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 31, 2025 • 16min
ESSAY: Lesson From 2025: The White MAGA Evangelical Movement is Utterly Depraved and Not Worth Saving
In this second year-end reflection, I get blunt about a lesson that’s taken years to fully grasp — but in 2025, it became undeniable: the white evangelical movement in America is utterly depraved. Not just theologically. Morally. Culturally. Publicly. From Donald Trump’s ongoing abuses to the disgraceful “revival” at Charlie Kirk’s funeral, 2025 made it crystal clear: this movement is no longer about Christ — it’s about power, whiteness, and control. And it’s dragging the name of Jesus through the mud.
Dec 30, 2025 • 18min
ESSAY: Lesson 1 From 2025: Count the Cost and Don't let Trump Steal Your Joy Along the Way
After ten days offline over the holidays, I’m back — and in this first episode of a short, year-end series, I’m getting personal. I didn’t plan to disappear. But somewhere between writing another essay on Donald Trump and realizing I didn’t want to ruin Christmas thinking about him, I made a decision — to step back and protect my joy. In this reflection, I share why that pause mattered, what it taught me, and how it connects to the long-term work so many of us are doing at the intersection of faith, politics, and democracy.
Dec 19, 2025 • 16min
ESSAY: One Core Biblical Truth About Trump's Deranged Speech
Six years ago, I made my first YouTube video warning about Donald Trump’s dangerous impact—not just on our nation, but on the souls of those who support him. This week’s primetime speech confirmed what many of us have long seen: Trump is unraveling, and his movement is more toxic than ever.
In this episode, I break down the central truth his followers still refuse to face—and why truth itself is on the line for Christians in America. I share my pastoral concern, rooted in Scripture, about what happens when the people of God embrace lies in the name of Jesus.
Dec 18, 2025 • 19min
ESSAY: The Most Painful Part of Opposing Trump as a Christian (It might not be what you think.)
Pat offers a response and some encouragement after a really difficult weekend around the world.
Dec 17, 2025 • 1h 11min
Live, Episode 5: Terror in Australia, Brown University, Remembering the Reiners
The news was heavy last week with the Brown University shooting, the Bondi Beach terror attack, and the deaths of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner. Pat Kahnke and Producer Ken Napzok are here to take a look at the news and remember influential actor, director, and political activist Rob Reiner. From YouTube Live 12/16/2025.
Dec 13, 2025 • 13min
ESSAY: This Disturbing Story Should End Trump's Christian Support
The New York Times just dropped a bombshell story: the Trump family’s disturbing relationship with Andrew and Tristan Tate—two of the most proudly abusive, misogynistic figures online. This episode breaks down what the article reveals, why it matters for Christians and conservatives, and why ignoring it only deepens the moral decay in American politics.
Dec 12, 2025 • 30min
How Trump's Words and Policies Blaspheme the Name of Jesus, with Tihomir Kukolja
In this honest and theologically grounded conversation, Pat Kahnke and global Christian leader Tihomir Kukolja unpack the biblical warning in Romans 2:24 — “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” Together, they confront the deep harm being done to the Christian witness by Donald Trump and the current Christian nationalist movement in America.
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.
