Kaitlyn Schiess is the author of The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here. She joined The Denison Forum Podcast to discuss her latest book, which Publisher’s Weekly called “​​a nuanced look at America's legacy of scriptural language.”

Schiess talks about how we can read, interpret, and apply Scripture with integrity to the working of our democracy. She also speaks to how we can rightly bridge these worlds and discover what God is saying to us through his word, the Holy Spirit, and our communities of faith. In an intriguing phrase, she calls America “a Bible-haunted nation,” and she speaks to why she labeled our country that way.

Ultimately, you’ll be led to ask: “How should I see myself, my opportunities, my problems, and my politics through the lens of Scripture and God's eternal and good purposes?”

(02:20): “I think the rest of my life is studying this stuff.”

(06:16): How Schiess became involved with the Holy Post Podcast

(08:49): Why Schiess wrote The Ballot and the Bible

(13:37): The benefits of political fatigue

(18:28): “We are a Bible-haunted nation.”

(22:55): An overview of the history in The Ballot and the Bible

(27:54): Why should Christians “understand the times” and the Bible?

(33:50): Who should read The Ballot and the Bible?

(38:04): How we misapply “Render unto Caesar” today

(43:08): How Jeremiah 29 profoundly affects our political outlook today

(49:40): Culture warriors vs. cultural missionaries

(52:00) Schiess’s hope for The Ballot and the Bible

• Transcript (PDF) 
• The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here, Kaitlyn Schiess
• The Bible and the Civil Rights Movement: An excerpt from The Ballot and the Bible
• The Holy Post Podcast
• The Holy Post Podcast on The Ballot and the Bible

Kaitlyn Schiess (ThM, Dallas Theological Seminary) is a writer, speaker, and theologian. She is the author of The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor and is a regular cohost on the Holy Post podcast with Skye Jethani and Phil Vischer. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Christianity Today, Christ and Pop Culture, Relevant, and Sojourners. Schiess is currently a doctoral student in political theology at Duke Divinity School. She lives in Durham, North Carolina.

Dr. Mark Turman is the Executive Director of Denison Forum and Vice President of Denison Ministries. Among his many duties, Turman is most notably the host of The Denison Forum Podcast. He is also the chief strategist for DF Pastors, which equips pastors and church leaders to understand and transform today’s culture.

Denison Forum exists to thoughtfully engage the issues of the day from a biblical perspective through The Daily Article email newsletter and podcast, The Denison Forum Podcast, as well as many books and additional resources.