Interview with Richard Harris

Best-selling author and speaker and advocate for Christian apologetics Dr. Alex McFarland bringing you the truth for a new generation. This is TNG radio. The word of God has a lot to say about. In fact, the Bible says that God sanctioned human government for the blessing of of humanity and motivation were going to talk about some of the institution that God has ordained. We know the God ordained marriage and the family. We know that God will gain the church for worship instruction and fellowship evangelism.

The church is often called the wife, the bride of Christ WISC. That's the church worship instruction, fellowship, evangelism. We don't often think about this, but God instituted civil government and so on today show on truth for Nguyen to ready are we going to talk about this and I'm so excited I got with me dear colleague and friend Richard Harris. I've known for several years. He is an attorney. He's from Oklahoma but he is also the Dean of the school of practical government that Karis Bible college. Many of you have heard me mention Karis many times in my different Andrew McKay, Karis, is it. Besides being very very relevant and cutting-edge.

They also happen to be in just about most beautiful part of the entire planet. Right at the top of pikes peak in Woodland Park, Colorado, but Richard is a leader and educator and a dear friend. He is also general counsel for the University and for the ministries but Richard, thanks for taking a few minutes to be with us on truth for a new generation radio. Thanks, Alex. It's good to be here. Great to be with you. First of all tell everybody what you do here at Karis Bible college sure Alex something so I wear a number of hats but one of things I do is the lead the government school so the official title is coordinator of the practical government school. School was founded in not Karis Bible college is celebrating his 25th anniversary this year, but the practical government school is a is a program in the third year here. Karis founded three years ago with the help of David Barton. Also, our mission is to equip believers to restore God's purpose for government at every level.

So I'll I had that program. I also am the general counsel for underwhelming ministries and the executive director of the truth and liberty coalition lot well you're a lawyer in the ministry.

How did how did God lead you to where you are in your journey rather yes some people think that's a kinda contradictory right.

I know a lot of very godly attorneys by the well that the passion for the law and the passion for the gospel. They do come together at times. You know Martin Luther was a lawyer and and several others were but my life is, marked by two desires, one being a passion for government and the other one being a passion for the gospel and for ministry and I've always had this back-and-forth of God. Are you call me to the ministry God or you call me to government and never quite sure how those would come together until the last year or so. Here Karis and enters ministry where they have perfectly dovetailed into the trade liberty coalition and leading the school of government equipping believers to take their place in the field of government as ambassadors for Christ command standing for truth and for righteousness.

At what point did you see the culture drifting and you realized the overlap of the church and the government and and you is a lawyer begin to say, okay, look, this is not just a spiritual problem. This is cultural. This is our nation, unraveling right well you know I've been aware of this.

Of that larger issue and problem for a long time. In fact, when I was a brand-new lawyer. I sent an application to the but was still somewhat new, but was the American Center for Law and Justice was Jay Sekulow sure I get a response back then but but yeah, it's you know this is something where the culture wars been going on for a long time and directly overlaps with the gospel and you know are calling to be salt and light. What do you see are some of the limitless. Take the top three challenges to the gospel that are operative in our culture right now. All very good world. The of the first one that comes to mind to me is freedom of religion/freedom of speech. In other words, just the First Amendment.

It seems as if the church in a culture has lost the philosophical underpinning for the First Amendment. We don't know people don't understand why it's important anymore and I I hear people claiming old freedom of speech.

Oh, freedom of religion. But what you do not hear in the public sphere very often is a really articulate defense of the reason why it is so important, and as Christians and in those her standing for truth or coming under more and more attack and even outright bands and prohibitions on speech in America, something that you and I probably never thought we would see exactly. So that would be number one is the importance of the First Amendment and a need for defense of it in a reaffirmation of it. The second is going to be the concept of truth and that there is absolute truth and how do we know absolute truth and a defense of that and to push back against moral relativism is is the second thing I just me for three things with those he is up to fully ask you this before we move we take our first break your truth. Why would truth matter the implications if if there is no ultimate objective truth. Well the to me. The ultimate ramification role or implication of there being no objective truth is anarchy.

If there's no truth and there is no foundation for Republican government. There is no foundation for justice in society. It would become simply.

He who has the might has the right and because it if truth is what I say it is then the person holds the power can invoke that same idea and say, truth is what I say it is, and who cares what you think. And so, without belief in truth larger truth absolute truth.

We have no ultimate backstop for determining right and wrong, good and evil. When we come back we're going to continue our conversation with Richard Harris of the school of practical government at Karis Bible college and were going to ask Richard here's attorney Harris's ruling that the phrase separation of church and state will unpack that and more TNG radio continues from and I am a watchman ministries. Here's today's I am a watchman minute. The story of the particle is familiar and left.

But as wonderful as that story is, it falls short of communicating the love God has for you in the story of the prodigal father waited for the sun but for you and me, God sent his son in the story the father showed his love by welcoming his son with open arms. But Jesus demonstrated his life by stretching out his arms on the cross in the story the father gives his son a ring, but believers today are promised the crown of eternal life.

The story of the prodigal is wonderful but it is merely a shadow of what Jesus has done and offers today.

Jesus loves you and is coming soon.

It's time to get ready to go home that I am a watchman resources help you learn about him live for him and be ready to meet him. People will be faithful, be a watchman, I am a watchman.com first Peter 315 tells us to be ready always to give an answer for the hope we have were instructed to be prepared to defend our faith. This is Alex McFarlane for the life he answers teams students we train at North Greenville University, a leading Christian college in South Carolina. The life he answers teams are made up of students who will inspire and equip your congregation. These apologetics teams. We train speaking churches to youth groups and train Christians of all ages to address key issues of our times. From a biblical perspective like is there a God is the Bible true.

What about gender and moral issues.

Call me at 864977 2008 and we will arrange for the life answers team to come to your church and give a presentation that will benefit your people for years to come.

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That's the theme for the 2019 TNG Christian apologetics youth camp July 29 through August 2 at Camp Caleb North Carolina speakers include of course Alex McFarlane along with Daniel Ritchie, Andy Lawrenson and Mickey Addison exciting worship every night, and rocksolid teaching every day. And yes, it's a summer camp with all the summer camp activities.

Your kids would expect the TNG Christian apologetics youth camp July 29 through August 2 at Camp Caleb to learn more and to register, call 800. Yes, God, one 800 yes God in the number one or email info and truth for a new generation.com welcome back to truthfully new generation radio eligible furniture talking with Richard Harrison to resume our conversation to remind you about our upcoming use apologetics camp. It's July 29 to August 2. Ms. Summers July 29 of August 2 going to have a will and Mickey Addison from the American family Association, Andy Lawrenson, one of the great youth pastors in America really one of the experts on youth culture Daniel Ritchie one of the most inspiring speakers you will ever hear brilliant young man Daniel Ritchie. I'll be there to find Stuff, ropes course kayaking all that good stuff.

Great food, great friends, great memories, but 15 sessions on apologetics and biblical worldview and I own a state of the leaders listing so often young people they go to school they graduate from high school, they fall away very often because of intellectual skepticism.

So look in all of your activities this summer investor week that will count for the entire life of the young person. Let's get equip to stand strong, defend our faith. We don't want the young people in your life to follow. Way to go to the website, which is truth for a new generation.com that's truth, for truth for a new generation.com and you can find our events. Our tour schedule speaking and yes info for the camp is coming up quickly. Register today. Space is limited and we thank you for being a part of what God is called us to do to equip and commission the next generation. Well somebody's really being used by God to do that is my my friend and brother and colleague Richard Harris is the Dean of the school of practical government and attorney an insightful thinker and a devout follower of Jesus Christ and Richard before the break we were talking about some of the challenges.

The challenge to the freedom of religious expression in the First Amendment. Why does this matter will the First Amendment to the Constitution contains five rights in the first right of the first amendment is freedom of religion, saying that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or infringing the free exercise thereof so room religious freedom is the first of the first of the first.

That's because it is the most important right. All other rights come from freedom of religion and are dependent upon freedom of religion, so our founders acknowledged and realized that our rights are unalienable. They come from God and we need to acknowledge that and in the First Amendment is designed to protect that freedom. Foremost, above all things now seated about JFK in 1961, shortly after he was inaugurated. He said that the rights of man come not from the government but from the hand of God the government can't legitimately take our rights away. But the government can't really even give us rights. I, that's right.

Our rights come from God. They they preexist the formation of the government there in unalienable meaning there part of who we are as human beings, God gave them to us in man can take them away so we don't depend on the government for those rights. The government is obligated under the divine law of God, not to infringe those rights and when it does than it's been in violation of God's law. Higher law than even the law of man. Have we in our lifetime and and this is a little bit of a loaded question Richard but have we seen the government invent rights that are not really legitimate right. I'll absolutely how the government invents right to healthcare invents our right to mail the latest right is the right to a free college education. In fact, people use the word right so freely today but it's really year.

You can when you understand the subject to realize that they really don't understand what right is and where that comes from the right to abortion.

There you go. You can have a right to sin. There is no right to do something that God says your is immoral or wrong, and so that is an aberration to the right to gay marriage. I think that this am I correct in saying that the founding fathers believed in absolute moral truth.

