Holly Pettit
@hollypettit.bsky.social
Harvard M.Div. in world religions / contemplative practice. Christian mysticism, ancient history, progressive theology & non-canonical texts.
Religions are a continuum, not a debate.
Former Army linguist & intelligence analyst. Writer for nonprofits.
Religions are a continuum, not a debate.
Former Army linguist & intelligence analyst. Writer for nonprofits.
Reposted by Holly Pettit
If you're having trouble forgiving, forgetting & just letting sh*t slide off your back, there's a post for you. Those ancient monks knew a thing or two re: the human condition.
Surviving crappy political times? They literally wrote the book. #SpiritualSky
hollypettit.substack.com/p/how-to-mak...
Surviving crappy political times? They literally wrote the book. #SpiritualSky
hollypettit.substack.com/p/how-to-mak...
How to Make Peace with Yourself: Ancient Christian Guidance for a Turbulent World
“Make peace with yourself,” taught St. Isaac the Syrian, “and heaven and earth will make peace with you.” A reflection on inner healing in a volatile world.
hollypettit.substack.com
December 12, 2025 at 5:34 PM
If you're having trouble forgiving, forgetting & just letting sh*t slide off your back, there's a post for you. Those ancient monks knew a thing or two re: the human condition.
Surviving crappy political times? They literally wrote the book. #SpiritualSky
hollypettit.substack.com/p/how-to-mak...
Surviving crappy political times? They literally wrote the book. #SpiritualSky
hollypettit.substack.com/p/how-to-mak...
Andrew Tate's back in the news, and so is my piece on the roots of douchebaggery.
It's got a kickass goddess and everything. Enjoy!
#PaganSky #FeministSky #ProgressiveChristian
medium.com/backyard-the...
It's got a kickass goddess and everything. Enjoy!
#PaganSky #FeministSky #ProgressiveChristian
medium.com/backyard-the...
The Men Who Silenced Asherah Still Silence Women Today
How erasing the divine feminine in ancient Israel laid the groundwork for today’s misogyny.
medium.com
December 12, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Andrew Tate's back in the news, and so is my piece on the roots of douchebaggery.
It's got a kickass goddess and everything. Enjoy!
#PaganSky #FeministSky #ProgressiveChristian
medium.com/backyard-the...
It's got a kickass goddess and everything. Enjoy!
#PaganSky #FeministSky #ProgressiveChristian
medium.com/backyard-the...
I thought I’d put these out to help others in the dark part of the year…
…but turns out writing these are doing wonders for shoring up my own sanity in ways I didn’t even know I needed.
#Advent #InnerPeace #Spirituality
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
…but turns out writing these are doing wonders for shoring up my own sanity in ways I didn’t even know I needed.
#Advent #InnerPeace #Spirituality
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
How to Protect Your Inner Peace: Ancient Christian Wisdom
“Do not give your heart to what disturbs your peace,” taught Abba Poemen. This Advent reflection explores boundaries, emotional sobriety, and the practice of spiritual clarity.
open.substack.com
December 11, 2025 at 11:58 PM
I thought I’d put these out to help others in the dark part of the year…
…but turns out writing these are doing wonders for shoring up my own sanity in ways I didn’t even know I needed.
#Advent #InnerPeace #Spirituality
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
…but turns out writing these are doing wonders for shoring up my own sanity in ways I didn’t even know I needed.
#Advent #InnerPeace #Spirituality
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
There are a dozen world religious festivals in December. Find one that allows guests, be respectful, & strike up conversations with congregation members when possible. You'll get a #spirituality boost in a new flavor, meet people, and have fun! #Interfaith hollypettit.substack.com/p/there-are-...
There Are No False Religions: A Christian Case for Interfaith Openness
A Christian on why the idea of ‘false religions’ contradicts Jesus’ teaching—and how honoring other faiths is faithfulness, not betrayal.
hollypettit.substack.com
December 11, 2025 at 5:56 PM
There are a dozen world religious festivals in December. Find one that allows guests, be respectful, & strike up conversations with congregation members when possible. You'll get a #spirituality boost in a new flavor, meet people, and have fun! #Interfaith hollypettit.substack.com/p/there-are-...
Okay, I’m tired of hearing folks blame “false religion” on whatever societal ill they’re complaining about at the moment.
Life, the human heart, our #spirituality & the world itself are all more complex and beautiful than that.
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
Life, the human heart, our #spirituality & the world itself are all more complex and beautiful than that.
