“Freedom in Christ” What do Christians mean when they appeal to “freedom in Christ”? Where does this phrase come from? How is it understood differently by different kinds of Christians? And why does it seem confusing or hypoc...
American culture focuses on letting go of grudges and redemption narratives instead of the perpetrator’s obligations or recompense for harmed parties. As survivor communities have pointed out, these emphases have too often on...
Christian musician and political activist Sean Feucht wants people to join him on Sept. 11 for a time of worship at the U.S. Capitol Reflecting Pool. It’s not unusual for people to gather for prayer, reflection, and even musi...
Brad and Dan begin by discussing the recent "controversy" over the casting of BIPOC actors in a new Lord of the Rings series. Dan lays out the reactions from American conservatives who claim that casting a diverse cast is not...
“God’s Will” What does it mean when religious people appeal to “God’s will”? What kind of work does this do? Does it always provide the guidance and comfort for life it seems to promise? And what are the dangers of understand...
Brad and Dan begin by discussing the growing case against Trump, whose seems to have clearly obstructed the retrieval of classified documents from his home. This leads to a discussion of how and when GOP elites will pivot awa...
“Pronouns” What’s up with Christian nationalists and religious communities that are so angry when people talk about their pronouns? How does pronoun use relate to and express gender identity? Why do cisgender people also mark...
Brad is joined by the one and only Dr. Jemar Tisby. They discuss a range of issues related to paternalism, prejudice, and power. One of the first things Dr. Tisby points out is that compromise has often been the site of the m...
Brad and Dan begin the episode by discussing the student loan forgiveness announcement the Biden administration made this week. They ask whether it went far enough and then track the responses from the GOP, who uniformly deno...
“Spiritual Warfare 2.0” How do appeals to “spiritual warfare” relate to the social and political struggles of the flesh-and-blood world? How do different kinds of Christian communities and traditions understand the relation b...
From the archives, an episode from 2019 centered on how fundamentalist religions are prone to violence. This episode has renewed relevance given the recent discussions of civil war in the wake of the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago:...
Brad and. Dan begin by discussing the week's GOP primary results, nothing that the GOP remains the Party of Trump. They juxtapose these results with the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, the Trump Org tax case in NY, and the other on...
“Spiritual Warfare 1.0” What is “spiritual warfare”? Why do some Christians understand their faith and practice in terms of spiritual warfare? And what are some of the concrete effects of understanding Christianity in terms o...
Brad speaks with journalist and pastor Angela Denker about the updated version of her book, Red State Christians. Denker spent a year traveling across the United States, interviewing the Evangelical Christian voters who suppo...
In this episode, Dan revisits the claim or aspiration to be “biblical.” If such claims or aspirations involve efforts to control religious adherents, what are the consequences of this? What claims or attitudes, or actions doe...
What does it mean when a Christian says something is “biblical?” Why do some Christians talk this way, while others don’t? What do “biblicist” claims tell us about Christians’ understanding of religious authority and social c...
