Beck & Rabbi Lapin Show Why You Should Care About 'Baal' & Rising Secular Fundamentalism

On Thursday evening, Glenn Beck teamed up with Rabbi Daniel Lapin to explore the rise of secular fundamentalism.

During their discussion, they tackled the elements comprising this growing phenomenon and explored how its expansion and prominence is taking form in contemporary society. Due to the importance of the subject, GBTV has made the entire, five-part interview available free-of-charge (watch it, below).

In Part I, Beck and Lapin discuss the historical nature of Baal and the vast cultural and societal changes that we've seen here in America over the past few decades. If you're unfamiliar with the concept of Baal, Lapin provides a very pointed definition (this quote is present in Part II of their discussion):

"Think of it as spiritual gravity. It is that which tugs our better natures downwards -- to everything that is a yielding to bodily appetites, a yielding to darkness, a yielding to hopelessness and pessimism, a yielding to a sense of shortage and misery. All of these things that are so easily capable of overwhelming us as human beings as we struggle to remain encouraged and bright and filled with faith. That is the tension that exists within our hearts."

In a world dominated by negative media messages, false idols and temptations, it is this concept of Baal -- this "spiritual warfare" -- that holds the potential to prevent human beings from connecting with God and from being the fulfilled individuals God would like them to be.

"The dark and depraved side of human nature is as evident today in the United States of America and in the most sophisticated corners of America -- perhaps specifically there," Lapin explained. Here's the first part of the discussion:

Below, watch Part II, during which Lapin sets up the premise, history and the Biblical mentions of the Baal. Additionally, he further explains this gravitational force that purportedly exists within the hearts of mankind:

In Part III, Beck proclaims, "The forces of Baal are just as strong now as they were 3,000 years ago." In this section of the interview, Lapin and Beck take on the contemporary presence of and "the terrifying, seductive power" of the Baal. They mention this spiritual force and its involvement in Occupy Wall Street, Woodstock and other moral conundrums:

The Baal's appeal toward violence is tackled in Part IV, among other issues, as Beck and Lapin continued their discussion about the phenomenon's contemporary impact:

"The only hope for our economy, for our military security, for our cultural viability, for a civil society -- the only hope for all of these things -- is a revival of fervent, committed, evangelical Christianity," Lapin concludes in Part V: