When Stephen D. Martin was in seminary, He read a book titled Theologians under Hitler's regime. This book examined how seemingly faithful and moral German Christians were able to support the oppressive and brutal Nazi regime in the 1930s and his 1940s.
Martin has since struggled with the knowledge that the theology he studied was shaped by people who actively participated in the Nazi government.
Now, as the United States and other countries face the growing threat of authoritarian governments, Martin, a United Methodist Church pastor, has started a new podcast, “The Altar and the Eagle.” This history podcast explores the phenomenon of religious people giving support to political systems diametrically opposed to the teachings of Jesus Christ through the lens of the German Third Reich. The title refers to a church in Germany flying a Nazi flag, and the podcaster likens it to churches in the United States flying American flags in their worship spaces.
“Why are Christian leaders so often on the wrong side of history?”
Martin writes on the podcast website: “For the past 20 years, I have been grappling with an important question: Why are Christian leaders so often on the wrong side of history?” It was a journey to gather insight into the present. It is not about criticizing the Church out of resentment. It is about understanding our mistakes and not repeating them. The Church during the Third Reich. The stark revelations about the failures are particularly enlightening. We embarked on this investigation with the aim of unraveling the complexities of the time so that history does not repeat itself.”
stephen martin
Martin said in an interview that his journey to the new podcast began in 2001 and 2002, when American politicians claimed to go to war with Iraq on the pretext that Saddam Hussein was behind September 11, 2001. (later proven to be false). attacked and possessed weapons of mass destruction. His views on the possibility of war were shaped by his first documentary film about a Muslim community in East Tennessee, where he was a pastor.
“As I watched the Iraq war unfold, I was quiet on the outside, but on the inside I was screaming,” Martin said. “I've been told that the war was a big mistake, but what did I do about it?”
At the time, he tried to be a “good Methodist” He founded a book study group “to help people think theologically about war while this monstrous crime continues.”
Witnessing evidence that the same kinds of political and social forces that had gripped German Christians under Nazism were accumulating under Nazism, he said, “I had no idea what my role as a pastor should be.'' I was able to recover from this experience. America.
After September 11, Martin began making a documentary film. Rebirth or destruction? Exposing the far-right Institute for Religion and Democracy and its attacks on the United Methodist Church. However, his most notable documentary series is Theologians under Hitler's regime Based on the book by Robert Eriksen and available on Vimeo. Martin said he interviewed Eriksen, who later became a “good friend” and supportive of his work. He also became acquainted with the scholar Victoria J. Burnett, who donated her interviews with Holocaust survivors to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC.
However, about 12 years ago, Martin stopped making documentaries. “The movie hits you over the head.” Instead, he found a new form of expression: podcasts.
“There are parallels between American exceptionalism in 2024 and German exceptionalism in 1933.”
“History is very important to me,” he explained. “History gives us a lens through which to view our own times. For example, there are parallels between American exceptionalism in 2024 and German exceptionalism in 1933. They thought they were as exceptional as Americans are today, and you can see where that led them.”
After leaving documentary filmmaking, Martin joined the National Council of Churches as director of public relations for five years. While he was at NCC, he produced a podcast featuring guest speakers and received an Award of Excellence from the Council of Religious Communicators. Through his NCC connections, he became acquainted with the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, whose chair, Amanda Tyler, launched her 2021 Christians Against Christian Nationalism campaign. Previously, he had met the Baptist ethicist David Gussie, with whom he had a public and private relationship. relationship. This connection increased his urgency to provide history lessons to today's social and political challenges.
“We're all working on the same thing. Let’s look at it from different perspectives,” Martin said. “Podcasting tells a story in a way that makes the material accessible. Documentary filmmaking was something that was done 20 years ago, but to shoot a documentary you have to stay still.” With casting, you can take it anywhere.”
Unlike interview-style podcasts, Martin chose to produce scripted podcasts, each telling a story on a different topic. So far, “The Altar and the Eagle” has his four episodes of 20-25 minutes: “Prelude and Welcome”, “Stab in the Back”, “God's Gifts and Miracles”, and “Sex and Fascism: A Church Leader’s” Guide. “
The pastor and spokesperson said he appreciates the candid way in which faith-based institutions on Capitol Hill “speak truth to power” by denouncing wrongdoing. But he hopes the storytelling format will be more successful than opinion-based podcasts in persuading Christians to learn from history.
“Stories shape us immensely. “It’s a profound method,” he said. “New neuroscience shows that when you tell a story, you’re even more likely to make change.”
His goal is to educate people of faith about the role religion plays in politics in America and elsewhere.
“That's the danger of theology. We use it to promote self-righteousness,” Martin said. “We need to recognize that sometimes what is right can hurt people. To follow Jesus, we must be more concerned about the harm our theology does to people than what we are right. Must have.
“We have a decision to make in this country. We have a choice to make (in the upcoming elections),” he said. “My podcast is about conversation. I believe that art has the power to inform and persuade, but also in a way that allows people the grace to make their own decisions. there is.”
