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01:00 Aaron Renn: When Selfishness Becomes Celebrated: How modern culture repackages marital abandonment as radical self-love, with little counter-narrative from religious voices, https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/selfish-abandonment 09:00 Dennis Prager's First Public Message 11:00 Rodney Martin needs your prayers 24:00 Aaron Renn: Tradcons Are the Enemy of the American Man, https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/tradcons-are-the-enemy-of-the-american 30:00 How to navigate a low trust America, https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/betrayal 39:00 There's Never Been a Better Time to Be a Man in America, https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/a-good-time-to-be-a-man 45:20 How J.D. Vance Avoided Becoming Pete Buttigieg, https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/vance-buttigieg 52:00 The Basis of Attraction, https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/newsletter-17-the-basis-of-attraction 57:20 The Valorization of Selfishness: Society's message today is too often that you should care more about yourself and your own pleasure, https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/selfishness 1:06:00 Christians are not persecuted in America but all is not well, https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/persecution 1:15:00 NYT: At Columbia, Tension Over Gaza Protests Hits Breaking Point Under Trump, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/nyregion/columbia-university-trump-protests.html 1:22:00 The differences and implications of the buffered identity vs the porous identity, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=159273 1:27:20 Mark Halperin on Trump's First 100 Days, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJC46Ng110k 1:36:00 More Universities Are Choosing to Stay Neutral on the Biggest Issues, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/us/institutional-neutrality-universities-free-speech.html 1:40:00 Women and the Attractiveness Curve, https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/newsletter-18-women-and-the-attractiveness 1:55:00 Implications of the Rise of Online Dating, https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/newsletter-50-the-truth-about-online 2:01:00 NYT: Ambitious Democrats Have a New Game Plan: Yak It Up About Sports, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/09/us/politics/democrats-sports-podcasts-male-voters.html 2:07:00 All events are ephemeral, https://www.ft.com/content/c0734fa8-9b29-4f8e-848d-589dc92edbb8 2:12:45 Why do Christian men keep proclaiming: "I'm Not Worthy of This Woman", https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/im-not-worthy-of-this-woman 2:16:20 Here's What Conservative Institutional Capture Looks Like, https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/capturing-institutions 2:21:00 Beauty Is Not Just in the Eye of the Beholder, https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/beauty 2:24:00 Anti-Trump evangelicals are very organized and well-funded, https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/the-resistance-will-be-organized 2:26:00 Anti-Trump evangelicals are very organized and well-funded, https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/the-resistance-will-be-organized 2:31:00 Aaron Renn: Affinity Group Migration and the Quest for Community, https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/the-resistance-will-be-organized 2:36:00 Become Illegible: In the negative world, people should look at ways to become less visible to governments and other entities 2:40:50 Why Men Hate Going to Church (with David Murrow), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqeJFtMD-k4 2:48:00 The Emergence of the Post-Religious Right, https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/the-emergence-of-the-post-religious 2:54:00 Conservative Elites Prefer Living in Progressive Elite Cities, https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/conservative-elites-prefer-living 3:01:00 The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/protestant-deformation/ 3:16:00 Jesse Waters
In December of 2023, journalist and author Tim Alberta joined Russell Moore to discuss the ways that politics have invaded the white evangelical church in recent years. He returns to talk about the election and inauguration of President Donald Trump that have happened since—and to consider what those events mean about the state of American culture. Alberta and Moore talk about numbness, hopelessness, and the lack of persuadability in many Americans. They discuss the effect of social media on righteous indignation and judgmentalism as well as the political exhaustion among wide swaths of Americans. They talk about President Trump's executive orders, cabinet members, and the possibility of mass deportations. Moore and Alberta describe their reasons for hope and consider what it may look like to build godly community in a time of division. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Tim Alberta “Tim Alberta on the White Evangelical Crisis” The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta “The Most Revealing Moment of a Trump Rally” “Why Democrats Are Losing Hispanic Voters” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Today we are launching our second ILV book club with a series of discussions of Jonathan Rauch's forthcoming book entitled Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy by Brookings Institution senior fellow and best-selling author Jonathan Rauch. The book, made available to you by Yale University Press in early February, examines American pluralism and the role of religion in historical and modern democracy. Rauch, a self-described atheist, somewhat apologetically takes us on a journalistic and self-reflective tour of the intersection of religion and human nature. This book is a cultural, civic, and spiritual travel-log for believers and non-believers alike. Jonathan Rauch will join us for a livestream on February 5 at 7pm ET. In the meantime, join Jen, Elizabeth and Matt for 3 book club episodes focused on Cross Purposes. We begin our discussion with Part I, which is entitled “Thin Christianity.” Podcast Resources: Pre-order Cross Purposes Save the date for our livestream with Jonathan Rauch (both on YouTube and on @ilvalues on X) Jesus and Superman: A Liberalism and Faith Series with Angel Eduardo How Intellectuals Found God, Peter Savodnik, The Free Press The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, Tim Alberta Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, Tim Keller Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging, Sebastian Junger On Censorship Book Club
This episode originally aired in December 2023. Michael Steele speaks with best-selling author Tim Alberta about his new book, "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism" and what Tim observed on the American Restoration Tour. Check out the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Power-Glory-Evangelicals-Extremism/dp/006322688X If you enjoyed this podcast, be sure to leave a review or share it with a friend! Follow Tim Alberta @TimAlberta Follow Michael @MichaelSteele Follow the podcast @steele_podcast Follow The Bulwark @BulwarkOnline
Michael Steele speaks with best-selling author Tim Alberta about his book, "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism." The pair discuss how Christian values in America have become enmeshed in MAGA politics, how the purpose of the Church has been misinterpreted, what Tim observed on the American Restoration Tour and what being a Christian means to him. Check out the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Power-Glory-Evangelicals-Extremism/dp/006322688X If you enjoyed this podcast, be sure to leave a review or share it with a friend! Follow Tim Alberta @TimAlberta Follow Michael @MichaelSteele Follow the podcast @steele_podcast Follow The Bulwark @BulwarkOnline
On this episode, Annette LaPlaca, a self-proclaimed church lady who loves mysteries and thrillers, discusses her career in editing, how she developed a love of reading in her children, and why it's ok to have a lot of books. We also discuss the moral and empathetic benefits of a murder book and why people shouldn't shy away from them. Books mentioned in this episode: What Betsy's reading: Dearest by Jacqui Walters Ghostroots by ‘Pemi Aguda Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix Books Highlighted by Annette: Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman The Storied Life A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page. Other books mentioned in this episode: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis Matilda by Roald Dahl 1984 by George Orwell One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Leap Over a Wall by Eugene H. Peterson The Kingdom, the Power and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta Puritan Pleasures of the Detective Story by Erik Routley Nancy Drew: The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott Peace Like a River by Leif Enger I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger Case Histories by Kate Atkinson The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare by G.K. Chesterton Little Women by Louisa May Alcott The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle Many Waters by Madeleine L'Engle Freaky Deaky by Elmore Leonard The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lilian Jackson Braun Moby-Dick by Herman Mellville Trust by Hernan Diaz The Chosen by Chaim Potok Life After Life by Kate Atkinson The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt Life of Pi by Yann Martel Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin Silas Marner by George Eliot Middlemarch by George Eliot Emma by Jane Austen The Keeper of Lost Causes: The First Department Q Novel by Jussi Adler-Olsen The Troubled Man by Henning Mankell Father Brown: The Essential Tales by G.K. Chesterton Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit by John E. Douglas & Mark Olshaker The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
Reading is always the best form of therapy, distraction, entertainment, and education. And in this episode we talk about titles that serve all of those purposes.Sophie Hudson (aka Boo Mama) is the co-host of The Big Boo Cast and she's also the author of seven books, including her latest A Fine Sight To See. She is always so fun to talk to and we had a blast talking about how long we've known each other, where we first met, how we both feel strongly about women in leadership, and, of course, the best books that we've read lately.JOIN THE SECRET STUFF BOOK CLUBAs usual, my book selections were all of the place. And as a former English teacher, Sophie recommended all kinds of books to make us feel and think.FOLLOW Sophie on IGLISTEN to Sophie on The Big Boo CastREAD Sophie's latest book A Fine Sight To SeeFULL SHOW NOTES HERESophie's picks:Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelly Van PeltI Cheerfully Refuse by Leif EngerThe Kingdom, The Power and The Glory: American Evangelicals in An Age of Extremism by Tim AlbertaThe Barn by Wright ThompsonLaura's picks:The Wedding People by Alison EspachAll Fours by Miranda JulyThe Quiet Damage: QAnon and the Destruction of the American Family by Jesselyn CookI'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain ReedOther books mentioned:The Friendship Factor by Alan Loy McGinnisThe Girl on the Train by Paula HawkinsTom Lake by Ann PatchettSandwich by Catherine Newman Peace Like a River by Leif EngerNo One Belongs Here More than You: Stories by Miranda JulyJesus and John Wayne By Kristin Kobes Du MezPappyland by Wright ThompsonDispatches from Pluto by Richard GrantSame As It Ever Was by Claire LombardoHeavy by Kiese LaymonLong Division by Kiese LaymonAlso Mentioned:The Popcast with Knox and JamieMe and You and Everyone We Know (movie)Melanie Shankle, the Big Mama BlogEpisode 239: Horror for Beginners (with Meredith Monday Schwartz)SUBSCRIBE to 10 Things To Tell You so you never miss an episode!CLICK HERE for episode show notesFOLLOW @10ThingsToTellYou on InstagramFOLLOW @10ThingsToTellYou on FacebookJOIN the 10 Things To Tell You Connection GroupSIGN UP for episode emails, links, and show notesJOIN the Secret Stuff PatreonBUY THE BOOK: Share Your Stuff. I'll Go First. by Laura TremaineBUY THE BOOK: The Life Council: 10 Friends Every Woman Needs by Laura Tremaine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Reading is always the best form of therapy, distraction, entertainment, and education. And in this episode we talk about titles that serve all of those purposes. Sophie Hudson (aka Boo Mama) is the co-host of The Big Boo Cast and she's also the author of seven books, including her latest A Fine Sight To See. She is always so fun to talk to and we had a blast talking about how long we've known each other, where we first met, how we both feel strongly about women in leadership, and, of course, the best books that we've read lately. JOIN THE SECRET STUFF BOOK CLUB As usual, my book selections were all of the place. And as a former English teacher, Sophie recommended all kinds of books to make us feel and think. FOLLOW Sophie on IG LISTEN to Sophie on The Big Boo Cast READ Sophie's latest book A Fine Sight To See FULL SHOW NOTES HERE Sophie's picks: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelly Van Pelt I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger The Kingdom, The Power and The Glory: American Evangelicals in An Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta The Barn by Wright Thompson Laura's picks: The Wedding People by Alison Espach All Fours by Miranda July The Quiet Damage: QAnon and the Destruction of the American Family by Jesselyn Cook I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reed Other books mentioned: The Friendship Factor by Alan Loy McGinnis The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins Tom Lake by Ann Patchett Sandwich by Catherine Newman Peace Like a River by Leif Enger No One Belongs Here More than You: Stories by Miranda July Jesus and John Wayne By Kristin Kobes Du Mez Pappyland by Wright Thompson Dispatches from Pluto by Richard Grant Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo Heavy by Kiese Laymon Long Division by Kiese Laymon Also Mentioned: The Popcast with Knox and Jamie Me and You and Everyone We Know (movie) Melanie Shankle, the Big Mama Blog Episode 239: Horror for Beginners (with Meredith Monday Schwartz) SUBSCRIBE to 10 Things To Tell You so you never miss an episode! CLICK HERE for episode show notes FOLLOW @10ThingsToTellYou on Instagram FOLLOW @10ThingsToTellYou on Facebook JOIN the 10 Things To Tell You Connection Group SIGN UP for episode emails, links, and show notes JOIN the Secret Stuff Patreon BUY THE BOOK: Share Your Stuff. I'll Go First. by Laura Tremaine BUY THE BOOK: The Life Council: 10 Friends Every Woman Needs by Laura Tremaine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Send me a text! I'd love to know what you're thinking!Here in the U.S. the impact of the election and the campaigns of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are inescapable.In this episode, Tim Alberta, author of The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, discusses the unsettling trend of political polarization in the church, the role of pastors in responding to the pressure to reclaim a "Christian America," and the importance of having diverse relationships as we navigate this season of polarization.THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:Tim Alberta shares his story of being criticized for his political views while at his father's funeral.Tim Alberta expresses concern over the perceived decline of "Christian America."Alberta warns about the losses incurred when churches self-select into narrow ideological spaces.Diverse relationships are necessary for spiritual growth and addressing complex issues.Markus Watson mentions Allen Hilton and Andrew Hanauer's organizations working to address political polarization. These organizations bring different churches together to facilitate conversations and humanize each other.Alberta discusses how American Christians often view the U.S. as a nation set apart or a new Israel in covenant with God. This belief leads to a conflation of defending America with defending God.Some Christians view political opponents as cultural and spiritual adversaries, treating political warfare as spiritual warfare.There seems to be a fear among evangelicals of losing status, indoctrination of children, and being targeted by the government.Alberta discusses the shift from a culture sympathetic to Christian ideals to one perceived as hostile, creating a siege mentality.There seems to be a sense of entitlement within the evangelical community, akin to the belief of the ancient people of Israel..Tim Alberta highlights the difficulty for Christians to relate to scriptural suffering due to comfort and wealth in America.Some Christians compromise their virtues to reclaim a "Christian America," engaging in unethical behavior for a perceived greater good.RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:Tim Alberta:www.bytimalberta.comThe AtlanticTwitter/X - @TimAlbertaBooks mentioned:The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, by Tim AlbertaAmerican Carnage, by Tim AlbertaRelated episodes:Tackling Toxic Polarization in Your Church, with Allen Hilton and Andrew HanauerLeading Your Church Through Political Division, with Allen HiltonGrace-Filled Politics, with Aaron SchaferDid you know Spiritual Life and Leadership has been named the #1 Spiritual Leadership Podcast by the Feedspot Podcasters Database? Check it out HERE!
For this episode of the Global Exchange podcast, Colin Robertson talks with Roy Norton and Don Abelson about Canadian advocacy in the United States and navigating a potentially turbulent relationship for the coming years. // Participants' bios - Roy Norton is a CGAI Fellow and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Waterloo's Balsillie School of International Affairs - Don Abelson is the Director of the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government, Steven K. Hudson Chair in Canada-US Relations, and Professor, Political Science, at St. Francis Xavier University. // Host bio: Colin Robertson is a former diplomat and Senior Advisor to the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, www.cgai.ca/colin_robertson // Read & Watch: - "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism", by Tim Alberta: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-kingdom-the-power-and-the-glory-tim-alberta?variant=41012408516642 // Recording Date: June 28, 2024.
In the second part of their extensive conversation, host Curtis Chang and author Tim Alberta discuss how some people in the church use the message of the cross as a weapon to exert political power over others, thus diluting its significance. They explore how many truth-seeking non-believers are put off by what they perceive as the hypocritical political engagement of some evangelicals. Curtis and Tim also hold a question-and-answer session that provides helpful strategies for staying focused on the gospel when Christian political culture distorts the message. Listen to The Kingdom of Jesus and get sheet music, lyrics, and prayers for your church Donate to Redeeming Babel HERE Bring The After Party course to your church or small group! The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism (Available on Amazon)
Tim Alberta and Curtis Chang suggest a long-term approach for Christians when it comes to political engagement. They explore how the pursuit of short term political power has led believers away from effectively sharing the Gospel message. Alberta and Chang encourage listeners to consider how a deeper alignment with Jesus can lead to genuine engagement with people and the culture that lasts beyond immediate but temporary gains. Listen to The Kingdom of Jesus and get sheet music, lyrics, and prayers for your church Donate to Redeeming Babel HERE Bring The After Party course to your church or small group! The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism (Available on Amazon)
Louisiana has passed a law requiring the Ten Commandments be posted in every public school classroom. Supporters say it's about respecting history, law, and the country's religious heritage. Critics argue it's completely unconstitutional. What's really behind the new law? John Dickson says secularism in Australia is ten years ahead of the U.S., and there are valuable lessons the American church can learn from his country about how to thrive in a post-Christian society. Also this week—after two more megachurch pastor scandals we have to ask what's wrong with our ministry culture. And whales display a dirty new defense against predators. 0.00- Intro 1:41- Show Starts 2:34 - Theme Song 2:56 - Sponsor - Hiya Health - Go to www.hiyahealth.com/HOLYPOST to receive 50% off your first order 4:02 - Sponsor - World Relief - Visit https://worldrelief.org/holypost/ to download your family refugee guide and learn more about the Path Community 5:08 - News of the Butt 10:30 - Tony Evans and Robert Morris Step Down from Senior Pastor Roles 25:25 - 10 Commandments Must Be Displayed in Louisiana Classrooms 46:50 - Lisa Vischer Update 51:50 - Sponsor - Better Help - “This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/HOLYPOST and get on your way to being your best self.” www.betterhelp.com/holypost 52:58 - Sponsor - Go to https://www.withgoddaily.com/ to sign up for Skye Jethani's devotional, With God Daily 54:35 - Interview 1:31:23 - End Credits Links Mentioned in the News Segment: Sperm Whale Poop Cloud https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/marine-animals/sperm-whales-defensive-defecation-on-orcas Louisiana's Ten Commandments Mandate https://religionnews.com/2024/06/21/louisiana-mandates-the-ten-commandments/?utm_medium=social David French on the Ten Commandments https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/18/opinion/ten-commandments-classroom-louisiana.html Other resources: The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta: https://a.co/d/0cE3A6CW Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/ Holy Post Plus: www.holypost.com/plus Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop 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.
Tim Alberta is an award-winning journalist, best-selling author, and staff writer for The Atlantic magazine. He formerly served as chief political correspondent for POLITICO. In 2019, he published the critically acclaimed book, "American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump" and co-moderated the year's final Democratic presidential debate aired by PBS Newshour. His recent book is The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, and it forms the basis of our conversation about the evangelical church and its quest for cultural and political power. Get a FREE one year supply of vitamin D plus 5 travel packs! https://www.drinkag1.com/TITR Support Theology in the Raw through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theologyintheraw
Tim Alberta is an American journalist and author, and son of an evangelical pastor. Following his father's death in 2019, Alberta began a four year journey, talking to American evangelicals ranging from megachurch pastors who preach to thousands to pastors at churches with a few dozen congregants to understand the schism occurring in the American evangelical community. His book “The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism,” puts American evangelicalism under a microscope as Alberta grapples with how the community he grew up in has changed.Lawfare Associate Editor Anna Hickey spoke to Alberta about what led him to write this book, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the evangelical community, the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, what Croatian theologist Miroslav Volf warns about creeping totalitarianism that results from religion, how evangelicals talk about Christian nationalism, and more.Among the works mentioned in this episode:The book, “The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism,” by Tim AlbertaReporting in The Atlantic by Jennifer SeniorChatter is a production of Lawfare and Goat Rodeo. This episode was recorded by Noam Osband and produced and edited by Cara Shillenn of Goat Rodeo. Podcast theme by David Priess, featuring music created using Groovepad.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tim Alberta is an American journalist and author, and son of an evangelical pastor. Following his father's death in 2019, Alberta began a four year journey, talking to American evangelicals ranging from megachurch pastors who preach to thousands to pastors at churches with a few dozen congregants to understand the schism occurring in the American evangelical community. His book “The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism,” puts American evangelicalism under a microscope as Alberta grapples with how the community he grew up in has changed.Lawfare Associate Editor Anna Hickey spoke to Alberta about what led him to write this book, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the evangelical community, the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, what Croatian theologist Miroslav Volf warns about creeping totalitarianism that results from religion, how evangelicals talk about Christian nationalism, and more.Among the works mentioned in this episode:The book, “The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism,” by Tim AlbertaReporting in The Atlantic by Jennifer SeniorChatter is a production of Lawfare and Goat Rodeo. This episode was recorded by Noam Osband and produced and edited by Cara Shillenn of Goat Rodeo. Podcast theme by David Priess, featuring music created using Groovepad. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tim Alberta is not only an excellent writer, he's also a practicing Christian and the son of an Evangelical pastor. So it's no wonder his recent book THE KINGDOM, THE POWER AND THE GLORY struck such a nerve as it "paints an expansive and profoundly troubling portrait of the American evangelical movement." It would mean so much if you could leave us a review: https://ratethispodcast.com/goodfaithpolitics We're joined by Tim Alberta upon the publication of his new book, The Kingdom, The Power and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. After starting out with some fun banter about Tim's beloved Detroit Lions and veering off into kids' names, we delve into weighty topics such as whether Tim still considers himself an #evangelical - more specifically, if there are aspects of his faith he's begun to question. Much of this conversation is about the new book: "The main thing is no longer the main thing" for so many megachurch pastors; Donald Trump is "a creation of the culture gone crazy" (especially in the American Evangelical church); whether hucksters like Trump and Paula White, when they're behind closed doors, laugh at all their "suckers" that buy into their various schemes; who Tim thinks is the audience for THE KINGDOM, THE POWER, AND THE GLORY - and who he hopes the audience is; and we get to hear some input from Charles Mingus the 3rd! Tim Alberta is a staff writer for The Atlantic and the former chief political correspondent for Politico, and has written for dozens of other publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, and Vanity Fair. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump and the newly released The Kingdom, The Power and the Glory. He co-moderated the final Democratic presidential debate of 2019 and frequently appears as a commentator on television programs in the United States and around the world. And as listeners will quickly learn, Tim is a big time Detroit Lions fan. Let us know what you think. You can find Corey on all the socials @coreysnathan such as www.threads.net/@coreysnathan. Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Very grateful for our sponsor Meza Wealth Management. Reach out to Jorge and his team: www.mezawealth.com www.bytimalberta.com/ www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Power-Glory-Evangelicals-Extremism/dp/006322688X www.theatlantic.com/author/tim-alberta/
Tim Alberta is not only an excellent writer, he's also a practicing Christian and the son of an Evangelical pastor. So it's no wonder his recent book THE KINGDOM, THE POWER AND THE GLORY struck such a nerve as it "paints an expansive and profoundly troubling portrait of the American evangelical movement." It would mean so much if you could leave us a review: https://ratethispodcast.com/goodfaithpolitics We're joined by Tim Alberta upon the publication of his new book, The Kingdom, The Power and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. After starting out with some fun banter about Tim's beloved Detroit Lions and veering off into kids' names, we delve into weighty topics such as whether Tim still considers himself an #evangelical - more specifically, if there are aspects of his faith he's begun to question. Much of this conversation is about the new book: "The main thing is no longer the main thing" for so many megachurch pastors; Donald Trump is "a creation of the culture gone crazy" (especially in the American Evangelical church); whether hucksters like Trump and Paula White, when they're behind closed doors, laugh at all their "suckers" that buy into their various schemes; who Tim thinks is the audience for THE KINGDOM, THE POWER, AND THE GLORY - and who he hopes the audience is; and we get to hear some input from Charles Mingus the 3rd! Tim Alberta is a staff writer for The Atlantic and the former chief political correspondent for Politico, and has written for dozens of other publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, and Vanity Fair. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump and the newly released The Kingdom, The Power and the Glory. He co-moderated the final Democratic presidential debate of 2019 and frequently appears as a commentator on television programs in the United States and around the world. And as listeners will quickly learn, Tim is a big time Detroit Lions fan. Let us know what you think. You can find Corey on all the socials @coreysnathan such as www.threads.net/@coreysnathan. Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Very grateful for our sponsor Meza Wealth Management. Reach out to Jorge and his team: www.mezawealth.com www.bytimalberta.com/ www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Power-Glory-Evangelicals-Extremism/dp/006322688X www.theatlantic.com/author/tim-alberta/
Tim Alberta discusses his book The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism
Atlantic Staff writer Tim Alberta, author of The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism says many Christians support Donald Trump because they are forgiving, and specifically because he isn't. Plus, the President of Argentina assails the anatomical properties of his hemispheric peers. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Frank Schaeffer In Conversation with Journalist and Author, Tim Alberta, exploring his work and the themes of his new book, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism._____LINKShttps://www.bytimalberta.comBOOKSThe Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremismhttps://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Power-Glory-Evangelicals-Extremism/dp/006322688X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1704411722&sr=8-1American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trumphttps://www.amazon.com/American-Carnage-Front-Republican-President/dp/006289644X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1704411784&sr=8-1_____Tim Alberta is an award-winning journalist, best-selling author, and staff writer for The Atlantic magazine. He formerly served as chief political correspondent for POLITICO. In 2019, he published the critically acclaimed book, "American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump" and co-moderated the year's final Democratic presidential debate aired by PBS Newshour. His new book, The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism is available now._____I have had the pleasure of talking to some of the leading authors, artists, activists, and change-makers of our time on this podcast, and I want to personally thank you for subscribing, listening, and sharing 100-plus episodes over 100,000 times.Please subscribe to this Podcast, In Conversation… with Frank Schaeffer, on your favorite platform, and to my Substack, It Has to Be Said.Thanks! Every subscription helps create, build, sustain and put voice to this movement for truth.Subscribe to It Has to Be Said. Support the show_____In Conversation… with Frank Schaeffer is a production of the George Bailey Morality in Public Life Fellowship. It is hosted by Frank Schaeffer, author of Fall In Love, Have Children, Stay Put, Save the Planet, Be Happy. Learn more at https://www.lovechildrenplanet.comFollow Frank on Substack, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, and YouTube. https://frankschaeffer.substack.comhttps://www.facebook.com/frank.schaeffer.16https://twitter.com/Frank_Schaefferhttps://www.instagram.com/frank_schaeffer_arthttps://www.threads.net/@frank_schaeffer_arthttps://www.youtube.com/c/FrankSchaefferYouTube In Conversation… with Frank Schaeffer PodcastLove In Common Podcast with Frank Schaeffer, Ernie Gregg, and Erin Bagwell
The Washington Roundtable reflects on the books they've been reading to understand the 2024 Presidential campaigns and the state of international politics. Susan B. Glasser, Jane Mayer, and Evan Osnos swap recommendations of works about all things political, from the anger of rural voters to the worldwide rise of authoritarian rule, including a fictionalized imagining of a powerful real-life political family. Read with the Roundtable: “America Last: The Right's Century-Long Romance with Foreign Dictators,” by Jacob Heilbrunn“Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism,” by Rachel Maddow“The Longest Con: How Grifters, Swindlers, and Frauds Hijacked American Conservatism,” by Joe Conason“Offshore: Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism,” by Brooke Harrington“The Wizard of the Kremlin,” by Giuliano da Empoli“The Netanyahus: An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family,” by Joshua Cohen“The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the C.I.A., and the Origins of America's Invasion of Iraq,” by Steve Coll (The New Yorker)“The Sentinel State: Surveillance and the Survival of Dictatorship in China,” by Minxin Pei“White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy,” by Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman“Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture,” by Kyle Chayka (The New Yorker)“Romney: A Reckoning,” by McKay Coppins“The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism,” by Tim Alberta“Unholy: How White Christian Nationalists Powered the Trump Presidency, and the Devastating Legacy They Left Behind,” by Sarah Posner“Playing God: American Catholic Bishops and The Far Right,” by Mary Jo McConahay“Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism,” by Stephen Breyer“The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court,” by Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong“What It Takes: The Way to the White House,” by Richard Ben CramerTheodore Roosevelt Trilogy: “The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt,” “Theodore Rex,” and “Colonel Roosevelt,” by Edmund MorrisTo discover more podcasts from The New Yorker, visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send feedback about this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com with “The Political Scene” in the subject line.
Nikki Haley is in YOLO mode as she faces down a loss in her home state of South Carolina, but her years-long tortured Trump two-step has caught up to her. The Atlantic's Tim Alberta joins Sarah to discuss his reporting on Haley through the years and ask a simple question: is this FINALLY her last straw with Trump? show notes By Tim Alberta: Nikki Haley's Time for Choosing The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump
The "David Barton's False American Gospel" episode. Dave Johnson and Pat Kahnke continue their discussion of Tim Alberta's new book "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism." In this episode we discuss Alberta's visit to David Barton and Chad Connelly's "American Restoration Tour", where churches are encouraged to get more political in order to save the nation from destruction.
In the second episode of “The Threat of White Christian Nationalism”, host Reed Galen is joined by journalist and bestselling author Tim Alberta. They discuss the societal perceptions of American evangelicals and the flaws/fallacies within their movement, why bad history plus bad theology equals the perfect formula for christian nationalism, and why Trumpism resonates so strongly with Americans who want theology to fit their politics…rather than the other way around. If you'd like to hear more from Tim Alberta, be sure to check out his work for The Atlantic and pick up his latest book, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. For more from Reed Galen, subscribe to “The Home Front”. If you'd like to ask a question or share a comment with The Lincoln Project, send an email to podcast@lincolnproject.us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The "A Visit to Hellscape Church" episode. Dave Johnson and Pat Kahnke continue their discussion of Tim Alberta's new book "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism." In this episode we discuss Alberta's experience with Bill Bolin's Floodgate church, where conspiracy theories abound and right-wing diatribes are the new church growth model.
Longtime political journalist Tim Alberta spent more than three years speaking with pastors and churchgoers across the country in a search for answers about what's happening in contemporary Evangelicalism. Why were so many congregations becoming more political, and seemingly less invested in traditional Christian values? Why were they so motivated by fear? How could so many Evangelicals support Donald Trump, who doesn't share their beliefs? And what do all these dramatic changes mean for the future of Evangelicals in the United States, including Alberta's three young sons? On this episode of Paternal, Alberta discusses his life as an Evangelical Christian, the influence of his born-again Christian father, what he learned about Evangelicalism from speaking with today's church leaders, and why some churchgoers confronted him at his own father's funeral about politics in the era of Trump. Alberta is a staff writer for The Atlantic and the author of the New York Times bestselling book The Kingdom, The Power and The Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, which is available now wherever you buy books. Episode Timestamps: 00:00 - 05:56 - Introduction and description of The Kingdom, The Power and The Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism05:56 - 13:11 - Background on Tim Alberta's father, senior pastor Richard Alberta13:11 - 16:56 - On the experience of growing up as a pastor's kid16:56 - 19:30 - Discussing his father's funeral and blowback from members of the church congregation21:05 - 27:01 - On Evangelicals, idolatry, and fighting for America as if salvation itself hangs in the balance27:01 - 31:03 - On Evangelicals and fear of a changing society27:01 - 31:03 - On Evangelicals and fear of a changing society 31:03 - 35:27 - Why Evangelicals have rallied around Trump 35:27 - 38:50 - The challenge of inheriting faith from your father 38:50 - 44:32 - On what kind of faith he wants for his kids Read The Transcript For This Episode
Author and journalist Tim Alberta joins the show for a special guest episode - talking everything from his new book, "The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism." to the rise of the MAGA GOP and how the modern evangelical movement has evolved to grow hand in hand with it. How did Trump go from "flawed vessel" to the vanguard of the evangelical movement? And how do evangelical voters come to terms with the contradictions inherent to MAGA? Where do we go from here? Tim reflects on his personal experience and offers one solution to breaking the fever. Buy both books and check out Tim's work at https://www.bytimalberta.com/. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week on The Enemies List, Rick is joined by Tim Alberta, staff writer at The Atlantic and author of the new book "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism." Together, they discuss the evolution of the evangelical movement, its increased political involvement, and its complex relationship with Trump's Republican Party. Alberta shares personal insights from his upbringing in an evangelical family and his observations as a political writer, highlighting key historical moments and cultural shifts within the movement. The conversation provides a critical perspective on the role of evangelicalism in shaping the current political landscape. Tim's new book, "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism" available now. Timestamps: [00:01:20] Where the Evangelical movement is [00:09:10] Trump and the mega church [00:13:08] The idolatry of Trump [00:22:02] Tim's personal experience Follow Resolute Square: Instagram Twitter TikTok Find out more at Resolute Square Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Tim Alberta of The Atlantic is author of the new book The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, and he also wrote the definitive Nikki Haley profile. He says Haley really, really doesn't like Trump, and maybe now we'll get a chance to hear the depths of her dissatisfaction. Plus, the U.S. makes a foray into an Angola railway. And if the LA Times were a person you met at a party, would you walk away? Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Subscribe to The Gist Subscribe: https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ Follow Mikes Substack at: Pesca Profundities | Mike Pesca | Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In this episode, we are joined again by Tim Alberta of The Atlantic and Michael Wear of the Center for Christianity and Public Life, to discuss Michael's brand new book The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life. Michael has been engaging the condition of American politics for more than 15 years, after serving in the White House, helping to launch and lead the AND Campaign, and advising leading policymakers, journalists, practitioners at the intersection of faith and public policy. Drawing from this experience as well as the work and influence of noteworthy Christian philosopher Dallas Willard, Michael argues that our politics will only get better if we get better. The only way to transcend the current polarized morass we're in is to deepen and revitalize our spiritual formation. Our politics is downstream of the kind of people we are. The Spirit of Our Politics argues that the way forward is to better align our political and civic engagement with our religious commitments. And while the democratic answer for believers is never theonomy, or Christian nationalism, or privileging a majority identity—Michael and Tim sketch the contours of what faithful, integrated living might produce. Guests: Michael Wear Tim Alberta Additional Resources: The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life, by Michael Wear The Center for Christianity & Public Life The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, by Tim Alberta "The Surprising Link between the Gospel and Politics," by Michael Wear Wear We Are Podcast, with Michael and Melissa Wear "Tim Alberta and Michael Wear: The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory," Faith Angle podcast episode
Chris Beem talks with journalist Tim Alberta about the role that Evangelical Christians play in the Republican Party — and what that means for the future of American democracy.Alberta is a staff writer at The Atlantic and author of the books The Kingdom, The Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism and American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump. He's also the son of an evangelical pastor. This conversation covers both books and how the evangelical movement and the Republican party have been corrupted. They also discuss the role that religion should play in politics, and Alberta's answer might surprise you.
The "Robert Jeffress is Making Trump Palatable for Christians Again" episode. Dave Johnson and Pat Kahnke continue their discussion of Tim Alberta's new book "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism." This episode focuses on Robert Jeffress, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, and his efforts to rally Christians around support for Donald Trump despite all of the scandals and obvious lack of character Trump exhibits.
The "They always kill the prophets" Episode Dave Johnson and Pat Kahnke discuss Tim Alberta's new book "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism." In this episode we discuss Chapter 4, which focuses on Russell Moore and his attempts to be a voice for truth within the Southern Baptist Convention.
In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss one of the concerning trends for 2024 mentioned by Dr. White in a recent episode, something that was echoed by a listener-submitted question. Both had to do with the continued fracturing of the Church and Christians within it. Christians seem to have an underdeveloped skill of disagreeing agreeably. We've also lost sight of what's worth disagreeing over. Episode Links The biggest test when it comes to when it's appropriate to disagree is to ask: is it a matter or orthodoxy (right thinking) or orthopraxy (right living)? Second, is it a primary or tertiary issue related to the Christian faith? The problem is that many Christians have taken political and ideological divides and elevated them to the level of primary, theological issues - and that's heresy. There are certain values that are being embraced that are distorting the Christian faith. Dr. White has touched on this in past episodes of the podcast. We'd encourage you to go back and listen to the following for more perspective: CCP63: On Why Christians Are So Mean CCP46: On the Clash Over Religious Freedom CCP37: On Christian Nationalism Dr. White referred to an article by David Aikman titled “Attack Dogs of Christendom” where the author wrote how Christians seem to love to go after people who disagree with them, particularly other Christians. All this does is to hurt the witness of the church. He also mentioned how Francis Schaeffer was taken with the community of the church and his concerns with Christians who seem to love finding mistakes in other believers. He wrote about this in a book titled The Mark of the Christian. Another great book on the divides in Christendom that have erupted over recent years is The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism written by Tim Alberta. Because sadly, a lot of Christians believe they are engaging in a battle by promoting a political platform, and treating it as though the Kingdom of God is at stake. One easy place to identify when it comes to where to disagree is again on the foundational beliefs of the Christian faith, such as the belief that there is only one way to God. Understanding the differences between Christianity and other belief systems is important. We suggest that you go back and listen to the following episodes if you've missed them: CCP86: On Islam CCP84: On Hinduism and Buddhism CCP35: On Scientology CCP18: On Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
It seems certain that Trump will become the Republican nominee for President. We take a deep breath and let that sink in - along with all the horrendous consequences to American democracy and the inescapable reality that this os not a blip in 21st Century politics but a taste of how things will be… forever on. Also - who cares if the Daily Mirror newspaper collapses into a state of abject irrelevance? The Two Matts do - and then explain why Britain needs the once-mighty tabloid of the left more than ever.Tim Alberta: The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of ExtremismSubscribe to The New European Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
American evangelicalism's pull towards the far right is felt by anyone that comes into contact with the movement. But how did this happen? Who did the pulling? What were the motivations? What were the pre-conditions that made evangelicals so susceptible? With his latest book, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, Tim Alberta has written the definitive book that answers these questions. He and Curtis discuss the key types of individuals, the organizations, the strategies, and especially the hidden incentive structures that lie beneath the headlines. The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta (Harper)
The "The Falwells are exactly who we thought they were" episode. Dave Johnson and Pat Kahnke continue to discuss Tim Alberta's new book "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism." In this episode we discuss Chapter 3,which focuses on Jerry Falwell Sr., Jerry Falwell Jr., the formation of the Moral Majority, and various shenanigans at Liberty University.
NPR reports on U.S.-led strikes against Iran-aligned Houthi militants in Yemen. The Wall Street Journal explains why buying home and auto insurance in the United States is becoming impossible. On this week’s episode of Apple News In Conversation, host Shumita Basu and Tim Alberta, a practicing Christian and the author of the new book The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, discuss how so many evangelicals became Trump loyalists.
Tim Alberta, a distinguished journalist and author renowned for his deep dives into American politics, joins host Charlotte Alter for an insightful and personal conversation on faith, politics, and the evolving American landscape. Known for his best-selling book "American Carnage" and his incisive reporting for The Atlantic, Alberta recounts his early life growing up in the church and the intellectual journey with Christianity that influenced his worldview. Discussing his latest book, “The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism” Alberta explores the complex relationship between Evangelical Christians and American politics and shares his unique perspectives into the cultural and political factors at play. This discussion is particularly timely as the pair examine the potential impact of the Evangelical voting bloc on the upcoming Iowa Republican caucus and the broader implications for the 2024 presidential election. Tune in for an enlightening discussion that cuts to the core of America's political and cultural divides.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Journalist Tim Alberta was raised in the evangelical church and is a practicing Christian. But he’s grown increasingly concerned about how entrenched politics has become in the evangelical movement. In his latest book, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, Alberta lays out the state of the evangelical church today and its shift toward the cultural and political fringes. Below are excerpts from Alberta’s interview with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu.
American Christianity enjoys a great deal of power and influence at home and abroad. Is the church better for it? Is the world better for it? Or is Christian Nationalism just another idolatry—a temptation to take up the sword instead of taking up the cross? Journalist Tim Alberta (The Atlantic, POLITICO) joins Evan Rosa for a discussion of his new book, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. Tim explains his reporting on American Evangelicalism from 2019 through 2023 as well as his own Christian faith and spiritual background. He also reflects on a variety of challenging issues that influence life far upstream from political theatre, including:how faith matures or erodesthe impact of Constantinian Christianity and the Christian embrace of power, influence, and glory in American public lifethe difference between Christ and Christendom, and our allegiance to one or the otherand the meaning and unique threat of idolatry—which takes on a unique form in contemporary American life.Show ArtGrégoire Guérard, “The Arrest of Christ”, circa 1520-1522, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon, FranceAbout Tim AlbertaVisit Tim's personal website for more of his writing, or follow him on X/Twitter.Tim Alberta is an award-winning journalist, best-selling author, and staff writer for The Atlantic magazine. He formerly served as chief political correspondent for POLITICO. In 2019, he published the critically acclaimed book, "American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump" and co-moderated the year's final Democratic presidential debate aired by PBS Newshour.Hailing from Brighton, Michigan, Tim attended Schoolcraft College and later Michigan State University, where his plans to become a baseball writer were changed by a stint covering the legislature in Lansing. He went on to spend more than a decade in Washington, reporting for publications including the Wall Street Journal, The Hotline, National Journal and National Review. Having covered the biggest stories in national politics—the battles over health care and immigration on Capitol Hill; the election and presidency of Donald Trump; the ideological warfare between and within the two parties—Tim was eager for a new challenge.In 2019, he moved home to Michigan. Rather than cover the 2020 campaign through the eyes of the candidates, Tim roved the country and reported from gun shows and farmers markets, black cookouts and white suburbs, crowded wholesale stores and shuttered small businesses. He wrote a regular "Letter to Washington" that kept upstream from politics, focusing less on manifest partisan divisions and more on elusive root causes: the hollowing out of communities, the diminished faith in vital institutions, the self-perpetuating cycle of cultural antagonism, the diverging economic realities for wealthy and working-class citizens, the rapid demographic makeover of America—and the corollary spikes in racism and xenophobia.Tim joined The Atlantic in March 2021 with a mandate to keep roaming and writing and telling stories that strike at the heart of America's discontent. His work has been featured in dozens of other publications nationwide, including Sports Illustrated and Vanity Fair, and he frequently appears as a commentator on television programs in the United States and around the world. Tim's first book, "American Carnage," debuted at No. 1 and No. 2 on the Washington Post and New York Times best-seller lists, respectively. He lives in southeast Michigan with his wife, three sons, and German Shepherd.Show NotesTim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power, and the GloryIntellectually re-examining the faith of childhoodA generational disillusionment in today's exit from ChristianityGenerational break in attitude & behaviorDistance from the moral majority generation to evaluate criticallyInverse relationship where the more one learns about Christ, the less they like ChristianityThe creation of the secular, evil “other”“They created this other, this outsider, this enemy that had to be defeated.”Current American Christianity is often looking to find our identities on the good side of zero-sum equation.Shrinking our theology into something pathetic and miniscule.St. Augustine, St. Paul, and C.S. Lewis“One way to find meaning is to locate an enemy.”From Cal Thomas's Blinded by Might” —”Unless you have the power to right every wrong and cure every ill and what better way to do that than with An all powerful God on your side.”The church most often seems to thrive when it is at the margins.“We can understand the relationship between this lust for dominance in our, in a society, the inverse relationship between that lust for dominance and the health of the church.”Satan's temptation of Christ in the Gospel of Luke—the temptation to bow down.St. Peter, “Blessed are you Simon bar Jonah…” and then… “Get behind me Satan.”Reaching for the sword versus reaching for the crossThe impact of Constantinian ChristianityJohn Dixon's Bullies and SaintsConstantine wielding Christianity to dominate—the imposition of Christian faith“Is Christianity an end or is it a means to an end?”“It's easy to forget about the teachings of Christ if you are preoccupied with the, crusades of Christianity”“An idol is something that starts as a good and healthy thing, but then becomes the ultimate thing.”America as a kingdomAmerican Christendom as a source of idolatryBaptizing the American experience and pastE.g., Thomas Jefferson, Donald Trump, and Paula White“The other part of it that I find to be uniquely problematic and sometimes just downright gross, is this willful merging of scripture with the American mythos.”Mike Pence, and “Let us set our eyes on Old Glory.”“Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.”An age of gnawing unknownsTim Alberta's reflections on his father“Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.”The influence of Jesus's life and teaching“We are in sales, not management.”Production NotesThis podcast featured Tim AlbertaEdited and Produced by Evan RosaHosted by Evan RosaProduction Assistance by Macie Bridge, Alexa Rollow, and Tim BergelandA Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School https://faith.yale.edu/aboutSupport For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: https://faith.yale.edu/give
This is an excerpt from the full episode "Evangelicals in the Age of Political Extremism: With Tim Alberta."Michael Steele speaks with best-selling author Tim Alberta about his new book, "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism." The pair discuss how Christian values in America have become enmeshed in MAGA politics, how the purpose of the church has been misinterpreted, what Tim observed on the American Restoration Tour and what being a Christian means to him.Check out the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Power-Glory-Evangelicals-Extremism/dp/006322688XIf you enjoyed this podcast, be sure to leave a review or share it with a friend!Follow Tim Alberta @TimAlbertaFollow Michael @MichaelSteeleFollow the podcast @steele_podcastThis show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/3668522/advertisement
The "Giftedness and Dysfunction" Episode Dave Johnson and Pat Kahnke discuss Tim Alberta's fantastic new book "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism." This is the third in a series of conversations about the book. In this episode we discuss Chapter 2, in which Tim visits the church of Pastor John Torres, who describes the struggles he's had in recent years to keep his church from splintering over politics.
Tim Alberta is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of The Kingdom, The Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. He joins Preet to discuss the modern evangelical movement, the Republican party, and his family's own relationship with Christianity. Plus, how federal sentencing guidelines are decided, the differences between misdemeanors and felonies, and the distinction between a criminal indictment and a criminal information. For show notes and a transcript of the episode head to: cafe.com/stay-tuned/evangelical-america-trump-with-tim-alberta/ Have a question for Preet? Ask @PreetBharara on Threads, or Twitter with the hashtag #AskPreet. Email us at staytuned@cafe.com, or call 669-247-7338 to leave a voicemail. Stay Tuned with Preet is brought to you by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
As Ken closes out Season 4 and welcomes in the New Year and the new Season, he shares the top podcasts for the year. He also identifies and reviews the top seven books from the year's reading. To conclude, he reads his Substack essay, Universalism.The Top Five Podcast Downloads for 2023 -S4E15 Rev. Ben Cremer: Myths We Believe - Mar 17, 2023 S4E3 Rev. Nate Manderson - J6 Committee and Religion Ignored Jan 23, 2023 S4E26 Dr. Peter Enns: Curve-ball - When Your Faith Strikes Out May 19, 2023 S4E18 Tim Whitaker: The New Evangelicals Apr 3, 2023 S4E9 Surviving Purity Culture with Journalist Anna Beahm Feb 15, 2023 Ken's Top Seven Books for 2023 Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger BregmanThe Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremiism by Tim AlbertaA Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy EganFalling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life by Richard RohrPrequel: An American Fight Against Fascism by Rachel MaddowThe Parable of the Sower by Octavia ButlerElon Musk by Walter IsaacsonKen's Substack Page | Become a Patron | Universalism on SubstackKen's Complete list of books for 2023Support the show
In a previous epoch, Tim Alberta was a reporter for National Review, one of too many NR cubs who later joined the liberal-media zoo. Alberta is now at The Atlantic, one of America's most intense producers of frothing leftist drivel. It seems like every leftist network has welcomed Alberta to trash conservative Christians through his latest book, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. It's touted as Alberta's “deeply personal examination of the divisions that threaten to destroy the American evangelical movement. Evangelical Christians are perhaps the most polarizing — and least understood...Article Link
Evangelical voters have been a key constituency for the GOP for decades. But as that party veers to Trumpism and extremism, often with words and actions that fly in the face of their faith, will evangelicals stay with them? This week, we're joined by Tim Alberta. Tim is a staff writer for The Atlantic whose new book “The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in the Age of Extremism” is now available. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message
Michael Steele speaks with best-selling author Tim Alberta about his new book, "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism." The pair discuss how Christian values in America have become enmeshed in MAGA politics, how the purpose of the church has been misinterpreted, what Tim observed on the American Restoration Tour and what being a Christian means to him.Check out the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Power-Glory-Evangelicals-Extremism/dp/006322688XIf you enjoyed this podcast, be sure to leave a review or share it with a friend!Follow Tim Alberta @TimAlbertaFollow Michael @MichaelSteeleFollow the podcast @steele_podcastThis show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/3668522/advertisement
In this episode, we snake draft what's most overrated at Christmas. We are joined by PMG magic maker Erin Moon to debate the worst things people love during the holidays. Plus learn why we're rooting for an Efronaissance. Heads up: Our full and fun show notes are at knoxandjamie.com/535 so click over to get all your relevant links.Become a BFOTS to support our small business and get exclusive content! knoxandjamie.com/patreonGIVE: Make your best friends our best friends: knoxandjamie.com/patreongiftRefresher: snake draft ‘splainBONUS SEGMENTOur Patreon supporters can get full access to this week's The More You Know news segment. Become a partner. This week we discussed the Oceans 11 Prequel & Margo Robbie and Netflix stats. GREEN LIGHTSJamie: series - Deadloch Knox: movie - Love and Monsters | book - The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The year is coming to an end, which means it's time to reflect on our favorite reads! On this episode, Russell Moore and producer Ashley Hales discuss the books that have stuck with them this year. Their conversation touches on the winners of Christianity Today's 2023 Book Awards and the back catalogs of authors whose new releases are making a splash. Their conversation spans biographies, memoirs, fiction, and more. Moore and Hales discover themes across genres and consider how their 2023 reading might inform their 2024 thinking. For more insight into what Russell is reading throughout the year, subscribe to his newsletter here. Russell's Top Ten Books of 2023: How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen by David Brooks The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta Watership Down: The Graphic Novel by Richard Adams, adapted and Illustrated by James Sturm and Joe Sutphin All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir by Beth Moore C.S. Lewis in America: Readings and Receptions, 1935-1947 by Mark A. Noll Godless Crusade: Religion, Populism, and Right-Wing Identity Politics by Tobias Cremer King: A Life by Jonathan Eig How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family's Story of Hope and Survival in the American South by Esau McCaulley Self-Made: Creating Our Identities from DaVinci to the Kardashians by Tara Isabella Burton Lights a Lovely Mile: Collected Sermons of the Church Year by Eugene H. Peterson Additional books mentioned in this episode include: Biblical Critical Theory: How the Bible's Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life and Culture by Christopher Watkin (CT Book of the Year Award) The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis Surprised by Joy by C. S. Lewis The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Strong and Weak: Embracing a Life of Love, Risk and True Flourishing by Andy Crouch Bobos In Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There by David Brooks Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World by Tara Isabella Burton Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West by Andrew Wilson The Adams-Jefferson Letters: The Complete Correspondence Between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams by Lester J. Capon The Three-Body Problem Series by Cixin Liu Episodes of The Russell Moore Show featuring authors discussed in this episode include: “Tim Alberta on the White Evangelical Crisis” “Christianity's Being Co-opted with Tobias Cremer” “Developing a Biblical Framework with Christopher Watkin” “Esau McCaulley Makes Grace Plausible” “Losing Our Religion: David Brooks on the Allure of Tribalism” “Andy Crouch's Cure for a Tech-Obsessed World” “Beth Moore Didn't Expect Us to Be Us” “Beth Moore and Russell Moore in Conversation” & “Listener Questions for Russell Moore and Beth Moore” Ashley Hales is the producer of The Russell Moore Show, founder of Willowbrae Institute, and an author. Find out more at aahales.com. Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to questions@russellmoore.com. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In 2016, Donald Trump won 81 percent of the white Evangelical vote. In the 2020 presidential election, that number went essentially unchanged. Over the last few decades, white evangelical Christians have become a critical part of the Republican Party. And because of that, they both changed American politics and the way the church operates. In a new book, “The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism,” Brighton, Michigan native and author Tim Alberta explores this trend, and more.
The "Give us Barabbas!" Episode Dave Johnson and Pat Kahnke discuss Tim Alberta's fantastic new book "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism." This is the second in a series of conversations about the book. In this episode, we discuss Chapter 1, in which Tim Alberta tells the story of a young pastor struggling to serve Jesus in the midst of a congregation that wants him to take a much more MAGA approach to the issues of the day. We deal with two main questions: What does it look like when patriotism becomes almost a worship of your country? How can pastors and church leaders talk about these issues without tearing their churches apart or "politicizing the pulpit"?
Dec. 20, 2023 ~ Guy, Lloyd, and Jamie are joined in-studio by Tim Alberta, best-selling author & staff writer for The Atlantic. They have an in-depth conversation about new book is "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism," the role that former President Donald Trump plays in church, and much more!
Dec. 20, 2023 ~ Full Show: Guy, Lloyd, and Jamie talk about the Colorado Supreme Court decision to keep former President Trump off the 2024 presidential ballot, Ann Arbor banning gas powered leaf blowers, honoring homeless people in Detroit, and are joined by best-selling author Tim Alberta for a lengthy conversation about his new book, "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism."
The Lincoln Project's Rick Wilson skewers Gov. DeSantis for his terrible staffing decisions, which are leading to an inevitable failure as a presidential candidate. The Atlantic's Tim Alberta details his new book, "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism." The New Yorker's Geraldo Cadava examines the drifting political alignments of Hispanic voters.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dave Johnson and Pat Kahnke discuss Tim Alberta's fantastic new book "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism." This is the first in a series of conversations about the book. In this episode, we discuss the prologue, and we each share in depth and at length the broad concerns we have about the relationship between evangelicalism, politics, and culture. Just as Tim Alberta describes in the prologue the events that caused him to write the book, so we describe the events and experiences that caused us to speak publicly about the dangers evangelicals face by aligning with Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.
“Founding friend” David French returns to wrap up 2023 (we're taking a break for a few weeks). He and Curtis look back at the year through the lens of two core spiritual values of The After Party: Humility and Hope. We discuss what happened in 2023 that grew our humility, reminding us of the need to recognize complexity, to grow, and to learn. We also talked up the signs of hope from the year, including many that are hidden or counter-intuitive. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts for Good Faith Good Faith episode on the Asbury revival (6/17/2023) ‘The Bear' and the need for a place to belong by David French (NYT 7/16/2023) The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta Losing our religion: An altar call for Evangelical America by Russell Moore
Tim Alberta is a fantastic reporter whose profiles of 2024 hopeful Nikki Haley and former CNN boss Chris Licht proved illuminating and impactful (Licht lost his job days after). In his latest book, Alberta has profiled not a person but a movement: the evangelical church. It's a community that rallied around Donald Trump in 2016, 2020 and will likely do so in 2024. And it's one Alberta knows well: his father was an evangelical pastor. Alberta's new book, “The Kingdom, The Power and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism” takes him back to his hometown church to understand how the evangelical church has reshaped American politics. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on social media. We're on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
On today's MinistryWatch EXTRA episode, we have Tim Alberta. Tim writes for The Atlantic and is the author of a new book that I think will likely cause shock waves in the public conversation about evangelicalism and its relationship to politics. FINAL THOUGHTS: Thanks to Rich Roszel and Jeff McIntosh for producing today's program. Until next time, may God bless you.
Tim Alberta is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of the great new book, The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. You can get your copy here. He was previously the chief political correspondent for Politico. He is also the author of American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump. In this episode Alberta, a former seminarian and son of an evangelical pastor, discusses his personal experience with evangelical faith and the intersection of faith and politics. He explores the influence of evangelicalism on American politics, particularly in relation to Donald Trump and the rise of Christian nationalism. Alberta argues that the politicization of faith has had a negative impact on the church, leading to a decline in religious identification and attendance. He also addresses the role of race in the evangelical movement and the challenges of reconciling politics with the teachings of Jesus. Today's Bill Press Pod is supported by The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, America's largest and most diverse union. More information at Teamster.org.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Guest Bios Show Transcript How did loving your enemies—a command of Jesus—suddenly become a sign that you're “woke”? And why is “owning the libs” now the answer to “What would Jesus do?” On this edition of The Roys Report, bestselling author and journalist Tim Alberta joins host Julie Roys to explore a disturbing phenomenon in American evangelicalism. Though once evangelicals understood that the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of man were separate, now the two are being combined into an unholy mix. And sadly, for millions of conservative Christians, America is their kingdom—and proper adherence to their political ideology is their litmus test for Christian orthodoxy! On this podcast, you'll hear Julie's compelling conversation with Tim, exploring how evangelicals got into this mess—and if, and how, we can get ourselves out. Yet Tim doesn't speak as an outside critic passing judgment, but as a practicing Christian and the son of an evangelical pastor. Tim spent years sifting through the wreckage of American evangelicalism, interviewing pastors, evangelical/political activists, congregants, and scholars. The result is his new book, The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory, which tells story after illuminating story of major players and institutions within the evangelical movement that have succumbed to political idolatry. One example is Liberty University, founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. Recent headlines have exposed how Senior's now-disgraced son, Jerry Falwell, Jr., made Liberty into a far-right, culture warring, money-making powerhouse. But is this mixing of the kingdom of God and the kingdom of man a corruption of Senior's vision—or, is it the culmination of it? And what does it say that everyone—the administration, board, and Liberty supporters—were all fine with it, as long as the money was coming in? Tim also shares stunning admissions he got during one-on-one interviews with major evangelical/political figures, like Robert Jeffress and Ralph Reed. In private, these men confessed that they know mixing political advocacy with the gospel is misleading and wrong. Yet, as Tim documents, these men keep doing it! Yet Tim also offers stories of hope—like his chapter on Rev. Dr. John Dickson, who teaches at the flagship evangelical school, Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. In it, Tim explains why Dickson has become a missionary to America—and how Christians can lose the culture wars yet live joyfully and winsomely among unbelievers. Tim's book also includes a chapter on exposing abuse and corruption, featuring Rachel Denhollander's work and our work at The Roys Report. On the podcast, we discuss why our reporting is so important and why this chapter is Tim's mother's favorite! This is such an important podcast for Christians wanting to remain true to their calling to worship God first and foremost, rather than succumb to political idolatry. Guests Tim Alberta Tim Alberta is a staff writer for The Atlantic and has written for dozens of other publications, including the Wall Street Journal and National Review. He is the author of The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism and the New York Times bestseller American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump. He lives in southeast Michigan with his wife and three sons. Show Transcript SPEAKERS TIM ALBERTA, Julie Roys Julie Roys 00:04 How did loving your enemies, a command of Jesus, suddenly become a sign that you're woke? And why is owning the libs now the answer to what would Jesus do? Welcome to The Roys Report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church. I'm Julie Roys and joining me on this podcast is New York Times bestselling author Tim Alberta, whose latest book explores what happened to American evangelicalism. Decades ago, Americans viewed evangelicalism favorably. In 1976, author and historian Gary Wills called evangelicalism, the major religious force in America, both in numbers and an impact. And leading evangelical thinkers claimed that evangelicalism could no longer be regarded as reactionary but was vigorously and sometimes creatively speaking to the needs of the contemporary world. Fast forward to today and evangelicalism has become synonymous with Donald Trump, a thrice married vulgar opportunist who said he doesn't need to repent or ask for forgiveness. A recent poll by Pew Research found that the only religious group that views evangelicals favorably are evangelicals. And as Tim Alberta notes in his book in 1991 90% of Americans identified as Christians, but today, only 63% do. What happened to this once vibrant movement? And can it be saved, or has it passed beyond the point of no return? Un his new book, The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory. Tim Alberta does a masterful job of exploring these questions, but he doesn't do it as an outside critic passing judgment. But as a practicing Christian and the son of an evangelical pastor. I found Tim's book eye opening on many levels, and I'm so excited to share this interview with you. Julie Roys 01:47 But before I do, I want to thank the sponsors of this podcast, Judson University, and Marquardt of Barrington. If you're looking for a top ranked Christian University, providing a caring community and an excellent college experience, Judson University is for you. Judson is located on 90 acres just 40 miles west of Chicago in Elgin, Illinois. The school offers more than 60 majors, great leadership opportunities, and strong financial aid. Plus, you can take classes online as well as in person. Judson University is shaping lives that shaped the world. For more information, just go to JUDSONU.EDU. Also, if you're looking for a quality new or used car, I highly recommend my friends at Marquardt of Barrington. Marquardt is a Buick GMC dealership where you can expect honesty, integrity, and transparency. That's because the owners there Dan and Kurt Marquardt, are men of integrity, to check them out, just go to BUYACAR123.COM. Julie Roys 02:51 Well, again, joining me is Tim Alberta, a staff writer for The Atlantic and the former chief political correspondent for Politico. Tim also is the author of The New York Times best seller American Carnage on the Frontlines of the Republican Civil War, and the Rise of President Trump. And his latest book, The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory, explores American evangelicals in an age of extremism. So, Tim, welcome. It is just such a pleasure to be with you again. TIM ALBERTA 03:16 Yes, Julie, it is. It's great to catch up with you and come sort of full circle from where we were a couple of years ago talking about all of this. Julie Roys 03:24 That's right. We spent a couple of well, more than a couple of hours. I think it was supposed to be like maybe an hour and a half, and we got so into our discussion. I think we closed down