Not My Circus: How “Blame the Devil” Theology Protects Abusers and Guts Survivors

“That wasn’t God. It was the devil.” If you are anything like me then you have heard this line. You’ve probably said it yourself, once, before you knew better. It sounds like ...

September 26, 2026

BY Rev. Heather

No One Is Coming To Save Us

So many of us were taught to just wait on God. Pray. Believe. Stay faithful — and God would swoop in and rescue us before it was too late. Not eventually. Not someday. Before it was too late. That wa...

September 24, 2026

BY Rev. Heather

The Fake & Fraudulent Prophets Around the President

When Christians Enter the Halls of Power, Who Will Tell the King the Truth? If you recognize any of these names, then you are at least familiar with a vague group of Charismatic Evangelical Christian...

September 4, 2026

BY Daniel Henderson

THE MACHINE | Post 8: The Reckoning What It Looks Like When the Machine Breaks Down — and What We Build Instead

Picture a room full of people who were not supposed to find each other. They came from different denominations, different decades, different versions of the same story. One of them grew up in a strict re...

August 12, 2026

BY Rev. Heather

When Institutions Fail Our Children: The Awakening Of Mothers

Every few days, a new headline breaks. A new denomination. A new state. A new child. And every time, the pattern is the same. I want to walk you through what’s actually been happening across Christ...

August 16, 2026

BY Rev. Heather

Mr. Jambo Goes on a Mission Trip

▶ Watch “Mr. Jambo” by Kyle Gordon on YouTube. Kyle Gordon’s Barry Bergen lands in southern Africa and greets a man with the Swahili word for hello. The man answers him in ...

July 31, 2026

BY Stuart Delony

THE MACHINE | Post 7: The Exit Tax What It Costs to Leave

Picture a woman standing in a parking lot. She has just walked out of a meeting she was asked to attend — a conversation with two elders and the pastor’s wife, framed as care, conducted as somethin...

July 26, 2026

BY Rev. Heather

Jeffrey Epstein and James Dobson: The Theology That Taught People to Look Away

When the newly released Epstein files showed that Jeffrey Epstein sent a James Dobson article to a girl complaining about her father, it was far from surprising. Because James Dobson’s teachin...

May 14, 2026

BY Jeremy Steele

A parody reality-show banner styled like a Love Island USA poster. A grinning televangelist-style man in a white blazer and blue shirt stands centered against a tropical beach background with palm trees, pink flowers, and a heart-shaped cloud. Large pink text at the top reads “love island USA,” with the word “offering” scribbled in hot pink underneath as if added by hand.

Love Offering Island

Love Island USA wrapped its season. Congratulations #Brinity!Now the culture briefly has to survive without a cast of beautiful people betraying each other near an open flame. Christian television s...

July 20, 2026

BY Stuart Delony

The Family Line — How the Machine Plants Itself in the Next Generation

Picture a family on a Sunday morning. The father leads devotions before breakfast. He has a study Bible, a notebook, a plan. The children sit around the table — scrubbed, quiet, attentive in the way chil...

July 18, 2026

BY Rev. Heather

Neon text reading “Heaven Never Later” glowing above a colorful sunset and clouds in a retro 1980s synthwave style sky.

The Kingdom of God

A big part of Christianity is anticipating the Kingdom of God. Evangelicals believe that the term refers to the afterlife, and Israel has something to do with bringing it about on earth (perhaps t...

July 13, 2026

BY Karen Tibbals

Tarot Is Occult to Evangelicals, Psychology Says Try It

Whether you’re an atheist or a Christian, you should probably explore tarot. Yes, really. And Carl Jung would agree, which already complicates the “this is demonic nonsense” reaction some Christians ...

May 14, 2026

BY Jeremy Steele

A vintage 1940s-style propaganda poster shows a heroic mother holding two infants in front of factory smokestacks, gears, and a rising sun. Large text at the top reads “Produce for the Nation,” with a bottom banner reading “Every Cradle a Factory.” The image uses a distressed cream, red, navy, and mustard color palette to evoke wartime home-front lithographs.

Fertility Isn’t Falling. Compliance Is.

The panic is everywhere. Elon Musk says low birth rates are “the biggest danger civilization faces.” JD Vance built a political identity around resenting “childless cat ladies.” T...

June 15, 2026

BY Stuart Delony

THE MACHINE | Post 5: The Warden Accountability Structures That Protect Abusers

I remember being told to go back. Not in those words exactly. It was framed as reconciliation. As Matthew 18. As the biblical process. There was a meeting suggested — a sitting down together with leaders...

June 17, 2026

BY Rev. Heather

The Church Welcome Sign Lie: When All Aren’t Welcome

Churches love to say “All Are Welcome.” It looks good on a sign. It sounds generous. It feels safe enough to post in a strip mall window or on a website banner. But in practice, that phrase often functi...

