Pete Wehner on Pete Hegseth, Iran, and Dangerous Biblical Interpretation

Are Violent Bible Passages Being Used to Justify War?   Pete Wehner, former White House official and writer for The Atlantic, joins Curtis Chang to examine how violent Old Testament "holy war" texts are being invoked in today's political and cultural debates, including by Pete Hegseth and voices tied to the Trump administration. Pete and Curtis explore the war in Iran, Bible interpretation, the character of God, and why Christians must read troubling Bible passages through the lens of Jesus and the cross before making life-and-death moral judgments.   02:37 - Holy War Texts and Public Policy 03:37 - Pete Hegseth and the Invocation of Holy War  08:32 - The Real-World Consequences of Misreading Scripture  17:21 - Wrestling with Disturbing Texts  22:28 - The Necessity of Disturbance and Christocentric Reading 31:07 - What Is the Historical Role of Allegorical Interpretation? 35:17 - Jewish and Rabbinic Traditions of Wrestling with Text  37:21 - Tim Keller: Christ's Character as Interpretive Key 42:58 - The Importance of Literary Reasoning 46:37 - Literal but Time-Specific Commands 52:15 - A Warning Against Overconfidence 54:04 - Debating for Truth, Not Victory 56:09 - The Real-World and Personal Stakes of Biblical Interpretation   Take the Listener Survey Sign up for The After Party Sign up for The Good List     Mentioned In This Episode: Pete Wehner's article Pete Hegseth's Moral Unseriousness Understanding Pete Hegseth's connection to Douglas Wilson: What is CREC and how does it shape Pete Hegseth's religious rhetoric? President George W. Bush's National Cathedral Speech What is the Christian Reconstructionist Movement? What is Just War Theory? Gregory A. Boyd's The Crucifixion of the Warrior God, Vol. 1 & 2 Gregory A Boyd's Cross Vision: How the Crucifixion of Jesus Makes Sense of Old Testament Violence Tremper Longman's The Old Testament as Literature: Foundations for Christian Interpretation More about C.S. Lewis & Owen Barfield     More from Pete Wehner: Pete Wehner's articles at The Atlantic Pete Wehner's opinion pieces at The New York Times     Follow Us: Good Faith on Instagram Good Faith on X (formerly Twitter) Good Faith on Facebook   The Good Faith Podcast is a production of a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan organization that does not engage in any political campaign activity to support or oppose any candidate for public office. Any views and opinions expressed by any guests on this program are solely those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Good Faith.