Phil Dorroll
@phildorroll.bsky.social
Religious Studies professor in South Carolina; research on Islamic and Orthodox Christian theology in Turkish and Arabic; supports 🇺🇦
Pinned
Phil Dorroll
@phildorroll.bsky.social
· Dec 16
I made a starter pack for specialists in Eastern Christian Studies- check it out, share with others, and let me know who else to add!
go.bsky.app/8a9jSuF
go.bsky.app/8a9jSuF
Till next time AAR
November 25, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Till next time AAR
One of my broad and unsupportable, but sincere, opinions is that this is true for... basically everything
Nearly everything you like about Japanese cuisine is from the mid-19th century or later.
The exception is tempura, which came from the Portuguese in the 16th century and has the same origin as fish and chips.
The exception is tempura, which came from the Portuguese in the 16th century and has the same origin as fish and chips.
November 25, 2025 at 3:16 AM
One of my broad and unsupportable, but sincere, opinions is that this is true for... basically everything
For all my critiques of elements in my own church (Orthodoxy), the older I get the more I realize how incredible it was that I was taught mystical theology and contemplative practice as just an everyday part of Christianity
I was flipping through a book of letters by a Korean Buddhist nun (Kim Iryŏp [1896–1971]) and ran into this discussion of her apostasy from Christianity I was fascinated by how clearly yet unintentionally it shows the difference between patristic/mystical theology and evangelicalism
November 25, 2025 at 1:22 AM
For all my critiques of elements in my own church (Orthodoxy), the older I get the more I realize how incredible it was that I was taught mystical theology and contemplative practice as just an everyday part of Christianity
Reposted by Phil Dorroll
Many good points here. The Orthodox Church is not a Mark Driscoll expriment. The priests are not giving homilies about bow hunting.
I understand the "man bites dog" aspect of journalism and the need to have an angle, but this narrative misses a lot.
I understand the "man bites dog" aspect of journalism and the need to have an angle, but this narrative misses a lot.
November 25, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Many good points here. The Orthodox Church is not a Mark Driscoll expriment. The priests are not giving homilies about bow hunting.
I understand the "man bites dog" aspect of journalism and the need to have an angle, but this narrative misses a lot.
I understand the "man bites dog" aspect of journalism and the need to have an angle, but this narrative misses a lot.
“…the “Orthodoxy as Masculinity” narrative is consistently rejected by Church leaders and scholars because it is so blatantly misaligned with the Church’s theology and history.”
Great piece on the recent NYT article at @publicorthodoxy.bsky.social
Great piece on the recent NYT article at @publicorthodoxy.bsky.social
The "Orthodoxy as Masculinity" Narrative
According to the New York Times, young, conservative men are flocking to the Orthodox Church because it provides an all-too-rare space that celebrates masculinity. This “Orthodoxy as Masculinity” narr...
publicorthodoxy.org
November 24, 2025 at 11:11 PM
“…the “Orthodoxy as Masculinity” narrative is consistently rejected by Church leaders and scholars because it is so blatantly misaligned with the Church’s theology and history.”
Great piece on the recent NYT article at @publicorthodoxy.bsky.social
Great piece on the recent NYT article at @publicorthodoxy.bsky.social
Reposted by Phil Dorroll
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
The Economic Impact of Brexit
Other
siepr.stanford.edu
November 24, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
Reposted by Phil Dorroll
One of the most catastrophic voluntary decisions a polity and its leadership have ever made
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
The Economic Impact of Brexit
Other
siepr.stanford.edu
November 24, 2025 at 4:19 PM
One of the most catastrophic voluntary decisions a polity and its leadership have ever made
Reposted by Phil Dorroll
I'm unfortunately not in attendance at this year’s @mesa1966.bsky.social conference, but I'm grateful to see my most recent book on display at the @edinburghup.bsky.social stall. 🗃️
November 24, 2025 at 1:01 PM
I'm unfortunately not in attendance at this year’s @mesa1966.bsky.social conference, but I'm grateful to see my most recent book on display at the @edinburghup.bsky.social stall. 🗃️
Qur’an 107, one of my favorite passages in any text
November 23, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Qur’an 107, one of my favorite passages in any text
Cop slide @aarweb.bsky.social session when
November 23, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Cop slide @aarweb.bsky.social session when
Thesis: the essence of text is communication with a human being (whether self or other). Words that are produced by a machine are therefore not text. They are something else and they serve a different purpose.
November 21, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Thesis: the essence of text is communication with a human being (whether self or other). Words that are produced by a machine are therefore not text. They are something else and they serve a different purpose.
Sometimes moral panic is good, actually
The Chronicle just never lets up with this stuff. I’m sorry, but I’ve looked deeply into it, and at the point, i’m convinced there is no “right way.” Seriously, stop trying to make a crack in the door so the demons can slip in.
