A few weeks ago, at a Bible study on Capitol Hill titled “God’s Design for a Societal Safety Net,” political conservative and Christian pastor Ralph Drollinger argued that the New Testament never discusses governments helping people. He told the Senators that helping the truly needy is for individuals, then families, then the church, but not the government. With this, he morally justified the suffering of millions as a consequence of passing Trump’s new spending bill. In this episode, we discuss how the bill will impact healthcare and immigration, and we explain how the biblical argument used to justify passing it is a perfect example of eisegesis rather than biblical exegesis.

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at [email protected]. 

Show Notes

1. https://jonathanlarsen.substack.com/p/tuesdays-senate-bible-lesson-god?r=4hxc9&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true
2. https://www.nilc.org/resources/the-anti-immigrant-policies-in-trumps-final-big-beautiful-bill-explained/
3. Doc Albany: https://variety.com/2025/film/news/doc-albany-ben-proudfoot-world-premiere-tribeca-festival-1236374406/
4. God’s Design for a Social Safety Net: https://capmin.org/gods-design-for-a-societal-safety-net/ 
5. https://19thnews.org/2025/07/trump-big-beautiful-tax-law-numbers/