Democracy & Solidarity with James Davison Hunter and David Brooks

One of the biggest questions in the Christian life is what it means to love one's neighbor, both in the personal and the public spheres. While these questions have always been challenging and contested, they seem to have grown increasingly divisive and demoralizing.

So how do we begin to restore and reweave solidarity and a love for neighbor into our civic fabric?

Today's episode features our recent evening conversation with sociologist and author James Davision Hunter and cultural critic and author David Brooks. Together they help us explore the cultural roots of America's crisis of solidarity, and what it may mean to move together towards a renewed commitment to the common good.

We hope this conversation helps you consider how you’re engaging in relationships, and how the smallest acts of seeing another person and listening to their story can help begin to restore our social fabric and establish new cultural norms.

This podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded in September of 2024. Watch the full video of the conversation here, and learn more about James Davison Hunter and David Brooks.

Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:

Culture Wars by James Davison Hunter

The Death of Character by James Davison Hunter

Science and the Good by James Davison Hunter

To Change the World by James Davison Hunter

Democracy and Solidarity by James Davison Hunter

The Social Animal by David Brooks

The Road to Character by David Brooks

The Second Mountain by David Brooks

How to Know a Person by David Brooks

George Marsden

Aristotle

The Public Philosophy, by Walter Lippman

Arthur Schlesinger

John Bowlby

Parker Palmer

David Hume

Edmund Burke

Eddie Hillison

Simone Weil

Mother Theresa

American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony, by Sam Huntington

Clarence Thomas

The Upswing, by Robert Putnam

Howard Usock

Nicholas Epley

The Communist Manifesto

Related Trinity Forum Readings:

Wrestling with God, Simone Weil

Children of Light and Children of Darkness, by Reinhold Niebuhr

Politics, Morality, and Civility,  by Vaclav Havel

The Origins of Totalitarianism, by Hannah Arendt

The Federalist Papers

A Practical View of Real Christianity, by William Wilberforce,

Who Stands Fast? by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Related Conversations:
Hope Beyond Tribalism with James Mumford

Faith, Fear & Conspiracy with David French

The Fall, the Founding and the Future of American Democracy

How to Be a Patriotic Christian

Extremism and the Path Back to Peace with Elizabeth Neumann

To listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum Society

Special thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

Extremism and the Path Back to Peace with Elizabeth Neumann

The appropriation of Christian images and language by extremists who advocate violence has become a shocking feature of our time. Surveys show alarming numbers of people who self-identify as religious expressing openness to political violence. Against such a distortion of Christian witness, how can we faithfully live out our calling to be people of peace?

Today's episode features our recent conversation with national security expert Elizabeth Neumann, who offers insight and a sobering perspective on how radicalization has taken root among us and what we can do:

“Find ways to check your in-group assumptions about their narratives. Particularly when the narratives involve others.” - Elizabeth Neumann

As we approach a national election, we hope this conversation helps you thoughtfully evaluate your own assumptions, and strengthens you to serve as a non-anxious presence within your broader community.

This podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded in October of 2024. Watch the full video of the conversation here, and learn more about Elizabeth Neumann.

Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:

Kingdom of Rage: the Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to Peace, by Elizabeth Neumann

Related Trinity Forum Readings:

Children of Light and Children of Darkness, by Reinhold Niebuhr

Politics, Morality, and Civility,  by Vaclav Havel

The Origins of Totalitarianism, by Hannah Arendt

The Federalist Papers

A Practical View of Real Christianity, by William Wilberforce,

Who Stands Fast? by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Related Conversations:
Hope Beyond Tribalism with James Mumford

Faith, Fear & Conspiracy with David French

The Fall, the Founding and the Future of American Democracy

How to Be a Patriotic Christian

To listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum Society

The Challenge of Christian Nationalism with Mark Noll and Vincent Bacote

As the lines between faith, politics, and patriotism have become, in some quarters, increasingly blurred, it is increasingly important to understand the origin, ideas, and consequences of Christian Nationalism — what it means, why it matters, and how best to respond.

“If you think about the cross: patriotism, rightly construed from a Christian point of view, will put the flag at the foot of the cross. Christian nationalism wants to drape the [flag] over them. So is God serving your country, the sponsor of your country, or are you, as a Christian, operating wherever you are and having loyalty, but not your primary loyalty to your country over God?” - Vincent Bacote

We hope you find this conversation insightful and helpful as you consider the state of our culture and shared political life, and your role in reviving responsible Christian patriotism.

