, located in the 87th district, for the House has flipped in the Past so may not necessarily be a reflection on Trump and his policies, despite him endorsing in the race. However, and this is where I agree with this analysis, it is a sign of growing dissatisfaction with Republicans as the national mood weakens under Trump's second administration. And you know, that's where, I find it really frustrating because, because you know, we had so much momentum, especially with how broadly and widely Trump resoundingly won 2024 to go in with a lot of momentum. He had the mandate and it seems like the, the places that he chose and is choosing to spend political capital, ah, are more of a reflection of perhaps his personal legacy concerns, than really what the voters necessarily are wanting to prioritize. And I just don't think that that overall is going to bode well, for Republicans. And when you're not focused on issues that the base is prioritizing, it really does, disincentivize and increases dissatisfaction among the base and especially in midterms that historically the incumbent doesn't perform well. You would think that the GOP would be concerned about this, especially Oren, because we know if Democrats get back into power, in especially Washington, but then even, you know, some of these states, like if we don't have a good, Governor that follows DeSantis, I mean, the Democrats are going to run even, more wild with lawfare, with you know, crazy policy and and things that clearly, you know, the base isn't going, that the Republican base isn't going to want. So it just seems like the gop, I just don't understand what they're, what they're thinking and what the national leadership is doing.
Auron MacIntyre : Well, I mean, as to what the main bulk of the party is thinking, I think they're thinking they want to be done with Trump and maga. And that's been the plan for a while here. I think that's what a large amount of this conservative civil war is about. I think that's why people are trying to stir up the J.D. vance versus Marco Rubio debate. Because ultimately the idea is we want to return back to kind of business as usual, mainstream conning, you know, neo conservatism. I think that's been a push for a little while now. As soon as they thought that they could turn Trump into a lame duck, that was where they wanted to be. Now I think the base, absolutely, as you're pointing out, is still expecting Trump to deliver. And early on with those, you know, flurry of executive orders, there was a lot of promises that were kept. But the problem was always going to be that Trump had to have legislation passed, too. No matter what the Democrats will tell you, Trump isn't a dictator. He can only do so much under the executive office. So he did everything he could in those first few months, but without Congress actually taking, you know, the ball, picking it up and moving it across the goal line, there's only so much you could do domestically. And so I think that's why Trump ultimately, ultimately moved to foreign policy. Once the judges started pushing back, making it impossible for him to continue to carry out the things that he needed to from the executive branch, the only thing left for him to really get done that he could take immediate action on were foreign policy items. And frankly, these were things that his voters did not elect him to do. They elected him to be a domestic president to resolve these issues here. So you can understand the Trump administration, administration's frustration and their desire to continue to secure wins and maintain that momentum. But at the same time, as we get entangled more and more abroad, that means less and less focus is there on the domestic issues that they ultimately wanted resolved by the Trump administration. And so I think that's why you're seeing this felt lost momentum. This, almost like you've already been sucked into a quagmire, even though that's not really where the war is at. But you can kind of feel just that emotional, slowdown from everything that's been happening, all these additional things that really the voters weren't looking for, that are being tagged on to the Trump presidency and are weighing it down.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah, I think that's really brilliant, analysis. And you know, we've said for a while that, the, the regulars in the GOP do want to return to business as usual. So there's this kind of fracturing. And then, of course, you know, the podcast wars, elites are, are wanting to take advantage of that to, kind of go their own way and make this sort of the, the America only kind of, you know, party. And they're capitalizing on some of, you know, these, these other issues that, you know, I think don't really, make sense overall. But, but for the White House, you know, it may be that they're still looking for those wins and that shift to, to foreign policy makes sense under, you know, that kind of, of a framework. But, you know, overall, they still do need to be pushing back, against these rogue judges. I've been personally very disappointed in, this doj, like every DOJ under Trump. And, you know, there hasn't been accountability for, anything that happened during Biden or during Obama. I mean, for anything, any of the lawfare that's come against Trump or any of his associates, there hasn't been any sort of accountability. And it almost seems like nobody cares from the White House. And that's frustrating to a lot of people who are very concerned about that and concerned about the future. And, and overall, it just doesn't seem like domestic policy is a priority.
President Trump has endorsed Byron Donalds for Florida governor
But that's also Oren, I think, reflected, even on the state level, because, you know, here in Florida, where you and I both are, it's been, I think, very frustrating as well to see that, you know, Trump has endorsed, Byron Donalds for governor, who is by far a, you know, ridiculously weak candidate. And if he gets the nomination as a, As a former Democrat, kind of a Democrat light as I like to, characterize him, he has a really significant chance at losing to the likely Democrat who's actually former Republican congressman. I mean, you know, which just is interesting. Who's running as a moderate that kind of muddies the waters. And currently Governor DeSantis, as much as he leads, he executes, he's, you know, he's America's governor. He's fantastic. he hasn't weighed in so far in this race to endorse someone other than Byron. And we know that he won't endorse Byron. And, you know, there have been a lot of rumors of, well, is he not going to endorse because he doesn't think anybody can overcome Byron? Is he not endorsing because he doesn't want to go against Trump? Because he's looking at, after he leaves office, going into the administration, you know, all of those things. And I give him, you know, kind of some breathing room here. I've sort of gone, back and forth on, you know, his own personal preference on this. But at the same time, I really wish that he would lead the state and, and say, you know, here's. Put all of his cards on the table and say, you know, I want to leave Florida in the best possible hands and in the best possible shape when he is termed out. Because if we lose the free state of Florida to either Byron or the Democrat, you know, we're. We're losing a significant domestic advantage.
Auron MacIntyre : Yeah, I think after a run like Ron DeSantis, you really don't want to just see the entire state handed back to poor, governance or put in jeopardy. On, the chessboard, obviously is one of the most important states in, in the US Right now. And you, you can't just see it as this bastion of kind, of conservative governance during COVID lockdowns and everything else, and all the pushback that Ron DeSantis had in these key moments and then just handed over to someone squishy. I've been, you know, lobbying my efforts that we still have time to make Ron DeSantis king of Florida. We just need an amendment in the, you know, in the Constitution so that we can still have, you know, royal titles in Florida only. And then we just, you know, name the DeSantis clan as our, is our royal family. And you know, we've got democracy in the 49 other states. We can try monarchy in one. I think that that'll work out just fine. but, beyond that, I don't, I don't see a short term solution to this.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah, and, you know, I've seen your posts on that and you know, Ron DeSantis, first of his name, let's just do it in Florida. And, and you know, and what's actually, really amazing about kind of, you know, that line of thought is that our founders assumed and presumed that we would select and prefer, not only Christians as our leaders, but actually, you know, good, leaders. And so even a constitutional republic can fail in terms of promoting a more perfect union and preserving and protecting freedom and liberty. And you know, all of these things that are central to conservatism if we the people, just hand it over to incompetent leadership or worse, yet really the very domestic enemies that the Constitution warns about. And so, you know, so even though, you know, I know that that's kind of tongue in cheek, it's. It's also a, real considered commentary, I think, on what exactly we're doing with our American experiment. Because if we're to the point that for a free state like Florida that has had so many wins on the board, and yet now the future of Florida is so unclear, what does that say about overall, not just the Republican Party, but, you know, American conservatism?
