WEBVTT 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:03.440 It is the 9th of January, 2026. 00:00:03.440 --> 00:00:04.500 I am Corey J. 00:00:04.500 --> 00:00:06.700 Mahler, and this is At Any Cost. 00:00:06.700 --> 00:00:12.880 This is the 11th episode, the second Q&A episode of 2026. 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:15.480 And I think I will just jump into things right away. 00:00:15.480 --> 00:00:19.760 I will initially go for a question that I happened to notice in the chat. 00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:21.600 Someone asked about the Tetragrammaton. 00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:26.780 I see that he's already had some people respond with the episode on the Judaizing heresy. 00:00:26.780 --> 00:00:28.280 That's a good place to start with that. 00:00:29.000 --> 00:00:31.900 There is also a good thread from Woh on X. 00:00:31.900 --> 00:00:33.400 That is still up. 00:00:33.400 --> 00:00:36.440 I will go ahead and link to that in the show notes. 00:00:36.440 --> 00:00:38.260 I'll make a note of that. 00:00:40.300 --> 00:00:44.100 And the short answer is that the word is Lord. 00:00:44.100 --> 00:00:47.440 It's Kurios in the Greek, and we just translate it as Lord. 00:00:47.440 --> 00:01:05.060 So anytime you see that, and I know there are some English versions that leave that untranslated, just have the Tetragrammaton there, or have, I don't even want to say the word, because it's Yahweh, which is not what it is, which is the problem, that is Judaizing. 00:01:05.060 --> 00:01:06.660 You should not use that one. 00:01:06.660 --> 00:01:10.380 And so if they leave it untranslated, that's not as bad. 00:01:10.380 --> 00:01:22.660 It's kind of silly, because when you translate something, you should probably translate the entire document, not leave random words untranslated, unless there's some particularly important reason for doing it. 00:01:23.320 --> 00:01:31.940 And given that we have it translated in the Septuagint into Kurios, into Lord, there's no reason to leave it untranslated in English. 00:01:31.940 --> 00:01:42.320 So if you see that just mentally translated as the Lord, that's what I'll do if I happen to be reading the ALV, the American Literary Version, because it does that. 00:01:42.320 --> 00:01:46.360 So, which is unfortunate, because I actually kind of like the English of it. 00:01:46.360 --> 00:01:54.120 I wish it were based on the Septuagint instead of being based on the Masoretic text, but it is still a nice translation to have. 00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:59.020 It reads very nicely, even if it obviously has some deficits. 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:03.760 So I will pull up my list of questions here. 00:02:03.760 --> 00:02:08.800 I don't know that I'll be able to get to the questions I see popping up in the chat. 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:11.280 I will note them down for next time. 00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:18.680 I already have a fairly long list here, and I'm going to try to get to all the ones that I have in the list, but we will see how that goes. 00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:33.580 And of course, the first question is very much related to that sort of preliminary question, so I guess this is really the second question, but which is the inspired version of Daniel is basically the question. 00:02:33.580 --> 00:02:55.880 And we deliberately did not address that, because we believe that is a question that should be left to the men who eventually do the real work of translating the Septuagint properly into a true English translation, the English translation that will be basically the master translation for some time going into the future. 00:02:55.880 --> 00:03:02.780 And personally, I am strongly inclined toward just saying use the one in the Septuagint. 00:03:02.780 --> 00:03:07.780 And for those who aren't aware, there's the Adosian, there's the Septuagint, and then obviously there's the Masoretic. 00:03:08.620 --> 00:03:17.220 And there are some questions about which one is basically the original version of Daniel, and which one should be controlling, essentially. 00:03:17.220 --> 00:03:21.380 I am inclined toward saying just use the one in the Septuagint. 00:03:21.380 --> 00:03:24.140 I'm not saying the people who do the translating have to do that. 00:03:24.140 --> 00:03:28.780 I'm not saying it's a requirement that you believe that, that it's sin not to believe it. 00:03:28.780 --> 00:03:31.180 That's just my personal inclination. 00:03:31.180 --> 00:03:37.780 I have not spent a particularly great amount of time looking into it, which is why I don't have a definitive answer. 00:03:37.780 --> 00:03:40.180 I'm simply going to say it's this one. 00:03:40.180 --> 00:03:42.720 So I'm not particularly worried about it. 00:03:42.720 --> 00:03:47.460 It's a question for the eventual translating, well, the translation committee, right? 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:48.700 It's for them. 00:03:48.700 --> 00:04:02.900 That's why we essentially avoided that in our series on the Septuagint, and partly just because it would sort of been getting off into the weeds instead of the core focus of that series, which was pointing out the Septuagint is the word of God. 00:04:03.900 --> 00:04:07.540 So the short answer is, yeah, that's for the translators to deal with that. 00:04:13.626 --> 00:04:22.466 The next question I have here is one where we can go ahead and just make the feminists even more angry at me. 00:04:22.466 --> 00:04:30.506 In the episode on the nature of woman, you say a woman's father, actually this is not the episode, the article rather, this is on my website, I'll link to it in the show notes. 00:04:30.506 --> 00:04:37.266 You say a woman's father or husband has the duty to rebuke or punish her when she expresses a wicked desire. 