Evangelical parenting practices shape norms re: authority, obedience & punishment. Christians are defending state sanctioned violence on display in Minnesota, so I am writing on Substack today re: how witnessing corporal punishment impacted siblings in eva families. open.substack.com/pub/mburtwri...

Alex Pretti’s coworkers take a moment of silence this morning

One of the best things I’ve read in a while:

“Renee Good was a domestic terrorist.” “Liam Conejo’s father fled the scene.” “Alex Pretti was a domestic terrorist.” These are all examples of our “Christian government” breaking the 9th commandment: "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." (Exodus 20:16)

Telling the truth about God, telling the truth about Jesus, & telling the truth about the world are intimately connected to each other… Conversely, it is inescapably the case that lying about God, lying about Jesus, & lying about the world are inextricably related to each other.” Walter Brueggemann

Psalm 5:9-10 9 For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave they flatter with their tongue. 10 Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they

“Just as exilic Jews preferred not to tell the truth about YHWH because it is a truth too subversive, so many of us in the church choose to bear false witness about Jesus, because the managed, reassuring truth of the empire is more compelling.” The Word Militant by Walter Brueggemann, pg. 175.

Tomorrow's front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 24, 2026

😭😭😭

I have heard him in the whistles of the ones on watch for ICE I have seen him in detention with the ones who pay the price He calls us all to stand against injustice, hate and vice: his truth is marching on!

“Society has broken down and is not working and they legitimate the dysfunction and give false assurance. The voices of accepted legitimacy present a fake reality, with failed face disguised as workable fantasy.” Truth-telling As Subversive Obedience - Walter Brueggemann

Tomorrow’s front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026

ALDI was very busy tonight in advance of the storm.

“We lost confidence in the text, thought it was not adequate, and were embarrassed about it.”

www.gofundme.com/f/help-bring... His mom and siblings are still in MN and they need him back. The family is here legally, but dad and 5 yr old were kidnapped by ice and flown to texas. #liamramos

Please help us bring Liam Adrian Cornejo Ramos (he’s only 5 years of age and is currently in pre-K. Yesterday, he and his father were kidnapped by ICE. This will help the family with legal services to help reunite Liam and his dad with their family. gofund.me/be8a1b2ab

I came to Minneapolis to report on what's going on, and one of the main questions I showed up with is "just what is the scale of the resistance?" After all, we're all used to the news calling Portland a "war zone" or whatever when it's just some protests in one part of town.

This is sociopathic. I am enraged, not just at the federal government and Dept of Homeland Security, but the white Christians who are justifying this STILL in the name of Jesus.

New — I wrote about ChongLy Scott Thao, the elderly Hmong American wrongly arrested and forced out of his home by ICE in his underwear during the punishing Minnesota winter, what witnesses saw, and DHS's racist claim that he fit the description of another Asian man they were looking for. My story:

@kaine.senate.gov @markwarner.bsky.social @democrats.senate.gov @senatebudget.bsky.social Dear Senators: We do not forego due process for undocumented immigrants nor do we allow the assault and murder of U S citizens. Until ICE is abolished, we expect you to defund them. 42% and growing

Man, Du Bois had some bangers, but for me, it doesn't get much better than his scathing indictment of the "Christianity" of the United States. Certainly this was all true of the nation in his lifetime. But in my lifetime, his criticisms have never felt so true of the nation right now.

Them: well Romans 13 says… Exodus:

“Lifeless… foam around his mouth. Nobody wants to see their kids like that.” ICE attacked a family trying to LEAVE the besieged neighborhood and hospitalized a 6 month old baby that couldn’t breathe.

They have quite an operation going. www.mprnews.org/episode/2026...

“Hand out justice to the ones whose strength is gone and who have no family to help them. Do what is right to save those who are poor and helpless.” Psalm 82:3 First Nations Version

A five year old child. Last month it was a 15 year old autistic boy. Yesterday it was a disabled woman en route to the doctors. It’s not about immigration. It’s not about crime. It’s about quotas. It’s about racism. It’s about picking easy targets.