May 14, 2026

BY Jeremy Steele

A missile with Donald Trump's signature comb-over hairstyle flies through the sky. A glowing Holy Bible is strapped to its side, symbolizing the fusion of religion and militarism. The background shows a desolate, war-tinted landscape under dramatic clouds.

Is the Bible Inerrant (Without Error)?

There’s a current movement among certain religious people to claim that they take the Bible seriously by accepting that it is without error. By this they mean literally. They claim the meaning is ...

June 11, 2026

BY Karen Tibbals

Beyond Thoughts and Prayers: Caring for Children’s Bodies

If we just talk of thoughts and prayersAnd don’t live out a faith that dares,And don’t take on the ways of death,Our thoughts and prayers are fleeting breath. From: “If We Just Talk of ...

June 1, 2026

BY Flo Paris Oakes

Books That Push Faith Beyond Fundamentalism

If you’re going to spend your Christmas money on books, please don’t use it to buy another “the Bible is obvious if you just read it literally” fantasy. These are the books that helped dismantle that li...

May 14, 2026

BY Jeremy Steele

Reading Galatians Right

Reading Romans Right came out well over a year ago. March 18, 2025, to be exact. And while the majority of the responses have been glowingly positive—probably due to the fact that most of Keith’s and my...

May 25, 2026

BY Matthew Distefano

Haunted By My Future Ghosts

The reality of being a ghost in the future haunts me. What’s odd is that right now I’m being haunted by my future ghosts. I feel like I’m being watched by multiple selves from in different dimensions. H...

May 25, 2026

BY Gil Stafford

Why Pastors Hide Academic Bible Scholarship from Their Congregations

Most pastors know things about the Bible they will never say from the pulpit. I know that because I was one of them. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, co...

May 14, 2026

BY Jeremy Steele

Overhead view of a person sitting in a church pew with an open Bible on their lap while looking at a smartphone displaying social media, symbolizing distracted attention during worship.

Second Screen Faith

As a freshman in high school, I made the kind of decision that feels efficient in the moment and foolish almost immediately after. I had put off reading Huckleberry Finn until the night before the test, ...

May 4, 2026

BY Stuart Delony

The Second Coming of Christ

Several passages of the New Testament can be interpreted to say that Jesus was coming back in the lifetime of the apostles including Paul. That obviously didn’t happen. Since then, there has been ...

May 5, 2026

BY Karen Tibbals

Belinda Carlisle Gets Heaven Right

In 1987, Belinda Carlisle released a pop song that accidentally wandered into theology. The song was called “Heaven Is a Place on Earth.” At first glance it’s just another glossy 80s pop anthem. But onc...

April 21, 2026

BY Stuart Delony

Mercy for MAGA? How to respond when they finally wake up.

In the last few weeks, we’ve seen several high-profile MAGA pundits begin to turn on Trump, and these are not obscure names. We’re talking Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Marjorie Taylor Green,...

April 22, 2026

BY Keith Giles

An American-themed crown incorporating the U.S. Capitol dome lies abandoned in the desert sand while a trail of footprints walks away toward the horizon. The image symbolizes the rejection of political domination as the path to righteousness, echoing the wilderness temptation narrative where Jesus refuses authority over the kingdoms of the world.

The Temptation Jesus Refused — and Christian Nationalism Accepted

Christian Nationalism promises to “take America back for God.” But when you place it next to the Gospels, an uncomfortable possibility appears: the movement looks less like the followers of Jesus and...

April 15, 2026

BY Stuart Delony

Living in a Science Fiction Novel

Lately, I have been feeling like I am living in a science fiction novel. The news about artificial intelligence (AI), including the speculation about when it will get to artificial general intelli...

April 10, 2026

BY Karen Tibbals

Christian Nationalists Are Coming For Your Public School

In my last post, Critical Thinking Citizens Or MAGA Loyalists?, I compared Russia’s school program of direct propaganda in trying to create support for their war on Ukraine and loyalists to Pu...

April 5, 2026

BY Daniel Henderson

Happy Sadistic Friday (To Those Who Celebrate)

I live in a state whose leadership has little energy for justice and an apparent insatiable addiction to injustice. They are, to put it in terms the Apostle to the Gentiles might resonate with, “invento...

April 4, 2026

BY D.T. Bryant

Close-up of a sparking electrical outlet with a plug inserted and faint smoke rising, illustrating a potential home electrical issue.

Electrician or Exorcist: Who You Gonna Call?

When something goes wrong in your home, it’s important to contact the right professional. Most issues fall into familiar categories—electrical, structural, mechanical—and can be resolved by someone with ...