00:04:37.266 --> 00:04:40.166 True, I still hold that position. 00:04:40.166 --> 00:04:49.566 What is the punishment for, essentially, what sort of punishment is the man supposed to use with regard to the women who have been entrusted to his care? 00:04:49.566 --> 00:04:56.906 And of course, that's a delicate question and has to be a delicate answer, and it's going to make people angry regardless of what I say. 00:04:56.906 --> 00:04:59.526 Feminists are angry anyway, so it hardly matters. 00:05:00.906 --> 00:05:06.486 But corporal punishment is really the core of what is being asked here, naturally. 00:05:06.486 --> 00:05:08.526 Corporal punishment is very much on the table. 00:05:08.526 --> 00:05:18.026 Spanking children is acceptable, spanking your wife, if necessary, and a different context here from the normal one, perhaps, is also something that may be necessary. 00:05:18.026 --> 00:05:34.286 It is sort of a last resort, because you don't want to be the sort of man who immediately resorts to using your physical strength, which you have an advantage as a man over, if you have young children anyway, over everyone else in your household. 00:05:34.286 --> 00:05:38.046 You are much stronger than all of them, probably stronger than all of them combined. 00:05:38.806 --> 00:05:41.606 And so, you don't want that to be the last resort. 00:05:41.626 --> 00:05:43.826 One, it sets a bad example. 00:05:43.826 --> 00:05:50.086 And two, it's really showing that you don't actually have control over your household, that you have to resort to that immediately. 00:05:50.086 --> 00:05:52.406 There are other things you should be doing. 00:05:52.406 --> 00:06:10.406 A big part of this is simply avoiding those issues in the first place, by making sure that you are instructing your household well, that you are bringing up your children in the faith, that you are leading your wife, that you are engaging in the things that you have to do as the head of your household, to not have those problems arise. 00:06:10.406 --> 00:06:18.626 Now, of course, the problems will still arise, to some degree, because we live in a fallen world, and everyone has sinful impulses, and sometimes they give in to them. 00:06:18.626 --> 00:06:23.566 When that happens, basically it is a matter of wisdom. 00:06:23.566 --> 00:06:33.926 You are trying to decide what is going to be the most effective in that scenario to achieve the end you want to achieve without inflicting undue harm. 00:06:35.186 --> 00:06:54.586 It's not because necessarily you are trying to manipulate people, or you are trying to avoid exercising the sort of physical authority that God has given you, rather it's because you are trying to do what is best for those entrusted to your care, and that isn't going to be getting out the belt every single time. 00:06:54.586 --> 00:06:55.686 Everyone really knows that. 00:06:55.686 --> 00:06:56.746 That sort of goes without saying. 00:06:56.746 --> 00:07:01.746 We all know that you don't just get out the belt and spank your child every time he does anything wrong. 00:07:02.706 --> 00:07:09.286 You know, if he takes a extra cookie off the counter, you probably don't immediately resort to the belt or the switch. 00:07:09.286 --> 00:07:18.526 There are other steps in between, just a stern talking to, sometimes that's enough, and then corporal punishment is at the other end of things. 00:07:18.526 --> 00:07:30.106 So there is a grade of things, it's going to depend on the nature of the transgression, the nature of sort of the relationship you've built up in your family, and you know, why did this person do that? 00:07:30.926 --> 00:07:32.866 Of course, that's going to be part of it. 00:07:32.866 --> 00:07:35.466 Was it a direct challenge to your authority? 00:07:35.466 --> 00:07:39.606 That's different from just a child giving in to a sweet tooth. 00:07:39.606 --> 00:07:41.186 That's a different thing. 00:07:41.186 --> 00:07:45.266 If he took the cookie because he likes cookies, that's one thing. 00:07:45.266 --> 00:07:51.586 If he took it because you told him he cannot have it until after dinner, whatever you happen to tell him, that's a different thing. 00:07:51.586 --> 00:07:57.126 That's a more serious transgression because he is deliberately saying, I don't really believe you're in charge. 00:07:57.126 --> 00:07:59.626 He's testing your authority, and that's a different thing. 00:08:00.326 --> 00:08:09.846 Then it is required of you to more firmly establish that, no, I am in charge because God has placed me in charge and you have to obey. 00:08:09.846 --> 00:08:15.766 The same thing is true with regard to your wife because, of course, she is also placed under you in your household. 00:08:15.766 --> 00:08:19.806 You are her head, you make the decisions, and you'll answer to God for those decisions. 00:08:19.806 --> 00:08:35.486 So some people, when they hear about headship, think that it's just men getting it to lord it over women and be tyrants in their home, and it's not that, because it is primarily a matter of duty and responsibility, because you are going to answer to God for every single decision you make. 00:08:35.486 --> 00:08:42.906 And this is one thing that I tend to say to women when they bring up sort of objections to headship and things like that. 00:08:42.906 --> 00:08:53.766 I point out, you should want to help your husband with these things because he is going to answer to God for every single decision he made with regard to the marriage and leading you and all these other things. 00:08:54.926 --> 00:08:56.886 Don't make it more difficult for him. 00:08:56.886 --> 00:09:06.006 It's similar to the passage that says that you are to give honor and respect to those who are your leaders, and you are to do it so that they don't have to do it with grumbling. 00:09:06.006 --> 00:09:09.606 And basically, don't be a terrible follower. 00:09:09.606 --> 00:09:10.626 The same thing is true. 00:09:10.626 --> 00:09:17.386 Don't be a terrible member of the household, making the head of the household's job that much more difficult. 00:09:17.386 --> 00:09:25.166 So the short answer, calibrate the punishment to the person, the transgression, the relationship. 00:09:25.166 --> 00:09:27.186 It's a matter of wisdom. 00:09:27.186 --> 00:09:32.106 As a man, that is your place in the household, and there's no way around that. 00:09:32.106 --> 00:09:44.446 No one is going to be able to just give you a spreadsheet where you go, here's the transgression, and then here's the number of times and all these other steps, and then, oh, I have to hit him with a belt three times at half strength. 00:09:44.446 --> 00:09:46.226 That's not possible. 00:09:46.226 --> 00:09:47.866 These are matters for wisdom. 00:09:47.866 --> 00:09:55.866 You have to exercise the amount of wisdom that God gave you, the degree of wisdom He gave you to make these decisions. 00:09:55.866 --> 00:10:06.106 Part of it, of course, is spending time in God's Word so you know His requirements, and if you spend time in God's Word with your children and with your wife, it will help them to know the requirements as well. 00:10:06.106 --> 00:10:09.326 These things shouldn't just fall out of the sky, come out of the blue. 00:10:09.326 --> 00:10:15.206 They should know the expectations in the household because you should be transparent with those. 00:10:15.206 --> 00:10:22.106 They should know what is required of them, and they should know the consequences of not obeying, because this is very much a matter of obeying. 00:10:22.106 --> 00:10:35.026 And I know many people hate to hear that word these days, but that is the reality, because scripture is abundantly clear, wives are to submit to their husbands as unto the Lord, and they are to obey him in all things. 00:10:36.126 --> 00:10:44.646 The only exception is if a husband tells a wife to do something that would say, be blasphemy, then it is, we must obey God rather than men. 00:10:44.646 --> 00:10:45.626 That's the only exception. 00:10:47.026 --> 00:10:51.306 So, that's the basic answer to that question. 00:10:51.306 --> 00:10:56.026 And yes, I'm sure that will make feminists much happier with me than they already are. 00:10:57.186 --> 00:11:06.126 The next question, sort of shifting gears here to politics, politics and economics, really, and they are very much related. 00:11:06.126 --> 00:11:16.826 I have, my general view, just to start out before I give the question, is that I don't really think of economics as an ideology or an ideological subject. 00:11:16.826 --> 00:11:24.106 I think of economics as a tool, because I think of it as something that you use to achieve a given end. 00:11:24.106 --> 00:11:26.506 Now, can there be some ideology along the way? 00:11:26.506 --> 00:11:27.526 Certainly. 00:11:27.526 --> 00:11:34.526 I think more of that is politics and sociology in the proper sense of the term, not the modern corruption. 00:11:34.526 --> 00:11:39.286 I think it's more that just applied to regulating the market and commerce. 00:11:39.286 --> 00:11:40.706 Again, also tools. 00:11:41.386 --> 00:11:45.466 So, I don't have really an ideology when it comes to economics. 00:11:45.466 --> 00:11:53.126 One of the ways that I've explained it is that I don't have an ideology of hammers or any other tool. 00:11:53.126 --> 00:11:56.766 I use the tool when it is suitable for the task. 00:11:56.766 --> 00:12:03.446 The same thing with regard to economics, but the question here, let me pull up the actual wording of the question. 00:12:06.006 --> 00:12:14.386 I was hoping you could speak on the economic model or miracle of 1930s Germany, as well as resources regarding this. 00:12:14.386 --> 00:12:19.026 A friend of mine asked me for resources on this, and I did not have anything to suggest. 00:12:19.026 --> 00:12:27.086 He's a former libertarian, as are many on the right, who gave up on capitalism after listening to the Stone Quire episode on it and talking with me. 00:12:27.086 --> 00:12:28.706 Thank you for your time. 00:12:30.266 --> 00:12:39.146 This is one of those subjects that obviously could absorb more than the rest of the time for this evening. 00:12:39.146 --> 00:13:16.386 But the short version is that the goal of the Third Reich was to break the control of international finance and debt slavery, basically, to build a currency that was part of it, of course, was changing their currency, to build a currency that was based on the productivity of the people instead of being based on debt, which is the case with our currency in the United States, for instance, and any other currency that is backed by, well, a central bank, we'll say, to try and not get a strike here. 00:13:17.486 --> 00:13:26.966 But insofar as reading materials are concerned, I think that's really probably the better recommendation for me to give here, because that's what your friend is going to want. 00:13:26.966 --> 00:13:35.226 If he is interested in economics, he's going to want something to read, just like the men who are very interested in theology are going to want book recommendations. 00:13:35.226 --> 00:13:40.706 So the recommendations, and I'll put these in the show notes to make sure that they're accessible. 00:13:40.706 --> 00:13:49.846 And for those who don't know, I published this after the stream as a podcast, and so that is available with show notes and other things like that. 00:13:49.846 --> 00:13:53.566 And of course, I'll try to remember to put all those on the forum as well. 00:13:53.566 --> 00:14:05.526 And anyone who's a trusted member of the forum can edit the wiki for each episode and add resources or anything I mention if you are so inclined to help me keep that sort of neat and tidy. 00:14:05.526 --> 00:14:08.006 But the recommendations would basically be... 00:14:08.006 --> 00:14:13.966 Gottfried Feder would be the primary recommendation there. 