& a. >>> next, samuel goldman discusses christian zionism in america which he defines that he believes christians have a responsibility to put some portion of the state in the biblical holy land. he's also author of "god's country." this is an hour and a half. >> i want to thank you all, to welcome you to this session of the washington history seminar historical perspectives on international and national affairs. my name is eric arnesen from george washington university. i am the co-chair of this seminar. my other co-chair is unable to join us. some of you know, some of you do not know this is a seminar that's been going on for a number of years now. it is the collaborative effort of two organizations. the national history center, which is part of the american historical association, and the woodrow wilson international center for scholars and its history and public policy program. behind the scenes we have two particular individuals who every week work very hard to make sure that this seminar comes off with as little difficulty as possible, and amanda perry from the national

word of jesus from the holy land to india? >> a direct line to the very source of christian faith. >> science puts his relics to the test, to reveal the truth about doubting thomas. ♪ >>> a holy festival in the south indian state of caraway. worshippers here follow a lit you are gee they believe was handed to them directly by one of jesus' 12 disciples. a man 7 million indians claims brought christianity here. thomas. >> christianity appears in india at some point in the first few centuries of the common era. it's a little bit of a mystery. it may be there as early as the second century, and maybe -- it's plausible that it even arrived in the first century. >> is it possible the disciple famous in the bible for doubt founded one of the earliest christian churches in india? >> thomas is listed as one of the 12, so we know that he's one of the inner group of jesus' disciples. >> he's best known as the one disciple who wasn't present when jesus first appeared after his crucifixion. >> thomas vanishes from the new testament after the resurrection. but in ancient text and recent arch

from the earliest days of christianity. show how a small group of rebels turn an illegal movement into the largest religion on the planet. and how, against all odds, the papacy endures. ♪ >>> this is something that has never happened before. the vatican this morning publicly displayed what's believed to be bone fragments from st. peter, an apoll stle o jesus christ, and the world's first pope. >> pope francis is the 266th leader of the catholic church. for the last 2,000 years, despite an ever-changing world, catholics have looked to the pope as a beacon of faith, morality, and divine guidance. but who is this figure that means so much to so many? and how did he come to be one of the most powerful men on earth? >> people look to the pope to have something to say on almost everything. i don't think there's any other religious figure that people recognize as much as they recognize the pope. >> reporter: b >> but before the pope had the ear of 1.2 billion followers worldwide, he was a philosopher, a leader of an underground movement. and an outlaw. >> peter was one of the 12 apostl

christianity first arose it was without images it had only words only script images were first introduced into the christian's assembly rooms where they were concentrated at the far end of the simple hole cold the clays yet but once the walls were adorned with images they told a story. how did these images arise how did these stories come up barriers and what role did angels play in the stories of conflict between power and order heaven and. angels on the messengers of the one god of whom no image exists and upon whom no human will ever set eyes people worship god's words words that were brought by angels who were closest to him. they are spiritual beings just like him beings of light. changes proclaim what god wishes to tell people. they're cold and they were imagined to be all new president always talking guiding advising and judging people and so they became a central theme of the pictorial history of the week old western art. christianity became the state religion of the roman empire at a time when it was already beginning to collapse the city of rome the capital was a civilized metro

"behold america." >>> u.s. house members now talking about work in congress to protect christian rights. the group called indefen defens christians hosted the annual dinner. a member of the lebanese parliament on christians in lebanon. [ speaking in a foreign language ] thank you very much for being here. my name is tonia khouri. i proudly serve on the board of idc, and when i look at idc, i don't just see it as a human rights advocacy organization, which we are, but i see so much more. i see a mission, because we are on a mission to protect and defend christianity in the middle east. that is our mission. and religious freedom is the cornerstone of our democracy here in the united states. but more importantly, it's a god-given right that should be protected and defended throughout the world, especially in the middle east. and many martyrs have gone before us and have given their lives for this cause. it is now up to us to continue this mission in their memory. the apostle james tells us, faith without works is dead. i am so grateful that idc gives us the opportunity to put our faith in

, jeremy hunt, has ordered a review looking at the way britain could help persecuted christians around the world. the review, led by the bishop of truro, will look at government efforts to help some of the 215 million christians who faced discrimination and violence last year. there are people in very poor countries, themselves very poor, who can suffer terribly for no other reason than their faith, and when that faith is christianity, that is not a reason to do nothing. we need to do something, just as we would if they were muslim or buddhist and being persecuted for the same reason. we can speak now to now to wilson chowdhry, who is from the british pakistani christian association. what do you think this will achieve? how important is it that this is tackled? the figures speak for themselves, 250 christians allegedly killed every month. from a christian charity, these figures. this report will hopefully address matters such asissues will hopefully address matters such as issues regarding christians who are regarded as a country we wear persecution does not include christians. people

anniversary of the un declaration of human rights article nineteen for law on t.w. . when christianity first arose it was without images it had only words only scripture images were first introduced into the christian's assembly rooms where they were concentrated at the far end of the simple whole colby exclaims yeah but once the walls were adorned with images they told a story. how did these images arise how did these stories come a bunch of what role. did angels play in the stories of conflict between power and order heaven and earth. angels on the messengers of the one god of whom no image exists and upon whom no human will ever set on his people worship god's words words that were brought by angels who were closest to him. they are spiritual beings just like him beams of light. the angels proclaim what god wishes to tell people that is their calling. they were imagined to be all new present always talking guiding advising and judging people and so they became a central theme of the pictorial history of the week old western art. i am. christianity became the state religion of the roman em

of relics? >> the true cross is one of the greatest mysteries in christian history. we have the tools to solve it. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the cross, an object of savage torture. >> that cross was an instrument of death. pieces of wood nailed together to kill a human being. >> but also an object of deepest veneration. >> the cross on which jesus died symbolizes for me the greatest act of love in human history. >> the cross remains hugely powerful because jesus survives the cross. he doesn't just die an ignominious, shameful death, but rises to new life. >> the cross is now the ultimate symbol of christianity, adorning vast cathedrals and houses of worship the world over. but in some churches, they have crosses said to be made out of the actual wood jesus died on, the true cross. >> the true cross is surely the most important object in christian history. >> to touch a piece of the true cross is the opportunity to reach across time and space and human history, and grasp something that changed the world. >> to the churches that hold them, fragments of the true cross are a miraculous link to

group in defense of christians hosted its annual dinner. white house budget director delivered the keynote address. this happened before he was named acting white house chief of staff by president trump. >> thank you. , ladies and gentlemen. tonight on ourll first annual solidarity dinner. many my pleasure to see so supporters, champions, and partners, and chapter leaders. i would like to recognize his excellency, our special kristof pierre. his excellency, the bishop. his eminence, archbishop. director of the office of management and budget. member of lebanese parliament and our board member. deputy speaker of the hungarian national assembly. his excellency, the hungarian ambassador to the united states. the lebanese ambassador to the united states, his excellency. congressman and mrs. randy weber from the state of texas, 14th district. congressman from the state of arkansas, second district. congressman from the state of nebraska, first district. congressman from the state of alabama, fourth district. congressman from the state of pennsylvania, 12th district. congressman from the

more often in the context of islam. what about here among american christian groups? do you hear the label? >> from up north many people who are just christians down here we would have called fundamentalist christians as a path orive and don't think this is used by the fundamentalists themselves. >> so you've heard of more of a path orive that lines up with my experience. there are exceptions. i've met some proud independent baptists what claim the term fundamentalism but it is an insult but not a label most christians would want applied to themselves and i think that the history of that connotation, that negative sense in which we hear the word today really became crystalized in one particular historical episode and that's the infamous or famous, depending on your view, scopes trial. there we go. of 1925. the monkey trial that dominated newspaper headlines in the summer of 1925. now the scopes trial has a certain status in popular culture. you're probably at least vaguely aware of what it involved. but let me tell you the basic facts of this trial. the state of tennessee passed a la

audience this is from page 16 while the jewish christian scriptures came to completion centuries before mohammed was born it does speak of torah and gospel which is an important part of those scriptures that no attempt at literary qur'an fails to conclude those divine speakers put upon themselves as the god that jews and christians worship so this identity to be sharply different and it can be rewarding to discover this expressed details. that was my favorite sentence and in this case it wasn't the details but the deity. so i'm eager to explore with you those details but i would like to ask you to say more about the position that qur'an takes about scriptures. >> i should say i say that qur'an says because by genre it is oratory and the speaker is always allah. so i prefer in the book of the books to say all law and then speaking to the god of the jews to say yahweh. both of these words seem a little strange that is temporarily good to help keep them apart so when you talk about any position of the qur'an that it takes or any opinion it expresses to say qur'an - - or all of says