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
There Are No False Religions: A Christian Case for Interfaith Openness
A Christian on why the idea of ‘false religions’ contradicts Jesus’ teaching—and how honoring other faiths is faithfulness, not betrayal.
open.substack.com
December 10, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Okay, I’m tired of hearing folks blame “false religion” on whatever societal ill they’re complaining about at the moment.
Life, the human heart, our #spirituality & the world itself are all more complex and beautiful than that.
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
Life, the human heart, our #spirituality & the world itself are all more complex and beautiful than that.
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
Early Christian mystics taught that peace rests not on the strong but on the humble. This Advent reflection explores how yearning—not certainty—is where divine gentleness finds us.
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Non-canonical texts reveal their richness again.
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substack.com/profile/1194...
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Non-canonical texts reveal their richness again.
.
substack.com/profile/1194...
Holly Pettit (@hollypettit)
Early Christian mystics taught that peace rests not on the strong but on the humble. This Advent reflection explores how yearning—not certainty—is where divine gentleness finds us.
Non-canonical text...
substack.com
December 10, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Early Christian mystics taught that peace rests not on the strong but on the humble. This Advent reflection explores how yearning—not certainty—is where divine gentleness finds us.
.
Non-canonical texts reveal their richness again.
.
substack.com/profile/1194...
.
Non-canonical texts reveal their richness again.
.
substack.com/profile/1194...
I’m worried an out what I was hearing coming out of the Supreme Court today.
Focusing on Day 9 of #Advent.
First day of the week of #Peace.
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
Focusing on Day 9 of #Advent.
First day of the week of #Peace.
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
How the Gospel of Mary Teaches Real Peace
What the Gospel of Mary reveals about finding peace when your life feels unsteady.
open.substack.com
December 9, 2025 at 1:24 AM
I’m worried an out what I was hearing coming out of the Supreme Court today.
Focusing on Day 9 of #Advent.
First day of the week of #Peace.
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
Focusing on Day 9 of #Advent.
First day of the week of #Peace.
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
Okay, I NEVER read Revelation & consider it a waste of pulp wood at best. My random opening of the Bible today took me here:
“Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong;
let the vile person continue to be vile...(con't)...
“Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong;
let the vile person continue to be vile...(con't)...
December 8, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Okay, I NEVER read Revelation & consider it a waste of pulp wood at best. My random opening of the Bible today took me here:
“Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong;
let the vile person continue to be vile...(con't)...
“Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong;
let the vile person continue to be vile...(con't)...
Happy Friday and Day 6 of Advent. Anyone out there feeling a bit worn & gritty right now? I am, so ditched the cheery post I had prepared for this one, which is more on brand for this moment in history.
Love, peace, and hope to all of you out there. We need it.
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
Love, peace, and hope to all of you out there. We need it.
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
Origen: God Remakes Us From Our Broken Pieces
Daily Centering for December 5 — Sixth Day of Advent (Week of Hope)
open.substack.com
December 5, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Happy Friday and Day 6 of Advent. Anyone out there feeling a bit worn & gritty right now? I am, so ditched the cheery post I had prepared for this one, which is more on brand for this moment in history.
Love, peace, and hope to all of you out there. We need it.
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
Love, peace, and hope to all of you out there. We need it.
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
America has always practiced a quiet form of democratic socialism — long before the word became a political weapon.
We had barn raisings, free breakfast programs, Shaker equality, labor movements, Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s Campaign, and mutual aid societies.
medium.com/minds-withou...
We had barn raisings, free breakfast programs, Shaker equality, labor movements, Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s Campaign, and mutual aid societies.
medium.com/minds-withou...
Barn Raisings, Breakfast Programs, and the Spirit of American Democratic Socialism
From frontier towns to the Poor People’s Campaign, a quiet tradition of collective care runs through American life.
medium.com
December 5, 2025 at 5:22 PM
America has always practiced a quiet form of democratic socialism — long before the word became a political weapon.
We had barn raisings, free breakfast programs, Shaker equality, labor movements, Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s Campaign, and mutual aid societies.
medium.com/minds-withou...
We had barn raisings, free breakfast programs, Shaker equality, labor movements, Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s Campaign, and mutual aid societies.
medium.com/minds-withou...
The supermoon is too bright for this to truly be a dark night—with the snow on the ground reflecting all that light, you could probably read a book in my front yard right now. If you do, make it Dark Night of the Soul by John of the Cross for the 5th day of Advent.
