How FDR's Presidency Changed American Christianity Forever | Ryan Helfenbein

The Seth Gruber Show

Seth Gruber

News:news Commentary, News, Politics, News Commentary

4.8 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 11 December 2025

⏱️ 74 minutes

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Summary

In today’s episode we talk about how the evangelical church became apathetic—and whether that decay was intentional or simply the result of decades of compromise. Seth sits down with Ryan Helfenbein of Liberty University to uncover how progressive Christianity infiltrated seminaries and Christian universities. They trace the theologians who reshaped 20th-century evangelicalism, how the FDR-era social justice movement discipled the modern Democrat Party, and why today’s progressive Christian leaders range from obvious rainbow activists to wolves in sheep’s clothing. If you’ve wondered why the church lost its courage, this episode exposes the road that got us here—and what it will take to reverse it. Stand with us at Life or Death Con in Washington D.C. on January 22, 2026 — the frontline of Christian resistance! Special guests Steve Deace, Megan Basham, Abby Johnson, and Dr. George Grant. | Use code “Seth” for 20% off. https://lifeordeathcon.com/ FOLLOW Seth’s Rumble channel in case he gets kicked off YouTube: https://rumble.com/c/sethgruber HOST A SCREENING of Seth's documentary "The 1916 Project". This film exposes the hidden history of the secular moral revolution, and the architects of our current culture of death. Sign up your church to join the hundreds of churches screening this powerful film! https://the1916project.com/ Tune in to The Seth Gruber Show every Tuesday and Thursday. Understand not only the things happening in our culture but also how they became realized. Now streaming on all podcast platforms! Shop EveryLife, the ONLY diaper company rooted in pro-life values! Use code “Seth10” to get 10% off. https://everylife.com/discount/SETH10 To help Seth educate and expose culture to the evil of abortion so that every person has a right to be born, become an ALLY of The White Rose Resistance at https://thewhiterose.life

Transcript

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0:00.0	Is it a coincidence that the bloodiest century in human history seems to line up almost perfectly with the retreat of the church?
0:06.0	FDR runs on a program of replacing what the church should have been doing with government.
0:11.0	And of course in order to pay for all of this, we wound up having World War II.
0:14.0	You had others along the way that were pushing social gospel, social gospel.
0:19.0	The stuff that came 100 years later,
0:20.9	the social justice theory was basically
0:22.8	a rehash of a lot of that.
0:24.3	We will lie about what the gospel is
0:27.2	to make it attractive. How did the evangelical church become predominantly apathetic?
0:49.8	Was this planned?
0:52.0	Was it by accident?
0:53.7	How pervasive is progressive Christianity in universities like Biola, the Bible Institute of Los Angeles?
1:01.3	Ryan Helfenbein, VP of University Communications and executive director of the Standing for Freedom Center at Liberty University.
1:08.6	And my friend joins me today to trace the missteps of
1:11.7	the evangelical movement that led to the apathetic or compromised church that we see today.
1:17.3	And a brief look at the theologians that shaped 20th century evangelicals.
1:23.0	We also identify how the modern Democrat Party is made up of the descendants of liberal Protestants,
1:28.6	which was primarily mainstreamed in the FDR social justice era.
1:33.0	Who are the leaders of the progressive Christianity movement?
1:36.2	Are they obvious rainbow warriors or wolves in sheep's clothing?
1:43.1	Give us a rating and review, guys.
1:44.4	Let us know what you think.
	...

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