What Lies Beyond Christian Nationalism? Interview w/ Brian Zahnd on Seemingly Simple Matters (Dustbowl Diatribes 2.12 cross post)

Spencer and Laurie interview Brian Zahnd, pastor of Word of Life Church, St. Joseph, MO. We discuss why some people decide to break from destructive ideas of faith, like Christian nationalism, and why many don’t. We also have a conversation about the church’s mission and what its role should be on grave issues like environmental destruction and war. … More What Lies Beyond Christian Nationalism? Interview w/ Brian Zahnd on Seemingly Simple Matters (Dustbowl Diatribes 2.12 cross post)

Why Not School Prayer? Hauerwas’s Christian Critique of Christian America

In his book Christian Existence Today, “A Christian Critique of Christian America,” Stanley Hauerwas takes on American civil religion. Understanding why most Christian positions toward the state aren’t good enough will help us determine what Christianity might look like if we stopped pursuing it through the state, ideologies and politics. … More Why Not School Prayer? Hauerwas’s Christian Critique of Christian America

Christian Nationalism as Stockholm syndrome (Brueggemann 5)

Christian nationalism–the reasons it is wrong but also the possible reasons why it exists. Looking at the Old Testament as a source of iconic, archetypal and enduring truths is discussed as an alternative to the narrative of the US as the new Israel. If people remain captive to Empire, why? Is it partly because they truly have been displaced and are tempted by cooptation? Is it due to their fear of the wilderness and the freedom it represents? … More Christian Nationalism as Stockholm syndrome (Brueggemann 5)