Straight White American Jesus

Many of the themes and topics we explore in “It’s In the Code” figure prominently in the experience of those who have been traumatized by participation in high-control religious environments. But what is “trauma”? How is it possible that something as widespread and seemingly mundane as participation in very mainstream American religious communities can be “traumatizing”? Dan finds the answers to t...

Brad speaks with author David Clary about his new book, Soul Winners: The Ascent of America's Evangelical Entrepreneurs. They discuss the history of evangelicalism's intimate relationships with big business. David explains how for centuries revivalist preachers have relied on financing from angel investors to fund their churches, rallies, and programs. He also explains how modern megachurches rely...

Brad and Dan break down three issues: The GOP attack on trans people and drag queens - why the obsession? The removal of Ilhan Omar from House committees and the blatant hypocrisy behind it The Neo-Nazi homeschool network and how it is related to Christian nationalist organizing efforts Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive,...

The language of “purity” looms large within certain Christian discourses in the US. But what is “purity”? What are the religious, cultural, and religious implications of employing the metaphor of purity? Why might be a considered a problematic, or even dangerous, metaphor? Dan explores these and other issues in this week’s episode. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listeni...

Brad speaks with Zac Dayvis and Ashley McKinless, co-hosts of Jesuitical and editors at America Magazine, about why young Catholics are drawn to the Latin mass, the contours of traditional Catholicism, and the ways that right-wing politics and culture attach themselves to older forms of the liturgy. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-epis...

Brad and Dan begin by discussing the arrest of the FBI agent who was in charge of the NY bureau in the lead up to the 2016 election. He was arrested for working for Oleg Deripaska, a man who was at the center of the Trump-Russia scandal. In the second segment they transition to the book banning policy in place under Ron DeSantis in Florida. They then compare the respective agendas of the Dems and...

Many have had someone tell them, or grew up hearing, that we all have a “God-shaped hole” in our souls or hearts, and that only faith in (or a “personal relationship with”) Jesus can fill it. What do they mean by this? Where does this idea come from? And what are the consequences, intentional or not, of this way of understanding the human person and the Christian faith? Dan tackles these questions...

As environmental, political, and public health crises multiply on Earth, we are also at the dawn of a new space race in which governments team up with celebrity billionaires to exploit the cosmos for human gain. The best-known of these pioneers are selling different visions of the future: while Elon Musk and SpaceX seek to establish a human presence on Mars, Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin work toward...

Brad and Dan begin by discussing the recent news that Ron DeSantis and his administration rejected the AP course in African American studies course in Florida high schools, because in their estimation it holds no "educational value" and does not align with the historical record. This leads to a longer examination of the history of MLK Jr.'s holiday and the White Christian nationalists who have alw...

Many conservative Christians describe their “faith” as giving “purpose” or “meaning” to their life. What do they mean by this? And why does it does it feel to many that there’s more than a confession or description about their own spiritual life here? Why does it seem that this testimonial is aimed at others in a way the operates just below the surface? In this episode, Dan looks at these issues t...

Brad speaks with journalist Anna Beahm from Reckon South. Anna shares her harrowing stories from living through (and surviving) purity culture. Over the last few years she has become one of the few journalists whose beat is purity culture, abstinence only sex ed programs, and related issues. She shares her perspectives on the negative effects that these phenomena have on physical health, mental he...

Brad and Dan begin by breaking down how the attempted coup in Brazil is a Christian nationalist copycat of J6, and what this means for how the world views the USA. Annika Brockschmidt at Religion Dispatches: https://religiondispatches.org/coups-of-a-feather-the-striking-similarities-between-brazils-insurrection-and-jan-6-may-be-due-to-authoritarian-learning/ Brian Klass on Substack: https://briank...

Christians of all kinds and traditions talk about “grace.” But what is “grace”? And if it’s a message of God’s radical acceptance of human beings, why does it provoke feelings of guilt and condemnation for so many? Finally, how does the message of grace represent an existential threat to the very institutions that proclaim it? These are the issues Dan explores in this week’s episode. Subscribe for...

On January 6, 2023 we gathered a group of scholars to discuss what we've witnesses since the Insurrection and what lies ahead for our democracy. The panel included: Bradley Onishi, @bradleyonishi Dan Miller, Sara Moslener, @afterpurityproject Matt Taylor (creator of Charismatic Revival Fury), @TaylorMatthewD Lucas Kwong (creator of Monster in the Mirror) @KwongLucas Subscribe for $5.99 a month to...

Brad and Dan discuss the ongoing GOP debacle in the House, where a Speaker still has not been elected. They then talk hits and misses from the last year - reproductive rights, voting, Biden's agenda, Russia-Ukraine, J6, and more. 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/...

If the notion that “God helps those who help themselves” isn’t in the Bible, why does it still figure so prominently in the experience of American evangelicals? What is the sentiment behind this notion, and where does it come from? In this episode, Dan explores these issues and argues that while the phrase itself may not be in the Bible, the sentiment behind it is pervasive within American evangel...

Eight days before the Capitol Insurrection, on December 29, 2020, a group of 15 apostles and prophets, including Dutch Sheets and Becca Greenwood, two of the members of Peter Wagner’s Eagles Vision Apostolic Team, toured around Washington, DC doing spiritual warfare at different monuments.  That afternoon, they had a more than 2-hour meeting with high-level Trump Administration officials in a conf...

The NAR Apostles were at the heart of the Christian Trumpism of the J6 Insurrection. If you’ve looked at any images of the crowds surrounding the Capitol that day, one of the overlooked and under-analyzed details is how many of those “Appeal to Heaven” flags there were in the crowd. They’re easy to identify because of the stark white background and the green tree at the center. Once you begin to n...

Rudyard Kipling is best known for his children's classic The Jungle Book. But the creator of boy-hero Mowgli also created copaganda for his Nineties - the 1890’s. In his recurring character Adam Strickland, Kipling fashioned an officer who elicits scorn for his unconventional methods, but who always gets his man. In the story we’re going to look at today, “The Mark Of The Beast,” Strickland faces...

We’ve all heard the rhetoric about the so-called “war on Christmas.” But why, exactly, do some Christians talk this way? Why do they get so angry? What are they so afraid of? And is there more going on with this rhetoric than might appear on the surface? In this episode, Dan decodes the “war on Christmas” language to uncover the expressions of Christian nationalism that form the basis for it. Subs...

Michael Flynn was raised Catholic. But in recent years his spiritual identity has shifted - or expanded. He talks often about spiritual warfare and the need for any army of God's warriors to do battle. It is one thing to hear pastors or even worship leaders talk about spiritual warfare and “expanding spiritual territory,” but this language of warfare and prayer weapons systems and spiritual advers...

Cindy Jacobs is one of the most influential independent charismatic apostles on the planet. And almost no one outside of charismatic circles has any idea who she is or what she does. It was through Cindy Jacobs that C. Peter Wagner came to believe that Christian prayer could be mobilized on a grand scale to affect and open up entire nations to the gospel.  That infamous passage in Ephesians doesn’...

Brad and Dan begin by discussing a litany of stories related to the 45th president - the releasing of his tax returns, the criminal referrals to the DOJ by the J6 Select Committee, and the silence from the GOP. They then get into a column at the New York Times that bemoans how Americans have "updated" and "personalized" Christianity be going "woke" and so on. This leads to an epic dual rant by the...

We’ve likely all heard someone tell us to “remember the reason for the season.” But what exactly does that mean? What are Christians doing when they say that? In this episode, we find that there never has been a single “reason for the season” and decode the demand that we nevertheless “remember” the reason for the season. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access...

There are two phenomena that we hear a lot about these days in connection to the NAR: The Seven Mountains Mandate and Sean Feucht. The former is a theology, or ideology, or brand depending on who you ask. It proposes that Christians have a call to dominate every sphere, or mountain, of earthly existence--from the economy to entertainment to politics. It was first popularized by Lance Wallnau, a po...