Foundations of Freedom: Protecting What's Ours

As Americans we HAVE rights, but where do we draw the line? When it comes to our Freedom of Religion or our Second Amendment Rights how far is too far? Were the January 6th protests a violation of our First Amendment Rights or an expression of them?  What about the unborn... do they have rights too?

These are just some of the things I am going to be discussing in this podcast!

Every week we start with a weekly verse and a weekly challenge! 

My goal is to help women learn to navigate life with liberty, truth, and grace!

I believe as Americans, it is essential to understand and know the basics before we can begin to discuss and debate about the politics of today. We need to be aware of the rights we have today. Having a knowledge on the basic founding documents is the framework for everything else. I am going to be breaking all of this down for you in this podcast. I want to make it easy to understand and I plan to make it fun and enjoyable! While the goal is to eventually cover topics of today, we have to start at the beginning of American history!

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SHOWNOTES: 

Check out our Website:

 www.christianconservativewomen.com 

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Want to find a local pro-life clinic near you to donate items to for the weekly challenge? 

https://optionline.org/  

SOURCES USED: 

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rights/- Bill of Rights

https://spuc.org.uk/abortion-the-leading-cause-of-death-worldwide-in-2024-killing-more-people-than-world-war-one/ -abortion being the leading cause of death

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke-political/- Natural Law

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/virginia-declaration-of-rights

Seven Weeks Coffee
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Chapters

• 0:00 Opening Remarks and Introduction
• 7:24 The Weekly Challenge
• 17:40 The History of the Bill of Rights
• 27:54 Why the Discussion on Rights is Contentious Today
• 33:30 Hamilton's Fears When it Came to the Bill of Rights
• 35:44 Final Thought

Transcript

Isabel Bryant: 0:07

As Americans, we have rights, but where do we draw the line? When it comes to our freedom of religion or our Second Amendment rights? How far is too far? Were the January 6th protests a violation of our First Amendment rights, or was it an expression of them? And what about the unborn? Do they have rights too? Welcome to the Voices of Liberty podcast. I'm your host, Isabel, and I am so thankful you are joining me today. I want to preface this by saying, I have never podcasted before, so I'm really, really nervous. But I do ask that y'all please pray for me because I'm really stepping out of my comfort zone and I'm super excited. I'm having to learn a whole bunch of different things and it's just really different than what I'm used to. So I do ask that y'all be in prayer for me, pray for confidence, because again, this is just so much information and so new, but I'm really excited to be diving into these topics with you today.

Isabel Bryant: 0:59

For those who don't know me, I am a Georgia girly through and through. I am from the South. I love sweet tea. That is a big thing in the South is sweet tea. I know you Northerners Out westers won't understand. But sweet tea is oh, it's just so good. I went to see some family in Washington State a couple years ago and there was no sweet tea, and I thought I was going to literally have a stroke. I have an issue, but I love Sweet Tea! The South is so cool because everyone's just so nice and so welcoming and people open the door for you when you're going in a building or it's just everyone's just so nice. So I really, really love the South. I'm from the middle part of Georgia so, it's just flat land. There's nothing here. But yeah, so it's really cool.

Isabel Bryant: 1:43

But I started the brand Christian Conservative Wives back in April of 2024. And I started it with a small Facebook group. I didn't really know where it was going to go, but the Lord just really, really grew it and I was not expecting that at all. But now we are a community of almost 20,000 women, which is crazy. I never expected it to get this big. I'm so thankful because we're all in this community. We have a community of women who share similar values and similar beliefs, and I noticed when I started the group. I noticed there needed to be something for women, especially on social media, because they were getting silenced and attacked for their beliefs and values, and I just wanted to create a space where women could all just be in one place and share their values and beliefs without being attacked. So now we've just rebranded so we were Christian conservative wives, now you're Christian conservative women. But now we just have some changes on our website and we have created a separate Facebook group for the women who are not married, who want to be in our Christian conservative space. So I can link both of those Facebook groups in the show notes and I highly suggest you go and join them if you are just looking for a Christian conservative space where you are not silenced for your beliefs and your views and you really just want to share. We have a space for the married women and we have a space for the women who are married or not married or, you know, are divorced or whatever. We have a space for you. So go join those Facebook groups. I can link them in the show notes.

