Straight White American Jesus

Brad speaks with Dr. Lerone Martin, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University and Director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Institute at Stanford. They discuss his new book - The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover.

"Lerone Martin draws on thousands of newly declassified FBI documents and memos to describe how, under Hoover’s leadership, FBI agents attended spiritual retreats and worship services, creating an FBI religious culture that fashioned G-men into soldiers and ministers of Christian America. Martin shows how prominent figures such as Billy Graham, Fulton Sheen, and countless other ministers from across the country partnered with the FBI and laundered bureau intel in their sermons while the faithful crowned Hoover the adjudicator of true evangelical faith and allegiance. These partnerships not only solidified the political norms of modern white evangelicalism, they also contributed to the political rise of white Christian nationalism, establishing religion and race as the bedrock of the modern national security state, and setting the terms for today’s domestic terrorism debates."

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Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691175119/the-gospel-of-j-edgar-hoover

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Brad and Dan begin by discussing an excerpt from Joshua Butler's new book, which appeared at the Gospel Coalition this week. The excerpt lays out a theology of sex that imagines Christ as the male partner in a heterosexual erotic relationship with the Christian church. This metaphor is extended to the sexual relationships men and women in Christian marriage. Dan analyzes the patriarchal aspects of this approach, showing how it creates a context where submission is required from women and consent is almost by definition excised from the relationship.

In the second segment Brad breaks down an article from Rolling Stone on the National Association of Christian Lawmakers - a Christian nationalist policy engine that is writing and proposing potential laws across the country with help from legislators.

In the final segment the hosts discuss a new bill in Idaho that would prohibit "lewd" materials from being taught in schools. Dan points out the hypocrisy and reductiveness of the bill, while Brad points out that children under 18 are allowed to marry in the state and if they become pregnant are asked to carry the fetus to term - but apparently are not mature enough to deal with sexula materials in any way.

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Building on the previous episode, Dan dives deeper into the code of not being a “stumbling block” in this episode. How do admonitions not to be a stumbling block depart from the actual context of that phrase in the Christian New Testament? And what does this tell us about some Christians’ claim to be “biblical literalists?” What does it reveal about the insecurities at the heart of their own spirituality? Listen in and find out.

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In a joint episode with the New Evangelicals, Brad hosts a roundtable with Tim Whitaker (New Evangelicals), Dr. Leah Payne, and Dr. Matthew Taylor. The four of them discuss what the revival looked like in person when Tim visited last week, how it matches up to past revivals at Asbury and other institutions, and the confounding ways that figures such as Sean Feucht, Greg Locke, and Shane Claiborne have tried to claim the event as a true revival.

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Brad and Dan begin by discussing the polar opposite speeches given by Biden and Putin on the eve of the one year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Brad analyzes Putin's culture war rhetoric, showing how and why it mirrors the family values and queerphobic rhetoric of American Christian nationalists. Dan points out the symbolic significance of Biden giving his speech in Warsaw and what it mean moving forward.

In the second segment the hosts breakdown the SBC's expulsion of Saddleback Church from the denomination. For both of them this spotlights the toxicity of complementarian theology and the tragedy of the sex abuse scandals in the SBC.

In the final segment, Brad points to two examples of right-wing takeovers of local government by Christian nationalists - one in Michigan and another in Idaho. The takeaway is that Covid played a huge effect on religion, politics, and migration in the USA - mobilizing an army of local culture warriors who are now taking the reins in towns all over the country.

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Siders at Politico: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/02/21/michigan-christian-nationalists-00083251?cid=apn

Moralist International :https://www.fordhampress.com/9781531502133/the-moralist-international/

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One of the most central metaphors for living a life of Christian faith is that of one’s “spiritual walk.” And within this framework, the metaphor of the “stumbling block,” of something that would cause us to “stumble” in that spiritual walk, is also common. But what exactly does this mean? What does it mean when Christians admonish one another not to cause other Christians to “stumble” or “fall”? In this episode, Dan decodes this common Christian metaphor to demonstrate its significance beyond its surface meaning.

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Brad speaks with Rebbecca Bratten Weiss, a reporter for US Catholic magazine and a contributor to the National Catholic Reporter. They revisit the issue of Trad Catholics. The discussion focuses on a number of troubling themes found in trad Catholic communities:

One of the biggest takeaways from the interivew is that the longing for "traditional" worship services is often a repository for retrograde approaches to family, gender, sex, and social order. The problem isn't the Latin, but it's a good host for other troubling phenomena.

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Brad and Dan begin by talking about Nikki Haley's announcement that she is running for president. While she mentioned being a candidate for a new generation, it seems she is ready to carry on the work of her former boss - Donald Trump.

• Khyati Joshi on Haley: https://religionnews.com/2023/02/16/nikki-haley-says-shes-christian-but-its-complicated/

They then provide some context and commentary on the Asbury revival happening in Wilmore Kentucky.

Finally, both hosts offer insight from the PRRI/Brookings report on the ascendance of Christian nationalism in the USA .

• John Hawthorne on the PRRI/Brookings report: https://johnhawthorne.substack.com/p/why-the-prribrookings-christian-nationalism?utm_source=twitter&sd=pf

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/

Venmo @straightwhitejc

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

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

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“Interview with Dr. Laura Anderson: Understanding Trauma”

Many of the themes and topics we explore in “It’s In the Code” figure prominently in the experience of those who have been traumatized by participation in high-control religious environments. But what is “trauma”? How is it possible that something as widespread and seemingly mundane as participation in very mainstream American religious communities can be “traumatizing”? Dan finds the answers to these and other questions in this interview with Dr. Laura Anderson, founder and head of the Center for Trauma Resolution and Recovery, which specializing in working with those processing religious trauma.

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 new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

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Brad speaks with the one and only Dr. Matthew Taylor, creator of Charismatic Revival Fury. They begin by discussing where key NAR prophets and apostles are on the 2024 election and how they are navigating Trump's slide in the GOP. This leads to a discussion of interesting developments surrounding the National Prayer Breakfast and the mainstreaming of NAR leaders in longstanding evangelical institutions. The interview ends with analysis of NAR eschatology and how it, like all things in this world, is never as simple as it seems.

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/

Venmo @straightwhitejc

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

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

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