Recent polling has found that a majority of Trump voters (52%) and a significant number of Biden voters (41%) support breaking up the country. Has our animosity and disgust for each other made reconciliation impossible? Are we heading toward a national divorce? Skye Jethani and David French discuss his recent articles about the rise of malice in our political divisions and within the church. Why have so many evangelicals embraced anger as a virtue, and how has our pragmatic theology contributed to the problem? Then, they debate the role of social media in the breakdown of national unity and the recent leak of the “Facebook Papers.” French is reluctant to blame social media companies for what is ultimately a problem with human hearts, while Skye says the tech giants must take more responsibility for the damage their platforms are inflicting.

Malice and anger in political division [00:28]
https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/personal-harassment-is-spiraling

https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/jd-vance-and-the-great-challenge

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10050039/More-HALF-Trump-voters-want-red-states-secede-union.html

Malice and anger in the church [20:34

]Social media and the “Facebook Papers” [38:11]
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/facebook-papers-democracy-election-zuckerberg/620478/

https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-algorithm-change-zuckerberg-11631654215

Conservative evangelicals organized into a political movement in the 1970s in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize abortion. Or did they? Historian Randall Balmer argues this origin story for the Religious Right is a myth. He talks to Skye about the real origins of the movement and how it explains the current state of white evangelicalism.

Also this week, we unpack Peter Wehner’s article in The Atlantic about the breaking apart of evangelicalism. Is the church a victim of media manipulation, or is evangelicalism reaping its own rotten fruit? Plus, lawsuits between believers, training Christians for hand-to-hand combat in vehicles, and Phil’s massive magical mushroom.

News Segment:

Phil’s mushroom [2:47]

Christians training in hand-to-hand combat [8:39]
https://www.kansascity.com/news/state/missouri/article255162407.html

Mike Stone suing Russell Moore [13:14]
https://religionnews.com/2021/10/20/mike-stone-files-lawsuit-sbc-rival-russell-moore-defamation-erlc-trump-abuse/
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/church-state-and-the-future-of-evangelicalism/

“The Evangelical Church is Breaking Apart” [28:01]
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/evangelical-trump-christians-politics/620469/

https://www.holypost.com/post/episode-441-biden-s-inauguration-the-future-of-the-republican-party-with-peter-wehner

Interview with Randall Balmer:

PATREON BONUS: https://www.patreon.com/posts/57900540

“Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the Religious Right” - https://amzn.to/3btjt7D

Interview Start [52:40]

Context for approaching this study [54:23]

What is the myth? [59:59]

Effects of dispensational premillennialism on social engagement [1:11:37]

Emergence of Religious Right in the North/Midwest [1:19:35]

Why do these origins matter? [1:25:22]

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.

The prosperity gospel isn’t just about health and wealth. Historian Kate Bowler says pragmatic values, simple solutions, and the endless quest for self-improvement, have infected most of the church in subtle ways. Kaitlyn Schiess talks to Dr. Bowler about her own battle with cancer, and how it’s helped her move beyond cliches like “Everything happens for a reason,” to embrace the larger mystery of faith.

Also this week, have elite evangelicals sold out to the mainstream media, or have populist evangelicals sold out to Trump voters? Everyone seems to be talking about the divide within evangelicalism, but is it really something new? The Holy Post crew looks at the arguments and how we could be seeing the latest version of a very old divide. Plus, Phil is fascinated by left-handed ghost squirrels.

News Segment:

Traveling with moss [1:38]

Animal Facts [5:34]

The divide within evangelicalism [14:40]

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/church-state-and-the-future-of-evangelicalism/

https://markgalli.substack.com/p/the-galli-report-100821

https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/evangelical-elites-fighting-each

https://www.firstthings.com/article/2021/11/the-failure-of-evangelical-elites

Interview with Kate Bowler:

Interview Start [52:19]
“Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved” - https://amzn.to/3FYKLRj

“No Cure for Being Human: (And Other Truths I Need to Hear)” - https://amzn.to/3C1jyuS

Kate’s Story [55:57]

“Blessed - A History of the American Prosperity Gospel” - https://amzn.to/2Z1aBD2“

No Cure for Being Human” Title [1:00:14]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/14/opinion/sunday/death-the-prosperity-gospel-and-me.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0

Certainty vs. faith[1:05:31]

American pragmatism and “useful pain” [1:07:32]

Understanding fear and living after crisis [1:11:24]

Response and engagement with these books [1:18:57]
https://katebowler.com/podcasts/

The miracle of moments [1:23:35]

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.

This week is a special a double feature! First, Phil talks to Esau McCaulley about his recent NY Times editorial about President Biden’s vengeance against terrorists in Afghanistan. McCaulley asks why so few Christian politicians seem to have Christian instincts, and what role should forgiveness have in American foreign policy. Then, Skye interviews author and podcaster Jamie Ivey about her experience as a white mom raising black kids, how it’s changed her understanding of race, and why she no longer believes love can solve every problem. Also this week—new polling indicates a frightening number of people on both the right and left want to disunite the country. Are we on a path toward civil war, and is social media to blame? News Segment Trump voters are worried about anti-white discrimination and think

Christianity is under attack [4:00]

https://news.yahoo.com/84-trump-voters-worry-discrimination-143538052.html

https://twitter.com/robertpjones/status/1447601670595223557

People on the right and left wanting to disunite the country [15:10] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10050039/More-HALF-Trump-voters-want-red-states-secede-union.html

Interview w/ Esau McCaulley Interview Start: [25:41]

“The Dangerous Politics of ‘We Will Not Forgive’” https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/19/opinion/revenge-forgiveness-terrorism-biden.html

“Reading While Black” https://amzn.to/3lxPtx5

Interview with Jamie Ivey: The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey: https://www.jamieivey.com/podcast-2/

“God Made You to Be You” https://amzn.to/3BEHmnX

Ivey Family Interview with Emmanuel Acho: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONTXrsvenUY

Interview Start: [54:14]

The decision to adopt [58:48]

Jamie’s background [1:00:54]

Parenting differently and the church’s response [1:08:54]

Connecting kids with black heritage [1:19:50]

Frustration and hope with the church [1:28:12]

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.

Friend of the show Derwin Gray has a new book! When did he have time to write it? We don’t know! But he also found time to sit down with Skye and talk about it. Derwin says the Lord’s Prayer isn’t just a prayer, but an entire catechism of faith, a lesson in communing with God, and a call for the people of God to engage in issues of justice. He unpacks it all with Skye.

And did scientists find the biblical city of Sodom? Have psychologists found the number one predictor of atheism? And a new study finds that young Brits are twice as likely to pray regularly than their elders! What’s up with that?? Mike Erre joins Kaitlyn and Phil to parse the news of the day on this week’s Holy Post!

Did scientists find the biblical city of Sodom? [6:47]
https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/september/sodom-meteor-biblical-archaeology-tall-el-hammam-airburst.html

Predicting atheism in adulthood [20:50]
https://www.psypost.org/2021/10/new-psychology-research-identifies-a-robust-predictor-of-atheism-in-adulthood-61921

Young people in the UK are twice as likely as older people to pray regularly [35:27]
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-58681075

Other links:
Mike Erre’s podcast - https://voxologypodcast.com

Interview with Derwin Gray

“God, Do You Hear Me?”
Lifeway: https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/god-do-you-hear-me-P005822396

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3my2Ooy

Interview Start [50:12]
Pastoral vision for prayer [54:54]
The Lord’s Prayer as a mini catechism [1:00:28]
The kingdom & loving our neighbor [1:09:21]
Christ as the treasure [1:16:42]

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.