When the church abandons its rightful role as the conscience of the state and instead seeks to curry favor with the state, there is a real-world consequence. If you take an already grandiose man and fill him with a sense of divine purpose, you can uncage a tyrant. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/19/o...
"Putting it all together, and we’ve devised a grim reality for younger Americans. If you want to watch porn or place a prop bet, the wind is at your back. If you want to go to college or start a business, the wind is in your face." www.nytimes.com/2026/04/16/o...
Thank you!
In the words of Isaiah, we have become a nation of smoldering wicks. We struggle to feel hope. We look at the world around us and ask: “Is this all there is? Is this really what it looks like to live in the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the history of the world?”
"In that one moment you saw the contrast between the MAGA legal philosophy and the legal philosophy of most of the justices. MAGA wants specific results, the justices interpret texts. And when MAGA’s argument contradicts the constitutional text, it’s almost always going to lose."
I am alarmed by the negative influence of smartphones and social media on children. All of us should be.
I am also worried that in our zeal to protect children from those negative influences that we will violate the Constitution and undermine free speech. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/29/o...
The American economy is the envy of the world.
Actual Americans, however, are not happy about their economy, and they’ve been unhappy about it for a long time.
Here's why both statements can be true at the same time:
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/o...
People I respect applaud Trump for his courage in taking on Iran. But I don’t see courage. I see recklessness.
I see a man who plunged a nation into a conflict without comprehending the risks. I see a man full of hubris. And now he's in over his head, hoping the military can deliver a miracle.
So excited about this Theological Horizons event featuring @davidfrenchjag.bsky.social and me at the 2026 Scoper Lecturers in Christian Thought. Join us!
"I disagree with James Talarico on many things. But I also agree with his desire to reject politics as a blood sport. And unless we can remember — as Dr. King did, with his life perpetually on the line — to seek both justice and mercy, then we’ll be left with neither."
I think @davidfrenchjag.bsky.social and I would disagree on many lower-level policies, but I completely agree with his point that having Christian politicians espouse actual Christian values is sorely what the US needs now as a way out of our division.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/08/o...
Talarico is one of the few openly Christian politicians in the United States who acts like a Christian, and by acting like a Christian he reveals a profound contrast with so many members of the MAGA Christian movement that’s dominated American political life for 10 years.
Eight minutes.
That’s the length of President Trump’s video announcing his war with Iran. He didn’t go to Congress. He didn’t obtain a U.N. Security Council resolution. Instead, he did perhaps the most monarchical thing he’s done in a monarchical second term: He simply ordered America into war.
This is a great piece. And it makes one wonder if we had a government that cared about making and supporting its friends how much better off Ukraine would be right now.
Shameful
@davidfrenchjag.bsky.social hosts a clear-eyed discussion of the Ukraine war that is neither overly optimistic nor overly pessimistic.
It's just that so many more people will suffer and die before we reach the time that is not on Russia's side.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/o...
I talked to Michael Kofman, a voice I truly trust, on the course of the Russian invasion. The war is grim, but there are seeds of hope: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/o...
If we keep electing men like Trump, they will keep undermining that foundation, until it finally collapses.
One day that may well happen. But on Friday, the Supreme Court said not this day. On this day the presidency is stuffed back into its box. On this day the Constitution holds.
2025, the year that empathy died.
"Many in MAGA decided that cruelty was a virtue, decency a vice, and — worst of all — that empathy was a sin. Now we live in the harsh new world they made." www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/o...
Good column by @davidfrenchjag.bsky.social on the rising tide of antisemitism and its deep roots in the Trump administration.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/o...
Beyond natural curiosity I'm not usually heavily invested in internal theological debates within Chrisitanity, but they are once again affecting the safety of my own people.
In that spirit, move past the headline and read this excellent article by @davidfrenchjag.bsky.social. ty for writing it.
Thank you!
And since Christians have persecuted Jews so viciously, we have a special responsibility to make amends, to repair the damage that the church has done. That begins by turning to the new Christian antisemites and shouting “No!” Ancient hatreds and ancient heresies have no place in the church today.
With the amateurish and corrupt effort to indict six Democratic members of Congress, we may have reached the incompetence-corruption singularity.
That, and more, in this week's roundtable. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/o...
In an alternate world, “Trump could be riding high simply by securing the border [and conducting regular deportations in the manner] the Constitution requires.
“But that is not what the admin is doing. It’s procuring a series of detention facilities that are concentration camps in all but name.”
Two judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit have issued a ruling that, if allowed to stand, could result in the indefinite detention of millions of immigrants in inhumane, overcrowded facilities scattered across the United States. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/o...
Thank you, Christian.
"I'm not exactly the target audience for a film about chair-making religious extremists."
I, on the other hand, unironically am. 🙋 Especially when they're also pacifists.
This is a beautiful essay.
"Our nation is not a place — it never will be a place — where we all agree with one another, much less look like one another, or even come from a common culture. But we can live together as neighbors so long as we recognize one another’s inherent dignity and worth." www.nytimes.com/2026/02/08/o...
Yes, a corrupt president may pardon the crooks who act on his behalf, but a modest change in the law could give them pause. Violating civil rights should carry a profound cost, and the message to the Trump administration must be clear: Protect the integrity of the election, or we will make you pay.
