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What happens when politics becomes more than politics - when it shapes our identity, our faith, and our relationships with the people we love?

In this episode of Two Kens, my longtime co-host, Ken Fong, and I begin with a lighter subject: Ken Fong’s previous interview with Arasha Lalani, the Indian-American actress and comedian known professionally as Arasha, has gone viral. We reflect on what makes a conversation come alive. Acting and preaching, we suggest, are not monologues. At their best, both are active, engaging dialogues that invite us to listen, respond, and discover something new.

From there, we turn to a more sobering subject: Natalie Harp, one of Donald Trump’s most devoted supporters, often called his “human printer.” Recent reporting about Natalie and her family raises difficult questions about the intersection of faith, politics, grief, and family relationships.

Natalie’s father, Robert Harp, was a respected business professor at Biola University who, according to her brother Preston’s accounts cited in reporting, was skeptical of Trump’s claims to Christian faith. Following his tragic death by suicide, Natalie’s political profile grew. Her brother pursued a very different ideological path. Their story offers a glimpse into the complicated ways political commitments can intersect with family life.

As two former evangelical pastors, Ken and I explore the tensions between traditional evangelical convictions and MAGA politics, the challenges of discussing mental health and grief in religious communities, and the human longing for belonging, certainty, and protection.

We don’t presume to know all the private motivations behind this family’s experience. Instead, we ask what its story might help us understand about a nation increasingly divided by political identity.

Join us for a candid, compassionate conversation about faith, family, Trumpism, and the search for common ground.

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Ethicist Dr. Gushee returns to the podcast and continues the discussion of his most recent book, After Evangelicalism: The Path to a New Christianity. We talk about the election, the Biden victory, and the 70 million voters who embrace the Trumpian version of reality. He calls it a moral crisis. Gushee remembers Rachel Held Evans, and gives honorable mention to Blake Chastain and Brad Onishi; we talk about high profile Trumpian evangelicals Paula White, Jerry Falwell, Jr., Robert Jeffress, and Eric Metaxas. Gushee takes issue with Metaxas' version of Bonhoeffer. After a review of the Georgia Senate races, we focus on Gushee's proposal for a new Christian Humanism. With David's permission, Ken reads a passage from David's new book about Martin Luther (the dominionist) and Erasmus (a Christian humanist).

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This episode was first aired December 4, 2020

Support the show

Become a Patron - Click on the link to learn how you can become a Patron of the show. Thank you!

Ken’s Substack Page

The Podcast Official Site: TheBeachedWhiteMale.com

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REPRIS - Ken welcomes his good friend of the podcast, Dr. Theon Hill. Just recently, Christianity Today published Dr. Hill's review of the recent full-length feature film that's getting high marks and a great review: Till (starring Danielle Deadwyler as Mamie Till and Jalyn Hall as Emmett). Just this fall, Dr. Hill hosted a conversation at Wheaton College featuring author David Tell (Remembering Emmett Till), who was also the lead investigator in the Emmett Till Memory Project, and Emmett Till's cousin, Rev. Wheeler Parker (Argo Temple Church of God in Christ in Summit, Illinois). That fateful summer of 1955, Pastor Parker, accompanied Emmett on that visit to Money, Mississippi. He witnessed both the incident at the market when Emmett "whistled" at Carolyn Bryant, and was in the house in the middle of the night when Emmett was kidnapped by her husband. Dr. Hill shares their conversation. Ken and Dr. Hill discuss the relevance of the Emmett Till story on race in America and in the evangelical church.

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This episode first aired November 22, 2022

Support the show

Become a Patron - Click on the link to learn how you can become a Patron of the show. Thank you!

Ken’s Substack Page

The Podcast Official Site: TheBeachedWhiteMale.com