Claim OwnershipCulture, Faith and Politics with Pat Kahnke
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Pat Kahnke has written two books, from a pastoral perspective, to reject Donald Trump and his MAGA movement:
A Christian Case Against Donald Trump (2024)
MAGA Seduction: Resisting the Debasement of the Christian Conscience (2020)
He was an evangelical church planter and pastor for twenty years before retiring from church ministry in 2016. Planted a church in the inner city of St. Paul, MN - part of the Baptist General Conference (Converge) and Alliance for Renewal Churches. A lifelong conservative Republican until the party left him in 2016. Now a political independent, he has written off the Republican party until it completes 40 years in the wilderness for its capitulation to the MAGA movement.
This podcast contains political and social commentary related to issues at the intersection of culture, faith, and politics.
154 Episodes
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Trump's Iran threats crossed a line that even seasoned political observers are calling genocidal. Charlie Sykes joins Pat Kahnke to break down what just happened — and why Christian nationalism is the theological permission structure behind it. In this conversation, Sykes and Kahnke analyze Trump's recent statements targeting Iran — statements that Sykes calls "the most deranged ever issued by a U.S. president" — and trace how evangelical Christian nationalism has moved from the fringes to the center of American foreign policy. From Pete Hegseth's holy war rhetoric to Doug Wilson's "sin of empathy" theology, this is what MAGA Christianity looks like when it has its hands on a nuclear arsenal.
Donald Trump threatened the nation of Iran with genocide this morning, and everyone seems to care except for his Christian supporters. Let's talk about that. Also: how did Trump and his MAGA followers desecrate the Holy Week? Pat Kahnke and the live audience dive into the words of Paula White-Cain, Pete Hegseth, Franklin Graham, and Trump’s profane Truth Social post on Easter.
In Part 2 of my interview with Matthew Taylor, we move from defining Christian antichrists to exposing the movements trying to reshape American politics and religion in real time. We break down the three major wings of Christian nationalism now competing for power inside MAGA: the Reconstructionist Calvinist world associated with figures like Pete Hegseth, the New Apostolic Reformation orbit represented by Paula White, and the Catholic reactionary lane often linked to JD Vance. Matthew explains how these movements differ, where they overlap, and why Donald Trump remains the central political vessel holding them together. We also look at the theological shift from the old “Cyrus” language to something much darker: Trump as a violent avenger, even a Jehu-like figure raised up to punish enemies and restore power. That change matters, because it reveals how MAGA theology is increasingly willing to justify domination, cruelty, and authoritarian politics in the name of God. If you’ve been trying to understand Christian nationalism, MAGA theology, religious power, and the spiritual logic behind this movement, this conversation will help connect the dots.
Is it fair — or even biblical — to apply the word "antichrist" to a political movement? Visiting scholar Matthew D. Taylor (Georgetown University) answers that question from scripture and history. In this conversation, I sit down with Matthew Taylor, author of Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists, to explore one of the most uncomfortable questions in American Christianity today: when does a Christian movement begin to exhibit the spirit of antichrist? Taylor's answer draws on New Testament scholarship, the parable of the wheat and tares, and a deeply inconvenient argument — that the history of Christianity, from Constantine forward, is in part a history of Christians abusing power in Jesus's name. That's not a fringe claim. It's a scholarly one with serious biblical grounding. This is not a political hit piece. Taylor is careful, precise, and anchored in the text. But the implications for Christian nationalism are impossible to avoid. If Christians can be the persecutors — not just the persecuted — what does that mean for movements wrapping authoritarian power in a cross?
Pat Kahnke and Adam Swenson break down new polling data showing Donald Trump and the MAGA movement losing ground with the American public. They examine Trump’s approval and disapproval trends, what the numbers reveal about key voter groups, and why more Americans are reacting negatively to the direction of MAGA politics. This conversation explores demographic shifts among younger voters, Black voters, Hispanic voters, and independents, along with the broader cultural and moral fallout surrounding Trumpism. Pat and Adam discuss why the movement increasingly feels exhausting, divisive, and politically corrosive to many Americans.
Franklin Graham spoke at the recent CPAC event and once again showed that his allegiance to Trump and power remains strong. Pat Kahnke takes a closer look at the words of Trump’s unholy propagandist and more on this episode of Culture, Faith, and Politics live.
In this first installment of The Bible vs MAGA series, I'm asking a question that no one in evangelical leadership wants to answer: What happens when you hold MAGA values up against the words of Jesus — specifically the Beatitudes?
In Part 1, we begin at the beginning — with the Sermon on the Mount. The Beatitudes are Jesus's most concentrated ethical teaching. And they stand in direct contradiction to nearly every policy position and public posture of the MAGA movement and its religious defenders. But here's what I want you to hear: Franklin Graham made his choice. We don't have to make the same one.
I spent three hours at the Minnesota State Capitol this weekend with somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 people — and it changed something in me. This wasn't a political rally. It wasn't a hate rally. It wasn't a festival of grievances. The No Kings protest was something I haven't felt in a long time — a crowd of grown-ups who know who they are, fighting for something better, without a demagogue telling them what to believe. In this episode, I share what I witnessed, what it meant to me as a former evangelical pastor and lifelong Republican, and — most importantly — the single biggest lesson I took away from the weekend.