This podcast is an edited version of an Online Conversation recorded in June of 2021. You can access the full conversation with transcript here. Learn more about Mark Noll and Vincent Bacote.

Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind by Mark Noll

God and Race in American Politics: A Short History, by Mark Noll

The Civil War as Theological Crisis, by Mark Noll

In the Beginning Was the Word: The Bible in American Public Life, by Mark Noll

The Political Disciple, A Theology of Public Life, by Vincent Bacote

Reckoning with Race and Performing the Good News, by Vincent Bacote

The Spirit in Public Theology: Appropriating the legacy of Abraham Kuyper, by Vincent Bacote

Related Trinity Forum Readings:

A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

City of God by St. Augustine of Hippo

Children of Light and Children of Darkness by Reinhold Niebuhr

Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Related Conversations:
Rebuilding our Common Life with Yuval Levin
The Challenge of Christian Nationalism with Mark Noll and Vincent Bacote
The Decadent Society with Ross Douthat
Science, Faith, Trust and Truth with Francis Collins
Beyond Ideology with Peter Kreeft and Eugene Rivers
Justice, Mercy, and Overcoming Racial Division with Claude Alexander and Mac Pier
Healing a Divided Culture with Arthur Brooks
After Babel with Andy Crouch and Johnathan Haidt
Trust, Truth, and The Knowledge Crisis with Bonnie Kristian
Hope in an Age of Anxiety with Curtis Chang & Curt Thompson

To listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum Society

Special thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

What does wisdom mean for Christians in an age of polarization, cynicism, and distrust? In confronting the unique concerns of our time, what can help us become wise?

On our podcast, Dr. Francis S. Collins joins us to discuss his new book, The Road to Wisdom, illuminating how truth, science, faith, and trust work together to help us discern the best path forward in life:

We hope this conversation helps you reflect on the acquisition of wisdom, and how Christians in particular might become agents of healing and trust building in the midst of a cynical and polarized culture.

This podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded in September 2024. Watch the full video of the conversation here, and learn more about Francis Collins.

Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Jonathan Haidt

The Road to Wisdom, by Francis S. Collins

The Language of God, by Francis S. Collins

René Descartes

David Hume

Related Trinity Forum Readings:

Telling Truth to Kings, by Reinhold Schneider

Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

Politics and the English Language, by George Orwell

Augustine's Confessions

The Wager, by Blaise Pascal

The Lost Tools of Learning, by Dorothy Sayers

Related Conversations:
Connecting Spiritual Formation & Public Life with Michael Wear
The Kingdom, the Power & The Glory with Tim Alberta
A Life Worth Living with Miroslav Volf
Towards a Better Christian Politics
Christian Pluralism: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference
What Really Matters with Charlie Peacock and Andi Ashworth
Scripture and the Public Square

How to be a Patriotic Christian

Life, Death, Poetry & Peace with Philip Yancey

The Fall, the Founding, and the Future of American Democracy

Fear and Conspiracy with David French

Words Against Despair with Christian Wiman

Hope Beyond Tribalism with James Mumford

To listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum Society

Special thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

Hope Beyond Tribalism with James Mumford

Amidst a culture of political tribalism and personal loneliness, how can we more clearly, creatively, charitably, and faithfully think and engage with our neighbors? What kinds of practices of mind, body, and spirit, might help us to see and act with greater empathy and understanding?

In his book, Vexed: Ethics Beyond Political Tribes, author James Mumford considers these questions and how often our ethical convictions get politically bundled up with others in what he calls a kind of “package deal.”

It’s in examining our own convictions, and the exercise of the moral imagination that we can begin to move beyond tribalism into a greater freedom:

We hope this conversation helps you to think more clearly about your own convictions, and to view your neighbors, even those with whom you disagree, with greater empathy.

This podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded in June 2020. Watch the full video of the conversation here, and learn more about James Mumford.

Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:

Vexed: Ethics Beyond Political Tribes, by James Mumford

The Righteous Mind, by Jonathan Haidt

T. S. Eliot

Related Trinity Forum Readings:

Four Quartets - T.S. Eliot

Children of Light and the Children of Darkness, by Reinhold Niebuhr

Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville

Babette’s Feast, by Isak Dinesen

Politics, Morality, and Civility, by Václav Havel

Related Conversations:
Connecting Spiritual Formation & Public Life with Michael Wear
The Kingdom, the Power & The Glory with Tim Alberta
A Life Worth Living with Miroslav Volf
Towards a Better Christian Politics
Christian Pluralism: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference
What Really Matters with Charlie Peacock and Andi Ashworth
Scripture and the Public Square

How to be a Patriotic Christian

Life, Death, Poetry & Peace with Philip Yancey

The Fall, the Founding, and the Future of American Democracy

Fear and Conspiracy with David French

Words Against Despair with Christian Wiman

To listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum Society

Special thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

Words Against Despair with Christian Wiman

As poet Christian Wiman explains on our podcast, despair is part of the human condition: “I deal with despair because…I don't know how not to, and it would be an evasion not to. And I think if you don't feel it, then you're not paying attention.”

In his new book, Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair, the acclaimed poet chases meaning through words, including memoir and poetry. And in this conversation he explains how he has found relief from despair in poetry, even and especially when poets grapple honestly with despair, “they speak of [despair] as a thing that can be spoken of.”

Wiman returned to Christian faith in part through a terminal cancer diagnosis–one that he has, to his astonishment, now lived with for over 18 years. His work explores themes of illness, love, faith, and the “almost spiritual joy” of encountering a deadly coral snake. We trust you will find in his poetry, and in this conversation with Trinity Forum’s guest host, Tom Wash, a great tonic against despair.

This podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded in April 2024. Watch the full video of the conversation here, and learn more about Christian Wiman.

Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:

Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair, by Chrisitan Wiman

Marylin Robison

Danielle Chapman

William Bronk

William Wordsworth

Every Riven Thing, by Christian Wiman

My Bright Abyss: Meditations of a Modern Believer, by Christian Wiman

Prayer, by Carol Ann Duffy

The Bible and Poetry, by Michael Edwards 

Augustine of Hippo

Bittersweet, by George Herbert

Surprised by Joy, by C.S. Lewis

Richard Wilbur

Jürgen Moltmann

When the Time’s Toxins, by Christian Wiman

Related Trinity Forum Readings:

Augustine’s Confessions

Devotions by John Donne, paraphrased by Philip Yancey

God’s Grandeur: the Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins

Bulletins from Immortality, by Emily Dickinson

Wrestling with God, by Simone Weil

Related Conversations:
Connecting Spiritual Formation & Public Life with Michael Wear
The Kingdom, the Power & The Glory with Tim Alberta
A Life Worth Living with Miroslav Volf
Towards a Better Christian Politics
Christian Pluralism: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference
What Really Matters with Charlie Peacock and Andi Ashworth
Scripture and the Public Square

How to be a Patriotic Christian

Life, Death, Poetry & Peace with Philip Yancey

The Fall, the Founding, and the Future of American Democracy

Fear and Conspiracy with David French

To listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum Society

Special thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

In his book, Divided We Fall, author David French explores not only the rise of conspiracy thinking, but also the tribalism and alienation that has divided the country. On our podcast, French considers why our unsettling times have proven fertile ground for the growth of conspiracy thinking, especially within the Christian community, and he offers his thoughts on  what a Christian response to conspiracy theories might entail:

This podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded in 2021. Watch the full video of the conversation here, and learn more about David French.

Especially in these chaotic times, we hope this conversation will inspire you to grow in your faith and find the freedom that comes in the pursuit of truth and the ways of its Author.

Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:

The Rise of Isis: A Threat We Can't Ignore, by David French

A Season for Justice: Defending the Rights of Christian Home School and Church, by David French

Home and Away: A Story of Family in Time of War, by David French

Divided We Fall, by David French

Rod Dreher

Cass Sunstein

Bill Bishop

Jonathan Haidt

Related Trinity Forum Readings:

Brave New World, by Alduos Huxley

The Federalist Papers

Democracy in America, by Alexis de Tocqueville

Politics, Morality, and Civility, by Vaclav Havel

Children of Light, Children of Darkness, by Reinhold Niebuhr

Related Conversations:
A New Year With The Word with Malcolm Guite
Music, Creativity & Justice with Ruth Naomi Floyd
Pursuing Humility with Richard Foster and Brenda Quinn
Reading as a Spiritual Practice with Jessica Hooten Wilson
Walking as a Spiritual Practice with Mark Buchanan
Making as a Spiritual Practice with Makoto Fujimura
Connecting Spiritual Formation & Public Life with Michael Wear
The Kingdom, the Power & The Glory with Tim Alberta
A Life Worth Living with Miroslav Volf
Towards a Better Christian Politics
Christian Pluralism: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference
What Really Matters with Charlie Peacock and Andi Ashworth
Scripture and the Public Square

How to be a Patriotic Christian

Life, Death, Poetry & Peace with Philip Yancey

The Fall, the Founding, and the Future of American Democracy

To listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum Society

Special thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

The Fall, the Founding, and the Future of American Democracy

What did America’s founders believe about human nature? How might a deeper understanding of their perspective shape the way we think about current and future challenges to our democracy?

On this podcast episode, historian and author Dr. Tracy McKenzie helps us take a closer look at the founder’s view of human nature, what the abandonment of this view implies, and the tension of fallen human beings entrusted with self-governance:

This is podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded in 2022. Watch the full video of the conversation here, and learn more about Dr. Tracy McKenzie.

We hope this conversation on America’s history helps you see the present with fresh insight as together we consider how Christians and the Church can play a positive role in the public and political life of our country.

Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:

The First Thanksgiving: What the Real Story Tells Us About a Loving God and Learning from History, by Dr. Tracy McKenzie

A Little Book for New Historians: Why and How to Study History, by Dr. Tracy McKenzie

We the Fallen People: the Founders and the Future of American Democracy, by Dr. Tracy McKenzie

Democracy in America, by Alexis de Tocqueville

Related Trinity Forum Readings:

The Federalist Papers

Democracy in America, by Alexis de Tocqueville

Politics, Morality, and Civility, by Vaclav Havel

Children of Light, Children of Darkness, by Reinhold Niebuhr

Related Conversations:
A New Year With The Word with Malcolm Guite
Music, Creativity & Justice with Ruth Naomi Floyd
Pursuing Humility with Richard Foster and Brenda Quinn
Reading as a Spiritual Practice with Jessica Hooten Wilson
Walking as a Spiritual Practice with Mark Buchanan
Making as a Spiritual Practice with Makoto Fujimura
Connecting Spiritual Formation & Public Life with Michael Wear
The Kingdom, the Power & The Glory with Tim Alberta
A Life Worth Living with Miroslav Volf
Towards a Better Christian Politics
Christian Pluralism: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference
What Really Matters with Charlie Peacock and Andi Ashworth
Scripture and the Public Square

How to be a Patriotic Christian

Life, Death, Poetry & Peace with Philip Yancey

To listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum Society

Special thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

Life, Death, Poetry & Peace with Philip Yancey

Life has changed dramatically in the 400 years since John Donne wrote his Devotions. Yet despite the advances of the intervening centuries, we find that, like Donne, we are still subject to sickness and death. We still long for comfort. We still want to know what God is saying to us.

Author Philip Yancey has found surprisingly relevant answers to these perennial questions in the works of John Donne. Updating the great poet’s work for modern readers in his book UNDONE: A Modern Rendering of John Donne’s Devotions, Yancey has given us a devotional treasure, particularly for those in the midst of trial and suffering:

This is a conversation rich with insights into the problem of pain and the human condition, and full of comfort as we get a clearer picture of God in the face of Jesus. We hope that it encourages you deeply and that you’ll share it with others.

This is podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded in 2024. Watch the full video of the conversation here, and learn more about Philip Yancey.

Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:

UNDONE: A Modern Rendering of John Donne’s Devotions, by Philip Yancey

Where Is God When It Hurts, by Philip Yancey

In His Image, by Philip Yancey and Paul Brand

Disappointment with God, by Philip Yancey

The Jesus I never Knew, by Philip Yancey

What's So Amazing About Grace, by Philip Yancey

Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, by John Donne

The Art of Dying, by Lydia Dugdale

Dr. Paul Brand

Related Trinity Forum Readings:

Sacred and Profane Love, the poetry of John Donne

Wrestling with God, by Simone Weil

Bulletins from Immortality: Poems by Emily Dickinson

Man's Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl

Related Conversations:
A New Year With The Word with Malcolm Guite
Music, Creativity & Justice with Ruth Naomi Floyd
Pursuing Humility with Richard Foster and Brenda Quinn
Reading as a Spiritual Practice with Jessica Hooten Wilson
Walking as a Spiritual Practice with Mark Buchanan
Making as a Spiritual Practice with Makoto Fujimura
Connecting Spiritual Formation & Public Life with Michael Wear
The Kingdom, the Power & The Glory with Tim Alberta
A Life Worth Living with Miroslav Volf
Towards a Better Christian Politics
Christian Pluralism: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference
What Really Matters with Charlie Peacock and Andi Ashworth
Scripture and the Public Square

How to be a...

