New Persuasive Words

In a cultural and political moment defined by outrage, division, and uncertainty, hope can feel naïve—or even impossible. But what if hope isn't wishful thinking? What if it's an act of courage? In this episode, Bill and Scott explore why hope matters now more than ever. Together, they wrestle with the temptation to give in to cynicism, the exhaustion of living through constant political conflict,...

In this episode of New Persuasive Words, Scott and Bill wade into the moral fog of war, asking an old question that never quite stays settled: when, if ever, is war justified? Using the framework of Just War Theory, they unpack the escalating conflict between Donald Trump and Iran, and the public tension between Trump and Pope Leo. Is this war defensible under traditional criteria like just cause,...

What happens when Jesus Christ and Genghis Khan get dragged into the same geopolitical argument? You get one wild quote from Benjamin Netanyahu—and one even wilder episode of New Persuasive Words. This week, Scott and Bill react to Netanyahu’s eyebrow-raising claim that history suggests goodness doesn’t really have an edge over ruthless power. In other words: nice guys…don’t finish first. Or secon...

Is the war with Iran actually a religious war? That’s the explosive question posed by Tucker Carlson in a viral clip that has ricocheted across the internet. In the video, Carlson suggests that beneath the geopolitical rhetoric—nuclear weapons, regional stability, national security—there may be something deeper and more dangerous at play: religious narratives about holy sites, prophecy, and the po...

In this episode of New Persuasive Words, Bill and Scott dig into “Rod Dreher Thinks the Enlightenment Was a Mistake,” a provocative Atlantic feature that explores how one of today’s most influential conservative thinkers is challenging the very foundations of modernity. They unpack Read the full Atlantic article here, which profiles Rod Dreher’s journey from cultural critic to a leading voice in r...

In this week’s episode, Bill and Scott unpack The Atlantic’s provocative analysis of how Charlie Kirk’s assassination has reshaped the conservative movement and exposed deep ideological fractures within the Trump-aligned right. Drawing from Yair Rosenberg’s Atlantic article, “The Second Death of Charlie Kirk,” they examine how Kirk’s absence has opened space for previously marginalized figures — i...

In this week’s episode, Bill and Scott are joined by their Onbudsman Emily Acrigg to unpack one of the oddest culture-war moments yet: House Speaker Mike Johnson mansplaining religion to the Pope. We dive into a recent article from The Daily Beast detailing how Johnson responded to Pope Leo XIV’s critique of U.S. immigration policy by offering up his own theological interpretation of Scripture — a...

This week, Bill and Scott take on Ross Douthat’s conversation with Ryan Burge and ask whether the story we’ve been telling about America’s religious collapse is actually wrong—or at least wildly incomplete. If the “nones” are leveling off, what replaces the old secularization narrative? Is Christianity really dying, or just losing its cultural monopoly? And what does it say about us that astrology...

Is “fascism” finally the right word for American politics—or is it still a category mistake? In this episode of New Persuasive Words, Bill and Scott take on a provocative Atlantic essay that argues the U.S. has crossed a line. Longtime liberal skeptic Jonathan Rauch now says the evidence is undeniable: Trump, MAGA, and the use of state power—especially through agencies like ICE—fit the historical...

In this episode of New Persuasive Words, Scott and Bill tackle one of the most provocative conversations of the moment: Ezra Klein’s interview with Texas State Representative James Talarico about reclaiming Christianity for the left and what that really means for the faith and for politics. Klein brings Talarico — a seminary student and rising national voice — onto his show to explore how his Chri...

In this episode of New Persuasive Words, Bill and Scott respond to a recent post by Neo-Baptist theologian Dave Fitch, taking up his critique of Protestant power, ecclesiology, and the legacy of the 16th-century Reformers. While appreciating Fitch’s concern for faithfulness, witness, and the dangers of Constantinian Christianity, Bill and Scott argue that his reading of Luther, Calvin, and the bro...

This week on New Persuasive Words, Bill and Scott unpack one of the most tumultuous stretches in recent U.S. political news. First, they dive into the Trump administration’s bold military operation in Venezuela — including airstrikes and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro — an unprecedented intervention that has sparked fierce debate over sovereignty, international law, and America’s role abr...

On this special Christmas episode of New Persuasive Words, Bill and Scott slow things down on the night before Christmas Eve to reflect on the mystery and miracle at the heart of the season. Stepping back from headlines and hot takes, they explore why Christmas continues to matter in a restless, disenchanted world—and what it means to speak of incarnation, hope, and divine interruption in a cultur...

What happens when nationalism tries to draw a moral boundary—and discovers it’s already fraying? In this episode of New Persuasive Words, Bill and Scott dig into Ross Douthat’s recent Interesting Times conversation with political theorist Yoram Hazony on the unsettling rise of antisemitism on the American Right. Hazony, one of nationalism’s most prominent intellectual defenders, argues that this r...

In this episode, Scott and Bill take a provocative historical detour, exploring whether there’s a meaningful connection between the ancient Arian theological heresy and today’s ascendant Aryan-inflected white nationalism. What happens when a 4th-century doctrinal struggle over the nature of Christ echoes—however faintly—into modern movements animated by racial mythmaking and pseudo-spiritual ident...

In this episode of New Persuasive Words, Scott and Bill take a deep dive into the long, complicated, and often surprising history of Christian missions to the so-called “barbarians”—those peoples and cultures living at the outer edges of the empire and the church’s imagination. Drawing on episodes from late antiquity through the medieval world, they explore how the Church has, at its best, found c...

In this episode of New Persuasive Words, Scott and Bill dive into Chapter 4 of Tomáš Halík’s The Afternoon of Christianity, exploring Halík’s provocative vision for faith in a rapidly changing world. Drawing on Halík’s rich metaphors of spiritual maturation, they unpack what it means for Christianity to move beyond its “adolescent certainties” and into a deeper, more contemplative season. Scott an...

_New Persuasive Words _goes live! Recorded at the First Congregational Church of Manchester, Vermont, this special episode dives into one of the most pressing conversations of our time: Christian Nationalism and the Future of the Republic. Hosts Scott Jones and Bill Borror are joined by moderator Rev. D. Mark Blank and respondent Rabbi Michael Cohen for an evening of spirited, thought-provoking di...

In this provocative episode of New Persuasive Words, Scott and Bill dig into the Reformation — not as a museum piece of church history, but as a radical, world-upending movement that redefined faith, authority, and freedom. Was it a holy revolt or a spiritual jailbreak gone wrong? They explore the passion and peril at the heart of the Reformation: a longing for authenticity that shattered Christen...

In this episode of the show Scott and Bill reflect on how the deepest movements of theological renewal have always begun in places of authentic spirituality rather than positions of power. They trace how the Church’s greatest upheavals often come when authority refuses to listen to the voices calling for reform. In what some have called a new Axial Age—an era marked by technological noise, stress,...

In this episode, Bill and Scott dig into a recent New York Times piece Something Is Stirring in Christian America, and It’s Making Me Nervous , by David French— a sharp look at how faith, politics, and power are fusing in post-Kirk America. The article argues that what many are calling a spiritual awakening might actually be a political uprising dressed in religious language. The hosts break down...

In this episode of New Persuasive Words, Bill and Scott unpack Chapter 3 of Richard Rohr’s Breathing Under Water , where Rohr draws a powerful contrast between surrender and sacrifice. They explore why authentic transformation begins not in striving or control, but in letting go—and how that truth speaks to more than personal faith. In a culture addicted to performance, outrage, and winning, Rohr’...

In this episode of New Persuasive Words, Scott and Bill dive into Kevin DeYoung’s review of Stephen Wolfe’s The Case for Christian Nationalism for The Gospel Coalition. They unpack Wolfe’s vision of a distinctly Christian nation—its emphasis on cultural Christianity, civil authority, and national identity—and weigh it against DeYoung’s sharp theological and historical critiques. Is Christian natio...

A new NPR–Marist poll shows rising acceptance of political violence, distrust in institutions, and deep divides over truth itself. In this episode, we confront the cultural, spiritual, and theological stakes of a society where persuasion is breaking down. What happens when violence replaces discourse? And what resources—religious, moral, and communal—can help us reclaim a shared life before it’s t...

In this episode, Bill and Scott dive deep into the provocative Wall Street Journal opinion piece “Candace Owens Is a Latter-Day Gnostic.” The article argues that today’s conspiratorial “truth seekers” echo the thinking of ancient Gnostics—believing that hidden, malevolent forces control the visible world—and places Candace Owens within that framework. They explore what it means to call someone a “...