March 23, 2026

BY Stuart Delony

The Danger The Duggars Reveal

This Is Not a Glitch: What Joseph Duggar’s Arrest Tells Us About the System On March 18, 2026, Joseph Duggar — seventh child of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, former star of TLC’s 19 Kids a...

March 30, 2026

BY Rev. Heather

Bombs, Bodies, and The Bible

by Desimber Rose Wattleton-Njie There is a dangerous pattern woven through history, of bodies willing to use the Bible, bodies willing to distort and weaponize faith for personal and political gain...

April 26, 2026

BY Desimber Rose

Two empty chairs facing each other with space between them, symbolizing dialogue, boundaries, and encounter in relationships.

You Are Not My Assignment

This essay first appeared on SnarkyFaith.com and is republished here. There’s a short passage that circulates constantly online. It usually appears under photos of mountains or sunsets and gets treated a...

March 12, 2026

BY Stuart Delony

War (with Iran), What Is It Good For?

For years, FIFA peace-prize winner Donald J. Trump sold himself as the anti-war candidate, mocking the architects of the Iraq War, ridiculing “forever wars,” and promising no more regime cha...

March 2, 2026

BY Matthew Distefano

Christian Nationalism, Biblical Literalism, and the Collapse of Shared Reality

Did you know that Donald Trump speaks in coded language to his ardent followers? Only “they” can discern his meaning. There was also a child trafficking ring in the basement of the Comet Ping-Pong Pizze...

February 22, 2026

BY Daniel Henderson

The Real Work of Anti-Racism

In a world where conversations about race often become muddled by defensiveness and denial, I am reminded of an episode of Heretic Happy Hour from last year that delivers a much-needed jolt of clarity. ...

February 18, 2026

BY Matthew Distefano

A fervent crowd marches beneath a red “GOD OR NOTHING” banner, holding Bibles on sticks like protest signs. In the foreground, a woman in a “JESUS SAVES” shirt screams with zeal, flanked by angry men in clergy collars, suits, and MAGA-like hats. The dusky, smoke-filled sky adds to the ominous, cult-like atmosphere.

When the Bible Becomes State Propaganda

Once upon a time, the Bible was dangerous. It got people killed—not for reading it, but for living it. Prophets lost their heads. Disciples were hunted. Jesus got crucified by the state for disrupting th...

February 9, 2026

BY Stuart Delony

Guess Which Group Gives Unqualified Support to ICE?

Have you wondered why Trump’s approval polling for his horrific and violent attacks against American cities via ICE raids and assaults remains at roughly one-third? Most sane, rational people immediatel...

February 1, 2026

BY Daniel Henderson

Offering Systemic Sacrifice

In a 1970 letter to Angela Davis, James Baldwin observed how Americans measure safety in “chains and corpses.” In the same letter, Baldwin wrote of the militant who implement deplorable, obscene, mock-s...

January 31, 2026

BY D.T. Bryant

A flickering neon sign reading “APPLAUSE,” partially burned out and mounted on a cracked brick wall.

From Prophets to Assholes

There’s a quiet myth baked into comedy—and culture more broadly—that great disruptors have to self-immolate at their peak. That burning out is noble. That becoming unbearable is the cost of brilliance. ...

January 21, 2026

BY Stuart Delony

The Moral Bankruptcy of MAGA and Christofascists

Join us in fighting for a just future: Unlock Full Access to Exclusive Content This article is available exclusively to members. By joining you not only gain access to premium content, but also support o...

January 25, 2026

BY Dillon Naber Cruz

Who Are You Without Permission? (Reclaiming Yourself After the Church)

After the noise fades and the quiet becomes more livable, a new question often emerges. It’s quieter than the others. Less urgent. But deeply unsettling. If I’m no longer who the church told me to be…...

January 17, 2026

BY Rev. Heather

The Church Canonized Transgender Saints Before Evangelicals Feared Them

Transgender saints are not a modern invention, no matter how often evangelical pastors insist otherwise. They are not the result of liberal theology, woke ideology, or twenty-first-century cultural drif...

January 16, 2026

BY Jeremy Steele

Low-angle view of a dark living room with a recliner in the foreground, a bare foot resting on the chair, crumpled tissues and a lotion bottle on the floor, and a television in the background displaying an apocalyptic scene of a burning city and figures rising into light.

Apocalypse Porn and the Death of Responsibility

Apocalypse porn trains people to confuse vigilance with virtue. When collapse becomes entertainment and prophecy becomes a dopamine hit, responsibility dies. You don’t prepare to heal a world you’re aro...

January 19, 2026

BY Stuart Delony

America needs an intervention

A malignant narcissist remains the President of the United States. He only ran for president to keep from being prosecuted for his lifetime of criminal activity which includes treason, illegally holding...