November 21, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Sometimes moral panic is good, actually
This is why, for all its drawbacks, the Constitution is essential- even if it can be challenged or ignored in practice, it’s inviolability in principle means stuff like this simply cannot even be attempted without massive resistance
November 20, 2025 at 7:29 PM
This is why, for all its drawbacks, the Constitution is essential- even if it can be challenged or ignored in practice, it’s inviolability in principle means stuff like this simply cannot even be attempted without massive resistance
Reposted by Phil Dorroll
NEW: A risk assessment found that leading general-use chatbots — ChatGPT, Gemini, Meta AI, and Claude — are "fundamentally unsafe" for teen mental health support, failing to catch important red flags and responding inappropriately to users exhibiting signs of crisis.
futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com/artificial-i...
Report Finds That Leading Chatbots Are a Disaster for Teens Facing Mental Health Struggles
A report found that leading chatbots are "fundamentally unsafe" for teens looking for mental health support, and failed to catch red flags.
futurism.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:36 PM
NEW: A risk assessment found that leading general-use chatbots — ChatGPT, Gemini, Meta AI, and Claude — are "fundamentally unsafe" for teen mental health support, failing to catch important red flags and responding inappropriately to users exhibiting signs of crisis.
futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com/artificial-i...
One of the most important and challenging books ever written in Islamic Studies; looking forward to reading these
Our symposium on the 20th anniversary of the release of Saba Mahmood’s Politics of Piety is now available online, with thanks to @biqbal.bsky.social for bringing us together. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:56 AM
One of the most important and challenging books ever written in Islamic Studies; looking forward to reading these
Amazing; just like his book “Live Not by Lies, which posits the existence of an emerging secularist totalitarian government in the US that, interestingly, does not exist
November 19, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Amazing; just like his book “Live Not by Lies, which posits the existence of an emerging secularist totalitarian government in the US that, interestingly, does not exist
My take on the Orthodox cradle v convert discourse is (I'm cradle, Slavic, fwiw): its true that right wing extremisms among some converts are a huge problem.
But as cradles we need to ask ourselves *why* these movements gravitate to modern Orthodoxy in the first place.
These movements...
But as cradles we need to ask ourselves *why* these movements gravitate to modern Orthodoxy in the first place.
These movements...
which leads to tensions between cradles and converts. We cradles see these people (rightly, IMO) as trying to turn Orthodoxy into orientalist evangelicalism, and these right-wing convert priests (usually in OCA or a Russian jurisdiction) are helping them along.
I wish the article mentioned that at
I wish the article mentioned that at
November 19, 2025 at 5:31 PM
My take on the Orthodox cradle v convert discourse is (I'm cradle, Slavic, fwiw): its true that right wing extremisms among some converts are a huge problem.
But as cradles we need to ask ourselves *why* these movements gravitate to modern Orthodoxy in the first place.
These movements...
But as cradles we need to ask ourselves *why* these movements gravitate to modern Orthodoxy in the first place.
These movements...
Reposted by Phil Dorroll
I'm an Anglo-Catholic Episcopalian and not Orthodox but my anecdotal addition is there is interest in organized religion in general - my own priest has said he's talked to Gen Z folks who have said "I want a religion that asks something of me." There is a hunger for structure and meaning!
Essential reading on the state of Orthodox Christianity in America, featuring the unmatched expertise of @riccardiswartz.bsky.social
Gift link below:
Gift link below:
Orthodox Church Pews Are Overflowing With Converts
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:17 PM
I'm an Anglo-Catholic Episcopalian and not Orthodox but my anecdotal addition is there is interest in organized religion in general - my own priest has said he's talked to Gen Z folks who have said "I want a religion that asks something of me." There is a hunger for structure and meaning!
Reposted by Phil Dorroll
Unboxed reveal!
November 19, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Unboxed reveal!
Great thread. My main critique of these movements it that they're often just replacing one temptation with another.
Hedonism, narcissism, and nihilism are indeed desires that need to be restrained.
But patriarchy is also a vicious desire- the temptation of control and dominance.
Hedonism, narcissism, and nihilism are indeed desires that need to be restrained.
But patriarchy is also a vicious desire- the temptation of control and dominance.
that desire is fundamentally good. Whether it is channeled into positive political and social projects, into spiritual transformation and holiness, or into reactionary hatred and destruction, remains to be seen, and is in part dependent on what old people like me do and say.
November 19, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Great thread. My main critique of these movements it that they're often just replacing one temptation with another.
Hedonism, narcissism, and nihilism are indeed desires that need to be restrained.
But patriarchy is also a vicious desire- the temptation of control and dominance.
Hedonism, narcissism, and nihilism are indeed desires that need to be restrained.
But patriarchy is also a vicious desire- the temptation of control and dominance.
Reposted by Phil Dorroll
The whole "Orthodoxy has something to do with masculinity" thing has always struck me as weird, given that there's nothing gender-specific about the stuff that's supposed to be "masculine" (other than having a beard I guess). What maybe is happening is young men in particular are finding purpose-
Essential reading on the state of Orthodox Christianity in America, featuring the unmatched expertise of @riccardiswartz.bsky.social
Gift link below:
Gift link below:
Orthodox Church Pews Are Overflowing With Converts
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:29 PM
The whole "Orthodoxy has something to do with masculinity" thing has always struck me as weird, given that there's nothing gender-specific about the stuff that's supposed to be "masculine" (other than having a beard I guess). What maybe is happening is young men in particular are finding purpose-