one coffee shop and went to another. TIM ALBERTA 03:35 We did. I hijacked your whole day. Julie Roys 03:38 Oh, it was fantastic. And so, encouraging to me, but always fun to talk to a fellow journalist with similar convictions. And I was excited about this book when we had our discussion. I'm so honored, I have to say, you know, to get the galley of the book, and I figured because we spent so much time that I'd be in it, but you know, just what you wrote, and the way that you captured some things just so honored to be featured in a chapter with Rachel den Hollander. So, thank you so much for that. I just really appreciate it. TIM ALBERTA 04:07 I should tell you that is my mother's favorite chapter of the book. Oh, for what it's worth, because she's big into strong feminine Christian leadership. And so, she was particularly smitten with you and with Rachel. So, I thought you should know that. Julie Roys 04:21 Oh, wow. Well, I'm honored. I really am. And I should mention that we are offering your book as a premium to anybody who gives $50 or more to The Roys Report in this month. Again, this is just a way that you're able to support the work that we do, but also get this fantastic book. Just go to JULIEROYS.COM/DONATE if you're able to help us out and continue the work that we do, and also get what could be a great Christmas present for somebody or for yourself. So anyway, encourage you to do that. Well, Tim, as I mentioned in the open, you're not writing this book as sort of an outsider critiquing evangelicalism. You grew up evangelical, your dad was an evangelical pastor. And oddly enough, it was at your dad's funeral in 2019, that something sort of awakened you to the severity of what's happening right now within evangelicalism. Tell us a bit about that story. TIM ALBERTA 05:17 Yeah, so my dad, Reverend Richard Alberta, was an amazing, amazing guy. We were very close. And he had a pretty crazy come to Jesus story himself where he was actually kind of a hotshot New York finance guy. And my mom was kind of a hotshot, young journalist with ABC Radio. They lived in New York and my dad, despite having all of this worldly material success, just felt this emptiness. And he was an atheist. He grew up in an unbelieving home. And he, one day stumbled into this church in the Hudson Valley, and heard the gospel and he gave his life to Christ. And it was already a pretty dramatic conversion because he became completely unrecognizable to people around him, including my mom, who was not yet a Christian. Everybody who knew him just thought he was sort of losing it. Suddenly, he's waking up at four in the morning to read his Bible and meditate in prayer for hours. And they're all like, what is this guy doing? And then pretty soon after that, he feels the Lord calling him to ministry. And now they all think he's like certifiable, right? You know, but he follows the Lord's calling. And, you know, he and my mom who became a Christian, they sell all the possessions so he can go to seminary, and they basically they give up this pretty lavish lifestyle they'd had. And for the next like, 20 years, they just work in small churches and live on food stamps and serve the Lord that way. And then when I come along, some years later, we eventually settle in Brighton, which is a suburb of Detroit. And my dad builds this kind of small startup church there into kind of a mega church. And that was my home. It was my community. It was my whole life, really. My mom was on the staff there at the church as well. It was called Cornerstone Evangelical Presbyterian Church. I was raised physically, literally, inside of that church. TIM ALBERTA 07:11 And so, my dad dies a few years back. And when I came back to the church for the funeral, because of the work I've done in politics, and because I had just recently written this book about Trumpism and his takeover of the Republican Party, I was kind of in the crosshairs of right-wing media at that time, because of the book. And so, at the funeral or at the wake during the visitation, I had a bunch of people at the church kind of confronting me and wanting to argue about politics and about Trump and asking me if I was still a Christian and how I could be criticizing him this way. And it was pretty ugly. And as you said, sort of a wakeup call. Julie Roys 07:52 Yeah. And it is something isn't it when you don't support these people that certain evangelicalism believe you have to your, you know, I've got people praying for my salvation, because I've taken on John MacArthur, you know, It's craziness. But there is this tribalism now, within evangelicalism, and it's probably at its very worst when it comes to former President Trump and what he typified. It's interesting to me, you know, as I look at the evangelical movement, you know, I was a card-carrying conservative right? Before Trump came along, and then something really happened. And I feel like I was going back and reading a little bit of Chuck Colson's, Kingdoms in Conflict. Do you remember that book? TIM ALBERTA 08:34 I do. Yeah. Julie Roys 08:35 I mean, he was pretty even handed. I mean, he's very clear in there that being in the kingdom of heaven means it's not about ruling others, it's about being under God's rule. And yet something has tripped, where we're not saying that anymore. We're really become about this whole Dominionism. And he talks about the cultural mandate and things like that, but it's from a very, very different perspective. So here we are dealing with all of this Christian nationalism, and according to your book, a lot of this began, and it's funny because now, Lynchburg Virginia has become synonymous with the Falwell's and with Liberty University. But I've got to say, growing up in the 80s, you know, I knew about the Moral Majority, and some of that, but it just wasn't that big to me. And yet it has grown and grown, and I guess I wasn't even aware of the influence it had. But talk about how a lot of this has its roots really there, in Lynchburg, Virginia, and with what Jerry Falwell Senior. started in, like the late 70s, early 80s. TIM ALBERTA 09:42 Sure, in the context of the American church experience, it is Lynchburg, Virginia. It is the mid-1970s. And it is Jerry Falwell Senior who was a brilliant businessman who, you know, this guy could sell anyone on anything, and he was kind of a master entrepreneur, also a master manipulator. And what Falwell Senior. effectively did, he had already built out Thomas Road Baptist Church into a massive congregation. And then he had tapped into the relatively new medium of television to broadcast his sermons around the country. At one point, he became the single most telecasted program in the entire country. And so, he's reaching millions of people and he's raising a lot of money. This is pretty cutting-edge stuff at the time, but he's building out a mailing list with like more than 10 million names on it, and they are raking in money. So, then he already has his church. But Falwell, Senior is really almost the early archetype of the Christian nationalist. He believes that sort of fighting for God and fighting for America is one in the same and that if America falls, then almost God's kingdom on earth will fall. And so he recognizes that he needs something more than a church; that he needs kind of a cultural stronghold. So, he does two things. First, he takes this little Baptist College Lynchburg Baptist College, and at the time of the bicentennial in 1976, he rebrands it to Liberty University, and he changes the colors from green and gold to red, white, and blue. And basically, they do this whole patriotic rebranding exercise, which is aimed at tapping into not only patriotism in the church, but also tapping into the percolating low simmering at the time, fear in the church and grievance in the church. This sense that, you know, abortion is now legal. Pornography is prevalent, the drug culture is out of control. Prayer is banned in public schools. Secularism is on the march and they're coming for us like they are coming for Christianity in America. And so, Jerry Falwell turns Liberty University into this cause, and then piggybacks onto that with this new organization, The Moral Majority. So suddenly, he's got these three cogs. And he builds out this machine, Falwell Senior does, and it is incredibly effective. They mobilize 10s of millions of voters and sort of bring them under this banner of not just, you know, Christianity, not just following Jesus, but a very particular type of Christianity, a sort of subculture of a subculture. And in many ways, those seeds planted by Falwell 50 years ago, we are harvesting them now. And what we are dealing with, you know, the fracturing of the modern evangelical movement, I think you can trace it directly back to that period. Julie Roys 12:36 It's so interesting, because I think when you talk about Jerry Falwell Senior, and I've talked to a lot of people from Liberty, I've done a lot of reporting about Liberty. And a lot of folks look very wistfully back to the early days, and these are good people, you know, I've talked extensively to them. They're really good people, sincere believers. They look at what's happened to Liberty, and they're like, this isn't Senior. Like Senior loved the Lord and he really was sincere in his walk with the Lord and Junior just was like, we don't know how Junior happened, right? I mean, that's how they often talk about it. I'm going to have you come back to that, because I think what you present is a very, very different picture and honestly, one that I've begun to suspect myself. But let's talk about what happens with you know, Senior dies pretty abruptly right of a heart attack. And then Jerry Falwell, Junior, who is the lawyer, right? He takes over not Jonathan Falwell, who's the pastor, much more of the spiritual leader, but Jerry Falwell, Junior takes over. Very clearly, I'm not a spiritual leader. I mean, he really assued that whole entire title. But when he takes over, despite all the success that his dad had, the school was on the brink of bankruptcy at this point, right? And he kind of turns it around. 13:57 So, Falwell, Junior. is the yes, the UVA trained lawyer, businessman, real estate developer, who is a smart guy. He knows business. And he had really kept the church and organized religion at arm's length. His younger brother Jonathan was the preacher in the family. But Jerry Junior, he'd gone to Liberty for his undergraduate studies. And he says that, you know, he believes in the teachings of Jesus but rejects a lot of the other stuff that comes with it, including Liberty itself. Jerry Junior never wanted to really be a part of Liberty. And suddenly as he's working in the private sector, the school is about to go under. Jerry Senior has really badly mismanaged the finances and he tells his son that basically the school is on the brink of insolvency. And so, Jerry Junior kind of reluctantly comes aboard and he helps to stabilize everything, and he makes a lot of drastic cuts to the different programs and kind of rejiggers the whole balance sheet operation. And he saves Liberty in a lot of ways that, you know, his father gave him credit for that. And it's interesting though, Julie, that when Jerry Falwell senior dies, it's not an accident that Jerry Junior. takes over. That was the plan of succession. It's notable that here is Jerry Falwell senior, who is both businessman and culture warrior, but also a preacher. And he's got these two sons that exemplify one of each, right? He's got the son who's a preacher. And he's got the other son who's the kind of culture warrior businessman. And he appoints the latter to take over Liberty after he's gone. And that in and of itself, I think, speaks volumes. And then more to the point, Jerry Junior, as you said, he comes in and he tells anybody who will listen, look, I'm not a religious leader, I'm not here charged with the spiritual well-being of this school. I'm here to turn us into a powerhouse, I'm here to turn us into a highly profitable, highly influential organization that can sort of, you know, push back against the forces of secularism in the left in this country. But he doesn't, to his credit, I suppose. Falwell Junior, he doesn't pretend that he's something that he's not. And the irony of it all, Julie is that everybody was fine with it. They were fine with it. Right? They were, as you know, when the money was coming in, and the buildings were going up at a rapid clip, and the endowment was bulging, everybody was fine with it. Because he's Jerry Senior's namesake, and he's a Falwell, and the school is doing great. Clearly God is blessing this project. So, what's not to like? Julie Roys 16:47 Well, and you say everyone was fine with it. And it's true on a public face, everyone was fine with it. I will say I started hearing from a lot of people who weren't fine with it from I mean, obviously the Jane DOE's and now we know about who were victims of sexual assault, and their cases got just horribly mismanaged. In fact, not even reported. And you know, now we have the Department of Education looking into how badly Liberty bungled these cases and violated Title Nine mandates, and they could face like a 30 some million dollar fine, which could be one of the largest ever. So, this was percolating under the surface, but nobody knew about it at the time. And I also talked to a lot of professors who were like, the way this place is being run is abysmal. There's nothing Christian about it. The way the administration handles things, there's nothing Christian about it. And we know too, from some of the people you interviewed, it was less like a religious institution and more like a mafia like a mob boss. Like Jerry turned into I think Jerry is very, he's very likable when you meet him. I mean, obviously very socially gifted, even though he's an introvert. He seems like this kind of your good old boy that, you know, everybody likes. But he began to become very controlling, and lock that place down where Jerry ruled with really an iron fist. And by the time some of the stuff started coming out about him, that place I mean, am I right, that it was a lot less like a Christian institution a lot more like the organized crime syndicate? TIM ALBERTA 18:24 Yeah, well, and listen like this is so Julie. It's funny, because obviously, you and I are in the same line of work. We're coming at this from pretty similar worldviews, and we're having similar conversations, with some of the same people. And you're exactly right when they're using the term family business. You know, Liberty is a family business. They're not just talking about like the Falwell family. There's, you know, the implication there is like very clearly that there is almost a mafioso-esque quality to, you don't cross the Falwell's, the power is concentrated in a few hands here. If you get a seat at the table, you are just lucky to be there and you nod and you know, at one point, I think I make sort of an offhand smart aleck comparison to like the North Korean military where, you know, you stand and salute the dear leader and don't dare step out of line. And of course, that's tragic on a number of levels, one of them being that Liberty has been filled over the years with really good and godly students and good and godly professors who are there for the right reasons. Some of these professors who started to really see the rot from the inside., they chose to stick around because on the one hand, they could see the success around them. The kind of observable material success that you know that the campus is absolutely stunning. Maybe God is doing something really marvelous here and I just have to kind of see my way through this part of it. But I also think that there's a level of devotion, and a feeling for some of these people that they wanted to help right the ship, that they wanted to be a part of the solution. And obviously, those are some of the characters I talk to in the book who now have finally gotten to a breaking point where they say, you know what? I just can't do it anymore. And not only can I not do it anymore, but the world needs to know, the whistle needs to be blown here that like this is not okay. Julie Roys 20:21 What does it say about evangelicalism, Tim, that when the money was coming in, and the money still is coming in, that everybody was okay with how godless this place was? And anybody that was in administration knew and saw it. The Board, who it's astounding to me that when Jerry Falwell Junior, got embroiled in this big sex scandal, and he gets fired, that Jerry Prevo takes over. And we think that that is a change of the guard. This was the man who was the chairman of the board the whole time that Jerry was doing all of this stuff. It's shocking to me, but yet I see it so much in so many different Christian organizations. And so, what is it about us that we're okay with these things, with really what is just absolute rampant hypocrisy? TIM ALBERTA 21:15 I'm afraid that in many ways, we're actually worse than some of those secular institutions. Because of this idea of the prosperity gospel, it's almost become like this proper noun. And so, people feel like well, those are those people are crazy. I'm not one of them, I'm not a part of that, right? But the idea inherent to the prosperity gospel, right is that, well, if you give to the Lord, and if you serve the Lord, if you follow the Lord, then you will be blessed. But that is so conveniently and so easily reverse engineered by a lot of Christians, either at a conscious or at a subconscious level, where when you see any sort of material success around you, you then say, well, clearly, I'm blessed. Clearly, the Lord is blessing this project. And that creates a kind of a permission structure, I think, for a lot of us to then turn a blind eye to things that are very obviously wrong, or kind of downplay things that you otherwise would never downplay. And whether that's an individual church congregation, whether that's a big college campus, whether it's the President of the United States, this can manifest in a lot of different ways. It's so much based on that kind of material thinking that I think we are particularly vulnerable, particularly susceptible to it here in the American church. I think the saddest part about it is that many of us just don't see it, or maybe don't want to see it. I don't know. Julie Roys 22:44 Your book has a stunning quote, stunning quote by a former professor, Dr. Aaron Warner. And he says, and I quote, Jerry, Senior, was always a bit of a scoundrel, and Jerry Junior, perfected the art of using fear and hatred as a growth strategy. Christianity happens to be the thing that they used to build a multibillion-dollar institution. It could have been anything else. It could have been moonshine, but they chose Christianity. And it's gained them a lot of power and a lot of money; the two things these people truly worship. You talked to a lot of people, interviewed a lot of people at Liberty. Is that characterization fair? Or do you think it's a little too harsh? TIM ALBERTA 23:23 It's harsh, that's for sure. It might contain some traces of hyperbole. But I will say this, Aaron Werner is another guy who knows that institution very well. Went there as an undergraduate, has deep longstanding ties to Liberty And the stories he tells from the inside are stunning. One of the other quotes, actually, I thought it might be the one that you're going to read because it kind of runs right along in parallel to that one is from a current professor. Now, at the time of this recording, he's a current professor. My sense is that when the book releases and when this gets back to the administration that he could be dismissed and he's expecting that that will happen. But his name is Nick Olsen, and he's an English professor, very popular English professor there. Brilliant, godly young guy. And he's a legacy at Liberty. His dad was one of the first students at Liberty and a contemporary of Falwell Senior. And Nick has sort of agonized in recent years with this inheritance at Liberty and everything that he's seen and struggled with there. And he says to me, this is not quite verbatim, but he says this to me in the final chapter of the book, he says, Jerry Junior, thought that he was fulfilling his father's vision by assuing spiritual stuff and by building out this massive multibillion dollar like culture warring Republican institution. And he says, and it is heartbreaking, because that's exactly what he's done, and he did fulfill Jerry Senior's vision. And I think that piece of it, Julie is not hyperbole. I think that when you spend enough time digging through the archives and talking to people who were there in the room where it happened, so to speak, it becomes pretty self-evident. And