5.41 Ryan Helfenbein, David Schrock, & Trent Hunter • Interview • “Retrieving The Christianity of America’s Founding”

ABOUT THE EPISODE

Listen in as David Schrock and Trent Hunter interview Ryan Helfenbein on his COA Longform Essay, "Retrieving The Christianity of America's Founding"

Timestamps

• 00:00 – Introducing Ryan Helfenbein
• 04:33 – Ryan’s Path From Seminary to Liberty University
• 11:30 – Falwell’s Shift: From Ministers to Moral Majority
• 16:39 – Debating the Christian Nature of America’s Founding
• 19:03 – Reappraising Founders’ Faith: Beyond the Deist Label
• 23:19 – The First Amendment’s True Intent: No Denominational Establishment
• 28:01 – How Preachers Stirred Resistance to Tyranny
• 32:05 – From Christian Roots to Secular Education
• 37:40 – The Civil War and the Christian Nation Concept
• 40:06 – Wayne Grudem’s Framework for a Christian Nation
• 46:15 – Historical Christian Character and Moral Laws
• 48:34 – Tom Holland and Christian Origins of Modern Balues
• 51:32 – Modern Religious Freedom, Immigration, and the Church’s Civic Role
• 01:01:12 – Rebuilding America and Defending Our Christian Inheritance
• 01:03:30 – Trent’s Advice for Pastors on Civic Engagement
• 01:07:06 – Recommended Resources and Outro

Resources to Click

• “Retrieving The Christianity of America’s Founding” – Ryan Helfenbein
• “Competing Visions of America at 250: Politics, Religion, and American Identity” – PRRI
• “Mapping Christian Nationalism Across the 50 States: Insights from PRRI’s 2025 American Values Atlas” – PRRI
• “Speaker Johnson Leads Nation in Prayer of Rededication” – Mike Johnson
• “MS NOW’s Katy Tur Forgets the Declaration of Independence’s Most Famous Line in Botched Hit on Mike Johnson” – Isaac Schorr
• “‘Christian Nationalists’ like Speaker Mike Johnson are a bigger threat than al-Qaeda” – James Carville
• “Political Strategist’s Dire Warning About Mike Johnson” – Rachel Dobkin
• “Sorry, Politico: You Don’t Get to Rewrite the Declaration of Independence” – Rachel Del Guidice
• “The Right Way to Cover the Intersection of Religion and Politics” – Heidi Przybyla
• “North Carolina pastor rejects ‘Christian nation’ claims from GOP legislators” – Cardinal & Pine Staff
• “A Discourse Concerning Unlimited Submission and Non-Resistance to the Higher Powers” – Jonathan Mayhew
• “The Catechism of the Revolution” – David Kopel
• “Samuel Davies: Apostle of Dissent” – R. Isabela Morales
• “George Washington, letter to John Augustine Washington” – George Washington’s Mt. Vernon
• “The Federalist Papers: No. 37” – James Madison
• “The Federalist Papers: No. 2” – John Jay
• “The Relative Influence of European Writers on Late Eighteenth-Century American Political Thought” – Donald S. Lutz
• “Religious Tests and Oaths in State Constitutions, 1776-1784” – Center for the Study of the American Constitution, University of Wisconsin
• “Constitution of Delaware; 1776”
• “Constitution of Maryland, 1776”
• “Fighting the Good Fight of Faith: 250 Years of Sacred Service of the United States Army Chaplain Corps” – Chaplain (Capt.) Joseph Feaster
• “Under providence and liberty: George Washington and the sacred birth of the Army Chaplain Corps” – Stella Naulo
• Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States
• “America’s Christian Founding?” – Bradford Littlejohn
• “A Christian Manifesto” – Francis Schaeffer
• “Is America a Christian Nation?” – Apologetic Junkie
• “Seal of Approval” – Harvard Gazette
• “The Oldest Endowed Professorship” – Harvard Gazette
• “History of the United States” – Noah Webster
• “Of the Mode of Education Proper in a Republic” – Benjamin Rush
• “Horace Mann and the Irony of Secular Education” – Jeffrey Polet
• Everson v. Board of Education
• “Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists” – Thomas Jefferson

• Theme of the Month: God (B)less America: The United States at 250
• Give to Support the Work

Books to Read

• On Rebellion – John Knox, ed. Roger A. Mason
• Did America Have a Christian Founding? – Mark David Hall
• Politics: According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture – Wayne Grudem
• BLM: The Making of a New Marxist Revolution – Mike Gonzalez