Truce - History of the Christian Church

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Dark money is a problem in American politics and religion. What is it? Untraceable money that often comes from big donors, which is channelled through non-profits to hide the identity of the donor. This money is then able to back causes that may or may not be positive.

The Council for National Policy is an organization in the pipeline for Christian dark money. It finances groups like the Heritage Foundation, Focus on the Family, pro-life groups, Turning Point USA, and more. They also coordinate language around denial of climate change, COVID, and election results. Their first president was Tim LaHaye, but he is just the tip of the iceberg.

Our guide through this story is Anne Nelson, author of Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right. It is an excellent resource that is critical for anyone interested in how some evangelicals tied themselves to the Republican Party.

Sources:


Biographical video from Turning Point USA about Foster Friess


Shadow Network by Anne Nelson


Christian Reconstruction: RJ Rushdoony and American Religious Conservatism by Michael McVicar


100 Things to See in the Night Sky Expanded Edition. By Dean Regas

Christianity and Oil in US History


Article on Nelson Bunker Hunt


Birchers by Matthew Dallek


The Road to Serfdom (comic version) adapted from Hayek


Reaganland and Before the Storm by Rick Perlstein

"Information Sheet, Council for National Policy," May 1984


Dark Money by Jane Mayer


article on Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education


Ponzinomics by Robert Fitzpatrick

Justice Department article about Blackwater/ Prince

Adams, D. C., Robles, F., & Mazzetti, M. (2025). A Desperate Haiti Turns to Erik Prince, Trump Ally, In Fight Against Gangs. New York: New York Times Company.

Census data on Wyoming


Pat Robertson: A Life and Legacy by David Edwin Harrell Jr.

Leadership Institute website (accessed 8/8/25)

Email blast from National Religious Broadcasters titled: “NRB President & CEO to Advocate on Capitol Hill for AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act” released July 14, 2025

Salem Media website


NRB Article about Bott Radio

PRwatch.org article and video about CNP


Jackson Hole News and Guide article about Donald Trump Jr.'s visit to Jackson in 2016


New York Times article on Foster Friess


Tax documents from Turning Point USA, courtesy of Pro Publica

2017 Jane Mayer profile of Turning Point USA

ProPublica article on the Kochs


Time article on the Koch's and i360


Article on how many people didn't vote in 2024


New York Times article about Trump's call to the Georgia election rep


The Guardian article about Kirk's busing of people to the January 6, 2021, riot

EPA article about its origins

Discussion Questions:

What is dark money? Should Christians participate in it?

What are the functions of groups like the Council for National Policy?

Who was Foster Friess?

Why is it important to include a discussion of dark money when talking about things like Turning Point USA?

What is the connection between evangelicalism and oil?

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Tim LaHaye wrote different kinds of books. Books on marriage, sexuality, the end times, and those involved in social and political movements. In his young years, Tim LaHaye taught for the John Birch Society. His conspiratorial view of the world carried over into his theology, evidenced by the Left Behind series, as well as the topic of the show today, The Battle for the Mind. Published in 1980, this little book takes a negative view of humanism. He defines humanism as, essentially, everything that has gone with society in the last 2,000 years. It's a very broad, almost useless definition.

Humanism is actually a movement that started in Northern Italy around the 1200s, which tries to lift up the value of the human person. That takes a lot of different shapes, from secular or atheistic humanism to Christian humanism. In fact, as we argue in the episode, LaHaye's view misses the positive ways that humanism has shaped the United States and evangelicalism.

My guest today is Dr. Darrell Bock. He is the author or editor of over 45
books, including commentaries on Luke and Acts. He is the Executive
Director of Cultural Engagement and Senior Research Professor of New
Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. He's also a host of
DTS' podcast The Table.

Sources:


The Battle for the Mind by Tim LaHaye (1980)


Listen, America! by Jerry Falwell

The Oxford English Dictionary

Encyclopedia Britannica


Francis Schaeffer and the Shaping of Evangelical America by Barry Hankins

Fact-checking Chris on the Prohibition thing? Start here.

Discussion Questions:

Have you read anything by Tim LaHaye? What was it?

Are Christian books like this useful? Not useful? Why?

What is "humanism"? (it may be helpful to look it up outside the book)

Why is it important that LaHaye mischaracterized humanism?

What were LaHaye's ideas about education?

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Tim and Beverly LaHaye were a prominent American evangelical Christian couple known for their influential work in ministry, literature, and conservative activism. Tim LaHaye, born in 1926 in Detroit, Michigan, was a pastor, author, and speaker who gained national recognition through his work in Christian fiction and prophecy interpretation. He served as a pastor for over 25 years before turning to full-time writing and speaking, often focusing on end-times theology and family values. Beverly LaHaye, born in 1929, was a vocal advocate for conservative Christian values and women’s roles in society, founding the organization Concerned Women for America in 1979.

Tim LaHaye is perhaps best known as the co-author of the Left Behind series, a best-selling collection of apocalyptic novels written with Jerry B. Jenkins. The series dramatizes a fictionalized version of the Rapture and subsequent tribulation, based on Tim’s interpretation of Biblical prophecy. These books sold over 80 million copies worldwide and sparked renewed interest in eschatology within evangelical circles. In addition to fiction, he wrote numerous nonfiction books addressing topics such as marriage, politics, and spirituality, always with a conservative Christian perspective.

Together, Tim and Beverly LaHaye were a formidable force in American evangelicalism, combining their talents in writing, activism, and public speaking to influence both Christian thought and conservative politics. Married for over 60 years until Tim's death in 2016, they left behind a legacy of fervent advocacy for their faith and values. While supporters praised their dedication to scripture and family, critics often challenged their political and theological positions. Regardless, their impact on late 20th and early 21st-century evangelicalism remains significant.

Sources:

Dreyfuss, R. (2004, Feb). "Reverend Doomsday". Rolling Stone, pp. 46-49.

White, G. (2001, Jul 07). "Evangelical power couple authors Tim and Beverly LaHaye, with scores of books between them, rank as four-star generals to many conservative Christians." [home edition]. The Atlanta Journal The Atlanta Constitution


God's Own Party by Daniel K Williams

PBS article on Comstock Laws

"The men from CLEAN". (1966, Sep 05). Newsweek, 68, 23-24.


Before the Storm by Rick Perlstein


How to Be Happy Though Married by Tim LaHaye


Divided We Stand by Marjorie Spruill


The Unhappy Gays by Tim LaHaye


For a Christian America by Ruth Murray Brown

Carlin v. Board of Education


Listen, America! by Jerry Falwell


With God on Our Side by William C Martin


Christianity Today article about Carter's presence at NRB

“Tim LaHaye--Waging War Against Humanism” Skelton, Nancy Los Angeles Times (1923-1995); Feb 22, 1981

BATTIATA, M. (1987, Oct 03). "Beverly LaHaye leads a powerful force from the right": [CITY edition]. St.Petersburg Times

Hacker, K. (1988, Mar 06). "A WOMAN OF ACTION: FUNDAMENTALIST BEVERLY LAHAYE IS BUSY RALLYING HER 'KITCHEN-TABLE LOBBYISTS' TO ALL SORTS OF POLITICAL CAUSES". Philadelphia Inquirer

NPR article about Moonies


The Evangelicals by Frances Fitzgerald

McMahon, M. (1999, Dec). Come, all ye faithful. The Spectator, 283, 18-19


The United States of Paranoia by Jesse Walker

Discussion Questions:

How have the LaHaye's impacted you?

Does it matter that Tim had so many fears?

He went on to help found the Council for National Policy, the far-right Christian dark money organization. Why does that feel ironic?

How was Tim tied to the battle over segregated academies?

How did LaHaye's background with the John Birch Society fit with his other beliefs?

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Christians were involved with many forms of media from their inception. They were there at the dawn of radio, with the first commercial broadcast of music being played around Christmas in 1906, and the gospel of Luke was read.

