Truce - History of the Christian Church

By Chris StaronReligion & Spirituality Christianity History Religion

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Truce - History of the Christian Church episodes

November 24, 2020The American Coup in Guatemala
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In 1954 the United States government, led by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, staged a coup to oust President Jacobo Arbenz of Guatemala. For what reason? To help the United Fruit Company.
United Fruit was a giant company, capturing over 90% of the market in its heyday. The juggernaut found President Arbenz to be a nuisance when his agrarian reform meant they would be paid for some of their unused land, which would be given to peasants. With the help of powerful friends like Allen Dulles (the Director of the CIA), the United States staged a coup, installing Castillo Armas in his place.
All of this took place while the USA was busy framing itself as a Christian nation. What does that mean for the Christian Church today? Are we a nation that supports that kind of behavior?
Our special guest for this episode is Stephen Schlesinger, co-author of the excellent book "Bad Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala".

Discussion Questions:
What threat did President Jacobo Arbenz pose to United Fruit?
United Fruit owned many utilities in Guatemala from the trains to telephone lines. How would you feel if our utilities were owned by foreign entities? If they controlled our natural resources?
Do you think the land reform deal was a good one for their country?
Were people like John Foster Dulles right to overthrow Arbenz?
How might it have benefited them to do so?
In what way could the actions of the US in the 1950s reflect poorly on Christianity domestically and abroad?
It has been argued that American consumers benefit when Latin American and African countries are thrown in disarray. It means cheaper diamonds, gold, rubber, and more while also stranding the people in those countries in poverty.
Does it bother you that you may be benefiting from unbalanced countries?
Do you find the assumption that we are benefiting to be offensive? Why?
Is there anything we can do about it?
Sources:
"Bad Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala" by Stephen Schlesinger and Stephen Kinzer
CIA Document profiling Arbenz
YouTube clips of a documentary on the Guatemalan coup
Then Vice President Nixon talking with Armas after the overthrow
Statistics on Fruit
Financial Times article about United Fruit
Book "One Nation Under God" by Kevin Kruse (for the bio info on the Dulles brothers)
Peurifoy's cable to Washington
President Arbenz's farewell speech
List of governments that the US has overthrown

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40 min
November 10, 2020Billy Graham v. Communism (feat. David Aikman)
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Billy Graham may have been the most important evangelist of the 20th century. His words were heard by millions of people around the world. He preached in person, on television, magazines, radio, and film. His impact is still felt today. He is also one of the people most responsible for tying Christianity, Capitalism, and the United States. But his legacy didn't stop there. While he denounced communism, he went to great lengths to ensure that communists had access to the gospel too.
Our guest this episode is David Aikman, author of "Billy Graham: His Life and Influence".

Discussion Questions:
Is Jesus' message individualistic, collectivist, or something in between?
If the majority of a nation's citizens say they are Christians, does that make it a Christian nation?
Does hobnobbing with the wealthy and politically connected occasionally backfire? Like, say, when you've come out backing Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal as Graham did?
Is it possible to cross political and theological lines today in order to spread the gospel?
When do we prioritize the gospel over social issues and when do we have to put our foot down?
When do you walk out into the stadium and take down the ropes that divide us and when do you leave the ropes where they are?
Helpful Links:
Graham sermon "A Way of Life" from this episode.
Newsreel of his 1949 crusade
Truman's statement on the Soviets having the bomb
Decision Magazine article about Graham's crisis of faith
The Evangelicals by Frances Fitzgerald
One Nation Under God by Kevin Kruse
Topics Discussed:
Billy Graham's evangelistic efforts in Romania, Hungary, and China
Was Billy Graham anti-communist?
Billy Graham's sermons
Liberal Christians
Was Billy Graham a fundamentalist?
What is the difference between fundamentalist and mainline churches?

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41 min
October 27, 2020We Want a King
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What do American Christians really want in the Trump era? I think that we just want representation. We want someone to stand for us, to fight out battles. But that gets tricky. There is a story in the Old Testament that gives us some clues about how that temptation can hurt us in the end.
Discussion Questions:
Have you ever received a gospel tract? What was your reaction?
What kind of information do you think is essential on a tract?
Have you ever received a tract for a different religion?
How did that make you feel?
How did you know it was from a different religion?
Is it okay for corporations to evangelize?
What are the risks of that?
The benefits?
Are capitalism and Christianity the same thing?
If so, where does it say that in the Bible?
Does it feel threatening to question the connection between capitalism and Christianity? Why?

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24 min
October 20, 2020 Rebrodcast: Why Does Donald Trump Appeal to Evangelicals?
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This was one of our first ever episodes! We're rebroadcasting it today because the 2020 US Presidential election is upon us. One of the questions that keeps coming up is: why does Donald Trump appeal to white evangelical Christians? This episode was produced three years ago, so it may sound a little different, but the information is still relevant to today. President Trump has made it pretty clear that he does not know the basic tenants of Christianity. So why do we say that he is one?

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18 min
October 13, 2020The Ad Council, CIA, and Christian America (feat. Wendy Melillo)
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The CIA, big business, and the Ad Council worked together to create the America that we know and love today. Together, they bonded our ideas of patriotism, capitalism, and religion. But not many of us know who the Ad Council is. Sure they created Smokey Bear, the Crash Test Dummies, and the Crying Indian ads... but who are they?
Wendy Melillo, author of "How McGruff and the Crying Indian Changed America: A History of Iconic Ad Council Campaigns" and professor at American University, joins us to discuss her research into the Ad Council.
Helpful Links:
Religion in American Life Video Ad
Wendy Melillo's fascinating lecture on her book
The creepy "Why?" ad we referenced in the episode
Ad Council's own history website
Discussion Questions:
Have you ever been impacted by advertising? How did it make you feel?
Does it matter where our ads come from? Even public service announcements?
How do you feel about the CIA paying for ads to impact Americans?
Should responsibility for big problems like plastic waste fall on individuals, big corporations, or both?
Do you think the Bible says anything about one economic model over another?

