By Andy Hale
Welcome to this week’s CBF Podcast Conversation. Our guest is Dr. Scott Coley, a lecturer in philosophy at Mount St. Mary’s University, whose work spans philosophy of religion, moral epistemology, and political philosophy. Dr. Coley is the author of the newly released Ministers of Propaganda, a thought-provoking book that examines how Christian theology has been pressed into the service of authoritarian politics, leading to what he describes as “Christo-authoritarianism.”
In this episode, we’ll unpack the central themes of Dr. Coley’s book, exploring the role of propaganda in legitimizing privilege, the intersection of theology and political ideology, and the complicity of evangelical leaders in sustaining harmful social hierarchies. As Dr. Coley writes, “The antidote to Christo-authoritarianism lies in the recognition that there is an objective truth about what people deserve and what we owe each other, and our participation in politics should aim to bring about public institutions that conform to that truth.” Together, we’ll explore how justice—not the maintenance of privilege—can serve as a guiding principle for faith and political engagement. This is a timely and important conversation you won’t want to miss.
Listen here.
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Andy Hale is the creator and host of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Podcast. Hale is the Associate Executive Coordinator of CBF North Carolina. He’s also served as CBF’s Church Start Specialist, the founding pastor of Mosaic Church of Clayton, and the senior pastor of University Baptist Church of Baton Rouge. Follow on Twitter @haleandy.