Distinguishing civic witness from nationalism

What happens when the Bible becomes a stage prop for national identity instead of a text that interrogates it?

This episode explores “America Reads the Bible,” a high-profile event where political leaders, actors, and influencers recited Scripture from the nation’s capital, and, drawing on Bonhoeffer’s warning about reading the Bible for ourselves instead of against ourselves, Savannah and Lee examine how the same text is used to fuel both nationalism and its critique, alongside debates like Tennessee’s Ten Commandments bill.

Things we mentioned in this episode:

Endurance by Alfred Lansing

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough

Flight of Passage: A Memoir by Rinker Buck

The Congruent Life by C.E. Jarnagin

Running Point on Netflix

Slow Horses on Apple TV

Eboo Patel on No Small Endeavor

AJ Levine on No Small Endeavor Live

Follow The Subtext: Instagram | Threads | X | YouTube | TikTok

Follow Lee: Instagram | Twitter | Lee's Newsletter

Follow Savannah: Instagram | Substack

Join our Email List: nosmallendeavor.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices