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themagnificast.bsky.social
The Magnificast
@themagnificast.bsky.social
880 followers 62 following 160 posts
A podcast about Christianity and leftist politics.

https://themagnificast.transistor.fm
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themagnificast.bsky.social
Love to see it.

19thnews.org/2025/11/cath...
For the first time, Catholic sisters return land to a Tribal nation "This return represents more than the restoration of land — it is the restoration of balance, dignity, and our sacred connection to the places our ancestors once walked."
November 8, 2025 at 8:04 AM
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tinyurl.com/MagnificastP...
Enough is enough: degrowth, capitalism, and liberation theology
October 14, 2025 at 4:58 PM
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We’ve got a new zine featuring Gerard Winstanley!

themagnificast.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...
Gerrard winstanley - the true levelers standard advance
October 11, 2025 at 2:48 PM
themagnificast.bsky.social
This probably applies to podcasters
68. Addressing educators, Pope Francis recalled that education has always been one of the highest expressions of Christian charity: “Yours is a mission full of obstacles as well as joys... A mission of love, because you cannot teach without loving.”
October 9, 2025 at 7:47 PM
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The liberation of prisoners is an expression of Trinitarian love: a God who frees not only from spiritual slavery but also from concrete oppression. The act of rescuing someone from slavery and captivity is seen as an extension of Christ’s redemptive sacrifice, whose blood is the price of our redemption (cf. 1 Cor 6:20).
October 9, 2025 at 7:42 PM
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James 5, my life verse, mentioned
30. James goes on to say: “Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter” (5:3-5). These are powerful words, even if we would rather not hear them! A similar appeal can be found in the First Letter of John: “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?” (3:17).
October 9, 2025 at 5:29 PM
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Liberation theology mentioned 🎺🎺🎺
why we can also speak theologically of a preferential option on the part of God for the poor, an expression that arose in the context of the Latin American continent and in particular in the Puebla Assembly, but which has been well integrated into subsequent teachings of the Church. [12] This “preference” never indicates exclusivity or discrimination towards other groups, which would be impossible for God. It is meant to emphasize God’s actions, which are moved by compassion toward the poverty and weakness of all humanity. Wanting to inaugurate a kingdom of justice, fraternity and solidarity, God has a special place in his heart for those who are discriminated against and oppressed, and he asks us, his Church, to make a decisive and radical choice in favor of the weakest.
October 9, 2025 at 5:22 PM
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It’s not enough to get rid of poverty materially, but we have to attend to our own spiritual poverty that puts lives of accumulation above everything else
11. A concrete commitment to the poor must also be accompanied by a change in mentality that can have an impact at the cultural level. In fact, the illusion of happiness derived from a comfortable life pushes many people towards a vision of life centered on the accumulation of wealth and social success at all costs, even at the expense of others and by taking advantage of unjust social ideals and political-economic systems that favor the strongest. Thus, in a world where the poor are increasingly numerous, we paradoxically see the growth of a wealthy elite, living in a bubble of comfort and luxury, almost in another world compared to ordinary people. This means that a culture still persists — sometimes well disguised — that discards others without even realizing it and tolerates with indifference that millions of people die of hunger or survive in conditions unfit for human beings. A few years ago, the photo of a lifeless child lying on a Mediterranean beach caused an uproar; unfortunately, apart from some momentary outcry, similar events are becoming increasingly irrelevant and seen as marginal news items.
October 9, 2025 at 5:15 PM
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God hears the cry of the poor and we can hear it too.

“If we remain unresponsive to that cry, the poor might well cry out to the Lord against us, and we would incur guilt”

A tough, but good word.
8. The passage of Sacred Scripture in which God reveals himself to Moses in the burning bush can serve as a constant starting-point for this effort. There he says: “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them... So come, I will send you” ( Ex 3:7-8,10). [7] God thus shows his concern for the needs of the poor: “When the Israelites cried out to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer” ( Judg 3:15). In hearing the cry of the poor, we are asked to enter into the heart of God, who is always concerned for the needs of his children, especially those in greatest need. If we remain unresponsive to that cry, the poor might well cry out to the Lord against us, and we would incur guilt (cf. Deut 15:9) and turn away from the very heart of God.
October 9, 2025 at 5:09 PM
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You heard it folks: loving God means loving the poor. Someone tell the capitalists that they’re fucking this up.
Love for the Lord, then, is one with love for the poor. The same Jesus who tells us, “The poor you will always have with you” (Mt 26:11), also promises the disciples: “I am with you always” (Mt 28:20). We likewise think of his saying: “Just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40). This is not a matter of mere human kindness but a revelation: contact with those who are lowly and powerless is a fundamental way of encountering the Lord of history. In the poor, he continues to speak to us.
October 9, 2025 at 5:07 PM
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🎺🎺🎺🎺 Magnificat mentioned in the first paragraph
1. “I HAVE LOVED YOU” (Rev 3:9). The Lord speaks these words to a Christian community that, unlike some others, had no influence or resources, and was treated instead with violence and contempt: “You have but little power… I will make them come and bow down before your feet” (Rev 3:8-9). This text reminds us of the words of the canticle of Mary: “He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty” (Lk 1:52-53).
October 9, 2025 at 5:02 PM
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I’ve got a 5 hour train ride, so here’s me live skeeting Pope Leo’s new apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te (I have loved you)
APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION DILEXI TE OF THE HOLY FATHER LEO XIV TO ALL CHRISTIANS ON LOVE FOR THE POOR
October 9, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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Matthew Wovi Villanueva, a member of the Student Christian Movement in the Philippines, was recently arrested alongside 276 others for protesting corruption.

