Rob Pacienza, a Florida-based pastor who heads Coral Ridge Ministries, is devoting a series of his Truths That Transform podcast to the theme of “destroying strongholds.” The first episode in the series, posted on Jan. 2, targeted progressive Christianity, which Pacienza called “one of the most deceptive strongholds of all.”
It’s a good example of a phenomenon Right Wing Watch has noted before: religious-right leaders are quick to claim that anyone who criticizes their political agendas or tactics is somehow attacking their faith or Christianity itself—but they have no qualms about attacking the faith of others, including Christians who don’t share their religious or political worldview.
Pacienza is deeply connected to the MAGA movement. He regularly interviews Christian nationalist figures on his “City of God” podcast. He is a senior fellow at the America First Policy Institute, a think tank that helped fill the current Trump cabinet. Last month, Pacienza and Coral Ridge’s Center for Christian Statesmanship honored Speaker of the House Mike Johnson with a Distinguished Christian Statesman Award, which claims to honor “public servants who demonstrate biblical convictions, courage, and integrity in public life.” (It’s highly debatable whether Johnson qualifies on those terms.)
Coral Ridge Ministries was founded by the late D. James Kennedy, a Florida megachurch pastor who preached that “the real purpose of this nation” is “to advance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Coral Ridge’s Institute for Faith & Culture is sponsoring a Kingdom Come conference in March, which will feature an array of Christian nationalist speakers, including pundit Eric Metaxas and Turning Point Faith leader Lucas Miles. Pacienza is also promoting a gathering on the National Mall next summer as part of 250th anniversary celebrations.
Pacienza’s segment on destroying the stronghold of progressive Christianity included an interview with Allie Beth Stuckey, a conservative evangelical author and influencer who wrote a book about “toxic empathy.” Empathy, Stuckey said, is neither a virtue or “fruit of the spirit,” because it could lead a person into “affirming sin, validating lies, or promoting destructive policies.”