by the way, you know, you mentioned earlier that there are people who will say, Yeah, but you know, Jerry Senior, he really loved the Lord. Yeah, well, these things aren't mutually exclusive. I mean, I'm not suggesting that he didn't love the Lord. But I'm suggesting that like many people who love the Lord, he got his priorities out of whack. And by the way, we are all susceptible to this. But it's very hard to evaluate the history of Liberty University, the decisions made there, the structure of the place and the personnel and how they've treated people and what the benchmarks have been. It's very hard to assess all of that and reach any other conclusion than the one that Nick Olsen reaches at the end of the book. Julie Roys 25:41 And yet Liberty continues to be the largest Christian university in the country. It still has this dominance, there's still a lot of people that I know sending their kids there. And it's heartbreaking to me. I mean, I just wonder at what point do we say enough, and we stand up to this? And I'm glad that people are starting to speak out. But sometimes I wonder if it's too little too late, when we have just these juggernaut organizations and it really has been a marrying of two kingdoms that should be in conflict, and we're trying to say that they can be married together the kingdom of this world, the kingdom, the political realm, and the kingdom of Christ. And Jesus never became a political leader. It's stunning to me some of these quotes that are in your book, that are just like you expect a lightning to fall out of the sky, the way that scripture and Jesus are being misrepresented. It's just so awful. Julie Roys 26:37 In your first section, though, I have to say there's always some redeeming thing in each section, which I'm like, Thank You, Lord. It's like a palate cleanser in a lot of just awful stuff. But you have this beautiful chapter. And it's on a guy, John Dixon, who I actually got to know in my reporting on Ravi Zacharias, because John used to be a speaker for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. And he was one of those who, you know, pretty early in the game as things were starting to come out, recognized that there were some lies being told by the institution he had been a part of, and he quickly made a break, and he boldly took a stand. I mean, I really respected him for that, that he didn't seem to have this Oh, fear of, if I say something, what's going to happen to me? I mean, he just said what was right, and what was what was true. And now he's at Wheaton College, which is right in my backyard. And what I love is that he's so joyfully on the losing team. You know, we've got all of these people, all these Christians out there telling us we have to be on the winning team, we got to take America back. And here's John Dixon saying, No, we're on the losing team right now. I mean, eventually, when Christ comes back, we'll be you know, he will set things right, and we'll be on the winning team. But for now, we're kind of on the losing team. And it's okay, people. So, talk about John and what we can learn from him and his example, because again, he's from Australia, which is probably about 10 or 15 years ahead of us in sort of this post Christian era that, you know, is beginning to happen here as well. Julie Roys 28:16 And that is so tough for us. I mean, it's not tough for Chinese Christians to get this, right? I mean they get it right away. Because to be a believer means you have to get rid of everything, you can't hold on to anything, you're gonna lose all your power, all your position. But I think we've been, actually it's the curse of being prosperous. And being in a country where Christians have had the majority and where it actually was a plus, probably for my parents to be believers. I think it won't be for my children. But maybe that'll be a good thing. And maybe that's precisely what the church needs. We already think we're being persecuted, which is funny. We really aren't. But we may see it. And right now, I think most of the persecution we're getting is because of what you said that we're not because we're so holy, but because we're actually worse than the world in so many different ways. And we deserve it. TIM ALBERTA 28:16 John is really one of my favorite people I've met in all of the journeys that I was on, and one of my favorite characters in the book for exactly the reasons that you mentioned there. And the fact that he is not an American is, I think, a big part of his perspective, right? But I think also, there's something deeper embedded in the American psyche, about winning, about the need to dominate. I have a funny quote somewhere else in the book from somebody who had spent years living and studying and teaching in Canada, who talks about how Canadians just want fourth place, and then when they get the bronze, they're thrilled. And in America, if you don't get the gold, you're a total loser, right? And so, there's something, you know, about the American Christian experience that's so different. And so, John, one of my favorite scenes in all of this reporting that I did was, we're sitting in the cafeteria there at Wheaton College, surrounded by the flags of the world all around us in the cafeteria. And I say, Why did you come here? Like, really? Why did you come here? And he says, like, this is my mission field now, like the US is my mission field because of this, this stuff. Everything you and I are discussing right now. He said this stuff is like so toxic and so unhealthy. And the church is caught in this terrible pattern. That, by the way, is not new. Right? You go back to Constantine, there has been this obsession with worldly power this inclination to merge two kingdoms into one. So, what we're living through here is not new, in a lot of ways. And I think John is so brilliant in kind of illuminating the appropriate Christian perspective here, which is to say that if you care so much about winning and losing, then the good news is you've already won, right? The tomb is empty, Jesus conquered death, and you believe in him. So therefore, you're already a part of the kingdom. But this place, which is meant to be ephemeral, and unimportant ultimately, and just, you know, a step among the stairs, that if your identity here is wrapped up in winning and losing, then you can't really have your identity there. And he says, ultimately, you know, we're the death and resurrection people. Like losing, and losing well, is a part of the Christian experience. TIM ALBERTA 31:24 John Dixon talks about how there's sort of this inverse relationship historically, between the amount of cultural and social and political power held by Christians in a society and the health of Christianity in that society, right? In other words, when you hold the commanding heights, the Christian influence it actually tends to be pretty weak and pretty corrupted and pretty compromised. When you are at the margins and when you are truly countercultural, the witness thrives. And we've seen that throughout history. Another favorite character of mine in the book, Brian Zahnd, who's the pastor of a church out in Missouri, he talks about how difficult it is for American Christians to really appreciate how the Bible is written from the perspective of the underdog, right? The Hebrew slaves fleeing Egypt, and the first century Christians living under a brutal Roman occupation. Like they had no power, they had no influence. And yet they were so joyful, and they were so content because they had their kingdom, right? And it does give me unease even in my own personal life, just the things I enjoy the materials, the prosperity, the comforts; can I fully appreciate the baby born in a manger? can I fully identify with the vagrant preacher from the ghettos of Nazareth? You know, it's a hard thing. Julie Roys 32:42 And here's the reality; that message, which is Christ's message really doesn't sell well in America. Having your best life now sells in America. And what we're seeing right now, and this, you know, brings me to the second section in your book dealing with power, which again, we've got to take back, America, has become sort of the mantra that we're hearing from so many of these, you know, political rights. And it has just morphed into something where, and again, I said at the outset, I used to be very much politically engaged with the conservative movement. I am not anymore because I can't stomach it and what it's become. I felt like we were being salt. But now it's about dominating and doing it by any means possible, where we just get rid of our morality. And I was always brought up to believe and I think this is what Scripture teaches, that the means is as important as the end. And so, if we achieve a righteous end through an unrighteous means, then we've lost. We've completely lost because we have given up what makes us unique, and what makes us God honoring for something that we're saying is a God honoring, you know end. But again, this is what has happened in our country. And, and what's interesting in this section that just captured my imagination. I mean, I've wondered this, like, you take a Robert Jeffress, right? This guy's not dumb. He's a smart Southern Baptist preacher, clearly a savvy guy. He has built this mega church, but the things that came out of his mouth, especially when Trump was in power, but it's still there. The things that come out of his mouth, and I think, he's got to know that this is not in line with the Gospels. He's got to see this. And yet, publicly, you wouldn't hear that. But when you met with him privately, you began to hear some doubt in there and allowing you to see a little bit of vulnerability, although it didn't seem to last all that long. But talk about that, because I'm not sensing much doubt in the masses that follow these men. But when you get them one on one, tell me what you see. TIM ALBERTA 34:50 And it's not just Robert Jeffress, Greg Locke, Greg Locke, Ralph Reed. Yeah, yeah, a lot of these guys. It's the pastor who in my hometown, grew his church tenfold by basically turning Sunday morning worship services into Fox news segments. And giving a Nazi salute to Gretchen Whitmer from his pulpit. I mean, but then you get them one on one. And you press them a little bit. I mean, you know, politely, respectfully, but you press them. Suddenly, they not only back off a little bit, but they do a little bit of like winking and nodding at you to basically say, like, you're right, I'm definitely putting on a bit of a song and dance here for the masses. But I think that they will ultimately justify it by saying, Well, yeah, but look at all these people who are coming in and look at the opportunity, we have to reach them now with the gospel? So, you know, those ends really do justify the means. I think the problem with that, as you hinted it, is but look, I mean, there's a lot of problems with it. You know, Mark 8:36 is not a rhetorical question, right? Like, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world yet forfeit his soul? But I think for some of these people, some of these leaders, the thing that really grates at me and I know it grates at you, Julie, is like, they're the shepherds, they're the ones who are supposed to know better, because a lot of their flock, you know, and I'm not being condescending or patronizing when I say this, they don't necessarily know better, they are the sheep, right? They need to be shepherded. And instead of shepherding, a lot of these people have just themselves become wolves. And they become wolves for what? So that you can have a seat at the table? So that you can get on Fox News? So that you can raise some money? So that for what ultimately? You're so right, when you press them on it almost to a person, they will acknowledge at some level that what they're doing is kind of gross, and kind of anti-biblical, and then they just keep on doing it. Julie Roys 36:46 So, speak to the person who is listening. And we probably don't have a ton of these. But there may be some who are listening, who have bought this hook, line, and sinker that we do need to take America back. And Franklin Graham told us it's all for the Supreme Court justices, and we got the Supreme Court justices and Roe v. Wade was just overturned and, you know, look at what was accomplished. So, you know, politics is a dirty business, Tim. I mean, come on, if we're gonna win in politics, which, you know, we're talking about babies here, babies are being slaughtered left and right. And then, you know, some of these people would allow a baby to be born alive and kill it. You know, that's who these people are. So, I mean, come on. This is the world we live in, and we've got to fight the way that the world fights. What do you say? TIM ALBERTA 37:35 I'd say a couple of things. I think you can go round and round about Roe v. Wade, and about Trump and about Supreme Court justices. But be careful what you wish for in this space. Because the fact of the matter is that Roe v Wade fell, and the total number of abortions in this country went up. I live in Michigan, where prior to Roe v Wade falling, there were pretty tight abortion restrictions in Michigan. Now, it is the wild west. It is some of the most liberalized abortion laws in the country. And that is true in seven or eight other states that have had ballot initiatives passed since Roe v. Wade, dramatically liberalizing abortion laws, and it's going to happen in a number of other states next year. So, let's be really clear eyed and fact based when we talk about what our political involvement does and what it doesn't do. At the end of the day, if you want to win hearts and minds to stop the scourge of abortion, if you are a Christian, and you view this as your great crusade, then is voting for a candidate or putting a bumper sticker on your car, is that the way to win those hearts and minds? Because the fact is, if American evangelicals had put a fraction of the energy into the social side of abortion, of doing the hard work in the clinics, and helping the single mothers and doing the foster care that is needed to address this at its root, if they had been willing to do that over the last 50 years, my guess is that public opinion would be dramatically different as it pertains to abortion. And we wouldn't even be talking about Roe v. Wade, because the number of abortions would be so low in this country that it wouldn't even register. But we've sort of self-selected into this alternate universe where politicians are our savior, and that politics is the mechanism by which we right the wrongs in this country. And I'm sorry, but if you are citizens of another kingdom?, then you can't possibly believe that. You can't possibly believe that Donald Trump or that any other politician is the person who's going to ultimately right these great moral wrongs. But unfortunately, I think that's the trap we've fallen into. Julie Roys 39:51 You know, I used to be very involved in the prolife movement. I will say, almost all of the people that I knew when I was involved in the pro-life movement, were actually involved in reaching out to single moms and caring for them and caring for their unborn children. But I think what we've forgotten so much is that politics is downstream of culture. So, if you're losing the culture, which we clearly are to change the politics, if you've got a kid that's rebellious, a teenager who's rebellious in your home, locking down all the windows and the doors in your house, that's not going to keep your kid from sinning. What's going to keep your kid from sinning, is if you can winsomely love your child into relationship with Jesus Christ and to want to be like you and to want to adopt your values. But we've forgotten about that, we've become this, you know, Midas right. And I remember in 2016, writing a commentary, The Rise of Trump, The Fall of Evangelicalism, and I said, we may win this one, but we will lose in the long run, if we throw our convictions out the window, and we alienate everyone around us, by our you know, the way that we talk and the way that we relate to people. This is not how you win people to the Lord. That fell on, you know, really deaf ears. It actually lost me some key supporters too. But I just was stunned because I did not know who these people were that I thought believed the same way that I did and had the same values. And then I went, Wow, we are just on different planets, we really don't have that. Julie Roys 41:29 I want to look at one person, again, you have these palate cleansers within all of these sections. And one of them to me is Cal Thomas, who was very much a part of the right and so I can relate to that, because that was I mean, I used to be emceeing the banquet to raise money for you know, the political cause, or whatever it was. I don't do that anymore. Cal Thomas doesn't do that anymore. What changed Cal? TIM ALBERTA 41:58 It's so funny, Julie, because just a minute ago, when you were talking about what are the weapons of our warfare? I was thinking about Cal., because Cal for those who don't know his story, you know, he was Jerry Falwell Senior's lieutenant in the Moral Majority. And he was their spokesman for the Moral Majority. And the vice president of that organization, and, you know, was really heavily involved in the kind of crusading era of the Religious Right, he was a central figure. And then Cal really started to feel uneasy with what he was seeing around him. And he doesn't even sugarcoat it. We have this very raw conversation in the book where he talks about, you know, the corruption and the greed and the grift. And how he just couldn't justify it. He justified it for a while by saying, Well, look how many people we're reaching, and look at all this money coming in. So clearly, you know, God must be doing something here. And then he eventually just gets to a point where he says, No, this is a scam. It's just immoral. And he finally walks away. And then years later, he writes this book called Blinded by Might, where he kind of tries to atone. And he just says, Listen, I was a total believer in winning the culture war to protect Christian America, as you know, part of our duty, you know, to God's kingdom. And in fact, not only has it failed, but it has backfired spectacularly, that we have driven away so many people who need Jesus, but who won't have anything to do with us anymore, They won't even let us in the door to have a conversation because of the way we've treated them because of the way we've treated the culture. So, to your point about locking down the teenager in the house, right? Cal really eloquently and powerfully was giving voice to this when he wrote that book. And then, you know, in our interviews for this book, he's an older guy now he's 80. And he's looking back with such regret on those years and thinking about how did he in some way contribute to laying the groundwork for Trump ism as this kind of sub cult in the evangelical world. And what's most interesting to me from that whole conversation, and I said this to him, is that the more things have changed, the more they've stayed the exact same. I mean, this break that he's describing in the 1980s. And this kind of crisis of conscience that he's feeling is exactly what we're trying to address today. What I'm trying to address in the book now, which is that, listen, it doesn't have to be this way. You have a choice, right? We all have a choice. It was so incredibly unpleasant for me to write this book in a lot of ways, Julie. If I'm being totally honest, I probably couldn't have written it while my dad was still alive. It would have been too hard. Like I've had some people writing me emails this past week saying, oh, like thank you for your courage. Thank you for your brave, I don't feel courageous. I don't feel brave. I feel like a coward in a lot of ways that it took me so long and that a lot of ways took my dad dying and having those experiences at his funeral to finally be willing to acknowledge and use my platform, my relatively high profile journalistically speaking to address this thing that has been so clearly wrong for such a long time. And so, for anybody listening, whether it's in your individual congregation, your faith community, your family, whatever it is like, it doesn't have to be this way. And it takes people like Cal Thomas, kind of blowing up his own life, blowing up his tribal affiliations and walking away. It takes Pastor Brian Zahnd, who I write about in Chapter 15, who had a mega church of 5000 people, and they were making money hand over fist. And then he just woke up one day and had this like epiphany from the Lord that it was all wrong, and that it was so shallow, and it was doing such a disservice to the Gospel. And he blew up his mega church. He's got