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S5:E4 The End of Reconstruction

S5:E4 The End of Reconstruction

by | Mar 15, 2022 | Episodes

The end of Reconstruction

The 1800s were a time of milking cows and going to the county fair.

Sure… but what else? We tend to think of this century as a quiet, pastoral era when people were friendly and life was simple. But the 1800s were a crazy time! The American Civil War, the Napoleonic Wars, the Spanish-American War, conquest, the suffrage movement, the prohibition movement, massive technological changes. It’s a wonder we ever made it out alive.

In this episode, we explore the early life of William Jennings Bryan and the Democratic Party, the party of Jim Crow that he would soon lead. After the Civil War, it was the Democrats who created Black Codes in the South to restrict the upward mobility of African Americans. They were the party of white farmers and soon transitioned into representing labor unions and, eventually, many black people in the United States. Bryan was one of the men responsible for that transition.

Helpful Links and Sources:

  • “A Godly Hero” by Michael Kazin
  • Truce episode about the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)
  • Meeting notes of the 1873 Evangelical Alliance
  • “Fundamentalism and American Culture” by George Marsden
  • “A Righteous Cause” by Robert W. Cherny (book on William Jennings Bryan)
  • Interesting bio on Stephen Douglas
  • President Hays’ acceptance speech

Discussion Questions:

  • What do you think of when you think of the 1800s?
  • Was the 1800s a simpler time?
  • What mistakes did the Republican Party make in ending Reconstruction?
  • How should abolitionists have handled the South after the Civil War?
  • Can a Christian lead a racist political party? Should they?
  • What were some technological advances that came about in the 1800s? How might they have shifted the way people lived and thought back then?
  • Are there technological changes going on now that could shift the way we think and interact with each other?
  • Chris ends the episode by talking about how Christians should be a people of the means, not necessarily the ends. Do you think the ends ever justify the means for Christians?
S3:E37 Exporting Jesus and the American Way

S3:E37 Exporting Jesus and the American Way

by | Jan 19, 2021 | Episodes

Christian missionaries sometimes export the United States with their messages.

Melani McAlister, author of “The Kingdom of God Has No Borders” and Professor of American Studies and International Affairs at George Washington University, joins us to discuss how we export Christianity. In the 1950s and 1960s, American denominations sent white missionaries to Africa to share the good news. But with them went their bias and racism. This was the era of Jim Crow laws. Some missionaries took those laws to Africa, not allowing black people to eat at their tables.

In this episode, we examine the problem of tying the United States to Christianity. When the US makes mistakes or does evil, how does that reflect back on the church?

Christian missionaries sometimes export the United States with their messages. What else is going with our missionaries?

Discussion Questions:

  • Have you ever been on a mission trip before? What was your motivation for going?
  • Do you think that it is possible to marginalize the people we are trying to witness to?
  • How do you feel about showing pictures of poor people in church presentations? How might that practice encourage churchgoers to marginalize a people group?
  • Do you think poor people in other countries are happier?
  • Is it okay for us to export the American way with the gospel? If yes, then which things should we export?

Links: