The Sunday Interview: Exvangelicals, Christian Nationalism, and the Novel That Saw It Coming

“Is God eternal?” The claim that God is eternal is a central feature of orthodox Christian teaching. But what does it mean? And what consequences follow from affirming that God is eternal? And what happens if we suggest that God is not eternal? Join Dan for this week’s episode to find out.

Tommy Teepell asked Abdul El-Sayed about the Muslim Brotherhood, and the clip went viral. But Teepell's ties to Christian nationalist networks run deeper than the reporting so far has shown. Matthew D. Taylor has tracked Teepell and Sean Feucht since 2024, and in this episode he and Brad Onishi lay out what that research shows.

On this Sunday Interview, Annika Brockschmidt talks with scholar of religion and theologian Matthew Taylor about his new book, Defying Tyrants, Following Jesus: In a World of Christian Antichrists. Writing as a Christian to other Christians, Taylor argues that the propaganda fueling MAGA and the authoritarian turn in American politics is theological, and that the response must be too. He explains why he sees Christian supremacy, the belief that Christians are better than others and entitled to power, as an older and deeper problem than Christian nationalism, tracing it through Constantine, Christendom, the Crusades, and colonialism. Taylor then offers a close reading of 1 and 2 John, where "antichrist" appears mostly in the plural and refers to people who broke away from the community and abused others in Christ's name, which leads him to argue that Christian antichrists are Christians who abuse power under Jesus's banner. They also discuss how to reckon with Christian awfulness without retreating to the "no true Scotsman" defense, what kind of king Jesus actually is, and the personal cost of the book: Taylor lost his job at an interfaith institute because of it. He explains why he refused to withdraw it, and what ordinary Christians can do to resist Christian supremacy in their everyday lives.

In this Straight White American Jesus Weekly Roundup, Brad Onishi and Dan Miller dig into new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia, who is not a licensed attorney and has deep ties to the Southern California Christian nationalist network around Rob McCoy, Charlie Kirk’s pastor, and a past advisory role with White Rose Resistance, a group calling for women who have abortions to be executed in public. They then break down a published plan from Russ Vought’s Center for Renewing America to challenge and block incoming Democrats, especially Muslim and Marxist-identified members-elect, from being sworn in on January 3rd, and why Dan sees it as a strategy to sow doubt about election legitimacy even if it would fail in court. They also cover Trump’s diesel deal with Russia, what it means for Ukraine and sanctions, and close with reasons for hope, including court rulings on ICC sanctions and press access and the called-off live stream of the Fort Hood shooter’s execution.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.

Do all religions lead to God? It's the kind of question that can get you in trouble in strict religious communities, so we look at why. Then we explore who has asked it over the years, from scholars and philosophers to Hindu, Sikh, and mystical traditions, and why many religion scholars today aren't convinced by it.