How to be a Patriotic Christian

The topic of Christian nationalism takes us into deep questions of how we understand and live out our allegiances to both our country and the kingdom of God, how we ought to relate to our neighbors, and how we should pursue justice and flourishing within our nation. 

It's also a topic rife with confusion and uncertainty. But what is Christian nationalism, and how is it different from a robust patriotism? On our podcast we explore these questions with scholars and authors Richard Mouw and Paul D. Miller who help us distinguish between living out one's faith in the public square and instrumentalizing faith for political ends:

This podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded in 2023. Watch the full video of the conversation here, and learn more about Richard Mouw and Paul D. Miller

We hope that this conversation has been helpful in articulating what it means to be a patriotic Christian, and in offering better language and frameworks for wrestling with questions of how to live out our faith in the public square.

Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:

Uncommon Decency: Christian Civility in an Uncivil World, by Richard Mouw

Pluralisms and Horizons, by Richard Mouw

Praying at Burger King, by Richard Mouw

How to Be a Patriotic Christian: Love of Country as Love of Neighbor, by Richard Mouw

The Religion of American Greatness: What’s Wrong with Christian Nationalism, by Paul D. Miller

This America: The Case for the Nation, by Jill Lepore

Aristotle

Plato

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Augustine

C.S. Lewis

Richard John Neuhaus

Simone Weil

John Calvin

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

George Orwell

Curt Thompson

Frederick Douglass

Related Trinity Forum Readings:

City of God, by Augustine

The Children of Light and The Children of Darkness, by Reinhold Niebuhr 

Wrestling with God, by Simone Weil

Letter from Birmingham Jail, by Martin Luther King Jr's

Democracy in America, by Alexis de Tocqueville

Related Conversations:
A New Year With The Word with Malcolm Guite
Music, Creativity & Justice with Ruth Naomi Floyd
Pursuing Humility with Richard Foster and Brenda Quinn
Reading as a Spiritual Practice with Jessica Hooten Wilson
Walking as a Spiritual Practice with Mark Buchanan
Making as a Spiritual Practice with Makoto Fujimura
Connecting Spiritual Formation & Public Life with Michael Wear
The Kingdom, the Power & The Glory with Tim Alberta
A Life Worth Living with Miroslav Volf
Towards a Better Christian Politics
Christian Pluralism: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference
What Really Matters with Charlie Peacock and Andi Ashworth
Scripture and the Public Square

To listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum Society

Special thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

The language of the Bible has often been invoked in American political discourse through the centuries. Quoted by suffragists and secessionists, invoked in arguments for (and against) American independence, the Civil War, and cited by virtually every President across parties.

So how should we discern a faithful application of scripture in public life from instrumentalizing the Bible for political purposes? What can we learn from America’s history of using the Bible in politics?

Theologian, speaker and author Kaitlyn Schiess helps us think more carefully and clearly about our history and these challenging questions on our latest podcast:

As our election cycle continues to twist and turn toward the ballot box in November, we hope this conversation will provoke new ways of thinking about scripture and its faithful application for the common good.

This podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded in 2023. Watch the full video of the conversation here, and learn more about Kaitlyn Schiess here.

Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:

The Ballot and the Bible, Kaitlyn Schiess

Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor, by Kaitlyn Schiess

John Winthrop

Related Trinity Forum Readings:

City of God, by Augustine

The Federalist Papers

Who Stands Fast, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Children of Light and The Children of Darkness, by Reinhold Niebuhr 

Related Conversations:
A New Year With The Word with Malcolm Guite
Music, Creativity & Justice with Ruth Naomi Floyd
Pursuing Humility with Richard Foster and Brenda Quinn
Reading as a Spiritual Practice with Jessica Hooten Wilson
Walking as a Spiritual Practice with Mark Buchanan
Making as a Spiritual Practice with Makoto Fujimura
Connecting Spiritual Formation & Public Life with Michael Wear
The Kingdom, the Power & The Glory with Tim Alberta
A Life Worth Living with Miroslav Volf
Towards a Better Christian Politics
Christian Pluralism: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference
What Really Matters with Charlie Peacock and Andi Ashworth

To listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum Society.

Special thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.