Straight White American Jesus

When inerrantists say that the Bible is “without error,” one of the things they mean is that the very words of the Bible itself were chosen by God. When they say that the Bible is “God-breathed” or “inspired,” this inspiration goes all the down to the biblical authors’ very choice of words. Why is this important to them? What does this claim mean? Does it remove the human element of the Bible’s production? Can we make this understanding of the Bible make sense? Take a listen to this week’s episode to find out!

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Exclusive to SWAJ - the Freethought Caucus in the House of Representatives held a seminar on Mike Johnson's Christian nationalism. Rep. Jared Huffman chaired the panel and heard comments from Dr. Matthew Taylor, Rachel Laser, President of Americans United, and Darcy Hirsch of the Interfaith Alliance. We are the only media outlet to distribute a recording of the event.

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Freethought Caucus White Paper on Mike Johnson's Christian nationalism: https://huffman.house.gov/imo/media/doc/CFC%20White%20Paper%20--%20Speaker%20Johnson.pdf

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Brad and Dan begin by discussing the ways White evangelicals pushed Trump to victory and Iowa - and then dispel a bunch of myths about why White Christians keep voting for him. They also dig into reactions to a mainstream media source calling out Christian nationalism (hint: White Christian nationalists weren't happy).

In the second segment the hosts examine Charlie Kirk's characterization of MLK as "a bad guy" and his claims that the Civil Rights Act was a mistake because it signified a "refounding" of America.

The episode ends with analysis of the Texas National Guard's conflict with Border Patrol - and the Americans who cheered on migrants dying in a river.

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The claim that the Bible is inerrant is a claim that it is the sole and absolute authority in matters of religious truth. For millions of American Christians, that also means that it should be the source of social policy and legislation that shape public life for every American. Those are BIG claims. So what is the evidence for inerrancy? Why should we accept these claims for the Bible? As it turns out, inerrantists aren’t able to provide such evidence. The result is that inerrancy is either incoherent or irrelevant. Why? Tune in to this week’s episode to find out.

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Part II of Brad's interview with journalist Tim Alberta, author of the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: Evangelicalism in an Age of Extremism. In his intro, Brad goes through his criticisms of the book. They come down to three main points: It is a normative project in a journalistic format; it reproduces the theological frame it is trying to fix; it poses a neat separation of the religious and the political in a way that is incoherent.

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On the eve of the Iowa caucuses, Brad and Dan first take stock of two wild but related claims by Trump: He is immune from the law and chosen by God to enact it. Sounds more like a medieval monarch than a democratically elected president . . .

In the second segment, the two hosts analyze how Iowa, the center of American politics this weekend, became deeply red while its neighbors - Illinois and Minnesota and Michigan, and to some extent Wisconsin - have trended blue and progressive. It's a matter of an urban/rural divide with a racial element and a heavy dose of generational difference.

Finally, Dan digs back into issue surrounding trans care in Ohio and outlines the disgusting playbook anti-trans legislators are using there - it's a warning for the rest of the country.

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“The Bible is without error.” This claim, the claim that the Bible is “inerrant,” is what lies behind most Christians’ claims when they insist they are “preaching the Bible,” that they attend a “Bible church,” that “the Bible is true,” and so on. When most conservative Christians claim to be “literalists,” what they mean is that they are “inerrantists.” But what does this claim mean? Why is it so central and widespread among conservative Christians? Dan explores these topics in this week’s episode, and argues that we need to understand the claims of inerrancy to understand why it ultimately doesn’t back up claims about the authority or accuracy of the Bible.

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/

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Order Brad's book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

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Part I of Brad's interview with journalist Tim Alberta, author of the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: Evangelicalism in an Age of Extremism. In his intro, Brad goes through what he learned from the book - and hints at his criticisms of it (those are coming next week). In the interview, Brad asks Tim about his experience as a pastor's kid, what changed in evangelical culture during COVID and the Trump years, and why conspiracy and resentment are now the driving forces of this religious tradition.

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/

Subscribe now to Pure White: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pure-white/id1718974286

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Order Brad's book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

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More Americans think J6 was not big deal than ever. Why? Because the myth of the Big Lie has festered in the three years since the Insurrection, creating an alternate reality in which Donald Trump is not responsible for what happened - and the event wasn't that violent. Brad and Dan break down the statistics and take stock of where we are 3 years from the riot and less than a year from the election.

In the second segment, Dan provides an in-depth look at the formation of the 14th amendment, pointing out how its framers explicitly stated that it covered the presidency. It's an originalist argument set to appear before an originalist-dominated SCOTUS in February.

In the final segment the hosts discuss trans care in Ohio and why the governor vetoed a ban on it. It's a surprising development worth digging into.

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/

Subscribe now to Pure White: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pure-white/id1718974286

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

Order Brad's book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

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“I believe the Bible is literally true.” Such is the claim of many self-professed biblical “literalists.” Academics and journalists who study American religion also often describe conservative Christians, in particular, as “literalists.” But in this episode, the first of several related to the understanding of the Bible within popular American Christianity, Dan argues that no one is actually a literalist. In fact, he argues that the idea of biblical literalism is incoherent. Why? Listen in and find out!

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/

Subscribe now to Pure White: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pure-white/id1718974286

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

Order Brad's book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

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