christians organization this week. we also hear from the vatican's ambassador to the u.s. who talks about advocating for a christian rights in the middle east. [ applause ] >> thank you, marsha. good evening, ladies and gentlemen. i welcome you all tonight on our fifth annual solidarity dinner. it's my pleasure to see so many supporters, champions and partners and chapter leaders. i would like to recognize his excellency archbishop cristophe pierre to the united states. his excellency bishop, his eminence archbishop siobhan, danielle young, director of the office -- of office of management and budget, mick mulvaney. [ applause ] >> member of lebanese parliament and our board member mamat frem. [ applause ] >> mr. silva handy, deputy speaker of the hungarian national assembly. [ applause ] >> his excellency the hungarian ambassador to the united states, laz low zabo. [ applause ] >> the lebanese ambassador to the united states, his excellency gabriela issa. [ applause ] >> congressman and mrs. randy weber from the state of texas, 14th district. [ applause ] >> congressman french hill

text sacred to the christian faith. by that, i'm referring to the old and the new testaments as well as the books commonly called apock rifu. for purposes of this discussion i want to emphasize that this text included the hebrew bible or what christians call the old testament, especially the books of moses. that is because this part of the scriptures, even more than the new testament was the text in which 18th century americans would have turned to for insights into the establishment of law and civil government. let me also note that most of my references this evening would be to the king james version or the king james translation of the bible. this would have been the english language version of the bible that most americans would have been reading in the 18th century. no book, it seems to me, has had a greater influence on western culture than the bible. its expansive influence orpublic culture by which i mean language, education, arts and letters is well documented. this influence extended to the western legal tradition. consider for example the influence of the ten commandments

during evening prayer, killing six people and injuring many more, end quote. christian crusader images are part of his facebook feed. as someone who knew him, he became a member of the board of nationalist movement. he took his anger to the enemy. the page's moderator described him as an identity mover movement. >> i don't have it on the screen. but even as this recent tweet of the crusader is identified. and is attempting to harass, this has moved into current political discussions, this image of the crusader. my last example is basically -- goes back to charlottesville. this has to do with jason kestler who is the major organizer of the riot at charlottesville. but in 2017 he decided to maintain his new group. he said, quote, the premise being when rome fell, this new will preverve white dominance after the fall of the american empire. however, the use is not just connectsed to jason kessler and his followers. his wife who uses it as his twitter handle appears to indicate that her radicalized christianity and birthplace as a third rome uses that handle very specifically for em

authorities warned of more high tides to come and the rats shrinking christian community celebrates christmas with the government declaring it an official public. hello thank you for joining us we begin the program in sudan where police fired tear gas and live ammunition to the spurs crowds of protesters in the capital to. thousands are attempting to reach the presidential palace as they continue their call for longtime leader omar al bashir to step down they blame his government for economic mismanagement and rising food and fuel costs official government figures say twelve people have died since the unrest began a week ago the international groups say that the real figure to be as high as thirty seven allowed to see has he been more again was on the sidelines of the protest and hard to hear is what she saw. the curfew days now if. you can the amount of huge number of people protesting this saying that it's a peaceful protest they want the government to go they've been chanting things like down with the government this is the seventh day of protest against the government people are

some form of protestantism, i'm referring to the economical text sacred to the christian faith and by that, i'm referring to the old and new testament. for the purposes of this discussion especially i want to emphasize that this text that christians call the old testament. that is because this part of the scriptures was the text which 18th-century americans would have turned to for law and civil government. we know that parenthetically most of my references would be to the king james version or king james translation of the bible because this would have been the english language that most americans would have been reading in the 18th century. it seems to have a greater influence-- notebook seems to have a greater influence than the bible. its influence on culture and which i mean letters education arts and letters is well documented. this extended to the western legal tradition. consider the influence of the 10 commandments on law. this evening the question that i want to pose and examine is did this influence of the bible extend extend to the tradition? and if so, how is that influen

everything that indicates knowledge. is leaving this administration. also coming up christians and pakistan living in fear of blasphemy laws targeting religious minorities now with christmas approaching bill a high profile court ruling give some families a gift of hope and then you. know you always live in fear because of this we feel insecure while manically so when we talk about your future i think what kind of future can we have. the law and policies here need to be implemented properly and development people. we begin the day with yet another departure from the trump cabinet u.s. defense secretary jim mattis as handed in his letter of resignation it was done in protest of president donald trump's decision to withdraw american forces from syria a move done without consultation with the pentagon or u.s. allies now the search is on for a successor to mattis who many believe was the last check on the president's impulsive foreign policy decisions. here with secretary of defense james mattis has been widely viewed as a stabilizing force and u.s. president donald trump's cabinet many

a term that you here more often with the context of islam. what about here among american christian groups? do you hear the label? >> up north many of those christians we would've called fundamental christians. in my experience it is an often used by the fundamentalists themselves. >> you have heard it as a pejorative term, which lines up with my personal experience. there are exceptions. i have met some proud, independent baptists who claim the term fundamentalist. but generally it seems to be used as an insult. it is not a label that most christians will apply to themselves. i think that the history of that connotation, that kind of negative sense in which we hear the word today, really became crystallized in one historical episode and that is the infamous or famous depending on your view, the trial of 1925. the monkey trial that dominated newspaper headlines in the summer of 1925. the scopes trial has a certain status in popular culture. you are probably vaguely aware of what it involved. let me tell you the basic facts of this trial. the state of tennessee passed a law forbiddin

18th century america and was a christian revitalization that swept through the colonies. thomas kidd spoke about this time in history and how the salem witch trials lead to an era of traveling preachers such as george whitefield and an emphasis on evangelism. this is one hour 15 minutes. >> we have been talking about the founding of the american colonies and we're getting now into the 1700s. today and this week i want to focus mostly on religion in the colonial period and the great awakening in the 1740s and 30s. this has been on your mind since you have a paper coming up about that. so we'll give the background to religion in the colonial period and then the lead up to the great awakening. some of the overview of what happens. and hopefully that will set you up for your papers. we have an image of george whitefield preaching in london in the 1730s, 1740s. he is the sensation of the age. we'll talk about him when we get there. we'll talk about what's happening with regard to religion and we talked about some of this already before in class about the scope of religion and religious co

because of their fake christians in pakistan preparing for christmas but they're interesting like the target of deadly attacks we found found out how one family has suffered but survived. i'm brian thomas thanks so much for being with us american defense secretary jim natus has resigned over president trump's decision to withdraw american troops from syria the four star marine general has been defense secretary since the president took office in his resignation letter said my views on treating allies with respect and also being clear eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues let us also said he was resigning because you have the right to have a secretary of defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects. i reports indicate that not has resigned after a last ditch attempt to persuade the president to reverse course on syria white house press secretary sarah sanders tonight suggestions that trump had asked maddest to resign secretary mabus has served the pres

significant and serious expansion was in asia minor. against the christian by sun time empire. and after the victory of the battle of man's occurred in ten seventy one. the city jukes moved closer to constantinople the great capital of the buys on time and part. that's an excellent coffee etc one of the good news for the about. lived was that i that mean a lot of it will be. well back twelve. hours seven alyssum a. shift along. the time. he says he says ok emma. was allowed to let her back up he had to bow if you haven't let some. fickle it you know how you cut this whole fuck up all you can physically want doesn't have a shock is the kabul to say that must mean it it must have been an enormous. power. intended to think i want to die and then fifty feet of them see me through sure a big shock to better even if i do i'm not a. western christians at the time i didn't see islam as a separate religion. they tended to see islam as a christian heresy they saw that as a diversion from christianity now they're completely wrong about that. ok little children will still modify and the polish

strength everything that indicates knowledge. is leaving this administration. also coming up christians and pakistan living in fear of class for me last targeting religious minorities now with christmas approaching bill a high profile court ruling give some families the gift of hope and then it will. call for us we always live in fear any time to because of this we feel insecure while grantley my mom is away so when we talk about the future i think what kind of future can we have you know look at the law and policies here need to be implemented properly. we begin the day with yet another departure from the trial on the president's impulsive foreign policy decisions. u.s. secretary of defense james mattis has been widely viewed as a stabilizing force and us president donald trump's cabinet many had hoped that the four star marine general would help the president make good policy decisions on matters of international and domestic security but now all that's come to an end due to fundamental differences of opinion the defense secretary says he'll be leaving the administration by the end of

