Faith at the Frontiers

#89 - What is Political Power For? with Nick Townsend

In this episode Nick Townsend revisits the distinction between nationalism and patriotism by noting the difference between nationalism as a claim about where political power should lie (that is, with the nation state), and nationalism as a claim about what political power is for.

#88 Faith, Nationalism & Immigration - Barney’s (& David’s) new book!

Barney’s new book is out, coauthored with Professor DavidElcott! On the Significance of Religion in Immigration Policy. You can buy the book here or download it free here. The book guides you through the Jewish and Christianarguments made for many different immigration policies throughout history and in the present day. It has sections that discuss:Bible verses used on all sides of the debateThe state of IsraelChristian values and US Immigration policyAmbiguities in the Jewish traditionEuropean Immigration in medieval times and todayDifferences between Catholic, Orthodox, & Protestant approaches to immigrationIn this conversation, Austin asks us questions about theintended audience of the book, its goals and aims, and we also talk a bit about the disagreements we had to overcome in order to have a truly interreligious publication!

#87 ‘A Gift to be Shared’ - Faith & National Identity with Rowan Williams

In this episode, Barney and Austin interview the Rt. Rev. Rowan Williams for his views on Christian nationalism. He offers us wisdom that seeks what is good about both sides of the debate and aims to synthesise them into a thoroughly Christian way of thinking about national identity.Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound engineering!

#86 The BIG DEBATE - Barney vs. Austin on Christian Nationalism!

In this episode, Barney & Austin stage a head-to-head on whether Christian nationalism is a good thing or not! It’s time to gather the insights from our past episodes together and see which argument is strongest. Barney takes the “pro-Christian Nationalism” side and Austin takes the “anti-Christian Nationalism” position. Who is going to win?IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: views expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent the real views of the speakers.Resources mentioned in this episode:Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue (University of Notre Dame Press, 2007).Alasdair MacIntyre, Three Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry (University of Notre Dame Press, 1994).Luke Bretherton, Christianity and Contemporary Politics (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010).Hugo Rahner, Church and State in Early Christianity (Ignatius Press, 1992).N. T. Wright and Michael Bird, Jesus and the Powers (Zondervan, 2024).Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum.Ha-Joon Chang, 23 Things They Don’t Tell You about Capitalism (Bloomsbury, 2012).Thanks to Jamie Maule for the post-production!

#85 - Christian Nationalism in Russia - with Cyril Hovorun

Is Christian nationalism the proper term for what is happening in Russia? What is unique about Putin's claims of civilizational superiority compared with western nations? What does orthodox theology offer into this mix that is distinct from Catholic or Protestant theologies? We talk with Cyril Hovorun to consider these and other questions in the next installment in our series on Christian nationalism.