Did Native Americans worship the devil? Or is that claim rooted more in misunderstanding than in Scripture or history?

In this episode of Fractured Faith, Joshua Hopping explores how the Bible understands the devil, how Scripture identifies the true Creator, and why many Native nations—including the Cherokee—did not view the spiritual world through a system of competing gods. He also discusses why Christians are called to discern the spirits through the person of Jesus Christ, recognizing both God's work among Indigenous peoples and the need for the fuller revelation found in the incarnation.

Join the conversation as we explore Indigenous theology, biblical interpretation, and the relationship between Christianity and Native cultures.

As America commemorates the 250th anniversary of its founding, Joshua Hopping explores one of the most personal and emotionally complex holidays of the year.

As both an American patriot and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Joshua reflects on what it means to celebrate a nation whose birth represents both liberty and loss. Through his own family history—one ancestor who fought for American independence and another who likely fought alongside the British in defense of Cherokee sovereignty—he examines the American Revolution from two very different perspectives.

In this episode of Fractured Faith, Joshua explores the often-overlooked role of Native nations during the Revolutionary era, the struggle over western lands that helped shape the nation's founding, the Declaration of Independence's infamous reference to "merciless Indian Savages," and the long road to freedom experienced by Native Americans and African Americans long after 1776.

Rather than rejecting America's founding ideals, Joshua asks a more difficult question: Freedom for whom? He wrestles with the tension of loving his country while acknowledging that the promises of liberty were not extended equally to all people. The result is an honest conversation about patriotism, historical memory, justice, and hope—one that seeks neither to condemn nor to romanticize America's past, but to tell the truth about it.

Whether you approach the Fourth of July with celebration, sorrow, or a mixture of both, this episode invites listeners to consider how history, faith, and identity shape our understanding of freedom—and why telling the whole story matters.

Additional Resources

The following books, articles, and historical resources provide additional context for many of the topics discussed in this episode:

- First America podcast by Rebecca Nagle

- A People's History of the United States by Howard Zin (affiliate link)

- How to Hide an Empire by Daniel Immerwahr (affiliate link)

- An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (affiliate link)

What happens when Indigenous identity, Christian faith, and theological education meet in the same space? In this episode of Fractured Faith, Joshua Hopping reflects on his experience attending the recent NAIITS Symposium and shares some thoughts on the people, conversations, and ideas that made a lasting impression on him. He also introduces listeners to NAIITS and discusses his opportunity to assist with their Indigenous Spirituality and Formation course following the symposium. This episode offers a personal reflection on learning, community, and the ongoing work of reimagining faith through Indigenous perspectives.

In the years after Jesus’ resurrection, his followers weren’t building a system—they were trying to make sense of something that had happened to them. Faithful Jews began proclaiming that Jesus was Lord, yet they refused to abandon the God of Israel. That tension sparked one of the most profound theological struggles in history.

This episode traces how the early church wrestled with the question: Who was Jesus? From Marcion’s rejection of the Old Testament to debates about whether Jesus was truly God, truly human, or somehow both, each answer tried to resolve a mystery that refused to be simplified.

Rather than grasping for power, the early church councils were working to protect that mystery—to hold together what experience had revealed: that in Jesus, God had truly come near without ceasing to be God, and humanity had truly been taken up without being erased.

We also explore why these ancient “heresies” are not just historical—they are still with us today, often in ways we don’t even recognize.

Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash.

In this episode of Fractured Faith, Joshua Hopping—Cherokee lay theologian and author—examines the history, theology, and modern impact of Christian nationalism, defined as the belief that the United States is fundamentally a Christian nation. Drawing on historical scholarship and contemporary analysis, Hopping explores how this ideology has intersected with race, Manifest Destiny, slavery, demographic fears, and current culture wars. Speaking from both a Christian and Cherokee perspective, he argues that Christian nationalism differs from the teachings of Jesus and raises concerns about religious freedom, pluralism, and Indigenous spiritual sovereignty.

Sources:

https://www.freedomforum.org/what-is-christian-nationalism/

https://kettering.org/five-elements-of-christian-nationalism/

https://jemartisby.substack.com/p/a-virtual-roundtable-on-the-threat

In this episode of Fractured Faith, Joshua Hopping — Cherokee author and lay-theologian — examines the question: Is Christianity inherently colonial in nature? With nuance and candor, he explores what is meant by both “Christianity” and “colonialism,” tracing the faith from Genesis through Jesus and Paul while acknowledging its historical entanglement with empire. Offering a “no, yes, maybe” response, Hopping considers the biblical mandate to proclaim Christ, the painful reality of Christianity being used to dominate Indigenous peoples, and the scriptural witness that portrays God at work among all nations (Amos 9:7). He also reflects on how European-American Christianity often developed alongside imperial power and argues that decolonizing the faith is not about abandoning Christ, but disentangling the gospel from empire. Drawing on Trinitarian theology, early church voices, and marginalized theologians, he invites listeners to imagine a shift from control to communion — and to consider what it would mean for Christianity to look more like Jesus himself.

Can Christians follow Jesus and kill? This episode starts with Jesus’ teachings and example of nonviolence, then shows how many early Christian writers insisted believers could not shed blood. We then recover a forgotten chapter of U.S. history: early Pentecostalism—including major denominations—was widely committed to pacifism and conscientious objection. Finally, we examine how WWII, the Cold War, and Christian nationalism reshaped American Christianity into something far more comfortable with war.

Additional resources:

- Pentecostals & Charismatics for Peace and Justice

- "The Hidden History of Pentecostal Pacifism" article by Paul Alexander

- Pentecostal Pacifism by Jay Beaman (affiliate link)

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase Christian mystic? In this episode, Joshua Hopping—Cherokee Christian theologian, author, and podcast host— explores what mysticism is often assumed to mean and what it has meant within the Christian tradition from the beginning. Rather than visions or spiritual escapism, Christian mysticism is about learning to live attentively in the nearness of God, shaped by Jesus and grounded in love, patience, and presence. This episode invites listeners to see mysticism not as a strange fringe of Christianity, but as one faithful way of following Jesus.

What if the Incarnation was never God’s backup plan? In this episode, Joshua Hopping—Cherokee Christian theologian, author, and host of Fractured Faith—explores the ancient Christian conviction that Creator always intended to become human, not simply in response to sin, but out of love and desire for communion. Drawing on Scripture and early Christian voices, this reflection reimagines Christmas not as divine damage control, but as the fulfillment of a promise older than time.Copyright free photo by Jon Carlson on Unsplash.

In this episode of Fractured Faith, host Joshua Hopping—writer, former pastor, and lay Indigenous theologian—explores how Penal Substitutionary Atonement reshaped our vision of God—from a loving Creator into a wrathful judge appeased by blood. He also uncovers how PSA’s foundation in original sin and total depravity distorts not only God’s character but our own sense of worth. For those of us from relational, earth-rooted traditions, this “guilt-and-ledger” theology rings hollow. What if the cross isn’t about a God keeping score, but a God restoring connection? What if we were never separated to begin with?