The Bad Roman

In this episode, Alexandre Christoyannopoulos, author of Christian Anarchism, Tolstoy's Political Thought, and Essays in Anarchism and Religion, joins your host Craig Harguess alongside our beloved Bad Roman contributor, Nicholas Harrelson, from across the pond. He literally wrote the book on Christian anarchism. Alex is French and Greek, he is from Belgium and has lived in the UK since 1997. He holds a BA in economics, a MA in international relations and European studies, and a Ph.D. in politics and religion. He has studied all the major thinkers in anarchism and written several academic publications, which you can (and should) explore on his website. In addition to being an expert scholar on Christian Anarchy, Alex is a teacher, lecturer, and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. On the show, he shares what he has learned, about Jesus and Anarchy and how we can better examine our own philosophy on the topic. The episode is a wide-ranging conversation that covers everything from pacifism and turning the other cheek to Romans 13 and the many strains of anarchism – how we can all work together? Was Jesus really an anarchist?   For Full Show Notes: https://www.thebadroman.com/show-notes/episode-51   Blog submissions: thebadroman.com/contribute-to-the-blog   Connect with us on social: thebadroman.com/social-links   Want to get more involved? Request to join the private discussion group on Facebook (Bad Romans Only!!)   No King but Christ Network: nokingbutchristnetwork.com

In this episode, David shares his strategy for changing the direction of the world. If we want to see political change, we must change the hearts of the citizens. In order to do this, we must imitate Jesus. On his radio show, A Neighbor’s Choice, and also on his online exclusive podcast and film series, THINGS HIDDEN, David has interviewed personalities like Ron Paul, Jordan Peterson, and Slavoj Žižek.    David’s shows look at current events through the lens of anthropology and imitate what Christ did while He was on Earth.    If we want to see political change, we must change the hearts of the citizens. To do this, we must imitate Jesus. We can lead them away from the state and to Christ by healing, developing new technology, and sharing victims’ stories.    For Full Show Notes: https://www.thebadroman.com/show-notes/episode-50   Blog submissions: thebadroman.com/contribute-to-the-blog   Connect with us on social: thebadroman.com/social-links   Want to get more involved? Request to join the private discussion group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/257771975934770  (Bad Romans Only!!)   No King but Christ Network: nokingbutchristnetwork.com

In this episode, we are joined by long-time Bad Roman contributor, Abby Cleckner, to discuss her article from July 2020, Never Follow Orders. We are all capable of horrible things. With this knowledge in mind, It is important that each of us take responsibility for our actions, consider carefully why we are doing what we do, and don’t blame those in authority over us for our actions.   Studies have proven that the majority of people will do anything, even harm another person, if someone in authority demands or instructs them to. Understanding that we are all susceptible to committing atrocities if we find ourselves in positions of power or under the command of those with power, enables us to be honest about the consequences of allowing individuals and organizations to acquire too much of it. When we deny that we are capable of doing horrible things, we erroneously begin to respect the authority of another person more than that of God’s or our own values.   Abby Cleckner has contributed several articles to our blog and is now co-host for The Bad Roman Podcast! This episode was recorded before she accepted that position. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram.      For Full Show Notes: https://www.thebadroman.com/show-notes/episode-49     Blog submissions: thebadroman.com/contribute-to-the-blog     Connect with us on social: thebadroman.com/social-links     Want to get more involved? Request to join the private discussion group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/257771975934770  (Bad Romans Only!!)   About our sponsor: Blockchain Trading Co. aims to be the leading DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) in DeFi (Decentralized Finance) by fostering a community for purveyors of fine digital assets. Whether you are new to crypto and DeFi or you've already begun your journey around the block...chain, Blockchain Trading Co. provides you with a community of people passionate about digital assets.   No King but Christ Network: nokingbutchristnetwork.com

In this episode, we take the podcast in a bit of a different direction. We are anarchists, but we've brought in someone who works within the state to improve citizens’ lives through the legislature. Justin Cornett started For All Tennessee so he can act as a go-between from citizens to their representatives.   For All TN listens to citizens’ needs and works to get them taken care of them by passing bills. This organization is different because its members vote on which issues to pursue, and the company is not controlled by money. For more information, visit For All Tennessee or email info@foralltn.org.   At The Bad Roman Project, we wish the state didn't exist. But the fact is, it does. I (Craig) have been learning that people won’t immediately jump to anarchy from their brainwashed state. We have to meet them where they're at. We have to find ways to make them see that they don't want to be controlled by an authority, especially one who only cares about them as long as they're contributing financially to the government.   Part of the work Justin is doing is spreading knowledge to average citizens about the unfair and unconstitutional laws they are abiding by. He opens their eyes to what the government is doing and encourages them to join him in pushing their local representatives in a different direction. This is a step towards freedom, a step towards taking control of what's ruling their lives and realizing how harmful the government is to their community.    For Full Show Notes: https://www.thebadroman.com/show-notes/episode-48     Blog submissions: thebadroman.com/contribute-to-the-blog     Connect with us on social: thebadroman.com/social-links     Want to get more involved? Request to join the private discussion group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/257771975934770  (Bad Romans Only!!)   No King but Christ Network: nokingbutchristnetwork.com About our sponsor: Blockchain Trading Co. aims to be the leading DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) in DeFi (Decentralized Finance) by fostering a community for purveyors of fine digital assets. Whether you are new to crypto and DeFi or you've already begun your journey around the block...chain, Blockchain Trading Co. provides you with a community of people passionate about digital assets.

