Faithful Dissent

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In this episode of Faithful Dissent, James and Brian talk through the strange and revealing reaction to a simple John Piper tweet about loving the foreigner and what it says about the state of American evangelicalism. What should have been an unremarkable citation of scripture instead became a flashpoint, exposing just how deeply politics and ideology now shape what many Christians are willing to hear from the Bible. 

From there, the conversation widens. They look at the backlash to Kirk Cameron for questioning eternal conscious torment, the fallout from another pastor scandal closer to home, and the larger pattern underneath it all: a version of evangelicalism that has traded theological depth for tribal certainty, spiritual maturity for celebrity, and faith for ideology. 

Together, they explore: 

• Why John Piper’s tweet provoked such a strong reaction from MAGA evangelicals
• What the Kirk Cameron controversy reveals about theological rigidity and fear
• How celebrity pastor culture creates unhealthy systems and protects strongman leadership
• Why church planting movements can drift into cults of personality
• The difference between conviction and ideological capture
• Whether the current evangelical crisis might also become a moment of reckoning and renewal

This is a conversation about power, theology, personality, and the kind of church America has built and whether something more honest and more faithful might still emerge from the wreckage.
 

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After a brief hiatus and a new baby in the house, Brian and James return to tackle a big question: Is Hollywood dying? 

From the golden age of the studio system to the Marvel era, the American film industry has shaped global culture for more than a century. Movies didn’t just entertain us — they exported American imagination around the world. But between streaming, shrinking theater audiences, corporate risk-aversion, and the rise of AI-generated visual production, something feels different. 

In this episode, Brian and James explore: 

• How COVID and streaming permanently altered movie-going habits
• Whether AI will democratize filmmaking — or cheapen it
• The decline of scarcity and what that means for artistic value
• Why superhero fatigue might be more than just franchise burnout
• Whether this is technological evolution — or cultural decay

Is this just another industry shift, like silent films giving way to talkies? Or are we witnessing the collapse of something irreplaceable — a form of art that once commanded global attention?
 
And deeper still: is the real problem technology… or us?
 
A conversation about spectacle, virtue, attention spans, and whether we still know how to value what is good.
 

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In this week’s episode of Faithful Dissent, we run through the crazy start to 2026. We talk through the ICE shooting in Minnesota, Gunboat diplomacy in Latin America and its broader implications, and a larger pattern we keep bumping up against: how Christian leaders across contexts sometimes fall short of the moral clarity they’re called to embody. 

It's not been an easy start to the New Year, but we're here to talk it out with each other and we're glad you're hanging out with us on the ride. 

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In this New Year’s grab bag episode of Faithful Dissent, James and Brian look back on 2025 and talk through the moments that shaped it—personally, politically, and spiritually. From dogs at Barnes & Noble and surfing lessons to sports rivalries, holiday traditions, AI anxiety, and the ongoing unraveling of American evangelical politics, this conversation moves where real life tends to move: between the meaningful and the mundane. 

Along the way, they reflect on: 

• What brought joy and surprise this year—and what simply helped them survive it
• Why politics feels exhausting, confusing, and unavoidable
• How AI is reshaping truth, trust, and daily life (for better and worse)
• What faith looks like in a culture obsessed with success, wealth, and certainty
• Why slow practices, embodied life, and attention to what really matters still matter

This episode isn’t a manifesto or a hot take—it’s a year-end table conversation about what we’re carrying with us into the new year, what we’re trying to let go of, and why hope still feels possible.
 

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 What do people actually mean when they talk about “deconstruction”? 

In this laid-back, unscripted conversation, James and Brian sit down to talk honestly about doubt, faith, abuse, certainty, and why so many people feel like the version of Christianity they inherited no longer works. 

They trace how “deconstruction” has shifted over time—from backsliding, to honest questioning, to full-blown internet industry—and ask what healthy deconstruction might actually look like. Along the way, they wrestle with church hurt, certainty culture, conspiracy thinking, power, leadership failure, and why Christianity keeps confusing confidence with faith. 

This isn’t a takedown and it isn’t a defense. It’s a conversation about staying honest, staying human, and figuring out what faith looks like when easy answers stop working. 

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In this episode of Faithful Dissent, James and Brian talk with pastor and theologian Gino Curcuruto—co-founder of The Table Philly, prison theology instructor, doctoral student, and co-owner of Habitat Coffee Roasters. Gino shares his journey through suburban evangelicalism, church-plant trauma, and the slow, relational, deeply human work of rebuilding Christian community from the ground up. 