00:14:13.966 --> 00:14:20.466 His manifesto for breaking the interest bondage of money is probably going to be the number one recommendation. 00:14:20.466 --> 00:14:35.466 And then he also has another work that is the program of the NSDAP and its ideological principles, which again deals with sort of the integration of politics and economics because he was an economist, so that was sort of his interest. 00:14:35.466 --> 00:14:42.166 Another one would be actually an American writer who was writing on related matters. 00:14:42.166 --> 00:14:45.486 This is Friedrich List, L-I-S-T, the last name again. 00:14:45.486 --> 00:14:47.046 I'll put it in the show notes. 00:14:47.046 --> 00:14:50.386 The National System of Political Economy. 00:14:50.386 --> 00:14:53.466 That's going to be another good read for someone who is interested in this area. 00:14:53.466 --> 00:15:03.886 I'm not saying everyone should read these materials because if you don't have an interest in economics, or you don't have a background in economics, it either will not be of interest or it will be quite a slog. 00:15:03.886 --> 00:15:07.946 It's just going to depend on sort of your background, your interest level. 00:15:07.946 --> 00:15:21.786 And then on a more sort of practical level, you have Hermann Göring had the four-year plan, and you can look up the actual plans of the Third Reich, what they wanted to accomplish, how they were accomplishing it. 00:15:21.786 --> 00:15:23.706 They basically had progress reports on these things. 00:15:24.426 --> 00:15:28.466 These materials are all available, and many of them are translated into English. 00:15:28.466 --> 00:15:34.406 And of course, now with AI, you can get a workable English translation of certainly any German document. 00:15:34.406 --> 00:15:40.726 And then of course, his book as well, Göring's book, Germany Reborn is the title in English. 00:15:40.726 --> 00:16:03.246 I think those are probably the best recommendations for someone who is interested in the economics of the Third Reich and sort of how they achieved that economic miracle, because of course, they went from, I'm trying to remember the numbers now, but I think it was 6 million, something like that, unemployed in the early 1930s, 1932, 1933. 00:16:03.246 --> 00:16:06.666 You can look this up, of course, but that's the best of my recollection. 00:16:06.666 --> 00:16:26.426 And after a period of five years, so basically one four-year program, they were able to bring that number down to under 100,000, which is to say basically full employment, something that very few nations have achieved historically, other than, of course, nations that have slavery, which is a different matter. 00:16:28.166 --> 00:16:32.186 So, that alone is an economic miracle. 00:16:32.186 --> 00:16:43.026 There's also the aspect that they were able to massively increase GDP, because the GDP basically doubled in that time period as well, roughly that much. 00:16:43.026 --> 00:16:56.146 And then on top of that, it's important to note, and I know that many who come out of the Libertarian School and others like that are going to perhaps object to what I say next, and they're going to think, oh, you're talking about Keynesianism. 00:16:56.146 --> 00:17:04.506 But, the Third Reich did use deficit spending, and deficit spending should not be a dirty word. 00:17:04.506 --> 00:17:10.286 I'll give a brief, very simplistic example of why this is not a problem. 00:17:10.286 --> 00:17:20.626 If your deficit spending is calibrated correctly, and it increases the growth of GDP, and I know some people are going, oh, don't you not care about GDP? 00:17:20.626 --> 00:17:23.586 GDP is not everything, but GDP is not nothing. 00:17:23.586 --> 00:17:28.946 So, let's say, tiny country, $10 million GDP. 00:17:28.946 --> 00:17:32.686 We're just going to use easy numbers for the sake of the example. 00:17:32.686 --> 00:17:34.606 $10 million GDP. 00:17:34.606 --> 00:17:42.226 They spend a million dollars deficit spending in order to stimulate the economy and grow the economy. 00:17:42.226 --> 00:17:47.026 Let's say they're wildly successful, because it makes the numbers easy. 00:17:47.026 --> 00:17:50.006 They increase the economy to $100 million. 00:17:50.126 --> 00:17:52.086 $100 million GDP. 00:17:52.086 --> 00:18:05.426 Well, now, how much of GDP is that one million they spent in order to incentivize and increase, basically, the velocity of money through the system and things like that, to increase the GDP? 00:18:05.426 --> 00:18:09.006 Well, it was 10% of GDP that they spent. 00:18:09.006 --> 00:18:09.546 Now, it's 1%. 00:18:10.526 --> 00:18:15.566 And so, you can, in fact, grow your way out of deficit spending. 00:18:15.566 --> 00:18:20.586 You have to make sure that you're investing in things that are actually worth the investment. 00:18:20.586 --> 00:18:30.526 It can't just be $100 billion of graft spent in various places around the world, which is basically a description of the US budget with bigger numbers. 00:18:30.526 --> 00:18:57.666 But if you spend it on infrastructure, if you spend it on things your country actually needs, so, for instance, in the German case, the autobahn, if you spend it on these things, you actually do increase the productivity of the country, you increase the productivity of your people, you incentivize economic development, and you actually manage to effectively spend nothing, because that deficit that you spent is paid for in the increase in GDP. 00:18:57.666 --> 00:19:03.906 And so that's the basic outline of how deficit spending can be used to incentivize an economy. 00:19:03.906 --> 00:19:05.066 And I have nothing wrong with that. 00:19:05.066 --> 00:19:07.726 I have no objection to that whatsoever. 00:19:07.726 --> 00:19:13.286 We did do that with works programs and things like that, in the US., in order to help get out of the depression. 00:19:13.286 --> 00:19:15.186 That was one of the things that we did. 00:19:15.186 --> 00:19:22.806 If you go to, particularly those of us who like hiking and camping and things like that, go to the national parks. 00:19:22.806 --> 00:19:28.526 Some of the nicest parts of the infrastructure in the national parks were public works programs. 00:19:28.526 --> 00:19:35.366 They still are to some degree, because of course, the National Park Service is socialism, if you want to use that word. 00:19:35.366 --> 00:19:49.586 It is something that is paid for by the government that benefits society at large, but it was literally a public works program for men who were out of work during that interwar period that built many of those things. 00:19:49.606 --> 00:19:56.346 One example would be the roadway that goes up to the Sequoia Park in California. 00:19:56.346 --> 00:20:08.446 If you go up to that from the south side, the stonework was done by that works program, and it's beautiful stonework done exceptionally well, better than most of the stuff we do today. 00:20:09.806 --> 00:20:13.546 Tangential note, don't take that route if you're in a large vehicle. 00:20:13.546 --> 00:20:15.186 It has hairpin turns. 00:20:15.186 --> 00:20:16.126 Take the one from the north. 00:20:16.126 --> 00:20:20.486 But it is something that was produced by what many would call socialism. 00:20:20.486 --> 00:20:21.866 There's nothing wrong with that. 00:20:21.866 --> 00:20:33.286 It works, it can be done well, and it was certainly done well at least one time in a western country with exceptional, virtually miraculous results. 00:20:33.286 --> 00:20:37.806 But at the same time, we shouldn't really call it miraculous, because it can be repeated. 00:20:37.806 --> 00:20:43.906 If you call it miraculous, you're sort of implying that it shouldn't have turned out that way. 00:20:43.906 --> 00:20:50.746 It was contrary to what you would expect to be the outcome, and that's simply not the case. 00:20:50.746 --> 00:20:57.246 Because I fully believe that if we replicated those programs here, we would have the same sort of success. 00:20:57.246 --> 00:21:02.626 Now, there's going to be some problems, we have to clean out some corruption and things here, but I still think it could be done. 00:21:04.906 --> 00:21:08.566 But I think those books are the place to start for your friend. 00:21:09.686 --> 00:21:13.386 The next question is sort of a more light-hearted one. 00:21:13.386 --> 00:21:14.946 Someone asked me my favorite tank. 00:21:14.946 --> 00:21:18.886 Unfortunately, for the person who asked, the answer is I don't really have one. 00:21:18.886 --> 00:21:20.906 I never really got into tanks. 00:21:20.906 --> 00:21:24.326 That was never really my particular interest. 00:21:24.326 --> 00:21:29.546 So, I mean, obviously, I like some of the German tanks from World War II. 00:21:29.546 --> 00:21:35.306 I don't think anyone is surprised by that answer, but I don't really have a favorite tank. 00:21:35.306 --> 00:21:42.306 And a more serious question from the same person, not a follow-up, but I guess it's sort of related. 00:21:42.306 --> 00:21:51.266 Having already listened to A Young Man's Life, the Stone Quire episode, would there be any other words of encouragement to a younger guy trying to find love? 00:21:52.906 --> 00:22:09.966 This is one of those questions that comes up all the time, and it's not surprising if you look at the marriage statistics, and don't look at the divorce statistics and think that it's as bad as they look, because bear in mind when they give you that number, it's for all marriages. 00:22:09.966 --> 00:22:20.226 The number you want is first marriages, because if you marry and stay married, well, the number of divorces you had is zero, right? 00:22:20.226 --> 00:22:33.566 But if there's another person who marries and divorces 15 times, well, now the average divorce rate for this small system is seven plus. 00:22:33.566 --> 00:22:34.766 That's the problem. 00:22:34.766 --> 00:22:39.446 You have people who are included who marry and divorce like they're changing shoes. 00:22:39.446 --> 00:22:42.966 If you exclude those people, the numbers are nowhere near as bad. 00:22:42.966 --> 00:22:58.686 But obviously, the big problem for younger generations, that's certainly millennials like myself, Zoomers, and younger, although for the much younger generations, not an issue yet, will be in the coming years, it's that first marriage, right? 00:22:58.686 --> 00:23:03.026 Because many of the younger generation are not married. 00:23:03.026 --> 00:23:04.606 They've never been married. 00:23:04.606 --> 00:23:07.846 And some of them are not dating and things like that. 00:23:07.846 --> 00:23:09.946 And there are a lot of reasons for that. 00:23:09.946 --> 00:23:17.266 And there's a related question that I know I have later on in my list for tonight that I'll comment on more of this stuff there. 00:23:18.566 --> 00:23:21.886 But the biggest thing is you just have to get out there and try. 00:23:22.846 --> 00:23:27.826 And I know it's not the sort of advice that most people want to hear, and I know it's hard advice to hear. 00:23:27.826 --> 00:23:29.866 And there are going to be those who think, oh, you're just out of touch. 00:23:29.866 --> 00:23:31.546 No, I know how hard it is out there. 00:23:31.546 --> 00:23:33.226 It's terrible. 00:23:33.226 --> 00:23:36.546 It is not good at all for the younger generations. 00:23:37.686 --> 00:23:42.006 And that doesn't mean that you can't find a wife. 00:23:42.006 --> 00:23:45.006 It doesn't mean that you don't have an opportunity to start a family. 00:23:45.006 --> 00:23:49.426 It does mean that it's going to be much more challenging than it was for previous generations. 00:23:49.506 --> 00:24:02.106 It's certainly going to be harder if you are a Zoomer, if you're Gen Z, than it was for your Boomer grandparents, or whatever they happen to be for you, probably grandparents in your case. 00:24:02.106 --> 00:24:06.966 That is the reality of the situation, but we do the best with what we have. 00:24:06.966 --> 00:24:20.106 And I've recommended to guys, one of the best things you can do is go out there and just ask out a barista or someone working at a cashier, wherever it happens to be. 00:24:20.106 --> 00:24:29.626 Some guys get hung up on they are trying to find this perfect woman, and I don't really necessarily hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm going to tell you she doesn't exist. 00:24:30.986 --> 00:24:34.886 Perfect wives don't exist. 00:24:34.886 --> 00:25:00.766 Now, you can find women who will make better wives sort of out of the gate, as it were, because if they were raised by a staunch Christian father, if they were told from the time they were little that, you know, your duty in life is going to be a wife and a mother, you're going to be a homemaker, you're going to do X, Y, and Z, it's going to be a lot easier for you to step into the shoes that he's sort of already prepared. 00:25:00.766 --> 00:25:05.546 And many of the older generation dropped the ball on that. 00:25:05.546 --> 00:25:12.086 And so you are going to find some women who don't have any of that background. 00:25:12.086 --> 00:25:15.566 You can sort of train those women to be good wives. 00:25:15.566 --> 00:25:17.146 And that's sort of the point I'm getting at here. 00:25:17.146 --> 00:25:20.926 Good wives are made, not just found lying around. 00:25:20.926 --> 00:25:27.126 You don't just go to some random church, and it's full of perfect wives waiting for a husband to appear. 00:25:27.126 --> 00:25:41.926 But the kind of woman you do want to avoid are the ones who have been so damaged by their path through life that they have decided they are going to do everything they possibly can to never be a wife, or to be a terrible one. 00:25:41.926 --> 00:25:44.606 And that's going to be a matter of discernment. 00:25:44.606 --> 00:25:50.126 It's not always going to be the easiest call, but to some degree, guys have sort of an instinct for that. 00:25:50.126 --> 00:25:53.006 You know when a woman is going to cause trouble in your life. 00:25:53.006 --> 00:25:55.706 Every woman is going to cause trouble in your life. 00:25:55.706 --> 00:25:59.746 But you know when she's going to cause the kind of trouble that you don't want to have. 00:25:59.746 --> 00:26:04.606 Because Paul's not wrong when he says, if you marry, you're going to have trouble in this life. 00:26:04.606 --> 00:26:06.106 That's true in every marriage. 00:26:06.746 --> 00:26:11.226 Even if you have a very good marriage, there's still going to be days that are difficult. 00:26:11.226 --> 00:26:13.966 There are going to be things you have to work through together. 00:26:13.966 --> 00:26:16.086 There are going to be problems. 00:26:16.086 --> 00:26:18.866 That is the reality of living in a fallen world. 00:26:18.866 --> 00:26:21.266 You're fallen, she's fallen. 00:26:21.266 --> 00:26:24.066 Together, you have to work through some things. 00:26:24.066 --> 00:26:32.346 Some women are going to be more work than others, and some are going to be so much that you are just creating a disaster for yourself and your life. 00:26:32.346 --> 00:26:39.586 So there's the aspect of wisdom having to find the woman who has the potential to be a good wife. 00:26:39.586 --> 00:26:51.146 But don't turn down a woman just because she doesn't seem like the exact perfect image of a wife that you've built up in your head, because you're not going to find that perfect image in the real world. 00:26:51.146 --> 00:26:56.906 You're going to find a woman who is willing to put in the effort to be a good wife. 00:26:56.906 --> 00:27:07.826 That's the woman you want, and there are still a lot of those around, even if there are, of course, the other kind that are a lot of trouble, and that's going to depend partly on where you live in the country. 00:27:07.826 --> 00:27:09.106 Some areas are better than others. 00:27:09.106 --> 00:27:11.646 Some are certainly worse than others. 00:27:12.946 --> 00:27:18.506 And just go out there and put in the effort and take some risks. 00:27:18.506 --> 00:27:20.466 You may not find her on the first try. 00:27:20.466 --> 00:27:22.566 It is partly a numbers game. 00:27:22.566 --> 00:27:29.766 But if you put in that effort, and do, of course, put in the effort to yourself as well, you know, make yourself presentable. 00:27:29.766 --> 00:27:36.826 One of the best things a guy can do is not, I'm not saying go to the gym six hours a day and get absolutely shredded, right? 00:27:36.826 --> 00:27:39.026 It would seem a little hypocritical if I said that perhaps. 00:27:39.026 --> 00:27:43.426 But it's not that, it's just stay in decent shape. 00:27:43.426 --> 00:27:45.706 Don't be a fat slob, basically. 00:27:45.706 --> 00:27:53.706 Dress decently, and you'll stand out quite a bit just doing that, since no one dresses well at all anymore. 00:27:53.706 --> 00:27:57.446 If you just wear a button down shirt, you're already ahead of the crowd. 00:27:57.446 --> 00:28:00.186 The bar is pretty low for guys these days. 00:28:00.186 --> 00:28:04.806 It's extremely low for women, but it's pretty low for guys as well. 00:28:04.806 --> 00:28:06.626 Stay in decent shape. 00:28:06.626 --> 00:28:12.086 Have some ability to talk to women without stumbling all over yourself. 00:28:12.086 --> 00:28:13.486 Part of that is practice. 00:28:13.486 --> 00:28:16.426 Part of that is just developing that confidence. 00:28:16.426 --> 00:28:25.226 But if you just put in some basic effort and then go out there and take the risk, there's reward to be found. 00:28:25.426 --> 00:28:26.906 The world is not hopeless. 00:28:26.906 --> 00:28:34.166 So the guys who think that, oh, there are no good women left, and everyone is terrible, and that's not reality. 00:28:34.166 --> 00:28:37.066 That's just them and sour grapes. 00:28:37.066 --> 00:28:47.326 They are looking at the state of the world, and perhaps some of their past experiences, many times it's that, and just deciding that everything is hopeless, and there's no point. 