3.76: Can You Help Biblically Explain Why Nationalism Is Not a Christian Narrative?

In this episode, the hosts are joined by Esau McCaulley. Together, they explore the listener posed questions regarding Christian nationalism and a biblical view of nationalistic rhetoric.

In this episode, Prof. Kathryn Schifferdecker and Katie Langston talk with Esau McCaulley, exploring the listener posed questions: Can you help biblically explain why nationalism is not a Christian narrative. In this country, Christian Nationalism has taken center stage. How can we teach Jesus’s view of nationalistic rhetoric?

Show notes

Topics, themes and figures mentioned

Christian Nationalism
Jewish Nationalism
Hebrew Scriptures
Kingdom of God
Oppression
Martin Luther King
Patriotic Christian
Political Party
Geopolitics
Self-Actualization
Patriotic Myths

Featuring

Esau McCaulley

Rev. Esau McCaulley, Ph.D. is an associate professor of New Testament at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. His first book entitled "Sharing in the Son’s Inheritance" was published by T & T Clark in 2019. His second book "Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope" was published by IVP academic in 2020. It has won numerous awards, including Christianity Today’s book of the year. His first children’s book, "Josie Johnson’s Hair and the Holy Spirit," will be published by IVP in May 2022. He is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. His writings have also appeared in places such as Washington Post, The Religious New Service, and Christianity Today. He is married to Mandy, a pediatrician and navy reservist. Together, they have four wonderful children.

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Hosted By

Kathryn Schifferdecker

Kathryn M Schifferdecker is Professor and Elva B. Lovell Chair of Old Testament at Luther Seminary. Ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 2001, Schifferdecker was associate pastor for five years at Trinity Lutheran Church, Arkdale, Wisconsin, before coming to Luther in 2006. Schifferdecker is a frequent contributor to Working Preacher, Word & World, and the author of "Out of the Whirlwind: Creation Theology in the Book of Job" (Harvard University Press, 2008). She is currently writing a commentary on the book of Esther.

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Katie Langston

Katie Langston is a doubter by nature and a believer by grace. She grew up Mormon in a small Utah town and still isn't sure she fits in anywhere sophisticated enough to have a Target. She's the author of Sealed: An Unexpected Journey into the Heart of Grace, an acclaimed spiritual memoir about her conversion to orthodox Christianity. Katie is Pastor of Mission and Outreach at New Promise Lutheran Church in St. George, Utah. From 2020-2025, she was the director of digital strategy for Luther Seminary's innovation team, where she oversaw digital projects aimed at cultivating vibrant Christian spirituality in a post-modern, post-Christian cultural context.

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About Enter the Bible Podcast

The Enter the Bible podcast is where you can get answers (or at least reflections) on everything you wanted to know about the Bible but were afraid to ask. Each season, the podcast hosts address questions submitted by listeners. If you have a question you’d like us to discuss in the upcoming season of the Enter the Bible podcast, submit it here.

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Featuring

Esau McCaulley

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Hosted By

Kathryn Schifferdecker

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Katie Langston

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