Truce - History of the Christian Church

Become a patron of the show and help me make even more great episodes!

Donate by visiting www.patreon.com/trucepodcast

When did school prayer end? When was school prayer made illegal?

American Christians have disagreed about school prayer ever since it was declared illegal in the 1960s by the Supreme Court of the United States. But what were the conditions surrounding that debate?

In this episode of Truce, we break down the debate using Justice Hugo Black's majority argument against school prayer. It goes all the way back to the founding of the Church of England when Thomas Cranmer wrote the Book of Common Prayer and helped the king solidify his divorce. Thomas Cranmer was made Archbishop of Canterbury, the highest role in the Church of England. But when Mary Tudor became queen, she executed Cranmer because she was Catholic and he was Protestant.

Justice Black's decision hinged on the story of Cranmer. England was thrown into turmoil with every new regent because they could change the religion. The US, he argued, was founded on principles that would keep that from happening. The Establishment Clause of the US Constitution prohibits the government from establishing a religion. So... is school prayer a violation of the Establishment Clause?

What do you think?

Discussion Questions:

Helpful links:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Become a patron of the show and help me make even more great episodes!

Donate by visiting www.patreon.com/trucepodcast

Jerry Falwell Sr. was one of the most outspoken evangelical Christians in the 1980s. He founded Liberty University and the Moral Majority political movement. In 1985 he went on a trip to visit South Africa, which was then engaged in its apartheid practices. That meant keeping 80% of the land for white use only and moving black people to reservations. It was a black majority country controlled by the white minority.

Upon his return, Falwell made some controversial statements. Including one that American Christians should not protest South Africa or demand sanctions. Seems crazy, right? But South African guerillas were being funded (in part) by the Soviet Union. The worry that communism would take over South Africa was real. Which of the two evils would Christians choose? Backing an apartheid government, or potentially supporting the Soviet-sponsored rebels?

Our guest today is Melani McAlister, author of the excellent book "The Kingdom of God Has No Borders". She is also professor of American Studies and International Affairs at George Washington University.

Discussion Questions:

Helpful Links:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Become a patron of the show and help me make even more great episodes!

Donate by visiting www.patreon.com/trucepodcast

Melani McAlister, author of "The Kingdom of God Has No Borders" and Professor of American Studies and International Affairs at George Washington University joins us to discuss how we export Christianity. In the 1950s and 1960s, American denominations sent white missionaries to Africa to share the good news. But with them went their bias and racism. This was the era of Jim Crow laws. Some missionaries took those laws to Africa, not allowing black people to eat at their tables.

In this episode, we examine the problem of tying the United States to Christianity. When the US makes mistakes or does evil, how does that reflect back on the church?

Christian missionaries sometimes export the United States with their messages. What else is going with our missionaries?

Discussion Questions:

Links:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When I was a kid, we were playing at a friend's house. I fell and scraped up my knee pretty badly. Dirt and rocks were in the wound. My friend's mom was a nurse, so she got out her medical kit. She did her best to pick out what she could and then showed me her bottle of iodine. Iodine is a strong anti-microbial. Highly effective for cleaning wounds. But, like rubbing alcohol, it stings pretty bad.

Pain, she said, is not always a bad thing. Pain is what our body uses to tell us something is wrong. That we need to make a change. If your appendix hurts, it's helpful. Because if they didn't, you'd have no way of knowing that they were going to burst. Sometimes, we need to feel pain.

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty raw today. I haven't been able to focus on much. Yesterday, January 6, 2021, a mob of Trump supporters, incited by Donald Trump, stormed the Capitol building in Washington DC. It was an act of terrorism. A coup attempt on US soil. I'm angry. I'm scared. And what hurts the most is to know that evangelical Christians share the blame. We were a big part of his support base. Despite his stirring up rebellion, his lies about everything from the size of his inaugural audience to the shameful claims of a rigged election, his obvious conflicts of interest, racism, sexism, and potentially criminal dealings with Deutsche Bank, many of my people stand by his side. And there is nothing he can do to break that spell. Some Christians will support him no matter what.

I started this podcast three years ago for a lot of reasons. There is one big reason, though. I wasn't public about it. I've spent a lot of hours debating whether or not I should tell you. But I started Truce because I think my people, Christians, are headed for persecution. Not because of the Bible. Not because we believe in Jesus, and the world hates Jesus. But because we're acting like children. We worship oligarchs and their money, even though Jesus told us not to. We ignore the poor, even though Jesus commanded us to take care of them. We've acquired a taste for hate, even though the Bible says to love our neighbors. We've sought vengeance when it's clear that vengeance belongs to the Lord.

I don't think anyone deserves to be persecuted. Hear that. Nobody deserves persecution. But I think we're building a pretty strong case against ourselves. Christian media will try to put a positive spin on it, say it's not our fault. That the heathens hate Jesus. Know that this is the reason: because we turned our back on our calling in pursuit of power.

I probably wounded you in saying that. That's okay. We've grown so used to thinking that we deserve a life free from pain. I want to remind you that pain is not always a bad thing. It tells us when we're bleeding, when we're wounded, when we're sick. I think a lot about the Babylonian's taking over Judah in the Old Testament. God's people acted wickedly generation after generation. So they paid for their wickedness.

I won't offer us comfort today. I just won't. Because we won't change until it hurts. Our positive and uplifting media outlets have robbed us of our ability to lament. To grieve. Yes, pray for this country. But if we stop there, we're missing the point. We need to repent, turn from our evil ways, humbly and graciously serve others as Jesus served. Repent.

Until we do, let it hurt. Let today hurt.

God help us.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Become a patron of the show and help me make even more great episodes!

Donate by visiting www.patreon.com/trucepodcast

Many of us are familiar with Joseph McCarthy and his infamous hearings on Communism in the US government. What we don't know is that McCarthy was far from the first person to use these tactics. In this episode of the Truce Podcast we examine the Rapp-Coudert Committee-- an effort in the New York City school system to root out Communists, Fascists, and Nazis who might be teaching students. In the end, even outspoken Christians participated in this witch hunt, which targeted mostly Jewish teachers and staff.

Discussion Questions:

Helpful Links:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Give a little money to help support Truce! Details are at www.trucepodcast.com/donate

2020 has been a difficult year for many. I wanted to take a few minutes to discuss things that went well. So I opened up a phone line to collect stories from you, the listeners. Thanks to everyone who submitted their stories!

I'll be opening up the phone lines again in another month to collect more listener feedback.

Happy New Year and thanks for supporting Truce!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Become a patron of the show and help me make even more great episodes!

Donate by visiting www.patreon.com/trucepodcast

It's time for our second annual Christmas Episode Exchange! Each year I put out a call on the Christian Podcasters Association Facebook page for 5-minute mini-episodes based on the theme of Christmas. Now I'm going to present several of the best from that group.

1) An Endurance Christmas

2. Letters from Home Podcast

3. Life, Repurposed Podcast

4. Moments with Moni Podcast

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Become a patron of the show and help me make even more great episodes!

Donate by visiting www.patreon.com/trucepodcast

The 1983 Supreme Court case Lynch v Donnelly brought church and state together in one important decision. In it, the court decided that a city-owned creche (also known as a manger scene) could remain on private land because it was part of a greater display. It wasn't a stand-alone creche. It was surrounded by Christmas trees, a Santa's village, and more. The diorama could stay because it held no significant religious value. It was, in their words, "ceremonial deism".

In this modern era where it seems like religion is slipping away from public life, it's good to stop and ask what we're losing. Do our public displays of piety have any real Christian weight to them in the first place? What are we fighting for if "In God We Trust" doesn't specify which God it's referring to?

Supreme Court audio for this episode was used with a Creative Commons License from Oyez.org. The audio was edited from it's original form.

Helpful Links:

Discussion Questions:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices