Back in 2019, Tim Nash and David Blower sat down with Brian Zahnd to explore the toxic entanglement between Church and Empire, and the resulting religion Zahnd calls “Americanism.” From rethinking how we read Scripture to the deeply political implications of the cross, Zahnd offers a vision of living as citizens of God’s kindom amidst worldly empires. With Donald Trump, whom Zahnd identified as emblematic of “Americanism,” once again elected President, we felt this conversation deserved to be revisited.
Following the interview, a 2024 Tim Nash and Nick Thorley share their thoughts and feelings about the re-election of Trump, and where they are seeing signs of hope.
Interview starts at 10m 15s
WEBSITE
BOOKS
Postcards from Babylon: The Church In American Exile
A Farewell to Mars: An Evangelical Pastor’s Journey Toward the Biblical Gospel of Peace
When Everything’s on Fire: Faith Forged from the Ashes
The Wood Between the Worlds: A Poetic Theology of the Cross
Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God
Beauty Will Save the World: Rediscovering the Allure and Mystery of Christianity
QUOTES
“I want to grab them by the shoulder and say, hey, remember when we started off as radical followers of Jesus, not tools of Donald Trump and the Republican Party.”
“When the early Christians say, Jesus is Lord, they’re at least saying by implication, and Caesar is not.”
“Among the many things the cross does is it shames and exposes the inclination of the privileged to maintain their position by violent power.”
“Maybe Americans need to quit imagining themselves as a kind of biblical Israel and see themselves as a biblical Babylon.”
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