The Church in Dark Times

How Evil Hides in the Church behind Good IntentionsWe expect evil to appear in obvious forms: malice, cruelty, and contempt. We also expect to find villains at the helm of evil movements and organizations, leaders with dark impulses and motivations. But all too often, malevolence is more subtle, hiding behind our own best intentions.In The Church in Dark Times, cultural critic Mike Cosper unveils this dynamic in the growing crisis of abuse and other failures in modern evangelical churches. Drawing on the work of twentieth-century political theorist Hannah Arendt, Cosper explores what we can learn from her theory of the "banality of evil"--the thoughtlessness that allows ordinary people to become complicit in all manner of corruption. He uncovers the underlying causes of the breakdowns of the church and offers practices that foster healing and renewal."In seeking to understand how Mars Hill Church created a distorted reality and ethical framework, Cosper turns to the political thinker Hannah Arendt. Exploring Arendt's thinking about the power of ideology and the banality of evil, Cosper turns the story of Mars Hill Church into a window to our dark times."--Roger Berkowitz, academic director, Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities, professor, Bard College"Cosper brings to bear his extensive work uncovering some of the most troubling moments in the American church, his deep and wide knowledge of art and culture, and, most important, his love of stories, Scripture, and the church."--Karen Swallow Prior, author of The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis"Cosper has stared into the abyss of the darkest horrors of American Christianity. He also has gazed into the light of the glory of Christ. This book shows us how to tell the difference between the two while yielding to neither complicity nor cynicism."--Russell Moore, editor in chief, Christianity Today