Auron MacIntyre : Yeah. I mean, we have seen over and over again that the GOP just does not have a significant force of truly conservative and more importantly, really vigorous, candidates out there. You know, we talk about the policy positions and they matter quite a bit. But what made Ron DeSantis as effective as he was wasn't just his stated policy positions. Lots of people throughout the years have had similar positions to Ron DeSantis. What made Ron DeSantis different was his execution, his willingness to make things happen, his effectiveness as an executive, somebody who can lead, someone who's not afraid to use power, somebody who's not constrained by ideology. Ron DeSantis would say things like, look, you know, I know that we talk about a free market here, we talk about this thing here, but we have to care about our citizens in this case. We have to care about the well being of our people in this case. We're not going to just fold up under some regulation that Joe Biden has because the rules say so. We're going to do what's best for Floridians when it comes to Covid or when it comes to teaching, students in the classroom, when, you know, gender identity and these kind of things. And it's that willingness to push back, the willingness to fight, the willingness to be aggressive in things like cleaning up voter rolls that made the difference with Ron DeSantis. So don't get me wrong, I want people to be right on the issues, of course, but before we need people to be right on the issues, what we need more than anything is people who are willing to act and lead and exercise power.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah, absolutely, Oren. And, you know, before we run out of time here, you know, so overall, I think the base sees this. there are people like you and I and many, many others that are, that are clamoring for, for the national and local GOP to understand all of this. And so, you know, where, where do you see the, the emphasis and focus, of the, of at least the Trump administration where they need to be ahead of the midterms to at least give the GOP a fighting chance?
Auron MacIntyre : I think you need to end the war. And I think you have the off ramp at this point. You know, you've, you've killed a large number of Iran's leaders. You've destroyed its navy, you've destroyed its air force, you've significantly degraded its ability to build weapons or anything else. And at this point, you can simply figure out how to manage the Strait of Hormuz and get out of there. And if you can do that in a timely fashion, you're going to see oil prices drop. I think that will help the average person. I think when, you see what's going on with ICE in the airports right now and helping to reduce wait times, that increases the goodwill of organizations like ICE and then reflects, even better on Trump. I think there's a lot of ground to be gained by shifting back to the domestic, wrapping up those things in the, in the foreign policy that you've invested your time in bringing the focus back home, getting gas prices down, making sure people are getting to the airports on time, getting deportations back on track in a smart way, fulfilling some of those domestic promises. I think that will have a huge shift. The American people will forgive you for a month or two of bad gas prices as long as they're not stretching into October, November.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah, well, well said, Oren McIntyre. Always appreciate your analysis. And you know, you got to wonder if the administration is looking at the polls. I mean that's, that's one of Trump's favorite pastimes. So you know, you got to think that he is and being very concerned about the midterms and they can't just have rose colored glasses on all this and say, well you know, go maga, go maga. And and then not really actually pay attention to not only articulating but delivering on the issues that that Trump campaigned on in 2024 and why the American people elected him, overwhelmingly. And so I really wonder what exactly happened to that Trump mandate. And I would love to see again this DOJ get a lot more serious about wins. We'll be right back with.
: Welcome back to Jenna Ellis in the morning on American Family Radio.
Spain is facing one of its most emotional and controversial cases cases
Jenna Ellis: Welcome back. Well, Spain is facing one of its most emotional and controversial cases cases in recent years. As a 25 year old a young woman prepares to undergo euthanasia today on March 26 after a prolonged legal battle that reached European courts. So this coming from Spanish news wio in Spain's controversial euthanasia case, why this this young woman, Noella Castillo Ramos, who she is and why her story has sparked global debate. so this is just a really terribly tragic case, but also the reason behind it. So according to multiple reports this could become Spain's first euthanasia case. Primarily linked to severe depression alongside physical suffering. This story has spread rapidly online triggering strong reactions ranging from sympathy to outrage and raising difficult questions about whether the system protected her or failed her. So this young woman was unfortunately gang raped and then she attempted to commit suicide. And because of that attempt, which ultimately failed, m became paralyzed after that traumatic assault. And so now is, has been asking for about a year and a half, for the Spanish government to be allowed to end her own life. And obviously, obviously the system is failing her. If the response from the state is we feel so bad for you. So, you know, yes, let's let you, go and and commit suicide and actually facilitate and assist that endeavor. So, for more on this, let's welcome in Rhyen Helfenbein, who is the vice President of communications at Liberty University and the founding executive director of the Standing for Freedom Center.
Many states in the United States are considering legal assisted suicide
And Rhyen, this is a horrifically tragic case on so many different elements of this. but to think that ending one's life intentionally, and having the state help facilitate that is ever the answer, is just tragically hopeless.
Ryan Helfenbein: No, it absolutely is, Jenna. And we're seeing an alarming trend, in the West. And this is. It's happening across Europe. It's happening, in North America, in the Western hemisphere, Canada, and many other, states in the United States passing, you know, legal assisted suicide. you know, we basically have been pointing out that there's a mental health crisis, in the West. There's a mental health crisis in the United States. Loneliness, depression, and of course suicide, are at skyrocketed rates. and we obviously know the answer as to why this is the case. It's because so many have turned away from God and we have a, society that is severed from its roots. And, many people in the west, the Christian west, don't, attend a regular worship service service, aren't a part of a church. They don't read their Bible. Ah. And so as a result, not only do they not know who God is, but they don't know the intention and the purpose of their life. What value does it serve. And so life really becomes about self fulfillment, in the west, and it becomes about self actualization. And if I can't live the life I imagined, or if I could, the life I want, if I don't have a high quality of life. We hear that all the time. I'm just going to choose to end my life. And by the way, it's my life. Why can't I end it? And so, so many people have, made that horrific decision. and so this case, of course, we've had numerous others, more recently where young people, her case is very tragic because she's been living in a condition where she's basically been paraplegic. And we sympathize with that. but even still, that is not, grounds. That is not an excuse or justification to end one's life. The problem with the west and the legal system is that we've lost touch with our Judeo Christian values. We've lost touch with the conviction that every man, woman and child is created in God's image and is worthy of protection. And these laws against suicide were designed to acknowledge as much. it is not about the quality of life. It's about the sanctity of each individual life. And so even when someone might not enjoy the state that they're in, we have to acknowledge that there is a creator, designer and a purposer of our lives. And ultimately we have to honor God. even. Even if a person, feels as though they're beyond hope.
Jenna Ellis: M Absolutely. And I could not agree more, Rhyen. And you know, as you were speaking, about the condition in the west that focuses so much on the individual and our own desires. And, you know, basically it comes down to selfishness. I see that even in a conservative movement that has, I think, transformed, what rightly should be, you know, a view of individualism as in we are individuals, that all are created, you know, human beings, uniquely created in the image of God, having inherent dignity and worth. Like you said, we have individual rights, as opposed to collectivism or this idea that we're all just kind of cogs in the system and whatever serves the collective good, it doesn't matter. The individual know, we push back against that and we're for, individualism. But it's been transformed in the west, unfortunately, and I think dangerously almost to this hyper individualism that. That puts the individual and our desires and our will over, the. The unique design of the human being. Saying if we are made in the image of God, then our identity is only found in him and the people who. We have these rights. But, the focus and the purpose of those rights are not just to serve our own whims and desires and to be individuals, but within the context of a relationship with our Creator first and foremost. But then, within the context of the family design and purpose and within the context of the. Of the meaning and the purpose that we were created for. And I think that in the west, we've lost that. And this affirmation of, you know, whatever feels good to you, whatever your desire is, that has to be paramount over what is not a collective good, but what is actually good.
Ryan Helfenbein: M It's so well said. God has designed us. I think one of the things that we see in Genesis 1 and 2 in creation, after God created Adam on the sixth day, he said, it's not good for man to be alone. Now immediately we go to the context of marriage, and that's certainly correct, but it's also correct to recognize that for everyone married and unmarried, we were designed for family. We were designed for community. And, traditionally, we recognize as Christians that we belong to three different kinds of communities. one is, of course, the family. First is the first institution ever created. and so all of us came from parents. All of us did. not everybody knows their parents. There, are many orphans, sadly. But we come from parents. And so God designed the family and family governance and structure for a reason. and there is a sense of, of onerousness and responsibility and accountability within the family. God designed it that way. And that's a wonderful thing. The other thing for Christians is we belong to the community of the church. We belong to a church family, hopefully. we're not automatons. We're not radical individuals. It's not just, you know, the unholy trinity of me, my Bible, and Jesus. No, we need to be belonging to a community of believers. And there is in that community of the church an authority and accountability, a sense of belonging and responsibility. and we give to that community. And then the last thing, of course, is, government. You think about the state or you think about the nation that we live in, our neighbors. you know, we start with the city or the county, the municipality where we live, the locality, and then beyond that, the state, and then the nation. And so, this radical individualism, this almost like libertarian or libertine kind of individualism, which emphasizes why I'm not a libertarian, actually, which emphasizes, as long as I don't do any harm to anyone else, I will just decide what I think is in my own best interest or even if it hurts me. What harm is it as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else? And these are the advocates for marijuana or for looser laws on pornography or any number of other things. ultimately, they individualize it to the self. And this is why, as a conservative, we say, no, that's actually not the case. Because everything, it doesn't just come down to the self. we have a sense of duty and responsibility to others. And, we're not collectivists, like those Marxists who want to destroy the family and the church and just relegate everything to the state. but we're also not these radical libertarian individuals who say, hey, I just want to get high every day as long as I don't hurt anyone else, or I just want to, Jenna, take my own life and assisted suicide as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. My quality of life has been Diminished and it would be better if I didn't live. That's what I think. And so there have been many people that have these two radical views. But as Christians we recognize that God first made us in a relationship, designed us for a relationship with him and then secondly he designed us for a relationship with others. And there's a duty and responsibility there to love our neighbor as ourself.
Conservative argument rejects modern assumption that true freedom means doing whatever I want
And I think, I think you're exactly right to pinpoint this because so much of what is wrong in the last in the west is we've isolated ourselves from God first and as a result you're seeing loneliness, depression, suicide. We're isolating ourselves from others.
Jenna Ellis: yeah, absolutely. And you know, and that is where the libertarian or the libertine autonomous view a ah worldview ends is saying okay, if there's no harm to others then ultimately what's wrong with physician assisted suicide? And obviously as Christians we know what's wrong with that morally and ethically and we reject that. And so you can't have this sort of libertine autonomy. And conservatism doesn't reject the individual, but we reject the idea that the individual is self defining, self justifying and accountable to no higher authority. And so the conservative argument begins by rejecting this kind of modern assumption of that freedom means just doing whatever I want. And we're seeing that kind of mentality of the hyper individualistic view, damaging marriages, families, jobs, I mean you know, they're in every way the, the relationship with others and ultimately our relationship with God by suggesting that true freedom means doing whatever I want. And so any constraint, whether it's government, church or family, any constraint on the individual and our wants and our desires then is inherently bad because it's against this idea of self. And that is completely against the biblical worldview and true freedom which is ordered toward the good. It exists within moral limits grounded in the laws of nature and of nature's God, in truth, in divine authority. It's not self created but discovered as our founders recognized. And so I think that we need to re anchor the individual in responsibility as you said, a responsibility to others, within the context of the family, the church, the government and within the context as well of moral order. Because if we don't have a liberty defined as a well ordered society, then we get to where I think the west has has gotten to with so many of these examples like this case in Spain where the government is just saying okay well if that's what the Individual wants, it doesn't harm anybody else, then I, you know, I guess we need to facilitate that expression of self and that desire, where of course, this is going against ordered liberty and ultimately the m. Moral order that comes from God himself. So we need to re anchor our perception of the individual as still under the authority and the three spheres of authority that God himself ordained. Because really, Rhyen, it is a good thing for the individual, even, you know, for people like me who are, who are single. It's like I still am under authority. I'm under, you know, AFA's authority in my job, which is a very good thing. We have Christians that run this organization who keep me accountable. I'm still in the context of my family, with my parents. I'm under the authority of my church as a member. I'm under the authority of, my government, which is both a good and bad thing in America. We can debate that policy, but overall, these are good authorities that exist to not confine the individual and dampen our free expression, but ultimately to serve the purpose of, of. Of allowing me to have human flourishing in a way that God intended. And we have to get back to this, this idea that ultimately the family is really the closest and best expression of legitimate authority for the individual to thrive within that context.
Ryan Helfenbein: Yeah. Yes. Very, very, very well said. I, yeah. God has designed us, of course, to, to enjoy relationship, with one another. He's designed us to enjoy relationship with Him. there is a responsibility, there is an authority.
Ryan Helfenbein: God created this world to point to Him
I want to shift to something else. And just the beauty of life, that God has created this world and the wonders and the awesome within it to ultimately point to Him. And what I see with this individual, sadly, Noella and there are many others. It's clear she does not know who God is, who her maker is. And I've seen and I've met with many people, who have horrific conditions that they're living under. They're living in conditions even that are not horrific, but are manageable. It is possible to live as a paraplegic. It is possible, to live with certain physical, conditions and mental conditions. And it. And it is a very difficult and challenging life. But if you can know God and you can know and understand him and his purposes for your life, you know that the God who created the universe and everything that's in it, and the God who created you loves you and he has a purpose for you. And no, it is not to have your best life now, but it is to find joy and contentment and satisfaction in him. And in him. First, to find God as your true and ultimate riches and your treasure. And then ultimately, yes, he has a purpose for your life. It's not as though, the Lord wants to destroy you. Jesus says, come to me, all you who are weak and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And he is gentle and he is lowly, and his yoke is easy and his burden is light. And so, this is for anyone who might be struggling with depression or negative thoughts or intrusive thoughts or even suicidal ideation, is that God does love you and he wanted. He did create beauty and joy, things in this world, that ultimately point to Him. There are pleasures in this world that are good. And, so much of what we see today in the saccharine of life is this sort of fake. it's not real sugar, you know, it's not real pleasure, it's not real contentment or satisfaction. So many people who are looking for liberation and freedom have only found bondage, and they've yoked themselves to things that cannot save and cannot bring joy, or peace or that sense in which, oh, my life is lived now with purpose. And so I think that's the other side of it. Authority, responsibility, belonging. But also this, idea of, you know, go out there and cultivate this earth and multiply, and understand what God has put you in this world to do. and I think that many people are missing that today.
