The Holy Post

Is empathy becoming a liability in American Christianity? Phil, Kaitlyn, and Mike Erre discuss the growing backlash against empathy and why some conservatives argue that too much compassion can lead to bad politics, bad theology, and even the decline of Western civilization. They also look at Russell Moore's warning about the "fear-driven church" and how anxiety about God, outsiders, and our own communities can shape the way Christians think and behave. Then, Kaitlyn talks with psychologist Alison Cook about attachment theory, the limits of human relationships, and why no other person can give us the security we ultimately need. Plus, what Lewis and Clark's bathroom habits can teach us about American history.



Holy Post Plus:
Ad-Free Version of this Episode:
https://holypost.substack.com/publish/post/218066312?r=35kf51&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
 
0:00 - Show Starts
1:18 - Theme Song
1:40 - Sponsor - PolicyGenius - Secure your family's tomorrow so you have peace of mind today. Go to https://www.policygenius.com/HOLYPOST to find the right life insurance for you
2:36 - 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.
4:53 - Writing in Epcot?
7:05 - News of the Hindquarters
12:45 - The Anti-Empathy Movement
20:05 - Christianity and "Western Civilization?"
37:21 - The "Fear-Driven Church"
51:13 - Interview
56:21 - Therapy Culture and the Church
1:03:44 - Security in Christ
1:24:58 - End Credits
Articles Discussed in News Segment:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/09/maga-right-christianity-empathy-toxic/688755/



Resources:
The Secure Soul: Finding Inner Strength and Connection When Trust Doesn't Come Easy by Alison Cook: https://amzn.to/3VjvuXi
 
Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/
 
Holy Post Plus: www.holypost.com/plus
 
Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost
 
Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop
 
The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Podcast hosts, ASSEMBLE! Phil, Skye, Kaitlyn, and Esau come together to debrief the new books by Kristen Kobes Du Mez, Bonnie Kristian, and Charlie Dates, as well as their recent interviews on The Holy Post. They each critique or defend evangelicalism, but who's right? Is evangelicalism worth fixing? Does the current debate unknowingly center only white experiences of evangelicalism? And is evangelicalism even a thing, or just a category pollsters made up? Plus, the team wrestles with their own responsibility and calling in the Christian media marketplace.
 
Holy Post Plus:
Ad-Free Version of this Episode:
https://holypost.substack.com/p/817a857f-dc0d-4d90-b029-e81e8b62b28d?postPreview=free&updated=2026-09-22T21%3A00%3A38.053Z&audience=only_paid&free_preview=true&freemail=true
Getting Schooled - Baptism 201:
https://holypost.substack.com/p/29fcb625-2936-450e-be1f-e93c8b0621e8?postPreview=free&updated=2026-09-22T21%3A17%3A05.196Z&audience=only_paid&free_preview=true&freemail=true
 
0:00 - Show Starts
 
1:18 - Theme Song
 
1:40 - Sponsor - Rocket Money - Find and cancel your old subscriptions with Rocket Money at https://www.rocketmoney.com/HOLYPOST
 
2:40 - Sponsor - AG1 - Use the discount code BACK2ROUTINE for 20% off of your first order at: https://www.drinkag1.com/HOLYPOST
 
4:29 - Phil's Mysterious Illness
 
5:37 - The State of Evangelicalism
 
16:40 - What Sells
 
21:32 - Evangelicalism vs. the Mainline
 
26:04 - Would You Raise Your Child Evangelical?
 
30:20 - Moved by Media or Always Corrupt?
 
40:50 - What's the Better Question?
 
51:08 - What's the Takeaway?
 
1:05:49 - End Credits
 
Books Discussed in News Segment:
In Defense of Evangelicalism by Bonnie Kristian: https://amzn.to/47aShaj 
 
Live, Laugh, Love by Kristin Kobes Du Mez: https://amzn.to/4xFicC0 
 
What Has Justice to Do with Righteousness? by Charlie Dates: https://amzn.to/46FB6NV
 
Resources:
Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/
 
Holy Post Plus: www.holypost.com/plus
 
Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost
 
Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop
 
The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Following the 9/11 terrorist attack 25 years ago, Americans began using more "good versus evil" rhetoric, but have we taken it too far? Many of the tech bros developing AI were fans of sci-fi novels and movies in middle school, but completely missed the point of those stories. We may all pay the price. Bonnie Kristian, the deputy editor at Christianity Today, returns to discuss her new book "In Defense of Evangelicalism." While she agrees with many of the recent criticisms of the movement, she says the problems within evangelicalism are bugs rather than features and believes its critics have gone too far.
 
Holy Post Plus:
Ad-Free Version of this Episode:
https://holypost.substack.com/publish/post/215893715?r=35kf51&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
 
The SkyePod with Chuck Todd!
https://holypost.substack.com/p/politics-and-pluralism-with-chuck
 
0:00 - Show Starts
1:24 - Theme Song
1:47 - Sponsor - Rocket Money - Find and cancel your old subscriptions with Rocket Money at https://www.rocketmoney.com/HOLYPOST 
2:46 - Sponsor - BetterHelp - This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://www.betterhelp.com/HOLYPOST and get 10% off your first month!
3:48 - Chuck Todd on the SkyePod
8:22 - 9/11's 25th Anniversary
27:52 -Sponsor - PolicyGenius - Secure your family's tomorrow so you have peace of mind today. Go to https://www.policygenius.com/HOLYPOST to find the right life insurance for you
28:55 - Living in Bad Science Fiction
52:20 - Interview
1:00:38 - Reform or Destruction?
1:13:45 - The Wal-Mart of Christianity
1:34:36 - Are Critics the Bigger Problem?
1:37:51 - End Credits
1:38:29 - Sponsor - The Pour Over - Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over Today. Check it out at https://links.thepourover.org/holy-post
 
Links Mentioned in News Segment:
Sci-fi and Tech Oligarchs:
https://www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/08/silicon-valley-science-fiction-jill-lepore-book-review/688467/
 
Other Resources:
In Defense of Evangelicalism: A Response to Its Cultured Despisers by Bonnie Kristian: https://amzn.to/4xkkFRX
 
Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/
 
Holy Post Plus: www.holypost.com/plus
 
Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost
 
Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop
 
The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez, author of the best-selling "Jesus and John Wayne," is back with another look at the forces that shaped modern American evangelicalism. This time she explores the backstory of evangelical femininity in her new book, "Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made." Also this week: Phil wants to know what links three recent celebrity deaths—Dolly Parton, Gloria Steinem, and Wendell Berry. To the surprise of many, The Christian Post has published an anti-Christian nationalist article. Is it a sign that the evangelical support for MAGA is finally turning? Plus, weird science awards. 
 
Holy Post Plus:
Ad-Free Version of this Episode:
https://holypost.substack.com/p/d5dde089-df69-4faa-a088-c903e95ca080?postPreview=free&updated=2026-09-08T21%3A39%3A36.002Z&audience=only_paid&free_preview=true&freemail=true
 
Check out this bonus interview with Kristin Kobes Du Mez:
https://holypost.substack.com/p/9c348a0c-111e-4203-99e6-3373210c01f8?postPreview=free&updated=2026-09-08T20%3A28%3A21.690Z&audience=only_paid&free_preview=true&freemail=true
 
0:00 - Show Starts
1:17 - Theme Song
1:39 - Sponsor - BetterHelp - This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://www.betterhelp.com/HOLYPOST and get 10% off your first month!
2:42 - Sponsor - AG1 - Use the discount code BACK2ROUTINE for 20% off of your first order at: https://www.drinkag1.com/HOLYPOST
3:40 - World Relief Update with Matthew Soerens: The State of the Golden Door - Help sign a letter to President Trump on behalf of refugees! https://www.worldrelief.org/goldendoor
7:26 - Quirky Science!
13:10 - Christian Post Anti-Nationalism Article?
27:39 - Dolly, Wendell, and Gloria, Oh My!
34:19 - Sponsor - Renovare Book Club - Spiritual formation through books! What else could you ask for? Learn more at https://renovare.org/bookclub
35:22 - Sponsor - Our Place - Go to https://www.fromourplace.com and use code HOLYPOST to get 10% off site wide on beautiful cookware!
36:32 - Why Didn't Christians like Gloria Steinem?
54:44 - Interview
1:28:44 - End Credits
Links Mentioned in News Segment:
Weird Science! (No relation to the song or movie):
https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2026-09-05/research-on-cockroach-milk-nose-blowing-wins-ig-nobel-prizes
 
Christian Post article on Christian Nationalism: https://www.christianpost.com/voices/christian-nationalism-already-failed-america-once.html
 
Hannah Anderson on Dolly and Wendell: https://hannahanderson.substack.com/p/dolly-and-wendell
 
Other Resources:
Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made by Kristin Kobes Du Mez: https://amzn.to/4xNdx1E
 
Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/
 
Holy Post Plus: www.holypost.com/plus
 
Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost
 
Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop
 
The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Why are the Christians who profess right doctrine about God often the most opposed to social justice in his name? That contradiction is at the heart of Charlie Dates' new book. He talks with Skye about how separating justice and righteousness is damaging both white evangelicalism and young black activists. Also this week: Reflections on the wisdom of Dolly Parton, why religious tolerance isn't enough to heal America's divisions, and the difficulty of being an introvert within evangelicalism.
 
Holy Post Plus:
Ad-Free Version of this Episode:
https://holypost.substack.com/p/728db798-3a84-4359-9d16-b6c8429205b1
0:00 - Show Starts
0:44 - Theme Song
1:23 - Sponsor - BetterHelp - This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://www.betterhelp.com/HOLYPOST and get 10% off your first month!
2:21 - Sponsor - The Esau McCaulley Podcast - Esau has conversations that challenge your thinking, strengthen your faith, and give you plenty of reasons to laugh. Listen now at: https://pod.link/1770229436
3:43 - Dolly Parton's Legacy
27:07 -  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.
28:12 - Sponsor - Tyndale - The Life Application Study Bible is here to give you resources to help you understand why scripture matters and how it applies today! Check it out now at: tyndale.life/nltselect
29:30 - When do We Become the Person We Ought to Be?
43:06 - Covenantal Pluralism
52:38 - Interview
1:02:57 - White Evangelical Blindness
1:09:17 - MLK50
1:15:00 - Waning Interest in Justice
1:22:00 - Fearing God vs. People
1:28:22 - End Credits
Links Mentioned in News Segment:
Morality, reflection, and age:
https://www.graphsaboutreligion.com/p/when-do-we-become-the-person-we-ought
 
Covenantal Pluralism: The Geopolitics of Interfaith Religious Freedom by Iqbal Akhtar:
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-31479-6
 
Other Resources:
What Hath Justice to Do with Righteousness?: Reclaiming the Intersection of Protest and Prayer by Charlie Dates: https://amzn.to/4zPhVym
 
Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/
 
Holy Post Plus: www.holypost.com/plus
 
Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost
 
Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop
 
The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.