Straight White American Jesus It's in the Code ep 190: “The Atheists Are Coming!”
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May 13, 2026 A deep look at how a political thinker repackages masculinity using Christian language while emptying its meaning. The strategy of labeling opponents as 'atheists' to simplify and attack cultural foes gets picked apart. The episode traces flawed historical claims and contrasts shallow notions of sacrifice with richer faith-based models. It closes by previewing the final discussion on masculine authority.
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Christian Label Emptied To Fit Any Masculinity
- Josh Hawley frames his masculinity project as a uniquely Christian model but offers almost no distinctively Christian content.
- Dan Miller highlights the absence of Jesus, New Testament texts, or sustained Christian theology in Hawley's book, showing the label 'Christian' is largely empty.
Opposition Not Construction Drives Hawley's Project
- Hawley's vision is substantively negative: it stands only in opposition to caricatured enemies rather than offering a constructive model.
- Miller says this oppositional playbook—demonize opponents, claim binary purity—is typical of right-wing masculinist projects.
Political Opponents Recast As Atheist Conspiracy
- Hawley casts all opponents as part of a unified 'atheist project' despite diverse motives and beliefs.
- Miller shows this is rhetorical reduction: opponents ranging from Epicureans to advocates for trans rights are lumped together as 'atheists.'
