I gotta be real: as much as bot accounts became a problem on Twitter/X, I feel like they’re way *worse* here. It looks like at least a full third of my followers are not actual people

Never ever forget that the inhumane despair facing so many of us was enabled, not first by Silicon Valley or activists, but by scientism. You don’t hate scientism enough.

Really shocked Harbaugh accepted that 2nd and 30 holding penalty. You’re just begging for some kind of defensive penalty by doing that….

My latest substack is about modern malaise. How is it that in a Tinder culture we don’t touch each other? And in a pluralistic society we don’t talk to each other? What can the church say about this? www.digitalliturgies.net/p/the-worst-...

IMO this was *the* graphic of 2024

local news headline that is indisputably, eternally true

I had the privilege of reading this book in draft stage. It is superb. Even if you think you know Keller’s spiritual theology well, the organization and context Matt gives it makes it fresh and newly encouraging. Cannot recommend this more. www.amazon.com/Tim-Keller-C...

36 today.

Kids, have a seat. Now. I know you’ve all been reading the news lately. But I have something to tell you, about a pardon for all offenses that’s much more important, and comes from a much more powerful Person…

10000%

Frankincense Myrrh Gold Prophet Priest King ?

Confession: I like John Wayne, always have, and I think Du Mez’s book is a mess that got a pass unjustly.

Thanksgiving meets Christmas. “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” (Lk. 2:11) “Unto you.” Most precious words in that verse. We give thanks for what we have. The angels told us: we have Jesus. Forever grateful.

No conference or retreat ever unearths more about your marriage than moving furniture does

The doldrums of a 10+ year old marriage and kids who are growing up really do limit how self-focused adults can be. That’s a bad reason to blow up your life, and a good reason to let go of therapeutic selfishness. Good column:

Most savage JJ Abrams subtweet I’ve ever seen

I said this over on the other site not long ago and I’m convinced we’re going to continue to see it play out. Progressive Christians will end up being laggards on these issues as they become more important and they won’t just be lagging behind conservative Christians, but behind secular liberals.

☹️

An interesting hypothesis from Ben Sixsmith: Red-pilled misogyny meets a psychological need for men who are frustrated and ashamed by their porn use. Gives both rationalization—“women want this anyway”—and a sense of escape.

Following one good to the end may be catastrophic, not because it isn't a good, but because there are others which can't be sacrificed without evil. Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday. But I realized some bigger dreams of mine.

61 years ago today three men died on the same day: John F Kennedy, Alduous Huxley, and CS Lewis. Camelot is gone. The Brave New World is eating itself. But Narnia remains. A piece I wrote last year for World: wng.org/opinions/a-p...

Modern “secularization” can be seen from one angle as the rejection of higher times, and the positing of time as purely profane. I don’t know about you But I’m feeling twenty-two!

Our language has lost its constitutive power. This means that we can deal instrumentally with realities around us, but their deeper meaning is ignored and often invisible to us. I'm sorry, the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now Why? Oh, 'cause she's dead (oh)

Congrats to Judge Judy on her forthcoming nomination for attorney general

It’s just hard to expel the idea from my mind that the Antioch Statement exists for no other reason than that certain pastors have realized the checks they’ve been cashing were signed by genuinely wicked people, and the goal now is to let friends know that you know that, without losing the checks

“Public discourse itself, separated from the standard of truth, creates on its part, the more it prevails, an atmosphere of epidemic proneness and vulnerability to the reign of the tyrant.”

Lifeway and Crossway are releasing their first Bibles in a dyslexia-friendly typeface, starting with a kids Bible that comes with colored overlays for reading. www.christianitytoday.com/2024/11/dysl...

I used to think “political idolatry”was a big problem. Not anymore. www.digitalliturgies.net/p/its-not-po...

I know this is Bluesky and it is an echo chamber but I still must insist on challenging the conventional wisdom: kids don’t need to carry water bottles all over the place all the time.

Everyone needs a novel that’s more like a friend. This one is mine.

It’s interesting to see how when links aren’t throttled on a social media feed, the topics of conversation expand. X’s self-referential algorithm pretty much guarantees people are only going to be interested in high-dopamine topics (read: politics)

HarperCollins is offering its authors $2500 if they will allow their work to be fed to AI. www.publishersweekly.com/pw/newsbrief...

follow Derek plz

Ross Douthat’s latest essay is one of the best things I’ve read this year, and without a doubt the most sensible, realistic election take yet www.nytimes.com/2024/11/16/o...

Ok this is the best version I’ve seen so far

“If success is your god, and you fail, it will never forgive you. If love and romance is your god, and you fail, it will never forgive you. Jesus is the only God who is worthy of your worship and forgives you when you fail to give it.” - Tim Keller

Good points

Me when I write a book about how social media deforms us but then also sign up for Bluesky

100% agree. But even the algorithmic behavior conditioning is dependent on crowd size. Internet is better when it’s smaller

The “advantage” of this app over X is simple: there’s a lot fewer people here. Everything everyone hates about social media is about people. There is no depravity-proof tech.

An entry in my unexpected series on how the digital world is inflected by gender www.digitalliturgies.net/p/11-theses-...

Austin Ekeler is so much fun to watch

Who’s here?