Elizabeth Neumann | KINGDOM OF RAGE: The Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to Peace

From 9/11 to 1/6; from growing up as a Christian to reckoning with the current state of the Evangelical church in America; Elizabeth Neumann, the former Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism and Threat Prevention at the US Department of Homeland Security, has the experience and has done the work to understand what's at stake in our country. So it was an honor to have her back on the program to discuss all this and more.

 

Elizabeth Neumann had a first hand look at the inner workings of the Trump Administration. What's clear from her experience is that there were a lot of people who were hard working public servants doing their best to serve the country's interests while, at the same time, having to navigate the daily chaos that defined Trump's time in office. And Elizabeth certainly has an informed perspective, having also served in the George W. Bush Administration. (Spoiler Alert: Those 2 admins couldn't have been more different.) So we delve into the historic bookends of September 11th, 2001 and January 6th, 2021. We also candidly explore, as Christians, how so many of our friends from church have become radicalized; are sympathic to or are dismissive of acts of violent extremism; and some who have even participated in demonstrations of extremism. Most importantly, as the subtitle of Elizabeth's book indicates, we explore the path back to peace.

 

ELIZABETH NEUMANN served as the Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism and Threat Prevention at the US Department of Homeland Security. Elizabeth is an ABC News contributor and the Chief Strategy Officer at Moonshot which builds solutions for one of the most pressing challenges facing communities around the world: violent extremism. She is also the author of the important new book, Kingdom of Rage: The Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to Peace.

 

01:41 Elizabeth's Journey: From Counterterrorism to Author; 

04:12 Exploring the Roots of Extremism and Personal Faith; 

24:04 The Role of Media and Social Media in Shaping Views; 

29:16 Raising Informed and Engaged Citizens; 

33:51 Comparing the George W. Bush and Trump Administrations; 

42:48 Navigating Trump's Influence and Policy Challenges; 

44:09 Forecasting the Future: A Second Trump Administration; 

44:26 The Impact of Inexperienced Appointees and Ideological Shifts; 

45:15 The Global Implications of Withdrawing from NATO and Support for Ukraine; 

47:31 Analyzing the January 6th Insurrection and Its Precursors; 

55:24 The Role of Christian Extremism in Political Violence; 

01:03:36 Addressing Extremism and the Importance of Local Engagement; 

01:14:21 Conversations Across Differences: Strategies for Dialogue

 

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Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

 

Very grateful for our sponsor Meza Wealth Management. Reach out to Jorge and his team: www.mezawealth.com

 

elizabethneumann.org

 

elizabethneumann.org/book/