Reclaiming Scripture from the Culture Wars w/ Zach Lambert

About this episode

Zach W. Lambert discusses the weaponization of Scripture and offers healthier interpretive lenses for engaging with the Bible.

In this episode, pastor and author Zach W. Lambert confronts the weaponization of Scripture in American public life and church culture. Drawing from his book Better Ways to Read the Bible , he outlines how harmful interpretive “lenses” have been used to justify everything from Christian nationalism to slavery to spiritual abuse. Rather than abandoning Scripture, Lambert calls Christians to reclaim a Jesus-centered, context-aware, fruit-bearing engagement with the Bible. He offers four healthy lenses—Jesus, context, flourishing, and fruitfulness—and explains how these can guide both personal discipleship and public theology in a way that heals rather than harms. About Zach Zach W. Lambert is the founding pastor of Restore Austin, a multiethnic, multigenerational church in Austin, Texas. He is the author of Better Ways to Read the Bible: Transforming a Weapon of Harm into a Tool of Healing , a book that helps Christians rethink how Scripture is interpreted and applied in both church and society. Zach is a frequent speaker and writer on topics related to justice, public theology, and deconstruction. His work appears on Substack under the title Public Theology , and he shares regular…

People in this episode

Host: Caleb E. Campbell

Guest: Zach W. Lambert

Topics covered

• Scripture interpretation
• Christian nationalism
• public theology
• spiritual abuse
• discipleship

Keywords

• Scripture
• Christian nationalism
• spiritual abuse
• public theology
• discipleship

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Restore Austin

Books & works: Better Ways to Read the Bible

Places: Austin, Texas

More episodes of Disarming Leviathan Podcast

• The Hidden Costs of U.S. Immigration Policies w/ Matthew Soerens · June 11, 2026 · 36 min
• The American Church and Global Refugees w/ Daniel Yang · June 4, 2026 · 34 min
• A special series for June 2026 · May 17, 2026 · 2 min
• An update and an invite. · April 24, 2026 · 2 min
• Special Episode: Interview with Surge Network · March 21, 2026 · 42 min
• A Revival of What Kind? · February 5, 2026 · 29 min