{"podcast":{"title":"Premium Ad-Free: Straight White American Jesus","slug":"premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207","podcast_index_feed_id":4273207,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/BCEP7155105923","website_url":"Straightwhiteamericanjesus.com","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/82736edc-81d2-11eb-98ab-a78d50f5f8f3/image/Screen_Shot_2023-09-07_at_2.54.00_PM.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Axis Mundi Media: Bradley Onishi + Daniel Miller","episode_count":1072,"summary":"An in-depth examination of the culture and politics of Christian Nationalism and Evangelicalism by two ex-evangelical ministers-turned-religion professors. If you have ever wondered what social and historical forces led white evangelicals to usher Donald Trump into the White House this is the show for you. As former insiders and critical scholars of religion, Dan Miller and Bradley Onishi have a unique perspective on the Religious Right. Guests have included Chrissy Stroop, R. Marie Griffith, Janelle Wong, Randall Balmer, Katherine Stewart, and many others.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-25T20:21:19.696469+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207"},"episode":{"title":"The Sunday Interview: Did Jesus Invent Western Morality with Dr. Bart Ehrman","slug":"the-sunday-interview-did-jesus-invent-western-morality-with-dr-bart-ehrman","published_at":"2026-04-12T13:30:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207/the-sunday-interview-did-jesus-invent-western-morality-with-dr-bart-ehrman","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207","url":"https://clrtpod.com/m/traffic.megaphone.fm/SWAJ4376136716.mp3?updated=1775968736","audio_url":"https://clrtpod.com/m/traffic.megaphone.fm/SWAJ4376136716.mp3?updated=1775968736","summary":"In this episode, Brad Onishi is joined by world-renowned New Testament scholar Dr. Bart Ehrman to explore the origins of the Western moral conscience through his latest book, Love Thy Stranger. The conversation challenges the common assumption that altruism is a \"natural\" human impulse, revealing instead how the ancient Greco-Roman world operated on a logic of social dominance and power. Ehrman traces the evolution of ethics from the specific tribal obligations found in Leviticus to the radical, apocalyptic vision of Jesus, who demanded care for the \"stranger\" as a universal requirement. By examining how this revolutionary Jewish framework was later institutionalized by the early church and the Roman Empire, they uncover why modern Westerners—regardless of their personal faith—still view charity and humanitarianism as a moral imperative. The discussion also dives into the practical friction between Jesus’ universalism and Paul’s communal ethics, providing a fascinating historical roadmap of how Christian morality became the baseline for Western civilization. From the communal sharing models in the book of Acts to modern-day secular institutions like Doctors Without Borders, Ehrman argues that our contemporary \"moral software\" is deeply rooted in 1st-century radicalism. To ground these lofty concepts, Ehrman shares a poignant personal reflection on the community response to Hurricane Helene near his home in Asheville, NC, illustrating how these ancient ethical seeds continue to bear fruit in times of modern catastrophe. Subscribe for $3.65: ⁠https://axismundi.supercast.com/⁠ Subscribe to our free newsletter: ⁠https://swaj.substack.com/⁠ Order American Caesar by Brad Onishi: ⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠ Donate to SWAJ: h…","meta_description":"In this episode, Brad Onishi is joined by world-renowned New Testament scholar Dr. Bart Ehrman to explore the origins of the Western moral conscience thro…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3035,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207/episodes/the-sunday-interview-did-jesus-invent-western-morality-with-dr-bart-ehrman/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207/the-sunday-interview-did-jesus-invent-western-morality-with-dr-bart-ehrman.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}