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37 min
October 06, 2020 Rebroadcast: Fatty Arbuckle and the MPAA
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Did Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle murder Virginia Rappe? That questions defined the film industry for thirty years. Upset with Hollywood's moral failures, Christians demanded changes. We took over, fighting until the studios decided to censor themselves.

This special episode of Truce ties into our last episode with Abby Johnson of the Unplanned movie.

This episode explores:
* Who was Fatty Arbuckle?
* Who was Virginia Rappe?
* Did Fatty Arbuckle murder Virginia Rappe?
* What is the MPAA?
* What started the Motional Picture Association of America?
* Did Christians really censor the golden age of films?

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24 min
September 29, 2020Marketing Christian Libertarianism
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James Fifield was a pastor, radio personality, publisher, and outspoken libertarian. He hated the New Deal and its restrictions. His organization, Spiritual Mobilization, created a marketing campaign that would bond Christianity to capitalism and the United States for decades to come.
Also... you know those Ten Commandments monuments all over the country? Well, it turns out that many of them were built to advertise for one of the highest grossing movies of all time: Cecil B. Demille's "The Ten Commandments".
Helpful links:
List of Ten Commandments monuments placed by the Eagles
Ten Commandments trailer featuring Cecil B. Demille
One Nation Under God by Kevin Kruse
The Evangelicals by Frances Fitzgerald
Discussion Questions:
Is it creepy when corporations tell people how to behave?
Do you like it when companies tie religion to business?
Is Christianity an individualistic religion? A collectivist one? Neither? Both?
Does Leviticus 25:10 mean that we have a right to liberty? Or does it mean something else?
Should monuments to the 10 Commandments be allowed on public land?

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38 min
September 15, 2020The National Prayer Breakfast and The Family
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When strikes broke out in the 1930's, some wealthy members of the US elite got together... to pray. One of the organizers of prayer groups across the country was Abraham Vereide. In this episode of Truce we tell the story of how Vereide became one of the most influential non-elected men of his time... and how his movement took a dark turn as revealed in Netflix's The Family.
Contributed Voices (not all were used):
Sharon Campbell - All God's Women Podcast
Shea and Michelle Watson - The Pantry Podcast
Annie Quinnell - The Unstoppable Solo Mom Podcast
Tim and JK Winders - Seek Go Create Podcast
Holland Webb - The Afterword Podcast
Markus Watson - Spiritual Life and Leadership Podcast
Discussion Questions:
When is it an appropriate time for a labor strike?
How bad do things have to get before a strike can shut down the economy?
Is there a Christian perspective on labor strikes?
Is there anything wrong or creepy about Christian businessmen praying to end a strike?
Do you think the National Prayer Breakfast is an event focused on piety?
Read Matthew 6 in the Bible. What do you think it means for public prayer? Jesus prayed in public. Is all public prayer wrong, or just some of it? Where is that line?
Vereide's legacy created "The Family", a shadowy organization that tries to create male Christian leaders. Is this good, bad, creepy, or some combination of the three?
"The Family" is focused on male leaders. Why do we struggle as Christians to let women lead?
Helpful Links:
One Nation Under God by Kevin Kruse
Britannica article about The Family
History of the Prayer Breakfast
90% of Everything - book about shipping containers
Crash Course - Great book about unions and the US auto manufacturers
Helpful history of the San Fransisco and Seattle strikes and Bloody Thursday
YouTube video of West Coast during the strikes
"The Family" - the Netflix "documentary".

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29 min
September 08, 2020 An Evaluation
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In this bonus episode, host Chris Staron does his best to quiet fears about where Truce is headed. Is this show pushing a political motive? What about an economic system? Nope.
Truce is about exploring our past in order to make us better. The goal is to remain orthodox and a-political.

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9 min
September 01, 2020The New Deal (feat. Justin Rosolino)
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Many Christian leaders came to hate the New Deal, especially libertarians. Their opposition to the New Deal as creeping socialism sparked the National Prayer Breakfast, some of Billy Graham's speeches, and the bonding of capitalism to Christianity and the US. So we should probably know what the New Deal was!
Our guest this episode is Justin Rosolino. He's a high school history teacher and the author of the book "Idiot Sojourning Soul".
You can find pictures of Chris' 50 mile New Deal Bike Tour on the website at www.trucepodcast.com.

Helpful Links:
FDR's Inauguration Speech on C-SPAN
Interesting YouTube video about the causes of the Great Depression
Topics Discussed:
What was the Social Gospel?
Who was Franklin Roosevelt?
What was the New Deal?
The Civilian Conservation Corp
The Works Progress Administration
Jenny Lake - Grand Teton National Park
Unemployment

We're focused on making Truce the best Christian podcast on the market. Partner with us by donating at www.trucepodcast.com/donate

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36 min

About Truce - History of the Christian Church

From the publisher's feed

Truce explores the history of the evangelical church in America, from fundamentalism to pyramid schemes to political campaigns. Host Chris Staron uses journalistic tools to investigate how the church got here and how it can do better.