Read more for how to support and be in solidarity

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URGENT APPEAL FOR SUPPORT: FOR PUBLICITY STATEMENTS AND LEGAL NEEDS OF DETAINED SCM PHILIPPINES MEMBER WOVI VILLANUEVA The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18-19) WHAT: SCM Philippines member Matthew Wovi Villanueva, together with 276 more, including by-stander children as young as nine-years old, was violently arrested and illegally detained by the police during an untoward incident during the September 21 protest denouncing massive and systemic corruption within the Philippine government. During the largest protest under President Marcos Jr., 100,000 Filipinos flocked the streets and Wovi daringly served as a paralegal and a marshall. The protest unleashed the righteous anger and condemnation of Filipinos over failed flood control projects amidst the worsening poverty in the country and severe lack of accountability of officials starting from the top. The current condition has been unjust with so much delay in legal procedures. Moreover, with the history of police brutality in the Philippines, we are concerned about the possibility of abuses within the police stations. . WHY: Wovi Villanueva has been instrumental in the formation of chapters during lockdown. He exemplifies a Christian youth that manifested Christian values by becoming a “fisher of the people”. During the mobilization, he showed leadership by being a marshall of the demonstration and helped those being violently arrested by the police, which led to his eventual arrest. It is unequivocally unjust for anyone like Wovi Villanueva or whoever from the protest to be treated this way. Where is justice when the police and government authorities brazenly arrested 277 while justice has been extremely slow for involved corrupt officials like President Marcos Jr. himself? WHAT TO HELP WITH: We request statements (video and/or written) of support telling the story of Wovi Villanueva and demanding his release, along with 276 others. Together, we also wish to condemn the growing corruption and police brutality in our country. The lack of accountability of government officials, especially of President Marcos Jr. contributes to the systemic poverty and culture of corruption in the Philippines. Any support will contribute to the legal needs of Wovi Villanueva and 276 more, including support for lawyers and paralegals. HOW TO HELP: l GCASH: 0917-858-1716 l PAYPAL: paypal.me/TheKejOfGlory Contact details for clarifications and/or more information: l +63 961-438-5966 (text, whatsapp, viber, telegram) l scmphilippines60@gmail.com We hope we could provide any form or amount of support for our detained SCMer. Our support will help him return back to his prophetic ministry among his fellow students and among the fellow oppressed. Any contribution would be of great help. Thank you very much and Godspeed! #ReleaseWoviVillanueva Student Christian Movement of the Philippines - SCMP
September 24, 2025 at 2:10 PM
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Pictures of many ways to prepare potatoes. Top text: if you can do all this with a potato think of all god can do with you.
September 10, 2025 at 6:23 PM
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Collections of Winstanley's text preserve their original syntax, which can be challenging to read. In addition to updating it, we include some footnotes on the biblical and historical references in the text to help make things clearer.
9 Winstanley is referring to apocalyptic imagery in Rev. 11:1-11. In the biblical scene, the nations are permitted to trample the holy city for 42 months. God gives two witnesses power to prophesy for a period of time, after which they are killed by the beast. Three and a half days later, they rise from the dead and God exacts vengeance on their enemies. In Winstanley’s metaphor, the oppressors have been allowed to trample over the Spirit of Righteousness, but the Diggers represent the resurrection and the victory of God. 8 The theme of the “Norman yoke” was popular in the 17th century. It relies on a general sentiment that Anglo-Saxon life and laws were more equitable before William the Conqueror, also known as William the Bastard, led the Franco-Norman invasion of England in the 11th century. For Winstanley and other contemporaries, as we see here, the national identity becomes a class identity. British Marxist historian Christopher Hill also notes that Winstanley and other apocalyptic and politically radical writers of the time put the theme of the Norman Yoke together with the idea of the antichrist (Antichrist in Seventeenth-Century England (London: Oxford University Press, 1972), 118). Hill discusses the Norman Yoke in greater detail in his earlier book Puritanism and Revolution (London: Panther Books, 1969 [1958]), 58-125.
September 8, 2025 at 4:04 AM
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In the introduction, we situate the manifesto in the heady days of the English Civil War, and we point out that Winstanley's text is remarkably contemporary.
The True Levellers Standard Advanced, written by Gerrard Winstanley and endorsed by several others, served as the manifesto of the Diggers. Blurring theological, historical, and political categories, it lays out a long history of struggle between the oppressed and oppressors first typified in biblical narratives. It expresses grievances with the current revolutionary process, noting the contradictions between the ruling authority’s claim to legitimacy in delivering freedom for the people and the rise of the new landlord class, which seemed to simply strengthen the continuity of the old landlord class. And it expresses a simple plan: dig up the hill, sow corn, and eat bread. In many places, Winstanley’s text seems far ahead of its time, anticipating class analysis, leftist communes, and materialist explanations of poverty and structural inequalities. He earned a place on the Soviet repurposing of the Alexander Garden Obelisk in 1914, including his name alongside Marx, Proudhon, Bakunin, and other revolutionaries, grafting Winstanley into a tradition of revolutionary voices for the working class. His analysis of wealth accumulation points out that the rich exploit the labor of working and poor people, and he calls for a general, permanent strike, a total refusal of wage labor. He also calls for the globalization of the commons, what Peter Linebaugh and Marcus Rediker call Winstanley’s “planetary consciousness of class.” Winstanley’s 17th century analysis anticipates the standard tropes of today’s left.
September 8, 2025 at 4:01 AM
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Issue 1 presents Gerrard Winstanley's 1649 manifesto for the Diggers, a movement opposing wealthy people enclosing common land to build their own fortunes. We've modernized the English and provided an introduction with context, footnotes throughout, and compiled fun Diggers inspired art and actions.
September 8, 2025 at 3:57 AM
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Behind the monastery, down by the road, there is a cemetery of worn-out things where lie smashed china, rusty metal, cracked pipes and twisted bits of wire, empty cigarette packs, sawdust, corrugated iron, old plastic, tires beyond repair: all waiting for the Resurrection, like ourselves. -Ernesto Cardenal
August 13, 2025 at 3:33 PM
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People are always talking about deconstructing your faith, but have you considered building yourself a Christian gundam?