to lay the foundations for the christian church? and could these really be peter's bones? ♪ [ speaking in foreign language ] >>> november 2013. vatican city, rome. pope francis causes a sensation. >> 2013 was a year of faith. and as part of an extra kind of reward for pilgrims who had come, pope francis displayed these nine bones. and he's essentially making the claim that he's holding right there the bones of the person who founded the church in rome. st. peter. >> the revelation of st. peter's bones makes headlines around the world. >> this is something that has never happened before. the vatican this morning publicly displayed what's believed to be bone fragments from st. peter. and apostle of jesus christ. and the world's first pope. >> for most faithful catholics, they had no idea that such things existed. they had never been made public, and they had been kept inside in a private chapel for the pope and for his inner circle. so this is a very thrilling moment for believing catholics all over the world. >> if these are the bones of peter, then they are one of the c

though james is called the brother of jesus in the new testament, most christians grow up learning that mary was a virgin and that he didn't have any siblings. so i think most people would be astonished. >> narrator: the gospels of both matthew and mark name jesus's brothers. as well as james, there's joses, judas and simon alongside at least two unnamed sisters, but exactly whose these offspring are is still the subject of debate. >> for catholics, there is still that emphasis on mary's virginity. she was not only a virging at the time of jesus conception and birth, but also afterwards. so that's why i like to think of james, the brother of jesus, as probably a child of joseph's prior marriage before he married mary. >> narrator: but not all christians are in agreement. >> but protestants would say there are other children that are the biological kids of mary and joseph, in which case jesus would be the older brother and perhaps other siblings of jesus would have looked up to him. >> matthew 1:25 says, literally, joseph was not knowing her in the carnal sense until she gave birth

early 1700s, i mean they might have been christians for sure. i am sure most of them would have considered themselves to be christians. if they were literal they probably read the bible. maybe they had family devotions, but many, many of them did not go to church. maybe the nearest church is 50 miles away, if that's the case, if you are going on a wagon, you are not going to go to church. right? so the south -- and people in the north -- in the northern colonies recognize this. this isn't just looking back as a historian. people in new england would talk about their worry for the south, and its relative godlessness, that there just weren't that many people going to church there, weren't enough churches, weren't enough pastors. so the south was really regarded as the least religious part of the colonies. the middle colonies -- here we are talking about new jersey, pennsylvania, new york, delaware -- is a real mix of different kind of christian denominations. you have -- and they are often connected to a particular ethnicity. so you have scottish presbyterianians, you have dutch w

earlier when i had that encounter with powerful religious base was it christianity or any religion and what was it about that? it's really so much about the music and poetry and the passion and the imagination, whatever drew me to painting and music and art and poetry. that was all part of it. >> this question of the title of the book that runs thought the book, "why religion" is there from the beginning and once you're in school and there especially when you meet the man who would become your husband was a scientist and he's the one who says to you why in the world religion? he says why religion? why not something that has an impact in the world? [laughter] and i thought why elementary particle physicist? you can see them in any way. [laughter] but you believe in them. no, i'm just joking. we like each other very much quite apart from those subjects. but it was a challenge and the question i was asking myself because of not so much an advocate for religion not saying you should be that way for engage in it or not but so many people i know do fine without any connection with any religi

revolution that transforms christianity forever. >> narrator: in 2016, pope francis kicks off the 500-year anniversary of the reformation. a spiritual revolution that splinters the once-universal catholic church. >> the reformation, it is incredibly pivot all in the development of christianity. >> the reformation could have been one of the big tragedies of christianity, but rather you get the emergence of a of more individualized or personal faith. >> the beginnings of the reformation are all about this push back against what is seen as excess in rome. >> narrator: in the 16th century, many catholics are disturbed by the church's pervasive materialism and corruption. as a result, new denominations of christianity begin to form and break ties with the vatican. >> the reformation is an anonymous bomb dropped on the theological landscape. >> all great religions of the world which are successful change, and christianity is no exception to that rule. >> narrator: the umbrella of modern christianity includes over 800 million protestants and 1.2 billion catholics worldwide. but in the 16th c

place in mid 18th century america and was a christian revitalization that swept through the colonies. baylor university professor thomas kitt spoke about this time in history and how the salem witch trials led to an error of traveling preachers such as george white field and an emphasis on evangelism. this is an hour 15 minutes. >> we have been talking about the founding of the american colonies and we are getting now into the 1700s. to date and this week i want to focus mostly on religion in the white colonial. and the coming of the great awakening in the 1730s and 40s and i know this has bound your mind since you have a paper coming up about that so we're going to be some background on that. religion in the colonial. and then the lead up to the great awakening, some of the overview of what happens in the great awakening. and hopefully that will set you up better for your papers. you can see her on the screen we have an image of george whitefield who is the most famous preacher of the great awakening. preaching in london there in the 1730s, 1740s, he is the sensation of the age but

