656: Defunding USAID and Blue Like Jazz’s Gospel of Vibes with Ross Douthat
The Holy Post
Phil Vischer
4.6 • 4.1K Ratings
🗓️ 12 February 2025
⏱️ 89 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The White House is defunding USAID, one of the largest distributors of foreign aid, and blaming it on wasteful spending—like a D.E.I musical in Ireland. But as Phil, Skye, and Kaitlyn unpack, the real losers are Christian relief organizations like World Relief and Catholic Charities, which now face devastating budget cuts. Then, it’s been over 20 years since the release of Blue Like Jazz, the bestselling book that made faith feel cool. Did it offer a helpful critique of evangelicalism, or was this the beginning of the rise of vibes-based Christianity? Also, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat joins Skye to discuss his new book, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious. He explains why our increasingly secular culture is still drawn to spirituality and why rejecting religious institutions in favor of “DIY faith” may not be the answer. Plus, we have a trailer for a new season of Why I’m Still a Christian.
Holy Post Plus:
Bonus Interview with Ross Douthat:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/122056691/
0:00 - Show Starts
2:18 - Theme Song
2:41 - Sponsor - Hiya Health - Go to www.hiyahealth.com/HOLYPOST to receive 50% off your first order
3:45 - Sponsor - Rocket Money - Find and cancel your old subscriptions with Rocket Money at https://www.rocketmoney.com/holypost
8:25 - Trump and Christian Persecution
12:22 - Elon Shuts Down USAID
19:53 - Did USAID Really Fund That?
24:29 - Principle of Unitary President
35:42 - Blue Like Untethered Christianity
39:57 - Consumerist Christianity and Vibes
46:41 - Why I’m Still a Christian Season 2 Sneak Peak!
48:05 - Sponsor - Sundays Dog Food - Get 40% off your first order of Sundays. Go to https://www.SundaysForDogs.com/HOLYPOST or use code HOLYPOST at checkout.
50:08 - Sponsor - Glorify - Sign up for the #1 Christian Daily Devotional App to help you stay focused on God. Go to https://glorify-app.com/en/HOLYPOST to download the app today!
51:11 - Interview
52:30 - A Case for Religion?
56:26 - Why Not Just Argue for Jesus?
1:02:23 - Are Secular Circles Falling Apart?
1:11:00 - Fine Tuning Argument
1:23:04 - Why Not Pursue Spirituality on Your Own?
1:28:05 - End Credits
Links Mentioned in News Segment:
Editorial: SIlence in the Face of Trump’s Cruelty is Complicity:
https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/editorial/editorial-silence-face-trumps-cruelty-complicity
Contact Bishops and Diocese by State:
https://www.usccb.org/about/bishops-and-dioceses/all-dioceses
USAID Trump Fact Checker:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/02/07/usaid-trump-fact-checker/
Blue Like Jazz:
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/01/blue-like-jazz-donald-miller-church-optional/
Other resources:
Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious: https://a.co/d/3oVuOKR
Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/
Holy Post Plus: www.holypost.com/plus
Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost
Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop
The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | The White House is defunding US aid, one of the largest distributors of foreign aid, |
| 0:04.5 | and blaming it on wasteful spending, like a DEI musical in Ireland. |
| 0:09.1 | But as Phil Sky and I unpack, the real losers are Christian relief organizations, |
| 0:13.8 | like World Relief and Catholic Charities, which now face devastating budget cuts. |
| 0:18.6 | Then, it's been over 20 years since the release of Blue-like Jazz, |
| 0:22.1 | the best-selling book that made faith feel cool. Did it offer a helpful critique of evangelicalism? |
| 0:28.0 | Or was this the beginning of the rise of vibes-based Christianity? Also, New York Times columnist |
| 0:34.0 | Ross Douthit joins Sky to discuss his new book, Believe, why everyone should be |
| 0:38.7 | religious. He explains why our increasingly secular culture is still drawn to spirituality, |
| 0:44.2 | and why rejecting religious institutions in favor of DIY faith might not be the answer. |
| 0:50.9 | Plus, we have a trailer for a new season of Why I'm Still a Christian. |
| 0:55.0 | That's right, Why I'm Still a Christian Season 2 is out now, but only on Holy Post Plus. |
| 1:01.0 | This season features Beth Moore, Adam Kinzinger, and Rachel Denhollander. |
| 1:06.0 | Also this week, we have a new episode of our Hill to Die on series, where I take the stand that watching |
| 1:12.4 | The Bachelor is sinful. If you want to access these episodes along with the Skypod, getting |
| 1:18.3 | schooled, and bonus interviews, you can sign up for a one week free trial of Holy Post Plus |
| 1:24.1 | at holypost.com slash plus. All right, here is episode 656. |
| 1:32.0 | Hey there, welcome to the Holy Post podcast. I'm Phil Visher. I'm here with other people, |
| 1:36.6 | two other people, not one, not three, not 17, two. I'm here with Sky Jatani in studio. Hi, Sky. Hi, Phil. We have to record early because Sky's |
| 1:48.6 | going on vacation next week, which is not, not nice. What do I mean not nice? It's not nice. |
| 1:53.9 | I have earned this vacation. We'll vote. We'll vote on that. And Caitlin Chess, |
| 2:00.5 | hi. Hi, Phil. She's remote. Not as in emotionally |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Phil Vischer, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Phil Vischer and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.