Isabel Bryant: 3:09

But yeah, that was something that I was really passionate about. I have a passion also for Jesus and politics, so I just kind of funnel all that passion into my Facebook groups and in December of 2024, I really felt called to start a podcast. I remember sitting on the couch with my husband and I just remember, you know, telling him I really felt called to start a podcast, but I just didn't know what I wanted it to be about. I was really nervous because I'm not the best speaker To be honest, I have always had a huge insecurity when it comes to speaking and so I was just brainstorming some ideas with him and I knew that I wanted to talk about politics because, again, I'm super passionate about that. But I also knew that I wanted to incorporate Jesus and my beliefs in that as well. And so he was saying that you know, that's absolutely possible, and he's been super encouraging. So shout out to Shane, because without him I would be a mess. He has been such a huge asset in helping me prepare for this podcast. He has a history degree, so I am fortunate enough to have him to go and ask questions to you when I need something or need advice. But again, shout out to Shane, because he's been a great husband.

Isabel Bryant: 4:10

But again, so I started the Facebook group and then I wanted to start the podcast, so I decided to start each podcast with a weekly verse. I feel like that will be really, really good to get everything going. So these weekly verses and the weekly challenges will tie into our email list. So if you're not on our email list, I highly suggest you go and join Again. I will link that in the show notes. But we have all kinds of things exclusive podcast episodes, merch stickers, all the cool things. We'll even give you discounts to go and support Christian conservative brands. So again, email list. You need to go and sign up right now.

Isabel Bryant: 4:41

But the verse of the week this week is to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly, defend the rights of the poor and needy. Proverbs 31, 8 through 9 uh, y'all. This verse just really speaks to the pro-life movement in my opinion, because as christians, we are called in scripture to speak up for those who cannot, and in in my opinion, that includes those little babies in the womb. They have no voice, so we have to be the voice for them. And the sad part is is the womb is one of the most dangerous places to be. I see the term all the time that.

Isabel Bryant: 5:15

Oh well, you know Jesus is coming back soon and there's just no need to get involved in politics or care, because you know the world is just corrupt anyway. So Jesus is coming back and he'll fix everything and make it right. Well, yes, that is absolutely true. Jesus is coming back soon, praise God. But I just think that that does not mean that's a cop out. That doesn't mean that we get to sit by and watch the world unfold into this mess.

Isabel Bryant: 5:41

I think, as Christians, the Bible literally tells us right here to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, and I think if Christians were more involved in politics, we would not have the corruption that we have today. I honestly believe Christians have failed in that regard. I think that if Christians were more willing to put themselves in the political arena, more willing to go and advocate for life, more willing to go and advocate for their children at their local school boards and school board meetings, I just really think that the world would truly look so different. And if you want your child to stop learning about the LGBTQ plus movement in your schools and all of these things, you have got to get up and go advocate for that. It's not going to happen from you just sitting at home I'm sorry but it's not and politics is just something I'm very passionate about, and I always try to back my beliefs with scripture.

Isabel Bryant: 6:27

So, again, that's just one verse I really like to use when I'm talking about the pro-life movement, because it literally tells us in scripture, god tells us speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, and this just really really is near and dear to my heart. So I saw a article I think it was last month and it said that abortion was a leading cause of death in 2024 worldwide, and that really really struck me and it really made me sit back and think what the heck is going on. And so I just really really am passionate about speaking on things like this, and I want y'all to be super educated, because if you're not aware of your rights and knowing when the government is overstepping, they are going to overstep. The government is full of people who want power and seek power, and if we are not educated and knowledgeable on our rights as Americans, they will take over. So we have to be very, very careful and we have to be able to speak up and advocate for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Isabel Bryant: 7:23

So this leads us into our weekly challenge. The weekly challenge this week is to go to your local pro-life center. I know you have one, I know you do, and I want you to call them and just ask if they're accepting donations. This is just something that we can do to get involved in our community, really minister to these mothers who have chosen life and are stepping out in faith. These women probably don't have a big support system, so if you call these pro-life centers and ask if they're accepting donations of diapers, onesies, blankets, baby formulas and wipes, they will probably be very, very grateful. I know, with my church, one year we sat down and we crocheted little baby blankets for these babies at this pro-life center and I remember just praying over those blankets as I was crocheting them and it was such a beautiful thing because the older women were teaching us how to crochet and then we were, the older women were pouring into us and then we were doing something that was really beneficial and honoring to the Lord and so it was just such an empowering thing to see. But I remember hearing that those mothers who received those blankets were so grateful for those baby blankets and they were so appreciative. So it's even things like that it's just so meaningful to these mothers.

Isabel Bryant: 8:29

And we need to be more involved in our community. Guys, we do, and this is again where christians have failed. If christians were more willing to go out and do things like this, I think again, the world would truly be a different place. But I have a request for the weekly challenge. I want you to send in a picture of your items to youngccwives at gmailcom. This is just so I can put it on the website. It will be anonymous, but I just want to put it on the website so that y'all are able to see how others are getting involved in your community, and I think it'll be a good encourager for other women who see it to be like oh, I need to go do that too. It to be like, oh, I need to go do that too. That's a really good idea, I really need to go do that. I do ask that y'all do a heart check with it, because it isn't something for recognition or anything like that. It's just so we can encourage other women and empower other women to get more involved in their community when it comes to taking political action and helping other women who need help.

Isabel Bryant: 9:20

So my mission for this podcast is to help women understand how to navigate life with liberty, truth and grace. I want to encourage women to embrace the freedoms they have in Christ, but also the freedoms that they have as citizens. In the United States, voices of Liberty strives to help women understand what it means to be a fully functioning citizen. We do this by examining the historical context, the letter of the law and the practical application of these topics in the lives of normal Americans. We encourage women to show grace to others who may not think like them, and I urge them to have truth-seeking conversations filled with love. Our goal is to help women become better citizens, make more educated decisions when it comes to taking political action, and to learn how to speak out on topics that truly matter. Again, this is something I am very, very passionate about. I think women especially need to be more involved in it when it comes to politics, and be more knowledgeable when it comes to things like this.

Isabel Bryant: 10:11

I think if we continue to turn a blind eye to politics and to the world today, we are going to continue to have the corruption, and again, I understand that we live in a sinful world. That is just bound to happen, because it will continue to be sinful until Jesus does come back. However, that does not mean that we just sit idly by and do absolutely nothing. We have to go and vote in local elections. We have to go and vote in federal elections because it is so important and such a huge asset to our Christian walk. I feel like. So. If you just think that politics doesn't matter and voting doesn't matter, and whatever happens happens, everything's just corrupt, I'm going to be 100% honest. You have no room to complain when the government is not doing what you want it to do, because you were not going out and stepping into the arena yourself and advocating for life, advocating for these little babies in the womb, advocating for our children, and going and voting and trying to make a difference in the world. So that's just my two cents, but I I am again.

Isabel Bryant: 11:05

I'm very passionate about politics and my goal for this podcast is to ultimately help you all understand why it's so important to get involved, why it's so important that we are involved in our local elections, federal elections, and advocating for these little babies in the womb, advocating for life. We have such a big job to do as Christians and we have failed, and so my goal is to help you ladies understand how you can get more involved in your communities. I really want you ladies to know your rights. I want you to know the how to argue or debate with people. But from a Christian standpoint, I want you guys to be knowledgeable on all these things because it is so important and such a huge asset to our Christian walk. So really doing this podcast forces me personally to just do a deep dive on these topics that you probably wouldn't see in long-form discussion or online soundbite debates.

Isabel Bryant: 11:53

I know that sometimes when you're on TikTok or Instagram, there are different videos that pop up that are really taken out of context, especially ones of Donald Trump. I've seen a bunch of them, but they're all taken out of context and you don't really know, like, what's true, what's false, and you're just having a really hard time understanding. So my goal is to kind of break all these things down, seek truth, but also tell it in a way where it's done in grace. Again, there is so much corruption going on around us and we have to be able to understand what's true and what's false. And, to be honest, when you are new to politics or you're beginning to finally just get interested in the things that are going on around you.

Isabel Bryant: 12:31

Sometimes it can be really hard to understand what people are talking about. I have been there. I remember my dad having conversations in the past with people and I was just thinking what is he talking about? I don't understand, and so I'm going to be breaking a lot of the stuff down for you, and I want to be able to cover topics in the news today, but we can't do that until we understand the basics. So one of the big things that I am adamant about is we have to understand the politics of yesterday before we can begin to talk about the politics of today, because if you were to build a house, this is going to be the framework for everything else. So we have to understand the basics this is the framework before we can begin to build on the rest of the house. So that's just a weird analogy, but I am super passionate about this, and so that's why I've decided to begin this podcast going through the Bill of Rights. I want you all to have an understanding of our God-given rights and what they mean and the extent of those rights. For example, I have a right to do this podcast. I do not have the right to call for violence on this podcast.

Isabel Bryant: 13:32

A recent story I have seen in the news lately is the Ten Commandments. Schools are requesting that the Ten Commandments be placed back in the schools and, if you remember, they were taken out of the schools. A lot of parents have issues with this because they feel that that is the government establishing a religion. Do the schools have a right to request that the Ten Commandments be placed back in the schools? Is it the government establishing a religion? Again, that's just an example. Another thing is the COVID vaccine. The COVID vaccine was forced on so many Americans and they were told if you don't take this vaccine, you're going to lose your job. Does the government have the right to do that? Is that the government overstepping?

Isabel Bryant: 14:10

What if you're a small business owner and you have strong beliefs when it comes to the topic of abortion? You believe life begins at conception and you don't want to offer contraceptive health care for your employees? You believe that goes against your beliefs as a Christian and people are really upset about that. Is it right for you to decline contraceptive health care for your employees? Those are just some things that we're going to be talking about. Really, think about it and do your own research, of course, but we're going to be diving into all of these different topics in this podcast and I'm so excited. So I've kind of given you some examples and I want to ask the question where is the line drawn when it comes to our rights and who determines that? These are things that I plan on breaking down, and I want to give examples from history on when these things happen, so that we can have a better understanding and appreciation for the rights that we have as Americans today. So this year, I was really just thinking about what I could do to educate other women and myself on various topics that I'm interested in, topics like my faith in Christ, what it means to be a woman in America and the intersection of politics and culture. While the goal is to discuss some of these topics today, we have to start at the beginning of American history. Again, we have to understand the politics of yesterday before we can begin to talk about the politics of today.

Isabel Bryant: 15:23

Do you know the different amendments within the Bill of Rights? I'm going to be 100% honest. I did not. I could maybe name three, and I remember sitting on the couch with my husband. He has a history degree, so he is able to understand this stuff a lot better than me, but I remember sitting on the couch and he was quizzing me on some things and I told him I don't know what those mean. I don't know the Fourth Amendment, I don't know the third one, and I realized that that is where I needed to start with this podcast, because I didn't even know what I was talking about in some cases. So I really decided to do a deep dive on the Bill of Rights and it has been so interesting to understand what all this means, how all this came about, and it's really helped me having this knowledge when having conversations with people. I'm able to understand it and know what is being talked about, what's going on, and I feel more confident in myself when I'm talking about politics. So this is something I really want for y'all too. Again, this is the framework for everything else. We have to know the different amendments within the Bill of Rights and what they mean for our everyday lives. Where do we draw the line when it comes to our freedom of speech? Who determines where that line is drawn and how does this apply to us today? Why were these amendments even written in the first place? I plan to simplify all of these things and break them down for you. And, who knows, maybe you guys will love this series and we can dive into some more of the founding documents together. So join me as we dig into Voices of Liberty.

Isabel Bryant: 16:46

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Isabel Bryant: 17:48

Obviously, we cannot start this podcast before diving into the history of the Bill of Rights. This is an essential part of understanding why the founding documents are the way they are, why they were written, why our founding fathers cared so much, and I, honestly, could probably fit this into probably about four episodes, but I'm going to try to fit it all into one. I do highly suggest that you go and do your own research in your own time, because it is so important and if we don't understand the basics again, we're going to have a hard time understanding the rest. So I will link all the sources I used in my show notes to make it easier for you. But I do really want you to go and do your own research.

Isabel Bryant: 18:27

So I want y'all guys to imagine that you are alive during the time of the American Revolution. Maybe you just fought directly in the war, or maybe you were just on the sidelines, but still contributing in the war in some shape or form. The war is won, but what happens after that? Does life continue on like before? What will life be like without being under the rule of England. What is the future for America? I imagine these are thoughts that are probably just running rampant through our founding fathers' minds.

Isabel Bryant: 18:56

At the time, they had literally just won a war, but now these men are being tasked with framing and forming a nation. Imagine how much anxiety and how much pressure they were probably under. This was probably extremely stressful. This was no easy task, and all of these men came together to share their ideas for how they wanted the new America to work. Documents like the Constitution and the Bill of Rights had to be created and written to ensure the rights of Americans were protected and to keep the government from gaining too much control. You may think that this is no big deal, but it was to them. These Americans truly understood and knew what oppression was like Under the rule of England. They were heavily taxed and they were treated very poorly by some of the British soldiers. So I want you all to understand that the Constitution was written and then came the Bill of Rights. So the Bill of Rights was written after the Constitution, and it's very important to understand that most states already had their own form of Bill of Rights. The idea of the Bill of Rights is super controversial and it even was back then.

Isabel Bryant: 19:56

I don't know if you've seen this picture, but there's a picture of the founding fathers and they're all in this big room. I imagine the air was probably very cool and I think their room was probably filled with a lot of tension. But once I stared at the picture some more, I noticed that some men were signing a document, some men were arguing and some men were just sitting in complete silence. In this picture they're actually signing the declaration of independence. But I honestly feel like this is probably a good representation of what the atmosphere was generally like whenever they were forming documents, writing documents and having these discussions and debates good representation of what the atmosphere was generally like whenever they were forming documents, writing documents and having these discussions and debates.

Isabel Bryant: 20:31

Just a little fun fact for you, I have a two dollar bill. My papa gave it to me. I love it so much, but it has this picture on the back of the two dollar bill. So if you have a two dollar bill, just go and look at it. I use mine as a bookmark in my bible just because it means something to me, because my papa gave it to me, but I'm also super passionate about things like this. So it just fits my personality really well I am kind of a nerd when it comes to this stuff. Again, I highly encourage you to just go check the back of the $2 bill, because it is pretty cool and it is the image that I'm describing in this podcast.

Isabel Bryant: 21:01

So the Constitutional Convention met in the year of 1787. George Mason was a huge advocate for having a Bill of Rights for America. He believed there needed to be a federal Bill of Rights, even though the states already had their own. He was the writer of the Virginia Declaration of Rights and I'm going to read you just a section from that real quick and I want you to kind of see if you can find any similarities between this Bill of Rights and our Bill of Rights. Again, we're going to dive into more of America's Bill of Rights in later episodes, but just I'm going to read this real quick and I want you to see if you can see if there's any similarities. Section one that all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot by any compact deprive or divest their posterity, namely the enjoyment of life and liberty and with means of acquiring and possessing property and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety. So that's just a little piece of it. I can link it in the show notes so you can go and read for yourself.

Isabel Bryant: 22:01

During the convention they threw around the idea of having a federal bill of rights Remember it was George Mason but unfortunately, because states already had their own bill of rights, the founders didn't really think it was necessary to have a federal bill of rights. After I learned that each state had their own bill of rights, I went and researched to see what Georgia's said, because again, I am from Georgia. So I'm going to read the first two paragraphs. So it says paragraph one life, liberty and property. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property except by due process of law. Paragraph two protection to person and property. Protection to person and property is paramount to duty of government and shall be impartial and complete. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws. So I strongly encourage that you go and look at your own state's Bill of Rights. Each state should have their own, and it's just so you can further your knowledge and further your education when it comes to the founding documents and things like this. So, while the Bill of Rights was originally rejected again, it was mainly just because most states already had their own and they didn't really think it was necessary to probably do more work on top of everything else they had going on Again. When the Constitutional Convention met, the idea of the Bill of Rights was thrown around again a second time, but this time they proposed to be added to our founding documents. Essentially, they just wanted to add the Bill of Rights onto the Constitution.

Isabel Bryant: 23:23

Anti-federalist was the term given to the men who rejected the idea of having a new Constitution. Anti-federalist was the term given to the men who rejected the idea of having a new Constitution. They believed that there needed to be something like the Bill of Rights to protect the individual rights of Americans. These men wanted to leave more power up to the states and wanted to prevent the government the federal government from gaining too much control. For example, these were men like George Mason, who we mentioned earlier. Federalist is the term given to the men who opposed letting the states have too much control. For example, these were men like George Mason, who we mentioned earlier. Federalist is the term given to the men who opposed letting the states have too much power. They actually believed there needed to be a strong and established government to ensure America became a strong nation. They were fearful that if the government wasn't strong and there wasn't a strong federal government set in place, then there will be more fighting and bickering amongst the states. Essentially, the Federalists just wanted to have shared power between government and state. So the Federalists were the people who opposed having a Bill of Rights, but they were actually in favor of having a Constitution.