about the controversy of christian privilege. there isn't christian privilege in the middle east. >> we are talking about the united states. but there is christian privilege around the world in many ways. it's not bashing christianity. it's raising issues of the ways in which christians automatically have this unearned privilege just by being christian in the united states. there are a lot of ways that privilege manifests itself. in the 19 -- the 1840s, a theorist went around the united states and he wrote this great book called democracy in america. and he discover twhrd is a paradox that the united states positioned itself around the world as this country which promoted itself as religious pluralism. but he found the christian church had so much power that in many ways it could be considered the first institution of politics because it had so much power and so much weight on politics in the united states. jesse: i don't think anymore that the christian church has that power it's a religiously. you can't say merry christmas at the courthouse. at school you can't have a christmas tree,

mightiest battle between christianity and islam. a holy war in the name of religion. for the first time. the story of the crusades. from an arab perspective. up. up. up. the crusades are the epitome of holy war. yet the roots of this two hundred year conflict late not in religion but in the economic condition of medieval europe later little sleep. shae that look at that molests you know. the in the last no. doubt unless the solution. while the pope was trying to hang on to his historical forat over the people of your. all that got you some off and then all elements and balboa like elements i get. meanwhile in the east internal divisions had weakened the previously all powerful islamic and. so i mean leslie. what i so upset i didn't but i so accept the philosophy for a minute to tell an economic bust and that's all the fat has to shout it's a c.s. you assume it. was. in the first episode of the series the story of the show but then go from the muslim world with the arrival of the crusades. to. the mediterranean basin the eleventh century of the common era. the peak of the middle age

was in asia minor. against the christian by sun time empire. and after the victory of the battle of man's occurred in ten seventy one. the city jukes moved closer to constantinople. the great capital of the bars on tar and. that's an excellent your coffee etc one would be good news for robert clifton. that means a lot of the open will back twelve. million dollars seven alyssum nothing to shift along. the time. he says he says ok emma. was allow who left the back of the editing bow if you haven't left some am sure. of it you know how this. is a want doesn't have a shock it still does kabul say that must mean it must have been an enormous. fire. intended to take a one minute dianna's if the feet of freedoms to mean futuro beijing are to better even though i'm not a. western christians at the time i didn't see islam as a separate religion. they tended to see islam as a christian heresy they saw that as a diversion from christianity now they're completely wrong about that. ok little children will still modify and the polish shop. will then. well after a. few was as i'm with them again i

places of christianity today the atlantic and "washington post" and many others. in addition she is the author of another great book called the booked in which she tells the story of how her deep love of reading over time that she slowly meanders to a deep love of god. and that is wonderful book as well also convictions. she gives frequent lectures and is a research fellow with the ethics and research liberty commission as senior fellow with liberty university center for cultural engagement, senior fellow at the trinity forum and member of the faith advisory council of the humane society. completing her phd from new york buffalo and her undergraduate studies from amherst new york living in beautiful rural virginia with many dogs and horses and pigs. please join me now to welcome karen prior. [applause] i will begin with a brief reading from an introduction to my book i will talk more the direction the pages contain. my first book booked is a love story the story of how my deep love of reading slowly meandered into a deep love of god. i retail in the pages how by reading widely and vorac

and european airports. and under stress because of their fate christians in pakistan prepare for christmas but they're increasingly the target of deadly attacks we'll find out how one family has suffered but survives. i'm dr thomas thanks so much for being with us the american defense secretary jim mattis has resigned over president trump's decision to withdraw american troops from syria the president used twitter to confirm that mattis would leave his post at the end of february. has said in his resignation letter that he was stepping down to make way for a defense secretary quote whose views are better a line with the president's reports indicate he resigned after a last ditch attempt to persuade the president to reverse his decision on syria before star marine general became defense secretary when trump took office white house press secretary cyrus sanders denied suggestions that trump had asked mattis to resign secretary mabus has served the president and with the president for two years they have a good relationship i've seen up close and personal on a number of occasions an