Mark D Russ
@markdruss.bsky.social
Theologian. Queer Quaker ✝️ /|\. PhD student at University of Nottingham constructing a critical White theology of Quaker worship. Author of "Quaker Shaped Christianity" (2022). (He/him) 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ jollyquaker.com
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Mark D Russ
@markdruss.bsky.social
· Nov 26
Spirit of Freedom, The from Christian Alternative Books
The Spirit of Freedom offers accessible, useful, and life-affirming theology rooted in Quaker spirituality and Biblical wisdom. Collecting ...
www.collectiveinkbooks.com
Happy publication day to me! 🥳 My book is finally out there. Do give it a read. I think it's rather good! www.collectiveinkbooks.com/christian-al... #quaker #theology
Reposted by Mark D Russ
If you're a Christian looking for resources for resistance against tyranny, there are 2 fairly radical texts you may want to consider.
1) The Magdeburg Confession: specifically the articulation of the doctrine of lesser magistrates
2) John of Salisbury, "Policraticus" - a defense of tyrranicide.
1) The Magdeburg Confession: specifically the articulation of the doctrine of lesser magistrates
2) John of Salisbury, "Policraticus" - a defense of tyrranicide.
January 12, 2026 at 5:36 PM
If you're a Christian looking for resources for resistance against tyranny, there are 2 fairly radical texts you may want to consider.
1) The Magdeburg Confession: specifically the articulation of the doctrine of lesser magistrates
2) John of Salisbury, "Policraticus" - a defense of tyrranicide.
1) The Magdeburg Confession: specifically the articulation of the doctrine of lesser magistrates
2) John of Salisbury, "Policraticus" - a defense of tyrranicide.
Reposted by Mark D Russ
1/2 A friend of mine spent time with Ukraine Friends over Zoom during the early months of Putin's invasion & many worried about forgiving Russian forces. That seems like rushing ahead a bit. I think it's okay to leave forgiveness until after they've stopped bombing your home. Summarising Quaker....
I think ultimately, loving our Herods is not about manufacturing sympathetic feelings towards them, but refusing to bow before them. They'll probably experience this as a call for their destruction, which it kind of is, the destruction of their false self. 5/
January 12, 2026 at 8:29 AM
1/2 A friend of mine spent time with Ukraine Friends over Zoom during the early months of Putin's invasion & many worried about forgiving Russian forces. That seems like rushing ahead a bit. I think it's okay to leave forgiveness until after they've stopped bombing your home. Summarising Quaker....
Reposted by Mark D Russ
2/2...theology as "that of God in everyone" sometimes has the unfortunate consequence of encouraging us to affirm the humanity of the oppressors before we have sufficiently attended to the experience of the victims. Forgiveness is a process. Its not something you can just switch on at will.
January 12, 2026 at 8:29 AM
2/2...theology as "that of God in everyone" sometimes has the unfortunate consequence of encouraging us to affirm the humanity of the oppressors before we have sufficiently attended to the experience of the victims. Forgiveness is a process. Its not something you can just switch on at will.
Reposted by Mark D Russ
For modern LGBT+ people, having a theological vocabulary shaped by St. Aelred – one that affirms intimacy between persons, regardless of gender identity, as a form of grace and devotion rather than deviance – makes him a credible patron indeed.
January 12, 2026 at 8:57 AM
For modern LGBT+ people, having a theological vocabulary shaped by St. Aelred – one that affirms intimacy between persons, regardless of gender identity, as a form of grace and devotion rather than deviance – makes him a credible patron indeed.
For myself I'd replace 'We don't condemn people' with 'Vengeance is mine says the Lord.' I might condemn the person but I wouldn't call for their execution.
January 12, 2026 at 8:55 AM
For myself I'd replace 'We don't condemn people' with 'Vengeance is mine says the Lord.' I might condemn the person but I wouldn't call for their execution.
This is where the language of being 'born again' makes sense to me. If today's Herods repented, the change would be so dramatic that we probably can't imagine what they'd be like afterwards. It would certainly involve the death of the person they currently are.
January 12, 2026 at 8:54 AM
This is where the language of being 'born again' makes sense to me. If today's Herods repented, the change would be so dramatic that we probably can't imagine what they'd be like afterwards. It would certainly involve the death of the person they currently are.
I feel like "We don't denounce people" makes too great a separation between who we are and what we do. When I participate in sin, even unconsciously, it's still the person I am who does the sinning. I think we can become so habituated to sin that to condemn sin is to condemn the sinful person.
January 12, 2026 at 8:51 AM
I feel like "We don't denounce people" makes too great a separation between who we are and what we do. When I participate in sin, even unconsciously, it's still the person I am who does the sinning. I think we can become so habituated to sin that to condemn sin is to condemn the sinful person.
Reposted by Mark D Russ
Can the BBC please circulate this memo asap, word for word:
When populists talk about preserving culture, they mean race. They are talking about preserving white skin and "whiteness" as they define it. Stop being dumb.
When populists talk about preserving culture, they mean race. They are talking about preserving white skin and "whiteness" as they define it. Stop being dumb.
January 11, 2026 at 11:48 AM
Can the BBC please circulate this memo asap, word for word:
When populists talk about preserving culture, they mean race. They are talking about preserving white skin and "whiteness" as they define it. Stop being dumb.
When populists talk about preserving culture, they mean race. They are talking about preserving white skin and "whiteness" as they define it. Stop being dumb.
Loving the Inward Christ in another, when that Christ has been imprisoned by the will to dominate, can be more like inciting a riot. 6/
January 11, 2026 at 5:22 PM
Loving the Inward Christ in another, when that Christ has been imprisoned by the will to dominate, can be more like inciting a riot. 6/
I think ultimately, loving our Herods is not about manufacturing sympathetic feelings towards them, but refusing to bow before them. They'll probably experience this as a call for their destruction, which it kind of is, the destruction of their false self. 5/
January 11, 2026 at 5:19 PM
I think ultimately, loving our Herods is not about manufacturing sympathetic feelings towards them, but refusing to bow before them. They'll probably experience this as a call for their destruction, which it kind of is, the destruction of their false self. 5/
Yes, the call to repentance is itself a message of hope. There is another way!
January 11, 2026 at 5:12 PM
Yes, the call to repentance is itself a message of hope. There is another way!
I think it's telling that some Quakers think that loving our Herods is a measure of the depths of our commitment to "that of God in everyone." I think a much better test is how much we practically love Herod's victims. 4/
January 11, 2026 at 3:51 PM
I think it's telling that some Quakers think that loving our Herods is a measure of the depths of our commitment to "that of God in everyone." I think a much better test is how much we practically love Herod's victims. 4/
I think loving the Herods of this world isn't about empathising with our common humanity, it's about limiting the harm they do and calling them to repentance without recourse to violence. 3/
January 11, 2026 at 3:49 PM
I think loving the Herods of this world isn't about empathising with our common humanity, it's about limiting the harm they do and calling them to repentance without recourse to violence. 3/
Firstly I think this is a rhetorical strategy for feeling virtuous: "I'm the sort of person who can love even the most hateful of people" 2/
January 11, 2026 at 3:46 PM
Firstly I think this is a rhetorical strategy for feeling virtuous: "I'm the sort of person who can love even the most hateful of people" 2/
Today at Meeting it was said that the revolutionary insight of Quakerism is that there is "that of God in everyone," meaning we even have to love people like Prince Andrew. I've heard Quakers say this kind of thing before, but think think they are mistake for a number of reasons... 1/
January 11, 2026 at 3:40 PM
Today at Meeting it was said that the revolutionary insight of Quakerism is that there is "that of God in everyone," meaning we even have to love people like Prince Andrew. I've heard Quakers say this kind of thing before, but think think they are mistake for a number of reasons... 1/
Reposted by Mark D Russ
If we claim to be Christian, we must constantly ask ourselves - Am I worshipping Jesus or Herod? Is my ultimate loyalty to the kingdom of God or to the empires of this world?
January 11, 2026 at 12:00 PM
If we claim to be Christian, we must constantly ask ourselves - Am I worshipping Jesus or Herod? Is my ultimate loyalty to the kingdom of God or to the empires of this world?
I would watch that on repeat
January 11, 2026 at 1:02 PM
I would watch that on repeat
I have three draft blog posts brewing in my mind, 1) why "that of God in everyone" doesn't mean loving tyrants, 2) why syncretism is better than pluralism, and 3) why gay sex is an occult practice #Quaker #theology #spirituality
January 11, 2026 at 1:00 PM
I have three draft blog posts brewing in my mind, 1) why "that of God in everyone" doesn't mean loving tyrants, 2) why syncretism is better than pluralism, and 3) why gay sex is an occult practice #Quaker #theology #spirituality
Reposted by Mark D Russ
📣 New Video! It's the LONG AWAITED start of my Lectio Divina deep dive series, focussing on William Penn's NO CROSS NO CROWN. All in the delightful environs of my local meetinghouse!
#quaker #quakerism #britishquakers #lectiodivina
youtu.be/HtcEka-lqt4
#quaker #quakerism #britishquakers #lectiodivina
youtu.be/HtcEka-lqt4
Reading No Cross, No Crown In The Light | A Quaker Lectio Divina Series
YouTube video by Quake It Up
youtu.be
January 10, 2026 at 6:01 PM
📣 New Video! It's the LONG AWAITED start of my Lectio Divina deep dive series, focussing on William Penn's NO CROSS NO CROWN. All in the delightful environs of my local meetinghouse!
#quaker #quakerism #britishquakers #lectiodivina
youtu.be/HtcEka-lqt4
#quaker #quakerism #britishquakers #lectiodivina
youtu.be/HtcEka-lqt4
When I read she addresses God as "Lady Love" my eyes lit up 🤩
January 9, 2026 at 9:12 PM
When I read she addresses God as "Lady Love" my eyes lit up 🤩
Reposted by Mark D Russ
We were saddened earlier this week to hear of the death of Carter Nash, a member of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting who had been living with cancer for many years. In 2018, Carter talked with QuakerSpeak about "walking a path of love."
Being God's Hands - QuakerSpeak
If God is love and we are God’s hands, what does that mean for how we should show up in the world?
quakerspeak.com
January 9, 2026 at 9:00 PM
We were saddened earlier this week to hear of the death of Carter Nash, a member of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting who had been living with cancer for many years. In 2018, Carter talked with QuakerSpeak about "walking a path of love."
I spent today with Grace Jantzen's excellent book "Power, Gender and Christian Mysticism," and now I'm really excited to read the writings of Hadewijch of Antwerp, the 13th-C beguine. #Christian #spirituality #mysticism
January 9, 2026 at 8:46 PM
I spent today with Grace Jantzen's excellent book "Power, Gender and Christian Mysticism," and now I'm really excited to read the writings of Hadewijch of Antwerp, the 13th-C beguine. #Christian #spirituality #mysticism
Reposted by Mark D Russ
There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil, a lying witness who testifies falsely, and one who sows discord in a family.
Prov 6.
Prov 6.
January 8, 2026 at 4:35 PM
There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil, a lying witness who testifies falsely, and one who sows discord in a family.
Prov 6.
Prov 6.
Here's a little taster of a great course I've got coming up with @cosmichope.bsky.social @woodbrooke.bsky.social. Do join us on a journey with the Christian mystics! In this taster I ponder how the Song of Songs gave mystical men the opportunity to get homoerotic. jollyquaker.com/2026/01/08/j...
Journeys in Christian mysticism: a taster
This February, fellow Quaker theologian Ben Wood and I are leading a five-week online course, journeying through Christian mysticism. We’ll be reflecting on the ‘negative theology’…
jollyquaker.com
January 8, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Here's a little taster of a great course I've got coming up with @cosmichope.bsky.social @woodbrooke.bsky.social. Do join us on a journey with the Christian mystics! In this taster I ponder how the Song of Songs gave mystical men the opportunity to get homoerotic. jollyquaker.com/2026/01/08/j...