open.spotify.com/episode/3vbE...
Last week, we had a chat about right-wing forms of Christianity. This week, we're taking a bit of a different approach and thinking through the process of building counter Christianities to help keep ourselves mentally healthy (maybe) and oppose right-wing Christianity.
July 19, 2025 at 6:55 PM
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www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-c...
We do not report on the victims in Gaza only now that they are Christians or because Suhail was injured. All innocent victims cry out for vengeance in the sight of God, every life is sacred, and Christians of every denomination in Gaza share in all things the fate of their people, the martyred Palestinian people.
July 19, 2025 at 8:38 AM
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We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter. For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying, 'Peace, peace, when there is no peace. They acted shamefully, they committed abomination; yet they were not ashamed, they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown, says the LORD.
June 22, 2025 at 6:36 AM
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Rest in power!

Luis Jalandoni was the founder of Christians for National Liberation and former chairman of the NDFP in the Philippines.

He lived a life committed to socialism, internationalism, and peace!

www.manilatimes.net/2025/06/09/n...
Luis Jalandoni
June 10, 2025 at 6:48 PM
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500 years ago today, Thomas Müntzer, a Christian minister and leader in the radical reformation, was executed for his part in the German Peasants War.

Take a look at this pamphlet he wrote in 1524.
👇
www.andydrummond.net/muentzer/PDF...
Look, the origin of usury, theft and robbery lies with our lords and princes, who treat all creatures as their possessions: the fish in the water, the birds in the air, the plants on the earth – everything must be theirs, Isaiah 5. And then they proclaim God’s commandments to the poor and say: God has commanded that you shall not steal; but that does not help them at all. For while they compel everyone to slave and scrape, the poor peasant, the workman and all who live, Micah 3, if any of the poor commits the smallest crime then he must hang. And to this Doctor Liar says: Amen. The lords themselves make the poor man their enemy. They cannot remove the cause of rebellion, so how can it turn out well in the long run? That is what I say – and if that makes me a rebel, then so be it.
May 27, 2025 at 8:10 PM
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Evo Morales giving Pope Francis A crucifix that looks like a hammer and sickle modeled on Luis Espinal Camp's crucifix.
May 27, 2025 at 6:04 PM
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Evergreen biblical wisdom from the book of James.
TRUMP LIES THAT HIS BILL CUTS TAXES FOR EVERYONE, WHEN IT RAISES THEM ON THE POOR Trump's “big, beautiful bill” will raise taxes on those making less than $15,000 in 2027 and even more by 2029, according to the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation Destroying Your Life from Within 5 1-3 And a final word to you arrogant rich: Take some lessons in lament. You’ll need buckets for the tears when the crash comes upon you. Your money is corrupt and your fine clothes stink. Your greedy luxuries are a cancer in your gut, destroying your life from within. You thought you were piling up wealth. What you’ve piled up is judgment. 4-6 All the workers you’ve exploited and cheated cry out for judgment. The groans of the workers you used and abused are a roar in the ears of the Master Avenger. You’ve looted the earth and lived it up. But all you’ll have to show for it is a fatter than usual corpse. In fact, what you’ve done is condemn and murder perfectly good persons, who stand there and take it.
May 18, 2025 at 9:09 PM