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638: Keep Christianity Weird & Lessons from the Church Abuse Scandal with Kristen Kobes Du Mez

Being a cultural Christian used to be an insult, but more people are embracing the label with pride. The Holy Post crew unpacks what’s behind the growing affection for cultural Christianity, and they explain why it’s more important than ever to embrace the weird, supernatural beliefs of the faith. Historian Kristen Kobes Du Mez is back to discuss her new documentary, “For Our Daughters,” about the sexual abuse scandals that have shaken the faith of many in the church. She sees a link between the theology and culture that created and covered-up sexual abuse in the church, and the rise of political idolatry within evangelicalism. Also this week—hurricanes are now political, and a Haitian pastor in New Hampshire with a sense of humor invites pets to his church.




For Our Daughters Full Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkES4X_qb6c


Holy Post Plus:

Getting Schooled: Debt and Theology 101


0:00 - Intro


1:18 - Show Starts


3:24 - Theme Song


3:45 - Sponsor - Sundays Dog Food - Get 40% off your first order of Sundays. Go to https://www.SundaysForDogs.com/HOLYPOST or use code HOLYPOST at checkout.


4:50 -  Sponsor - AG1 - Heavily researched, thoroughly purity-tested, and filled with stuff you need. Go to https://www.drinkag1.com/HOLYPOST


7:18 - Terry Gilliam’s News of the Butt


10:30 - Haitian Priest Blesses Pets


15:05 - Hurricane Helene


23:02 - Cultural Christianity Michael Bird Article 


34:58 - Why Christian Beliefs are Necessary for Christian Virtue


53:47 - Sponsor - The National Association of Evangelicals - Listen to the Difficult to explore how Christians can become peacemakers. Go to https://www.nae.org/introduction-difficult-conversations-podcast-series/ to check it out!


54:53 - Sponsor - Faithful Counseling - This episode is sponsored by Faithful Counseling. Give online therapy a try at https://www.faithfulcounseling.com/HOLYPOST and get 10% off


56:00 - Interview


1:02:26 - How Women are Blamed for Men’s Sins


1:08:47 - Are Churches Better Prepared to Address Sexual Abuse?


1:14:54 - Is the Culture More Likely to Call Out Abuse Now?


1:18:17 - The Link Between January 6 and Sexual Abuse Scandals


1:24:04 - Will There Be a Church Backlash if Kamala Wins?


1:29:04 - End Credits  


Links Mentioned in the News Segment:

Haitian Priest Blesses Pets:


Disaster Relief for Hurricane Helene:


The Rise of Cultural Christianity:


Other resources:


Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/


Holy Post Plus: www.holypost.com/plus



Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop


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7 Comments


TJ MacDougall
TJ MacDougall
10 hours ago

I don't understand. What is the Cultural Christianity you are talking about? And what ideas are being promoted by the people you named that are Christian? They seem to me to be promoted arrogance and mean-spiritedness, or capitalist ideals, non of which I would say are Christian. They don't seem to be saying a lot about the Sermon on the Mount. Have I missed something?

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Laura Gatannah
Laura Gatannah
11 hours ago

Great episode, and I just watched Du Mez's poignant short film. It's all so important, and I'm grateful for her work.


Now... the first thing I want to say is that I think Kaitlyn Schiess is a brilliant theologian and thinker in general. I've bought and enjoyed her books. I honestly have a hard time listening to The Holy Post now when she's absent (it's just a good balance among Phil, Skye, and Kaitlyn; no offense to any of the other guests!). However...


I always cringe when anyone says things like, "There's no reason to believe XYZ if you don't believe in Jesus and the redemption of creation." It's just not true. I feel like when Christians say this, they…


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hrodbert696
14 hours ago

As a cultural historian, I really appreciated the discussion on cultural Christianity and thought the HP crew hit the nail on the head. Tom Holland often describes various historical phenomena as "deeply Christian" in the cultural sense that, even when radically secular, they actually draw on assumptions about human dignity and equality, or on utopian or apocalyptic calls for change, that would be unthinkable in a non-Christian culture. A lot of Christian historians and philosophers have speculated about the shape of a post-Christian world when the "borrowed capital" of a religious past is spent. For instance, it's very popular in modern secular morality to appeal to "empathy" (or to criticize someone for lacking it). But WHY should anyone care a…

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Laura Gatannah
Laura Gatannah
11 hours ago
Replying to

I literally posted a whole thing about this before I read yours.


I have empathy for people because they're fellow humans who have every right to life and happiness that I do. It is absolutely inconceivable to me that Christians can seriously not wrap their heads around the fact that other humans recognize the preciousness of other humans (and animals, and the earth in general).

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hrodbert696
15 hours ago

Oh no! Phil! The capital of New Hampshire is pronounced CONQUERED! CONQUERED, like we lost the battle and the enemy has taken over! Con-CORDE is a town in Massachusetts (boo hiss!), or a supersonic jet plane. We don't have anything like that in New Hampshire. Sincerely, A concerned New Hampshire Yankee.

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hrodbert696
15 hours ago
Replying to

Or, if you want to REALLY pronounce it right, it's KAHN - cud, like the guy who is wrathful against Jim Kirk and the stuff the cows chew. But don't try to fake being from here. No one gets the accent right.

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TJ MacDougall
TJ MacDougall
21 hours ago

You shouldn't ignore that a lot of the "conspiracy theory" memes are probably being generated by foreign actors. Didn't a stat come out a couple years back that 90% of the "Christian" Facebook pages were being run by Russian troll farms?

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