"The voice of one crying in the wilderness" ... my thanks Kristin ... your work is without question, your vision true and clear ... and the network of people who share your passion ...
What is happening is not mere politics ... it is the breakdown of the spiritual fiber of this nation ... "something wicked this way comes" ... for me, Rev. 13 says it well ... how so many "believers" have been caught up into this perverted, rapture-like, movement ... it's deadly to those who embrace it, and deadly to millions more who are are caught in the undertow of evil.
I'm rereading William Shire's, "The Nightmare Years, 1930-1940" - the parallels are clear ... Shire constantly expresses surprise in his diary written at the time, and then referenced in his autobiography - that a nation as great as Germany should succumb to Hitler ... upon closer observation, of course, there are reasons ... many of which exist within the human heart all the time, and then in the history of a particular nation ...
Your work, and that of Katherine Stewart, shines a light on the demons lurking in the dark corners of the American Story ... secular elements and spiritual elements ... like some fateful conjunction of the stars, aligning with one another to create The Beast.
Keep up the good work, keep us informed, and be safe.
I requested that my local library purchase Stewart's book. They agreed to add it to the library's collection. I hope this will put "Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy" in the hands of many readers beyond myself. In a time when book bans are a real possibility, we need to get important books on library shelves sooner than later. Libraries can serve as centers of resistance. I remember when librarians fought bravely to maintain the confidentiality of their readers when the government tried to infringe upon that right.
Thank you for sharing. I ordered the book last week and it should be arriving today. As a conservative (theologically speaking) white Christian, it's been torture to watch white evangelicals turn away from the Gospel and stampede into the Trump camp. Their hypocrisy is mind-boggling. Thanks for all your excellent work on the subject.
Kristin, what a brave and articulate soldier you are, keeping all this incisive analysis in front of us and giving us impetus to not just pay attention but put up resistance. Thank you, and God bless you!
Thank you for sharing this piece on Katherine Stewart's latest, which I will certainly read!
I'm a Catholic and I'm ashamed that so many of the Catholic hierarchy has aligned itself with the MAGA movement. They embraced the allure of the anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ+ promises from the right, and now are stumbling as that same right attacks their support for immigrants and refugees, and is engaged in a full-throated, merciless campaign to erase transgender people.
I somewhat enjoy your blogs as I enjoy opposing points of view and I am optimistic that you are sincere.
I think examination of our history shows the strongest stream of totalitarianism in our country comes from the classic progressivism that began in the late 19th Century. Woodrow Wilson was an exemplar of this. See his speech of 1912 where he states true liberty is things working together for the well-being of people https://www.americanyawp.com/reader/20-the-progressive-era/woodrow-wilson-on-the-new-freedom-1912/.
Of note, Wilson with his embrace of social Darwinism, not poor Southern populists, was probably the most effective proponent of modern institutional racism.
So what does this mean today?
“Shut up and pay your taxes, and the elite will take care of your basic needs.”
Classic progressivism has distilled down to paternalistic totalitarianism and it is a soft totalitarianism that seems to allow no dissent from its orthodoxy. In fact, dissent is “misinformation” that government and the tech corporate elite collude to suppress.
Not sure how this administration will turnout, but it seems to be working at expeditiously breaking these shackles with which so-called “progressives” have bound our liberty.
And the God of the Bible is the founder and proponent of human liberty.
Wilson is a really interesting case, although I'd add that a lot has changed between Wilson's progressivism and our own. There are certainly totalitarian aspects to some forms of leftism. Those don't happen to be actively working to demolish the Constitutional guardrails that have worked to hold both sides relatively in check.
Re: Constitution…Check out the 1913 Wilson speech linked above. He seems to be saying the Constitution is not useful in the modern era unless interpreted by “Darwinian principles.” This seems to be an early expression of the sentiment of the left, that rather than a guardrail or (better) a contract amongst ourselves, our Constitution is an impediment to “progress.”
They’re coming for Social Security—and they think you won’t notice. Musk is spreading lies, Trump is stacking the deck, and Project 2025 is the blueprint for gutting your retirement. This article exposes the plan unfolding right now—and what must be done to stop it.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the article. Thank you.
