What the Bible Actually Says About Homosexuality

All right, welcome to another podcast of Beyond the Glitch, and today I'm very excited to actually have Pastor Shane Silvers from Whittier, North Carolina, and, uh, we're going to give you guys a proper introduction before we get started here. Welcome to Beyond the Glitch, the podcast where we expose the darkness behind the issues affecting our lives and bring truth, hope, and healing into the light. From addiction and mental health to culture, faith, and the stories people are afraid to tell. Nothing is off limits. I'm Jason Tremko, and together we're going beyond the glitch. All right, so today, guys, we're gonna be doing what we do best on the show here, and that's talking about stuff that, uh, needs to be talked about. You know, a lot of people try to avoid some of the things that we talk about here on the show, you know, whether it's marijuana addiction um, you know, spirituality, religion, you know, spiritual warfare. You know, there's a lot of different things that we talk about, uh, but today, you know, me and Pastor Shane here, you know, kind of had a, an idea of something that we needed to talk about that's important. It's something that we see, we deal with, it's been around for a long time, and that is the subject of homosexuality. Now I know what some people are going to think. They're going to think that, you know, we're just on here trying to bash homosexuality. That's not the case. Um, I actually, you know, as you guys know, I served 20 years in the military. I've worked with soldiers that were homosexual. Some of the best soldiers I ever had were homosexuals. Um, I had, uh, I've had homosexuals in my family. Um, you know, I have friends that are homosexuals. So, you know, I don't, I don't hate on them. Um, I love them just like anybody else. I can be friends with them. I can socialize with them. Um, you know, but I don't believe that the Bible says that it's okay to be homosexual, right? Um, and there's a lot of scripture that backs that up. We're going to get into that a little bit today. Um, you know, but at the end of the day, we're going to leave you with the question, um, and that is, what does the Bible say about it? And you should be able to answer that question today, um, because if you believe in the Bible, the Bible is God's holy word. It's his divine inspiration written by man through him.. And in my opinion, you can't, you can't, uh, say that you believe in homosexuality and read what the Bible says. Yeah. And read what, you know, because the Bible is pretty clear in my opinion. But I'm going to leave that to Pastor Shane Silvers here. He, he's an expert, uh, he's been a pastor for 26 years. And how many churches have you?

3 churches. If you count the associate pastor, 4.

4 different churches. So I'm sure this is not his first time talking about this subject, and I've heard him preach on it before, and it's— I mean, it's powerful. So, um, you know, let's, let's just kind of jump in. So Pastor Shane, tell us a little bit about yourself, you know, what, um, what made you be a pastor? Let's start about that first.

Yeah, thanks for having me on, Jason. Um, great to be here on Beyond the Glitch. I'm a great big fan of yours, uh, both the books that you have written so far. I know you're working on a third one. We won't get into that. I don't know if you We won't let the cat out of the bag, but both The Real Problem with America and Beyond the Glitch, both great books that I've read. Both of them, I thought that they were well written and explore topics that need to be talked about that are usually swept under the rug. And so, yes, thank you for having me on. I'm honored. I didn't want to be a pastor. This is not something that I chose. It chose me. I felt like I was called to pastor as far as 2001, that far back, and ran from it. Did not really want to go that direction. I had a good job making good money and didn't like the stigma that comes with that title, but eventually seeing that that is what my calling was and the only thing that could truly make me happy because it was fulfilling God's will. The Lord wouldn't let me off the hook. And so, um, been doing that now, uh, 24 years, uh, pastoring if you count the time I've been associate pastor, a little longer than that. But, um, I pastored in both more metropolitan areas and in rural areas. I pastored all different ethnicities, educational backgrounds in different parts of the state. And, and so, um, I, you know, you said I was an expert. That's maybe a little bit of a stretch. I do, I do understand the word of God, I feel like, because I'm privileged to be able to study it a lot. And I've, um, I went to college and, and heard what and learned what they have to say about it. And so, uh, I appreciate your confidence in it and look forward to diving into this subject today so that hopefully we can shine some light on this and hopefully let people know that we're not out to try to hate on homosexuals. We don't want to do that. We love everybody. We just want to educate them and what God would say would be their best life. Yeah.

And you said something that's, you know, really important that I think people need to understand, and that's, you know, you didn't really ask to be a pastor.

Oh no.

You know, it's definitely a calling. If you do it because you want to do it, most of the time you're gonna— it's it's going to be miserable or you're going to fail, um, from what I've seen, you know. And, and I can relate because, you know, with my, my last book, The Green Glitch: What's Behind the Devil's Lettuce, you know, it wasn't exactly a subject that people receive in a friendly way a lot of times, you know what I mean. So it's, you know, but, you know, I believe when you follow what God tells you to do, doors open, you know, as, as they have for me, and I know they've opened for you. And, um, you know, somebody's got to do it. Somebody's gotta, gotta step up and do what God asked them to do, you know, because that's how we bring light to this world. And, uh, yeah, great job.

Well, that's just the way ministry works. I think that, that for true ministry to happen, it's got to be more than a vocation. It's got to be, uh, more than just something that you have a talent for. But, um, true ministry flows from the Holy Spirit, which is, uh, given to us to help us to do ministry. And if we are doing what God calls us to do, whether it be write a book, pastor, youth pastoring, uh, lead a worship team, or whatever it may be— maybe some of your listeners are, are feeling like they're called into ministry— the reason that we want to make sure that our callings and elections are sure, that's what the Bible says, and that we're doing what God wants, is because when we line up with what he wants to do, then God blesses his will through the power of the Holy Spirit. If, you know, he's not obligated to bless what we want to do, you, but he'll bless his will. And that's why in the Lord's Prayer, your kingdom come, your will be done in earth. And so when we line up with what he wants us to do, it will be his will.

That's right. So, you know, part of, uh, ministry too is, is preaching the gospel the way it's supposed to be preached, right? Because I see a lot of, um, you know, I got to be careful I say because I don't want to bash other churches or anything, but there's churches out there even in our local area here that support homosexuality, right? Right. You know, and I've spent a lot of time researching this, and, you know, to me it's like so clear. Like, it's one of the most clear subjects the Bible talks about, in my opinion.

Um, crystal clear. Yeah.

You know, so, you know, what, what do you think has caused this subject to be so controversial in the church and just an issue that the church is facing today?

That's a great question. I, I think that the church, um, is struggling, struggling with relevance, uh, within our culture because it is shifting through education, through the influence of media, uh, to a different perspective than what even a lot of people had even 20 years ago., definitely what our— from different from what our parents grew up in. And so, um, there has been an effort to try to keep people coming to church and interested in church, to make the church more pliable, to make it more palatable to our communities. And in doing, to compromise a lot of times, to find ways to, to loopholes maybe in the scripture, to try to compromise and, and preach a watered-down version of the gospel. So that it's more inclusive, where people don't really have to change. Now, now, I believe that at the end of the day, we were, we were called to preach the gospel, which is about Jesus's death, burial, and resurrection. The good news that Jesus came and died that we may receive salvation freely by faith. We're saved by grace through faith. And so people have to first be changed before that, through the, through being saved, through salvation, before they can even understand the word. But you have a lot of denominations this day and time that are veering from, uh, the exclusivity of Christ. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. And they are including— so, you know, Muslims are going to go to heaven, and Hindus are going to go to heaven, and it, you know, um, Scientology is a path to heaven, and humanistic ideologies are pathways to heaven, and you just find your own way to heaven. And so, and so the church is trying to blend in with all these other religions because these are now more prevalent than ever within our communities. Instead of trying to be what Jesus called us to be, to be leaven in the meal, to be a light on a hill, to be salt of the earth, to be a difference, a lot of the churches and a lot of denominations are trying to become less of a— more politically correct and less of a controversy with standing upon truth. Which, which is many times— which you've been doing this in your books, yeah, which is many times controversial, yeah, because it challenges the status quo, especially a lot of things that are talked about in universities and in the school systems and that are left-wing media pushes. And so, so, uh, we'll just say like the Methodist Church just had a huge split. You have the, the Global Methodist, you have the United Methodist, and there's a big split because a lot of them wanted to stay with a more classical conservative Christianity. But the majority now of Methodists, I believe, in homosexual ministers, uh, condoning same-sex marriages, and a host of other things that they do, that they, that they have. That's just one denomination. I'm not just picking on them. Yeah, uh, the Episcopal Church and, and many others that, that have, uh, changed. Uh, Quakers Church, I know, have done this as well, that they, that they have compromised. And a lot of that is to try to keep people coming. They feel like to, to keep the churches full, because there has been an exodus. There has— the church that the Bible prophesies that there will be a falling away in the last days.

Yeah.

And we're sitting— and so to combat that, instead of trying to just continue to stay with the truth, they want to become more politically and socially correct so that more people will come. The problem is that they may have a social club, they may have people that'll come to say, wow, that's great, I don't have to change now, I can live life my own way instead of conforming to the scriptures. The scriptures and the people that are, are saying that they're going to preach scriptures now conforming to my lifestyle. So now I just come, but there's no true change because Christ is not being preached.

Yeah, and I think they're, they're, they're almost like, you know, they— I think they believe that they're, they're living according to what the scripture says.

Oh, they say that they're loving Yeah, they say that they want to be accepting, that they want to, to, uh, they focus a lot of times on feeding the poor and on, which is a good thing. I believe in that. I want to make sure that they, they believe in accepting people and showing love and being kind to people. Um, but, and I believe that all those things are important. Yeah, but the, the main thing that is that Jesus emphasized about love is that it's not always just accepting people where they're at, but being truthful with them. Yeah. You know, tough love. The young rich ruler that came to him and said, Lord, how can I inherit eternal life? Well, if you go by a lot of churches this day and time, he would have just said, well, do the best you can, you know, come in and just hang out with me and don't change and you'll be fine. Yeah, but Jesus said, you know the scriptures, you know, and he said, well, I follow these. He said, well, one thing you lack— in fact, the Bible says loving him, he told him what he needed to change. And the Bible actually says he went away sad. Well, he didn't chase after him. He gave him an opportunity to either choose to the scriptures. And that's what we're doing today. I don't hate on anybody that don't believe the Bible. They have a right to not believe the scriptures. That is their prerogative.

They have free will.

Free will. Absolutely. So, so if they don't want to, that's their choice. But if you, if you are a Christian, if you're going to be a Christian, then— and it's been this way for millennia— true Christianity is built upon the precepts of New Testament doctrine found from the book of Matthew to Revelation, period.

Yeah.

And, um, you know, you said something that's important, you know, uh, you know, the, the truth, you know, knowing the truth, the truth shall set you free.

Yes, that's what the scriptures say, you know.

I don't— I, I want to know the truth, you know. Yeah, I don't want to be misled. And believe that I'm living right when I'm not, right? You know, to me, that's, that's dangerous, you know. Um, so, you know, that's— what advice would you give anybody, you know, that may be sitting in, you know, a church that supports homosexuality? And a lot of times people don't even realize that their church may support it because they do kind of try to keep it under the rug. I've noticed that a lot of the churches around here, um, that support it they'll try to keep it under the rug, right? You know, like they don't want nobody to know that they believe in it, but yet they're also not gonna preach against it, or, or, right, you know what I mean? So what would you say to anybody that's sitting in that kind of church, um, that's hearing this?

Yeah, and some of them are more in your— I've seen some, some churches where they have like rainbow flags, yeah, covering the cross, and you know, on the In Remembrance Me table, you know, the sacrament table, depending upon what religious affiliations— I mean, if you're Viewers have, but, and then some of them are, they are a little more subtle about it. But if any of your listeners are going to a church that supports homosexuality, and I would say this with any sin, yeah, there, there are ministries and ministers out there that, that believe that abortion is acceptable. But I believe if you read the scriptures, in the scriptures, if a woman was pregnant and two men were fighting and that baby was killed, uh, because of the fighting, the woman got hurt or whatever, then that life of that child was just like the life of another human being. Whoever killed that child had to be put to death. Yeah, but that's Old Covenant now. Uh, so whether it's abortion or whether it is having sexual relationships outside of marriage, even for heterosexuals, uh, whether it is acceptance of, you know, not wanting to preach online stealing or any of those sins. Homosexuality, I don't— I think a lot of times evangelicals have made it like our soundboard. It's our gong that we beat. And, and I do not think that we should just harp on homosexuality. It's not something that we should just, you know, focus on, that that's the only sin that's going to send you to hell. Yes, God, we're against that thing. But I'm against divorce. You know, a lot of churches, they hide from the divorce. Divorce is sin. Yeah, you know, but it's so prevalent within our congregations. It happens and touches so many lives. A lot of preachers shrink back from that. I believe whether it is divorce or lust or whether it is acceptance of drunkenness— you've been an advocate against legalization of marijuana. I don't think that has any place in a believer's life. Or if it's homosexuality, I know that's right, and that's what we're going to focus on today. If you're in a church that does not preach on sin, you need to leave it. If it's just about feel-good sermons about encouraging you to just, you know, feel good about yourself, feel good about your life, that is not going to save you on Judgment Day. A church, if you're going to be a Christian, should be discipling you. Jesus said, go and teach them all things whatsoever I've told you, and lo, I'm with you always, even to the end of the age. Okay, so he said, I want you not to leave anything out. I want you— it should not be just all hellfire and brimstone, everybody's going to go to hell. And you know, there should be times where we encourage people. I think that's good. In fact, about what it says— whatsoever things are good, whatsoever things are right, whether things just dwell and think on those things. So yeah, encouragement's good, but on a regular basis, a good, well-balanced church should confront sin, and that includes homosexuality. And if they accept that— and there's a lot of different things that they say. They say that you have to look at the verbiage, that, you know, whenever it talks about that, um, a man should not lay with man, it's talking about a man laying with a boy or with a male prostitute of the idolatrous temples. Or they'll say, no, it's actually really just referring to a, um, you know, that you have to understand that it's talking about sleeping with multiple men or multiple women if you're a woman, you know, about lesbians or gays, that, that is, it's talking about not talking about a monogamous relationship from, for God You know, doesn't see as man sees. God looks on the heart. I've debated with pastors about this. He sees no male nor female. These are all different things that these churches that are compromising, they utilize different things like this to try to paint a picture of an acceptable lifestyle of homosexuality. But the problem with it is, is that you have to leave out a lot of scripture. Yeah, for that to be accepted. There's too much scripture that says clearly, 1 Corinthians chapter 6, Uh, in verse, uh, verse 9, it simply says that homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Yeah, it's pretty clear.

Clear. Homosexuals. So yeah, so I'm not hating on homosexuals. I didn't make that rule, God did.

Yeah.

In that same list, there's fornicators, which means people that have sex. I mean, I know this day and time they just pass out condoms at school because they're teaching abstinence because we're like beasts and we can't control ourselves. I believe that we can. Yeah, I believe that. I believe that morality— it talks about adulterers, it talks about idolaters, people that worship other gods, thieves, covetous, people that are drunkards, people that, that, um, all these different people, that swindlers that try to steal things and con, and these scammers that are trying to scam people out of money. All these things are sinful things. Yeah. And homosexuality is just one within the list. But unfortunately, then that's our topic today. Because homosexuality is more widely accepted than it ever has been, churches now do not want to engage in the topic because they're afraid of losing parishioners. And that's unfortunate this day.

And it really is. Yeah, I mean, I, I don't know. I, I wouldn't feel comfortable sitting in a church that supported it because I don't see how you can preach the gospel, you know, over here on the area you choose to preach on, but then you reject what the scripture says over here.

I don't see how you can do that.

Like, you can't pick and choose what parts of the Bible you want to believe in.

Yeah, I, I want to add this right there. That's a great point, Jason, that there is no scripture— I would challenge anybody, and, um, my email is silversforchrist@yahoo.com. Silvers, S-I-L-V-E-R-S, the number 4, Christ, C-H-R-I-S-T, @yahoo.com. And I invite any email to me of anybody that would like to share with me one scripture out of the thousands of scriptures in 66 books, Old and New Testament, that validates homosexuality. It's not in there. There is no scripture there. They try to twist this. I can bore your listeners for the next 5 hours with scriptures that say that homosexuality is a sin. It is a sin. And just like all of us, I used to be addicted to drugs whenever I was in my teens and early 20s. That was a sin. If I would have died in that lifestyle, I would have went unfortunately to hell. Um, I was lustful. I was addicted to pornography. I was— I had a lot of different things within my life that is wrong. And the same Savior that had to save Shane Silvers, uh, from lust and from addictions, a homosexual needs that same Savior in their life.

That's right.

And so it's important that we understand that no scripturalities— there is no way that anybody can find a scripture that says, aha, this right here says that homosexuality is okay. There is none. Uh, and that's the reason I would invite people to look. And, and so if that is the case, if there is no scripture that says homosexuality is okay, how do we come to the place in a supposedly Christian nation to where a majority of people now, according to statistics, support homosexuality. They may not be— I'm not saying they're homosexual, but they say if that's their choice, if they're born that way, that that is okay.

Yeah.

How can that be?

Yeah. And then, you know, the other thing I was going to ask you too is, you know, I see a lot, you know, with the subjects I talk about, um, you know, people will come at you and say that's hate speech. Yeah, you know, you're, you're preaching the gospel, or, you know, you're, you know, you're, you're telling people it's wrong, that's hate speech, you know. So how— what would you, what would you tell somebody to— in regards, in regards to that, you know, to how, how they could have an open mind and see it from a different perspective? You know, it's not hate speech, it's— is this is what the word of God says, you know.

Absolutely. And that's a great question because I think that there has been, unfortunately, those within the evangelical church.

Yeah.

That have been very mean and hateful and hostile towards homosexuals that have come across with a— the Bible says to preach the truth in love.

That's true.

Okay, so, so if you have truth and you package it in hate, it's not gonna work. No matter what sin it is, no matter what you're trying to do, it just doesn't work. And, and, and the— and Jesus never intended for it to happen that way. The, the, the, the only time— and check this out— that Jesus was really hateful and mean with people was against, was against the church. When we take the, the things of his house and his people and we tried to make it legalistic, like whenever he went to the temple and he turned the temple tables over and he was cracking the whip, you know, and everything, that was because people tried to take his name and his house and make it a place that was perverted and dark and, and, and a place where it served, uh, selfish endeavors. And so that's— and he would tell the people, you're a brood of vipers, you're a bunch of hypocrites. That was the religious people, not the sinners.

That's true.

It's the sinners. It was always— the one was caught in the act of adultery, he said, whoever's not sinning, that's the first time.

That's true.

So, so it's, it's got to be packaged because Love covers a multitude of sins. And so, so first of all, if people have experienced hate speech, they may very well have because it may have been packaged in hate. If that's the case, I want to first of all apologize to them. I apologize on behalf of the church, not for the message, but for the heart of anger and bitterness and hatred, because I've seen some things that I was embarrassed of. Jason Tremko, I was embarrassed of people that wore a sign that, you know, with an angry look on their face. An M16 in their hand and they're saying, "All homosexuals are going to go to hell." That's not the way to win over the lost. Yeah. And so, but even if we speak it in love, would there be people that would say, "You can't say that because it's hate speech"? Of course. And that is a misunderstanding of what we're trying to say. If a house was on fire and people were in the bed asleep, and you see their house is on fire and you say, well, I don't want to wake them up out of their sleep, that's not a very nice thing to do. Well then, if you let them burn up, that, that is a horrible thing to do because you need to try to save their life.

That's right.

You know, it'd be the same way that people says, okay, you cannot take away, you can't reverse Roe versus Wade because if you do, you're taking away my rights. That's hate speech. That's taking my rights. Well, what about the right of the child? That's right. Okay, so you have to see, if you truly believe as a Christian that hell's a real place It's a place of unending torment. It's a place of unquenchable fire. It is a place of punishment, not because God's a mean God, but because when people choose to reject Jesus Christ and his message because they want to stay in sin, because we all were born into sin. I've heard people say, well, I'm born this way. Well, guess what? There's a lot of people born addicts, born liars. We're all born. We all are born with it. That's why Jesus— born in sin. Absolutely. In fact, the Bible— the most famous Bible verse is probably John 3:16 that says, God so loved the world.