00:28:47.326 --> 00:28:48.866 That's never true. 00:28:48.866 --> 00:28:50.226 Certainly, it's not true today. 00:28:50.226 --> 00:28:52.926 So there are good women out there. 00:28:52.926 --> 00:28:54.386 Go find one. 00:28:54.426 --> 00:28:56.126 Maybe she's currently making cof- 00:28:56.126 --> 00:28:58.946 Hopefully not this time of night, but maybe she's currently making coffee. 00:28:58.946 --> 00:29:01.546 I guess it's not that late, West Coast. 00:29:01.546 --> 00:29:04.486 Or she's a cashier at Kroger. 00:29:04.486 --> 00:29:06.046 There are good women out there. 00:29:06.046 --> 00:29:16.646 Maybe you're looking in the wrong place, and maybe you have that mental image of what you think is perfect that is preventing you from finding something that will make you very happy for the rest of your life. 00:29:16.646 --> 00:29:21.006 And do bear in mind, perfect is what you get in the next life. 00:29:21.006 --> 00:29:22.546 And someone in the chat said, women are malleable. 00:29:22.546 --> 00:29:24.106 That's true. 00:29:24.106 --> 00:29:28.266 You are going to conform her to yourself. 00:29:28.266 --> 00:29:36.206 So don't start looking for her being exactly what you want, because she's not going to be. 00:29:36.206 --> 00:29:38.366 You are going to make her into a good wife. 00:29:38.366 --> 00:29:45.286 Part of it is going to be that she is a wife, and so she's going to conform to the role over time. 00:29:45.286 --> 00:29:48.026 Men and women both change. 00:29:48.026 --> 00:29:51.886 Women change more than men, and that's a blessing and a curse. 00:29:51.886 --> 00:29:53.506 In this case, it's a blessing. 00:29:53.506 --> 00:30:02.626 She can become what you want, just find one who doesn't have the sort of baggage that is going to destroy the potential. 00:30:02.626 --> 00:30:04.426 You know what you can deal with. 00:30:04.426 --> 00:30:06.506 You know what you can't handle. 00:30:06.506 --> 00:30:12.466 Find a woman who has baggage that you can handle, and go for it. 00:30:12.466 --> 00:30:14.346 Part of life is taking risks. 00:30:14.346 --> 00:30:16.946 Sometimes things don't go perfectly. 00:30:16.946 --> 00:30:21.286 Generally, things don't go perfectly, but perfect isn't the goal. 00:30:21.286 --> 00:30:22.646 The goal is sort of good enough. 00:30:22.646 --> 00:30:24.186 It's not that I'm telling you to settle. 00:30:24.186 --> 00:30:28.206 It's I'm telling you to look at life realistically. 00:30:28.206 --> 00:30:32.406 You're not going to find perfection, particularly not in human relationships. 00:30:33.486 --> 00:30:36.046 So go out and try. 00:30:36.046 --> 00:30:42.226 I think you'll be surprised at sort of the ease with which you can find sufficient success. 00:30:42.226 --> 00:30:44.566 And also bear in mind, you only have to succeed once. 00:30:46.166 --> 00:30:48.626 It's not like you have to succeed a thousand times. 00:30:48.626 --> 00:30:53.986 You have to find one woman you can tolerate for 60 years. 00:30:53.986 --> 00:30:54.826 You can probably do that. 00:31:00.855 --> 00:31:03.055 Someone said her having a job can be a red flag. 00:31:03.055 --> 00:31:04.695 It depends. 00:31:04.695 --> 00:31:11.695 You know, the reality of the society and the economy in which we live, a lot of women are going to have a job. 00:31:11.695 --> 00:31:14.255 It's going to depend in part on the kind of job. 00:31:14.255 --> 00:31:21.815 So if she's a barista or a cashier or anything like that, I don't think it's a red flag. 00:31:21.815 --> 00:31:32.315 If she is a high-ranking executive in a tech firm, then, well, first off, she's probably in her 40s, but second, yeah, that's probably a red flag. 00:31:32.315 --> 00:31:36.855 But matter of wisdom, use the wisdom God has given you. 00:31:36.855 --> 00:31:40.235 These days, a woman having a job, I don't think it's a red flag. 00:31:40.235 --> 00:31:42.435 You're not going to find a woman who doesn't. 00:31:42.435 --> 00:31:43.935 And quite frankly, all women do. 00:31:43.935 --> 00:31:45.355 Being a wife is a job. 00:31:45.355 --> 00:31:46.615 It's a lot of work. 00:31:46.615 --> 00:31:50.215 Keeping a home, cooking, cleaning, all those things, that's a lot of work. 00:31:50.215 --> 00:31:52.275 That's a lot of hours per day. 00:31:52.275 --> 00:32:01.835 And it's one of the things that's so terrible about feminism because it took the women out of the home, which means that all that work that should be done in the home, there was no one around to do it. 00:32:01.835 --> 00:32:02.855 That's all it did. 00:32:02.855 --> 00:32:05.935 It made everyone more miserable and made everything worse. 00:32:05.935 --> 00:32:08.755 That's sort of an aside, though. 00:32:08.755 --> 00:32:11.015 So I'll leave that perhaps for another time. 00:32:12.995 --> 00:32:20.115 The next question, sort of shifting gears here, a, I guess, a theological question, one could call it. 00:32:20.115 --> 00:32:22.075 It's about casting lots. 00:32:22.075 --> 00:32:28.395 I don't think I have the specific wording that the gentleman used. 00:32:28.395 --> 00:32:29.135 Let me pull that up. 00:32:36.725 --> 00:32:40.985 That may be the fullness of the wording that I have. 00:32:42.845 --> 00:32:44.785 So I will just comment on it generally then. 00:32:44.785 --> 00:32:53.125 Obviously, we have the example in the New Testament of casting lots to replace Judas, right? 00:32:53.125 --> 00:32:58.885 Now, do note, they narrow it down to two men first. 00:32:58.885 --> 00:33:04.545 They don't just break out the dice and throw them and go for broke, right? 00:33:04.725 --> 00:33:12.585 They narrow it down to two men, and basically, they're in a position where they're going, we can't decide between A and B. 00:33:12.585 --> 00:33:16.685 We don't know which of these two men, both of whom are qualified. 00:33:16.685 --> 00:33:18.965 We don't know which one to choose. 