# The Sunday Interview: Fighting Spiritual Terrorism

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207/the-sunday-interview-fighting-spiritual-terrorism
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207/the-sunday-interview-fighting-spiritual-terrorism.md
Podcast: [Premium Ad-Free: Straight White American Jesus](https://stenobird.com/podcast/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207)
Published: 2026-06-07T14:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://clrtpod.com/m/traffic.megaphone.fm/SWAJ3232841819.mp3
Audio file: https://clrtpod.com/m/traffic.megaphone.fm/SWAJ3232841819.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207/episodes/the-sunday-interview-fighting-spiritual-terrorism
Duration seconds: 2927

## Resource

In this episode, Brad Onishi sits down with Rev. Alba Onofrio, the Executive Director of Soulforce and author of Spiritual Violence: Religious Phenomena That Defile the Faith. Rev. Alba brings nearly two decades of global activism across four continents to a critical conversation about the exact mechanisms religious systems use to inflict deep psychological and physical harm. Moving past vague concepts of religious trauma, she provides a clear framework that categorizes spiritual harm along a spectrum—ranging from everyday theological microaggressions to full-scale "spiritual terrorism." By defining spiritual terrorism as a sustained, systemic deployment of fear designed to subjugate entire communities, Rev. Alba exposes how weaponized theology acts as an active tool of control rather than an accidental byproduct of faith. The discussion dives into how traditional religious imagery—such as framing God exclusively as a punishing "Father," "King," or "Judge"—subtly normalizes abusive and hierarchical dynamics in families, intimate relationships, and broader civic life. Rev. Alba and Brad unpack how white Christian supremacy shapes what the American context recognizes as violence, using the deployment of Romans 13 during the separation of immigrant families at the U.S. border as a chilling case study in theological terrorism. Crucially, the episode addresses Christianity's historical condemnation of "the flesh," explaining how policing the body strips individuals of their bodily autonomy and self-trust. Ultimately, Rev. Alba shares why she fiercely maintains her faith, arguing that naming these systemic abuses is not a rejection of spirituality, but the vital first step toward true healing, resistance, and collective liberation. Subscribe to our free newsletter: ⁠https://…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207/episodes/the-sunday-interview-fighting-spiritual-terrorism/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207/the-sunday-interview-fighting-spiritual-terrorism.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.