The Bad Roman: Christian Politics for Modern Times

In this special episode of the Bad Roman Podcast, John Dangelo, Scott Goldman, and Nicholas Harrelson join Craig to help us understand more about addiction. This episode is dedicated to TJ, Craig’s brother who recently passed away and we hope by sharing his story will help at least one person find some light in a dark place. Addiction and mental illness touch everyone’s family in some shape or form. If you or someone you know love is struggling we encourage you to seek help. In the show notes, you will find a list of resources to help you or your loved one. To learn more about this week's guest and for full show notes please visit thebadroman.com/shownotes   No King but Christ Network: nokingbutchristnetwork.com

In this episode, Kerry Baldwin is back to talk about her new courses designed to help people of all ages become critical, reflective, thinkers and why this lost skill is becoming more and more crucial. Craig and Kerry begin their conversation by taking a look at how both the public’s and the government's responses to COVID-19 have shifted since April. They next dive into Kerry’s course where we are invited to reconsider how we think about thinking, learning, and what actually is wisdom? This episode is not about answers, rather it is a beacon to the importance of crafting the question to precede any answer. To learn more about this week's guest and to find show notes please visit thebadroman.com/shownotes   No King but Christ Network: nokingbutchristnetwork.com

In this episode, Craig speaks with Patrick Carroll about his article If You Vote You Can’t Complain. Their discussion explores topics on suffrage in Canada and the United States and possible answers to why voters seem to be growing more and more apathetic to participating in the democratic system.    They explore the problem with “defensive voting” and how it may not be disrespectful to the past to refrain from casting your ballot every 2-4 years. In the midst of a Presidential Election in the US, this episode is an offering to listeners to consider what a vote is, who gives you that right, and who’s Kingdom you may be endorsing by participating in a system that upholds its power through force.    No King but Christ Network: nokingbutchristnetwork.com   To learn more about this week's guest and for full show notes please visit thebadroman.com/shownotes

In this episode, Craig speaks with Pastor Benje Graves of Vision Community Church in Marsing, Idaho about the strong adherence to the Republican Party among Christians and what that says about where those Christian’s hope may lie. Graves shares stories of his experience in working to get his congregation to see the same entanglement in government affairs that this show seeks to explore and expose.  We hope this episode is an invitation for conservatives to explore how showing up as a Christian does not mean showing up to endorse any political party, a modern-day call for a King, but rather Jesus’s life and teachings challenge us to remain on the margins of society in order to live out the Gospel. When we understand what it means to be a part of the Kingdom of God, we can begin to release the fear that too often draws us away from our divine calling. We must not forget that, if we call ourselves Christians, our allegiance is not to a finite and man-made nation but to the infinite Kingdom of Heaven. #NoKingbutChrist is a call to faith, a call away from the broken systems of the world that too often pull us away from living a life in the image of Christ.   To learn more about this week's guest and for full show notes please visit thebadroman.com/shownotes   No King but Christ Network: nokingbutchristnetwork.com

Would early Christians recognize the behavior of today’s Christians? In this episode, Craig is joined by authors Keith Giles and Jason G. Porterfield for a conversation on how the early church understood our affiliations to the state, the poor, and violence.  What events and leaders have contributed to the modern Christian’s entanglement and increasing fascination with the state. How do we move through the world with Christ at the center, bearing no flag but carrying our cross, while being thrust into the affairs of the state from infancy? This episode invites us to ask questions of allegiance, based on the premise that following Christ was, and should remain, a radical act, a difficult call to answer. If we are truly citizens in the Kingdom of God, what place does any modern government have in our lives? With Jesus as our compass, we can build the beloved community; our fight is nonviolent and the weapons are spiritual which is why we invite you to be radical, to be a Bad Roman, to show the world what it means to love your enemies, to help the world experience the love of Christ.   To learn more about this week's guests and for full show notes please visit thebadroman.com/shownotes   No King but Christ Network: nokingbutchristnetwork.com

For our third round table, Jason Mock, Scott Goldman, Nathan Chavoya, and Nicholas Harrelson join Craig to share their opinions on two main ideas. The first question comes from a Facebook fan message and is on where our obedience to Christ lays, he asks if “sometimes to be Christian, it meant you had had to be a good Roman”? Secondly, the Round Table takes a look at mandating masks in addition to exploring where identity is derived when we come to understand the Gospel.   Want to be a part of the next round table? Leave us a voice message of your question or comment and your question could be on the next Bad Roman Round Table.    To learn more about The Bad Roman Project and for full show notes please visit thebadroman.com/episodes.   No King but Christ Network: nokingbutchristnetwork.com

Should Christians be involved in affairs of the state? Do taxes make us responsible and complicit for the sins of a nation? In this episode Craig speaks with Bruxy Cavey, pastor at The Meeting House Church in Canada. The conversation was sparked by a video Bruxy made explaining the separation of Church and State as an actual separation. They explore the importance of reading Romans 12 before Romans 13, how pacifism is not equivalent to  inaction, and how we might go about “planting a pebbles in people’s shoes.”   To learn more about Bruxy, read his writing and explore his teachings please visit his website bruxy.com!    For full show notes, to learn more about The Bad Roman Project visit thebadroman.com/episodes   No King but Christ Network: nokingbutchristnetwork.com If you have a question about this episode or any previous episodes leave us a voice message or send us an email and your question or comment could be on the next Bad Roman Round Table!

This week Craig speaks with Stephen, the founder of AnarchoChristain, about his journey to Christian Anarchism. They discuss Stephen talks about the roots of entanglement with the state Stephen's life, if the youth may be more capable of #NoKingButChrist thinking, and the false Messiah syndrome that, as we move closer to the 2020 US election, seems to be plaguing American minds in the midst of a pandemic. This episode reminds us that the work of building the Kingdom is generational--it’s on God’s time.  For full show notes, to learn more about The Bad Roman Project visit thebadroman.com/episodes To learn more about AnarchChristian and connect with Stephen you can visit his website & Facebook Page. If you have a question about this episode or any previous episodes leave us a voice message or send us an email and your question or comment could be on the next Bad Roman Round Table!    No King but Christ Network: nokingbutchristnetwork.com

Do we need a government? Does Anarchy reject the biblical understanding of a fallen world? For our second round table, Craig, Abby Cleckner, Scott Goldman, and Jason Mock, discuss the misunderstanding of pacifism as a form of inaction. The conversation explores how the fallen nature of man is exactly what calls us to follow the eternal Kingdom of God versus the rise and fall of empires and governments of men. This round table challenges us to consider how we can meet violence not with inaction, but with creativity, with a radical love for our enemy.   We are reminded in this episode that, God will take care of the evil, and what we are called to do and should focus on is growing the Good. Do you live out of love or do you liver out of fear? We challenge you to, in the face of conflict or violence, choose the power of radical love, that same love that we often forget God has for us and everyone we meet have met or ever will meet. Violence and force are the tools of man, love requires us to transcend ourselves and be more, we invite you to be creative in the face of conflict, of violence, we invite you to love.   Want to be a part of the next round table? Leave us a voice message of your question or comment and your question could be on the next Bad Roman Round Table.    To learn more about The Bad Roman Project and for full show notes please visit thebadroman.com/episodes.   No King but Christ Network: nokingbutchristnetwork.com

In this episode, Craig speaks with Jessica Green about leaving Liberalism, finding God, and being “politically homeless.” While most guests on The Bad Roman Podcast have found their way to Anarchy from the right, Jessica brings us a story from the other side. Did we mention she used to be an Atheist? Jessica explains how she got so far left, it started looking like the Right, and how the Bible came to life for her in the midst of her political wandering.   To learn more about Jessica Green and for full show notes please visit thebadroman.com/episodes. To learn more about and connect with Jessica Green follow her on Twitter @LibKitWitch, on Youtube, and visit her website. You can also find her podcast, The Jessica Green Show, wherever you like to listen. No King but Christ Network: nokingbutchristnetwork.com