00:33:18.965 --> 00:33:21.345 And so they cast lots. 00:33:21.345 --> 00:33:23.505 I don't think there's anything wrong with that. 00:33:23.505 --> 00:33:38.005 And part of it, of course, is going to be, one, we do have the New Testament example, of course, but two, I'm Western European, and we definitely have a very strong conception of fate in our cultures. 00:33:38.005 --> 00:33:41.865 And I don't think that that's a wrong way to look at the world. 00:33:41.865 --> 00:33:48.205 So I don't think that relying on lots for something like that is impermissible for Christians. 00:33:48.205 --> 00:33:50.485 I think we can certainly do that. 00:33:50.485 --> 00:33:55.285 I think the biggest part of the reason we don't do it today is we just don't need it. 00:33:55.285 --> 00:34:00.865 How often does it come down to A or B for an important decision? 00:34:00.945 --> 00:34:03.665 I'm not talking about which restaurant you go to tonight. 00:34:03.665 --> 00:34:11.685 But when it comes down to picking which person is going to replace Judas, and you have two equally qualified men, that almost never happens. 00:34:11.685 --> 00:34:14.345 So you almost never have to cast lots. 00:34:14.345 --> 00:34:22.045 But I think if you came down to A versus B and you didn't really know what to do, I think it's totally fine to flip a coin. 00:34:22.045 --> 00:34:38.505 If you are going to call a pastor for your church, and somehow miraculously, and I think in this case it actually is, you manage to find two candidates who are equally qualified, and you can't possibly decide between them, go ahead and break out a coin. 00:34:38.505 --> 00:34:41.685 Go ahead and do the sort of easy version of casting lots. 00:34:41.685 --> 00:34:44.505 I think that's completely fine for Christians to do. 00:34:44.505 --> 00:34:45.785 I don't think it's testing God. 00:34:45.785 --> 00:34:47.505 I don't think it's mocking God. 00:34:47.505 --> 00:34:54.425 I don't think it's impermissibly leaving things up to, you know, the fate's uppercase F, relying on the gods of chance. 00:34:54.425 --> 00:35:09.685 I think it's just recognizing that sometimes in life, you wind up in a position where you have equally good or equally bad, hopefully the former, not the latter, but you have equal choices and you don't know how to choose. 00:35:09.685 --> 00:35:11.945 Leaving it up to fate is fine. 00:35:11.945 --> 00:35:14.165 Go ahead and flip the coin. 00:35:14.165 --> 00:35:16.365 Make it a challenge coin if you're so inclined. 00:35:16.365 --> 00:35:21.705 A little harder to flip, but a little more interesting for those observing what you're doing. 00:35:24.905 --> 00:35:29.345 Let's see, the next one is sort of a follow-up question. 00:35:29.345 --> 00:35:36.705 I commented very briefly on the stock market and said that I am not invested in the stock market, which is true. 00:35:36.705 --> 00:35:39.065 I don't hold any stock. 00:35:39.065 --> 00:35:43.625 I don't think I hold any stock whatsoever, unless there is maybe a small exception somewhere. 00:35:43.625 --> 00:35:51.025 You know, companies occasionally, if you buy something, they'll give you like one stock as a throwaway thing they put in the box. 00:35:51.025 --> 00:35:53.105 Maybe I have something like that somewhere. 00:35:53.105 --> 00:36:02.745 I don't have any deliberately purchased stock or investment in the stock market other than I do have a money market account. 00:36:02.745 --> 00:36:06.665 So I do have a savings account that is technically an investment in the stock market. 00:36:06.665 --> 00:36:08.765 That's as close as I get. 00:36:08.765 --> 00:36:13.665 So I did say my objection is not to all investment. 00:36:13.665 --> 00:36:14.965 I don't think it's all wrong. 00:36:14.965 --> 00:36:16.305 I'm not going to say you can't do that. 00:36:16.305 --> 00:36:18.565 I'm not going to say it's anti-Christian. 00:36:18.565 --> 00:36:25.425 I would abolish those things under an ideal system, but Christians do have to live in the world. 00:36:25.425 --> 00:36:29.885 We can't just say, the world isn't perfect, and so I refuse to live in the world. 00:36:29.885 --> 00:36:31.045 That doesn't work. 00:36:31.045 --> 00:36:40.905 That would be like saying, well, this food in front of me is not absolutely 100% pure and perfect, and so I'm going to starve to death. 00:36:40.905 --> 00:36:45.865 That would certainly not be exercising the wisdom and the judgment that God has given you. 00:36:45.865 --> 00:36:47.385 That would be horrible foolishness. 00:36:48.585 --> 00:36:52.165 The same thing is true with regard to how you manage your money. 00:36:52.165 --> 00:36:54.945 That's one of the resources that God has given you. 00:36:54.945 --> 00:37:01.825 And so managing your money is something that you have to do wisely as a Christian. 00:37:01.825 --> 00:37:04.045 So how do you do that? 00:37:04.045 --> 00:37:09.465 Again, I'm not going to say that you can't invest in the stock market. 00:37:09.465 --> 00:37:11.245 You can certainly do that. 00:37:12.465 --> 00:37:13.945 Don't become obsessed with it, right? 00:37:13.945 --> 00:37:17.825 Because some guys sort of use that as a proxy for gambling, and it becomes a problem. 00:37:17.825 --> 00:37:19.405 That's a different sort of thing. 00:37:19.405 --> 00:37:21.405 Don't do that. 00:37:21.405 --> 00:37:47.585 But these days, personally, my firm recommendation would just be invest in things that are a little more tangible, because the state of the world is such that I think I would probably rather have a really well-situated personal family compound, so animals, a garden, all the sort of things you need to be self-sustaining to some degree. 00:37:47.585 --> 00:38:01.705 I'm not saying be crazy, prepper, 15 years worth of food in the basement sort of thing, because there's a balancing of relying on God and exercising the wisdom and using the resources He gave you wisely. 00:38:01.705 --> 00:38:07.025 But I do think that most people would benefit from more concrete investments. 00:38:08.185 --> 00:38:15.325