Jenna Ellis: So well said. And we're going to take a break here. Rhyen Helfenbein, and he's going to be with me, again after the break. But, you know, this is, The chief purpose of why Christians, are here is to promote the truth of the gospel of Christ. Christ. To provide that hope that only comes with a, restoration of our broken relationship with the Lord, understanding our purpose for being here, which is to love the Lord, to know him, to worship him, and, to ultimately then, serve each other, not to just be these hyper individualistic, individuals. To say, what are my wants and desires and needs and preferences and to be so selfish that, we forget that our first and chief purpose is to love God and worship Him. And so, I really hope and pray for this young woman that she'll learn the truth before it's too late, and for the west as well, that we will get back to the truth before it's too late. We'll be right back.
Jenna Ellis: Ryan Hoffenbein discusses redemption on American Family Radio
Auron MacIntyre : welcome back to Jenna Ellis in the Morning on American Family Radio.
Jenna Ellis: Welcome Back. And I am still here with my special guest this morning, Rhyen Hoffenbein, the vice President of communications at Liberty University. And we, need to talk also about this thread that went viral. there's more of just a cultural commentary on, again, how we're sort of losing the West. and there was a thread that went viral from a young man who was talking about, in kind of honest, you know, very honest, beautiful detail, the fact that when he and his wife got married, you know, he had chosen to, to be a virgin until he got married, you know, to live rightly and you know, under scripture, his wife had been forgiven much, and she had, had a formerly, promiscuous past, and yet she found Christ and then of course was cleansed of all unrighteousness. And so the point of this thread was that, in them coming together in marriage, it was a wonderful, thing. And, isn't it amazing how God forgives? And of course posting this on a forum like X, this guy just got absolutely lambasted in the comments with people, you know, making fun of him, saying how, you know, how dare you, post this about your wife, even though, apparently she had a blog where she was, you know, very open with it as well. And overall, Rhyen, and you know, we only have a few minutes left, but, you know, overall, I think that the moral of this story is choose your forum. Because if this is in the context of, you know, a Bible study at church and people who actually understand and have the Christian worldview and are coming to the conversation, understanding the beauty of redemption, then there's a very different response than putting this out on a thread in a forum like X, where you are getting literally the bottom of the barrel of so many people who just their intention to be on some of these online platform is simply to troll to make fun of these things. And it's a reminder, I think, that we need to be careful as, as individuals to not, as the Bible says, cast pearls before swine.
Ryan Helfenbein: I, you know, I think that's well said. I think there's a lot of wisdom in recognizing, when, where, context, all of it. Right. now that it is out there, you know, I was reading an article, you know, that says, you know, simply there are silent people who will engage it. Yes, it's gross to see, the groiper crowd and the grifter crowd and all of those people on social media that are going to poke fun at it. and culturally, we're Hitting a certain kind of fault line in Western culture where we have obviously toxic masculinity, but we also have hyper feminism. and people don't really believe in redemption stories, if they've never really encountered one, if they've not been forgiven, they don't know what forgiveness looks and feels like. I'm reminded of what Paul says, when he's talking about, do you think that the unrighteous will inherit the kingdom? And he says, don't be deceived, sexual, immoral, the idolaters, adulterers, homosexuality, thieves, the greedy, the drunkards, none of them, will inherit the kingdom of God. But then he says, and such were some of you, but you were washed, sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I agree that there are certain places you just don't put these stories up. But I also agree that there is a narrow probably segment of the population. There is probably a young, ah, man or young woman who is reading that also and saying, hey, there's hope for me, There is hope for me. How do I find that hope? and so I, certainly wouldn't use X, to do that. I've got some other friends that are in the pro life movement that have shared their testimonies and they got attacked, they chose life, they had a baby, you know, crisis pregnancy, and chose life. And they were attacked by major social influencers, on social media. But we have to go back to the gospel that Jesus Christ is the hope of salvation for all who believe.
Jenna Ellis: Amen. And that's the anchor of everything that we come back to, regardless of what the story is, whether it's political, cultural, theological, you know, whatever it is, we come back to the hope that we have in Christ and that that is the reason for living. So Rhyen Helen vine really well said. You can follow him on X. And you should, to have some good content, of course, not just, you know, all of these, these trolls. And as always, you can reach me and my team, Jenna afr.net.
Jenna Ellis: Rights that our founders recognize come from God our Creator
: Jenna Ellis in the morning on American Family Radio.
Jenna Ellis: I love talking about the things of God. Because of truth and the biblical worldview, the U.S. constitution obligates our government to preserve and protect. The rights that our founders recognize come from God our Creator, not our government. I believe that scripture in the Bible is very clear that God is the one that raised up each of you and God has allowed us to be brought here to this specific moment in time.
: This is Jenna Ellis in the Morning.
Florida Democrats flipped two seats in special legislative elections two nights ago
Jenna Ellis: Good morning. It is Thursday, March 26th, and Florida is becoming a little bit of a bellwether perhaps for the midterms. And very frustratingly, Florida Democrats flipped two seats in special legislative elections, two nights ago. So in the shocker of the night, a Democrat, Brian Nathan defeated Republican Josie Tomkow in Senate District 14, in that race by 408 votes. So not really a wide margin. so it was 50.25% of the vote to Tomkow's 49.75. And so, the seat has been vacant since August when Governor Ron DeSantis appointed GOP, incumbent Jay Collins to serve as his lieutenant governor. surprisingly, Collins didn't make any effort whatsoever to promote turning out the vote to ensuring, keeping that seat Republican. So it's gotten quite a bit of flack, I think deservedly on social media for it, but the in the only state Senate election on the ballot, Democrat Brian Nathan, who's a Navy veteran, union organizer and first time candidate, shocked the Republican state representative, who had the the Trump endorsement. And everyone just kind of assumed that. And she also had a huge fundraising lead over Nathan and was heavily favored in a district that Collins won by 10 points in 2022, the last time the seat was on the ballot. And Trump also won that district by more than seven points in 2024.
Daniel Horowitz says Republicans need a new party because they're running on MAGA
So what exactly is going on in Florida? Well, my good friend Orin McIntyre, who's a host at the Blaze, is here and Oren, our, our friend Daniel Horowitz, commented on this and I'd like to get your reaction to his commentary, you know, first and then we want to hear your thoughts as well. But he's just really frustrated and I think kind of echoes a lot of sentiments, when Daniel Horowitz is saying, you know, we need a new party because, you know, everybody's just sort of sick of the, the GOP just running on, you know, maga, MAGA and everything is great and you, you know, Trump, Trump and not really Articulating policy and allowing Democrats to just basically lie, but run on essentially our message, but articulate policy that they have no intention of actually fulfilling as candidates. So let's listen to, Horowitz. This is cut to.
Ryan Helfenbein: We need a new party and a new movement built upon pro human versus transhuman land, food, ranching, currency, sovereignty, ordered, liberty. You know, you, you, you watch all these TV ads from these Republicans. They're pathetic. Trump, Trump, Trump. Huh? Fight. I mean, they're literally. I'm sorry, they're like a 70 IQ. You know what Democrats are doing? You know the guy that beat that, that hacked Perez, liberal Republican in Tampa, He's a Navy veteran electrician running as a family man. Again, they obviously get in there and lie, but I'm telling you, they're not stupid. They're running on our message.
Jenna Ellis: All right, Oren, your thoughts?
Marth Horowitz: Republicans are far from consistent on their message ahead of midterm elections
Good morning.
Auron MacIntyre : Well, I think the problem is that that's not always the Republican message. I agree with a lot of what Mr. Horowitz said there, but I think he knows as well as we do that ultimately Republicans are very far from consistent on that message. And that's certainly one of the issues that they've run up against. I think that while it can be frustrating that many Republican candidates are just kind of doing the cheerleading thing, I'm also somewhat skeptical that, like, properly articulated policy is also the problem. we know that midterms are always dicey for an incumbent president, for an incumbent party, that's pretty much politics 101. But on top of this, we saw a radical shift in foreign policy right before we started to run into these special elections. And everybody watched their gasoline in Florida go up a dollar overnight. And, you know, these were already, issues that the president was facing with, you know, the idea that ICE was too rough and these kind of things that ultimately, I think you have to go forward with deportations and that kind of thing. But the optics issue was already on the table, and involving us in a new war obviously was not helpful to this. Now, I think, again, the messaging is a problem, but I think near term, the obvious answer to this question is the Republican Party decided to go full bore into something that was radically unpopular with most of the country and, and is now going to pay the cost as pretty much everybody who is warning them about this saw coming.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah, and, you know, I mean, in here, in Florida in particular, though, I mean, do you, do you think that these special elections really reflect, more of a national sentiment, or is it, more that the, the Republican base is just overall, discourage and depressed in terms of you know, even being aware of the turnout or wanting to engage in politics because I just don't see the enthusiasm overall. And while, you know, there may be specific issues and certainly, you know, we can point to, to different, federal issues, I mean, not even yet passing the SAVE Act, I mean, you know, things that obviously should be really simple wins, it seems like just overall the Republican Party or isn't able to resonate with the average Republican conservative voter in the same enthusiasm that we saw coming out of 2024.
Auron MacIntyre : Well, that's certainly true. And of course the fact that Governor DeSantis is term limited and will not be around providing the same level of executive leadership and energy to the party is also a big deal in Florida itself. So there are certainly state and regional questions here. I don't think that two state level races can give you this deep understanding of where we'll be in the midterms, but it certainly is an indicator, especially with the dramatic turn that you saw in those races. And so, you know, this is, I think if we're, if our thesis is that the problem here is that Republicans simply were not energized and didn't turn out well, that's probably very true, but I think that would apply just as easily nationally as it would statewide. There could be compounding factors due to Florida's current situation, but I don't think this bodes well for those larger issues. Again, you know, you have radical changes in kind of the view that I think many people had of the Trump administration and the momentum of the Republican Party in addition to the war, as you pointed out, there's very little that Congress has done when it came comes to things like the Save that Save act when it comes to enshrining many of Trump's early wins in this, in this term, they simply did not take a lot of action and largely seen as useless by most Republicans, which is not going to help drive turnout either. So unfortunately, I think there's just a lot of factors that point to the idea that we're not going to see a, ah, highly energized Republican base now or in the actual midterms.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah, yeah. And I think, the Hill shockingly kind of articulated this well as well, during their coverage where they said Democrats, Democrats flipped two, state House seats, including the district where President Trump's Mar A Lago residence is located. That seat, ah, located in the 87th district, for the House has flipped in the Past so may not necessarily be a reflection on Trump and his policies, despite him endorsing in the race. However, and this is where I agree with this analysis, it is a sign of growing dissatisfaction with Republicans as the national mood weakens under Trump's second administration. And you know, that's where, I find it really frustrating because, because you know, we had so much momentum, especially with how broadly and widely Trump resoundingly won 2024 to go in with a lot of momentum. He had the mandate and it seems like the, the places that he chose and is choosing to spend political capital, ah, are more of a reflection of perhaps his personal legacy concerns, than really what the voters necessarily are wanting to prioritize. And I just don't think that that overall is going to bode well, for Republicans. And when you're not focused on issues that the base is prioritizing, it really does, disincentivize and increases dissatisfaction among the base and especially in midterms that historically the incumbent doesn't perform well. You would think that the GOP would be concerned about this, especially Oren, because we know if Democrats get back into power, in especially Washington, but then even, you know, some of these states, like if we don't have a good, Governor that follows DeSantis, I mean, the Democrats are going to run even, more wild with lawfare, with you know, crazy policy and and things that clearly, you know, the base isn't going, that the Republican base isn't going to want. So it just seems like the gop, I just don't understand what they're, what they're thinking and what the national leadership is doing.
Auron MacIntyre : Well, I mean, as to what the main bulk of the party is thinking, I think they're thinking they want to be done with Trump and maga. And that's been the plan for a while here. I think that's what a large amount of this conservative civil war is about. I think that's why people are trying to stir up the J.D. vance versus Marco Rubio debate. Because ultimately the idea is we want to return back to kind of business as usual, mainstream conning, you know, neo conservatism. I think that's been a push for a little while now. As soon as they thought that they could turn Trump into a lame duck, that was where they wanted to be. Now I think the base, absolutely, as you're pointing out, is still expecting Trump to deliver. And early on with those, you know, flurry of executive orders, there was a lot of promises that were kept. But the problem was always going to be that Trump had to have legislation passed, too. No matter what the Democrats will tell you, Trump isn't a dictator. He can only do so much under the executive office. So he did everything he could in those first few months, but without Congress actually taking, you know, the ball, picking it up and moving it across the goal line, there's only so much you could do domestically. And so I think that's why Trump ultimately, ultimately moved to foreign policy. Once the judges started pushing back, making it impossible for him to continue to carry out the things that he needed to from the executive branch, the only thing left for him to really get done that he could take immediate action on were foreign policy items. And frankly, these were things that his voters did not elect him to do. They elected him to be a domestic president to resolve these issues here. So you can understand the Trump administration, administration's frustration and their desire to continue to secure wins and maintain that momentum. But at the same time, as we get entangled more and more abroad, that means less and less focus is there on the domestic issues that they ultimately wanted resolved by the Trump administration. And so I think that's why you're seeing this felt lost momentum. This, almost like you've already been sucked into a quagmire, even though that's not really where the war is at. But you can kind of feel just that emotional, slowdown from everything that's been happening, all these additional things that really the voters weren't looking for, that are being tagged on to the Trump presidency and are weighing it down.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah, I think that's really brilliant, analysis. And you know, we've said for a while that, the, the regulars in the GOP do want to return to business as usual. So there's this kind of fracturing. And then, of course, you know, the podcast wars, elites are, are wanting to take advantage of that to, kind of go their own way and make this sort of the, the America only kind of, you know, party. And they're capitalizing on some of, you know, these, these other issues that, you know, I think don't really, make sense overall. But, but for the White House, you know, it may be that they're still looking for those wins and that shift to, to foreign policy makes sense under, you know, that kind of, of a framework. But, you know, overall, they still do need to be pushing back, against these rogue judges. I've been personally very disappointed in, this doj, like every DOJ under Trump. And, you know, there hasn't been accountability for, anything that happened during Biden or during Obama. I mean, for anything, any of the lawfare that's come against Trump or any of his associates, there hasn't been any sort of accountability. And it almost seems like nobody cares from the White House. And that's frustrating to a lot of people who are very concerned about that and concerned about the future. And, and overall, it just doesn't seem like domestic policy is a priority.
President Trump has endorsed Byron Donalds for Florida governor
But that's also Oren, I think, reflected, even on the state level, because, you know, here in Florida, where you and I both are, it's been, I think, very frustrating as well to see that, you know, Trump has endorsed, Byron Donalds for governor, who is by far a, you know, ridiculously weak candidate. And if he gets the nomination as a, As a former Democrat, kind of a Democrat light as I like to, characterize him, he has a really significant chance at losing to the likely Democrat who's actually former Republican congressman. I mean, you know, which just is interesting. Who's running as a moderate that kind of muddies the waters. And currently Governor DeSantis, as much as he leads, he executes, he's, you know, he's America's governor. He's fantastic. he hasn't weighed in so far in this race to endorse someone other than Byron. And we know that he won't endorse Byron. And, you know, there have been a lot of rumors of, well, is he not going to endorse because he doesn't think anybody can overcome Byron? Is he not endorsing because he doesn't want to go against Trump? Because he's looking at, after he leaves office, going into the administration, you know, all of those things. And I give him, you know, kind of some breathing room here. I've sort of gone, back and forth on, you know, his own personal preference on this. But at the same time, I really wish that he would lead the state and, and say, you know, here's. Put all of his cards on the table and say, you know, I want to leave Florida in the best possible hands and in the best possible shape when he is termed out. Because if we lose the free state of Florida to either Byron or the Democrat, you know, we're. We're losing a significant domestic advantage.
Auron MacIntyre : Yeah, I think after a run like Ron DeSantis, you really don't want to just see the entire state handed back to poor, governance or put in jeopardy. On, the chessboard, obviously is one of the most important states in, in the US Right now. And you, you can't just see it as this bastion of kind, of conservative governance during COVID lockdowns and everything else, and all the pushback that Ron DeSantis had in these key moments and then just handed over to someone squishy. I've been, you know, lobbying my efforts that we still have time to make Ron DeSantis king of Florida. We just need an amendment in the, you know, in the Constitution so that we can still have, you know, royal titles in Florida only. And then we just, you know, name the DeSantis clan as our, is our royal family. And you know, we've got democracy in the 49 other states. We can try monarchy in one. I think that that'll work out just fine. but, beyond that, I don't, I don't see a short term solution to this.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah, and, you know, I've seen your posts on that and you know, Ron DeSantis, first of his name, let's just do it in Florida. And, and you know, and what's actually, really amazing about kind of, you know, that line of thought is that our founders assumed and presumed that we would select and prefer, not only Christians as our leaders, but actually, you know, good, leaders. And so even a constitutional republic can fail in terms of promoting a more perfect union and preserving and protecting freedom and liberty. And you know, all of these things that are central to conservatism if we the people, just hand it over to incompetent leadership or worse, yet really the very domestic enemies that the Constitution warns about. And so, you know, so even though, you know, I know that that's kind of tongue in cheek, it's. It's also a, real considered commentary, I think, on what exactly we're doing with our American experiment. Because if we're to the point that for a free state like Florida that has had so many wins on the board, and yet now the future of Florida is so unclear, what does that say about overall, not just the Republican Party, but, you know, American conservatism?
Auron MacIntyre : Yeah. I mean, we have seen over and over again that the GOP just does not have a significant force of truly conservative and more importantly, really vigorous, candidates out there. You know, we talk about the policy positions and they matter quite a bit. But what made Ron DeSantis as effective as he was wasn't just his stated policy positions. Lots of people throughout the years have had similar positions to Ron DeSantis. What made Ron DeSantis different was his execution, his willingness to make things happen, his effectiveness as an executive, somebody who can lead, someone who's not afraid to use power, somebody who's not constrained by ideology. Ron DeSantis would say things like, look, you know, I know that we talk about a free market here, we talk about this thing here, but we have to care about our citizens in this case. We have to care about the well being of our people in this case. We're not going to just fold up under some regulation that Joe Biden has because the rules say so. We're going to do what's best for Floridians when it comes to Covid or when it comes to teaching, students in the classroom, when, you know, gender identity and these kind of things. And it's that willingness to push back, the willingness to fight, the willingness to be aggressive in things like cleaning up voter rolls that made the difference with Ron DeSantis. So don't get me wrong, I want people to be right on the issues, of course, but before we need people to be right on the issues, what we need more than anything is people who are willing to act and lead and exercise power.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah, absolutely, Oren. And, you know, before we run out of time here, you know, so overall, I think the base sees this. there are people like you and I and many, many others that are, that are clamoring for, for the national and local GOP to understand all of this. And so, you know, where, where do you see the, the emphasis and focus, of the, of at least the Trump administration where they need to be ahead of the midterms to at least give the GOP a fighting chance?
Auron MacIntyre : I think you need to end the war. And I think you have the off ramp at this point. You know, you've, you've killed a large number of Iran's leaders. You've destroyed its navy, you've destroyed its air force, you've significantly degraded its ability to build weapons or anything else. And at this point, you can simply figure out how to manage the Strait of Hormuz and get out of there. And if you can do that in a timely fashion, you're going to see oil prices drop. I think that will help the average person. I think when, you see what's going on with ICE in the airports right now and helping to reduce wait times, that increases the goodwill of organizations like ICE and then reflects, even better on Trump. I think there's a lot of ground to be gained by shifting back to the domestic, wrapping up those things in the, in the foreign policy that you've invested your time in bringing the focus back home, getting gas prices down, making sure people are getting to the airports on time, getting deportations back on track in a smart way, fulfilling some of those domestic promises. I think that will have a huge shift. The American people will forgive you for a month or two of bad gas prices as long as they're not stretching into October, November.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah, well, well said, Oren McIntyre. Always appreciate your analysis. And you know, you got to wonder if the administration is looking at the polls. I mean that's, that's one of Trump's favorite pastimes. So you know, you got to think that he is and being very concerned about the midterms and they can't just have rose colored glasses on all this and say, well you know, go maga, go maga. And and then not really actually pay attention to not only articulating but delivering on the issues that that Trump campaigned on in 2024 and why the American people elected him, overwhelmingly. And so I really wonder what exactly happened to that Trump mandate. And I would love to see again this DOJ get a lot more serious about wins. We'll be right back with.
: Welcome back to Jenna Ellis in the morning on American Family Radio.
Spain is facing one of its most emotional and controversial cases cases
Jenna Ellis: Welcome back. Well, Spain is facing one of its most emotional and controversial cases cases in recent years. As a 25 year old a young woman prepares to undergo euthanasia today on March 26 after a prolonged legal battle that reached European courts. So this coming from Spanish news wio in Spain's controversial euthanasia case, why this this young woman, Noella Castillo Ramos, who she is and why her story has sparked global debate. so this is just a really terribly tragic case, but also the reason behind it. So according to multiple reports this could become Spain's first euthanasia case. Primarily linked to severe depression alongside physical suffering. This story has spread rapidly online triggering strong reactions ranging from sympathy to outrage and raising difficult questions about whether the system protected her or failed her. So this young woman was unfortunately gang raped and then she attempted to commit suicide. And because of that attempt, which ultimately failed, m became paralyzed after that traumatic assault. And so now is, has been asking for about a year and a half, for the Spanish government to be allowed to end her own life. And obviously, obviously the system is failing her. If the response from the state is we feel so bad for you. So, you know, yes, let's let you, go and and commit suicide and actually facilitate and assist that endeavor. So, for more on this, let's welcome in Rhyen Helfenbein, who is the vice President of communications at Liberty University and the founding executive director of the Standing for Freedom Center.
Many states in the United States are considering legal assisted suicide
And Rhyen, this is a horrifically tragic case on so many different elements of this. but to think that ending one's life intentionally, and having the state help facilitate that is ever the answer, is just tragically hopeless.
Ryan Helfenbein: No, it absolutely is, Jenna. And we're seeing an alarming trend, in the West. And this is. It's happening across Europe. It's happening, in North America, in the Western hemisphere, Canada, and many other, states in the United States passing, you know, legal assisted suicide. you know, we basically have been pointing out that there's a mental health crisis, in the West. There's a mental health crisis in the United States. Loneliness, depression, and of course suicide, are at skyrocketed rates. and we obviously know the answer as to why this is the case. It's because so many have turned away from God and we have a, society that is severed from its roots. And, many people in the west, the Christian west, don't, attend a regular worship service service, aren't a part of a church. They don't read their Bible. Ah. And so as a result, not only do they not know who God is, but they don't know the intention and the purpose of their life. What value does it serve. And so life really becomes about self fulfillment, in the west, and it becomes about self actualization. And if I can't live the life I imagined, or if I could, the life I want, if I don't have a high quality of life. We hear that all the time. I'm just going to choose to end my life. And by the way, it's my life. Why can't I end it? And so, so many people have, made that horrific decision. and so this case, of course, we've had numerous others, more recently where young people, her case is very tragic because she's been living in a condition where she's basically been paraplegic. And we sympathize with that. but even still, that is not, grounds. That is not an excuse or justification to end one's life. The problem with the west and the legal system is that we've lost touch with our Judeo Christian values. We've lost touch with the conviction that every man, woman and child is created in God's image and is worthy of protection. And these laws against suicide were designed to acknowledge as much. it is not about the quality of life. It's about the sanctity of each individual life. And so even when someone might not enjoy the state that they're in, we have to acknowledge that there is a creator, designer and a purposer of our lives. And ultimately we have to honor God. even. Even if a person, feels as though they're beyond hope.
Jenna Ellis: M Absolutely. And I could not agree more, Rhyen. And you know, as you were speaking, about the condition in the west that focuses so much on the individual and our own desires. And, you know, basically it comes down to selfishness. I see that even in a conservative movement that has, I think, transformed, what rightly should be, you know, a view of individualism as in we are individuals, that all are created, you know, human beings, uniquely created in the image of God, having inherent dignity and worth. Like you said, we have individual rights, as opposed to collectivism or this idea that we're all just kind of cogs in the system and whatever serves the collective good, it doesn't matter. The individual know, we push back against that and we're for, individualism. But it's been transformed in the west, unfortunately, and I think dangerously almost to this hyper individualism that. That puts the individual and our desires and our will over, the. The unique design of the human being. Saying if we are made in the image of God, then our identity is only found in him and the people who. We have these rights. But, the focus and the purpose of those rights are not just to serve our own whims and desires and to be individuals, but within the context of a relationship with our Creator first and foremost. But then, within the context of the family design and purpose and within the context of the. Of the meaning and the purpose that we were created for. And I think that in the west, we've lost that. And this affirmation of, you know, whatever feels good to you, whatever your desire is, that has to be paramount over what is not a collective good, but what is actually good.
Ryan Helfenbein: M It's so well said. God has designed us. I think one of the things that we see in Genesis 1 and 2 in creation, after God created Adam on the sixth day, he said, it's not good for man to be alone. Now immediately we go to the context of marriage, and that's certainly correct, but it's also correct to recognize that for everyone married and unmarried, we were designed for family. We were designed for community. And, traditionally, we recognize as Christians that we belong to three different kinds of communities. one is, of course, the family. First is the first institution ever created. and so all of us came from parents. All of us did. not everybody knows their parents. There, are many orphans, sadly. But we come from parents. And so God designed the family and family governance and structure for a reason. and there is a sense of, of onerousness and responsibility and accountability within the family. God designed it that way. And that's a wonderful thing. The other thing for Christians is we belong to the community of the church. We belong to a church family, hopefully. we're not automatons. We're not radical individuals. It's not just, you know, the unholy trinity of me, my Bible, and Jesus. No, we need to be belonging to a community of believers. And there is in that community of the church an authority and accountability, a sense of belonging and responsibility. and we give to that community. And then the last thing, of course, is, government. You think about the state or you think about the nation that we live in, our neighbors. you know, we start with the city or the county, the municipality where we live, the locality, and then beyond that, the state, and then the nation. And so, this radical individualism, this almost like libertarian or libertine kind of individualism, which emphasizes why I'm not a libertarian, actually, which emphasizes, as long as I don't do any harm to anyone else, I will just decide what I think is in my own best interest or even if it hurts me. What harm is it as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else? And these are the advocates for marijuana or for looser laws on pornography or any number of other things. ultimately, they individualize it to the self. And this is why, as a conservative, we say, no, that's actually not the case. Because everything, it doesn't just come down to the self. we have a sense of duty and responsibility to others. And, we're not collectivists, like those Marxists who want to destroy the family and the church and just relegate everything to the state. but we're also not these radical libertarian individuals who say, hey, I just want to get high every day as long as I don't hurt anyone else, or I just want to, Jenna, take my own life and assisted suicide as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. My quality of life has been Diminished and it would be better if I didn't live. That's what I think. And so there have been many people that have these two radical views. But as Christians we recognize that God first made us in a relationship, designed us for a relationship with him and then secondly he designed us for a relationship with others. And there's a duty and responsibility there to love our neighbor as ourself.
Conservative argument rejects modern assumption that true freedom means doing whatever I want
And I think, I think you're exactly right to pinpoint this because so much of what is wrong in the last in the west is we've isolated ourselves from God first and as a result you're seeing loneliness, depression, suicide. We're isolating ourselves from others.
Jenna Ellis: yeah, absolutely. And you know, and that is where the libertarian or the libertine autonomous view a ah worldview ends is saying okay, if there's no harm to others then ultimately what's wrong with physician assisted suicide? And obviously as Christians we know what's wrong with that morally and ethically and we reject that. And so you can't have this sort of libertine autonomy. And conservatism doesn't reject the individual, but we reject the idea that the individual is self defining, self justifying and accountable to no higher authority. And so the conservative argument begins by rejecting this kind of modern assumption of that freedom means just doing whatever I want. And we're seeing that kind of mentality of the hyper individualistic view, damaging marriages, families, jobs, I mean you know, they're in every way the, the relationship with others and ultimately our relationship with God by suggesting that true freedom means doing whatever I want. And so any constraint, whether it's government, church or family, any constraint on the individual and our wants and our desires then is inherently bad because it's against this idea of self. And that is completely against the biblical worldview and true freedom which is ordered toward the good. It exists within moral limits grounded in the laws of nature and of nature's God, in truth, in divine authority. It's not self created but discovered as our founders recognized. And so I think that we need to re anchor the individual in responsibility as you said, a responsibility to others, within the context of the family, the church, the government and within the context as well of moral order. Because if we don't have a liberty defined as a well ordered society, then we get to where I think the west has has gotten to with so many of these examples like this case in Spain where the government is just saying okay well if that's what the Individual wants, it doesn't harm anybody else, then I, you know, I guess we need to facilitate that expression of self and that desire, where of course, this is going against ordered liberty and ultimately the m. Moral order that comes from God himself. So we need to re anchor our perception of the individual as still under the authority and the three spheres of authority that God himself ordained. Because really, Rhyen, it is a good thing for the individual, even, you know, for people like me who are, who are single. It's like I still am under authority. I'm under, you know, AFA's authority in my job, which is a very good thing. We have Christians that run this organization who keep me accountable. I'm still in the context of my family, with my parents. I'm under the authority of my church as a member. I'm under the authority of, my government, which is both a good and bad thing in America. We can debate that policy, but overall, these are good authorities that exist to not confine the individual and dampen our free expression, but ultimately to serve the purpose of, of. Of allowing me to have human flourishing in a way that God intended. And we have to get back to this, this idea that ultimately the family is really the closest and best expression of legitimate authority for the individual to thrive within that context.
Ryan Helfenbein: Yeah. Yes. Very, very, very well said. I, yeah. God has designed us, of course, to, to enjoy relationship, with one another. He's designed us to enjoy relationship with Him. there is a responsibility, there is an authority.
Ryan Helfenbein: God created this world to point to Him
I want to shift to something else. And just the beauty of life, that God has created this world and the wonders and the awesome within it to ultimately point to Him. And what I see with this individual, sadly, Noella and there are many others. It's clear she does not know who God is, who her maker is. And I've seen and I've met with many people, who have horrific conditions that they're living under. They're living in conditions even that are not horrific, but are manageable. It is possible to live as a paraplegic. It is possible, to live with certain physical, conditions and mental conditions. And it. And it is a very difficult and challenging life. But if you can know God and you can know and understand him and his purposes for your life, you know that the God who created the universe and everything that's in it, and the God who created you loves you and he has a purpose for you. And no, it is not to have your best life now, but it is to find joy and contentment and satisfaction in him. And in him. First, to find God as your true and ultimate riches and your treasure. And then ultimately, yes, he has a purpose for your life. It's not as though, the Lord wants to destroy you. Jesus says, come to me, all you who are weak and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And he is gentle and he is lowly, and his yoke is easy and his burden is light. And so, this is for anyone who might be struggling with depression or negative thoughts or intrusive thoughts or even suicidal ideation, is that God does love you and he wanted. He did create beauty and joy, things in this world, that ultimately point to Him. There are pleasures in this world that are good. And, so much of what we see today in the saccharine of life is this sort of fake. it's not real sugar, you know, it's not real pleasure, it's not real contentment or satisfaction. So many people who are looking for liberation and freedom have only found bondage, and they've yoked themselves to things that cannot save and cannot bring joy, or peace or that sense in which, oh, my life is lived now with purpose. And so I think that's the other side of it. Authority, responsibility, belonging. But also this, idea of, you know, go out there and cultivate this earth and multiply, and understand what God has put you in this world to do. and I think that many people are missing that today.
Jenna Ellis: So well said. And we're going to take a break here. Rhyen Helfenbein, and he's going to be with me, again after the break. But, you know, this is, The chief purpose of why Christians, are here is to promote the truth of the gospel of Christ. Christ. To provide that hope that only comes with a, restoration of our broken relationship with the Lord, understanding our purpose for being here, which is to love the Lord, to know him, to worship him, and, to ultimately then, serve each other, not to just be these hyper individualistic, individuals. To say, what are my wants and desires and needs and preferences and to be so selfish that, we forget that our first and chief purpose is to love God and worship Him. And so, I really hope and pray for this young woman that she'll learn the truth before it's too late, and for the west as well, that we will get back to the truth before it's too late. We'll be right back.
Jenna Ellis: Ryan Hoffenbein discusses redemption on American Family Radio
Auron MacIntyre : welcome back to Jenna Ellis in the Morning on American Family Radio.
Jenna Ellis: Welcome Back. And I am still here with my special guest this morning, Rhyen Hoffenbein, the vice President of communications at Liberty University. And we, need to talk also about this thread that went viral. there's more of just a cultural commentary on, again, how we're sort of losing the West. and there was a thread that went viral from a young man who was talking about, in kind of honest, you know, very honest, beautiful detail, the fact that when he and his wife got married, you know, he had chosen to, to be a virgin until he got married, you know, to live rightly and you know, under scripture, his wife had been forgiven much, and she had, had a formerly, promiscuous past, and yet she found Christ and then of course was cleansed of all unrighteousness. And so the point of this thread was that, in them coming together in marriage, it was a wonderful, thing. And, isn't it amazing how God forgives? And of course posting this on a forum like X, this guy just got absolutely lambasted in the comments with people, you know, making fun of him, saying how, you know, how dare you, post this about your wife, even though, apparently she had a blog where she was, you know, very open with it as well. And overall, Rhyen, and you know, we only have a few minutes left, but, you know, overall, I think that the moral of this story is choose your forum. Because if this is in the context of, you know, a Bible study at church and people who actually understand and have the Christian worldview and are coming to the conversation, understanding the beauty of redemption, then there's a very different response than putting this out on a thread in a forum like X, where you are getting literally the bottom of the barrel of so many people who just their intention to be on some of these online platform is simply to troll to make fun of these things. And it's a reminder, I think, that we need to be careful as, as individuals to not, as the Bible says, cast pearls before swine.
Ryan Helfenbein: I, you know, I think that's well said. I think there's a lot of wisdom in recognizing, when, where, context, all of it. Right. now that it is out there, you know, I was reading an article, you know, that says, you know, simply there are silent people who will engage it. Yes, it's gross to see, the groiper crowd and the grifter crowd and all of those people on social media that are going to poke fun at it. and culturally, we're Hitting a certain kind of fault line in Western culture where we have obviously toxic masculinity, but we also have hyper feminism. and people don't really believe in redemption stories, if they've never really encountered one, if they've not been forgiven, they don't know what forgiveness looks and feels like. I'm reminded of what Paul says, when he's talking about, do you think that the unrighteous will inherit the kingdom? And he says, don't be deceived, sexual, immoral, the idolaters, adulterers, homosexuality, thieves, the greedy, the drunkards, none of them, will inherit the kingdom of God. But then he says, and such were some of you, but you were washed, sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I agree that there are certain places you just don't put these stories up. But I also agree that there is a narrow probably segment of the population. There is probably a young, ah, man or young woman who is reading that also and saying, hey, there's hope for me, There is hope for me. How do I find that hope? and so I, certainly wouldn't use X, to do that. I've got some other friends that are in the pro life movement that have shared their testimonies and they got attacked, they chose life, they had a baby, you know, crisis pregnancy, and chose life. And they were attacked by major social influencers, on social media. But we have to go back to the gospel that Jesus Christ is the hope of salvation for all who believe.
Jenna Ellis: Amen. And that's the anchor of everything that we come back to, regardless of what the story is, whether it's political, cultural, theological, you know, whatever it is, we come back to the hope that we have in Christ and that that is the reason for living. So Rhyen Helen vine really well said. You can follow him on X. And you should, to have some good content, of course, not just, you know, all of these, these trolls. And as always, you can reach me and my team, Jenna afr.net.
01:00 - 22:35 | Jenna is joined by Auron MacIntyre, who shares insights on the GOP's messaging struggles and the implications of a disenchanted voter base.
24:17 - 49:18 | Ryan Helfenbein joins the show , they discuss the moral implications of assisted suicide and the urgent need for a return to Judeo-Christian values that affirm the sanctity of life.
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