January 10, 2026

BY Dillon Naber Cruz

$Stained glass church window symbolically depicting the January 6 Capitol riot as a moment of fractured American Christianity and political unrest.$

How End-Times Christianity Trained America for Conspiracy

Every few decades, American Christians discover—again—that the world is secretly run by unspeakable evil. Children are being harmed. Elites are hiding the truth. Institutions can’t be trusted. Only a sm...

January 13, 2026

BY Stuart Delony

Apologetics: A Tool of Control Disguised as Defense

The pitch is simple. Faith is under attack. Believers need arguments. Reason will save the day. But when you step back and look at how apologetics actually functions, it becomes clear that it is far les...

December 16, 2025

BY Jeremy Steele

When the Noise Finally Stops

If you’ve recently left the church, you may be surprised by what came next. Not chaos. Not divine punishment. Not some dramatic unraveling of your life. But quiet. For some, that quiet feels like rel...

January 6, 2026

BY Rev. Heather

How Long Will Christian Nationalists Support Trump? (Don’t Count on the Epstein Files for Help)

White Christians, primarily white Christian nationalists, represent the true core and base of the Republican Party. Ryan Burge, a leading expert in religious statistics, can substantiate this claim. (If...

January 5, 2026

BY Daniel Henderson

Here, at the End of the World…

Living here at the End of Days, I tell you the truth: that the Apocalypse has already begun. In these last days, two who were sleeping in the same bed at the President’s mansion will both be awakened...

January 5, 2026

BY Keith Giles

You Just Left The Church – Now What?

If you just walked away from the church—whether quietly, explosively, or somewhere in between—I want you to hear this first: You are not broken. You are not backsliding. You are not lost. Leaving the ...

January 1, 2026

BY Rev. Heather

A surreal depiction of a church altar built entirely from rifles and bullets. Candles burn on top, their wax melting into streams of blood that pool below, casting a warm but unsettling light over the scene.

How to Break the Fever

America is burning with a fever we keep pretending is just a seasonal bug. It’s not. It’s terminal. Violence isn’t an anomaly in this country—it’s the liturgy. Guns are our sacrament. Blood is our offeri...

November 17, 2025

BY Stuart Delony

The Church Welcome Sign Lie: When All Aren’t Welcome

Churches love to say “All Are Welcome.” It looks good on a sign. It sounds generous. It feels safe enough to post in a strip mall window or on a website banner. But in practice, that phrase often functi...

December 16, 2025

BY Jeremy Steele

The Three Wise Men vs. Christian Nationalism

The story of the wise men is usually told as a sentimental Christmas scene: exotic travelers, mysterious gifts, a star in the sky. It feels harmless, almost decorative. But read closely, and the story M...

December 16, 2025

BY Jeremy Steele

Distance Is Not Repentance

Ever since the files dropped, I’ve watched a familiar pattern play out. Christians—particularly evangelicals—are suddenly scrambling to draw lines in the sand. That wasn’t real Christianity. Those peop...

January 4, 2026

BY Rev. Heather

Shaming Doesn’t Convince Anyone.

I see headlines all the time describing encounters that so and so “owns” so and so. Owning someone isn’t a win and it doesn’t convince anyone. In fact, these probably backfire. Shaming usually paralyzes...

December 18, 2025

BY Karen Tibbals

A photograph captures a vintage audio cassette tape labeled "Kyrie - Mr. Mister" resting on a wooden church pew, with unraveled tape spilling around it—evoking sacred nostalgia through analog media.

Kýrie Eleison: The Sacred Liturgy of Mr. Mister

For Those Who’ve Left the Church but Still Crave a Benediction Let’s be honest—if most modern worship music makes your soul want to rupture from boredom or burst into flames from its cringey theology, y...

November 17, 2025

BY Stuart Delony

The Tattooed Theologian’s Year in Review

Join us in fighting for a just future: Unlock Full Access to Exclusive Content This article is available exclusively to members. By joining you not only gain access to premium content, but also support o...

December 22, 2025

BY Dillon Naber Cruz

What Jesus Would Say to Billionaires

If Jesus were walking around today, the ultra-wealthy would not find him comforting. He would not praise their philanthropy, applaud their foundations, or thank them for “job creation.” According to the...

December 16, 2025

BY Jeremy Steele

Winter Solstice and Redemption – A Christmas Reflection for Non-Religious People

The Winter Solstice will happen on Sunday, December 21, 2025, at 10:03 a.m. EST. This marks the shortest day and longest night as the Northern Hemisphere tilts furthest from the Sun, beginning astronomi...

December 20, 2025

BY Daniel Henderson

Two identical glass bottles labeled “Holy Water” and “Potion of Healing” sit side by side on a church altar under soft candlelight, highlighting their faint inner glow and ironic similarity.

