The Bad Roman: Christian Politics for Modern Times

Tyler Boyd used to say the Pledge of Allegiance without thinking much about it. Then one word started bothering him: “indivisible.” At first, he simply stopped saying that word. Eventually, a bigger question followed: If Christians already confess Jesus as King, what exactly are they promising when they pledge allegiance to a nation? Craig sits down with Tyler, co-creator and writer at The Christi...

The State of Arkansas told Brenda “Granny” Smith to stop attending births. She wadded up the cease-and-desist letter and threw it away. Brenda had already spent years helping mothers when she found herself facing state scrutiny, an arrest warrant, legal bills, and what she says were eight years of Facebook screenshots collected as evidence. Why keep going? Because Brenda believed God had called he...

Adam Stump asked two congregations if they knew Christians lived in Iran. Not one hand went up. We hear plenty about Iran as an enemy, a government, or a military target. But how often do American Christians think about the people living beneath those labels, including fellow Christians? Adam joins Craig to talk about Christians in the Middle East, Iranian converts worshiping in underground church...

Does questioning your theology mean you're losing your faith, or could it mean you're finally taking faith seriously? Craig sits down with Jon Kinder of The Geeky Preacher to talk about Christian deconstruction, church hurt, political allegiance, Christian nationalism, pacifism, hell, the rapture, and what happens when inherited beliefs stop looking like Jesus. Jon's deconstruction began in two pl...

When the U.S. wages war in the Middle East that American Christians support, do we remember that some of the people beneath those bombs are fellow Christians? And even when they are not Christians, how can we forget that Jesus calls us to love our neighbor and enemy alike? Mennonite pastor, writer, screenwriter, and activist Nathan Perrin joins Craig for a conversation about the people Western hea...

Ancap Tim returns to discuss his new album, It’s Not Left vs. Right, and the story behind the song inspired by the phrase, “Sometimes being a good Christian means being a bad Roman.” Drawing from his life as a musician, homesteader, homeschooling father, and Christian anarchist, Tim explains why allegiance to Jesus must come before allegiance to government, party, or nation. This is not a call to...

When did we start believing that someone has to be in charge? Maybe it's one of the oldest stories we tell ourselves. If the right people hold power, everything will be okay. If the wrong people do, everything falls apart. But what if Jesus was inviting us into a completely different way of living? In this special bonus episode, Craig catches up with longtime friends of the show Larken Rose and Am...

What if the biggest political threat facing the church is not opposition, but formation? Brian Drinkwine returns to The Bad Roman Podcast to discuss his new book, Kingdom Over Empire: Recovering the Gospel from Political Captivity. Drawing from his own journey through conservative evangelical politics, Brian explains how empire shapes what Christians fear, whom they treat as enemies, and where the...

What happens when the faith you inherited no longer looks like Jesus? Josif Wright joins Craig to talk about leaving Christian nationalism, questioning the flag-and-cross mixture, and learning to trust Christ instead of political power. Josif is a teacher, coach, hospice chaplain, church speaker, and author of The War Within: My Story. The conversation later turns toward his son Ryan’s decade-long...

What does it mean to follow Jesus when governments demand your allegiance, your silence, or your fear? In this episode of The Bad Roman Project, Craig sits down with Ara Torosian, an Iranian-born Armenian pastor who grew up under the Islamic Republic of Iran, served in the underground church, and now pastors Iranian Christians in Los Angeles. Ara shares his journey from reading the Bible in Farsi...

Should Christians care about privacy? The surveillance state does not need your worship; it just needs your fear. In this episode, Craig talks with Jon Padfield of Business Reform about Flock cameras, license plate readers, data brokers, and why Christians should question any system that treats neighbors like suspects and calls it safety. Jon brings experience as an engineer, former Indiana state...

What happens when Christians stop looking to government to do what only Christ can do? Brandon Kroll returns to explore Christian anarchism, Revelation 18, Ephesians 6, the love of money, and the spiritual powers at work behind the systems we trust too easily. What begins with the merchants of Babylon becomes a deeper reflection on empire, deception, money, and whether followers of Jesus should ke...

What if the gospel is not just about being declared right, but about being rescued from a world that keeps trying to enslave us? Cody Cook returns to the show for a conversation about Galatians, law, union with Christ, the present evil age, and the spiritual powers Jesus came to defeat. What begins as a discussion of Cody’s book Delivered from the Evil Age of the Present becomes something deeper:...

Jordan Grant joins Craig for a conversation about conservative Christianity, political deconstruction, Christian nationalism, and the long process of questioning power. What begins as a story about talk radio, Republican politics, and growing up inside a conservative Christian world becomes something deeper: a reflection on authority, coercion, medical culture, and what happens when the teachings...

Not everything that competes with Jesus looks dark at first. Sometimes it looks polished, powerful, and close enough to the truth that people stop asking questions. In this episode, Craig and Scipio Eruditus explore Freemasonry, Christianity, and government, tracing both the bigger history and Scipio’s personal path from Afghanistan war veteran to active critic of the powers he once believed were...

What if the freedom we defend is really just control in disguise? In this episode, Craig and Cal Robbins dig into rightful liberty, the idea that true freedom comes from God and must honor the equal rights of others. From Thomas Jefferson to Galatians 5, they explore the difference between liberty and license, why legal does not always mean moral, and what it means to say No King but Christ in a w...

Is Trump Barabbas? In this episode, Craig sits down with Paul Lazzaroni (Crossing Cornerstone / No King but Christ Network) to talk about the Barabbas mindset, our craving for a strongman savior, political control, and “winning,” even when it contradicts Jesus’ way. We explore modern Babylon, the wilderness formation of God’s people, and why “Jesus is Lord” can’t be a slogan that still needs Caesa...

Christians often say “Jesus is King,” but live as if someone else has to keep order. Every system promises order. Few ever ask what that order costs. Craig sits down with economist Bob Murphy , author of Chaos Theory, to explore a disruptive question many Christians have never been invited to ask out loud: What if law, safety, and social order didn’t require rulers at all? This conversation isn’t...

Are we wrapping the cross in a flag? How far can party and country go before our Christianity must say “stop”? Craig sits down with April Ajoy, author of Star-Spangled Jesus and co-host of The Tim and April Show , to talk about growing up inside Christian nationalism and learning to follow Jesus instead of the party line. The point is not to chase outrage, but to measure all power by the words of...

Was the shooting of Renee Nicole Good murder or self-defense? We use this case as a clear, real-world test of state power. Craig and Larken Rose ask how far a badge can go before our Christianity must say “stop.” The point is not to chase outrage, but to measure authority by the words of Jesus. God first, always. You’ll hear a step-by-step look at the key moments on video, why the second and third...

Judge faith by the neighbor who gets help, not the hype of our politics. Episcopal deacon Gerri Endicott shows how preaching turns into rides, meals, and quiet care. She explains why she leads with “I follow Jesus,” a simple line that lowers walls and points to a Person, not a brand. Judge faith by the neighbor who gets help, not the volume of our politics.  Craig and Gerri test faith by its fruit...

Do non-Christians see Jesus, or politics, when they look at us? Tasha Heath doesn’t identify as a Christian but has been around the church her whole life. She also worked inside party politics and saw enough behind-the-scenes behavior to step back. From the outside, her read is simple: basic kindness and steady presence change more than ballots and online fights ever will. Craig and Tasha ask the...

Craig and Arkansas friend Misty Hubbard trace their journey from “vote harder” conservatism to No King but Christ. They talk about propaganda, “paid patriotism,” online Christian rage, compassion that crosses borders, and why the solution isn’t a better party but a deeper allegiance to Jesus and His Kingdom. How Mike Gaddy shattered Misty’s sense of civic religion, with the haunting question “When...

Are borders tyrannical or necessary? Returning guest Chris Polk helps us dismantle the political theater around immigration and ask what allegiance to Jesus looks like when the state shows up with masks and rifles. From truck-stop stories to John 4, they explore why restricting movement may be the worst tyranny and how ordinary neighbor love beats team-red/blue fear. Chris argues both parties fed...

What if Judas wasn’t just a betrayer, but the first to politicize Jesus? Judas’s story exposes a much older problem: the temptation to make Jesus “fit” the system. Domenic Scarcella (author of the book and Substack Good Neighbor, Bad Citizen) returns to argue that Judas tried to make the Messiah more respectable to rulers, trading costly faithfulness for public influence. From the temple clashes o...