Straight White American Jesus

Latest Episodes:

Ravi Zacharias, the Atlanta Shooter, Anti-Asian Hate, and Misogyny Mar 25, 2021

Show notes

Brad talks with Adrian Gibbs, co-host of the Dirty Rotten Church Kids and an ex-evangelical of Filipino descent, about the connections between Ravi Zacharias' abuse of spa workers of Asian descent and the killing of six Asian women of Asian descent at day spas near Atlanta next week. They discuss the themes of misogyny, racial otherness, and purity culture as ways to understand why both cases involve Evangelical men carrying out violence against women of color.

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Sex, Theology, Purity--Response to Al Mohler Mar 22, 2021

Show notes

Brad was featured in a NYT article about purity culture and its affect on the Atlanta shooter along with other academics and advocates including Sam Perry, Joshua Grubbs, and Rachael Denhollander. Soon thereafter Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, derided the article and our comments on his podcast. This is Brad's response. He touches on the selective literalism of Evangelical readings of the Bible, queer theologies and lives from the Bible to the present, and how Mohler's approach is incoherent to say the least.

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Weekly Roundup: A Massacre in Atlanta Mar 20, 2021

Show notes

Brad and Dan discuss the various threads connecting the massacre in Atlanta: from the history of anti-Asian racism, to the various dimensions of purity culture, to the cover Christian nationalism provides to acts of violence. They then discuss the Vatican's statement on why the Church can't bless same-sex unions. To Brad and Dan this is an instance of the hurtful "loving the sinner, hating the sin" ideal used in Evangelical spaces. They conclude with a segment on Russian interference in our election, masculinity, and the ease in which many are willing to write off democracy.

Rest in Peace, You Will Not Be Forgotten:

Daoyou Feng

Hyun Jung Grant

Suncha Kim

Paul Andre Michels

Soon C. Park

Xiaojie Tan

Delaina Ashley Yaun

Yong A. Yue

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Anti-Asian Hate, Purity Culture, and Christian Nationalism Mar 17, 2021

Show notes

In the wake of the mass shooting of 8 people, 6 of whom were Asian women, Brad ties together the threads of anti-Asian hate, purity culture, and Christian nationalism.

Killing half a dozen Asian women and attributing it to sex addiction, not racism, is Christian nationalism in a nutshell: "Purity culture made me feel bad about my sexual needs, so I eliminated the temptation. What does race have to do with that?" (Hint: everything) Purity culture is not simply about sexual "purity." Sexual ethics is a way to slip racial, ethnic, and nationalistic purity into equation. As my co-host says, focusing on the purity of the individual body leads to trying to purify the national body. Purity culture is a step away from a pure national body. A body whose borders are not breached by foreign invaders, including "sexual tempters and those of low morals." If purity culture puts undue pressure on women to remain pure, think about what it does to non-white women who are seen as hyper-sexual seducers not only because of their gender, but also because of their race/ethnicity.

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Faith After Evangelicalism Mar 16, 2021

Show notes

Brad explains how evangelicalism destroys faith, because it destroys any sense of uncertainty and unpredictability. By working in a register of moral, political, and theological certainty, evangelicalism becomes the anti-thesis of faith. Brad calls this disenchanted theology. By contrast, he argues that as a secular person he has become a person of faith in ways he never experienced as an evangelicals. For him, even as a non-religious person, the world is enchanted--full of unknowability and unpredictability--in ways that mean the human condition is always marked by vulnerability and wonder. He goes so far as to say that inter-faith dialogue is possible among secular people and religious.

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Weekly Roundup: Jim Crow in a Suit and Tie Mar 12, 2021

Show notes

Voter suppression laws are Christian nationalist policy. They are part of a long lineage of movements that see White Protestants as the only legitimate power brokers in the American landscape. The 253 voter suppression bills put forth by the GOP over the last month are the result of the belief that not everyone should be able to vote and thus not everyone should be able to govern.

After this first segment, we turn to Beth Moore's departure from the SBC, and discuss why it is and is not a big deal. From there we talk about conservative secessionist fantasies and finish with a few comments on the racism scandal surrounding the Royal family.

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/

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Inside the World of Christian Nationalism with Katherine Stewart (Re-release) Mar 10, 2021

Show notes

This is a re-release of an episode from last year. Brad talks to journalist Katherine Stewart, author of the Power Worshipers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism. Her reporting takes us inside the world of Christian nationalism on the level of lived-experience. She conveys what she has seen at BBQs, political rallies, and even revival meetings at the Trump Hotel in DC. What emerges is a frightening picture of the mechanics of MAGA Nation and its religious communities.

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/

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The Church Where Defying COVID Orders Takes on a Holy Aura with Sam Kestenbaum Mar 09, 2021

Show notes

Sam Kestenbaum is an award-winning freelance journalist who regularly contributes to the New York Times. He recently wrote a feature on Godspeak, a Calvary Chapel church in Ventura County, CA. At Godspeak, Sam writes, defiance to COVID mandates takes on a holy aura. It is the reason business is booming--attendance has tripled during the pandemic and the head pastor, Rob McCoy, is a rising star in the Right-Wing influencer world. Sam shares his experiences reporting on Godspeak and how it is a nexus for understanding what's happening in conservative churches all over the country.

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/

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Weekly Roundup: The Seuss Potato Head Party Mar 05, 2021

Show notes

Brad compares the current moment to other times in American history when crisis and conflict led to a new normal. What will be our new normal after COVID? Will myth or policy drive us forward? On one hand, the Dems are tepidly putting forward legislation on COVID relief, voting rights, and protections for the LGBTQIA+ community. On the other, the GOP is driving the Big Lie forward, along with culture war items like Dr. Seuss and Potato Head. Which story--and which future--will prevail?

Brad and Dan also discuss how 1/6 was an inside job and an Evangelical adoption agency deciding to work with LGB families.

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/

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Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

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The Atrocity of "Gay Conversion Therapy" Mar 02, 2021

Show notes

"Conversion therapy" is a discredited practice of trying to change an individual's sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Lucas Wilson is a Liberty University grad who took part in the university's ongoing "conversion therapy" program. Now a writer and scholar, he shares his experiences and those of others who endured the efforts to change their sexual orientation.

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