Straight White American Jesus

Brad Onishi talks with three Wheaton College alumnae about the growing controversy over how the college handled abuse by a former administrator, and why they say the problem is systemic rather than the work of one person. The abuse took place in the 1990s. Alumni say it was covered up for roughly 25 years, leaving students and later victims at risk. The conversation covers the case itself, the calls for President Philip Ryken to resign, the theology of gender and sexuality that shapes how reports are received, and what it’s like to parent students on campus now. Content note: this episode discusses sexual abuse and assault. Guests Andrea Sorensen Hamler: Wheaton class of 2004, writing teacher, scholar of rhetoric, and longtime behind-the-scenes member of the Axis Mundi Media team Christy Hemphill: Wheaton class of ‘99, parent of two current Wheaton students, former international development worker and current public school teacher Erika Roland: Wheaton alum, holds an MBA and CFRE, PhD student in organizational leadership, lives in Minnesota UPCOMING EVENTS (Brad Onishi, American Caesar) Oct 11: Knoxville, TN, Unitarian Church, with the Rationalists of East Tennessee Oct 12: Nashville, TN, downtown library, 6 p.m., with Phil Williams Oct 14: Memphis, TN, Rhodes College MORE FROM STRAIGHT WHITE AMERICAN JESUS Sunday: Interview | Tuesday: Live show with Brad and Matt Taylor, 1:30 ET | Wednesday: In the Code with Dan Miller | Friday: Weekly Roundup If you enjoy our work, please subscribe. Paid subscribers get bonus content, ad-free listening, access to the entire 1k episode archive, an invite to our Discord community, and access to the Axis Daily Brief. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 🔔Subscribe - Substack: www.axismundi.substack.com Books mentioned: 📕 American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy by Brad Onishi — out September 15: https://static.macmillan.com/static/e... 📗 Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists by Matthew D. Taylor — out October 6: https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/... Full tour dates: https://axismundinetwork.substack.com... 🔗 axismundi.us www.quo.com/SWAJ - Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months www.groundnews.com/SWAJ 40% off the Vantage Subscription! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

They want to rule, not govern. This week on the Weekly Roundup, Brad Onishi and Dan Miller break down Trump’s “bomb LA” comments, the “enemy combatant” rhetoric aimed at Somalis in Minnesota, Hegseth’s plan to live-stream a firing squad execution, and Tucker Carlson and Curtis Yarvin’s Hitler comments. Then they close with some reasons for hope: Ossoff in the Georgia debate and a Satanic invocation in Ottumwa, Iowa. With the midterms less than a month away, Brad and Dan argue the GOP is ramping up fear-mongering, race-baiting, and empty promises because it has little else left to offer. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro: Iran, LA, Somalis, and the live-streamed execution 03:38 The thesis: ramping up the tactics before the midterms 06:43 Somalis as “the new Haitians” 10:46 JD Vance can’t define socialism 15:26 Ruling vs. governing 17:37 Hegseth’s live-streamed firing squad 27:34 “Pro-life” and “family values”? Bloodlust and the research on televised executions 33:16 Tucker Carlson on why the UK fought WWII 42:38 Curtis Yarvin, JD Vance, and the “engineering” view of society 50:58 Transit funding tied to birth and marriage rates 55:15 Reasons for hope: Ottumwa, Iowa, and Ossoff vs. Collins 1:01:14 Upcoming events and wrap-up UPCOMING EVENTS (Brad Onishi, American Caesar) Oct 11: Knoxville, TN, Unitarian Church, with the Rationalists of East Tennessee Oct 12: Nashville, TN, downtown library, 6 p.m., with Phil Williams Oct 14: Memphis, TN, Rhodes College MORE FROM STRAIGHT WHITE AMERICAN JESUS Sunday: Interview | Tuesday: Live show with Brad and Matt Taylor, 1:30 ET | Wednesday: In the Code with Dan Miller | Friday: Weekly Roundup If you enjoy our work, please subscribe. Paid subscribers get bonus content, ad-free listening, access to the entire 1k episode archive, an invite to our Discord community, and access to the Axis Daily Brief. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 🔔Subscribe - Substack: www.axismundi.substack.com Books mentioned: 📕 American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy by Brad Onishi — out September 15: https://static.macmillan.com/static/e... 📗 Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists by Matthew D. Taylor — out October 6: https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/... Full tour dates: https://axismundinetwork.substack.com... 🔗 axismundi.us www.quo.com/SWAJ - Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months www.groundnews.com/SWAJ 40% off the Vantage Subscription! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens to people who have never heard the gospel? It's one of the most common questions people raise in church, and one of the most uncomfortable: how can God be just if he condemns people who never had the chance to respond to the message that could save them? In this episode of It's in the Code, part of the series Questions I Wasn't Supposed to Ask in Church, Dan Miller walks through three broad Christian answers that stretch back nearly to the beginning of the tradition. Exclusivism, the historically dominant view from Augustine and the Protestant Reformers, holds that salvation comes only through explicitly accepting the gospel. Inclusivism, associated with Justin Martyr and more common among Catholics, holds that people can receive Christ's saving work through responding in faith to general revelation. And a third category, miraculous revelation, includes the "harrowing of hell" (Jesus preaching to the spirits in prison), as well as the idea, associated with Thomas Aquinas, that God provides a way for sincere seekers to encounter the gospel. Along the way, Dan explores why this question has troubled believers for centuries, how the answer often depends on the kind of church you grew up in, and how it differs from the separate question of what happens to Jews who lived before Jesus. He also invites listeners to keep sending in the questions they weren't supposed to ask in church. If you enjoy our work, please subscribe. Paid subscribers get bonus content, ad-free listening, access to the entire 1k episode archive, an invite to our Discord community, and access to the Axis Daily Brief. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494 🔔Subscribe - Substack: www.axismundi.substack.com Books mentioned: 📕 American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy by Brad Onishi — out September 15: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/ 📗 Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists by Matthew D. Taylor — out October 6: https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9798341900370/Defying-Tyrants Live events: Full tour dates: https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/p/the-american-caesar-book-tour 🔗 axismundi.us www.quo.com/SWAJ - Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months www.groundnews.com/SWAJ 40% off the Vantage Subscription! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Antichrist is not a scary villain who shows up someday to rule the world. According to the New Testament, there are already many of them, and they look a lot like Christians who abuse power in Jesus' name. On the pub day of Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists, Brad Onishi talks with author and scholar Matthew D. Taylor about what the Bible actually says about the Antichrist, why Christian supremacy is a deeper problem than Christian nationalism, and how the history of Christendom, from Constantine to the Crusades, connects to Pete Hegseth, Doug Wilson, and the American right today. Matthew also talks about losing his job over this book, and why he believes Christians have an obligation to confront other Christians right now. Chapters 0:00 The Antichrist is with us now 2:52 Book tour events 4:48 Christian supremacy vs. Christian nationalism 8:05 What the New Testament says about the Antichrist 13:31 The incarnation and what Jesus taught 17:19 Faith and democracy in the midterms 25:25 Nicaea, the Crusades, and the birth of Christendom 30:34 Christendom's return today 36:39 Hegseth clip and the "enemy within, enemy without" 42:32 Matthew's firing over the book 50:41 Is polarization the disease or the immune response? 55:18 Could the worst chapters of Christian history return? 1:00:32 Closing and where to find Matthew Get the book and follow Matthew Matthew D. Taylor's Substack, Reckonings: https://matthewdtaylor.substack.com/ Defying Tyrants: https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9798341900370/Defying-Tyrants Upcoming events Sunday: Knoxville, TN, Unitarian Church Mon, Oct 12: Nashville, TN, conversation with Phil Williams at the downtown library Wed, Oct 14: Memphis, TN, Rhodes College Fri, Nov 20, 7 p.m.: Denver, CO, free midterms event at the convention center with Matthew Taylor, Robert P. Jones, Alba Onofrio, Brooke Wilensky-Lanford, and Dan Miller moderating If you enjoy our work, please subscribe. Paid subscribers get bonus content, ad-free listening, access to the entire 1k episode archive, an invite to our Discord community, and access to the Axis Daily Brief. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494 🔔Subscribe - Substack: www.axismundi.substack.com Books mentioned: 📕 American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy by Brad Onishi — out September 15: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/ 📗 Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists by Matthew D. Taylor — out October 6: https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9798341900370/Defying-Tyrants Live events: Full tour dates: https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/p/the-american-caesar-book-tour 🔗 axismundi.us www.quo.com/SWAJ - Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months www.groundnews.com/SWAJ 40% off the Vantage Subscription! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brought to you by Homerserve: www.homeserve.com/swaj Can the Christian left challenge the religious right’s claim to moral authority? Leah Payne speaks with journalist and essayist Miguel Petrosky about his article for The Revealer, “James Talarico and the Christian Left,” and what the Texas Senate candidate’s blend of Christian conviction and economic populism reveals about progressive politics. They explore the appeal of Talarico’s neighborly tone, his framing of inequality as a spiritual struggle, and why religious language can resonate with religious and secular voters alike. They also examine why coverage treats his faith as a political novelty despite the long tradition of Black clergy connecting Christian theology with progressive activism. As mainline Protestant denominations lose members, can the Christian left gain political influence through advocacy, protests, and coalitions? And where is the line between bringing Christian convictions into public life and seeking a nation organized around a particular Christian vision? Subscriber bonus: Leah and Miguel discuss whether Talarico’s approach can travel beyond Texas. About the guest: Miguel Petrosky is a journalist and essayist covering American and global politics, religion, and culture. He lives in Scotland. Find him on Instagram @miguelpetrosky. About the host: Dr. Leah Payne is the author of God Gave Rock & Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music (Oxford University Press, 2024) and host of Spirit & Power: Charismatics and Politics in American Life, an Axis Mundi Media podcast. Find her on most social media platforms at @drleahpayne. Links: Read “James Talarico and the Christian Left” by Miguel Petrosky in The Revealer. Read Leah’s book, God Gave Rock & Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music. Listen to Spirit & Power: Charismatics and Politics in American Life. If you enjoy our work, please subscribe. Paid subscribers get bonus content, ad-free listening, access to the entire 1k episode archive, an invite to our Discord community, and access to the Axis Daily Brief. 🔔Subscribe - Substack: www.axismundi.substack.com Books mentioned: 📕 American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy by Brad Onishi — out September 15: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/ 📗 Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists by Matthew D. Taylor — out October 6: https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9798341900370/Defying-Tyrants Live events: 🎤 Brad in Portland at Annie Bloom’s Books — September 16, 7 PM: https://annieblooms.com/event/2026-09-16/reading-bradley-b-onishi Full tour dates: https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/p/the-american-caesar-book-tour 🔗 axismundi.us www.quo.com/SWAJ - Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months www.groundnews.com/SWAJ 40% off the Vantage Subscription! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices