Homebrewed Christianity Podcast

What's up theology nerds! On this episode, I had the absolute privilege of sitting down with Dr. Grant Wacker, one of America's preeminent historians of religion, and man did he deliver. We dove deep into his fascinating "Bushman test" - the idea that when writing history, you should do so with the understanding that you might someday encounter your subjects in heaven. That framework of being both critical and sympathetic really animated our whole conversation. But here's the kicker - I asked Grant to reflect on the defining moments in American religion as we approach our 250th anniversary, and he came back with 11 (not 10!) pivotal moments that have shaped who we are religiously as a nation. From the expansionist impulse of colonization to the power of renewal movements, from the subjection of Native Americans to the role of reform theology, Grant unpacked these threads with the wisdom that only comes from decades of wrestling with this stuff. We also got into his work on Billy Graham, the birth of Pentecost