They did believe there was a absolute truth and, in that it was something that could be discerned by man through as they were for the Declaration of Independence to the laws of nature and nature's God. So truth could be discerned through the holy Scriptures revelation of God.

There as well as our own reason applying to observing nature around us and the laws of God that are evident through nature. So yes, absolutely. They believe that what would they have thought about the manufacture of rights that undermine the Constitution. I mean, where are we when we're trying to use the Constitution to do things that really ultimately endanger the Constitution well yeah you know the best of modern example of that I think is the that homosexual marriage decision in Oberg fell where suddenly after 240 years.

The Supreme Court finally realizes that all the founding fathers intended to grant an unalienable right for homosexuals to marry and lesbians to marry kind of crazy when you think about it that way but you know think thankfully now about the light of reason has dawned upon us and we discovered this new right. But in reality it's contrary to the law of God and undermines the fabric of society and civilization, and in that sense, it does undermine the Constitution so it's an inherent contradiction.

Is there any hope.

And I'm asking you this is a Christian and as an educator, but also as an attorney. Is there any hope that our legal system and government will come back to the solid ground of belief and moral truth, I think there is hope you know it's not probably going to happen overnight. It's going to be a process that happens over time and the only way for that to happen. First of all, is for the church to be reformed in America because the church is gotta be the instrument of God to reform society, reform the morals if you will. I think I who was that use that phrase, but in in and by teaching and educating the youth and raising up generations here who will stand in the political process, who put officials in office who believe in truth, who will then turn around and put judges on the bench who believe in truth. And that's going to be critical and then it will be a process over time. Of those judges announcing new decisions perhaps undoing all decisions that are contrary to truth and and thereby reforming the law. So what will they do that when there is the inevitable pushback from society in Hollywood. When people look at the border situation. Now, you know, securing America's borders is is only responsible and yet there is this apocalypse that comes out of the left. It seems like when the government wants to do anything that is actually sensible.

Yeah, it's kind of incredible is like an insanity that has taken hold of a large part of our culture and our society. No self-destructive behavior on a societal scale but but what's can happen.

It was a question. I think Alex and and the answer is there's going to be conflict.

We are going to have to take a stand and I think the church and and those who believe in, in truth are and and traditional values are going to have to be willing to endure a protracted conflict. In order for this change to take place stating for children to continue our conversation with attorney Richard Harris pointing to radio continues.

Christians don't necessarily agree with one another when it comes to questions of religious pluralism, homosexuality, the role of government abortion and war.

Too often, we manage these disagreements by ignoring them, yet were called to engage the world for the sake of Christ. How can we be effective if we avoid society's most pressing questions and issues that divide Christians Alex McFarlane challenges us to drill down to the biblical core of 10 current issues such as social justice evil and suffering another fee and environmentalism as he echoes the biblical invitation come let us reason together only by engaging the Scriptures deeply thinking clearly and speaking truthfully can we, in God's family address our differences and discover the peace that comes with unity of purpose.

10 issues that divide Christians find this book and many others@alexmcfarlane.com the group more than $1 trillion in purchasing power by 2025% of the workforce. Employers are watching the millennialism losing our faith is watching my millennial and a closer walk with them about watching you now need to have the Bible degree from Liberty University's are praying, worship, obey God they can make life more vibrantly when you're ready for a religious studies degree find more than 60 ministry degree option is to Dr. of Ministry when LeBlanc prayed for divinity courses Liberty University where we train champions for Christ to liberty.\to learn more liberty.\Explore, to learn more backcountry for a new generation radio with talking with attorney Richard Harris about the age of the change that really must be. If our nation is to continue. Is there a reason that Christians actually should be informed and involved in the electoral process. All hundred percent on just beginning with the words of Jesus that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. There is a Great Conflict Taking Pl. in Western society now between two basic worldviews.

One being that which believes in absolute truth, and in God and in a creator and Internet you know accountability in these kind of things and the other which says there is no God, or if there is you can't discern them. So it's up to all of us to decide what we think is right and and that's going to depend on what's best for us and moral relativism is the result of it and and so these these great conflicts will so if if the Christians believe we don't have a role in government, then we are basically abandoning the field to those who do not know God and do not know truth in the first part of the show we were talking about the absence of truth, and in these rights, ask this in the opening of the declaration. When Jefferson said we hold these truths to be self evident. He's names life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. How is it self-evidently true that we have the right to life.

Every human being has some kind of inherent worth right worth and value worth and value, just the fact that you're a human being makes you special and there is no way for you as a human being to achieve your potential without life.

All other rights become meaningless. What's the point of of that special creation of humanity. If they don't have the right to live. So that's the foundation of life, liberty will in order for you to accomplish what you were made for to experience life to know God to everything else you have to have liberty. You have to have the freedom to make those choices for yourself and and pursuit of happiness which it was classically phrase is the right to property.

So, life, liberty, and property means you have a right to appropriate resources in this life, in order to maximize your potential and to become a blessing to other people. So those three things are obvious just from looking at human culture, society and the world around us. But what if somebody says, well if I have the right to life liberty and The Pursuit of Happyness. What makes me happy is you know stealing your stuff. Where do we draw the line and so will the pedophile is not allowed to pursue happiness in that way a great question will, there's a phrase that my rights in that your nose so so no one has a right to harm another person.

Okay, except for the right of self-defense, which is just defending yourself against the other person's breach of their obligations. So the moral law. The universal inherent moral law of God is a limitation on all people at all times in all places, government governments are instituted by God. The founders recognize this. Romans 13 recognizes this, that that government is instituted in order to restrain evil, or in other words, to protect rights. It's the same thing to to make sure the people don't go beyond what their rights are and hurt somebody else or infringe on another person's rights and this is so needful and and folks, if you're just tuning in, will talk with Richard Harris, who leads the school of practical government at carrots up give the website for the school and just Internet shall tell listeners under many degrees, but why this is important and maybe they might even consider coming here to earn a degree. Thanks, Alex. Thank you so much for that opportunity yeah of the website is@carrotsbiblecollege.org so Karis TCH ARI assets. The Greek word for grace. But Karis Bible college.org and Karis is a three year Bible college. The first two years are spent in study of the word of God in obtaining a solid foundation in God's word for discipleship for successful living and preparing you to take the next step into whatever field it might be the God's calling you to and here at carrots we prepare people for traditional ministry. But we also prepare believers to step into fields of other callings such as business, we have a school of business. We have a school of media and we have a school of worship and a school of creative arts, but my my favorite one is the school of practical government were equipping students to engage in the field of government in whatever capacity that might be elected representative elected official may be on a school board. Maybe just working as an administrator is a technician of some kind in government but a basic understanding of government, its importance, its biblical foundation, right, wrong, and so forth and and various skills so I could go on all day about the courses and what we offer, but II think it's a fantastic program will it is and it's been my honor for several years to teach apologetics hearing it out. I was thinking about a story you've probably heard in the Roman era, the gladiator games when Christians were being thrown to the lions and there was a man I think is and was told Marcus, who finally he was sufficiently moved, and ran onto the field and said this has to stop. These are human beings and it isn't time again whether it's on the egregious national sin of abortion or are just loss of morality and the growing lawlessness that we for the love of God and country, and for the sake of humanity, we have to become morally motivated to make a difference in our prodigal nation you know you could've said that better.

That's so amazing 65 million innocent human beings have been sacrificed on the altar of convenience in the United States alone since Roe versus Wade. That's 10 times the number of people that were killed in the Nazi Holocaust. That's more than what have been killed by Soviet Russia more than were killed by mouse a tongue so it's an incredible genocide. I think without question the worst in the history of mankind. Last year alone, 48 million people, 48 million were killed by abortion. Now with modern technology, we can see the and hear the beating heart. We can see the baby moving inside the womb.

Even at as young as you are eight weeks old. The human heart is beating and if the heart is when the heart stops beating.

Does that mean a person is dead, seems to be the measure. So when the heart starts beating. Doesn't that mean the human being is alive and we had the church must rise up and be the voice to this generation to bring an end of the Holocaust and I wrote a book called 10 issues that divide Christians, folks, this book deals with these and other political issues.

Things like national defense, self-defense, the scourge of pornography, the environment, what is the Christian position on these issues and there are more than 400 footnotes probably work harder on this book than any of the book I wrote, but for your support gift TMG radio because our events broadcasting, publishing all of her doing depends on the faithful person, supportive friends like you for your gift of at least $30 tax deductible will send you the book 10 issues that divide Christians and you can get up to speed to speak intelligently factually on these and other issues. God bless you. Thanks for listening truth for a new in association with Alex McFarland evangelistic ministries exists to equip Christians with a local worldview through conferences and camps for information about upcoming events visit for a new generation.com or give us a call at 877 yes God one that's 877 yes, God, and the number one TMG radio is made possible by the friends of Alex McFarland evangelistic ministries PO Box 102310 NC 27404. That's PO Box 10231, North Carolina 27404. Give online@alexmcfarland.com or truth for a new generation.com. Thanks for listening and join us again next time. As we bring you more true for a new generation on TMG radio