Rick Pidcock
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rickpidcock.bsky.social
Rick Pidcock
@rickpidcock.bsky.social
Weekly contributor for Baptist News Global | Currently writing "Weapons of Worship" (Broadleaf Books, 2026) | Host of BNG's "Highest Power: Church + State" | Stay at home dad | He/him | www.rickpidcock.com | rickpidcock.substack.com
Last night on "Highest Power: Church + State," I talked about how the internal battles our two parties have within themselves reveal their values. Then after I submitted the episode to my producer, I heard what Megyn Kelly said about Epstein, pedophiles, and 15 year olds. So ... as I was saying. 1/2
November 14, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Halloween is a night when your kids come home with loads of candy ... and a gospel tract telling them that God keeps track of everything they say and do and needs to punish someone over it through crucifixion.
November 7, 2025 at 4:56 PM
I spoke with two Chicago pastors about how their congregations are working behind the scenes to make sure immigrants are protected and fed. We also talk about how the rest of our cities can prepare for the GOP's cruelty.
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November 4, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Some of the ways authoritarian Christians take control in our lives happens in overt ways most of us would find appalling. But other ways slip past many of our defenses when they're issues we may agree with them on. Check out Ep. 70 wherever you listen to podcasts!
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October 31, 2025 at 1:29 AM
What do the government shutdown, Trump's ballroom, and the Tower of Babel have in common? Check out the latest episode of "Highest Power: Church + State."

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October 28, 2025 at 7:27 PM
What happens when the GOP doesn’t deal with the Nazi conversations among their young men? This is what we discuss in tonight’s episode of “Highest Power: Church + State.”

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October 24, 2025 at 3:02 AM
For Episode 67 of "Highest Power: Church + State," I share why Republicans who dismiss the concerns of No Kings protestors are either lying to us or are ignorant of the dictatorship their party is pursuing. And I bring the receipts.

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October 21, 2025 at 8:35 PM
How do people who claim to follow Jesus come to such radically different theologies and politics from one another? How do liberationist theologians and Christian nationalists follow the same person with the same book? Check out my interview with Lily Wood!

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October 17, 2025 at 7:59 PM
How have the war and peace talks between Israel and Hamas developed over the past two years in light of the talking points that were being used when the war first started? I cover these details in my latest episode!

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October 14, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Pete Hegseth is inviting his Doug Wilson Cult pastors to preach for worship services at the Pentagon. So for tonight's episode of "Highest Power: Church + State," I analyze Hegseth's inaugural Pentagon Worship Service.

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October 6, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Three conservative leaders have recently died — John MacArthur, James Dobson, and Voddie Baucham. So I reflected on how they harmed children and on Christian alternatives to their views of parenting with child liberation theologian R.L. Stollar.

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October 3, 2025 at 1:25 PM
How can pastors preach about Jesus and power to congregations filled with Christian nationalists? Check out Matthew D. Taylor's thoughts on my latest episode of "Highest Power: Church + State"!

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October 1, 2025 at 5:22 PM
While the guy who came up w/ the failed rapture prophecy has gone into hiding, many of us have to live with the real life consequences that come from others who believed him. In Ep 60, I share my story and why the book of Joel had nothing to do with a 2025 rapture.
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September 27, 2025 at 1:24 AM
My book officially has a release date! One year from today.
September 26, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Exactly. Hence the title of my book coming out next year. "Weapons of Worship: How the Songs of Evangelicalism Form the Soundtrack of Extremism.”
September 19, 2025 at 12:07 PM
How should universities and scholars respond to the growing popularity of Christian nationalist authoritarianism on college campuses, while protecting themselves and their families? Check out my interview with professor and author Matthew Boedy.

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September 19, 2025 at 12:41 AM
In my latest episode of "Highest Power: Church + State," I dive deep into the Charlie Kirk story. Also, I'd like to thank BNG writer Mara Richards Bim for narrating part of her article about where Kirk grew up and how he rose to prominence on the right.

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September 16, 2025 at 4:20 PM
How should we respond now that we can no longer trust the CDC or the NIH thanks to RFK Jr. and the Trump administration? Don't miss my latest interview with Janet Kellogg Ray.

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September 12, 2025 at 5:07 PM
It's interesting how often I hear about how hostile higher education supposedly is to Christianity, when I can attend an event hosted by Clemson University featuring a Christian sociologist talking about why religion matters.
September 10, 2025 at 6:30 PM
I met sociologist @profsamperry.bsky.social tonight at Clemson University. I thought this slide was interesting. In 2011, 60% of white evangelicals said "an elected official who commits immoral acts in their personal lives can't be ethical in their public duties." In 2018, it went down to just 16%.
September 9, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Conservative evangelical Calvinists can't try to distance themselves from the abusive theology of R.C. Sproul Jr. when they support the likes of John Piper.

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September 9, 2025 at 2:47 PM
After commenting on Trump and Johnson's words about Epstein, I spend the majority of this episode listening to the Epstein survivors themselves and interviewing Mallory Challis, who shares how she listens to survivors as a woman, a journalist, and a theologian.

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September 9, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Hey evangelicals, remember last year when I asked in an article, "Will Christian Trump supporters exchange their humanity for ignorance or for violent delights?" It's almost as if I know what I'm talking about.

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September 6, 2025 at 5:30 PM
It's "Let Us Worship" vs. "Pink Pony Club" as Sean Feucht faces off against a group of LGBTQ supporting kazoo players. So grab your shofar or your kazoo and learn more about the worship movement President Trump has officially invited to do spiritual warfare in Washington DC this weekend.
September 5, 2025 at 4:26 PM
On tonight's episode of "Highest Power: Church + State," I share audio from Paul Washer sermons & Trump administration officials to demonstrate how the violent authoritarianism in white evangelical politics are coming from their unhealed trauma & theology of God.
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September 2, 2025 at 11:15 PM