K. Chen
@tznkai.bsky.social
Heartless humanist, unmovable automaton, fount of terrifying knowledge and purveyor of Collegey Velveteen Discourse. Creative, slightly off-putting, entirely accurate. Insightful and painful enough to be the germ of something really excellent.
My extremely broad strokes interpretation is that Jews in Jesus times were dominated by three movements that sort of overlapped with social classes: priests, scribes, and mystics. And if you hang it with John the Baptist you're a mystic whatever else you are.
December 8, 2025 at 1:19 AM
I think Jesus is better understood as an essene in dialogue with the Pharisees, with whom he shares a large but not total contempt of Sadducees
December 8, 2025 at 1:19 AM
I think Jesus is better understood as an essene in dialogue with the Pharisees, with whom he shares a large but not total contempt of Sadducees
Reposted by K. Chen
Vatican politics are vastly beyond me, but it's probably not-insignificant that our bishop was the first to be installed in North America by Pope Leo, and he immediately made a splash on immigration
www.cathstan.org/us-world/how...
www.cathstan.org/us-world/how...
How San Diego bishops and clergy showed up in immigration court – and made an impact - Catholic Standard
www.cathstan.org
December 7, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Vatican politics are vastly beyond me, but it's probably not-insignificant that our bishop was the first to be installed in North America by Pope Leo, and he immediately made a splash on immigration
www.cathstan.org/us-world/how...
www.cathstan.org/us-world/how...
We're also seeing some verrrrrry interesting moves within the Catholic Church, the details of which are beyond me and too early to tell but are broadly positive.
December 7, 2025 at 11:37 PM
We're also seeing some verrrrrry interesting moves within the Catholic Church, the details of which are beyond me and too early to tell but are broadly positive.
What this might be, and it's hard to tell from this remove, is a sign of revitalization for the non-conservative churches, including the ones that aren't boldy affirming prog churches but are a more quiet sort of liberal church for normies.
This is desperately needed.
This is desperately needed.
December 7, 2025 at 11:35 PM
What this might be, and it's hard to tell from this remove, is a sign of revitalization for the non-conservative churches, including the ones that aren't boldy affirming prog churches but are a more quiet sort of liberal church for normies.
This is desperately needed.
This is desperately needed.
Maybe you're a quintuple citizen. I don't know. I don't care! Pay the appropriate taxes.
December 7, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Maybe you're a quintuple citizen. I don't know. I don't care! Pay the appropriate taxes.
And now we get to add the wrinkle where if you like the right thing in the right way (which may involve hating the people who like it the wrong way) you get friends. You get back up.
Good thing we're not social animals who don't really know the difference between real people and characters.
Good thing we're not social animals who don't really know the difference between real people and characters.
December 7, 2025 at 11:03 PM
And now we get to add the wrinkle where if you like the right thing in the right way (which may involve hating the people who like it the wrong way) you get friends. You get back up.
Good thing we're not social animals who don't really know the difference between real people and characters.
Good thing we're not social animals who don't really know the difference between real people and characters.
Often in many communities, the easiest thing to do is to pick some sort of media to hate. And you will get engagement and agreement and all of those things. Liking a thing makes you vulnerable. Hating a thing gives you power and prestige.
December 7, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Often in many communities, the easiest thing to do is to pick some sort of media to hate. And you will get engagement and agreement and all of those things. Liking a thing makes you vulnerable. Hating a thing gives you power and prestige.
Like Fandom is Bad but it didn't come from nowhere, y'know? People follow incentives including social and emotional ones.
December 7, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Like Fandom is Bad but it didn't come from nowhere, y'know? People follow incentives including social and emotional ones.
I didn't even know that second one was a thing
December 7, 2025 at 10:53 PM
I didn't even know that second one was a thing
My wife gets annoyed that I keep being distracted by online but the alternative is me telling her these jokes and her not laughing, so
December 7, 2025 at 8:52 PM
My wife gets annoyed that I keep being distracted by online but the alternative is me telling her these jokes and her not laughing, so
Plus whatever is going on with Elon's hatred of SSRIs, the "human bio diversity" stuff. There's a definite backwards looking element under girding all this futurism.
December 7, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Plus whatever is going on with Elon's hatred of SSRIs, the "human bio diversity" stuff. There's a definite backwards looking element under girding all this futurism.