Jesus and john wayne christianity today
Pete: Yeah, so, you’ve written about a really not at all controversial topic, which is really, I mean, I’m not making light of it because it’s really quite serious, but I guess white men in Evangelicalism and sort of the patterns of behavior that we’ve maybe seen over the last, I’m going to say, is it right to say, maybe 70 years? Pete: Kristin, welcome to our podcast! It’s great to have you.
The fear was real in the hearts of followers, but it was actively stoked by religious leaders, by Evangelical men in almost every case, to consolidate their own power. Kristin: So much of the inspiration for ideals of Christian manhood were drawn from popular culture, not from deep biblical exegesis. So, if you want to hear more, we do afterwords from every episode that we have a guest on where Pete and I talk about this. Again, we often have things that we want to go further with but don’t have the time in the context of this podcast. And you know what? We’re going to get right into the episode here, but if you’re interested in a deeper dive, you know, we have this afterword, we’re going to talk about some of the things that, you know, we came away with from reading the book and from talking with Kristin. Pete: Yeah, and this is an important book. Jared: Yes, she is the Professor of History at Calvin University and has written a book called Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, and it was a doozy. Pete: Hello folks, welcome to this episode of the podcast and our topic today is “A Modern Church History of Toxic Masculinity,” and our guest is Kristin Kobes du Mez. Pete: You’re listening to The Bible for Normal People, the only God-ordained podcast on the internet. Book: Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation.What’s needed is courage in this moment – individually and collectively.” in This Episode
That’s why we have to see Trump not as a betrayal of Evangelical values, but as the fulfillment of those values.” “How many of us have been complicit through silence, through choosing what is safe, what is least disruptive in institutions and churches and families and friend groups, of not speaking truth because that might come with a cost?” “I think what the moment calls for right now is rigorous honesty of our own motivations. Who’s wielding power and to what ends?” “Men who were not constrained by traditional Christian virtue… were paradoxically the most fit to protect Christianity.
#Jesus and john wayne christianity today full
“Billy Graham … defines the best of Evangelicalism, and if that’s the best of Evangelicalism, then we kind of have to rethink who we are and what Evangelicalism is as a tradition.” “Christ is someone who divests himself of power and that’s not what we see happening in terms of this “biblical manhood” or “Christian masculinity” where it’s about claiming power over others and claiming that that’s God’s will.” “I did not set out to write a book about John Wayne, full disclosure, but what I saw, again, is that so much of the inspiration for ideals of Christian manhood were drawn from popular culture, not from deep biblical exegesis.” “Always look at power.Pithy, shareable, less-than-280-character statements from Kristin Kobes du Mez you can share.
What are some steps we can take to wrest Christianity from this ideology, or can we?.Why were fears actively stoked by religious leaders during the Cold War era?.What surprised Du Mez while researching Evangelical views of masculinity ?.How does John Wayne represent healthy and toxic aspects of masculinity?.How has the definition of masculinity changed over time?.What effect did Christian Zionism have on US militarism and the relationship between the US and Israel?.What influence did Billy Graham exert over the connection between Christian nationalism and masculinity?.
How did a particularly militant conception of masculinity become combined with Christian nationalism?.What cultural moments led people to identify with this kind of militant Christian manhood?.Why did Du Mez avoid using the term “toxic masculinity” in her book Jesus & John Wayne?.Where is most of the “evidence” for militant Christian masculinity drawn from?.What led Du Mez to be interested in researching the modern history of patriarchy and toxic masculinity in the church?.In this episode of The Bible for Normal People Podcast, Pete and Jared talk with Kristen Kobes Du Mez about patterns of toxic masculinity in the white Evangelical church as they explore the following questions: