Bannon's War Room: Christmas Eve Special 2025 (Episode 5020)

Date: December 24, 2025
Host: Stephen K. Bannon
Guests: Dave Brat, Jason Jones, Ben Harnwell, Father Issa (live from Bethlehem)

Episode Overview

In this Christmas Eve special, the War Room blends faith, history, and reportage with on-location coverage from Bethlehem and the Vatican. Host Steve Bannon and recurring guests reflect on the spiritual, historical, and cultural significance of Christmas. The episode moves beyond politics, offering theological insight, firsthand reports from Christian holy sites, and a focus on persecuted Christian communities. Interviews, personal stories, and reflections mix with analysis of early Christianity, its spread, and the roots of Western civilization.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: A War Room Christmas

• Bannon opens the episode emphasizing the attempt to "set politics aside" for Christmas, though he does briefly mention breaking legal and political news in Georgia and federal decisions involving President Trump ([02:25]).
• Introduces correspondents reporting in real time from Bethlehem (Jason Jones) and St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican (Ben Harnwell).
• Aims to juxtapose Christianity’s birthplace with its enduring global centers, both spiritual and institutional.

2. Theological Reflections and the Roots of Western Civilization

Dave Brat’s Perspective

• Dave Brat (theologian and economist) reflects on the entwined history of faith and western thought, citing influences from James Madison and Adam Smith to the founding of Western civilization in 1776 ([04:24]).
  • “It all happened at the same time, right? The opening of James Madison and Adam Smith. It's all 1776. And that's just the epitome of Western civilization all coming together right there.” – Brat ([04:44])
• He laments the violence and decline of faith in the last century but observes a "return to truth" among youth ([04:55]).
• Brat introduces the idea that the decline of the church historically coincided with increased societal violence and evil.

Resurrection and Early Christian Creed

• Brat recommends Gary Habermas’s scholarly work Proof of the Resurrection, noting consensus even among skeptics about the strong historical evidence for Christ’s resurrection ([06:39]).
• Posits that the earliest Christian creeds were simple and powerful, laying the foundation for canonical scripture and later doctrines ([06:39]).
  • “The earlier, the stronger they were and the shorter, the stronger they were…these simple little things are not so simple.” – Brat

Early Church Conflicts and Universal Mission

• Bannon highlights intra-Christian disputes after Christ’s death, especially concerning whether converts needed to first become Jewish ([08:36]).
  • “This is junior high school compared to the early church…the councils—It was intense.” – Bannon ([08:36])
• St. Paul’s mission to take Christianity to the Gentiles, ultimately centering Rome as a Christian capital, is discussed.

Christianity as the Root of Western Values

• Brat links the rise of human rights and Western freedoms to Christian influence ([10:26]):
  • “We offer rights to minority, rights to all. We have rights to freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom of gathering. And the rest of the world does not know that because it's rooted in Christianity.” – Brat ([11:38])
• Contrasts this with other global traditions, specifically noting the absence of a comparable human rights history in Islamic nations ([12:16]).

3. Live from Bethlehem: Jason Jones' Perspective

Bethlehem's History, Faith, and Community

• Jason Jones reports live, describing Bethlehem as a short walk from Jerusalem, with the Church of the Nativity in the background ([18:58]).
• He recounts the dire situation of persecuted Christians worldwide: “First century Christian communities have been facing ethnic cleansing and genocide… Iraq, Syria, India, Egypt…” ([18:58])
• The local Bethlehem communities (Muslim and Christian) see themselves as a single genetic family, historically intertwined despite religious differences ([20:44]):
  • “The Christians and the Muslims here in Bethlehem, the Bethlehemites…have been here together for centuries…they’re really one genetic family. But three religions.” – Jones

The Call for Pilgrims to Return

• After recent conflicts, Bethlehem has seen a drastic drop in international pilgrims; Jones encourages people to visit, saying it is safe and spiritually rewarding ([23:34]):
  • “There’s no fear. Come to Bethlehem. Come to the West Bank. It’s beautiful. It’s safe.” – Jones

Significance of Bethlehem

• Jones links the site’s significance to its convergence of Jewish hope for a messiah, Roman infrastructure (roads), and Greek intellectual tradition, culminating historically and spiritually at Christ’s birth ([25:07]):
  • “The second person of the Trinity, the Logos, became man right over my shoulder. And it was the fullness of time in the perfect place.”

4. Christmas Traditions, Unity, and Faith

The “Wonderful Exchange”

• Brat shares a core Christian teaching: God becoming man to redeem humanity—the “wonderful exchange” ([32:18]):
  • “God Almighty…came to earth and humbled himself. God Almighty, the Creator came in the form of a baby…to redeem us from our sin and from ourselves…God exchanged places with us, took upon himself what we should pay for justice. He took it on and set us free so we can have life abundantly. That is Christmas. And boy, what a gift. So reflect.” – Brat ([32:18])

Reflections on Christmas Celebrations

• Bannon and Brat discuss the Puritan origins of strict Christmas practices, with Brat reflecting on his own Calvinist upbringing ([34:46]):
  • “Every tradition has its weaknesses and its strengths and so just everybody go out and get the deep meaning today, right in between the presents and the eggnog and whatever. Go get the deeper meaning of Christmas.” – Brat ([35:54])

5. Live from Vatican City: Ben Harnwell’s Reflections

Midnight Mass and Roman Catholic Tradition

• Harnwell describes the challenging weather in Rome ([36:58]), but notes the Vatican’s enduring focus on the candlelit Christmas Mass, celebrated at 10:00pm by Pope Leo ([37:22]).
• Explains how to attend Midnight Mass and the logistical (and spiritual) process of securing a place in the Vatican’s celebration ([38:46]).
• Contrasts Rome’s Christmas traditions with those of other major Western cities:
  • “Rome is still, as the capital of Italy, a Christian country, a culturally Christian country, and also practicing to some degree.” – Harnwell ([39:58])

6. Exploring Christian Unity — Interview with Father Issa (Bethlehem)

• Father Issa (Greek Orthodox) explains the presence of multiple Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem—Catholic, Orthodox, and Armenian—rooted in differences of liturgical calendar, but united in apostolic succession ([47:17]):
  • “We are all Christians, but in the beginning…it begins with Orthodox…After that people are like becoming or maybe continue their faith with prayers…many also Armenian were in this place. So this place…with all Christianity faithful that are believers and believe in Jesus Christ in one.” – Issa ([47:28])
• Father Issa, whose family has lived in Bethlehem “maybe since the first century,” highlights the unique spiritual impact of celebrating Christmas at the actual birthplace of Christ.
• Sends a message to American Christians:
  • “It’s really different to celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem because you witness…the place where Jesus was born and you touched the place…And you send the message of peace and love…Jesus…could give hope and love and peace to everyone. So this message from Bethlehem, we send it to you…merry Christmas. Happy New Year.” ([49:00])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “It all happened at the same time…The opening of James Madison and Adam Smith. It’s all 1776. That’s…the epitome of Western civilization.”
  – Dave Brat ([04:44])

• “The earlier, the stronger [the Christian creeds] were…These simple little things are not so simple.”
  – Dave Brat ([06:39])

• “This is junior high school compared to the early church…It was intense.”
  – Steve Bannon ([08:36])

• “We offer rights to minority, rights to all. We have rights to freedom of speech…And the rest of the world does not know that because it’s rooted in Christianity.”
  – Dave Brat ([11:38])

• “First century Christian communities have been facing ethnic cleansing and genocide… Iraq, Syria, India, Egypt…”
  – Jason Jones ([18:58])

• “There’s no Fear. Come to Bethlehem…It’s beautiful. It’s safe.”
  – Jason Jones ([23:34])

• “The gifts and all that, that’s neat celebration. But there’s a darker side…That’s why God had to come to earth…The wonderful exchange: God came and suffered on the cross...so we can have a wonderful life.”
  – Dave Brat ([32:18])

• “It’s really different to celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem because you witness…the place where Jesus was born and you touched the place…Jesus…could give hope and love and peace to everyone. So this message from Bethlehem, we send it to you, and we wish you really a merry Christmas. Happy New Year.”
  – Father Issa ([49:00])

Key Timestamps for Navigation

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-----------|--------------| | 02:25 | Intro: Christmas Eve, live links from Bethlehem & Vatican | | 04:24 | Dave Brat on theology, Western tradition, and link to economics | | 06:39 | Proof of Resurrection: Gary Habermas, early creeds | | 08:36 | Early Church divisions, Paul & Gentiles | | 10:26 | Christianity as foundation of human rights and Western freedom | | 18:58 | Jason Jones from Bethlehem, persecuted Christians | | 20:44 | Inter-religious community in Bethlehem | | 23:34 | Impact of conflict on pilgrimage, call for pilgrims to return | | 25:07 | Spiritual significance of Bethlehem | | 32:18 | Dave Brat’s “wonderful exchange” theological message | | 36:58 | Live from the Vatican, Ben Harnwell, weather, Midnight Mass | | 39:58 | Christmas in Rome vs. London/Paris | | 47:17 | Interview with Father Issa, unity and diversity of Bethlehem’s Christian traditions | | 49:00 | Father Issa’s Christmas message |

Tone & Atmosphere

• Warm, reflective, at times academic; a mix of reverence for history and religious tradition, blended with War Room’s direct, at times urgent style.
• Interspersed music (carols) and live descriptions of holy sites lend a meditative, immersive atmosphere unique to a Christmas Eve broadcast.

Takeaway

This Christmas Eve special delivers an engaging blend of faith, history, and current events, weaving together lessons from the past with the lived reality of Christianity in its holiest places today. The program’s message is one of hope, unity, and spiritual reflection—a call to remember the deeper meaning of Christmas, the ongoing trials of the faithful, and the universal message of peace and salvation.