May 26, 2026 · 50 min · 11 segments
Today we consider the 'relationship' between guns and white evangelicals in North America. Where did this start? Why is it "normal"? How does it form our churches and faith practices? Author Bill Kole…
Bill KoleGuestRobbieHost[laughs] You, um, so you, you'd been a, basically a Christian majority of your life.
How did you, uh, d- how did you manage to last so long having not confronted this or seen this? Like, uh, are people carrying more than they used to?
Yeah
Uh, but, uh, you know, it, it, it came as a surprise to me, and as I started to dig into it, I realized that gun culture in white evangelical spaces isBarely distinguishable from their, the bedrock, uh, beliefs that, that evangelicals hold.
Mm-hmm.
So a- as I began to research and travel and interview people, I was able to sort of unpack how this happened, uh, because, you know, evangelical churches 100 years ago were really pacifist, nonviolent communities.
In fact, I think we can probably agree that objectively Christianity is a, a nonviolent and pacifist faith.
Mm-hmm.
It's certainly not a faith, you know, where, uh, at least as, as far as w- my reading of, of scripture, you know, uh, leads me, is not a faith that is, uh, one in, in which we are called to, you know, be literally armed, you know, uh, Christian soldiers.
I say we collectively, and I mean my former faith community in the white evangelical church.
And so there's a mil- there's a million things to unpack here.
There's so much-
...
even just as I'm trying to think of what's the next question we go with, there's unpacking of this, like you said, overlay of guns and Christianity that most people haven't even stopped to think about because it's so much baked in, we just don't give it a second thought.
[laughs] You, um, so you, you'd been a, basically a Christian majority of your life.
How did you, uh, d- how did you manage to last so long having not confronted this or seen this? Like, uh, are people carrying more than they used to?
Yeah
Uh, but, uh, you know, it, it, it came as a surprise to me, and as I started to dig into it, I realized that gun culture in white evangelical spaces isBarely distinguishable from their, the bedrock, uh, beliefs that, that evangelicals hold.
Mm-hmm.
So a- as I began to research and travel and interview people, I was able to sort of unpack how this happened, uh, because, you know, evangelical churches 100 years ago were really pacifist, nonviolent communities.
In fact, I think we can probably agree that objectively Christianity is a, a nonviolent and pacifist faith.
Mm-hmm.
It's certainly not a faith, you know, where, uh, at least as, as far as w- my reading of, of scripture, you know, uh, leads me, is not a faith that is, uh, one in, in which we are called to, you know, be literally armed, you know, uh, Christian soldiers.
I say we collectively, and I mean my former faith community in the white evangelical church.
And so there's a mil- there's a million things to unpack here.
There's so much-
...
even just as I'm trying to think of what's the next question we go with, there's unpacking of this, like you said, overlay of guns and Christianity that most people haven't even stopped to think about because it's so much baked in, we just don't give it a second thought.
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