Culture, Faith and Politics with Pat Kahnke
Pat Kahnke
Pat Kahnke has written two books, from a pastoral perspective, to reject Donald Trump and his MAGA movement:
A Christian Case Against Donald Trump (2024)
MAGA Seduction: Resisting the Debasement of the Christian Conscience (2020)
He was an evangelical church planter and pastor for twenty years before retiring from church ministry in 2016. Planted a church in the inner city of St. Paul, MN - part of the Baptist General Conference (Converge) and Alliance for Renewal Churches. A lifelong conservative Republican until the party left him in 2016. Now a political independent, he has written off the Republican party until it completes 40 years in the wilderness for its capitulation to the MAGA movement.This podcast contains political and social commentary related to issues at the intersection of culture, faith, and politics.
A Christian Case Against Donald Trump (2024)
MAGA Seduction: Resisting the Debasement of the Christian Conscience (2020)
He was an evangelical church planter and pastor for twenty years before retiring from church ministry in 2016. Planted a church in the inner city of St. Paul, MN - part of the Baptist General Conference (Converge) and Alliance for Renewal Churches. A lifelong conservative Republican until the party left him in 2016. Now a political independent, he has written off the Republican party until it completes 40 years in the wilderness for its capitulation to the MAGA movement.This podcast contains political and social commentary related to issues at the intersection of culture, faith, and politics.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Dec 10, 2025 • 1h 18min
LIVE, Episode 4: How to Answer the Bigots and the Racists
My recent YouTube video titled A Minnesota Pastor Responds to Trump’s Cruelty Toward Somalis was not well-received by a lot of "Christians." Now I'm here to answer them directly on this edition of Culture, Faith, and Politics Live!
Dec 9, 2025 • 14min
ESSAY: I Got Dozens of Bigoted Comments from Christians When I Dared to Defend Immigrants
Last week, I made a YouTube video defending Somali immigrants in my city — and I didn’t expect the flood of hate from people who call themselves Christians. Today, I’m responding to one of the tamer comments I received — not because it was innocent, but because it shows just how deep the rot goes in MAGA Christianity. If you’ve ever been attacked by so-called believers for standing up for immigrants, refugees, or marginalized people — this is for you.
Dec 6, 2025 • 11min
Tia Levings, Pt 1: Her Story of Escaping Doug Wilson's Domineering Patriarchal Religious Movement
In this powerful conversation, Tia Levings shares the harrowing true story behind her memoir A Well-Trained Wife—how she was groomed in a fundamentalist evangelical church, survived church-sanctioned domestic abuse, and made a midnight escape from a violent marriage.
Joined by Amy Hawk and Pat Kahnke, Tia describes how Bill Gothard’s teachings, Doug Wilson’s Christian patriarchy movement, and the toxic promises of evangelical purity culture shaped her life. From megachurch culture to cult-like control, she unpacks the spiritual manipulation that left her without a sense of self—and the long journey of reclaiming her voice.
If you’ve experienced religious trauma, domestic violence, or the disillusionment of high-control Christianity, this interview offers both a mirror and a lifeline.
Dec 5, 2025 • 21min
ESSAY: A Minnesota Pastor Responds to President Trump's Cruelty Toward Somalis
This week, President Trump made some of the most openly abusive, racist, and dehumanizing comments yet — aimed directly at the Somali community in St. Paul and Minneapolis. He’s also deploying federal agents to intimidate them. As a pastor who spent 20 years in the Twin Cities — and as a neighbor — I’m speaking up.
Dec 4, 2025 • 49min
Tia Levings: An Insider's Account of Pete Hegseth's Cruel Religious Movement
In this raw and powerful conversation, author and survivor Tia Levings joins Pat Kahnke and Amy Hawk to expose the hidden cruelty behind Pete Hegseth's rise in Christian nationalist circles — and the broader religious movement that enabled him. Drawing from her memoir A Well-Trained Wife and her upcoming book I Belong to Me, Tia shares what it’s like to grow up under church-sanctioned patriarchy, escape at midnight with her children, and heal from years of religious trauma.
Dec 3, 2025 • 1h 4min
Live, Episode 3: Team of Sociopaths | The Actions of Trump, Hegseth and Noem
YouTube Tuesday night LIVE, Episode 3, from December 2nd, 2025
Dec 2, 2025 • 18min
ESSAY: Pete Hegseth Must be Impeached and Face Criminal Accountability
As Donald Trump’s influence begins to wane, his administration continues to commit staggering abuses—none more horrifying than what Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is accused of: ordering the extrajudicial killing of two defenseless men off the coast of Venezuela. This episode is a GUT CHECK for America—especially for Christians who still support Trump.
Dec 1, 2025 • 10min
Marjorie Taylor Greene Goes "Thelma and Louise" On Trump! | Live Stream Excerpt
Last Monday, I posted a video on YouTube about Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resignation that sparked a big conversation—some of it supportive, some a little worried I was being “taken in” by her.
Let me be crystal clear: I strongly disagree with almost everything MTG stands for. In this follow-up clip from our Tuesday night Culture, Faith & Politics Live Stream, Ken Napzok and I unpack why her break with Trump is so dangerous—precisely because she's still MAGA to the core.
This isn’t about celebrating Greene. It’s about understanding her influence. Her message will reach people I can’t. And when she says, “There is no plan” and calls Trump out, it pulls the mask off for people still deep in the cult.
Nov 26, 2025 • 1h 4min
Live, Episode 2: Trump's Weird and Terrible Week
Culture, Faith, and Politics LIVE episode 2: Trump's weird and terrible week. (11/11/25)
Nov 25, 2025 • 14min
ESSAY: The Most Damaging Part of Marjorie Taylor Greene's Attack on Trump
On Friday night, Marjorie Taylor Greene announced her resignation from Congress. But what stood out most? It wasn’t that she resigned — it was how she did it. Here, I break down the two most important slogans she publicly rejected: “Where we go one, we go all” and “Trust the plan.” These aren’t just slogans — they’re core beliefs for QAnon followers and many MAGA Republicans. But MTG’s statement marks a turning point. She calls out the “cult-like” devotion to Trump, describes herself as a “battered wife,” and — most shockingly — admits she was fooled.