Why?

Because we all need a Savior. And Jesus had to show up and in love show people the right way. In fact, John chapter 1, it says that the law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. But he came to tell us to turn the other cheek. He came to tell us if someone wants to walk one— tells you to walk one mile, walk with them two. Yeah, if he came to say You know, if you look at a woman with lust in your heart, you've committed adultery. Well, that's— well, that's— is that prejudice against someone with lust in the heart? No. Is that prejudice against someone that wants to say, no, I just want to be the— do the bare minimum? Is that— he says, if you— if you don't forgive, then you can't be forgiven. Was that prejudice against people that have been mistreated, that need— that don't want to forgive? No. He's trying to show us God's ways.

Yeah.

And so when we, in love, tell the homosexual that God's designed for us. And I do believe that there are people that are born with a more feminine disposition because of the fallen nature of man. Yeah. And so you can, you can have same-sex attraction. And I believe that that can happen, but that does not mean that that is an acceptable lifestyle. And so if you're battling, say one of your listeners are battling with same-sex attraction, I would like to let them know that, that God loves them, that God has a plan laid out that is a better life of peace and of joy and of grace and of eternal life. But they're gonna, they're gonna have to trust. Just like I, I really enjoyed getting high back when I was an addict, but I had to choose God's ways. And, and man, there's— I don't want to go back into that lifestyle. Why? Because God's ways are better. They just are. You have to first of all be born again. But me telling them that that lifestyle is, is wrong is not hate speech. It's just me standing upon what the scriptures declare as the right way for humanity and telling them there is a better way. Yeah, there's something that is called truth, and truth is what we have to believe. If there is no truth, then how can you tell someone it's wrong to rob a bank? If so, you— hey, you know, you, you love money. I can't tell you you don't love money, so just go get money. Or how do you tell a pedophile that it's wrong to rape a child? That's, that's, that's what he wants to do. I'm prejudiced against him because of something that he really wants in his heart. Or how can I tell someone that, that it would be wrong for them to be addicted to heroin? They love that heroin. They feel like it makes them feel good. Well, no, there's laws against that. Not prejudice, because there's a better way. Yeah, there's— there is a path that will help you have a better, more successful, more enjoyable life. I mean, the, the AIDS epidemic is predominantly among homosexuals, and, and, and the, the most of the people that deal with that are either bisexual or homosexual. And so just that alone, if you are— if you will turn from homosexuality, your chances of getting AIDS, HIV, becoming HIV positive diminished greatly. Just that one aspect out of many I can share. Yeah, you cannot have children, father children, whether it's lesbian relationship or a gay relationship unless you adopt and/or you have a surrogate parent. So all of them things that are things that we should have a desire within our heart to be a parent, to have a family, to raise children, to, to be healthy. Are all things that are produced with a more heterosexual life.

Yeah, that's a whole nother subject too, you know. Like you said, you know, a lot of people are adopting now, you know, but if you look at the mental health issues that affect those kind of— those kids that are into those family situations, I mean, it's a whole nother thing we could talk about here, you know.

Absolutely. Our design of our bodies, yeah, is not conducive of a homosexual relationship as far as the sex The homosexuals that are transgender that, you know, want me to say, don't call me a he, though it is a male that was born. The biology says that they are a male. You know, they— that's what science says. That's what their human body shows. But they want me to call them a woman. Are wanting me to not only compromise on my belief that homosexuality is wrong, but of truth. And so you have a lot of proof within the transgender community, the LGBTQ+ movement, and within homosexuality that there is evidence of a lot of this being mental illness, things that— and I don't say that to be mean— mental health issues that happen with that. That are all tied into this. And I think that a lot of those things that, that unfortunately people battle with that have this are things that need to be addressed by maybe having medication that helps them to be able to balance out different chemical imbalances within their life. There could be medical explanations for that.

Um, but a lot of people turn to a lot of things because of mental health issues.

Oh, absolutely.

Marijuana or— yes, sir— drugs, you know, they're going to turn a lot of that and stuff because of family situations or mental health issues that they deal with. So you can see how that could, that could tie into that. Um, even though the world would say probably not the case, you know, they're gonna say I was born this way, you know.

It's unfortunate because, because a lot of the people that support, uh, like the transgender, LGBTQ+, or homosexuality, uh, also believe in like climate change. You know, which is something that if you go to science, you know, the Earth is warming up. That's a subject for a different time. They want to lean on science there but not on this topic, you know. But you can't— it's either— it is either all or nothing. Uh, the, the subject of climate change, and I know this is our topic today, I'm a little unusual. I guess, um, among the conservative community, I believe climate change is a real thing. I think that there— that we do need to be aware and make good laws. I think you've got to do it smart. We can't go to all electric vehicles because we don't have an infrastructure for it. Do I think if we did that it would be a good thing? It would bring down the emission of carbons within our atmosphere and be good for our planet. A wonderful thing. I'm not against that. I think that, I think science is a good thing. In fact, you know, Darwin's theory of evolution, a lot of people, they look at that and they say, well, that, that is something that proves the Bible Bible wrong. But if you look at Darwin's theory of evolution, I do not believe we come from monkeys. In fact, science will show you that there's missing links there where they can't even— it's still a theory, it can't be proven. But it's— they will say, well, guess what, there's a Big Bang, and then all of these different dust settled, and then life began in water. And well, there was— life did begin with a Big Bang. It was God spoke, let there be light, and it happened.

Yeah.

And life, even in the scripture started in water and then the dry land and the creatures on the dry land. And, and all of these things, it actually— a lot of the things in science that they say prove the Bible wrong, if you look at it, actually it validates the Bible, if you know what I'm saying. I'm not saying I believe in evolution. I'm saying I believe that a lot of the things that it teaches, if you follow the synchronization of it, a lot of it leans towards things that the Bible teaches anyway.

Yeah.

Uh, and if, and if science is something that we're going to base it. We think, well, that's good medically. If someone is born and they— and we look at their body and their biology says that they're a male, then that's what they are. If they're a female, they're a female. Because if you don't— if you don't base it on that and it's just emotionalism and it's relevant, then you open up a whole can of worms. Okay, well then, and we already are having some of this. Can someone be a cat? Can they be a dog? Can they be a monkey? And then where do you go from there? You know, it's, it's, it's, there has to be some, at some point in time you have to find truth.

Well, the Bible says God is not the author of confusion.

Oh yes, absolutely.

So, you know, if you, you know, once this whole movement started becoming accepted, it introduced that confusion.

Yes, absolutely.

And like you said, when you stop, when does that confusion stop?

So, you know, it's slippery slope. Yeah. And how far does it go?

Yeah.

And so at some point in time you have to say, is there right, is there Yeah, what is true and what is not. Yeah. And, and, and for, for millennia— well, I'm a Christian, so I believe it's— it has been from the beginning. But even those people that maybe they are an atheist or they, they are of, um, they're not really persuaded, they, um, of what faith that they would be. They believe that there's just something out there. Um, If you believe in just science, the Bible is the oldest book that we have that continues to be utilized by archaeologists and by science because it's accurate. It's never been proven inaccurate. In fact, for years they said, well, the sign that the Catholic Church ruined it and they've tampered with it for power and everything. Well, they found the Dead Sea Scrolls that had not been accessed by the Catholic Church when they compared it to the canonized scripture that we have now. There was nothing that was missing. There was nothing that had been tampered with. So we, so we know that it is a, it's a valid book. But then if you go further and you say, well, if it's valid and that it has been accurate as far as history, as far as, you know, different nations and what happened in times past, what about the truth aspect of it? If it is true, then, and if it's, you know, creates morality, which most of the, the laws that we have in America today have Judeo-Christian roots because of how perfect the morality and the truth and the right and wrong that is set in place in, in the Pentateuch— Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy— it is, it is so perfect because it's by God, um, that to this day, if you go to a court of law, why do we say that murder is wrong? The Bible says it's wrong. Yeah. Why do we think that stealing is wrong? The Bible says that it's wrong. Why do we think that it is wrong for a child to be molested? The Bible says it's wrong. Why do we believe that it is wrong to confiscate someone that somebody else's wrongfully? The Bible says that it is. So I mean, rules about, about people that are, are, that are employers to employees, that you should have fair wages and a certain amount of hours in a workday. That's all set in place by the Bible.

That's true.

If that, if those things are true, then what about the subject of homosexuality? You know, you know, if—

why wouldn't you want it to be true?

You know, that's a good point.

It's like, you know, everything, like you're saying, you know, it was put in order, in perfect order, you know. And, and if we step outside of that, it causes chaos.

In case— absolutely.

And you can see that with like prayer in schools, or— I mean, there's so many things that you can see whenever we stepped out of doing what the Bible says, it caused chaos, you know. So it's like, you know, why would I want to support something that goes against what the Bible says? Because it's going to just create more chaos, and it has everywhere.

Any—

and this is gonna— I know that there'll be— there are a few little loopholes that some of your leaders could find that would disprove my point, but this— the point I'm going to say next is 90% the case. Nations where Christianity is the main religion are usually good economically and socially and within the family and with the structure of the nation is usually— like I'm saying, it's not 100%, but most nations, the most powerful nations and the nations that have the, the best, uh, the, the best bill for society are Christian nations. And you get outside of that, the nations that have the most chaos are nations that follow other gods, for the most part. And so when you get away from God's law, there is chaos. And the reason that it is, is because God set a perfect order in place.

Yeah.

And when we follow his ways, it just works.

Yeah.

Within marriage, within, within parenting, within our social structure, within the government, when we will just follow it. But when we stray, we thought we were smarter than God and strayed from that. And in doing so, when you look into our nation today, our national debt that is climbing, produced by greed.

Yeah.

Which is condemned in the scriptures. You, you see all kinds of, of craziness within the schools and, and being kids getting high at schools, and they have a hard time, uh, having any kind of rule and order within our schools, and then you have a lot of problems with people not wanting to work, also condemned in the scripture because of that hard— I mean, I could go on. But when we apply what a lot of people says is outdated scriptural principles to our society, to our personal lives especially, including homosexuality, that we say that that would be an unacceptable lifestyle. If people would give it a chance, we would see the same thing that made us a great nation in times past could keep us a great nation now, not only as, as our culture and as our society, but within our personal lives.

It's good. It's very good.

Yeah.

So what, I mean, what do you think happened that, you know, because there was a time when the majority of Christians, right, you know, like drew the line in the sand, you know, and they didn't want to cross it, but then something shifted and now you got people literally fighting against you know, Christians that are standing on what the word of God says.

Absolutely.

What do you think caused that shift?

That's a good question. In fact, I would say a lot of the younger generation is more agnostic. They don't— they are spiritual, but they don't want to subscribe to a certain religion, especially not Christianity.

Or maybe they don't even read the Bible. They're just basing it off of what they're—

yeah, yeah, yeah. So that— and now the shift, I believe, was the decline of the family unit. I believe that— you see, God built the family before that he built the church.

Yeah, that's true.

Uh, Adam and Eve— it was not good that man should be alone. And, and when you had an increase in divorce, when you had an increase of a lot of the things that tore the family apart and the degrading of the family unit, uh, all of a sudden moms had to work 3 jobs because they were single moms and didn't have time to go to church. Kids begin to rebel against parents and did not respect any authority. And it starts within the home because there's no family structure. But it also goes all the way back. I think if you really chase it back, trace it back, you can trace it back to the popularization back in the '50s and '60s of marijuana and of drug abuse. And drug use that opens people's mind a lot of times to accepting that things that were not the norm before— that families stayed together, there wasn't divorce, whether it's bra burnings or burning the American flag or not going because you had a civil duty and patriotism to go and serve your country. I'm not going to burn my draft card. All this happened when marijuana, LSD, and drugs come to the forefront. And, and it— I mean, there was all kinds of horrible things that happened during that dispensation of time. And one of them was that through that, there was a reluctance to follow, um, anything that, anything that was structured, that had authority attached to it, that said, you can't, you, you can't do this, this is something that is the rules. And whether it was the home, or whether it was the job, the, the marketplace, or whether it was schools, uh, or whether it was the church. Uh, a lot of church— a lot of people begin to unplug from that. Um, but, but there, there is— I think the influence of media within our culture was also a major thing prior to the '60s. Not a lot of people— a lot of people had radio, But you, you had TVs come in and, and you had a lot of different voices coming into the family unit, coming into people's lives that gave a minority a megaphone. And then all of a sudden, because at one point in time, you know, the church was where the school was, it was where people voted, um, everybody went to church. They went to church on Sunday and that's where families got together and people talked and discussed politics and culture. Well, you had these people that on the television saying they came in and, and they brought all these different ideas into the home that was not Christian, that was something else. And a lot of them, all the way back from I Love Lucy, that was a more of a, a rebel. She was not going to listen to her husband, she's going to do her own thing. That came from Hollywood. And you go through a lot of these different programs that at the time we look back and they're so innocent, but they were radical at the time. They challenged things that we were taught in Sunday school, challenged things that we were taught at church. But it brought Hollywood— Hollywood was beginning to indoctrinate our kids.

Yeah.

And then now, I mean, much more so with these, with the cell phones. I mean, we have things that's just bombarding us. Bombards us, bombards our kids. And, and it is, it is something that from all the time we have all these different voices and influences that are taking us in a different direction than Christian values.

Yeah. So how do we take it back? What do we do?

That's a good question. I believe, I believe if any of your listeners are Christians, the prayer— I believe it is going to take Revival. Um, and I believe that goes— you know, our main topic today is homosexuality. I believe that what would deliver a homosexual from homosexual lifestyle is not just, you know, beating a drum telling them that it is wrong, but they need to experience Jesus Christ.

Yeah, and that's happening. I've watched podcasts with, you know, people that were homosexual and came to Christ, you know, and they're, they're saying their life is completely turned around.

Absolutely.

So it is happening, you know. So, um, I mean, there's, there's, there's witches that are being saved.

Praise God.

I just interviewed, you know, a former witch. They just had a worship night at their tattoo parlor that they turned into a Christian tattoo parlor. They had over 100 people show up, and I think they said 15 people got saved.

Yes, praise God.

This is a former, a former witch. You know, just a year ago, you know, that's turned their life around. She practiced for 25 years, you know. So, you know, people, people are coming to Christ, you know, homosexuals, uh, drug addicts, witches, criminals, all these kinds of people, you know. So God can still change people.

Absolutely. Well, and Nineveh was an evil nation. God sent Jonah there, and when he began to preach the truth, what God said— he didn't want to. Yeah, he went to Tarsus and was swallowed by the great fish and spit out on dry land. He went there, but he brought a revival and people, even from their leaders down, they turned from their sinful ways, and God spared Nineveh. It's an amazing story. Yeah, that happened in Samaria in the book of Acts. Uh, Philip went down there and preached Christ to them. There was sorcery down there, all kinds of, uh, Samaria was a place of idolatry which had all kinds of different sexual sins including homosexuality attached to it. Yeah. Um, and, and so Oh yes, Sodom and Gomorrah. So God destroyed it for that reason. But, but God brought revival to Samaria, and because people experienced authentic, uh, power of the Holy Spirit, they, they experienced Jesus Christ, him coming into their heart, and was saved. And when that happens, I believe he can turn not only individuals around, but families around, communities around, and even this nation. But we need to pray. Somewhere, somebody's going to have to continue to preach truth in love. Yeah, not hate, not, not, not being mean, not getting up and beating your Bible over the pulpit and screaming at people that you, that, that, that you're angry at them. No, I mean, you may, you may even shout. I'm a shouting preacher. I'm Pentecostal. But, but you can do that in love.

Yeah.

And, and with a message of hope that Jesus still saves. And if people, no matter what they're men, including homosexuality, if they experience Jesus. Yeah, if they experience— that's what happened to me back in 1998. If people experience Jesus Christ and him coming into their life and making them a new creation, then it's an amazing thing. The things that they once did that they got pleasure from, they'll no longer want to do it because they have not been conformed to a legal code or just trying to keep a standard by willpower. We don't do good things to try to earn our salvation, try to get to heaven. We do those things because we've been changed, because we're on our way to heaven, because Jesus came into our heart.

Yeah, yeah. And I'll tell people too, you know, don't, don't be scared to, you know, hear the truth. Yes, you know, like, like, you know, like Pastor Shane was saying, you know, don't, don't just go to a church because it makes you feel good, you know. You need to go somewhere where you can, you can feel a little bit of conviction. That's not a bad thing. Yes, that's a good thing, you know, um, to, to better yourself in Christ. I mean, why, why would you be afraid of that, you know what I mean? So don't be scared to go to a church that's going to preach the truth, um, you know. I'd rather be somebody that, you know, Pastor Shane, he's my pastor. I would rather sit under somebody that's going to preach truth, you know, and tell me what the Bible says, steer me in the right direction, than to make me feel good all the way to hell.— if that makes sense.

Oh, absolutely.

You know, so good point. You know, my listeners on here, I would tell you, you know, it may seem controversial, but, you know, the Bible is very clear, and we shouldn't be scared to hear that truth, guys, you know, because the truth will set you free. And I believe that. And in regards to that, let's— you know, what are some of the scriptures? I know you brought some scriptures, um, that you could point some people to.

Yeah, and I'll share these really quick. I know we're running out of time, but But if there is anyone that is a homosexual within this audience, or those people that maybe have a proclivity to agree as homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle, uh, I want to let them know before I share the scriptures that, that, um, I'm not wanting to be combative, or my, my motive is, is to not in any way, shape, or form to try to be controversial for the sake of controversy. Um, I'm— my motive is to simply see people experience the abundant life that Jesus died to give them. There is a real God in heaven, that he gave us the word, that he gave us the scriptures so that we would know what we need to do so that we can have the best life possible. Not to try to keep us from having fun, not to keep us bound, and not trying to keep us, in the Dark Ages somehow to try to, you know, I know that a lot of people that subscribe to homosexual lifestyles, they, they call themselves progressive. You know, we're not progressive enough. But, but I, I, in my opinion, the, the word of God is not holding people back. It's not keeping us from being progressive. It is helping us to be able to have guardrails, boundaries that keep us on the road to having joy and peace and life and happiness to the full extent.

Yeah.

And so, you know, Leviticus 18:22, the Bible clearly says, it says, you will not lie. Man will not lie with another man as you do with a woman. In Romans chapter 1, it says that the men left the natural use of a woman and burning their lust one toward another, men with men working that which was shameful. And doing those things, if you go further down in verse 28, should not be done. So that there, this 1 Corinthians 6 and 9, it says, do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Those that are effeminate, which are those people that, um, are like transgender, a man that tries to be a woman a woman that tries to be a man, abusers of themselves, of mankind. Those people that are homosexual will not go to heaven. 1 Timothy 1:9, it says that the law was made not for a righteous person, but for the lawless, disobedient, ungodly sinners, for murderers, manslayers, for whoremongers, and for those that defile themselves with mankind, for homosexuals. I mean, I could, I could go on. There is all kinds Yeah, of scriptures that say that a homosexual lifestyle is against God's will.

Yeah, there's just as many that talk about, um, you know, a man and a woman having sex outside of marriage too.

Oh gosh, I can give you tons of those.

Yeah, there's tons of that stuff that say that it is wrong. Um, that's something we don't want to talk about either these days.

Oh my gosh, people, people, because that We just want to not ruffle any feathers. We don't want to preach anything that might change someone. We want to just pet them and just preach your best life now, how to get wealthy. We preach prosperity and we don't want to say— we don't want to preach on sin. But, but the Bible is clear. We should love homosexuals. Well, you know, this, this is important to understand that we're all sinners. And God calls us and told us to love sinners. God so loved the world. If we're gonna be like Christ, then we're going to love sinners.

Yeah.

And so go into all the world to all sinners and preach. Uh, and so we're to love them. And so understand that, that if you go to any church and if you are a homosexual, if you come to the Woodbury Church of God, that's where I'm a pastor, uh, we don't hate you. We're not angry at you. We're not mad at anybody. We're not going to throw stuff at you or embarrass you. Never. That's— it's— we're not mad at homosexuals. We're not— we're not against them. We're not— we're not trying to, to be judgmental. We're simply saying that the scriptures say this, that it is a wrong lifestyle. And if you will accept and receive truth, because that's what Christianity is built upon, if you'll receive that and turn from anything that is sinful and accept Jesus into your heart, that you will then be on a road and a lifestyle that will help you have the best life you could possibly have, um, in this side of eternity.

Yeah, God bless you.

Yes, absolutely.

Bless you. Yeah, and that's, that's important, guys. You know, I think just like with, you know, marijuana, the subject that I talk about a lot, um, there's a, there's a, a certain attitude that people that use have, you know, they— the second you start talking about the negatives of it, they instantly shut down. They get defensive, they want to fight you. Um, it's like, you know, you don't want to hear the truth, right? You know, you don't want to hear a differing opinion other than what you believe. So in my opinion, it's the same thing with homosexuality. You know, if you do go to a church that's talking you know, about what the Bible says, not that pastor's opinion, not that church's opinion, but what the Bible says, you know, you got to have an open mind. You got to stay humble about it. You got to be willing to listen if you're going to improve with your, your condition, you know. And that's with anything, you know, that could be anything. So I think that's important, you know.

That's one of the downfalls I think that we've had in our modern society is that we don't like to discuss things. That's why they shot Charlie Kirk.

That's true.

You know, he was there just to debate. Let's talk. Yeah, let's, let's have dialogue. You tell me what you think, I'm going to tell you what I think. And, and so when you remove that, then you remove civilized society. Yeah, you know, we can agree to disagree. We're not always going to see it. There's things that probably you and I don't see eye to eye on, and, and that doesn't mean that we don't have to be, you know, that, that we're enemies. Yeah, you know, but everything from when they kicked Donald Trump off Twitter because they said he shouldn't be allowed to be able to share his opinion and have dialogue. Yeah, let's kill Charlie Kirk because we don't want anybody— let's— Michael Knowles or Ben Shapiro will show up at a college and there will be people that stand at the doors and literally fight people, or they'll come in and into their conference whenever that they're having a debate. And just scream and yell because they don't want any differing views or opinions. Yeah, it's so unfortunate. And when we bring it down to the church, we should be able to have dialogue and talk. And so I know at church a lot of times that it is the pastor preaching. So there's not an opportunity for someone of the opposite opinion to share their heart. But most pastors that I know, if a homosexual wants to talk, if they will call because Of course, the church is not made for debate. It's made for Christian doctrine. That's what— that's why God set it up for discipleship. And so we're going to discuss Christian doctrine at a church service. But if you'll talk to pastors, a lot of times they'll say, yeah, I would love to have you in mind. Like you already did.

You already gave them your email.

Yeah, absolutely. Let's talk. Yeah, let's have dialogue. I'm not gonna scream at you, cuss you. Maybe I just— if you disagree with me, I welcome your opposing views. And let's just talk about it. But if, if we, if we believe that the word of God is true, let's discuss it and at least hear me out, because I believe that if you will, that you'll, you'll at least be challenged to think, you know, maybe, maybe these Christians are not as mean and as bad as what we think they are. Maybe they're just standing on their, their God-given right, in fact constitutional right, to have freedom of religion and to be able to, to subscribe to the Bible and to live by it, because we believe that it is the, the, the lifestyle that God intended us to live. That's right, absolutely.

Yeah, amen, amen. Um, so, you know, as we're wrapping this thing up, um, if someone watching today completely disagrees with Okay, what would you want them to know about the heart of God and the hope found in Jesus Christ?

Oh wow, that Jesus knows that we're all broken, that there is no— nobody that is a Christian, no pastor, no bishop, no priest, no, no Pope, and I don't care what will, you know, whether it's from Catholicism to Evangelical to Protestants, whatever. There's nobody that can sit and look down on anybody else and say, well, I've never sinned, and what you're doing is such a horrible thing, is so unacceptable, because— and it makes me better than you and I'm superior to you— and be arrogant and self-righteous. That's not the heart of God. And nobody that is in the church should ever have that attitude because it's not reflecting the heart of God. God loves us. God died on the cross through his son Jesus Christ. That he may pay the full penalty of our sins, that through his death and faith in him being the Son of God, that we can have eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. So, so the heart of God is, is that we're all broken, we're all messed up, we're all a mess down here, no matter who you are. And even if you're saved, you're not perfect.

That's right.

I've got things in my life that God's still working on me. I guarantee you, if people looks at close enough. I mean, I still have problems with anger. I still have issues in my thought life. I still say things I wish I wouldn't say. I still have to apologize. And so church is not for perfect people. It's— it should be not— it should not be a museum for self-righteous people. It should be a hospital room where we come, not because we're perfect, because we're not, and we're wanting to find out what the Bible says so that we can be trained and be transformed by the renewing of our mind. The heart of God says, I want to help you not condemn you. I want to raise you up out of destructive lifestyles, whether it is addictions, whether it is, uh, homosexuality, whether it is lust, whether it is lies, whether it is greed, idolatry— the list goes on— unforgiveness, whatever the case may be, murderers, gangs, whatever it may be. There's so many different things that enemy messes us up with, and God says, okay, I, I want to help you to overcome. I want to help you to have a better life. Jesus came and he showed us what it was to, to fully follow God and to love your neighbor as yourself and love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to be sacrificial and to serve. And, and, and he came and laid down his life. He washed his disciples' feet. He, he, he, he had fellowship with people that nobody else would fellowship with. He ate with sinners. He called Zacchaeus down out of the tree. And even though the religious people said, man, he's went to be friends with people that are a sinner, he's received. And guess what? Zacchaeus was changed because Jesus took time to hang out with him.

Why?

Because the heart of God says, I'm not scared of people's sins. I'm not afraid to address sins. I'm not scared to talk about it. You know, I'm not gonna judge you. I wanna come and show you the way out. Yeah, I want to show you truth. And when, and when we're willing to do that, when we, when we have a, a heart that is opened by the Holy Spirit, the only thing that can open your heart. And when the Holy Spirit opens your heart through conviction, that you're able to say— because, because if you don't, if your heart's not been pricked by the Holy Spirit, if you disagree with me, understand that the Bible already says that the things I'm saying are foolishness and you're not going to be able to receive them. Because they're spiritually discerned. It's, it's an incredible thing. The only thing— but, but when the Holy Spirit convicts us and we open up, we receive Jesus. He gives us the lens whereby we can see truth through his heart. But God's heart is not to condemn you. He is not— in fact, the Bible says it is not his will that any should perish. God does not want anybody to go to hell. He doesn't condemn anybody to hell. He made a way that nobody has to go to hell. You just have to go through his son Jesus Christ.

Yeah.

And so his heart is be saved. His heart is be changed. You can't change on your own, you need me. I, I— everybody's sin, whether it could be what we categorize the big sin or small sins, that's all sin. If we offend at any one point of the law, we're guilty of it all, according to the book of James. So we all need a savior, and we all have to come humbly before Jesus, receive him as our Lord. And if we do that then God wants to help you, not to condemn you, not to hate you, not, not to strike you dead with a lightning bolt. The heart of God is he wants everyone to be saved. Amen. Amen.

So where can people reach you? I know you already gave out the email. Um, you know, maybe you're listening and maybe you've been kind of struggling in, in any of these things that we've been talking about, and, you know, maybe you just want to talk to somebody about it. I'm sure Pastor Shane would be absolutely more than willing to talk to you about that. Um, so where, where could they reach you?

Okay, I've got several different places that you can reach out to me. First of all, I'd like to encourage you, keep listening to this Beyond the Glitch podcast. It is— I believe Jason, um, is a man of faith. He covers a wide range of topics that I believe is engaging and that could really help you. This is a good podcast for you to listen to. Another place you can come, if you go on to Facebook, which I know almost everybody is on Facebook anymore, the Whittier Church of God, North Carolina. There's a Whittier, W-H-I-T-T-I-E-R, Church of God. There's one in California, great church too. Yeah, yeah, but the Whittier Church of God, North Carolina, we have a, a web page on Facebook that you can come, that we have live streams, they can listen. They can actually post questions there, and, and there is actually a link on that web page that has email addresses to our offices there at Whittier, and that you can engage that way. I'm also on Instagram. You can look up Shane B. Silvers on Instagram, and I'm right there. You can connect with me. You can connect with me personally. I've got a, a Facebook page that you can connect with me on. Shoot me a Messenger request and I'll answer that, and I'd be glad to, to talk to you at that. And then the, the silversforchrist@yahoo.com is my email address, a great place where you can connect with me on that. And so, uh, I'll share that in the link as well. Okay, that would be great. I would love to engage with any of you. I'm, uh, I want you to know that there is a pastor here in Western North Carolina that is praying for this audience and that we pray that there's something that you've heard today, uh, ministers to you, uh, and not only encourages you but maybe challenges you as well, that you would dig and you look into the word of God that is the ultimate source of truth and, and find the path. Jesus said this, and I, and I, and I'll— I know that this is about getting them to engage with me personally, but he said that there's a broad path that many is on. Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, all kinds of different agnostics, drug addicts, homosexuals, thieves, liars— the list goes on. There's a wide path, and it's on— that's so basically you live life your way, and it's a destruction. But there's a narrow path, and it's the path of Jesus Christ. Following Jesus is the only path that leads to life. And I would pray that you consider that. And if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. Call out on the name of Jesus and just— you don't have to say some eloquent prayer, just say, Jesus, come into my heart, and he will save you. He will change you. It changed my life. It'll change your life. Amen.

Yeah, and this is, uh, you guys need this, you know. You need, you need somebody like Pastor Shane Silvers in your life that mentor you, guide you. Maybe you're, you know, just have some issues, you need some clarification, you know. Or maybe you're like, you know what, I didn't really think about what my church is teaching, you know.

Right.

You know, I don't want to bash anybody's church or anything like that, but, you know, get, get in there and find out what is being taught, you know. Is it, is it right, you know? Is it, is it biblical, um, or are they compromising, you know? Or maybe you've been believing that what you've been taught is right and, and maybe, you know, what we talked about today kind of sparked it in your mind that, you know what, maybe I haven't truly been, you know, taught correctly, you know. And that's okay, there's nothing wrong with that, um, you know. But you just have an open mind, guys. Look into the word, look what the Bible says, read the Bible, um, and know what it says, um. And that's so important. So guys, I hope you all learned something today. Before we hop off of here, I'm going to play my trailer for you guys. And actually, let me tell you a little bit about this. So Through the Veil, um, it's a short film about addiction, and, you know, basically it ends kind of discussing about whether, you know, you're gonna make it to heaven or you're gonna make it to hell. It's kind of where it goes. Um, but actually it was, it was, uh, recognized— I just found out 2 days ago that it was recognized as a finalist for the, uh, Flickers Film Festival out in, uh, what was that, uh, Flickers Rhode Island. So it's actually a pretty prestige film festival, so I was pretty excited that my film made it that far. So anyways, I'm gonna play a little trailer for you guys here, check it out, and I'll be playing this live once the film—

As dawn breaks, the cycle begins again. The alarm sounds. He rises, drives the same winding road, sits at the same desk, speaks the same hollow words. To the world, he appears functional, but inside he is unraveling. Every mile is haunted by memories of what he threw away. Every quiet moment echoes with the voices he no longer hears. The laughter of his children, the love of his wife, the faith he abandoned when the darkness seemed easier to embrace. There are forces that have been with him all along, and tonight the veil will be lifted, and what has been stalking stalking him in the darkness will finally step forward to claim what remains of his soul.

He was victorious over death, hell, and the grave. We are made to be victorious. You are victorious in Christ with Christ in you. Christ in our life, we are victorious in life and in death. Hallelujah! We are the Lord's.

All right, so that is, uh, my trailer for Through the Veil. And again, once I complete my film film festival circuit, I'll have a day where I actually stream that live. Um, maybe we'll just have like a viewing party or something. Y'all can tune in and check it out. So, um, keep cheering us on on our film production. And, uh, I'll be out in Washington, DC. I'm leaving this Saturday, and I'll be down there for the Whistleblower Summit and Film Festival, and I'll be showing The Green Glitch at Capitol Hill. So I'm very excited about that. Looking forward to Q&A time, you know, with all those guys down there. So If there's any questions that you would like me to ask while I'm down there, you know, send me an email or, you know, leave them in the comment section or something like that. But, um, yeah, guys, what a great time today. Uh, Pastor Shane, thank you for being on the show.

Oh, that's great.

Thank you. Yeah, I know this is not exactly an easy subject to talk about or an easy subject to hear, um, you know, but it shouldn't be difficult in my opinion because all we're doing is reading what the Bible says.

That's true.

That's it, you know. Like, nothing that we're saying is anything different than what the Bible says.

No.

So, you know, just maybe change your perspective. Yeah, that's really all I got to say about it. Any last words? Anything that you want to leave them with real quick?

No, I'm praying for you. Um, search the scriptures, go to church on Sunday, and, uh, follow Jesus. He is the way, the truth, and the life.

Boom, that's it. All right, y'all, take care. We'll see y'all on the next one.

Blessings.