A similar story is true for television. Evangelists loved the new medium, with preachers like Oral Roberts using it to spread their brand of Pentecostalism. Pentecostalism was made for television. Where many denominations featured calm worship services, it seemed like anything could happen with Oral Roberts' brand of Pentecostalism. He healed, he made big claims, and he made a lot of money. Roberts' format was followed by people like Jim Bakker and Pat Robertson.

Pat Robertson created the Christian Broadcasting Network, which later functioned as his platform for launching the political careers of politicians and, eventually, himself. Robertson's influence is all over evangelicalism, from the ubiquity of consumerism and prosperity ideology to our involvement in political movements. He formed the Christian Coalition and was a leader in the Council for National Policy. Robertson attended many of the seminal meetings of the Religious Right. And his message was amplified by his powerful television platform.

Sources:


Pat Robertson: A Life and Legacy by David Edwin Harrell Jr.


PTL: The Rise and Fall of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s Evangelical Empire by John Wigger


Oral Roberts and the Rise of the Prosperity Gospel by Jonathan Root

The US Census


Farnsworth TV and Pioneer Museum in Rigby, ID


The Surprising Work of God: Harold Ockenga, Billy Graham, and the Rebirth of Evangelicals by Garth Rosell


The Evangelicals by Frances Fitzgerald


Prime Time Preachers by Jeffrey K Hadden and Charles E Swann


"Oral Roberts Dead at 91" from CBS News


Report on Strom Thurmond's role in the Southern Manifesto


The Miracle of Seed Faith by Oral Roberts. I used the revised August 2012 version


Reaganland by Rick Perlstein

“Remarks in Support of Senate Joint Resolution 199” Aug 18, 1982. (for Robertson's testimony)


Christian Reconstruction: RJ Rushdoony and American Religious Conservatism by Michael McVicar

Newsweek article about Joe Rogan stats


Video of Oral Roberts healing

Discussion Questions:

What is the prosperity gospel?

How has it impacted you? Your church? The Church in general?

Why is it important to note that the Religious Right guys controlled Christian media outlets? How does that kind of thing shape our theology?

How was Robertson impacted by Roberts?

What is "seed faith"? Does the Bible provide ground for it?

How has consumerism shaped American evangelicalism? How does it tie into prosperity theology?

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Given the recent events in Venezuela, I have decided to run a classic episode from season 3. The question of our era is not "why did we do this?" but "why do we keep doing this?" Why does the United States continue to overthrow other countries?

God willing, I'll be back next week with a new episode about Pat Robertson.

Discussion Questions:

What threat did President Jacobo Arbenz pose to United Fruit?

United
Fruit owned many utilities in Guatemala from the trains to telephone
lines. How would you feel if our utilities were owned by foreign
entities? If they controlled our natural resources?

Do you think the land reform deal was a good one for their country?

Were people like John Foster Dulles right to overthrow Arbenz?

How might it have benefited them to do so?

In what way could the actions of the US in the 1950s reflect poorly on Christianity domestically and abroad?

It
has been argued that American consumers benefit when Latin American and
African countries are thrown in disarray. It means cheaper diamonds,
gold, rubber, and more while also stranding the people in those
countries in poverty.

Does it bother you that you may be benefiting from unbalanced countries?

Do you find the assumption that we are benefiting to be offensive? Why?

Is there anything we can do about it?

Sources:

“Bad Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala” by Stephen Schlesinger and Stephen Kinzer


CIA Document profiling Arbenz

YouTube clips of a documentary on the Guatemalan coup

Then-Vice President Nixon talking with Armas after the overthrow


Statistics on Fruit

Financial Times article about United Fruit

Book “One Nation Under God” by Kevin Kruse (for the bio info on the Dulles brothers)

Peurifoy’s cable to Washington

President Arbenz’s farewell speech


List of governments that the US has overthrown

New intro sources:


CSPAN's coverage of the January 3, 2026, speech given by President Trump

The New York Times' coverage of the capture of Maduro

The New York Times' coverage of the oil angle

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