Last night, I attended a screening of footage taken from Hamas social media, body cams from terrorists, surveillance footage, and first responders of October 7th attacks. The meeting changed locations multiple times for security reasons, and still, a crowd gathered outside while we watched the film, chanting “from the river to the sea” while we witnessed the slaughter of children, families in their beds, and peacenik concert-goers.

There are several aspects of the @howertonjosh thread going around that I would quibble with, but the most obvious problem is that it attempts to account for shifting political and tribal loyalties among conservative evangelicals over the past decade without mentioning the two most significant issues: Trump, and the church abuse scandals. In a vacuum, leftward shift by evangelical “elites” and institutions could certainly be seen as an attempt to “coddle” or curry favor from other elites and liberal institutions. But to make that *the* narrative is silly at best and bad faith at worst. It removes any responsibility from

You’ll read a lot of equivocations about the death of Palestinian civilians. Understand that Hamas deliberately sets up its infrastructure so that when Israel strikes, civilians are in the way. They are using their own people as human shields. That’s because they could care less. Hamas is an instrument of Iran, and their entire goal is to destabilize the region and establish Iran’s hegemony as a military and economic power. The emerging peace between Israel and its neighbors is what led to this desperation attack.

So I wanna push back a little on @SkyeJethani here because it actually illustrates my point. While this characterization may work for some within either side, it misses the “true believer,” who (on the glory side) believes that their duty binds them to a triumphant faith.

https://twitter.com/skyejethani/status/1665391222662344707

It’s not that they *want* power per se (some certainly do), but rather that they believe the triumphant kingdom will manifest through institutions of power. That’s an implication of a larger confidence in what fallen and redeemed humanity is capable of and called to.

I’m increasingly convinced the primary divide within evangelicalism is best defined as a conflict between those who embrace a theology of glory and those who embrace a theology of the cross. Within those camps, there’s a spectrum, but between them is a massive gulch. This is something Luther described — something akin to the contrast between the “Victorious Christian Life” as an overarching motif (glory) and a “tragic sense of life,” marked by a sense that grief and suffering are normal and inevitable.

This is a black-belt level clown show. The story Tucker is talking about involves a pastor disrupting an event at a public library and refusing to leave. To call this totalitarian is an insult to those who suffer under ACTUAL totalitarianism.

https://twitter.com/William_E_Wolfe/status/1631478633700130818

Moreover, calling out Keller et al for failing to "defend the faith" by not speaking up in defense of the guy creating a physical disturbance is just plain stupid, and made more so by Wolfe's claim that this is the most pressing issue of our day.

Spent a long evening at Asbury and was struck by several things.

1) it’s clear how hard the leaders are working to manage things, keep the focus on word, prayer, and repentance.

2) The crowd has an air of weightiness & earnestness. There is some “tourism,” but it’s a minority 3) The phrase “humility” keeps coming up.

4) Those on the platform embraced an ambiguity about naming what was happening — revival wasn’t really used, but blessing and awakening were.

5) There’s also an undeniable spirit of generosity and hospitality in the air.

The deranged obsession some folks have with attacking my friend @KSPrior is just wild, wild stuff. I’ve thought about it for years and I think it clicks for me now.

It starts with the fact that anger is always a secondary emotion. We react with anger because it feels safer than exposing our fear, shame, or sadness. See also: anxiety.

Why does Karen make people anxious?

Because she’s just not interested in pleasing people on partisan lines.

I'm late to the party this week, and there are plenty of great Ted Lasso takes, so I'll try to stick to stuff that I haven't seen other places.

SPOILERS AHEAD... Now that the season is over, I think the main contrast worth noting between Ted and Nate is one of abundance and scarcity. Ted lives in a world of abundance and has a gift-giving spirit. There's room for Nate on the coaching staff. There's also room for Roy. And Jaime.

So a Ted Lasso thread🧵… don’t read if you’re not caught up. Season 2 *almost* lost me in the first few episodes. It was too cheery, and I just kept holding on hoping it would turn around. But nothing was at stake. It was just 30 mins of everybody liking each other.

A Rise and Fall related🧵:

I'm a big fan of Merold Westphal's "Suspicion and Faith: Religious Uses of Modern Atheism." Westphal argues that Christians should read Marx, Freud, and Nietzche's critiques of Christianity as an act of examination and an opportunity for repentance. This isn't to say that we simply absorb all of their critiques, but that we look for the validity of their critiques because we recognize with humility that our faith isn't flawless and that repentance is a part of the Christian's way of life.