Saturday, December 9, 2006

Dr. Phil: Jesus Christ "The Foundation"

By Rick Pearcey

Talk-show host and Oprah protégé "Dr. Phil" McGraw and his wife, Robin, emphasized yesterday on a TV broadcast the centrality of Jesus Christ to their individual lives and to the life of their family.

What follows is a transcript of part of an interview from "Life Today," a show hosted by husband-wife team James and Betty Robison.

Robin McGraw is author of the recently published debut book Inside My Heart: Choosing to Live With Passion and Purpose. It's currently ranked 164 on Amazon.

From the interview –

James Robison: "Many of the problems that you [Dr. Phil] face every day -- when you've got individual guests, and then you know that television camera, people are looking in -- she deals with those problems.

"[In her book, Robin] literally takes the very issues that you face and, I think, provides firsthand knowledge and inspiration to deal with those problems. Would you agree with that?

"Dr. Phil: "I agree. She is my feminine side, and she always has been, not that I need one. And she talks about those [problems] from the woman's perspective. And I think it's so important that you [Robin] do that.

"And she talks about the choices that women can make. And being the heart of the home was one of the first choices you [Robin] made that was so important to us."

Robin: "Yes, absolutely. You know, probably the most important, and I've said this before, the most important decision I've ever made was to accept Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. And I think because of that, it gave me the foundation, the basis of how to live my life and be who I am.

"And then, and of course, it was just magnified when I became a wife and mother. . . . I believe that my calling as a mother is the most important, is the most important thing I could ever do."

Robison: "I want to just say to all the viewers, pick up on what she said. And, Dr. Phil, would you concur that Jesus Christ is a great foundation, the solid foundation, solid rock upon which we can build our lives and homes?"

Dr. Phil: "I think it is . . . I don't think it is a foundation. I think it is the foundation.

"And I told Robin early on, to me, my relationship as a father with my boys, certainly [that relationship] fed me emotionally because I love being close to them, and all of that.

"But she asked me one time why I spent so much time at night talking to 'em, and that sort of thing, when it was time to go to bed. I told her, because I believe that our relationship with our worldly father prepares us for our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

"And the day'll come that I'll be gone. And I don't want my boys to be alone. I want them to have practiced, and seen me do it, and learn how to go to their Heavenly Father with their questions, their need for comfort, their interests, their guidance, and those sort of things.

"And I think if you make that the foundation of your home, then all that outside noise begins to drift away.

"We're not the only voice in our children's lives, but we need to be the best voice in our children's lives. And we can do that by talking about Christ in the home and a God-centered family. And that's what they need to do."

Webcast archives of the interview are available here in Quicktime, Flash, and MP3 formats.

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.