Isabel Bryant: 24:18

Something that I want to point out that I think is just so cool, is that, even though these men all had different ideas and beliefs on how America should be founded and work, they were all able to get along, work together and come to some sort of agreement. I think today, america is so divided. Whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, I think America is so divided. What's sad is today is, honestly, we would just rather spend our time screaming and yelling at each other instead of trying to actually have truth-seeking conversations with people filled with love and grace. I think that is just something that we need to take note of from the founding fathers. I understand they probably had disagreements, they probably had debates, but they were able to come to some sort of agreement and I believe if Americans were more like this today, america would look a lot different.

Isabel Bryant: 25:03

So I want to talk about Alexander Hamilton for a second. He is a popular historical figure. You may know him from the musical Hamilton, but you also may know him from reading about him in history in school and all that stuff. But he was one of the Federalists. Remember? The Federalists were the people who opposed having a written down Bill of Rights. They essentially just wanted shared power between the government and the states. He believed that the rights of Americans were already protected within the Constitution and there was no need to have a formal Bill of Rights for the federal government. The Federalists were worried that by adding the Bill of Rights it would give the government more power to take away the rights of Americans. He knew that it would be physically impossible to list out every single right that Americans could have.

Isabel Bryant: 25:43

Alexander Hamilton was one of the authors of the Federalist Papers. There were actually three different ones. There was James Madison, john Jay and obviously Alexander Hamilton, and this was just essentially a compilation of essays they would publish in the papers in New York under the name Publius. They would submit it as an anonymous name, but they were answering questions regarding the Constitution and discussing issues with the Bill of Rights. So again, alexander Hamilton was one of the key authors of the Federalist Papers.

Isabel Bryant: 26:13

If you have not listened to the Federalist Papers, I highly suggest that you go and listen to them. It's very educational. I've been listening to it on Spotify in my free time and it's just really, really been good for me to listen, to see the different opinions and different outlooks on things. They were different than the other founding fathers, they did not want a Bill of Rights, and so it's been really good to hear the different sides and different opinions. James Madison was also one of the Federalists who opposed having a Bill of Rights, along with James Wilson, but eventually him and James Wilson were won over and they eventually voted to have the Bill of Rights for America. They finally agreed that they would come to some sort of conclusion of the amendments for this bill at the first Congress after the Constitution had been ratified. James Madison was the lucky man tasked with writing the Bill of Rights and he incorporated a lot of George Mason's ideas from the Virginia Declaration of Rights. So James Madison had written a long list and he really pushed for the main 12 amendments that he really wanted, but ultimately, only 10 of them were even voted on to be amendments.

Isabel Bryant: 27:22

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Isabel Bryant: 28:07

So the discussion about rights is contentious, and it even was back then. Everyone believes that they are right in their discussion about rights. For example, those who are pro-choice believe they have the right to terminate the pregnancy if it's unwanted, but the pro-life movement says they do not have the right to terminate that pregnancy because it is a baby and it also has rights. The same was true for the founding fathers, only their discussion of rights differed from ours. They were forming and framing a nation, one that was built on thinkers like John Locke, for example. John Locke was a popular philosopher who lived from the time of 1632 to 1704, and he wholeheartedly believed that the law of God was written on man's heart. He believed that man generally knew right from wrong, which is what we call our conscience today. The founding fathers took work from John Locke and incorporated it into America's founding documents.

Isabel Bryant: 29:02

While this terminology sounds old school and whatnot, the idea of natural law is brought up a lot when talking about politics today. A while back, I saw a video of Charlie Kirk. He is a huge person in the political world, but he was talking about natural law and I had no idea at the time what he was even talking about. I was so confused. But now that I have an idea and it just essentially means it's your conscience now I'm able to understand and have a better understanding. So it does I understand.

Isabel Bryant: 29:31

This terminology seems old school, but there is a reason for it and it is talked about a lot. The idea of natural law is talked about a lot in the political world today, so it is important that we understand what it means. So I'm going to read a section from this article. It's from stanfordedu. I will link it in the show notes. But it says natural law is also distinct from divine law in that the latter, in the Christian tradition, normally referred to those laws that God had directly revealed through prophets and other inspired writers. Natural law can be discovered by reason alone and applies to all people, while divine law can be discovered only through God's special revelation and applies only to those to whom it is revealed and whom God specifically indicates are to be bound.

