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In this solo episode (Jessica will be back next week), Hemant interviewed Kristin Kobes Du Mez, author of the New York Times bestseller Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation. The book attempts to explain why white evangelicals overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump, despite all the non-Trumpy values they claimed to hold dear before he came along, by looking at the history of evangelical culture.
2:40 Why did you write this book?
5:00 Did white evangelicals corrupt the faith or did guys like Donald Trump expose the faith for what it’s always been?
7:02 Are you cherry picking bad actors, like Mark Driscoll, who exist in every tradition, or do guys like Driscoll fairly represent this strain of conservative Christianity?
10:20 How much blame should we place on moderate Christians who platform these toxic people?
14:38 Is there a good definition of evangelicalism that outsiders would agree with?
18:28 Are your students more receptive to your ideas than your colleagues?
20:35 Are white evangelicals uniquely bad with toxic masculinity or is this just a problem with Americans at large? Or all of humanity?
23:32 Is Jerry Falwell, Jr. making a comeback?
25:25 Is there going to be a backlash to Trumpism that affects evangelicals?
30:06 SPONSOR: HelloFresh!
31:19 Is the impending end of Roe v. Wade good or bad for evangelicals on a strategic level?
34:12 Are white evangelicals really hypocrites about Trump considering he kept his anti-abortion promises?
37:55 Is evangelical Christianity a force for good?
40:55 What is your reaction to Girl Defined and other young Christian women who promote Christian patriarchy on YouTube?
42:00 What would you say to a megachurch pastor who comes to you for advice?
46:35 How come Christian stereotypes include both manly patriarchs as well as hipster skinny jean pastors?
49:45 Are you unfairly painting lower and middle class white men in the worst possible light?
52:30 Are white evangelicals really as powerful as you suggest they are?