Episode 266  |  July 23, 2026

David French on How the Confederacy Still Shapes America

Self-regard lives in the gaze of the other. In other words, show me respect. Respect me, honor me, respect me. And you still have this to a very high degree in the South.
— David French

What Does the Confederacy's Legacy Mean for the Modern South and Christian America?

Host Curtis Chang and New York Times columnist, and Good Faith podcast “founding friend,” David French confront the enduring power of the Confederate myth. David reflects on growing up as a white Southerner in a culture shaped by Confederate symbols, revisionist history, racial injustice, and a deeply rooted shame-and-honor code. Curtis, a Chinese American immigrant, brings an outsider’s perspective that challenges familiar assumptions about heritage, memory, and belonging. Together, they examine Confederate monuments, the theological defenses of slavery, the meaning of “heritage, not hate,” and whether honest historical reckoning can lead to redemption and reconciliation.

Chapters
02:51
Curtis Congratulates David on the Birth of His Latest Grandchild
05:54
Why Does the Confederacy Still Matter?
10:12
The South's Distinct Cultural Cohesion
22:19
“Heritage, Not Hate”: A White Southern Perspective
29:52
Race, Religion, and Revisionism in the South
42:13
The Resurgence of Explicit Racism
47:20
What to Do with Confederate Memorials
56:32
Repenting of Southern Shame-Honor Culture
01:01:32
Institutions Founded on Injustice Can Carry Spiritual Darkness
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Scripture from This Episode

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12
He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Colossians 2:15
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.
Luke 10:27
So the last will be first, and the first last.
Matthew 20:16
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 10:39
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