Thread by @angela_denker

Found myself on a flight + available downloaded podcast episodes of #MarsHill by @CTmagazine meant I finally listened to the bonus episodes … relevant again bc of the recent @AARWeb award to the podcast … a #thread on religion, politics, and white Evangelical hypocrisy …

Again I would critique the lack of acknowledgment that conservative Evangelical theology itself is contributing to celebrity culture + narcissism of leading Evangelical pastors + influencers/conservative politicians, which is rightly called out by #MarHill podcast …

An atonement theology that suggests the highest form of God’s power is individual salvation neglects the necessarily communal purpose of the Church.

The lack of theological critique means ultimately the #MarsHill @CTmagazine podcast lacks teeth.

#MarsHill critiques the speck in the eye of culture while ignoring the log in the eye of dominant white American Christian theology + culture

That enables legacy conservative Christians like Cosper (+ @ctmagazine) to critique fallen leaders like Driscoll, Falwell, etc

… without acknowledging their own role in the rot at the heart of white American Christianity

I agree with @MoslenerSara that the elevation of this podcast by @AARWeb ignores the ways in which the podcast upholds the status quo while enabling prominent white Evangelicals

to feel good about themselves

At the same time, the #MarsHill podcast continues to create space for conversation and reflection, including my own, so in that way

I’d acknowledge its value, particularly among white Evangelicals … and I’d hope those at the center would acknowledge the need for further self-reflection + even repentance

And foremostly, the need for real challenge to traditional Evangelical theology (like the work of @bethallisonbarr + @kkdumez from a gender perspective; and @jemartisby + @robertpjones from a race perspective) among others needs to be elevated

I’d also say that alternative atonement theologies need to be voiced + lifted up, from a positive perspective, on a broader understanding of what Jesus’ life death + resurrection means for the world, not just for me.

One more pt: a critique only of the use of institutions for celebrity by individuals w/out critiquing the ways institutions (esp white Christian ones) have upheld traditional injustices like racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, etc - means neglecting the Gospel’s call to justice

Enabling institutions themselves to escape critique + reckoning, and making the Gospel far too small + only relevant to ppl of privilege.

Needed here is what @Pontifex refers to as a “preference for the poor,” long lacking in white American Evangelical Christianity

At the end of the #MarsHill bonus ep abt how everything is falling apart, @drmoore ref the Hebrew Bible text of pillar of fire leading the children of Israel

I’m struck by the fact that white American Evangelicals continue to see themselves as God’s Chosen People (ignores Jews)

there’s such an unwillingness to engage with white Evangelicals’ own culpability in sin + active assault on Jesus’ Gospel.

Breathtaking.

A reminder: if white American Evangelicals are anyone in the Bible, they’re most likely the Romans who persecuted + crucified Jesus.

Later in this bonus ep of #MarsHill podcast by @ctmagazine, @drmoore quotes (Lutheran) Martin Marty to suggest that it’s the end of the altar call that contributed to the collapse of Evangelical American Christian witness

But the altar call reemphasized the centrality of personal salvation. I suspect Marty (+ Luther) would rather re-center the weekly (communal rite) of confession + absolution. #MarsHill podcast @CTmagazine #lutherantwitter