Why We Believe in Miracles but Not Magic

People believe God can part seas, raise the dead, and multiply fish—but tarot cards? Nonsense. Energy healing? Witchcraft. Somehow divine magic gets the glossy “miracle” label while everything else is d...

November 3, 2025

BY Stuart Delony

What Patriotism Really Means according to Romans

Patriotism, according to Evangelical American Christianity, is often reduced to obedience. Whoever holds power is assumed to be there because God put them there, and questioning that power is framed as ...

December 16, 2025

BY Jeremy Steele

Seven Reasons Women Are The Biggest Losers In Trump World

Trump is Following the Christian Nationalist Project 2025 Plan for Restoring the Cult of Domesticity So many people have been harmed and are being harmed by the Trump administration that is difficult...

December 12, 2025

BY Daniel Henderson

Dear Peter Thiel…

You’ve been in the news a lot lately because you have some sort of monomania regarding the antichrist. As a theologian, I may be able to help you understand some things in order to assuage your se...

December 12, 2025

BY Dillon Naber Cruz

An empty hospital bed with teal sheets and a metal IV pole stands in front of a closed curtain. On the curtain is the shadow silhouette of Kermit the Frog, waving, creating a somber and reflective atmosphere.

Did Jesus Really Kill Kermit’s Dad?

Jim Henson shouldn’t have died the way he did. In 1990, strep and pneumonia were treatable. But when Henson finally went to the hospital, the infection had ravaged his body. By the time doctors saw him, ...

November 3, 2025

BY Stuart Delony

The Original Live Nativity Was Subversive

The original live nativity happened 700 years ago on Christmas Eve. It has nothing to do with the spectacles put on by megachurches and very little to do with the children dressed in robes outside of Ci...

December 9, 2025

BY Jeremy Steele

A young woman smiles brightly while flashing a peace sign in a selfie-style photo taken in front of the Shroud of Turin. She wears a denim jacket and has a glowing halo above her head. The sepia-toned image of Christ on the shroud is clearly visible behind her, giving the picture a surreal, satirical tone that mimics religious devotion with influencer energy.

Litmus Tests for Hollow Faith

Some people chase miracles. Others chase merch. Either way, modern Christianity has mastered the art of skipping the hard parts. Faith is supposed to be about love, justice, mercy, and inconvenient trans...

November 3, 2025

BY Stuart Delony

Is the United States A Christian Nation?…It Depends!

Is the United States a Christian Nation? Well, everyone seems to have an opinion on this, especially my Christian Supremacist friends who believe that somehow God chose the US out of all the nations in ...

November 30, 2025

BY Daniel Henderson

When Compassion Feels Impossible: Following Jesus In A Time Of Hatred

There are days when I genuinely wonder how I’m supposed to see the humanity in people whose beliefs strip humanity from everyone else. People who cling to ideologies that cost lives. People whos...

November 29, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

We’re Burning Christianity Down from the Inside (the stats don’t lie)

Every few months, a politician or pastor warns us that Christianity is under attack. They say secular culture is erasing faith, that prayer is being “banned,” that Starbucks hates Jesus because they cha...

November 20, 2025

BY Jeremy Steele

Transgender Day Of Remembrance: A Lament And A Call To Rise

Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance. Every year this day arrives heavy. It presses on my soul in ways I can feel in my bones. And every year, I find myself grieving—not only for the lives stol...

November 20, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

Jesus Wouldn’t Survive a Republican or Democratic Primary

Every election season, both political parties try to claim Jesus. They talk as if he would stand on their stage, echo their slogans, and bless their strategy. They imagine a Jesus who endorses their ver...

November 18, 2025

BY Jeremy Steele

Jesus: The Radical Left Lunatic

C.S. Lewis once said that Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. But maybe he forgot a fourth option, the one that would make the most sense to the MAGA crowd: Jesus the Radical Left Lunatic. Beca...

October 23, 2025

BY Matthew Distefano

A child’s small hand reaches into a brass offering plate filled with dollar bills and envelopes, as two adult hands hold the plate. The scene is dimly lit, with shadows falling across the wooden pews in the background, creating a quiet and tense atmosphere.

Sticker Shock

Why Secular Kids Might Be More Christlike Than Church Kids For years, we’ve been told that religion is the bedrock of morality. Without Sunday School, veggie-themed Bible cartoons, and the looming th...

September 25, 2025

BY Stuart Delony

The Apples Don’t Fall Far

The Apples Don’t Fall Far: Why We Shouldn’t Be Shocked by Young Republicans I grew up in a Republican home with deeply Republican parents. My dad treated Rush Limbaugh like he was a god, and once Fox N...

October 16, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

Christian Nationalist Mischief in Oklahoma Hopefully Comes To An End

“…the Stitt-Walters era has been an embarrassment to our state…even worse, test scores and reading proficiency are at historic lows…focus on quality instruction in our public schools.” This was the s...

