Matthew D. Taylor is a religious studies scholar and expert in independent, charismatic Christianity and Christian nationalism. He’s the creator and narrator of the Charismatic Revival Fury series on the “Straight White American Jesus” podcast. And he’s the author of the book “Scripture People.” Taylor is currently a senior scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies in Baltimore. His newest, just-released book is called “The Violent Take It By Force: The Christian Movement that Is Threatening Our Democracy.”
“The Capitol rioters were constantly citing this verse and other social media in their messages to each other,” Taylor explains his new book’s title, taken from a bible verse, to “Freethought Matters” co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The way that they understood this verse was that it was a mandate for them to do spiritual violence, to battle back the demons that they believed were trying to hijack the election. And they imagined that the Trump administration was representative of the Kingdom of Heaven — and that it was being stolen.”
“Freethought Matters” now airs in:
- Chicago, WPWR-CW (Ch. 50), Sundays at 9 a.m.
- Los Angeles, KCOP-MY (Ch. 13), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
- Madison, Wis., WISC-TV (Ch. 3), Sundays at 11 p.m.
- New York City, WPIX-IND (Ch. 11), Sundays at 10 a.m.
- San Francisco, KTVU/KICU-IND (on broadcast Ch. 36 and Cable 6), Sundays at 10 a.m.
- Washington, D.C., WDCW-CW (Ch. 50 or Ch. 23 or Ch. 3), Sundays at 8 a.m.
If you don’t live in any of the marquee towns where the show broadcasts on Sunday, you can already catch the interview on FFRF’s YouTube channel. New shows go up every Thursday.
Upcoming guests include Tia Levings, author of “A Well-Trained Wife,” Josh Cowen, author of “The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers,” and famed ex-Muslim activist Maryam Namazie. You can catch interviews from earlier this fall, including with Rep. Jared Huffman, and from previous seasons here, including with Gloria Steinem, Ron Reagan, author John Irving, actor John “Q” de Lancie and award-winning columnist Katha Pollitt.
Please tune in to “Freethought Matters” . . . because freethought matters.
P.S. Please tune in or record according to the times given above regardless of what is listed in your TV guide (it may be listed simply as “paid programming” or even be misidentified). To set up an automatic weekly recording, try taping manually by time or channel. And spread the word to freethinking friends, family or colleagues about a TV show, finally, that is dedicated to providing programming for freethinkers — your antidote to religion on Sunday morning!
