The NAR, Power, and Prophecy: Inside America’s Forgotten Christian Movement (Matthew Taylor) Ep. #208
What if the most politically influential Christian leaders in America aren’t the ones you’ve heard of?
In this eye-opening conversation, Dr. Matthew D. Taylor joins Dru Johnson to explain how the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and related charismatic networks reshaped modern evangelicalism—and helped deliver the presidency to Donald Trump. Taylor, a scholar of religion and politics, traces how televangelists, prophets, and apostolic leaders operating outside denominational structures built a new Christian populist movement with real spiritual and political power.
Far from being fringe actors, these leaders—like Paula White and Lance Wallnau—hold enormous sway through media networks and prophetic authority. Taylor explores how modern prophecy, celebrity culture, and populist theology have created a system resistant to critique, driven by revival language and unregulated influence. He explains why evangelical elites misjudged the NAR’s reach and how their dismissal of these leaders as “hucksters” only deepened the divide.
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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to the New Apostolic Reformation Movement
02:50 Understanding Pushback and Misconceptions
05:46 Defining the New Apostolic Reformation
09:21 The Role of Charismatic Leaders in Politics
12:10 Trump and the Evangelical Connection
15:09 The Seven Mountain Mandate and Its Implications
18:05 Cyrus Prophecy and Its Significance
21:14 The Divide Between Evangelical Elites and Grassroots
26:19 Theological Divides in Modern Evangelicalism
27:40 Historical Context of Evangelicalism
29:06 Populism and the Rise of Trump
31:29 Scriptural Interpretation and Prophecy
35:19 The Role of Modern Prophecy
38:33 Leadership Dynamics in Non-Denominational Spaces
43:41 Christian Nationalism vs. Christian Supremacy
46:35 The Early Church's Ethos vs. Modern Power
50:58 Path Forward for Evangelicals
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Hollywood, Scripture, and Politics: Joan Didion and the Power of Story (Alissa Wilkinson) Ep. #207
What do Hollywood, Joan Didion, and the Bible have in common?
More than you’d expect. In this episode, New York Times film critic and author Alissa Wilkinson joins Dru Johnson to discuss the life, work, and worldview of Joan Didion, one of the most influential American writers of the 20th century. Wilkinson’s new book, We Tell Ourselves Stories, explores how Didion made sense of chaos through narrative—and what her work reveals about faith, trauma, politics, and cultural memory.
Together, Alissa and Dru explore Didion’s insight that stories are not just entertainment; they are survival mechanisms, tools we use to impose order on a chaotic world. But is that all Scripture is—just another human-made narrative? Wilkinson offers a careful reflection on the limits and power of storytelling, showing how Didion’s work can challenge both Christian belief and secular mythmaking.
They also dive into conspiracy theories, the fusion of politics and Hollywood, and the rise of nostalgia as a cultural sickness. From John Wayne to 9/11 to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this episode traces the invisible threads between the stories we inherit and the truths we cling to.
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Chapters:
00:00 Exploring Joan Didion's Influence
02:10 The Chaos of Life and Storytelling
05:08 The Impact of California on Didion's Work
08:15 Didion's Perspective on Conspiracy Theories
11:24 Hollywood's Political Landscape and Didion's Critique
14:26 The Intersection of Politics and Entertainment
17:29 Didion's Views on Feminism and Fixed Ideas
20:26 The Role of Nostalgia in Storytelling
23:24 The Modern Political Narrative
26:17 Conspiracies and Their Impact on Society
29:27 The Nature of Truth in Storytelling
32:10 Didion's Legacy in Film and Media
35:20 The Future of Storytelling in Politics
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Wine, Worship, and Craftsmanship: A Biblical Theology of Alcohol (John Dunne) Ep #206
Was wine in the Bible just a calorie source—or something far richer? In this fascinating conversation, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, author of The Mountain Shall Drip Sweet Wine: A Biblical Theology of Alcohol, joins Dru Johnson to explore how wine and alcohol shaped ancient Israel’s culture, theology, and imagination.
Dr. Dunne traces how biblical wine reflected not only the scarcity and agricultural hopes of ancient life, but also a tradition of craftsmanship, connoisseurship, and divine blessing. Together they unpack why biblical wine wasn’t just functional—it was symbolic of abundance, peace, and God’s favor.
From fermentation methods and ancient storage to the surprising case for white wine at the wedding at Cana, this episode challenges modern assumptions about alcohol in Scripture. Dunne explores why the biblical world viewed wine as inherently miraculous, why production was tied to the land promise, and how modern communion links us to Canaan’s terroir in unexpected ways.
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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:42 Christianity and Alcohol
02:52 Cultural Perspectives on Alcohol Consumption
06:01 Theological Implications of Alcohol in Scripture
08:58 Wine Production and Its Significance
12:00 The Craft of Winemaking in Ancient Times
14:57 Grapes: Beyond Wine Production
18:06 Environmental Factors in Viticulture
20:58 The Symbolism of Wine in Biblical Texts
22:06 The Importance of Climate in Winemaking
25:11 Exploring Ancient Grape Varieties
27:07 The Fermentation Process of Ancient Wines
35:04 The Significance of Jesus' First Miracle
45:10 Wine as a Connection to the Land
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Is Nationalism Biblical? Yoram Hazony on Nations, Empires, and Justice (Yoram Hazony) Ep. #205
Is nationalism always bad—or does the Bible have a more nuanced view of nations, borders, and political life? In this fascinating episode, Israeli philosopher Yoram Hazony joins Dru Johnson to explore the political vision of the Old Testament, from the Table of Nations in Genesis to the prophetic hope of nations learning from Israel in peace.
Hazony explains how the Bible’s anti-empire stance emerges from the stories of Babel, Assyria, and Babylon—and why God’s vision for humanity includes independent nations with borders, traditions, and space to seek Him freely. Together they unpack how Israel’s kingship, laws, and tribal structure offer a model of checks, balances, and moral limits on power.
The conversation also tackles modern questions: What can Christians today learn from biblical nationalism? How does this compare with movements like Christian nationalism in the U.S.? And why does Hazony see so many modern Christian intellectuals missing the Old Testament’s political teachings?
For more of Yoram's literature:
https://www.yoramhazony.org/
https://x.com/yhazony
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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Nationalism and the Bible
00:56 Biblical Foundations of National Identity
09:32 Political Philosophy in the Old Testament
12:43 Critiques of Nationalism in the Hebrew Bible
20:42 The Nature of Sin and Human Corruption
22:40 Nationalism and the Biblical Perspective
26:08 Borders and National Independence
40:01 Governance and the Role of Law
45:28 Christian Nationalism: Perspectives and Concerns
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Do You See What I See? Worship, Joint Attention, and Being Human (Cockayne & Salter) Ep. #204
Is church just a place to think about God—or are we wired to worship together? In this groundbreaking episode, theologian Dr. Josh Cockayne and developmental psychologist Dr. Gideon Salter join Dru Johnson to explore how human beings are made for joint attention, and why gathering for worship is a deeply embodied, social necessity.
Drawing from their book Why We Gather, the conversation unfolds how infants develop the skill of “joint attention”—the ability to notice something with someone else—and how this same capacity is essential to biblical worship, from Genesis to Revelation. They argue that worship isn’t merely cognitive or emotional—it’s communal, embodied, and neurologically formative. Togetherness isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s the foundation of how we know God and the world.
From communion rituals and infant behavior to liturgical design and online church, the episode provides a practical, psychologically grounded, and theologically rich vision of church that challenges both individualism and shallow expressions of “community.”
For their book "Why We Gather," see the publisher's website here:
https://www.baylorpress.com/9781481322911/why-we-gather/
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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Worship and Individual Experience
02:59 The Role of the Body in Worship
06:02 Joint Attention and Its Importance
09:20 The Collaboration Between Psychology and Theology
12:12 Understanding Joint Attention in Worship
15:17 The Impact of Joint Attention on Community Worship
18:05 Liturgy and Joint Attention in Practice
21:09 Theological Implications of Joint Attention
24:04 Cultural Jointness and Worship
27:06 Conclusion and Reflections on Worship
27:42 Children's Participation in Church
28:42 Exploring Joint Attention in Liturgical Settings
30:57 The Role of Community in Worship
32:36 Understanding Jointness and Joint Attention
35:12 The Dynamics of Participation in Worship
36:18 Theological Perspectives on Joint Attention
38:12 The Biological and Social Aspects of Gathering
41:44 Critiques of Theoretical Frameworks in Worship
The Biblical Mind is dedicated to helping its audience understand how the biblical authors thought, promoting Bible fluency through curious, careful reading of Scripture. It is hosted by Dr. Dru Johnson and published by the Center for Hebraic Thought, a hub for research and resources on the intellectual world of the Bible.