In this video, I interview Prof. John Fea about his excellent book, Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? Fea is professor of history at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania.

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You can read my review of Fea’s book here.

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• 00:00 Introduction
• 00:56 How’s the weather today in Grantham, Pennsylvania?
• 01:44 Why did you find it important to write this particular book on this particular topic at this particular time?
• 05:08 What do historians do? How is their perspective different from other people who ask questions such as the one your book asks?
• 08:49 Name a few advocates and books of Christian nationalists and the secularists who oppose them.
• 14:01 Walk us through the varieties of Christian nationalism that have appeared in American history.
• 21:02 There are multiple ironies in the history of the idea of Christian nationalism. Can you talk a bit about those?
• 28:36 Chapter 7 is titled “The Revolutionary Pulpit.” You argue that patriotic preachers used the Bible to support the revolutionary cause, but their use of it seems tendentious. Can you talk a bit about the revolutionary pulpit?
• 37:42 The relationship between church and state is one of the biggest flashpoints in the contemporary debate between Christian nationalists and secularists. Can you address the issue of the so-called “wall” between church and state?
• 45:40 Tell us about the religious beliefs of these Founders: George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson.
• 50:35 How do we justify slave ownership by Founders who considered themselves Christians?
• 52:53 Tell us about the religious beliefs of these Founders: John Witherspoon, John Jay, and Samuel Adams.
• 55:28 What books on the Founding Period, including this topic, would you recommend?
• 57:43 Upcoming events on MinistryDirect.com/live