Isabel Bryant: 30:14

Thus, 17th century commentators, locke included, held that not all of the Ten Commandments, much less the rest of the Old Testament law, were binding on all people. The Ten Commandments were given to Moses in Numbers, chapter 20, so I highly suggest you go and refresh your memory on that. Moses in Numbers, chapter 20, so I highly suggest you go and refresh your memory on that. But the idea of the Ten Commandments is a controversial debate because some people do not believe that we have all of the Ten Commandments written on our hearts. Locke was included in this bunch as well, but some of them believe that we do have all the Ten Commandments written on our hearts. Locke believed that we have some type of moral compass guiding us, and this is a lot of the thinking that the founding fathers took and incorporated into our founding documents. So I want to go back to the Federalist Papers for a second.

Isabel Bryant: 30:56

Alexander Hamilton was one of the authors of the Federalist Papers. Remember they would submit these papers in the newspaper weekly under the name Publius, and they were just discussing the issues they had with the Bill of Rights, but also answering questions when it came to the Constitution. Alexander Hamilton was not one of the only authors. The other two authors were John Jay and James Madison. Federalist paper number 84 particularly deals with the Bill of Rights and it is one that Hamilton wrote. These men were Federalists, so they again advocated to have shared government power between the states and the government. Hamilton was against having a list of Bill of Rights because he believed it would be impossible to list them all and that a list would lead the government to take on more powers of itself. So I have a question for you all listening Do you think that Hamilton was right for having these concerns? In your honest opinion, do you think he was right for having these concerns? I'm going to read you a section from the Federalist Paper no 84, and it's pretty eye-opening when you read it, to see how he was thinking through all these things. So, he says, I go further and affirm that the Bill of Rights, in a sense and to the extent in which they are contended for, are not only unnecessary for the proposed Constitution, but it would even be dangerous.

Isabel Bryant: 32:06

They would contain various exceptions to powers not granted and, on this very account, would afford a colorful pretext to claim more powers than were granted. For why declare that things shall not be done which there is no power to do? For instance, why should it be said that the liberty of the press shall not be restrained when no power is given by which restrictions may be imposed? I will not contend that such a provision should confer a regulating power, but it is evident that it would furnish to men disposed of a plausible pretense for claiming that power. In my urge, with a semblance of reason, that the Constitution ought not be charged with the absurdity of providing against the abuse of an authority which was not given, and the provision against restraining the liberty of the press afforded a clear implication that the power to prescribe proper regulations concerning it was intended to be vested in the national government. This may serve as a specimen to the numerous handles which would be given to the doctrine of constructive powers by the indulgence of an injudicious zeal for the bill of rights.

Isabel Bryant: 33:07

When you read something this, it is very hard to understand at times and it can be very hard to unpack, because the way that they spoke was just so different than the way that we speak today in America. But this is something that I want to explain because it is important that we understand. So Hamilton is basically just saying that it would be very dangerous for America to have a federal Bill of Rights. Remember when he said that it would be very dangerous for America to have a federal bill of rights. Remember when he said that it would be impossible to list out every single rights that we as Americans have? He was saying that it would just be an incentive for the government to just come in and take away the powers that are not listed in the bill of rights. I honestly feel like that is a really good concern to have. I think he was really thinking through it and I'm really glad that we had both sides and I'm glad that he was writing the Federalist Papers, because he was able to give Americans two different ideas and two different opinions and these men truly wanted America to have both sides of the story.

Isabel Bryant: 34:00

Imagine being an average American at the time and seeing these things unfolding around you. Imagine seeing and hearing different rumors and you probably didn't know what was true and what was false. There was probably a lot of fear and anxiety because in their minds they had just came out of the strict rule of England and they were probably worried that this new America would turn out to be the same. This is why Americans actually pushed for the Bill of Rights, for the federal government. They advocated hard for a federal bill of rights and they truly wanted to ensure that their rights were protected in all the areas and that the government could not overstep and gain too much control. I just want to point out that these founding fathers sacrificed a lot to frame the nation that we have today in America.

Isabel Bryant: 34:43

When people say again that politics doesn't matter, it absolutely does matter. The government is full of men and women who are power hungry. They all have fleshly desires. This is all just a part of the fall and living in a sinful world. But when we turn a blind eye to politics and political discussions, we are allowing the government to do whatever they want.

