Hey Tolkien fans, I just participated in The J.R.R. Tolkien Fandom Oral History Collection at Marquette University. It only took a few minutes over Zoom and chatting with Dr. Fliss was a lot of fun! I encourage you to sign up. Details here ⬇️ www.marquette.edu/library/arch...

A few thoughts on the challenges posed by our burgeoning gerontocracy and the difficulty to, in the words of the Psalmist, "count our days that we may gain a wise heart.” www.markhackett.com/writings/fro...

"Indeed, the past decade has been a reminder that democracy has no essence or shape; it is simply open society and its consequences...that democracy tilts inexorably toward liberalism was always to misunderstand its defining feature." - Zac Gershberg & @sean-d-illing.bsky.social

✨ “The Grace of the Forest” ✨ Another Book Nook completed

Happy #EarthDay! Here's a recent photo of mine. I hope you take some time to touch the grass today.

Dream girl 👱🏻‍♀️ My wife very rarely lets me take pictures of her. Yet even when she says its okay to in a boring parking lot they always turn out amazing 😍 #photography

I was recently a guest on the I Used To Think Podcast. Great conversation that covered a lot of ground concerning evangelicalism, and core cultural and theological issues. Patrick is a 💯 host! Hope you enjoy the conversation. www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxNW...

This was fun! And my apologies to Calvin 🙃 whichtheologianareyou.netlify.app

Today is Tolkien Reading Day 🧙🏻‍♂️ I've wanted to write this for a while but held back because I felt I didn't understand the role of mourning in Middle-earth. I hope you enjoy these thoughts on Nienna, who in my esteem is an Unlikely Hero worthy of our attention. www.markhackett.com/writings/mou...

Back at it 🍕

The older I get the more I just want to work at a bookstore.

This should win some sort of award for best podcast episode title 😂

It’s been a few years since I’ve shared where I am personally with faith and church life. I’m unsure about a lot of things these days, but here are five areas I have become more settled in. www.markhackett.com/writings/fai...

The Trump regime's new war with Iran has nothing to do with concern for the Iranian people. If it did, evangelical-backed Republican Party paramilitary forces would not be arresting and deporting Iranian Christians. Believe them when they show you what they really stand for.

If you enjoy sci-fi, don't sleep on For All Mankind 💯 www.youtube.com/watch?v=zojw...

I am ready for the AI bubble to burst so I don't have to hear about AI anymore.

Over the weekend a friend told me I need to do a better job promoting my newsletter. So this is me awkwardly promoting my newsletter 🙃 I write about faith, formation, and church culture in the American South. If that interests you please sign up, it's free! www.markhackett.com/newsletter

“It is noteworthy that in a Bible whose cultural setting is so thoroughly patriarchal one never encounters an explicit appeal to the masculinity of God for any purpose whatever.” Great book. Definitely leans academic but full of little gems.

"Since the number of churchgoing Christians has rapidly declined in much of the country outside the South, what is left of American Christianity is disproportionately southern – which means the norms in the South have become the norms for American Protestant Christianity as a whole."

2026 is already a long year. We are living in an apocalypse, an unveiling of truth and reality for what they are. But what do we do when powerful people, who are doing immense harm, are seemingly beyond the reach of other humans? www.markhackett.com/writings/the...

Moody Memphis 🌫️

You just know this is happening somewhere in America 🤣

"When notions of divine violence are turned into an idol (Jesus was punished or killed for MY sins), the skids are greased to wish violence upon others you disagree with." www.markhackett.com/writings/ato...

Gave the website a little refresh for the new year 🙃 markhackett.com

Swirly Nutmeg 🐈

As Trumpism and technology erode our shared understanding of the world, ordinary people in Minneapolis put their lives on their line to record the truth. Read more from @sarahjeong.bsky.social: www.theverge.com/policy/85905...

This week is another grim reminder of why the Republican Party cannot be allowed to turn a legitimate government agency into its own private paramilitary outfit.

The January 6 insurrection was 5 years ago. Many of us saw evangelical language and symbols in the mob on our screens that day. Why? Because quite a few evangelicals live in an alternate reality that collapsed into a post-truth culture years ago. www.markhackett.com/writings/exp...

Lately I've been thinking about what it means to be "whole" and why some tightly held church beliefs prevent us from speaking and acting justly in times of social crisis. Some thoughts on all of that. www.markhackett.com/writings/ato...

Another Book Nook completed 🪄

Finished Wake Up Dead Man. Best Knives Out yet. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything that captures the good, hopes, pitfalls, and perils of faith, religion, and modern church life so well. And the use of light and shadow throughout to amplify it all is brilliant.

I read 49 books this year, including some really good ones. Full list here ⬇️ www.markhackett.com/writings/my-... What was your favorite book this year?

Hello! I'm not on Bluesky much. If you're on Threads and would like to see more regular posts from me, follow me here: www.threads.com/@markhackett

Wrote about this a while back: "Women in the upper echelons of the cult are expected to take up various supportive roles, from participating in Republican raunch culture to pushing tradwife content, to having a certain look that skews plastic glam." www.markhackett.com/writings/sur...

I don't think @democrats.senate.gov understand how angry Dems and Independent voters are at them. Some of the kindest people I know are 110% furious. Any Senate Dem who votes for this will be primary-challenged. Likely by someone seeking revenge as much as they are change.

This is what the so-called "pro-life" movement voted for. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

Oooohhhhhhhhh Couldn't have picked a more relevant time to be back in theaters 😳 www.ign.com/articles/v-f...

If there's an election where you live today, please vote!

“If the medieval Faërie world seems illogical and unexplainable, how much more confused would we be if we were confronted with the heavenly realm from which both the Faërie world and our physical world proceed?” bookshop.org/a/88206/9781...

"Fair is the fourth PCA pastor arrested this year." byfaithonline.com/pca-pastor-i...

I wonder what this makes the United States then

"Pro-life" www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

"Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents. They’ve had their necks kneeled on. They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear." If you read anything today, make it this. www.propublica.org/article/immi...

"I didn't vote for this." My friend, they are doing everything they said they would do. Full stop. If you genuinely feel you were paying attention but didn't know this is what they planned, then the way you receive news and information is harming you and you should change that ASAP.

Dream girl 👱🏻‍♀️ Shot on Sony a7iv and 24-70mm with CineGold filter by @polarpro.bsky.social #photography

In June, CT published an article about ICE agents going after persecuted Christians who had fled to the US. A lot of folks were asking "How can evangelicals be okay with this?" as many do when the Trump Administration acts against a "top" evangelical priority. www.markhackett.com/writings/und...

"Back in April, the NAHB estimated that tariffs were adding about $10,900 to the cost of building a typical new home...and nearly 75% of American households can’t afford a median-priced new home." The so-called "pro-family" party seems to really hate families.

Apparently the White House posted this at some point last night and has since removed it. You should take the time to read; it is deeply alarming. All the 🚩🚩🚩. A few things that jumped off the screen at me... archive.ph/hpbUn

Bad theology is still theology. It just happens to be bad.

“In a worst-case scenario, one whistleblower noted the possibility that the agency may need to re-issue SSNs to all who possess one." The tech bros can fix the government, they said. No they can't. www.wired.com/story/armed-...