Faith Improvised

I offer a few random observations, recommend Robert P. Jones's excellent new book, White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity, and begin a series about Christian identity, focusing on cruciformity.

I share a few random observations, I talk about a lovely book I've read recently, and I elaborate on the larger theological framework that shapes my engagement with cultural criticism and gives some background as to why I think Critical Race Theory is so helpful for Christians.

I respond to an interesting question about my posture toward the church, I talk about probably my all-time favorite book, and I elaborate a bit on Critical Race Theory, why evangelical leaders are sowing fear about it, and why Christians have nothing to fear about this or any other analytical tool for discerning power dynamics of oppression in our culture.

I respond to a question about the nature of salvation, I talk about Nijay Gupta's great new book on how Paul uses "faith" language in his letters, and I reflect on how the resonance among white evangelicals with the current president's campaign slogan reveals something fundamentally problematic about the culture of white evangelicalism.

I catch up on some discussion and questions about evangelism, talk about Tom Nichols's wonderful book, The Death of Expertise, and I reflect a bit on the character of humility and arrogance.

In this episode, I reflect on the role that "the Great Commission" plays in evangelical culture, I talk about Sarah Posner's brilliant new book, "Unholy: Why White Evangelicals Worship at the Altar of Donald Trump," and I share a conversation with my friend Steve Watkins. He's a former Navy SEAL whose experience and study has changed his thinking about the military and violence. We also talk about Alpha & Beta males and there's a Fargo reference dropped in for good measure.

A conversation with Kristen Johnson on the surprising history of the phrase that has been so central to evangelical identity, mission, and practice. It's perhaps time to reassess the outsize role Matthew 28:19-20 plays in our thinking, and just as importantly, to actually look at what the passage says!

This week, I respond to a few questions about individualism, I talk a little about Bruce Longenecker's book, In Stone and Story, and I have a discussion with Kristin Kobes Du Mez, author of the new book, Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation.

In this episode I respond to some questions I received, commend the super-fun book Cringeworthy: A Theory of Awkwardness, by Melissa Dahl, and talk about the idolatrous notion that America is a Christian nation.

In this episode I share a few ideas in response to a question asking what we can do about our individualized gospel, I recommend Lee Camp's sparkling new book, Scandalous Witness: A Little Political Manifesto for Christians, and I elaborate some of the dynamics of the Kingdom of God in Scripture that conservative white evangelicals are missing, captive as that culture is to a shrunken version of the gospel.