He was the president of the largest Christian university and an influential political voice for millions of evangelicals. In a lengthy new Vanity Fair profile, however, Jerry Falwell Jr. now says he has contempt for “organized religion” and “religious elites.” David French and Skye Jethani discuss the shocking claims Falwell makes about Liberty University, how he lived a double life, and what his downfall says about American evangelicalism. Do Falwell and other disgraced leaders represent a bug or a feature of evangelicalism, and are ministries protecting bad or abusive leaders because they’re focused on the wrong fruit? Then, what’s the Electoral Count Act of 1887, and why is reforming it essential to protect American democracy?

 

0:00 - Start
0:21 - STORY 1: Vanity Fair profile of Jerry Falwell Jr.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/01/inside-jerry-falwell-jr-unlikely-rise-and-precipitous-fall

4:17 - Falwell in context
8:16 - Victim or villain?
13:16 - Broader institutional implications
21:05 - Bug or feature?
27:14 - Measuring the wrong fruit
47:19 - An antidote: Being known
53:22 - STORY 2: Electoral Count Act reform
https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/stop-screwing-around-and-reform-the
1:06:33 - End

A new study finds evangelicals see most thing in society in categories of good and evil while nonbelievers see more nuance. Phil, Skye, and Kaitlyn discuss the implications. Bob Jones University has a fashion design department. What could possibly go wrong? Pretty much everything when a student discovered his androgynous Jesus coat was a fundamentalist fashion faux pas. Then, art historian Matthew Milliner talks about his new book “The Everlasting People: G.K. Chesterton and the First Nations.” Milliner explains the arrogance and injustice of progressivism, and the surprising story of Christianity among indigenous North Americans that rarely gets told. Plus, 100 monkeys on a truck and drunks on a plane.

News Segment

0:00 - Intro
3:29 - Animal News
https://apnews.com/article/oddities-pennsylvania-monkeys-animals-52100c02527985f7dde4674724bb3332

8:16 - News of the Butt
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/22/us/covid-flight-passenger-violent.html

16:34 - Fundamentalist fashion faux pas
https://baptistnews.com/article/how-a-students-fashion-design-project-upset-the-created-order-at-bob-jones-university/#.Ye7fBS1h1B0

39:50 - Can society be split into good and evil?
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/12/21/christians-religiously-unaffiliated-differ-on-whether-most-things-in-society-can-be-divided-into-good-evil/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/03/the-yuck-factor/580465/

Sponsor
51:40 - This episode is sponsored by Abide: http://abide.co/holypost

Interview with Matthew Milliner
“The Everlasting People: G.K. Chesterton and the First Nations” - https://amzn.to/3tY6PYx

52:44 - Interview Start/Intro
54:45 - Why this book?
1:01:27 - Chesterton’s worldview
1:08:00 - Progressivism then and now
1:15:08 - Christianity in native cultures
1:22:18 - Indigenous symbols
1:30:29 - EndOther resources mentioned:
“Orthodoxy” by G.K. Chesterton - https://amzn.to/3G1TYGY“Dream Catchers” by Philip Jenkins - https://amzn.to/3FZJJDm

“One Church, Many Tribes” by Richard Twiss - https://amzn.to/3AuRksc

“Mixed Blessings” edited by Tolly Bradford & Chelsea Horton - https://amzn.to/35oZgjq

The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

To commemorate MLK Day, Phil asks Esau McCaulley if we’re making progress on race or if we’ve gone backwards in the last few years. His answer might surprise you. Skye then interviews Old Testament professor, David T. Lamb, about the updated version of his book, “God Behaving Badly: Is the God of the Old Testament Angry, Sexist and Racist?” Lamb argues that if read correctly, we’d discover the Old Testament is surprisingly progressive rather than barbaric. Also this week, controversy erupts as after school Satan clubs sponsored by The Satanic Temple pop up in elementary schools with Good News clubs. And, a country music star withdraws his support from a Christian school that teaches racism is a reality. Plus, scientists discover sea slugs have an interesting party trick.

 

News Segment
0:00 - Start
2:41 - News of the Butt
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/this-sea-slug-can-chop-off-its-head-and-grow-an-entire-new-body-twice1/

14:25 - After School Satan Club
https://www.ourquadcities.com/news/local-news/debate-continues-over-satanic-club-set-to-meet-thursday-at-qc-elementary-school/

22:19 - John Rich angry about school materials discussing racism
https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/pithinthewind/john-rich-is-angry-about-lipscomb-academys-dean-of-intercultural-development/article_d0e7797a-9a3c-5f86-8e8c-fba6dba38951.html

Interview with Esau McCaulley
Website: https://esaumccaulley.com
“Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope” - https://amzn.to/3FA3H7m

35:05 - Interview Start
36:14 - Reflecting on the last 18 months
41:51 - Where the white evangelical church is now
51:04 - Being part of the solution

Sponsor
1:00:16 - Faithful Counseling
Thanks to Faithful Counseling for sponsoring this episode: faithfulcounseling.com/holypost

Announcement
1:01:29 - Livestream with Josh Packard: https://www.patreon.com/holypost

Interview with David T. Lamb
Website: https://davidtlamb.com/
“God Behaving Badly: Is the God of the Old Testament Angry, Sexist and Racist?” (Expanded Edition) - https://amzn.to/3GH5s49

1:02:52 - Intro/Interview start
1:04:37 - Understanding the Old Testament as progressive
1:15:49 - The issue of collective justice
BONUS INTERVIEW (Polygamy in the Old Testament): https://www.patreon.com/posts/61346792/

The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Last week, the country commemorated the one-year anniversary of the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Phil, Skye, and Kaitlyn examine what’s changed, and what hasn’t, since the attack and what impact it’s had on both Christians and our culture. They also respond to Samuel Perry’s article about the way Christian Nationalism threatens democracy. Then, Skye talks to Australian theologian Michael Bird about the doctrine of biblical inerrancy. While Christians throughout the world affirm the Bible’s inerrancy, Bird says American Evangelicals uniquely see the doctrine as “the one ring to rule them all.” He documents many cases where inerrancy isn’t used to defend the Bible, but a particular interpretation of the Bible. Also this week—goldfish chauffeurs and the Japanese invent a finger-nibbling robot to “free all humanity.”

News Segment

0:00 - Intro
3:05 - Scientists teach goldfish how to drive
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/01/07/goldfish-drive/9131026002/

9:13 - Finger-nibbling robots
https://www.ubergizmo.com/2022/01/yakai-engineering-amagami-ham-ham/

12:48 - Anniversary of January 6th Capitol attacks
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/06/opinion/jan-6-christian-nationalism.html
https://religionnews.com/2022/01/05/violence-isnt-the-only-way-christian-nationalism-endangers-democracy/

Interview with Michael F. Bird

“Saving Inerrancy from the Americans?” article - https://michaelfbird.substack.com/p/saving-inerrancy-from-the-americans

“Seven Things I Wish People Knew About the Bible” book - https://amzn.to/33pYLV6

47:40 - Intro/Interview Start
50:44 - Inerrancy vs. infallibility
57:21 - American evangelicalism and inerrancy
1:07:46 - Global church and inerrancy
1:11:26 - Authorities of scripture, interpretation, and historic church doctrine
1:20:42 - Perspectives from the global church on other issues
1:27:21 - Interview End

The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Phil experienced a Twitter typhoon last week when he suggested “love your country” is not a Biblical command. The Holy Post crew unpacks the reactions and asks what separates godly and ungodly patriotism. Then, Skye talks to Christine Caine, founder of The A21 Campaign, about her experience of American evangelicalism as an Australian Pentecostal. With decades of experience in ministry around the world, and working against human trafficking in 14 countries, Caine says she was shocked by what she found in the American church, and advocates for more listening and cooperation with Christians in other traditions and cultures. Also this week, a Japanese professor invents a TV you can taste, and a town in the UK is terrorized by a bloodthirsty squirrel.

News Segment:

0:00 - Intro and updates
4:29 - Squirrel rampage
https://nypost.com/2021/12/29/squirrel-from-hell-injures-18-during-48-hour-biting-spree/

8:36 - Lickable TV
https://www.reuters.com/technology/lick-it-up-japan-professor-creates-tele-taste-tv-screen-2021-12-23/

15:16 - ERLC clarification
17:38 - Critiquing our own team and purpose of the Holy Post
27:59 - Phil’s Twitter discussions on love of country
46:10 Sponsors

Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode:

Faithful Counseling: faithfulcounseling.com/holypost

Abide: abide.co/holypost

Interview with Christine Caine:
A21 organization: https://www.a21.org48:36 - Interview Start
49:49 - Experience in Pentecostal church
55:28 - Church celebrity culture
1:05:02 - Healthy skepticism
1:09:12 - Cross-tradition interaction & the global church
1:25:17 - Ending