I’m hoping my preorder arrives this week! The uninformed public - golly… There’s a good few patients in the hospital this week (well, every week really) who are GLUED to foxnews every minute of the day. The stuff is terrible, and how I so wish I could educate them, as they throw blind support behind the bunch that will cut their benefits. But they deserve pressure-free care and deference in their time of hardship. I’m so anxious to read Katherine’s book. Gotta think of how I can spread her work, since most of my old church folks who need to hear it have tuned me out. 😕📻
Hi Kristin! Thank you for all the energy you are putting into this. (I live in Canada)
Came across this comment, which I think is very relevant, from Faith & Leadership (Duke Divinity) by Leah Schade in "Prophetic Preaching Requires Awareness of Each Pastor's Context": "One of the things that I found is when pastors try to do this work (of prophetic preaching) in congregations where misinformation has really taken hold — I just don’t want to sugarcoat it — it is virtually impossible to break through that because people are steeped in messages that are counter to the gospel. They’re steeped in those messages seven days a week and often many hours a day.
And so when a congregant steeped in misinformation hears a counternarrative that is coming from the prophetic word of God, they think it’s better to either ignore or push back against or demonize the messenger than to take a critical look at the worldview that they’ve constructed.
I have to be really honest about my fear about the future of prophetic preaching, given what the Trump administration has said very clearly, that it is aligning itself with Christian nationalists and is putting those people in place right now as we speak. I fear for the future of prophetic preaching in the United States."
The quote resonates with my personal experience as a bivocational pastor in the Bible belt. I've been invited to leave two congregations, who were at first fascinated by my preaching, yet slowly came to see it did not align with the dispensational theology they had been fed since their childhood. When I then refused to feed them what they wanted to hear, I was invited to go elsewhere.
Hey Gene! Sorry to hear that. After 47 years of pastoral ministry, I sense is that denominations are skiddish to address that kind of conduct for fear of losing a church or two along the way. The bullies always seem to win. Hope you have been able to find a better fit along the way.
Thank you for this very important recommendation so that more of us can educate ourselves on the lava flowing just beneath the crust and is now pouring out onto democratic civil society. Grateful for your commitment to keep your readers informed.
"The voice of one crying in the wilderness" ... my thanks Kristin ... your work is without question, your vision true and clear ... and the network of people who share your passion ...
What is happening is not mere politics ... it is the breakdown of the spiritual fiber of this nation ... "something wicked this way comes" ... for me, Rev. 13 says it well ... how so many "believers" have been caught up into this perverted, rapture-like, movement ... it's deadly to those who embrace it, and deadly to millions more who are are caught in the undertow of evil.
I'm rereading William Shire's, "The Nightmare Years, 1930-1940" - the parallels are clear ... Shire constantly expresses surprise in his diary written at the time, and then referenced in his autobiography - that a nation as great as Germany should succumb to Hitler ... upon closer observation, of course, there are reasons ... many of which exist within the human heart all the time, and then in the history of a particular nation ...
Your work, and that of Katherine Stewart, shines a light on the demons lurking in the dark corners of the American Story ... secular elements and spiritual elements ... like some fateful conjunction of the stars, aligning with one another to create The Beast.
Keep up the good work, keep us informed, and be safe.
I requested that my local library purchase Stewart's book. They agreed to add it to the library's collection. I hope this will put "Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy" in the hands of many readers beyond myself. In a time when book bans are a real possibility, we need to get important books on library shelves sooner than later. Libraries can serve as centers of resistance. I remember when librarians fought bravely to maintain the confidentiality of their readers when the government tried to infringe upon that right.
Absolutely--getting your local library to stock these books is so important! Also, if you're a member of a church with a library, donate one there.
Thank you for sharing. I ordered the book last week and it should be arriving today. As a conservative (theologically speaking) white Christian, it's been torture to watch white evangelicals turn away from the Gospel and stampede into the Trump camp. Their hypocrisy is mind-boggling. Thanks for all your excellent work on the subject.
It is agonizing to watch from the inside.
Kristin, what a brave and articulate soldier you are, keeping all this incisive analysis in front of us and giving us impetus to not just pay attention but put up resistance. Thank you, and God bless you!
ahhh i need this book.
also i need live on Venus cause a single day there lasts 243 earth days and I need more time in the day to read all the books.
Thank you for sharing this piece on Katherine Stewart's latest, which I will certainly read!
I'm a Catholic and I'm ashamed that so many of the Catholic hierarchy has aligned itself with the MAGA movement. They embraced the allure of the anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ+ promises from the right, and now are stumbling as that same right attacks their support for immigrants and refugees, and is engaged in a full-throated, merciless campaign to erase transgender people.
Just received mine
Hi, Janet, Me, too. I have the afternoon off, so am getting started as we speak. All good wishes on your reading journey.
I somewhat enjoy your blogs as I enjoy opposing points of view and I am optimistic that you are sincere.
I think examination of our history shows the strongest stream of totalitarianism in our country comes from the classic progressivism that began in the late 19th Century. Woodrow Wilson was an exemplar of this. See his speech of 1912 where he states true liberty is things working together for the well-being of people https://www.americanyawp.com/reader/20-the-progressive-era/woodrow-wilson-on-the-new-freedom-1912/.
Or his 1913 speech encouraging our government be organized on Darwinian lines. https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/historic-document-library/detail/woodrow-wilson-the-new-freedom-1913.
Of note, Wilson with his embrace of social Darwinism, not poor Southern populists, was probably the most effective proponent of modern institutional racism.
So what does this mean today?
“Shut up and pay your taxes, and the elite will take care of your basic needs.”
Classic progressivism has distilled down to paternalistic totalitarianism and it is a soft totalitarianism that seems to allow no dissent from its orthodoxy. In fact, dissent is “misinformation” that government and the tech corporate elite collude to suppress.
Not sure how this administration will turnout, but it seems to be working at expeditiously breaking these shackles with which so-called “progressives” have bound our liberty.
And the God of the Bible is the founder and proponent of human liberty.
Wilson is a really interesting case, although I'd add that a lot has changed between Wilson's progressivism and our own. There are certainly totalitarian aspects to some forms of leftism. Those don't happen to be actively working to demolish the Constitutional guardrails that have worked to hold both sides relatively in check.
Re: Constitution…Check out the 1913 Wilson speech linked above. He seems to be saying the Constitution is not useful in the modern era unless interpreted by “Darwinian principles.” This seems to be an early expression of the sentiment of the left, that rather than a guardrail or (better) a contract amongst ourselves, our Constitution is an impediment to “progress.”
I’m ordering it from my local library today. BTW I had to quit watching Fox News which never has been fair and balanced.
They’re coming for Social Security—and they think you won’t notice. Musk is spreading lies, Trump is stacking the deck, and Project 2025 is the blueprint for gutting your retirement. This article exposes the plan unfolding right now—and what must be done to stop it.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the article. Thank you.
https://jasonegenberg.substack.com/p/theyre-about-to-kill-social-securityand
Thank you I’ll be purchasing the book
I’m hoping my preorder arrives this week! The uninformed public - golly… There’s a good few patients in the hospital this week (well, every week really) who are GLUED to foxnews every minute of the day. The stuff is terrible, and how I so wish I could educate them, as they throw blind support behind the bunch that will cut their benefits. But they deserve pressure-free care and deference in their time of hardship. I’m so anxious to read Katherine’s book. Gotta think of how I can spread her work, since most of my old church folks who need to hear it have tuned me out. 😕📻
Book will be here tonight.
Mine will be here between 3 and 6 today. Can’t wait to read it!
Hi Kristin! Thank you for all the energy you are putting into this. (I live in Canada)
Came across this comment, which I think is very relevant, from Faith & Leadership (Duke Divinity) by Leah Schade in "Prophetic Preaching Requires Awareness of Each Pastor's Context": "One of the things that I found is when pastors try to do this work (of prophetic preaching) in congregations where misinformation has really taken hold — I just don’t want to sugarcoat it — it is virtually impossible to break through that because people are steeped in messages that are counter to the gospel. They’re steeped in those messages seven days a week and often many hours a day.
And so when a congregant steeped in misinformation hears a counternarrative that is coming from the prophetic word of God, they think it’s better to either ignore or push back against or demonize the messenger than to take a critical look at the worldview that they’ve constructed.
I have to be really honest about my fear about the future of prophetic preaching, given what the Trump administration has said very clearly, that it is aligning itself with Christian nationalists and is putting those people in place right now as we speak. I fear for the future of prophetic preaching in the United States."
The quote resonates with my personal experience as a bivocational pastor in the Bible belt. I've been invited to leave two congregations, who were at first fascinated by my preaching, yet slowly came to see it did not align with the dispensational theology they had been fed since their childhood. When I then refused to feed them what they wanted to hear, I was invited to go elsewhere.
Hey Gene! Sorry to hear that. After 47 years of pastoral ministry, I sense is that denominations are skiddish to address that kind of conduct for fear of losing a church or two along the way. The bullies always seem to win. Hope you have been able to find a better fit along the way.
To help balance the perspectives I am taking in, are there any books that would argue how the right has built power is good?
Thank you for this very important recommendation so that more of us can educate ourselves on the lava flowing just beneath the crust and is now pouring out onto democratic civil society. Grateful for your commitment to keep your readers informed.