Mike Cosper, author of 'The Church in Dark Times' and director at Christianity Today, delves into the church's vulnerability to ideology. He draws on Hannah Arendt's insights about the 'banality of evil,' exploring how disconnection and unbundled identities lead to moral failures. Cosper advocates for practices of solitude and storytelling as antidotes to ideological allure. The conversation addresses the challenges of modernity while promoting a deeper, transcendent sense of identity in faith.
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Cosper's Church Background
Mike Cosper was baptized at Second Baptist Houston in 1989 by Ed Young Jr.
He later served 15 years at a church plant which grew to 4,000 people across five locations.
insights INSIGHT
Arendt's Focus
Hannah Arendt, a German Jewish philosopher, explored how seemingly ordinary people become involved in destructive systems.
Her work, including covering Adolf Eichmann's trial, offers insights into the seduction of evil.
insights INSIGHT
Ideology's Allure and Danger
Ideologies are seductive stories promising meaning and purpose, but can lead astray.
The Nazis' story about Jews keeping Germans from their rightful place illustrates ideology's power.
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In our conversation today we talk about some of the deepest challenges facing the church today. Our guest is Mike Cosper, author of the new book 'The Church in Dark Times,' and he's bringing this incredible framework from the philosopher Hannah Arendt to help us understand the dynamics at play. What Cosper lays out is how the church, much like broader society, has become susceptible to the lure of ideology - these seductive stories that promise meaning and purpose, but ultimately lead us astray. He traces this back to the unbundling of identity that's happened in modernity, where we've lost those deep roots and sense of transcendence that used to anchor us. And the way Cosper unpacks Arendt's insights on the 'banality of evil' is extremely helpful. The idea that the greatest horrors can emerge not from some monstrous, radical evil, but from this hollow, empty shell of a person - that's a profoundly unsettling concept with huge implications. But Cosper doesn't just diagnose the problem. He also points us towards practices of solitude, thinking, and storytelling that can help us resist these ideological forces and recover a more rooted, transcendent vision of what it means to be the church. It's a conversation that I think will really challenge and inspire anyone who cares about the future of Christianity in our time.
Mike Cosper has been creating music, radio shows, and podcasts for more than 20 years. He produced and hosted The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast and is director of podcasts at Christianity Today. He now cohosts a weekly podcast called The Bulletin. Cosper also leads cohorts for church leaders and is the author of four books, including Recapturing the Wonder. He and his family live in Louisville, Kentucky.
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