For this year’s year-end roundtable (YERT), we have six guests and friends of the podcast, each with a different view on education to have a discussion on homeschooling in 2021. Our guests are Abbey Cleckner, Kerry Baldwin, Jordan, Nathan Moon, and Chris and Karin Polk, most of who grew up attending public schools. A few of the pannel are, or have been, teachers both within and outside of the public school system. A couple of them currently offer training or courses to adults about how to think for themselves, skills they feel they see as lacking in current public curriculums. In this episode, we ask questions like, are schools are a training ground for compliant citizens who will pull whatever lever they are told without question? Does the system set teachers and students up to struggle? Most of the panel currently homeschool their children and view it as the only real way to protect their family values and provide an education tailored to their specific childs’ interests. They also discuss how formal education influences people’s understandings and perspectives on how the world works, in terms of politics and social structures in society. If our public school system was created to make a compliant labor force, with no desire to question the system or learn on their own, then we must encourage our children to pursue their personal interests, to learn how to think and enable them to with the tools to do it themselves. Control of our children’s education starts at home. Homeschooling might seem like an impossible dream but, especially in the last couple of years, families of every background have found a way, and there are endless resources for innumerable methods to teach the next generation.   For Full Show Notes: https://www.thebadroman.com/show-notes/episode-47   Blog submissions: thebadroman.com/contribute-to-the-blog   Connect with us on social: thebadroman.com/social-links   Want to get more involved? Request to join the private discussion group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/257771975934770  (Bad Romans Only!!)   No King but Christ Network: nokingbutchristnetwork.com   About our sponsor: Blockchain Trading Co. aims to be the leading DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) in DeFi (Decentralized Finance) by fostering a community for purveyors of fine digital assets. Whether you are new to crypto and DeFi or you've already begun your journey around the block...chain, Blockchain Trading Co. provides you with a community of people passionate about digital assets.   Join the Discord Server: https://discord.gg/a3Mvb8nukR  

Former Green Beret Ian Minelly joins us in this episode to talk about Christians and the military. Ian joined the army after college because he didn’t have a better direction for his life. After many years, he became a Christian and chose not to reenlist. Ian now serves as a pastor at a Southern Baptist Church, has written several books about different issues, and encourages young Southern Baptist church kids not to join the military.   As Christians, we are called to love, not kill. Ian has seen firsthand how the work our military does is not accomplishing any good; it is harming innocent people -- both the foreign nationals and the US soldiers. He is a Southern Baptist pastor now and works to change people’s perspective on the state and how it relates to Jesus and the church.     For Full Show Notes: https://www.thebadroman.com/show-notes/episode-46     Blog submissions: thebadroman.com/contribute-to-the-blog     Connect with us on social: thebadroman.com/social-links     Want to get more involved? Request to join the private discussion group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/257771975934770  (Bad Romans Only!!)   No King but Christ Network: nokingbutchristnetwork.com   About our sponsor: Blockchain Trading Co. aims to be the leading DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) in DeFi (Decentralized Finance) by fostering a community for purveyors of fine digital assets. Whether you are new to crypto and DeFi or you've already begun your journey around the block...chain, Blockchain Trading Co. provides you with a community of people passionate about digital assets.     Join the Discord Server: https://discord.gg/a3Mvb8nukR    

In this episode, Shane Claiborne joins us to talk about living like Jesus, abortion, gun violence, Christian nationalism, and whether we should get involved in politics as a way to help others live in freedom.    We know the teachings of Jesus, but what does it look like to actually follow them? How can we care for other humans as God instructed, and how can we do that when we live amidst a corrupt and often unjust government? As Shane points out, “If anybody should be suspicious of state power, it should be Christians who worship an executed and risen savior.” Our Lord was killed by the government. We should not trust in our rulers, but in Him, but, as Shane would argue, we can use their system to help people by getting bad policies changed.     Who is Shane Claiborne? He is a radical advocate for living as if Jesus really meant what He said. He heads up an intentional, simple-living Christian community called Red Letter Christians, and is the co-founder of The Simple Way, an intentional neighborhood-based Christian community in North Philadelphia. Shane has been to jail multiple times while advocating for the poor and against war. You can connect with him on his personal website, Twitter, email, and Instagram.      For Full Show Notes: https://www.thebadroman.com/show-notes/episode-45     Blog submissions: thebadroman.com/contribute-to-the-blog     Connect with us on social: thebadroman.com/social-links     Want to get more involved? Request to join the private discussion group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/257771975934770  (Bad Romans Only!!)   No King but Christ Network: nokingbutchristnetwork.com   About our sponsor: Blockchain Trading Co. aims to be the leading DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) in DeFi (Decentralized Finance) by fostering a community for purveyors of fine digital assets. Whether you are new to crypto and DeFi or you've already begun your journey around the block...chain, Blockchain Trading Co. provides you with a community of people passionate about digital assets.     Join the Discord Server: https://discord.gg/a3Mvb8nukR

Bruxy Cavey is a Canadian pastor working with The Meeting House, a church with roots in the Anabaptist movement. He has written a book about having a relationship with Jesus called The End of Religion. You can find him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and bruxy.com.      Satan has always been after Christians and works to seduce them with power, he convinces people they can make their country more Christian through politics. He pushes us to seek religion rather than relationships. Bruxy is here today to teach about a different way to change the world-- the way the Anabaptists follow; the way of love and non-violence; the way of Jesus. Anabaptists believe politics has nothing to do with Jesus. We should ignore what the government is doing and focus on our Kingdom mission, which is to love people and introduce them to Love Himself. You can find more about the anabaptists’ background and beliefs here: Radical Reformation Teaching.      Full Show notes: www.thebadroman.com/show-notes/44-love-without-politics-with-bruxy-cavey   Blog submissions: thebadroman.com/contribute-to-the-blog   Connect with us on social: thebadroman.com/social-links   No King but Christ Network: nokingbutchristnetwork.com   Want to get more involved? Request to join the private discussion group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/257771975934770  (Bad Romans Only!!)  

In this episode, Craig speaks with Caleb Kesterson about his journey to Christian-Anarchy, what the Anabaptist can teach us about Christianity, and his articles, Tolkien and the Night Watchmen State and Tolkein and Power.  Caleb is passionate about peace and was raised in Assemblies of God tradition before finding alignment with the anti-war and Jesus-centric approach of the Anabaptist. He now runs a home church, in an effort to foster discipleship and bring the teachings of Christ into the larger society.  Craig and Caleb finish their conversation by exploring Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, and what Tolkien has to teach us through the novels about a voluntary society. We all know the books are better than the movies, and thankfully Caleb is here to give us that insight for a Christian-anarchist perspective. You can connect with Caleb on Twitter @CalebMK5 and find his articles on the Bad Roman Blog.   For Full Show Notes: https://www.thebadroman.com/show-notes/43-christianity-anarchism-amp-lord-of-the-rings-with-caleb-kesterson   Blog submissions: thebadroman.com/contribute-to-the-blog   Connect with us on social: thebadroman.com/social-links   Want to get more involved? Request to join the private discussion group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/257771975934770  (Bad Romans Only!!)   No King but Christ Network: nokingbutchristnetwork.com

In this episode, Craig speaks with author Mark West about his article, Is Political Power Devilish, and his book, What He Said: Living the Sermon on the Mount Transforming American Culture.   As a self-proclaimed Xvangelical(a term for a former Evangelical who now centers all scripture interpretation on the words and actions of Christ, with a focus on living out His kingdom right now), Mark helps us strip back our political attachment to a nation-state so we may return to Christ’s vision for us, not a politician’s.    Mark does not want us to deconstruct our faith, but rather renovate it from its complexities so we can refocus on what Jesus said and did. Christ’s challenge for us is not easy, it is hard to love one’s enemy, to turn the other cheek, to not worry about tomorrow, to not outsource our responsibilities as Christians through electing “Christian” leaders to politics, but our call will always be greater than any nation past or to come. Our King and our Kingdom are not of this world and Mark invites us to rise to this challenge to be the body of Christ in our everyday life, not at a ballot box.   You can connect with Mark and read more of his work at https://mark4libertas.wordpress.com/ and find his book at https://www.markwest-author.com/.   Blog submissions: thebadroman.com/contribute-to-the-blog   Connect with us on social: thebadroman.com/social-links   Want to get more involved? Request to join the private discussion group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/257771975934770  (Bad Romans Only!!)   No King but Christ Network: nokingbutchristnetwork.com