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
The Work God Does in the Dark
Daily Centering for December 4 — Fifth Day of Advent -- John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul, II.16
open.substack.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:51 AM
The supermoon is too bright for this to truly be a dark night—with the snow on the ground reflecting all that light, you could probably read a book in my front yard right now. If you do, make it Dark Night of the Soul by John of the Cross for the 5th day of Advent.
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
Reposted by Holly Pettit
Those philosophical feuds of the Roman Empire were pretty serious in 248 CE.
#philosophysky
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
#philosophysky
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
Why Celsus Couldn’t Stand the Early Christians — and Why Origen Couldn’t Let It Go
A witty, historically grounded, longform romp through the ancient world’s most entertaining intellectual cage match.
open.substack.com
December 4, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Those philosophical feuds of the Roman Empire were pretty serious in 248 CE.
#philosophysky
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
#philosophysky
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
Those philosophical feuds of the Roman Empire were pretty serious in 248 CE.
#philosophysky
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
#philosophysky
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
Why Celsus Couldn’t Stand the Early Christians — and Why Origen Couldn’t Let It Go
A witty, historically grounded, longform romp through the ancient world’s most entertaining intellectual cage match.
open.substack.com
December 4, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Those philosophical feuds of the Roman Empire were pretty serious in 248 CE.
#philosophysky
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
#philosophysky
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
Jean Vanier's gone, but his words remain to show us how to face despair and live life head-on.
His life is a blueprint for finding and maintaining #hope.
#Advent
hollypettit.substack.com/p/the-respon...
His life is a blueprint for finding and maintaining #hope.
#Advent
hollypettit.substack.com/p/the-respon...
Jean Vanier & the Response to Despair
Daily Centering for December 3 -- Fourth Day of Advent
hollypettit.substack.com
December 3, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Jean Vanier's gone, but his words remain to show us how to face despair and live life head-on.
His life is a blueprint for finding and maintaining #hope.
#Advent
hollypettit.substack.com/p/the-respon...
His life is a blueprint for finding and maintaining #hope.
#Advent
hollypettit.substack.com/p/the-respon...
The young me didn’t want some old-school, buttoned-down #theologian casting dirt on my wild, beautiful, hard-won path to God.
Decades later, I’m still wrestling with his ghost.
medium.com/backyard-the...
Decades later, I’m still wrestling with his ghost.
medium.com/backyard-the...
The Sermon That Ended My Preaching Career
For years, I carried a grudge against my stuffy, conservative professor. Now I wonder what I missed.
medium.com
December 3, 2025 at 12:07 AM
The young me didn’t want some old-school, buttoned-down #theologian casting dirt on my wild, beautiful, hard-won path to God.
Decades later, I’m still wrestling with his ghost.
medium.com/backyard-the...
Decades later, I’m still wrestling with his ghost.
medium.com/backyard-the...
The Secret Candle
Daily Centering for December 2 — Third Day of Advent in the week of Hope.
open.substack.com
December 2, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Real #leadership points beyond itself, to something larger—to principle, to history, to helping the smallest rise up and join their fellows at the harvest table.
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
The Quiet Shape of Real Power
Cincinnatus, Washington, Woolman, and Pope Leo XIV all point to the same truth: real leadership begins with humility.
open.substack.com
November 30, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Real #leadership points beyond itself, to something larger—to principle, to history, to helping the smallest rise up and join their fellows at the harvest table.
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
1970’s version of The Game of Life — the one that allows gambling. I just lost a bet after giving everyone a long lecture on the mathematics involved in betting.
November 28, 2025 at 2:24 AM
1970’s version of The Game of Life — the one that allows gambling. I just lost a bet after giving everyone a long lecture on the mathematics involved in betting.
I wrote a short piece about why true power is soft — not weak, but the kind of strength that listens, makes room, and doesn’t need to dominate.
Its true name is stewardship.
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
Its true name is stewardship.
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
The Quiet Shape of Real Power
Cincinnatus, Washington, Woolman, and Pope Leo XIV all point to the same truth: real leadership begins with humility.
open.substack.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:46 PM
I wrote a short piece about why true power is soft — not weak, but the kind of strength that listens, makes room, and doesn’t need to dominate.
Its true name is stewardship.
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
Its true name is stewardship.
open.substack.com/pub/hollypet...
I preached one sermon in divinity school — one — and my professor shut me down, hard.
I carried that resentment for decades, but now I think I finally understand what was happening in that room.
medium.com/backyard-the...
I carried that resentment for decades, but now I think I finally understand what was happening in that room.
medium.com/backyard-the...
The Sermon That Ended My Preaching Career
For years, I carried a grudge against my stuffy, conservative professor. Now I wonder what I missed.
medium.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:28 PM
I preached one sermon in divinity school — one — and my professor shut me down, hard.
I carried that resentment for decades, but now I think I finally understand what was happening in that room.
medium.com/backyard-the...
I carried that resentment for decades, but now I think I finally understand what was happening in that room.
medium.com/backyard-the...
My cousin 1,200 miles away, who usually hosts a mammoth celebration at her house, just texted that she’s blowing off the big fat family #Thanksgiving this year.
She’s flying to #LasVegas instead, because why not? Non-traditional Thanksgivings can be the best ever!
medium.com/age-of-empat...
She’s flying to #LasVegas instead, because why not? Non-traditional Thanksgivings can be the best ever!
medium.com/age-of-empat...
Why Non-Traditional Thanksgivings Can Be the Best Thanksgivings
Norman Rockwell did not approve this message
medium.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:43 PM
My cousin 1,200 miles away, who usually hosts a mammoth celebration at her house, just texted that she’s blowing off the big fat family #Thanksgiving this year.
She’s flying to #LasVegas instead, because why not? Non-traditional Thanksgivings can be the best ever!
medium.com/age-of-empat...
She’s flying to #LasVegas instead, because why not? Non-traditional Thanksgivings can be the best ever!
medium.com/age-of-empat...
Spiritual language is now a tool for dehumanizing others.
“Demonizing” political opponents has already led to real-world violence.
The Dignity Index helps disrupt that and return us to shared humanity.
Read here: medium.com/counterarts/...
#ChristianNationalism #Democracy #ReligionAndPolitics
“Demonizing” political opponents has already led to real-world violence.
The Dignity Index helps disrupt that and return us to shared humanity.
Read here: medium.com/counterarts/...
#ChristianNationalism #Democracy #ReligionAndPolitics
When Fear Erases Humanity: Can the Dignity Index Heal Us?
Language shapes reality — and the words we use about our opponents can either protect society or incite its downfall.
medium.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Spiritual language is now a tool for dehumanizing others.
“Demonizing” political opponents has already led to real-world violence.
The Dignity Index helps disrupt that and return us to shared humanity.
Read here: medium.com/counterarts/...
#ChristianNationalism #Democracy #ReligionAndPolitics
“Demonizing” political opponents has already led to real-world violence.
The Dignity Index helps disrupt that and return us to shared humanity.
Read here: medium.com/counterarts/...
#ChristianNationalism #Democracy #ReligionAndPolitics
“Jesus never rebuked anyone for being too inclusive. He never turned people away for loving the wrong kind of person. He spent his life moving toward those who had been pushed aside, not lecturing those who had made room for them.”
#LGBTQ+ #Affirming #ProgressiveChristian
medium.com/backyard-the...
#LGBTQ+ #Affirming #ProgressiveChristian
medium.com/backyard-the...
The Worst of Christianity in a Single Viral Instagram Reel
What a Viral Confrontation Reveals About Power, Purity, and the Real Jesus
medium.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:42 PM
“Jesus never rebuked anyone for being too inclusive. He never turned people away for loving the wrong kind of person. He spent his life moving toward those who had been pushed aside, not lecturing those who had made room for them.”
#LGBTQ+ #Affirming #ProgressiveChristian
medium.com/backyard-the...
#LGBTQ+ #Affirming #ProgressiveChristian
medium.com/backyard-the...
Most Christians assume heaven is something that happens later.
But the #GospelofMary — one of the earliest Christian texts we have — says something very different.
I preached on this Sunday, and the response was overwhelming - applause & hugs!
hollypettit.substack.com/p/heaven-is-...
But the #GospelofMary — one of the earliest Christian texts we have — says something very different.
I preached on this Sunday, and the response was overwhelming - applause & hugs!
hollypettit.substack.com/p/heaven-is-...
Heaven Is Not Later: The Gospel of Mary on the Afterlife
An early Christian teaching that reframes “treasure in heaven,” the nature of the soul, and why eternal life begins now—not after death.
hollypettit.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Most Christians assume heaven is something that happens later.
But the #GospelofMary — one of the earliest Christian texts we have — says something very different.
I preached on this Sunday, and the response was overwhelming - applause & hugs!
hollypettit.substack.com/p/heaven-is-...
But the #GospelofMary — one of the earliest Christian texts we have — says something very different.
I preached on this Sunday, and the response was overwhelming - applause & hugs!
hollypettit.substack.com/p/heaven-is-...