"We cannot ignore our neighbors being hauled off by masked, unidentified agents, without warrant, due process or knowing where they are being sent or for how long." #PrayForAmerica www.ncronline.org/opinion/edit...

my book_smoke & mirrors_ is out on oxford scholarship online. i have many feelings, mostly good! this was a difficult write for many reasons. so i hope you find something useful in it if you read it.

If anyone wants to run on a pro-siesta platform, you have my vote

Jim’s point is important If my faith’s focus is just reducing anxiety over death, is it Christ whom I love or simply myself? Salvation after death is important, but needs to paired with the challenge of salvation in this life, transforming the world & people’s lives for the better

Pacifism’s a very difficult concept in the Gospels But Hegseth calling it wholly naïve, ignoble, and unwise reveals a Christian faith used to justify, rather than challenge, our basest instincts

Interlibrary Loan, I love you and would follow you to the gates of Hell. *same for libraries & the amazing folks who run them*

Nations led by people who promote cruelty as virtue & profit from misery should not call themselves Christian www.nytimes.com/audio/app/20...

Important observations/questions raised by Hamid In politics, Christianity should be an outside critic & agitator, not an agent (ultimately making it a tool) of the establishment

New pod! Mike talks to Jennifer Barry about Gender Violence in Late Antiquity podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n... open.spotify.com/episode/0YH2...

"We are witnessing a comprehensive governmental assault designed to produce fear and terror among millions of men and women." #CardinalMcElroy #PrayForAmerica www.cathstan.org/voices/text-...

Email inbox: empty *roar*

Solidarity & prayers to my brothers and sisters who are Mormon 💔

Good morning, BlueSky A bit of beauty for your timeline

Bearing false witness stigmas are, woefully, a thing of the past

Excited for this indigenous translation 👇 www.thriftbooks.com/w/first-nati...

As a scholar of anti-imperialism & the Bible, I look forward to when my work feels more theoretical

This is corvee labor. It was invented in ancient Mesopotamia. Not exactly new or ethical.

Bit of beauty for your timeline

Visiting Middle East/Islamic History post (just down I-80 from me!)

iykyk… don’ ‘cha know (answer two posts, below)

Archaeology post

Excited to teach these undergrad courses I'm designing

Myths of the idle poor/oppressed have been used to justify inequality for millennia (see Exodus 5:8, 17) Turns out their costs are more than their toll on compassion & basic human decency 👇

You cannot follow fascism and walk Christ’s path.

Postdoc at Humboldt

New faculty photo. Might be time change my profile pic *don't want to falsely advertise a longer beard!*

Fun fact, a “cupa” is a barrel in Latin. People who made a cupa later became coopers. I like to tell this to everyone Cooper I meet whether they want to hear my etymology or not.

Writing my SBL paper in a coffee shop while trying desperately NOT to overhear the most awkward, going-nowhere, 1st date 😬

Nationalism = idolatry Making it Christian is blasphemy.

You don't need to bother with Christianity to chase ego & wealth But if you want to put your chips on the God of the slaves and follow the footsteps of his son—who lived and died as a "loser" in the eyes of empire—it just might just be your bag

Today’s 1st reading is tragically fitting 😔 When a nation’s economy is driven by the pursuit of individual wealth, the vulnerable become its prey

“Luminous beings are we…” (Yoda was right) podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...

“Luminous beings are we…” (Yoda was right) podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...

Talking with undergrads about music & bands is probably my favorite office-hour activity 🤘

We were just talking about this issue in my Intro to Theology course, today. No excuse for the sums some folks make

this is tomorrow and i am so excited for my first VECSS!!

The passing of an internet icon An unconventional star, but a bright one none-the-less And from just downstream (to the North, as the Red River flows) from my hometown of Fargo/Moorhead... don't 'cha know! www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/d...

Bit of beauty for your timeline

Today I write #SBL2025

Looking forward to diving in. Anyone read this yet?

A bit of beauty for your timeline 🏳️‍🌈 (parents supporting their gay kids, NYC, circa 1974)

Last night I had a nightmare in which I was duped into helping ICE arrest a parishioner. The shame was crippling

Probably no one in mainstream media is going to fully investigate/explain what groypers (and their divisions) are because it’s not in their interest to. I know about it from being a target due to their intersections with historical denialists on socials. rachelandthecity.substack.com/p/when-catch...

How are we defining “transgender ideology,” ATF? The belief trans folk deserve to live without fear? Pushing back on the idea they don’t exist? Treating trans folk as the fellow children of God that they are?

If Thiel’s a theologian, I’m a venture capitalist 🙄 Peter Thiel Tries On the Antichrist for Size - Bloomberg Businessweek

Right now I’m here for ancient theater & fashion

I’m also disgusted by Kirk’s murder, a fellow child of God, & political violence But muddying national conversations by masking evasion tactics as genuine political engagement & spreading misinfo about election results & marginalized peoples is not “The Right Way” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/o...

Oh my goodness this semester is starting off busy! But SO glad students are using my office hours I'm getting end-of-semester traffic 🏆

Visited this vigil on a number of occasions Attacking it speaks volumes to the mentality & aims of this president Historic peace vigil partially dismantled after Trump orders: ‘Take it down’ - The Washington Post