like 150 people who come every Sunday now and the sanctuary seats like 2000. And he made a choice, right? Cal Thomas made a choice. You've made a choice, Julie. And I just think like, at the end of the day, the people who make that choice and who decide to reckon with what this has become? I don't think they're going to regret it. I really don't. Julie Roys 46:05 I have not regretted it once being free of the whole evangelical industrial complex as it's called, and just being free to follow your conscience without thinking, what are the consequences if I speak the truth publicly? Like what's going to happen to me? Like I see so many Christians just living in fear that if they speak out, or they tell the truth that they know that something, you know, there will be bad consequences for me, and it just makes me wonder, do we believe the gospel, like do we believe the gospel? What gospel are we living on day-to-day basis? And I love Pastor Zahnd's story that was like one of my favorite stories. And it reminded me of the book because I just interviewed Scott McKnight and Laura Behringer and their book pivot, which talks about similar things, other churches that realized church is toxic. It's huge, it's successful, but I feel empty inside, you know, and I feel thin, and they made that pivot. And it may be to smaller church, it may be and it's interesting, though, you were saying how Zahnd's church is now starting to maybe even start to grow and become a little bit healthier. And so, when I hear that I say, it's going to take a while. But in this, you know, these ashes, do you see something growing that's beautiful there that can replace this ugliness that quite frankly, I think I just think it's doomed. I think it's coming down. I don't know that it will come down quickly. This complex that we've built, but I think it will come down eventually. It may take decades. But I think there will be a Christianity I hope this was my prayer that replaces it. And it's more organic and more Grassroots less big leadership and more the Body of Christ. TIM ALBERTA 47:48 Yes, I do see something rising from the ashes. I can sense it, particularly among the younger generation. One of the things that consistently surprised me in all of my reporting, and it was a pleasant surprise, to be clear, was spending time with younger believers. They ideologically, culturally, politically, like they're really no different from their parents, like they check those boxes on paper. But then you kind of get into some of this with them. And they want nothing to do with Trumpism. They want nothing to do with Charlie Kirk, and I'm talking about like the serious believers. I'm not talking about like the very casual kids who identify as Christian, but then go to a Turning Point USA event. I mean, like, you spend time around Liberty, and like, yes, there are some MAGA kids at Liberty. But most of the kids you spend time with at Liberty, including those who would self-identify as like, sure I guess on paper, I would be a Republican, because of abortion because of other issues, they will really eloquently and gracefully speak to these schisms. And they're so perceptive. I think that's the big thing, Julie, is that they can see it. Right? My generation, I kind of think of us as like the children of the Moral Majority. And we can now very clearly diagnose this in a way that my dad's generation probably couldn't, they were too close to it. They were too wrapped up in it. And I think, you know, in some ways, they almost I kind of tend to maybe just give them a little bit of a pass for that because they didn't have the appropriate distance to really assess it and analyze it in the way that I think I'm able to, and certainly in the way that the generations behind me are able to. They see what this is doing to the church, and they are saying no, thank you. Even at my home church, the guy who took over for my dad, almost run out of the place. He came very close to just quitting because it got so bad for him because he hears this young guy taking over this, this mega church congregation in a very conservative Republican community. And he's not particularly a conservative Republican. He's not like some big Democrat either. He's just a guy who like loves Jesus and who processes news events through the eyes of like the gospel, right? What's so interesting is that he lost a ton of his congregation. And then this past summer, I went back for the first time since my dad's funeral, and the place was packed, and I didn't recognize anybody there. And he comes out and gives this sort of fire and brimstone sermon, challenging them on the culture wars, challenging them on like, where are your priorities, really? What kingdom do you really belong to? And so that actually, I didn't aim to end the book on that optimistic note, but I was so encouraged by it, because it makes me think that in this market of supply and demand that you and I have talked about, and mostly we focused on the perverted nature of the supply and demand, that there is also maybe more demand out there than we realize for that true, pure form of the gospel. And so that is my hope, moving forward, and particularly with these younger Christians, who will demand something better than what we've seen so far. Julie Roys 50:53 I loved that I don't often read the epilogue, but in your book I did. And that was beautiful to read about Pastor Winans and the way that, you know, you kind of left them in the early chapters really disillusioned and discouraged. And then he comes back invigorated for the gospel, and preaching it so boldly and that really, pastors like that give me hope. And I know that there's probably a lot more of them than I encounter in you know, the line of work that I do, which usually means I hear about the worst of the worst all the time. Julie Roys 51:28 Let me just ask you about this most of your chapters are about political power and about the way that these kingdoms and the power has sort of become an idolatrous thing. And then you turn your eye to corruption going on in the church and the abuse, the abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention, how that's been addressed recently, how Rachel den Hollander stood up to it and she went, you know, most people I'm sure listening know Rachel's story. But you know, one of the first gymnasts who came forward and told her story about Larry Nasser, and how he had abused so much of the, you know, US Olympic gymnasts team. And she went from being just Joan of Arc, I think you call it to being Jezebel, right? Or from Esther to Jezebel, because she spoke out about the evil in the church. And that's what I found. When I was at Moody Radio I was allowed to speak about Joel Osteen, right? Or I was allowed to speak about the liberals in politics. But when I turned my critique on our own tribe, man, I would get shut down, you know. That's one of the reasons I left Moody besides the others that I talked about. I couldn't speak out about the evil in our own house. And I feel that at this point, we have no moral platform as Christians to be speaking about the evil out in the world anymore, until we deal with the evil in our own house and the way that it's crept in. You know, judgment begins with the house of God. He doesn't expect, you know, the people who don't know him, to act any differently than they're acting, but He expects us to, and we're not. So, I appreciated that you put this chapter in the book, dealing with some of the abuse and the corruption within the church. But you could have easily left it out and just talked about the way that politics has, you know, really usurped the gospel. Why did you put this chapter in? TIM ALBERTA 53:28 One of the things that really bugs me, is how the New Testament model here and you were just alluding to this a moment ago. The New Testament model is not ambiguous. We are to treat outsiders with unlimited grace and kindness and compassion and forgiveness, because they don't know God, and they don't know any better. That is clear. And what is also clear is that we are to treat the insiders with the utmost accountability, and they are to be held to the highest standard because they do know God, and they do know better. That is the New Testament model. And we in the American church have completely flipped it. We have nothing but hostility, and animus and enmity towards the outside world. And we practice nothing but grace and forgiveness and cheap grace and cheap forgiveness inside the church. Right? And it drives me a little bit nuts. Because if you are the person out there in the world, who is sort of curious about Jesus, and you feel something missing in your life, what are the odds today that you're going to go to a local church and try to learn a little bit more? I mean, you know, you might say, Well, some people will, some people do Sure. But the statistics here don't lie, Julie. Like when you look back 30 or 40 years, the perception of the church among unbelievers in this country was incredibly positive. People who did not know Jesus looked at the church as a beacon of moral rectitude, of compassion, of social good. Even if they were never going to sit in the pews with us, even if they didn't believe any of the doctrine, they respected the church and they admire the church. And that has completely changed. It's just completely fallen apart. There are some people who will tell you like Robert Jeffers and I go back and forth on this in the book, he said, Well, that it doesn't matter, right? Those people aren't looking for the Lord. I completely disagree. I think the credibility of the church matters enormously. TIM ALBERTA 55:37 To your question of why did I feel compelled to include that chapter? Well, who's going to hold the church accountable? Is the church going to hold itself accountable? No, I mean, typically, institutions are not very good at self-policing. We know that from working in journalism, right? By the way, the media is not very good at self-policing. Actually, I could argue the media is terrible at self-policing. I mean, any big institution, it can't be expected to hold itself accountable. Okay, so what are the mechanisms for accountability here? If we care about the Bride of Christ, if we care about the credibility of the church, if we care about how the outside world perceives the church, which I think matters enormously, then what do we do to ensure that the church is on the up and up and is doing its duty before God and it's carrying out its purpose and its mission? You know, journalism has to play a role in that. I think, you know, the law has to play a role in that. I think that there are external forces, even, you know, gasp secular forces that have to play a role in that, because otherwise, we just leave these churches, these pastors to their own devices. And I'm sorry, but you don't need to read any other source then the Bible itself. You pick up the Bible itself, read from Old Testament to new and see how well that works out. We see it time and again. I there are not accountability structures in place, then things go very badly, very quickly. And so that's a long answer to your question. Julie Roys 57:06 Hmm. Well, I appreciate that. And I appreciate your book. And I know you're getting interviews all over the country. I saw you on CBS, Good Morning America; that was so exciting to see but really wonderful that you've gotten this platform to winsomely speak to the rest of society who I remember a couple of times, I got to be on NPR. They would ask me about evangelicalism, and they are always amazed, I think that I could even string two sentences together. And I was actually an evangelical right? But I am so thrilled that you are representing evangelicals because you're a face that and I don't know, do you still identify as Evangelical? TIM ALBERTA 57:49 not really, I don't fight the label, but I would not volunteer it for myself just because of exactly what we just described, you know. Somebody outside the church hears it, and they quickly shut down the conversation, because they don't really want anything to do with you. Julie Roys 58:01 I don't know if I would take that term, either. I'm kind of where you are, as well. But you're a Christian, and you love Jesus. And even when I heard you in that one interview recently said, How's your faith? and you're like, it's as strong as it's ever been. I thank you for that and for your witness, and for this book, and for giving me so much of your time. I really appreciate it. So, thank you, TIM ALBERTA 58:21 Thank you for all that you're doing. And thank you for saying that. It's very kind of you. We're ultimately playing some small part here in trying to get this thing back on track and doing it as humbly as possible. I hope that we can make a difference. Thank you for having me on. And I know that we'll continue to talk. Julie Roys 58:39 Absolutely. And thanks so much for listening to The Roys Report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church. I'm Julie Roys. And just a quick reminder, if you'd like a copy of Tim Alberta's book, The Kingdome, The Power, and The Glory, we'd be happy to send you one for a gift of $50 or more to The Roys Report this month. Again, we don't have any large donors or advertising, we simply have you, the people who care about exposing evil and restoring the church. So, if you'd like to support our work and get Tim's book, just go to JULIEROYS.COM/DONATE. Also, I want to let you know that next week, I'll be releasing another talk from the RESTORE conference. This one is by veteran church planter Lance Ford, who gave an amazing talk on the Christian addiction to leadership and why it's so toxic. I love this talk and I think you will too. So be watching for that. We'll release the talk as both an audio podcast and as a video at my YouTube channel. Also, just a quick reminder to subscribe to The Roys Report on Apple podcast, Google podcasts or Spotify. That way you'll never miss an episode. And while you're at it, I'd really appreciate it if you'd help us spread the word about the podcast by leaving a review. And then please share the podcast on social media. So, more people can hear about this great content. Again, thanks so much for joining me today hope you are blessed and encouraged. Read more
Krystal and Saagar are joined by author Tim Alberta to talk about his new book The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism.Check out Tim's Book here: https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Power-Glory-Evangelicals-Extremism/dp/006322688X To become a Breaking Points Premium Member and watch/listen to the show uncut and 1 hour early visit: https://breakingpoints.supercast.com/ Merch Store: https://shop.breakingpoints.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On this episode Tim Alberta and Michael Wear dig deep into Alberta's new book, The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. Their discussion covers the shaping of the religious and political expression of American evangelicalism in the latter half of the 20th century until today, including the movement's most influential leaders. They explore how Tim's personal experiences as a pastor's son give his journalism and coverage a unique urgency, and they highlight crucial questions of truth, accountability, and priorities within the evangelical community and in American society more broadly. Guests: Tim Alberta Michael Wear Additional Resources: The Kingdom, The Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, by Tim Alberta NPR "Fresh Air" interview with Tim Alberta "The Long Game" interview with Tim Alberta Christianity Today Russell Moore Show interview with Tim Alberta The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life, by Michael Wear
Donald Trump commands extreme support from evangelicals in America – despite seemingly lacking Christian values. How has this support developed and endured? Dr Seth Thévoz is joined by Tim Alberta, journalist and author of the book The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, to discuss. “There is a caricature of the evangelical, flag waving Trump republican which isn't always accurate.” – Tim Alberta “Evangelicals view Trump as the ultimate brawler. He can fight for them in ways that are not beholden to Christian virtues and heritage. It is a great irony.” – Tim Alberta https://www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and Presented by Seth Thévoz. Assistant Producer: Adam Wright. Audio Production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music: Kenny Dickinson. Artwork: James Parrett. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Journalist Tim Alberta grew up in the evangelical church and has watched with both concern and interest as some factions of the faith have changed over the years. Following the death of his pastor father, Tim decided to take a closer look at American evangelicalism. He published the book “The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism” in December 2023. Tim joined David to talk about his new book, the profitability and politicization of the evangelical movement, the Moral Majority and the history of evangelical victimization, Donald Trump's threat to religious freedom, and the real Nikki Haley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How did evangelical Christians shift from being reluctant supporters of Trump to among his most passionate defenders? How did some evangelicals, historically suspicious of politicians, develop a “fanatical cult-like attachment” to Donald Trump? And what happened to the evangelical movement, as some bought into Trump's vision of America and others recoiled? A few weeks before the Iowa caucuses we talk to Tim Alberta, a staff writer at the Atlantic and author of the new book The Kingdom, the Power and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. Want to share unlimited access to The Atlantic with your loved ones? Give a gift today at theatlantic.com/podgift. For a limited time, select new subscriptions will come with the bold Atlantic tote bag as a free holiday bonus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Michigan-based journalist Tim Alberta's new book, "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism," sheds light on the evangelical movement sweeping across the U.S. We talked to Alberta about how in the evangelical movement fear and political anxiety is taking the focus away from scripture. GUEST: Tim Alberta, staff writer for The Atlantic ___ Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way. If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Conspiracy theories, political idolatry, church divisions, and pastoral burnout. How do we explain what's happened to the evangelical movement in America? Tim Alberta is a political journalist and staff writer for The Atlantic. His new book, “The Power, the Glory, and the Kingdom,” looks at how evangelicalism lost its way. As an evangelical himself, Alberta says fear and greed created the conditions for extremism to take over the movement. Also this week, surprising data after the Dobbs decision shows birthrates are up in states that banned abortion, but overall abortion rates nationwide are also higher. And should we use ChatGPT to interpret the Bible? Kaitlyn's new article says probably not. Holy Post Plus Extended Tim Alberta Interview https://www.patreon.com/posts/94152371 0:00 - Intro 1:25 - Show starts 2:13 - Theme Song 2:35 - Sponsor - Faithful Counseling - Get 10% off your first month at www.FaithfulCounseling.com/HOLYPOST 3:45 - Are abortion rates increasing or decreasing 26:25 - Should AI interpret Scripture 48:13 - Sponsor - Sundays Dog Food - Get 35% off your first order of Sundays. Go to www.SundaysForDogs.com/HOLYPOST or use code HOLYPOST at checkout. 49:25 - Sponsor - Blueland - Get 30% off your first order by going to www.blueland.com/HOLYPOST 50:38 - Interview Intro 55:20 - What made evangelicals feel under siege 1:06:00 - Pervasive greed 1:13:00 - How Trumpism is impacting the local church 1:30:06 - End Credits Links mentioned in news segment: Our abortion video from 2020 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvWD7ykNjCc The Daily: Ending Roe Was Supposed to Reduce Abortions. It Didn't. on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-daily/id1200361736?i=1000636899810 Why Do We Want AI to Interpret Scripture? https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/december/ai-artificial-intelligence-interpret-scripture-bible.html Other resources: The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta - https://amzn.to/418LPNb Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/ Holy Post Plus: www.holypost.com/plus Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop 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.
When journalist Tim Alberta attended his father's funeral, he expected people to speak words of comfort. What he didn't expect was a confrontation. And yet, just a short walk away from the casket, someone approached a grieving Alberta to critique his writing on Trumpism. On a new episode of The Russell Moore Show, Moore welcomes Alberta, a writer for The Atlantic and the author of The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism to discuss how American culture has reached the point where people feel compelled to argue politics at all times. Alberta and Moore talk about the ways that politics have invaded the church in recent years. He and Moore talk about what fear has done to the state of evangelicalism, the rise of secularism, and the differences in conversations between white and multiethnic congregations. They consider ways that demographics affect political and religious perspectives, how pastors have engaged QAnon, and the variances in generational perspectives on American politics. Tune in for a conversation that sheds light on America's history and ponders what its future could be. Resources mentioned in this episode include: The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta Blinded by Might: Can the Religious Right Save America? by Cal Thomas“ The Religious Right and the Abortion Myth” by Randall Balmer “Russell Moore Wants Us To Be Strange (But Not Crazy)” on the Good Faith podcast The “Against Trump” issue of National Review High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out by Amanda Ripley Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to questions@russellmoore.com. Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper Host: Russell Moore Producer: Ashley Hales Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens Audio engineering by Dan Phelps Video producer: Abby Egan Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Author Tim Alberta appeared with Stephanie Ruhle to explain the psychology behind Evangelical Christians who support Donald Trump. He was promoting his new book. "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism" (https://amzn.to/3Taq5P0) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/politicsdoneright/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/politicsdoneright/support
Subscribe to The Realignment to access our exclusive Q&A episodes and support the show: https://realignment.supercast.com/REALIGNMENT NEWSLETTER: https://therealignment.substack.com/PURCHASE BOOKS AT OUR BOOKSHOP: https://bookshop.org/shop/therealignmentEmail Us: realignmentpod@gmail.comFoundation for American Innovation: https://www.thefai.org/posts/lincoln-becomes-faiTim Alberta, staff writer for The Atlantic and author of The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, joins The Realignment. Marshall and Tim discuss the evolution of Trump's relationship from Evangelical Christians from 2015 to the present, the impact of a secularizing America on faith's role in politics, and the long-term effects of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
We're joined by Tim Alberta upon the publication of his new book, The Kingdom, The Power and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. After starting out with some fun banter about Tim's beloved Detroit Lions and veering off into kids' names, we delve into weighty topics such as whether Tim still considers himself an #evangelical - more specifically, if there are aspects of his faith he's begun to question. Much of this conversation is about the new book: "The main thing is no longer the main thing" for so many megachurch pastors; Donald Trump is "a creation of the culture gone crazy" (especially in the American Evangelical church); whether hucksters like Trump and Paula White, when they're behind closed doors, laugh at all their "suckers" that buy into their various schemes; who Tim thinks is the audience for THE KINGDOM, THE POWER, AND THE GLORY - and who he hopes the audience is; and we get to hear some input from Charles Mingus the 3rd! Tim Alberta is a staff writer for The Atlantic and the former chief political correspondent for Politico, and has written for dozens of other publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, and Vanity Fair. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump and the newly released The Kingdom, The Power and the Glory. He co-moderated the final Democratic presidential debate of 2019 and frequently appears as a commentator on television programs in the United States and around the world. And as listeners will quickly learn, Tim is a big time Detroit Lions fan. Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Please support our wonderful sponsor Meza Wealth Management: https://www.mezawealth.com/ We're also pleased to give a shoutout to our friends at a great new podcast: https://leftylooseyrightytighty.podbean.com And you can find Corey on all the socials @coreysnathan such as www.threads.net/@coreysnathan. www.bytimalberta.com/ www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Power-Glory-Evangelicals-Extremism/dp/006322688X www.theatlantic.com/author/tim-alberta/
Betsey loved the two episodes with David Dark - and the heart of an activist. Betsey comments on the embarrassing confession that both Dr. Dark and Ken went through a Rush Limbaugh phase. The two of them made an exception and tuned into Fox News (which generally is off-limits) to take in some of the "debate" between Ron DeSantis (Florida) and Gavin Newsom (California). Tim Alberta's new book is getting lots of attention - - The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. It triggers a conversation around the ongoing support among "evangelicals" for Donald Trump. For this popular journalist (Alberta writes for The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, Politico, and more), it's personal. Raised by an evangelical pastor, Alberta has keen insight into the interplay between politics and religion. Ken and Betsey are getting ready for the Holiday Season.SHOW NOTES | Ken's Substack PageSupport the show
Dive into an enlightening conversation with Tim Alberta, renowned journalist and author of "The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory, American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism," on this week's Faithful Politics Podcast. Hosts Will Wright and Pastor Josh Bertram engage with Alberta in a thought-provoking discussion about the intersection of faith, politics, and evangelicalism in contemporary America.In this episode, Alberta shares his personal journey, shedding light on the complexities and challenges within the American evangelical community. From the impact of political figures like Donald Trump to the role of the church during COVID-19, Alberta offers a nuanced perspective on how politics and faith intertwine and sometimes clash in today's society.Discover insights into:The evolution of evangelical Christians' pursuit of power in American politics.The internal struggles and external perceptions of the evangelical church.Alberta's experiences and interviews that shaped his views and his book.Tune in for an episode that's not just informative but also a mirror to the current state of American evangelicalism. Whether you're a long-time listener or new to the podcast, this episode with Tim Alberta promises to be a compelling addition to your podcast library.Buy the book: https://a.co/d/bNPR3iZGuest Bio:Tim Alberta is an award-winning journalist, best-selling author, and staff writer for The Atlantic magazine. He formerly served as chief political correspondent for POLITICO. In 2019, he published the critically acclaimed book, "American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump" and co-moderated the year's final Democratic presidential debate aired by PBS Newshour.Hailing from Brighton, Michigan, Tim attended Schoolcraft College and later Michigan State University, where his plans to become a baseball writer were changed by a stint covering the legislature in Lansing. He went on to spend more than a decade in Washington, reporting for publications including the Wall Street Journal, The Hotline, National Journal and National Review. Having covered the biggest stories in national politics—the battles over health care and immigration on Capitol Hill; the election and presidency of Donald Trump; the ideological warfare between and within the two parties—Tim was eager for a new challenge.Keywords: Tim Alberta, American Evangelicals, Faith and Politics, Donald Trump, COVID-19 Church Response, Evangelicalism in America, Political Podcast, Faithful Politics Podcast.Support the showTo learn more about the show, contact our hosts, or recommend future guests, click on the links below: Website: https://www.faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/ Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpoliticspodcast.com Political Host: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.com Twitter: @FaithfulPolitik Instagram: faithful_politics Facebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast LinkedIn: faithfulpolitics
We're joined by Tim Alberta upon the publication of his new book, The Kingdom, The Power and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. After starting out with some fun banter about Tim's beloved Detroit Lions and veering off into kids' names, we delve into weighty topics such as whether Tim still considers himself an #evangelical - more specifically, if there are aspects of his faith he's begun to question. Much of this conversation is about the new book: "The main thing is no longer the main thing" for so many megachurch pastors; Donald Trump is "a creation of the culture gone crazy" (especially in the American Evangelical church); whether hucksters like Trump and Paula White, when they're behind closed doors, laugh at all their "suckers" that buy into their various schemes; who Tim thinks is the audience for THE KINGDOM, THE POWER, AND THE GLORY - and who he hopes the audience is; and we get to hear some input from Charles Mingus the 3rd! Tim Alberta is a staff writer for The Atlantic and the former chief political correspondent for Politico, and has written for dozens of other publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, and Vanity Fair. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump and the newly released The Kingdom, The Power and the Glory. He co-moderated the final Democratic presidential debate of 2019 and frequently appears as a commentator on television programs in the United States and around the world. And as listeners will quickly learn, Tim is a big time Detroit Lions fan. Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Please support our wonderful sponsor Meza Wealth Management: https://www.mezawealth.com/ We're also pleased to give a shoutout to our friends at a great new podcast: https://leftylooseyrightytighty.podbean.com And you can find Corey on all the socials @coreysnathan such as www.threads.net/@coreysnathan. www.bytimalberta.com/ www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Power-Glory-Evangelicals-Extremism/dp/006322688X www.theatlantic.com/author/tim-alberta/
Tim Alberta, author of "The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism," joins Kristen Welker to detail how former President Trump developed a cult-like following within the evangelical community — and whether Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) could drop out of the presidential race before Iowa.
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the good U.S. economy and Americans' bad feelings about it; the Supreme Court case of SEC v. Jarkesy and its threat to the system of U.S. government; and white evangelicals and Christian nationalists with The Atlantic's Tim Alberta. Send us your Conundrums: submit them at slate.com/conundrum. And join us in-person or online with our special guest – The Late Show's Steven Colbert – for Gabfest Live: The Conundrums Edition! December 7 at The 92nd Street Y, New York City. Tickets on sale now! Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Sam Sutton for Politico: Why a ‘soft landing' may not solve Biden's polling problem Lydia DePillis for The New York Times: Even Most Biden Voters Don't See a Thriving Economy; Paul Krugman: Bidenomics and the Guys in the Bar; Jim Tankersley: ‘Morning in America' Eludes Biden, Despite Economic Gains; and Bryce Covert: Don't Let Inflation Bury the Memory of a Government Triumph Dylan Matthews for Vox: Why the news is so negative – and what we can do about it David Winston for Roll Call: Why Voters Are Still Wary 10 Years After the Economic Collapse Robert Barnes for The Washington Post: Supreme Court conservatives seem dubious about SEC's in-house tribunals Ronald Mann for SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court to consider multi-pronged constitutional attack on SEC Noah Rosenblum for The Atlantic: The Case That Could Destroy the Government Ian Millhiser for Vox: A Supreme Court case about stocks could help make Trump's authoritarian dreams reality Public Citizens: The Attack on Big Government and the Remaking of American Liberalism by Paul Sabin Tim Alberta for The Atlantic: My Father, My Faith, and Donald Trump and How Politics Poisoned The Evangelical Church The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta Thomas B. Edsall for The New York Times: ‘The Embodiment of White Christian Nationalism in a Tailored Suit' PRRI and Brookings: A Christian Nation? Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism to American Democracy and Culture Here are this week's chatters: Emily: Brian Murphy for The Washington Post: Larry Fink, photographer who explored class divides, dies at 82 and Emily Bazelon and Larry Fink for The New York Times Magazine: Shadow of a Doubt John: The New Yorker: “Bob and Don: A Love Story” a short documentary by Judd Apatow; CBS News Sunday Morning; and Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney David: Matt Phillips for The New York Times: Shane MacGowan, Songwriter Who Fused Punk and Irish Rebellion, Is Dead at 65 and peyoteshaman on YouTube: Pogues 930 club mid 1980's Listener chatter from Nicola in Dublin, Ireland: Irish Archaeology: Pangur Bán and Tread Softy: Classic Irish Poems for Children edited by Nicola Reddy For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about the book lover's dilemma: borrow or buy. See also A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin; Little Free Library; Adam Sockel for Perspectives on Reading: Library users are book buyers; and Pew Research Center: Libraries, patrons, and e-books. In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with James Sturm about Watership Down: The Graphic Novel. See also James Sturm and Joe Sutphin in The New York Times: In Times of Danger, There's Strength in Numbers. Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the good U.S. economy and Americans' bad feelings about it; the Supreme Court case of SEC v. Jarkesy and its threat to the system of U.S. government; and white evangelicals and Christian nationalists with The Atlantic's Tim Alberta. Send us your Conundrums: submit them at slate.com/conundrum. And join us in-person or online with our special guest – The Late Show's Steven Colbert – for Gabfest Live: The Conundrums Edition! December 7 at The 92nd Street Y, New York City. Tickets on sale now! Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Sam Sutton for Politico: Why a ‘soft landing' may not solve Biden's polling problem Lydia DePillis for The New York Times: Even Most Biden Voters Don't See a Thriving Economy; Paul Krugman: Bidenomics and the Guys in the Bar; Jim Tankersley: ‘Morning in America' Eludes Biden, Despite Economic Gains; and Bryce Covert: Don't Let Inflation Bury the Memory of a Government Triumph Dylan Matthews for Vox: Why the news is so negative – and what we can do about it David Winston for Roll Call: Why Voters Are Still Wary 10 Years After the Economic Collapse Robert Barnes for The Washington Post: Supreme Court conservatives seem dubious about SEC's in-house tribunals Ronald Mann for SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court to consider multi-pronged constitutional attack on SEC Noah Rosenblum for The Atlantic: The Case That Could Destroy the Government Ian Millhiser for Vox: A Supreme Court case about stocks could help make Trump's authoritarian dreams reality Public Citizens: The Attack on Big Government and the Remaking of American Liberalism by Paul Sabin Tim Alberta for The Atlantic: My Father, My Faith, and Donald Trump and How Politics Poisoned The Evangelical Church The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta Thomas B. Edsall for The New York Times: ‘The Embodiment of White Christian Nationalism in a Tailored Suit' PRRI and Brookings: A Christian Nation? Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism to American Democracy and Culture Here are this week's chatters: Emily: Brian Murphy for The Washington Post: Larry Fink, photographer who explored class divides, dies at 82 and Emily Bazelon and Larry Fink for The New York Times Magazine: Shadow of a Doubt John: The New Yorker: “Bob and Don: A Love Story” a short documentary by Judd Apatow; CBS News Sunday Morning; and Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney David: Matt Phillips for The New York Times: Shane MacGowan, Songwriter Who Fused Punk and Irish Rebellion, Is Dead at 65 and peyoteshaman on YouTube: Pogues 930 club mid 1980's Listener chatter from Nicola in Dublin, Ireland: Irish Archaeology: Pangur Bán and Tread Softy: Classic Irish Poems for Children edited by Nicola Reddy For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about the book lover's dilemma: borrow or buy. See also A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin; Little Free Library; Adam Sockel for Perspectives on Reading: Library users are book buyers; and Pew Research Center: Libraries, patrons, and e-books. In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with James Sturm about Watership Down: The Graphic Novel. See also James Sturm and Joe Sutphin in The New York Times: In Times of Danger, There's Strength in Numbers. Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jonah returns to distinctly Frenchian territory on today's Remnant, which explores the state of evangelicalism in America. His guest is Tim Alberta, a staff writer at The Atlantic and author of The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. Tim's new book raises an exigent question: Why are so many interpreting faith through the lens of politics instead of the other way round? Tune in to learn all about Tim's religious journey, how Donald Trump's relationship with the evangelical movement is changing, and why Jonah feels both ideologically homeless and secure at the same time. Show Notes: -Tim's webpage -Tim's new book,The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism -Tim: “My Father, My Faith, and Donald Trump” -Tim: “Donald Trump Is on the Wrong Side of the Religious Right” -The Remnant with Russell Moore -Jonah: “No Movement That Embraces Trump Can Call Itself Conservative” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the good U.S. economy and Americans' bad feelings about it; the Supreme Court case of SEC v. Jarkesy and its threat to the system of U.S. government; and white evangelicals and Christian nationalists with The Atlantic's Tim Alberta. Send us your Conundrums: submit them at slate.com/conundrum. And join us in-person or online with our special guest – The Late Show's Steven Colbert – for Gabfest Live: The Conundrums Edition! December 7 at The 92nd Street Y, New York City. Tickets on sale now! Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Sam Sutton for Politico: Why a ‘soft landing' may not solve Biden's polling problem Lydia DePillis for The New York Times: Even Most Biden Voters Don't See a Thriving Economy; Paul Krugman: Bidenomics and the Guys in the Bar; Jim Tankersley: ‘Morning in America' Eludes Biden, Despite Economic Gains; and Bryce Covert: Don't Let Inflation Bury the Memory of a Government Triumph Dylan Matthews for Vox: Why the news is so negative – and what we can do about it David Winston for Roll Call: Why Voters Are Still Wary 10 Years After the Economic Collapse Robert Barnes for The Washington Post: Supreme Court conservatives seem dubious about SEC's in-house tribunals Ronald Mann for SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court to consider multi-pronged constitutional attack on SEC Noah Rosenblum for The Atlantic: The Case That Could Destroy the Government Ian Millhiser for Vox: A Supreme Court case about stocks could help make Trump's authoritarian dreams reality Public Citizens: The Attack on Big Government and the Remaking of American Liberalism by Paul Sabin Tim Alberta for The Atlantic: My Father, My Faith, and Donald Trump and How Politics Poisoned The Evangelical Church The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta Thomas B. Edsall for The New York Times: ‘The Embodiment of White Christian Nationalism in a Tailored Suit' PRRI and Brookings: A Christian Nation? Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism to American Democracy and Culture Here are this week's chatters: Emily: Brian Murphy for The Washington Post: Larry Fink, photographer who explored class divides, dies at 82 and Emily Bazelon and Larry Fink for The New York Times Magazine: Shadow of a Doubt John: The New Yorker: “Bob and Don: A Love Story” a short documentary by Judd Apatow; CBS News Sunday Morning; and Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney David: Matt Phillips for The New York Times: Shane MacGowan, Songwriter Who Fused Punk and Irish Rebellion, Is Dead at 65 and peyoteshaman on YouTube: Pogues 930 club mid 1980's Listener chatter from Nicola in Dublin, Ireland: Irish Archaeology: Pangur Bán and Tread Softy: Classic Irish Poems for Children edited by Nicola Reddy For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about the book lover's dilemma: borrow or buy. See also A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin; Little Free Library; Adam Sockel for Perspectives on Reading: Library users are book buyers; and Pew Research Center: Libraries, patrons, and e-books. In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with James Sturm about Watership Down: The Graphic Novel. See also James Sturm and Joe Sutphin in The New York Times: In Times of Danger, There's Strength in Numbers. Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In the Sunday Book Review, Tom Fox considers books that interest the compliance professional, the business executive, or anyone curious. It could be books about business, compliance, history, leadership, current events, or anything else that might interest Tom. In today's edition of the Sunday Book Review, Tom considers upcoming Fall 2023 non-fiction books to take a look at reading. “Romney: A Reckoning,” by McKay Coppins “Some People Need Killing,” by Patricia Evangelista “The Kingdom, the Power and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism,” by Tim Alberta “My Name is Barbra,” by Barbra Streisand Resources: Books We Are Looking Forward to the Rest of the Year by Gilbert Cruz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On this week's episode, a look at the rest of the year in books — new fiction from Alice McDermott and this year's Nobel laureate, Jon Fosse, a journalist's investigation of state-sanctioned killings in the Philippines, and a trio of celebrity memoirs. Discussed in this week's episode:“The Vulnerables,” by Sigrid Nunez“Day,” by Michael Cunningham“Absolution,” by Alice McDermott“A Shining,” by Jon Fosse“Romney: A Reckoniung,” by McKay Coppins“Class,” by Stephanie Land“Some People Need Killing,” by Patricia Evangelista“The Kingdom, the Power and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism,” by Tim Alberta“My Name is Barbra,” by Barbra Streisand“The Woman in Me,” by Britney Spears“Worthy,” by Jada Pinkett Smith
Miroslav Volf teaches theology at Yale University, where he also directs the Yale Center for Faith and Culture. He is the author of 17 books, and his 1996 book Exclusion and Embrace was named by Christianity Today as one of the 100 Most Influential Books of the 20th Century. This new book, rooted in a popular Yale undergraduate course, is Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most, co-authored by Matthew Croasmun and Ryan McAnnally-Linz, both fellow teachers. Joining Miroslav for this conversation is Tim Alberta, a brilliant, ascending journalist and bestselling author in his own right, who is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of American Carnage. At the moment, Tim is working on a new book, provocatively titled The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. Guests Miroslav Volf Tim Alberta Additional Resources Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most, by Miroslav Volf, Matthew Croasmun, and Ryan McAnnally-Linz American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republic Civil War and the Rise of President Trump, by Tim Alberta "War and Religion in Ukraine," Faith Angle Europe session with Miroslav Volf