Stephen
@stephenwaldron.bsky.social
Theologian writing a book on the political theology of the New Apostolic Reformation. Websites: https://stephenwaldron.substack.com/
theologyandsociety.com
theologyandsociety.com
Thiel's impicit argument that "Jesus wants us to create artificial general intelligence" so wildly clashes with the Christianity of the deeply human good shepherd who gives his life for his friends. It's just not even in the same universe of meaning.
and Peter Thiel says it would be “Antichrist” *not* to do this
"the president has directed the Department of Energy to launch an AI project called the genesis mission" sounds like something out of a technothriller
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
November 25, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Thiel's impicit argument that "Jesus wants us to create artificial general intelligence" so wildly clashes with the Christianity of the deeply human good shepherd who gives his life for his friends. It's just not even in the same universe of meaning.
Quite often, "Christian nationalism" plays similar role on the left to "CRT" on the right: a vague and ominous force that can be invoked to scare people instead of making specific and clear critiques. Both actually exist, but the popular shorthand usage frightens more than clarifies.
I'd still argue that they're right to use other terms, not because there aren't people who want the US to be a "Christian nation," but because that isn't the most interesting or important view that such people have. A more adequate description could be MAGA Christians.
Both Dias & Graham explained they don't use term #ChristianNationalism. It's troubling that both religion reporters at national paper of record still won't use that term in the year of Project 2025. Seems like they're missing out on massive angle for understanding religion in US today. 2/
November 24, 2025 at 12:42 AM
Quite often, "Christian nationalism" plays similar role on the left to "CRT" on the right: a vague and ominous force that can be invoked to scare people instead of making specific and clear critiques. Both actually exist, but the popular shorthand usage frightens more than clarifies.
I'd still argue that they're right to use other terms, not because there aren't people who want the US to be a "Christian nation," but because that isn't the most interesting or important view that such people have. A more adequate description could be MAGA Christians.
Both Dias & Graham explained they don't use term #ChristianNationalism. It's troubling that both religion reporters at national paper of record still won't use that term in the year of Project 2025. Seems like they're missing out on massive angle for understanding religion in US today. 2/
November 23, 2025 at 11:14 PM
I'd still argue that they're right to use other terms, not because there aren't people who want the US to be a "Christian nation," but because that isn't the most interesting or important view that such people have. A more adequate description could be MAGA Christians.
Some follow-up on the bizarre "This Week in Worcester" piece that was being widely shared. It raises even more questions about what was going on there.
NEW from @bmietana.bsky.social, @alejacorazonhm.bsky.social and me: Viral warnings of planned ICE raids on churches have pastors worried.
And yes, we did some digging about *that* viral church raids story that has been floating around. religionnews.com/2025/11/20/v...
And yes, we did some digging about *that* viral church raids story that has been floating around. religionnews.com/2025/11/20/v...
Viral warnings of planned ICE raids on churches have pastors worried
(RNS) — Rumors and viral reports about potential ICE raids have immigrant church leaders worried about their congregations. DHS says it doesn’t have plans to raid churches — but won’t rule it out.
religionnews.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Some follow-up on the bizarre "This Week in Worcester" piece that was being widely shared. It raises even more questions about what was going on there.
Reposted by Stephen
Especially important today of all days given RFK's exploitation of us for his eugenics crusade
When politicians discuss autism, pay attention to who they say they’re helping. You’ll find it’s almost always “families” or “parents of kids with autism,” rather than #autistic people ourselves. Their primary concern is the burden we supposedly impose on others. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
November 20, 2025 at 4:04 AM
Especially important today of all days given RFK's exploitation of us for his eugenics crusade
At a time when the right constantly bears false witness against its neighbors, I think it's important for those of us opposing them to resist the same urge, even (especially) when it intuitively feels like they're just that evil. Verifiably true reports are bad enough.
I see a lot of people reposting this. Beyond the fact that this outlet is unconventional, there are a lot of weird things about how the piece is written (e.g., the bit about Franklin Graham, the thing about "liberal synagogues"). It's possible that everything here is accurate, but I don't know.
The Trump Department of Homeland Security is briefing federal agencies on plans for immigration enforcement operations inside churches over the holiday season.
November 20, 2025 at 12:35 AM
At a time when the right constantly bears false witness against its neighbors, I think it's important for those of us opposing them to resist the same urge, even (especially) when it intuitively feels like they're just that evil. Verifiably true reports are bad enough.
I see a lot of people reposting this. Beyond the fact that this outlet is unconventional, there are a lot of weird things about how the piece is written (e.g., the bit about Franklin Graham, the thing about "liberal synagogues"). It's possible that everything here is accurate, but I don't know.