Together, we explore: 

• Why speed, scale, and performance shape most American churches—and how that harms real relationships
• The Table’s commitment to slow presence, neighborhood rootedness, and meaningful boundaries
• The emotional and spiritual cost of open-door ministry models, especially for families and kids
• Why megachurches thrive in American suburbia—and why they often form us away from the way of Jesus
• How Christian nationalism has reshaped public perceptions of the church
• What gives Gino hope: small, faithful, unseen communities living out the kingdom in ordinary life

Full of honesty, humor, and hard-won wisdom, this conversation offers a fresh imagination for what church can be after Christendom—a community rooted in place, moving at the speed of love, and shaped by the presence of God rather than the pressure of success.
 

Links to Gino:

https://thetablephilly.org/

Substack https://t.co/g5Ei3FwTyh

X: https://x.com/ginoc

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In this off-the-cuff episode of Faithful Dissent, James and Brian take a break from theology to talk about the strange, collapsing circus of American politics. From Tucker Carlson’s platforming of white nationalists to the generational weirdness fueling Gen-Z extremism, they walk through the coalitions, catastrophes, and casual bigotry shaping the moment we’re all stuck in. 

This is not a formal analysis — it’s two friends thinking out loud about the unraveling of the American Right and why the “big tent” that Trump held together with spite and entertainment value was always destined to fall apart. 

Together, they get into: 

• Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, and the GOP’s increasingly porous boundaries
• Why Gen-Z racism and antisemitism are both baffling and deeply predictable
• The internal contradictions of a coalition united only by its enemies
• Why no future Republican can replicate Trump’s insult-comic superpower
• Whether Democrats’ greatest strength is simply not being in charge
• How economics, identity, and media chaos warp political loyalty
• And whether any of this gives us reason for hope

Funny, bleak, curious, and surprisingly thoughtful — this is a politics episode for anyone trying to make sense of a political moment that feels genuinely unhinged.
 Check out this article from Rod Dreher's substack for useful background. 

Note: (we DO NOT endorse Dreher's opinions or support for various politicians, in the US or outside) 

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 In this episode of Faithful Dissent, James and Brian sit down with author and scholar Karen Swallow Prior to trace the story of American evangelicalism—from its idealistic roots to its current identity crisis. Drawing on her own journey through fundamentalism, academia, and activism, Karen reflects on how the movement that once shaped her faith has fractured under the weight of politics, celebrity, and cultural power. 

Together, they explore: 

• Karen’s early life in New England and her path into evangelicalism.
• The legacy of missions, activism, and moral reform in the evangelical imagination.
• How movements like the Moral Majority and the “evangelical industrial complex” reshaped the church.
• What the Trump era revealed about faith, power, and the limits of charity.
• Why literature, beauty, and truth still matter for spiritual renewal.
• How believers might reclaim calling and culture without losing the gospel in the process.

This conversation is part memoir, part cultural history, and part theological reflection—an honest look at what evangelicals built, what broke, and what might come next.

Here are some LINKS to Karen's Substack, and her books on Amazon.
 

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In this episode of Faithful Dissent, James and Brian explore what it really takes to build peace after violence. Drawing from Brian’s recent study trip to Northern Ireland and Scotland, they revisit the story of The Troubles—a decades-long conflict marked by division, loss, and fragile hope—and ask what the church can learn from those who chose reconciliation over revenge. 

Together, they discuss: 

• The hidden costs of peace and why reconciliation always begins at the ground level.
• How storytelling and listening can dismantle generations of hatred.
• The emotional and spiritual weight of forgiveness after violence.
• Why violence is easy—and peace demands faith, patience, and sacrifice.
• What it means to be a prophetic community in a world that profits from division.

Through stories of loss, courage, and the slow work of rebuilding trust, this conversation reminds us that peace is not a moment—it’s a discipline, and often, a cross to carry.
 

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In this episode of Faithful Dissent, James and Brian begin a new series exploring one of the most debated and fascinating corners of Christian faith — the charismatic gifts. From speaking in tongues to miraculous healings, from holy laughter to dreams and visions, they trace how Christians have wrestled with the Holy Spirit’s power through history and in their own lives.

Together, they explore:

• What Scripture means by “spiritual gifts” and how different traditions understand them.
• The tension between skepticism, superstition, and sincere faith.
• Their own experiences of the miraculous — and what makes them cautious believers.
• Why ecstatic experiences can both deepen and distort our spiritual lives.
• How to pursue the presence of God without confusing emotion for encounter.

Whether you come from a Pentecostal background or have only watched these moments on YouTube, this episode invites you to consider how the Spirit still moves — sometimes mysteriously, sometimes controversially, always unpredictably.