Preparing for War with Bradley Onishi
The Lawfare Podcast
The Lawfare Institute
4.7 • 6.4K Ratings
🗓️ 7 December 2023
⏱️ 58 minutes
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Summary
Watching the footage of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, Bradley Onishi thought to himself, “If I hadn’t left evangelicalism, would I have been there?” In his book entitled, “Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism and What Comes Next,” Onishi offers a sobering historical account of the origins and development of White Christian nationalism in the United States and its offshoots. From the unique perspective of a former insider, Onishi explains how the decades-long campaign of White Christian nationalism in the United States culminated in the Jan. 6 attack.
Lawfare Associate Editor Katherine Pompilio sat down with Onishi—a scholar of religion and co-host of the Straight White American Jesus Podcast—to discuss his personal experience as a former White Christian nationalist and how it informed his writing of the book. They also discussed culture wars and the myth of the Christian nation, the elections of Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, Jan. 6 rioters and religious symbols at the riot, how Donald Trump fits into all of this, and more.
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Transcript
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| 0:08.0 | become a material supporter of Lawfair at Patreon.com slash Lawfair. That's Patreon.com |
| 0:16.4 | slash Lawfair. Also check out Lawfair's other podcast offerings, rational security, chatter, lawfare no bull, and the aftermath. |
| 0:30.0 | This is a passenger announcement. You can now book your train on Uber and get 10% back in credits to spend on Uber. |
| 0:42.0 | So you can order your own fries instead of eating |
| 0:45.7 | everyone else's. |
| 0:48.7 | Trains, now on Uber. |
| 0:50.4 | T's and C's apply. Check the Uber app. was too much of a Christian and not enough of a Christian nationalist for the |
| 1:05.2 | religious right and Jerry Falwell and so in a way that completely foreshadows |
| 1:09.6 | this group voting for Donald Trump in 1516. |
| 1:13.0 | We have Jimmy Carter, this man who never leaves the house without his Bible, |
| 1:17.0 | teach a Sunday school and is it died in the wool Southern Baptist, |
| 1:21.0 | who loses the vote of white Catholics and white |
| 1:25.0 | evangelicals to a divorced Hollywood actor who really only discovered |
| 1:30.4 | religion late in life and was wishy while she on abortion and didn't have a great |
| 1:35.9 | relationship with his kids. It totally foreshadows what happened with the rise of Trump. |
| 1:42.0 | I'm Catherine Pompilio, associate editor of Law Fair, |
| 1:45.6 | and this is the Law Fair Podcast, December 7, 2023. |
| 1:50.8 | Watching the footage of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on the morning of January 6, 2021, |
| 1:56.0 | Bradley O'Nishi thought to himself, |
| 1:58.0 | If I hadn't left evangelicalism, would I have been there? |
... |
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