MAGA Christianity isn't a political stance — it's a theological crisis. In this first episode of The Bible vs. MAGA, retired evangelical pastor Pat Kahnke defines exactly what MAGA Christianity is, and why it represents a fundamental break from the historic Christian faith. Using the three core pillars of theology — Christology, Epistemology, and Eschatology — he exposes how MAGA Christianity has replaced Jesus with Trump at every level: as Lord, as the source of Truth, and as the hope for the future. Whether you're an evangelical, an exvangelical, or a Christian trying to make sense of how faith became entangled with political power, this series is for you.
What IS 'MAGA Christianity', anyway? And Why Is It Dangerous? Pat Kahnke takes a closer look at these questions and more on this episode of Culture, Faith, and Politics live.
Pete Hegseth didn't just bring his politics to the Pentagon. He brought his pastor. In this episode, I analyze a recent clip featuring Brooks Potteiger — Pete Hegseth's personal pastor from a CREC (Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches) congregation — and Joshua Haymes, calling for divine action against Texas State Representative James Talarico. As a pastor myself, I'm naming this for what it is: not prayer, not Christianity, and not faith. This is MAGA theology operating as a political weapon. This is the theological framework behind Christian nationalism — and it is now inside the U.S. Department of Defense.
Robert Mueller died on March 20, 2026. Donald Trump's response on Truth Social: "Good. I'm glad he's dead." This is my response.
Mueller was a Bronze Star recipient, Purple Heart veteran, and the second longest-serving FBI Director in American history — a man who bled for this country in Vietnam and spent sixty years in public service under four presidents of both parties. Trump called him someone who "hurt innocent people." We need to talk about what that reveals. Not just politically — theologically. Because MAGA theology has a specific way of treating men of integrity: it destroys them. And what happened to the FBI after Mueller is the proof.
Was Trump's Iran war just? Pat Kahnke and Adam Swenson apply the five criteria of just war theory to the opening phase of the conflict — and the results are damning. From the bombing of a girls' school on Day One to Trump's personal vendetta against Khamenei, this conversation asks the question MAGA Christians won't: does this war pass any Christian moral standard?
If you're a Christian wrestling with MAGA theology, an evangelical asking hard questions about war and conscience, or simply someone who wants moral clarity on the Iran conflict — this conversation is for you.
After 20 years as an evangelical pastor and church planter, I've reached a conclusion I never thought I'd reach: I will never vote Republican again — and as a Christian, I believe I have no other choice. This isn't a political rant. It's a theological reckoning.
In this episode, I make the biblical case for why MAGA Christianity is incompatible with the teachings of Jesus. Using Scripture, history, and observable evidence, I walk through why the Republican Party has become a haven for religious grifters — men like Franklin Graham, Robert Jeffress, and Paula White — who have traded the Gospel for political power and access to Donald Trump.
I also announce a new weekly series: The Bible vs. MAGA — a systematic, verse-by-verse refutation of Christian nationalism and the theology that props it up.
Senator Markwayne Mullin has built his political brand on toughness, Trump loyalty, and conspicuous Christian faith. But his Senate confirmation hearing revealed something more troubling: a man who glorifies violence and holds a view of justice that is, at best, sub-Christian. In this episode, I examine Mullin's confirmation hearing testimony, his documented history of glorifying physical confrontation, and a comparison to his predecessor Kristi Noem — the same pattern of evangelical branding paired with institutional brutality at ICE and Border Patrol. I also address the ongoing investigation into the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti — two individuals shot and killed by federal agents in Minnesota — and the federal government's deliberate obstruction of Minnesota state officials from participating in that investigation. This is what MAGA theology looks like when it has a badge and a budget. Not just a political position — a theological permission structure for cruelty that dresses itself in the language of faith.
Imagine for a moment that the attack on Iran was necessary. Donald Trump has proven why you don't put an ignorant, impulsive narcissist in charge of the most powerful country in the world. Pat and Ken Napzok discuss three foolish, avoidable mistakes Trump has made that will have lasting consequences on America's safety and prosperity.
There Are No "Good Guys" In This War!
Pete Hegseth says "We know who the good guys are." Most Americans don't agree — and the data proves it.
When he made that claim, he was speaking for about a third of the country. This is not a patriotic war. There is almost no "rally around the flag" effect. When a majority of Americans can't identify the good guys in a war their own government started, that's not a media problem. That's a leadership problem.
As a retired evangelical pastor and former lifelong Republican, I'm calling this what it is: the MAGA church did not bring the kingdom of God closer. It handed the keys of power to the most corrupt cast of characters in modern American history. This is a theological reckoning. And it's long overdue.
Pete Hegseth isn't just unqualified — he's a weak man in the most powerful military position in world history, and his theology is the reason why that's so dangerous. In this episode, I break down how Hegseth's Christian nationalist theology — rooted in Doug Wilson's framework of domination, power, and violence — has nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus and everything to do with control. I examine the White House and Pentagon videos promoting the war in Iran as what they actually are: pornography of violence — content engineered to bypass rational thought, trigger a dopamine response, and manufacture consent for war among people who feel powerless.
Sean Feucht's ministry revenue jumped from $243,000 to $5 million in a single year — and whistleblowers say that's only part of the story. Pat Kahnke and Amy Hawk examine the public financial records, the F rating from Ministry Watch, and the allegations of spiritual abuse that MAGA's most prominent worship leader does not want his followers to see.
From tariffs to Iran, Donald Trump is often able to swing the markets with his decisions and his words, but at some point, the entire world will try to make the US less relevant to their lives. What will happen when Trump’s luck runs out? Join Pat and Producer Ken as they dive into this question.
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I've thought of Constantine as the first representative of the Spirit of Christian Nationalism, but I had never thought of him as an antichrist. it makes sense since Christian Nationalism definitely is anti-christian.