Isabel Bryant: 35:02

I have a hard time understanding the Christians who want to just live in a bubble and pretend everything's okay. They don't want to know about the news, they don't want to know about things going on around them. I see and hear this comment a lot of people just wanting to live in their bubble. But as Christians, we are called to speak out on topics that matter. We are called to speak out for those little babies in the womb. We're called to be the voice for these people who need us, and I think that if we continue to turn a blind eye to all these things, the corruption is only going to continue. These are the people who also say they don't care to vote, they don't care to petition the government, they don't care to protest. These are all rights that we have in America and we need to take the initiative and exercise those rights.

Isabel Bryant: 35:40

Those who say that politics is not Christ-like or Christian. Whatever politics is all throughout scripture, and I think, as Christians, we need to be more vocal about our political beliefs, and I mean, for example, just look at King David in the book of Daniel. There's politics all throughout those chapters in those books. So I think y'all should really just go check that out. Knowing these documents again is the framework for everything else. We cannot understand the politics of today until we have an understanding of the politics of yesterday. We will know what to look out for and how to advocate for change if we have an understanding of the politics of yesterday. We will know what to look out for and how to advocate for change if we have an understanding and a general idea of our rights as Americans While we live in a fallen and sinful world.

Isabel Bryant: 36:17

This does not mean that we sit idly by and do nothing. It does not mean, as Christians, that we stop living just because the world is evil and cruel. As Christians, we can absolutely look forward to the day that Jesus comes back, but we are called to make disciples and further the kingdom. Until then, yes, we can go out and share his name with our neighbors and our friends and our family, but it also starts by voting in local and federal elections for those who align with the word of God most running for political office, extending a loving hand to mothers who choose life, and so much more. Something that a lot of people don't understand is that the policies that are put in place now will affect our children for future generations. Remember the weekly verse is to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. Our children and the babies in the womb cannot do that, so who's going to be the voice for our children when it comes to their education or health? This is why we have to get up and take action and advocate for change. We can no longer sit idly by and let things happen. As Christian women especially, we have to stand for truth and the word of God.

Isabel Bryant: 37:19

While this is just a brief history into the Bill of Rights, I encourage you to do some of your own studying and research. I learned so much for studying this podcast. I don't claim to have all the knowledge. I don't claim to know everything. I learned all of this by studying on my own and I'm so thankful for this podcast because it really pushed me to know these things and these things are so important, so I really hope that it helps y'all in some way. I understand some of these things can be difficult to comprehend or read, because it is like reading another language at times. Hand or read, because it is like reading another language at times, but sometimes it just takes reading it over and over and over again and watching videos just to kind of see what people say and then breaking it down for you. I will link the sources that I used in the show notes so that you can go back and do your own research.

Isabel Bryant: 38:00

But my goal is to help you understand these founding documents so that we can be better citizens and have a general idea when discussing and debating with others. To do this, we have to have the basic knowledge of our government. Yes, you may learn this all in school, but how many of us know these documents by heart? What do they mean and how do they apply to us today? Our founding fathers truly believed in trying to prevent the government from gaining too much power and too much control. This was something that they were truly passionate about and they were willing to die for it. So I think if today we took the same mindset of politics is something that we should be passionate about. We should be excited to learn these things. We should be having fun learning these things, because it is so essential to our lives as Americans, I think that America would truly be a different place.

Isabel Bryant: 38:45

I plan on giving examples in this podcast of when these things happened and may have occurred in history back then and today. While the entire podcast will not be on the founding documents, I figured it may be a good place to start so that we can better navigate life with liberty, truth and grace. If you're enjoying this podcast, I really, really want you to just send it to one friend, just one friend. I know you have one friend, but this really just helps boost our podcast in the algorithm and expand the CCW community and the Voices of Liberty community. If you send me a screenshot of your text to your friend or your DM, send the screenshot to voicesoflibertycontact at gmailcom and I will give you a shout out on the podcast and send you an exclusive CCW sticker, because I think it's so important that we, as Christians and Christian women, advocate for change and I think it's great to expand our community, so it would really help if you just send this podcast to just one friend. If you want to give us a five-star review, I highly suggest you do. This helps, again, boost it in the algorithm, get the word out to more conservative girlies and expand our CCW community.

Isabel Bryant: 39:48

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