Some books diagnose the sickness of an age. Others offer practices for healing. Jonathan Pan Walton’s work does both.
For this Radix Live conversation, we are pleased to have Walton discuss two of his books: Twelve Lies That Hold America Captive: And the Truth That Sets Us Free and Beauty and Resistance: Spiritual Rhythms for Formation and Repair. One names the false stories that shape our national imagination; the other offers a way of living that resists despair, burnout, and spiritual fragmentation. Sounds timely, right?
In a cultural moment marked by emotional fatigue and fierce division, Walton raises timely questions:
-What lies have we mistaken for truth?
-Where have politics, nation, and identity become substitutes for the Gospel?
-And how might Christians recover rhythms of life that make justice, beauty, and repair possible?
This conversation moves between critique and hope. Drawing from Scripture, lived experience, and spiritual wisdom, Walton reflects on the myths that hold America captive while also exploring how practices of rest, restoration, and resistance can form a life capable of love, endurance, and communal flourishing.
We hope this event will offer a rich conversation on faith, justice, emotional health, and the possibility of a more rooted Christian life.
Jonathan Pan Walton is a writer, speaker, and facilitator at the intersection of faith, justice and emotional health. He writes The Crux on Substack and co-founded the Center for Beauty and Resistance. He has also written and edited six books, including Twelve Lies That Hold America Captive and his latest book, Beauty and Resistance: Spiritual Rhythms for Formation and Repair. He holds a degree in creative writing from Columbia University and an MA from the City University in New York in the Study of the Americas. He lives in Queens, New York, and attends New Life Fellowship Church. Find more of Jonathan’s writing on his Substack, The Crux.
Names mentioned:
Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, Shane Claiborne, Tucker Carlson, Dylann Roof, Robert Mulholland, Robert Pape, Sy Hoekstra, Trevor Noah, Victor LaValle, Evelyn Underhill, Maya Angelou, John Lewis, Bradley Jersak, Pete Hegseth, Strom Thurmond, Tony Campolo, Brian Stevenson, Dick Cheney, Tyler Burns, Martin Luther King Jr.
Books mentioned:
Jesus for President (by Shane Claiborne)
The Body Keeps the Score (by Bessel van der Kolk)