For ease of navigation and sharing, I have turned my little list into a website: standwithminnesota.org

It’s worth reading. I fear that the church in America will soon have to face a similar call to repent for the ways in which it is now trading away the mission of Jesus to serve the least of these for a sense of power and security. 3/3

I believe the crisis in the US church has almost nothing to do with being liberal or conservative; it has everything to do with giving up on the faith...and settling for a common, generic US identity that is part patriotism, part consumerism, part violence, and part affluence. —Walter Bruggemann

ICE is targeting Hmong families in St. Paul as they go door to door looking for people to kidnap. they’re asking “do you have any Asian neighbors”

In Germany, a lot of houses have these Stolpersteines on their sidewalks or stoops. They’re a memorial to victims of the Holocaust who were ripped from that home. Some houses have a few. Other houses have many. ICE has started going door to door in America.

There are no liminal spaces between Empire and the Teachings of Jesus. Every instance where they mix simply becomes Empire.

Not a single word in the Beatitudes relates to human notions of what a kingdom is like. Human ideas of kingdom building focus on nation, race, tribe, military strength, and wealth. Jesus teaches that greatness in His kingdom is found in the character that reflects His likeness.

Habakkuk names five woes over nations: - Exploitative economics - Security built on injustice - Violence as strength - Dehumanization for profit - Idolatry A nation shaped by these isn’t walking with Christ, but marching to the rhythms of Babylon…

Unborn people made in God’s image, dependent on others to care and make decisions for them, have been and are being harmed by SARS-CoV2 infections. One more reason to mask: to avoid harming expectant mothers and their unborn children. Harming these little ones grieves the heart of God.

If your position is that regime change should be forced on countries where the president does not respect democratic norms and regularly kidnaps opponents using an officially sanctioned paramiliatary, have I got news for you about your position on the United States

“How we treat others is in some important sense how we treat God; God's honor and ours are inextricably intertwined. The ethical is theological.” Judaism Is About Love, Shai Held, pg. 167.

“The Bible's vision of an ideal ruler is one who defends and protects his most vulnerable subjects. In Genesis 1, humanity as a whole is assigned that role. Since we are all kings and queens, we are all summoned to safeguard the exposed and the defenseless.” Judaism Is About Love, Shai Held, pg. 159

Shout it from the mountain tops, for as long as this nation still exists. The truth matters.

“The prophets count on us to be appalled by injustice.” Judaism Is About Love, Shai Held, pg. 71.

New books from me to me. 🙂 Reading the Bible on Turtle Island - T. Christopher Hoklotubbe & H. Daniel Zacharias Judaism Is About Love - Shai Held Dim Sum and Faith - Jenn Suen Chen #readwidely #readtolearn

“God of newness, turn us from despair, anger, brutality, greed, and fear. Bring healing to our families and communities. Bring healing to our own hearts that we may hold fast to the hope that the world is about to turn. Amen.” Celebrating Abundance, Walter Brueggemann, pg. 59.

Darth Vader is going to get coal in his stocking.

how Santa makes deliveries in the ancient forest

Good morning, beloved. There is healing to be found in the decision to love. Today is a great day to overcome evil with good.

“Except God has made a fresh decision, and this new one does not come as threat but as child. He does not come as victory but as helpless child. He does not come in pride but in a way almost unnoticed by the world. But he is king.” Celebrating Abundance, Walter Brueggemann, pg. 55.

BREAKING: WATCH the full 60 Minutes CECOT segment here. This was sent to me anonymously. It appears to be the segment CBS' Bari Weiss killed. www.muellershewrote.com/p/watch-the-...

Christmas present from a coworker. She knows me well.

"the human being who is not considered human by the present social order - the exploited classes, marginalized ethnic groups and despised cultures. Our question is how to tell the non-person that God is love." Gustavo Gutierrez Quoted in “The Lost Message of Jesus” pg. 95.

“I believe that the roots of both our paralysis and our misdirected anger lie in our own pain that has never been adequately processed. Religious people have a very hard time dealing with pain.” Abraham’s Silence, J. Richard Middleton, pg. 18