Geoff
@aljawf.bsky.social
Post mostly about how christian nationalism is branded white nationalism.
Evangel literally means 'good news' so I asked my circle what's so good about maga – their answers exploited biblical loopholes, not the gospel.
America's original sin is denial.
Evangel literally means 'good news' so I asked my circle what's so good about maga – their answers exploited biblical loopholes, not the gospel.
America's original sin is denial.
Pinned
Geoff
@aljawf.bsky.social
· Oct 27
Cruelty as Citizenship | Manifold@UMinnPress
More than a decade before the election of Donald Trump, vitriolic and dehumanizing rhetoric against migrants was already part of the national conversation. Situating the contemporary debate on immigra...
manifold.umn.edu
Do you want to know who they are, what motivates them, how we got here.
I took 10 secs and jotted down three reading lists...
Tl&Dr, Secular, and White evangelicals.
First TL&DR: the whole book is here for free, it's short & hard
—Cruelty as Citizenship—
manifold.umn.edu/projects/cru...
I took 10 secs and jotted down three reading lists...
Tl&Dr, Secular, and White evangelicals.
First TL&DR: the whole book is here for free, it's short & hard
—Cruelty as Citizenship—
manifold.umn.edu/projects/cru...
If what is 'good' is open to anyone's interpretation, what is a good person is meaningless. There has to be hard line somewhere.
Where is **my** hard line? If everybody saw to it that the widow, orphan, immigrant, poor were protected.
So don't support/ persecute the weak for personal advantage. +
Where is **my** hard line? If everybody saw to it that the widow, orphan, immigrant, poor were protected.
So don't support/ persecute the weak for personal advantage. +
Back in Admin45 I was occasionally pondering the question how many times can someone betray who and what we thought they and we held mutually in common and enjoy the benefits of community of good faith--Jesus said forgive always; but I don't see any remorse, only appropriating god to hurt others.
January 6, 2026 at 1:48 PM
If what is 'good' is open to anyone's interpretation, what is a good person is meaningless. There has to be hard line somewhere.
Where is **my** hard line? If everybody saw to it that the widow, orphan, immigrant, poor were protected.
So don't support/ persecute the weak for personal advantage. +
Where is **my** hard line? If everybody saw to it that the widow, orphan, immigrant, poor were protected.
So don't support/ persecute the weak for personal advantage. +
Back in Admin45 I was occasionally pondering the question how many times can someone betray who and what we thought they and we held mutually in common and enjoy the benefits of community of good faith--Jesus said forgive always; but I don't see any remorse, only appropriating god to hurt others.
January 6, 2026 at 4:40 AM
Back in Admin45 I was occasionally pondering the question how many times can someone betray who and what we thought they and we held mutually in common and enjoy the benefits of community of good faith--Jesus said forgive always; but I don't see any remorse, only appropriating god to hurt others.
"whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me." – Jesus of Nazareth
Can you name one of his commands?
Can we name one of his that they obey? If not, how can they claim to love him? It's ludicrous.
Believe & Obey are inseparable and interchangeable.
Can you name one of his commands?
Can we name one of his that they obey? If not, how can they claim to love him? It's ludicrous.
Believe & Obey are inseparable and interchangeable.
January 5, 2026 at 11:36 PM
"whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me." – Jesus of Nazareth
Can you name one of his commands?
Can we name one of his that they obey? If not, how can they claim to love him? It's ludicrous.
Believe & Obey are inseparable and interchangeable.
Can you name one of his commands?
Can we name one of his that they obey? If not, how can they claim to love him? It's ludicrous.
Believe & Obey are inseparable and interchangeable.
"Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did"
– 1 John 2:6
If we claim to be Christian, we must be like Christ, its simple.
Believe & Obey are inseparable and interchangeable.
Try telling Maga evangelicals that, "no no, we don't have to do anything, just believe in faith"
– 1 John 2:6
If we claim to be Christian, we must be like Christ, its simple.
Believe & Obey are inseparable and interchangeable.
Try telling Maga evangelicals that, "no no, we don't have to do anything, just believe in faith"
January 5, 2026 at 11:24 PM
"Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did"
– 1 John 2:6
If we claim to be Christian, we must be like Christ, its simple.
Believe & Obey are inseparable and interchangeable.
Try telling Maga evangelicals that, "no no, we don't have to do anything, just believe in faith"
– 1 John 2:6
If we claim to be Christian, we must be like Christ, its simple.
Believe & Obey are inseparable and interchangeable.
Try telling Maga evangelicals that, "no no, we don't have to do anything, just believe in faith"
Trump may be the only person who can't take credit for having done one 'good' thing in life.
Yet 85m people hang on his words, ready to punch reputable and honorable people for him; the more respectable the target, the greater the punch needs to be to ensure the message is felt.
#CadetBoneSpurs
Yet 85m people hang on his words, ready to punch reputable and honorable people for him; the more respectable the target, the greater the punch needs to be to ensure the message is felt.
#CadetBoneSpurs
Four generations of my family have served our country. Service is in my blood. The President wouldn’t know anything about that.
January 5, 2026 at 11:02 PM
Trump may be the only person who can't take credit for having done one 'good' thing in life.
Yet 85m people hang on his words, ready to punch reputable and honorable people for him; the more respectable the target, the greater the punch needs to be to ensure the message is felt.
#CadetBoneSpurs
Yet 85m people hang on his words, ready to punch reputable and honorable people for him; the more respectable the target, the greater the punch needs to be to ensure the message is felt.
#CadetBoneSpurs
Reposted by Geoff
A reminder that the US killed 80 people in Venezuela, and it would be nice if the US media cared enough to think that the life of a grandmother in Caracas whose building is destroyed by a US bomb matters as much as the life of a person in the US.
January 5, 2026 at 5:54 PM
A reminder that the US killed 80 people in Venezuela, and it would be nice if the US media cared enough to think that the life of a grandmother in Caracas whose building is destroyed by a US bomb matters as much as the life of a person in the US.
"Why do you call me 'Lord Lord', and do not do what I say?" – Jesus, carpenter, to followers.
'everyone who comes to me, hears my words, and does not put them into practice is like the foolish builder who built his house without a foundation–at the slightest trouble, it collapses.'
'everyone who comes to me, hears my words, and does not put them into practice is like the foolish builder who built his house without a foundation–at the slightest trouble, it collapses.'
January 5, 2026 at 10:31 PM
"Why do you call me 'Lord Lord', and do not do what I say?" – Jesus, carpenter, to followers.
'everyone who comes to me, hears my words, and does not put them into practice is like the foolish builder who built his house without a foundation–at the slightest trouble, it collapses.'
'everyone who comes to me, hears my words, and does not put them into practice is like the foolish builder who built his house without a foundation–at the slightest trouble, it collapses.'
When someone says this is an internal issue red flags should go up to the mast head. Power is about to be exerted. The external universally accepted standard of behavior is about to be shelved in favor of the person or persons with leverage.
Orbán: Greenland is an easy issue. Because it’s an in-house issue, it’s a NATO issue. Denmark is part of NATO, the U.S. is part of NATO. If anybody would like to have any change, we can discuss it inside NATO.
January 5, 2026 at 9:28 PM
When someone says this is an internal issue red flags should go up to the mast head. Power is about to be exerted. The external universally accepted standard of behavior is about to be shelved in favor of the person or persons with leverage.
Reposted by Geoff
Recording two episodes of The Way of Improvement Leads Home podcast tomorrow. Historian Andrew Hartman is up first!
January 5, 2026 at 9:19 PM
Recording two episodes of The Way of Improvement Leads Home podcast tomorrow. Historian Andrew Hartman is up first!
I've often likened maga to a hive, their coordinated response mechanism, adaptability to any obstruction (ahem moral scandal) is impressive and shameless.
amazing how the entire machine can pivot within 24 hours. no need to slowly upsell the argument; just issue new marching orders
January 5, 2026 at 9:20 PM
I've often likened maga to a hive, their coordinated response mechanism, adaptability to any obstruction (ahem moral scandal) is impressive and shameless.
Not sure which order to start.
Too many evangelicals think 85% of them is not their problem.
Too many Americans think 85m million of them is not their problem.
We blew right past basic human decency into killing innocent people on boats and streets.
At the bare minimum say maga is inhumane.
Too many evangelicals think 85% of them is not their problem.
Too many Americans think 85m million of them is not their problem.
We blew right past basic human decency into killing innocent people on boats and streets.
At the bare minimum say maga is inhumane.
Okay, this is where we're at... 😡
January 5, 2026 at 9:15 PM
Not sure which order to start.
Too many evangelicals think 85% of them is not their problem.
Too many Americans think 85m million of them is not their problem.
We blew right past basic human decency into killing innocent people on boats and streets.
At the bare minimum say maga is inhumane.
Too many evangelicals think 85% of them is not their problem.
Too many Americans think 85m million of them is not their problem.
We blew right past basic human decency into killing innocent people on boats and streets.
At the bare minimum say maga is inhumane.
It was after his second impeachment that I finally accepted maga evangelicals are not christian. The basis for that is to be a christian one has to be **interested**, even remotely, in being (living) like-christ.
When they say christian, substitute white and it will make total sense.
1/2
When they say christian, substitute white and it will make total sense.
1/2
January 5, 2026 at 2:46 PM
It was after his second impeachment that I finally accepted maga evangelicals are not christian. The basis for that is to be a christian one has to be **interested**, even remotely, in being (living) like-christ.
When they say christian, substitute white and it will make total sense.
1/2
When they say christian, substitute white and it will make total sense.
1/2
Still in my mind the best book which explains maga (America first) is Greg Grandin's Pulitzer prize winning book, The End of the Myth.
I read it when it came out in 2019. From Jacksonians, to frontier theism, to the border as the safety valve, to what happens when there is no more border.
I read it when it came out in 2019. From Jacksonians, to frontier theism, to the border as the safety valve, to what happens when there is no more border.
We cannot become numb to the outrage of this. The wife of the President’s Senior Advisor threatens a sovereign nation.
January 5, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Still in my mind the best book which explains maga (America first) is Greg Grandin's Pulitzer prize winning book, The End of the Myth.
I read it when it came out in 2019. From Jacksonians, to frontier theism, to the border as the safety valve, to what happens when there is no more border.
I read it when it came out in 2019. From Jacksonians, to frontier theism, to the border as the safety valve, to what happens when there is no more border.
"The question is never one of understanding or comprehending [Jesus], it is a matter of doing what one understands, and the thing that a person ought to do is the part they understand."
– Unsure
– Unsure
January 5, 2026 at 3:35 AM
"The question is never one of understanding or comprehending [Jesus], it is a matter of doing what one understands, and the thing that a person ought to do is the part they understand."
– Unsure
– Unsure
Reposted by Geoff
January 4, 2026 at 4:05 PM
"The devout Christian of the future will either be a 'mystic'—someone who has 'experienced something'—or will cease to be anything at all".
– Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner, wrote that in the 1960s
I think the latter has happened: nothing but one's interpretation matters to be true.
– Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner, wrote that in the 1960s
I think the latter has happened: nothing but one's interpretation matters to be true.
January 4, 2026 at 6:56 PM
"The devout Christian of the future will either be a 'mystic'—someone who has 'experienced something'—or will cease to be anything at all".
– Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner, wrote that in the 1960s
I think the latter has happened: nothing but one's interpretation matters to be true.
– Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner, wrote that in the 1960s
I think the latter has happened: nothing but one's interpretation matters to be true.
As a white evangelical, 'look at what liberals made us do' is a powerful psychological tool. iow, we justify our immorality by saying libs started it, we're just defending ourselves, we're better.
Every generation argues backwards and importantly draws a line to ensure libs started it.
Inhumanity?
Every generation argues backwards and importantly draws a line to ensure libs started it.
Inhumanity?
January 4, 2026 at 5:45 PM
As a white evangelical, 'look at what liberals made us do' is a powerful psychological tool. iow, we justify our immorality by saying libs started it, we're just defending ourselves, we're better.
Every generation argues backwards and importantly draws a line to ensure libs started it.
Inhumanity?
Every generation argues backwards and importantly draws a line to ensure libs started it.
Inhumanity?
America is riddled with Traditional values. It's so bad that new ideas are sus and vetted; the result is progressives (those interested in change) have to first get traditional oriented people's attention, they can choose not to listen and not to adopt.
Denial is Tradition's best weapon.
Denial is Tradition's best weapon.
Army strategists exist to fill this void but funnily enough, they have to be listened to in order to be efficacious. Most 3 and 4 star headquarters wall them off from actual decision-making and have them manage processes, while the Army chief of staff wants to get rid of them entirely
this is basically ricks' argument in THE GENERALS: that the structure of the american military (and political leadership) has generated an enormously competent professional force... that consistently generates useless results because of a void of strategic thinking at the top
January 4, 2026 at 5:34 PM
America is riddled with Traditional values. It's so bad that new ideas are sus and vetted; the result is progressives (those interested in change) have to first get traditional oriented people's attention, they can choose not to listen and not to adopt.
Denial is Tradition's best weapon.
Denial is Tradition's best weapon.
White evangelicals have sophisticated radar that detects race; and when they sense it, they stop listening and put up internal and sometimes external objections.
I don't know how to deliver a meaningful bit of what I've learned in 16 yrs in a way that will be accepted before the defenses go up.
I don't know how to deliver a meaningful bit of what I've learned in 16 yrs in a way that will be accepted before the defenses go up.
January 4, 2026 at 2:58 PM
White evangelicals have sophisticated radar that detects race; and when they sense it, they stop listening and put up internal and sometimes external objections.
I don't know how to deliver a meaningful bit of what I've learned in 16 yrs in a way that will be accepted before the defenses go up.
I don't know how to deliver a meaningful bit of what I've learned in 16 yrs in a way that will be accepted before the defenses go up.
Flashback: When I first read about christian nationalism and the definition was something like 'they want to change our laws to align with god's law' I thought that's every christian I know.
The difference
Then was are they okay w coercion
Today it's are they okay w being inhumane
The difference
Then was are they okay w coercion
Today it's are they okay w being inhumane
January 4, 2026 at 2:13 PM
Flashback: When I first read about christian nationalism and the definition was something like 'they want to change our laws to align with god's law' I thought that's every christian I know.
The difference
Then was are they okay w coercion
Today it's are they okay w being inhumane
The difference
Then was are they okay w coercion
Today it's are they okay w being inhumane
It's a test of our faith when we experience pain; we question why is God unfair to me: cruel, is he 'low-key savage'?
What about when the widow, orphan, foreigner, poor are punished, do we question God for being unfair to them? Do their lives matter?
The America First Church focuses on self.
What about when the widow, orphan, foreigner, poor are punished, do we question God for being unfair to them? Do their lives matter?
The America First Church focuses on self.
January 4, 2026 at 1:58 PM
It's a test of our faith when we experience pain; we question why is God unfair to me: cruel, is he 'low-key savage'?
What about when the widow, orphan, foreigner, poor are punished, do we question God for being unfair to them? Do their lives matter?
The America First Church focuses on self.
What about when the widow, orphan, foreigner, poor are punished, do we question God for being unfair to them? Do their lives matter?
The America First Church focuses on self.
Remember the the woman who brings suit against another woman claiming the baby is actually hers?
Thats been Trump's entire life, using his phalanx of lawyers to make life miserable for opponents.
The woman before Solomon would rather cut the baby in half than let her opponent be happy.
Thats him.
Thats been Trump's entire life, using his phalanx of lawyers to make life miserable for opponents.
The woman before Solomon would rather cut the baby in half than let her opponent be happy.
Thats him.
January 4, 2026 at 3:13 AM
Remember the the woman who brings suit against another woman claiming the baby is actually hers?
Thats been Trump's entire life, using his phalanx of lawyers to make life miserable for opponents.
The woman before Solomon would rather cut the baby in half than let her opponent be happy.
Thats him.
Thats been Trump's entire life, using his phalanx of lawyers to make life miserable for opponents.
The woman before Solomon would rather cut the baby in half than let her opponent be happy.
Thats him.
The evangelical Right has long hoped for a political savior; every four years since Ike they rally around one guy and they're never happy with the outcome; more lip service.
You'd think since they profess to love Jesus as their Lord & Savior they'd be happy--But he doesn't give them what they want.
You'd think since they profess to love Jesus as their Lord & Savior they'd be happy--But he doesn't give them what they want.
January 4, 2026 at 2:59 AM
The evangelical Right has long hoped for a political savior; every four years since Ike they rally around one guy and they're never happy with the outcome; more lip service.
You'd think since they profess to love Jesus as their Lord & Savior they'd be happy--But he doesn't give them what they want.
You'd think since they profess to love Jesus as their Lord & Savior they'd be happy--But he doesn't give them what they want.
Reposted by Geoff
It’s 1990, I’m 1 years old, and the republican president of the US is attacking a petrol state
It’s 2004, I’m 15 years old, and the republican president of the US is attacking a petrol state
It’s 2026, I’m 37 years old, and the republican president of the US is attacking a petrol state
It’s 2004, I’m 15 years old, and the republican president of the US is attacking a petrol state
It’s 2026, I’m 37 years old, and the republican president of the US is attacking a petrol state
January 3, 2026 at 10:21 PM
It’s 1990, I’m 1 years old, and the republican president of the US is attacking a petrol state
It’s 2004, I’m 15 years old, and the republican president of the US is attacking a petrol state
It’s 2026, I’m 37 years old, and the republican president of the US is attacking a petrol state
It’s 2004, I’m 15 years old, and the republican president of the US is attacking a petrol state
It’s 2026, I’m 37 years old, and the republican president of the US is attacking a petrol state
Reposted by Geoff
🗃️ The US attracted more foreign-born people from more places than any other nation in history. We need language to acknowledge that central fact of American history. But we also need language that goes beyond the idea that the United States is, or ever was, simply a “nation of immigrants.” 🧵1/10
January 2, 2026 at 4:12 PM
🗃️ The US attracted more foreign-born people from more places than any other nation in history. We need language to acknowledge that central fact of American history. But we also need language that goes beyond the idea that the United States is, or ever was, simply a “nation of immigrants.” 🧵1/10