677: Ending PEPFAR & Why the Self-Esteem Movement Failed with Sharon Hodde Miller

The Holy Post

Phil Vischer

Skyejethani, Society & Culture, Philvischer, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity, 226012, Christiantaylor, Atheism, Veggietales

4.6 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 9 July 2025

⏱️ 86 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When George W. Bush created the PEPFAR program in 2003, it was celebrated by evangelical leaders and has saved more than 26 million lives in Africa from HIV/AIDS. So why weren’t evangelicals outraged when Donald Trump killed PEPFAR, which has already resulted in over 75,000 deaths since January? Phil, Skye, and Kaitlyn unpack the arguments for and against PEPFAR, and how evangelical support for “small government” only applies to some programs. Then, Katilyn talks to Sharon Hodde Miller about what the self-esteem movement gets wrong about insecurity, and how we can recover the Christian virtue of service and self-forgetfulness. Also this week, rotten butter ants invade Europe.

Holy Post Plus:

Bonus Interview with Rachel Martin:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/133604080/

Ad-Free Version of this Episode:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/133671224/

0:00 - Show Starts

3:22 - Theme Song

3:45 - Sponsor - Blueland - Get up to 25% off your first order by going to https://www.Blueland.com/HOLYPOST

4:50 - 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.

5:58 - Stinky Ants in Europe!

11:41 - PEPFAR and Evangelicals

21:00 - Spiritual Formation of Small Government Politics

25:35 - Addressing Anti-PEPFAR arguments

48:55 - Sponsor - Policy Genius - Secure your family’s tomorrow so you have peace of mind today. Go to https://www.policygenius.com/HOLYPOST to find the right life insurance for you

50:12 - Interview

55:54 - Insecurity and Ministry

1:08:20 - The Emptiness of Self-Esteem

1:14:30 - Transactional Relationships

1:25:14 - End Credits

Links from News Segment:

Super Ants Invade!

https://www.thetimes.com/world/europe/article/super-ants-germany-8wp8n83zm

Why Evangelicals Turned Their Back on PEPFAR:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/07/pepfar-evangelical/683418/

Other Resources:

Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/

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Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost

Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Holy Post. When George W. Bush created the PEPFAR program in 2003,
0:05.0	it was celebrated by evangelical leaders and has saved more than 26 million lives in Africa from HIV and AIDS.
0:13.0	So why weren't evangelicals outraged when Donald Trump killed PEPFAR,
0:17.0	which has already resulted in over 75,000 deaths since January? Today we unpack the arguments for and against PEPFAR, which has already resulted in over 75,000 deaths since January.
0:21.6	Today, we unpack the arguments for and against PEPFAR and how evangelical support for small government really only applies to certain programs.
0:30.6	Then, Caitlin talks to Sharon Hottie Miller about what the self-esteem movement gets wrong about insecurity,
0:36.6	and how we can recover the Christian virtue of service and self-forgetfulness.
0:41.8	Also this week, rotten butter ants invade Europe.
0:45.7	Two quick things for Holy Post Plus subscribers.
0:48.1	First, Caitlin has a bonus interview with Sharon Hottie Miller
0:51.7	about how we over-apply and misuse the language of spiritual
0:55.5	warfare. It's really good. You don't want to miss it. And secondly, chapter two of my new book,
1:01.1	The World Born in You, is now available exclusively for Holy Post Plus subscribers. Hopefully,
1:06.7	you know by now that I'm writing my new book as a serial, releasing one chapter each month
1:11.3	exclusively on Holy Post Plus.
1:13.8	The World Born in You is a series of letters I'm writing to my young adult kids about
1:18.1	what it means to follow Jesus in our post-Christian culture.
1:21.8	And I'm sharing a lot about my own story of faith as well.
1:25.2	So if you want to read the book, sign up for Holy Post Plus and use the
1:28.7	promo code book to get 20% off. You can do that at holypost.com and again, use the promo code
1:35.5	book to get 20% off of everything that we're producing at Holy Post Plus. Here is episode 67.
1:43.9	Hey there. Welcome back to the Holy Post podcast.
	...

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