President Trump was challenged by Rev Buddy to have mercy on marginalized groups. Our hope in this episode is to talk through our personal christian journeys and show what our faith looks like under a new and antagonistic administration.
In the hopeful aftermath of the cultural phenomenon of Drake vs Kendrick, Drake gives his first musical offering since and Kennedy and Josh breakdown the project.
In the 2024 election president trump won the popular vote just four years after one of the biggest civil rights movements in modern America. How did that happen? I would like to take a series of segments to talk through how something like this was even possible and what aspects of liberal messaging should perhaps shift in order to make a better appeal in 2028. On this episode we will talk through the moral appeal that was made in 2024 election and perhaps the need to shift that messaging.
In the 67th annual Grammys kendrick Lamar swept the night with his moderately popular song they not like us. As he received his reward the portion of the song accusing drake of being child predator was playing with many in the crowd singing along. Drake's rap beefs have throughout his career been more akin to a smear campaign against his character and person. In this episode I hope to show that pattern and reveal why it seemingly never works.
The 2024 Election was clearly one of the most shocking and revealing elections in American history. One of the most unelectable candidates in American history was was reelected for the second time in three term attempts. Over the past four years President Trump has spear headed an insurrection, been criminally charged with multiple felonies, and continued to spew anti democratic rhetoric. But this did not stop the American populous for voting for him in record number with Trump becoming the first Republican nominee to win the popular vote in twenty. So what exactly happened to cause this? We break that down as much as we can on this episode.
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/bernie-sanders-democrats-working-class/
As we are coming to the conclusion of the 2024 election cycle there is extreme optimism around the rejuvenated Democratic Party ticket there is still a cloud looming over this election. As we approach the anniversary October 7th we are reminded of the evil and genocidal response to that national tragedy. As the DNC continues to neglect this issue and support the funding and support of this retaliation it has put the average voter in a precarious circumstance. We have a conversation with friend of the show Nikki Thompson as she brings her wealth of knowledge and research to this intense but needed convo.
Al Jazeera Palestine Timeline: https://remix.aljazeera.com/aje/PalestineRemix/timeline_main.html
DNC Rejecting Demand for Palestinian Speaker: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/22/they-want-to-erase-us-how-dnc-rejected-demand-for-palestinian-speaker
ICJ Summary: https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240524-sum-01-00-enc.pdf?__cf_chl_tk=vnnVdzWuRUsEfZ04ZTCve38ptlqX4MyTCyNZloZFA60-1726110402-0.0.1.1-5161
For further reading:
Noam Chomsky on Palestine: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/4/9/qa-noam-chomsky-on-palestine-israel-and-the-state-of-the-world
Angela Davis on Palestine: https://hammerandhope.org/article/angela-davis-palestinians-gaza
As we approach the 2024 general election we are on the precipice of the second black presidency of America's history. Kamala electrified this presidential run with her entry into the election. This has led to a plethora of controversial conversations about her race and identity. The usual suspects of former president Trump and his vice presidential candidate have both questioned Kamala's racial identity. But unfortunately they were echoed by prominent rap artist kendrick Lamar during his highly publicized beef with Drake. Does this have any implications on this years presidential election? We believe it does.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-08-11/kendrick-lamar-drake-hip-hop-kamala-harris-blackness
The Drake vs Kendrick beef has not only intrigued and engaged the entire hip hop community but has become a pop cultural for the ages. Potentially the biggest exhibition in the history of the genre has done everything from garner cheers to induce eye rolls. It also demanded a bevy of cultural conversation around race, sexual impropriety, domestic abuse, cultural authenticity, and the future of hip hop. Joshua and Kennedy do their best to both summarize an analyze this beef and speak to how in affected them as both hip hop fans and black Americans. This one is for both the casuals and the hip hop heads.
Clarification: Kendricks aunt actually became his uncle. We misspoke in the episode.
Racism has been a long standing issue in the American context. Healthy but at times trite solutions have been given to create common language that can be used and understood by the masses. Racism equals prejudice plus power has been a main stay definition for many activist and advocates for justice on the lay level. In this episode I attempt to use more sophisticated language that may help broaden understanding on the issue and potentially create kinder engagement for us as a society.
A great source on this topic among others would be Ibram X Kendi's book "How to be an anti racist"
A myth of fascism is that cities are the epicenter of depravity and a social contagion that rural areas are trying to hold off in order to save our country. This becomes very prevalent in a world where many right wing pundits and even politicians have embraced ideas of fascism. With many citing their apprehensive views towards cities with the Bible it may be helpful to debunk the notion that the Bible hates both ancient and modern cities. On this episode Josh seeks to do just that.
Light scriptural references
Gen 19, Joshua 2, Rev 21, Luke 19:41-44, Deuteronomy 14:28-29, Habakkuk 2:20, 1 Corinthians 7:1-16
The U.S. supreme court recently voted that Texas can not block federal border agents from cutting their new razor wiring along the Texas border. Texas has since defied the court ruling and with backing from the vast majority of the GOP this situation seems like a mixture of a political stunt and a volatile situation. Here is Josh's brief response that hopefully brings clarity and nuance to this seemingly unhinged dilemma.
Sources: Whitehouse.gov "The Economic benefits of extending permanent Legal Status to unauthorized immigrants"
worldrelief.org "Evangelical views on immigration are shifting"
hrc.org "ICYMI:New data shows support LGBTQ+ rights reaches highest rates ever recorded"
On this episode I discuss Taylor Swift's massive push for her millions of adoring fans to be registered to vote. With the 2024 election nearly a calendar year away it feels more pressing than ever to discuss why voting is essential to maintaining democracy and how we should think about voting moving forward.
Josh here,
Hello and welcome to the moral minority show. On this episode I’m going to do something I’ve been wanting to do for some time now. The show has historically featured more long form conversation with guest so I wanted to make a concise side series that entails many of my thoughts on politics, theology, and societal trends. The goal of this segment is simply to be an even more accessible resource for those who share similar interest and or desire to engage more deeply with these topics. Hope this is a welcomed and well received new aspect of our show.
Liberalism seemed to be a great response to monarchy and class hierarchy leading up to the 18th century. It created more autonomy and individual rights based on law. Cole Niles joins us to discuss if perhaps we can find a more collective and creative way go assure human dignity and an organized society.
Joshua and Kennedy look forward to the college football season! Is Georgia going to be good again, will Texas & OU win this season, are A&M and LSU back? These are the questions we are asking this episode!
Bonton is a longstanding neighborhood in the South Dallas area that houses the nonprofit Josh has been privileged the last year to work at, Bridge Builders. On this episode Josh and Kennedy invite Tyran Eddington, a coworker to Josh, to talk about not only Bonton's impact on himself growing up but his investment back into the community.
Disability Pride month is a remarkably overlooked awareness month and is gaining appropriate steam in notoriety. This is similar to how the disabled community is an often forgotten minority group. Not only does our society as a whole struggle with ableism but christianity in particular has used the healing narratives of scripture to communicate something that we believe God never has. In this episode Josh is joined by Nikki Thompson and Madi Snow to process through what aspects of both society and theology need to be adjusted to accommodate more to our disabled siblings and neighbors. Good resources would be:Nancy Eiesland, Stephanie Tait, Amy Kenny, Lamar Hardwick. Also follow Madi on her Substack "Funny Body" and on her instagram @madi.snow
Hip Hop has been traditionally viewed as a substantively weak genre yet it has produced culturally thought provoking music like "F da police" by N.W.A. and lyrically dense tracks like "N.Y. State of mind" by Nas. On this episode Kennedy and Josh are joined by Jeremy Brown who earned a music and education degree and teaches high school choir. Jeremy joins the conversation to give his input on the topic and aid us in explaining that hip hop might be a more substantive genre than most assume.
June is special month for our LGBTQ+ siblings and neighbors. It is a month where we celebrate and hold space for the queer community. In times that are far more hateful than affirming we hope to challenge wicked traditions of anti gay rhetoric and uphold the dignity and rightness of those who identify with this community. Nikki Thompson Brown joins us to add her brilliant insight into the topic and we venture topically from past personal beliefs on the issue, to modern views on the trans community, to biblical arguments for affirming this lifestyle. Hope you enjoy as Kennedy and Josh brave another difficult social conversation with grace and passion.
After an opening twelve minutes of fun conversation around beloved television series Joshua, Kennedy, and guest dive into the dark topic Old Testament violence. The nonviolent Jesus of the gospels seem on the surface to contradict the lighting bolt striking Old Testament God. But is it really so? Is the popular conception of a divided God and their divided story true? What if God never commanded a genocide and the violence of the Old Testament has far more nuance upon further evaluation? We hope this episode brings clarity and yet leaves room for more questions and discovery.