Straight White American Jesus

Brad and Dan demonstrate how the only standard of Republican orthodoxy left is whether or not one supports Trump's Big Lie. Through examples from Liz Cheney, to Kevin McCarthy, to Internet-trolls-turned-congresspeople such as Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert--one thing is clear: if you don't believe in and support the Big Lie, you will be ousted from the GOP. This portends a scary future wherein democratic processes are eroded at every turn. It also means that January 6th is the beginning, not the end of the Big Lie's effect on our public square.

They finish the episode by discussing the new God Bless the USA Bible from Zondervan, a White Christian nationalists dream come true.

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/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

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

SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron

To Donate:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad discusses something that has been bothering him since his Twitter spat with Timothy Keller: Why are all the Reformed Theo-Bros always talking about worldviews. Brad unpacks the buzz words they use to uncover the will to power, the righteous arrogance, and the relativism at the heart of this theological system. After listening to this you will understand why Reformed pastors and theologians--John MacArthur, Timothy Keller, John Piper--often consider themselves the most intellectual, the most relevant, and the most manly.

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/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

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

SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron

To Donate:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad speaks with Dr. Philip Gorski, Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies at Yale University. They preview his new co-authored book (with Sam Perry) on the history and future of Christian nationalism in the United States. Professor Gorski illuminates how White Christian nationalism has been part of the American fabric since the Puritans. One of the reasons it is hard to combat is that its threads have become so embedded in our national narratives that we often don't see them. However, the Trump presidency created a situation where they could no longer be ignored. Yet that doesn't mean that the threats of authoritarianism, xenophobia, and racism they pose have been thwarted. One possible future, according to Gorski, is a Heerenvolk autocracy . . . listen to the conversation to learn what that is and why it could be our next national chapter.

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/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

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

SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron

To Donate:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad and Dan examine the competing ideals often put forth by the GOP: 1) Be an individualist who thinks for herself vs. 2) work to unite the country behind a common cause.

They discuss how these ideals are often contradicted by the GOP's actions and policies. First, they look at the ouster of Liz Cheney for thinking for herself by opposing Trump's Big Lie. Put in her leadership place: Elise Stefanik, someone who went from freethinking moderate to Trumpian acolyte. Then there is Mitch McConnell, who blames Biden for a lack of bipartisanship but says out loud that his goal is 100% to block the administration's goals. Finally, there is the wild goose chase of an audit in Arizona, where conspiracy theorists are sniffing for bamboo and looking for nonexistent watermarks in an effort to overturn an election that happened six months ago--if the election doesn't go how you want, tear down the nation. Is that how the saying goes?

They finish with an explainer on the worker shortage debate raging in the wake of COVID and some brief comments on the Josh Duggar Case.

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/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

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

SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron

To Donate:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Where is the GOP headed four months after an attempted coup? Even further down the rabbit hole of authoritarianism. In the wake of his jarring interview with Dr. Sarah Riccardi-Swartz on fascism in rural America, Brad shows that these anti-democratic impulses are not limited to fringe pockets of the country. They are at the heart of the contemporary conservative movement and GOP. This portends even more anti-democratic maneuvers, threats of violence, and repeats of the 1/6 coup attempt, even as Trump fades from public consciousness as time goes on. He may be on his way out, but the trendy fascism he instituted in our public square is not.

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/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

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

SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron

To Donate:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad speaks with Dr. Sarah Riccardi-Swartz, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Recovering Truth Project (Arizona State University) about her recent article, "The Hybridity of Rural Fascism." She discusses the Evangelical converts to Orthodoxy in rural Appalachia, at least one of which self-identifies as a fascist. She explains how the group sees Trump as too conservative, and instead looks to Putin as the model leader for this--and any--country. As her and Brad explore, the community represents the extreme end of Christian patriarchy, authoritarianism, and trad-values. While it would be easy to label it as a fringe movement, Dr. Riccardi-Swartz reminds us just how prevalent these values are in contemporary White Christian America.

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/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

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

SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron

To Donate:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad and Dan discuss how racism and patriarchy stem from a desire for power and control. They relate this to comments by Rick Santorum on Native American culture, American culture, and the history of the nation. They also apply it to statements from Lyndsey Graham, who said we can't be a racist nation because we elected Obama, and Tim Scott who gave the response to Pres. Biden's address a few days ago.

They discuss patriarchy in relation to the revival of Promise Keepers as a way hetero-patriarchal movement designed to combat the recognition of LGBTQ+ individuals and communities in this country. This leads to a discussion of Josh Duggar, who was arrested on child pornography charges this week and Rep. Matt Gaetz, who is alleged to have paid underage girls for sex.

This episode finishes with a round of Falwell's Follies.

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/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

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

SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron

To Donate:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad speaks with Dr. Jill Hicks-Keeton, Associate Professor of Religion at Oklahoma University and co-editor of The Museum of the Bible: A Critical Introduction, about the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC. Started by the Green family, who own the Hobby Lobby franchise, the Museum of the Bible is what happens when an evangelical megachurch tries to transform into a Smithsonian museum--it mixes Evangelical propaganda with Christian nationalist rhetoric and a supersessionist theology that sees Judaism ending as soon as Christ comes on the scene. The result is more of a monument to White American evangelicalism rather than a museum operating at the highest standards of scholarship and curation. Dr Hicks-Keeton provides a critical view from the standpoint of biblical studies and the study of religion.

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/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

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

SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron

To Donate:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad and Dan connect the threads of the Chauvin murder conviction, the proposed America First caucus, and racialized violence across the country. They use historical instances from the Civil War, the 1920s, and other moments in the nation's history to explain how we are still living in two countries with two sets of rules. They conclude by examining how Sikh individuals were targeted in the Indianapolis mass shooting and use this instance to explain how religion is raced in the United States and what that means for both White Christians and BIPOC from all religious traditions.

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/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

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

SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron

To Donate:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of the conviction of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, Brad argues that family values have been used for centuries as a vector for White supremacist Christianity. Not only are family values used today as a way to draw attention away from racial inequality and other systemic issues, but they have been used throughout American history to justify racism and white supremacy. There is a direct line connecting the concern for order, the vision of the family as the hierarchical structure wherein Godly character is formed, and the defense of slavery and contemporary forms of systemic racism.

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/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

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

SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron

To Donate:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices