A Reconfiguration of My Goals

In November of 2022, I discovered that a book of early-20th-century-esque authoritarian- and ethno-nationalist political theory, masquerading as Christian thought, had been released by a well-known Christian publisher, and was gaining in popularity among conservative Christians. In response, I set out to expand my knowledge of the particular theories I saw as being propagated by that book. That intensive study not only confirmed my hypothesis, but led to the discovery of even more troubling parallels. In February, I began the task of writing out my research notes and observations, which eventually became my book, The Case Against Christian Nationalism.

The Case Against Christian Nationalism Free eBook

By the end of March, I had completed the task of proving that the theory I was countering is explicitly ethno-nationalist, and felt comfortable enough to create a public facing account on X (still Twitter then), to share my writing and observations. The sharing of posts from this Substack initially garnered little interest, until I wrote a thread explaining my conclusions. The political theorist I was countering even responded antagonistically, suggesting I was a secret operative allied with his intra-academy rivals. Afterwards I was individually contacted by multiple people who had been researching his writings and associations for months, gathering their own private intel. I received multiple data-dumps from fairly well-known people who saw what was going on, but who were not often, or ever, speaking out publicly, for whatever reason.

At this same time, my increased activity on X exposed me more to the fringes of the pop-Reformed world, what some have termed the manosphere: belligerent young pastors, often with no formal training, who spend their days saying abhorrent, unchristian things to garner attention and paid subscriptions from other malcontents. A significant amount of these men regularly dip their toes in the waters of white nationalism and antisemitism, and many of their anonymous followers are much more explicit in their support of this evil. So, I began writing about that too on X, which garnered me even more attention, and quite a bit of hate from that belligerent crowd, as well. I have weathered so many public attacks on my character by white nationalist “anons”, instigated and joined in by the well-known people they support, that being “brigaded” doesn’t even phase me anymore.

My minor notoriety and/or infamy within the Christian X microcosm has only grown over the last year, as I have continued to write about these extremists and their horrid behavior that people with a lot of denominational power and/or public reach either condone or willfully ignore. I think, if you know my writings, chances are you have a strong opinion about me, one way or the other. Though I stand by every word I have written during this time (and I have receipts for all of them), I grow weary of being a polarizing figure, even on such a small scale. I grow tired of the “good people” who operate in this world that I criticize reaching out to me privately to express sympathy, but who go on to do nothing—at least publicly. At this point, I have pointed out so much overt racism and antisemitism, so much endorsement of explicitly fascist philosophy, so much political idolatry, so much reviling, and so many false teachings designed to keep cult-like figures in power over their congregations, that each new one feels like a drop in the ocean. I am terribly burdened by the things honest people in the orbit of these bad actors, perceiving my earnestness, tell or show me in private that, for one reason or another, I cannot responsibly, or safely, share.

There were wins too. Multiple men who had open mainstream support, even though they often engaged in disgusting behavior and promoted despicable ideas, are now generally considered to be fringe figures after I had prolonged, testy engagements with them. Even my main ideological opponent, who was the catalyst of all of this, is now often publicly dismissed by other Christian Nationalists as not representative of their movement. He spent much of the last year deligitimizing himself among mainstream conservative Christians, often in response to my writings. Several legitimately fascist movements I first wrote about on X, receiving backlash and even threats from their devotees, were picked up by major publications or much more prominent figures. There are others who have also been writing about these things and discussing them in private, and I am not looking to take all the credit. I am simply grateful to have had a part in these wins.

At this point, though, I feel I have said enough, and that it is in God’s hands whether people with the ability to do something about this growing threat within the American conservative church will step up; I am most certainly not holding my breath. My frustration with the pop-Reformed world’s instinct for self-preservation, to the point that they would have malicious actors openly in their midst, rather than anger a shared customer into cancelling their ticket to the next conference, has reached a boiling point, and I believe that there will rarely be anything new and productive I can bring to the conversation. The rot goes all the way to the top and the more prominent the bad actor, the more derision directed my way by their larger fan base. As someone well in the know recently said to me, “Big names tend to get big passes.”

My writing will slow down significantly. I will reserve it for subjects I find of the utmost importance that I believe will not get coverage unless I discuss them. Until then, may God bless you and keep you.