The Trump Department of Homeland Security is briefing federal agencies on plans for immigration enforcement operations inside churches over the holiday season.
Exclusive: Trump DHS Plans Immigration Raids on Churches Over Holidays
The Trump Dept. of Homeland Security is briefing federal agencies on plans for immigration enforcement operations inside churches over holidays.
thisweekinworcester.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:59 PM
I see a lot of people reposting this. Beyond the fact that this outlet is unconventional, there are a lot of weird things about how the piece is written (e.g., the bit about Franklin Graham, the thing about "liberal synagogues"). It's possible that everything here is accurate, but I don't know.
Joel Webbon trying to see how many times he can say the one phrase he remembers from Nietzsche ("the will to power") to seem clever and edgy.
November 18, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Joel Webbon trying to see how many times he can say the one phrase he remembers from Nietzsche ("the will to power") to seem clever and edgy.
Probably the biggest change in my political views over the last decade is toward ideas that have a shot of actually working. Political faith without physical infrastructure or enforceable laws that make things better for living beings is effectively dead in the long run.
November 17, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Probably the biggest change in my political views over the last decade is toward ideas that have a shot of actually working. Political faith without physical infrastructure or enforceable laws that make things better for living beings is effectively dead in the long run.
Had to look up Orr, who apparently has done legitimate philosophy of religion work on figures like Aquinas, Husserl, and Edith Stein. It's almost funny that certain Radical Orthodoxy theologians wanted so badly to have political influence, then this guy of all people actually ends up with it.
Cambridge theologian Professor James Orr, known for vocal anti-LGBTQ & anti-abortion views, is appointed as a senior advisor to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. Professor Orr opposes abortion in all circumstances (including following rape) www.attitude.co.uk/news/reform-...
Reform UK appoints James Orr, anti-LGBTQ+ theologian and ally of Charlie Kirk, as senior adviser to Nigel Farage
Reform UK has appointed anti-LGBTQ+ professor and friend of JD Vance and Charlie Kirk, James Orr, as a senior adviser to Nigel Farage,
www.attitude.co.uk
November 17, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Had to look up Orr, who apparently has done legitimate philosophy of religion work on figures like Aquinas, Husserl, and Edith Stein. It's almost funny that certain Radical Orthodoxy theologians wanted so badly to have political influence, then this guy of all people actually ends up with it.
When mainline churches don't have regular small groups at this point, I tend to wonder if their leaders are interested in growth or even survival. Just my opinion, though...
November 16, 2025 at 8:49 PM
When mainline churches don't have regular small groups at this point, I tend to wonder if their leaders are interested in growth or even survival. Just my opinion, though...
Reposted by Stephen
Leftists sharing most woke opinions is kind of like conservatives telling jokes, tbh. Very predictable, usually not very well thought-out, and sometimes outright morally horrific.
"my least woke opinion is---"
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
November 14, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Leftists sharing most woke opinions is kind of like conservatives telling jokes, tbh. Very predictable, usually not very well thought-out, and sometimes outright morally horrific.
I think a lot of people are still in denial about how normalized sexual abuse has been within tight-knit families and communities for almost all of human history. It's easy to act like it's a recent development or maybe something done by ideological enemies, but it has been incredibly common.
The primary reason there's so much denial is because this is all baked into the fabric of society; this is not a rich persons hobby.
Again, planes and islands are the trappings and decorations of the ultra wealthy, not the means of access to child abuse.
Again, planes and islands are the trappings and decorations of the ultra wealthy, not the means of access to child abuse.
Yes there's a lot of denial, but I've seen it: when it snaps, it snaps hard.
"Powerful men covered up child sex abuse" isn't outlandish when you've seen that happen in church, boy scouts, school athletics, and every other social pillar of your conservative middle-class life in the past few decades.
"Powerful men covered up child sex abuse" isn't outlandish when you've seen that happen in church, boy scouts, school athletics, and every other social pillar of your conservative middle-class life in the past few decades.
November 12, 2025 at 5:04 PM
I think a lot of people are still in denial about how normalized sexual abuse has been within tight-knit families and communities for almost all of human history. It's easy to act like it's a recent development or maybe something done by ideological enemies, but it has been incredibly common.
Is anyone out there doing good research or writing about educational polarization/sociocultural effects of educational attainment gaps, particularly in the US?
November 12, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Is anyone out there doing good research or writing about educational polarization/sociocultural effects of educational attainment gaps, particularly in the US?
Sometimes I think about the Orthodox blogger who used to call him "DreRod"
November 11, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Sometimes I think about the Orthodox blogger who used to call him "DreRod"
A lot of his assessment is accurate, but he's wrong to characterize the post-liberals as a "tight-knit, fringe group." Along with their MAGA footsoldiers, they're in charge of the US right today just like movement conservatives were in the wake of the "Reagan revolution."
🔥 A former president & a former chairman of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) resigned from ISI’s board on Friday. One of them posted this warning that “conservative institutions are being systematically…undermined by post-liberals who promote a ‘no enemies to the right’ mindset.” 1/
November 11, 2025 at 5:13 PM
A lot of his assessment is accurate, but he's wrong to characterize the post-liberals as a "tight-knit, fringe group." Along with their MAGA footsoldiers, they're in charge of the US right today just like movement conservatives were in the wake of the "Reagan revolution."
It can still be turned around, but at the moment this is a society that is choosing to wither away through a combination of NIMBYism and xenophobia (two sides of one coin, imo).
THE MEDIAN AGE OF A U.S. HOME BUYER NOW SITS AT A RECORD HIGH OF 61 YEARS, PER NAR.
November 11, 2025 at 4:11 PM
It can still be turned around, but at the moment this is a society that is choosing to wither away through a combination of NIMBYism and xenophobia (two sides of one coin, imo).
Hard to say if this is really happening, but it just snowed here and temperatures are in the 20s tonight. They're trying to have fun as sadists, but they're not also masochists.
///BREAKING/// Controversial Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino and a surge of agents appear to be leaving Chicago within days as "Operation Midway Blitz" winds down after two months, sources tell the Tribune.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/10/f...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/10/f...
Federal Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino and agents said to be leaving Chicago, sources say
Cmdr. Gregory Bovino was expected to depart Chicago within days, while most Border Patrol agents under this command would soon be redeployed elsewhere, three sources told the Tribune Monday.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:12 AM
Hard to say if this is really happening, but it just snowed here and temperatures are in the 20s tonight. They're trying to have fun as sadists, but they're not also masochists.
Uh oh
November 8, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Uh oh
Not sure if anyone will get this reference anymore, but Rod is starting to look a lot like C. Everett Koop.
incredible that these guys have a massive hard on for a country that, if it were a state, would rank behind kansas in terms of wealth and which would be a total backwater if it weren’t economically integrated with more functional countries
November 8, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Not sure if anyone will get this reference anymore, but Rod is starting to look a lot like C. Everett Koop.
21st century John Calvin concluding that the human mind is a factory for making nimbyisms
November 7, 2025 at 11:49 PM
21st century John Calvin concluding that the human mind is a factory for making nimbyisms
Reposted by Stephen
A family friend was telling us about what her husband shared about his experience in Broadview before he was deported back to Mexico. She's been sharing to friends and family because she's just in disbelief & horror what her husband told her. She wasn't able to talk to him until he was in Mexico.
November 7, 2025 at 3:08 AM
A family friend was telling us about what her husband shared about his experience in Broadview before he was deported back to Mexico. She's been sharing to friends and family because she's just in disbelief & horror what her husband told her. She wasn't able to talk to him until he was in Mexico.
It's kind of remarkable how much conservative discourse on critical theory and critical race theory has no connection to actual facts or knowledge about those schools of thought.
Recommended into to critical theory: Grand Hotel Abyss (Jeffries)
On CRT: The Origins of CRT (Martinez/Smith)
Recommended into to critical theory: Grand Hotel Abyss (Jeffries)
On CRT: The Origins of CRT (Martinez/Smith)
Buzzing with anticipation for how dog shit this piece will be firstthings.com/how-critical...
How Critical Theory Paved the Way for Nick Fuentes - First Things
I was teaching an undergraduate colloquium on critical theory at the University of Notre Dame when the news broke of Tucker Carlson’s interview with Nick Fuentes. The timing was...
firstthings.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:45 PM
It's kind of remarkable how much conservative discourse on critical theory and critical race theory has no connection to actual facts or knowledge about those schools of thought.
Recommended into to critical theory: Grand Hotel Abyss (Jeffries)
On CRT: The Origins of CRT (Martinez/Smith)
Recommended into to critical theory: Grand Hotel Abyss (Jeffries)
On CRT: The Origins of CRT (Martinez/Smith)
Reposted by Stephen
Wyndham Lewis would've gone crazy with this framing up to, like, 1936 or a little later (Pound would simply have kept going with it)
(would've called it "Hitleritis" or something. fewer syllables)
(would've called it "Hitleritis" or something. fewer syllables)
November 6, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Wyndham Lewis would've gone crazy with this framing up to, like, 1936 or a little later (Pound would simply have kept going with it)
(would've called it "Hitleritis" or something. fewer syllables)
(would've called it "Hitleritis" or something. fewer syllables)