October 15, 2025

BY Daniel Henderson

When Love Becomes The Antidote To Fear

We were taught to call it faith, but it was really fear. Fear disguised as devotion. Fear masquerading as obedience. For too long, fear has been the invisible hand shaping how we see God, oursel...

October 10, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

Why My Husband Doesn’t “Help” in the Kitchen

When I say deconstruction saved my marriage, I’m not exaggerating. Earlier today I watched a video that stopped me in my tracks. At first, it showed a room full of men, their feet propped up, lounging ...

October 4, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

The Rapture That Never Came

This past week, the internet was buzzing with certainty that the rapture was finally about to happen. TikTok lives, YouTube sermons, even local pulpits were alive with the same message: the faithful wer...

October 8, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

An elderly Tibetan monk resembling the Dalai Lama holds a cracked, oval mirror that reflects the face of a young boy in monk robes. Behind him is a red Chinese flag with yellow stars and a golden urn, symbolizing spiritual authority, state control, and contested legacy. The lighting is warm and cinematic, highlighting the contrast between the monk's contemplative gaze and the child’s neutral expression.

Holy Mindfucks

What do Tibetan monks, American pastors, and state-sponsored Chinese bureaucrats have in common? They all want control of your soul—and they’re not above using toddler reincarnation, biblical foot...

August 28, 2025

BY Stuart Delony

When Words Kill

We live in a time where words travel faster than ever. A single statement made on television or online can ripple through society with consequences we can’t always predict—or worse, consequences we can ...

September 22, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

We Need to Talk about Charlie Kirk (Especially if You’re a Christian)

We need to talk about Charlie Kirk, especially if you’re a Christian. And what I’ve got to say is probably not what you’re expecting. Because this isn’t about defending him. And it’s not about tearing h...

September 12, 2025

BY Jeremy Steele

Grieving Without The Script

The Church and the Complexity of Grief I was going to write about something different this week, but in light of recent events I feel compelled to speak from the heart. The church, for all its ...

September 12, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

A digital painting inspired by the Death of Superman comic cover. A torn red cape hangs like a flag from a leaning black pole, set against a desolate urban church. The sky is overcast and gray. In the background, a cracked sign on the church wall reads “HOPE LIVES HERE,” with some letters beginning to fall off. Stained glass is shattered, and the ground is littered with rubble. The mood is somber and apocalyptic, evoking the death of idealism and faith.

Superman’s Dead. And Hope Died with Him.

Once upon a time, we believed in things. We believed in truth. We believed in justice. We believed in heroes—ones who didn’t need branding deals or side hustles to justify their capes. But that world’s ...

August 28, 2025

BY Stuart Delony

Guns, and The Idolatry Of Inaction

Another school shooting has happened. Another community is shattered. More children are gone, and more families will never be the same. And once again, I hear the same tired chorus of responses from ma...

September 3, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

It Is Unethical Not to Try to Understand the Other Person

Today, people seem to think they must speak up if they feel that something violates their values. I associate that with a book and a college course called Giving Voice to Values, which has trained ...

February 28, 2026

BY Karen Tibbals

And a Child Shall Judge Them

My fight or flight response leans heavily toward fight. It’s not usually a “come at you immediately” kind of fight, but one that takes a step back in order to plan how to “come at you” later. My own chi...

January 31, 2026

BY D.T. Bryant

Close-up of a red Swiss Army knife resting on a wooden church pew, with several blades opened upward and “Matthew 19” engraved on the side.

Jesus Was Talking About Divorce, Not Your Gay Neighbors

Evangelicals love Matthew 19 like it’s their theological Swiss Army knife. Divorce? Same-sex marriage? Gender roles? Complementarian manifestos? Just slap a Genesis quote on it and call it “biblical.” I...

August 19, 2025

BY Stuart Delony

The Ring I Never Asked For

It wasn’t an ordinary day—no, today was different. Heather was about to go out on a Daddy-daughter date. She was so excited she could hardly sit still. For years, all she had ever wanted was for her Dad...

September 22, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

Cartoon illustration in the style of Mad Magazine showing two older, overweight men smiling in a small clawfoot bathtub overflowing with rubber duckies labeled “AP History.” The scene is exaggerated and humorous, parodying historical revisionism.

PragerU, Glenn Beck, and the History That Never Was

History is dangerous. Not because it tells us where we’ve been, but because it has the audacity to remind us who we really are. That’s why Glenn Beck and PragerU are teaming up to produce their own AP H...

August 19, 2025

BY Stuart Delony

Why Self Love Is Sacred Not Sinful

Learning to Love Ourselves in a World That Told Us Not To A lot of people are struggling to love themselves right now. And it’s no wonder. We live in a culture that rarely—if ever—taught us how to. Ins...

October 10, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

From Silence To Strength: Tamara’s Return

Reclaiming the Sacred: Tamara’s Story and the Power Within Us All I want to talk to you about self-love today—and what it really looks like when you’ve truly found it. Over a year ago, I met som...

August 8, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

A man resembling Jesus, wearing a red headband and leg warmers, takes a gym selfie with a peace sign, dressed like an influencer in a tank top.

Jesus Wept — But Only After Leg Day

“Less Prozac, more protein.” That’s the sermon now. Not from a pulpit, but from the stage of the Young Women’s Leadership Summit — a Turning Point USA shindig for trad-curious TikTok evangelicals trying...

August 19, 2025

BY Stuart Delony

A New Tennessee Law Allows Doctors to Refuse Care to Unmarried Pregnant Women

Noam Chomsky & David Brooks Agree – This is a recipe for societal collapse! A MAGA-Christian Beattitudes Now when MAGA-Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat dow...

August 3, 2025

BY Daniel Henderson

Illustrated diagram of a woodpecker’s skull and tongue anatomy from a vintage biology book, showing how the bird’s tongue wraps around its skull to cushion brain impact.

The Wisdom of the Woodpecker: When Speaking Is Just Self-Harm

Woodpeckers and the Art of Restraint Let’s talk about the woodpecker. It’s a bird that makes a living by slamming its face into trees. Repeatedly. Hard. You’d think that would scramble its tiny bi...

July 18, 2025

BY Stuart Delony

The Dangers of Dobson

In light of the release of the Shiny Happy People documentary, I am once again reminded of a religious terror that has quietly shaped—if not destroyed—the lives of countless Christian children across ...

July 30, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

Deconstructing Religious Certainty: Embracing Cognitive Flexibility

For those of us who have spent a lot of time in rigid religious environments, the journey of deconstruction can be both incredibly challenging and profoundly liberating. Fundamentalist religious communi...

July 26, 2025

BY Anna Clark Miller

Sean Feucht and Feigned Persection

Sean Feucht is at it again—this time taking his “Let Us Worship” tour across Canada. And when Canadian cities, public parks, and federal agencies began revoking permits and saying no to his planned even...

July 24, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

A man in a suit with a retro television for a head holds a Bible in one hand and a dollar bill in the other, symbolizing the collision of media, religion, and money in modern culture.

Flat Top Nation: How We Sold Our Souls to the Screen

“Flat top intervention / Bringing home the new invention / See it there in pieces on the ground…” The Goo Goo Dolls may not be topping the charts anymore, but “Flat Top” nailed something we still haven’...

July 18, 2025

BY Stuart Delony

No, I will not shut up Donald

Trigger warning: Sexual assault, sex trafficking When Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him in Luke’s gospel the writer tells the reader that a sinful woman showed up unannounced to...

July 22, 2025

BY Dillon Naber Cruz

If We Just Belived Women

Everyone’s talking about it—so we’re going to talk about it too. Because even with all the headlines, the outrage, and the unsealed Epstein files, there are still things not being said loudly—or hone...

July 20, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

Sex, Money, and Cruelty—They NEVER Cared About Children!

The Lies of the Right!!! I am living in the hope that there is an actual hell for people who are lying about their care and concern for children. Especially the ones who use children for sex, risk ch...

July 18, 2025

BY Angela Parker

Understanding Religious and Spiritual Trauma

For many people, faith communities offer comfort, meaning, and sense of belonging. Yet, for others, these spaces can become sources of profound hurt, fear, and shame, leading to what’s known as re...

July 18, 2025

BY Anna Clark Miller

When Abusers Die Without Repentance

John MacArthur has died. And as with any public figure whose platform wielded immense influence, his death is stirring up a wide spectrum of reactions—from grief and admiration to quiet relief, even joy...

July 18, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

Let the Bluebird Sing: Reclaiming the Softness in Men

I was sent a poem the other day. It was Bluebird by Charles Bukowski—and it stopped me in my tracks. In just a few short lines, Bukowski captured something deeply human, something quietly aching inside ...

October 10, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

The Cross and the Crown: How the Transnational Network of Christian Nationalists Threatens the Global Order

Sarah Riccardi-Swartz, an assistant professor of religion and anthropology at Northeastern University, has led a team of researchers to understand American evangelical support for Russian dict...

October 10, 2025

BY Daniel Henderson

A stained-glass window close-up of Tupac Shakur depicted in a traditional religious art style. He appears solemn and contemplative, surrounded by colorful geometric patterns and radiant light, echoing the aesthetic of a church window.

The Prophet Your Pastor Warned You About

You won’t find Tupac Shakur in your church’s stained-glass window collection. No halo. No white robes. No sanitized, King James-approved soundbites. He swore too much, smoked too often, and wasn’t inter...

July 18, 2025

BY Stuart Delony

Interfaith Prayer for Justice

The World is on Fire. Regardless of which religion or non-religion you practice, centering ourselves on our desires and intentions for justice make a difference in our life and perspective. When we ...

July 18, 2025

BY Jeremy Steele

Recognizing Mind Control Tactics: Lifton’s Eight Criteria for Thought Reform

The human mind is powerful and complex, capable of incredible creativity, critical thinking, and independent thought. Despite our capacity for intellectual freedom, history is full of examples of groups...

July 18, 2025

BY Anna Clark Miller

When Christian Nationalists Breed Monsters

They say monsters are made, not born. But few stop to ask: Who’s doing the making? In a country saturated with guns, wrapped in flags, and baptized in the name of a whitewashed Jesus, we’ve watched a n...

July 18, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

The Garden Tomb Is Fake—and That’s Why American Christianity Is Dying

I hate to break it to you, but that peaceful little garden where you sang “Because He Lives” on your Israel trip? Jesus wasn’t buried there. I know it feels right. The birds are chirping,...

July 18, 2025

BY Jeremy Steele

A Death Sentence with Folded Hands

They passed the bill. The big, beautiful bill—as they so proudly called it. A bill that ripped food from hungry mouths. That slashed assistance for the sick, the disabled, and the working poor. A bil...

July 18, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

A close-up of a chrome stripper pole in a neon-lit nightclub. A bright lens flare across the pole forms the shape of a glowing cross, with the blurred club background bathed in pink and purple light.

From Sunday School to the Strip Club

The Guilt-Tipped Handcuffs of Religious Upbringing Growing up in a religious home means you’re given a roadmap for life—and it usually dead-ends at a church steeple. You’re handed a Bible before you ...

July 18, 2025

BY Stuart Delony

Shot of John Wayne's statue from a low angle making him look bigger than actual height.

John Wayne’s Real Name was Marion: Time to Detox Uber Masculinity

Masculinity Detox: You Were Always Enough By Unconventional Pastor Paul The image of “manliness” many of us inherited was a John Wayne type – the swaggering, emotionless cowboy. ...

July 10, 2025

BY Paul Swearengin

God, Guns, and Grievance

In a four-minute address that managed to mix divine flattery with military flexing, Donald Trump proved once again that he’s not just playing president—he’s auditioning for the role of America’s end-tim...

June 26, 2025

BY Stuart Delony

Growing Up In The Shadow Of The Rapture

The first time I ever felt true anxiety, I was just a child. It was a weekend, and I had curled up for one of those deep, disorienting naps — the kind that makes you forget where you are for a second wh...

October 10, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

The Church Has A Lying Problem

“I know you lie, your lips are moving. Baby, do you think I’m dumb?” That Meghan Trainor lyric has been on repeat in my brain for days. And honestly? It’s more than just a catchy hook. It’s a gut pun...

June 22, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

Interior of a gothic-style church repurposed as a classroom, with stained glass windows, chandeliers, and wooden desks replacing pews. A chalkboard at the altar reads “Daily Prayer Period” as a suited teacher stands at the front holding a book.

When School Prayer Becomes a Stage Act

Say it with me now: You can pray anywhere. Always could. Even in school. Even in Texas. That’s the thing about prayer—it doesn’t need permission. No one can stop your thoughts, your whispers, your pleas...

June 3, 2025

BY Stuart Delony

Jesus Wasn’t a Colonizer: Christianity Didn’t Begin in Europe or Arrive in Africa on a Slave Ship

Let me be as clear as I can, right from the jump: Christianity did not arrive in Africa via white Protestant or Catholic missionaries. It didn’t arrive shackled to the sails of slave ships. It wasn’t ha...

June 14, 2025

BY Matthew Distefano

Jesus Topples Christian Nationalism

Jesus Undermines Christian Nationalism Repeat after me: Christian nationalism is not Christian. Look, I hate to burst your bubble if you’re a fundamentalist (ok, no, I don’t). Bu...

June 14, 2025

BY Jeremy Steele

When Distraction Becomes Doctrine: The Southern Baptist Convention and the Dangerous Theater of Morality

Some people call it conviction. I call it distraction. A deadly one. At the 2025 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting in Dallas, over 10,000 delegates gathered to cast votes and pass reso...

June 14, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

Illustration of a grim-faced Uncle Sam with the likeness of RFK Jr., wearing a traditional top hat. A red worm emerges from his right ear, evoking decay or parasitism. The style mimics vintage propaganda posters with a distressed paper background.

How the Christian Right Found Jesus in a Moon Shrine

Once upon a time, folks like Casey Means were the devil’s poster children—New Age kooks destined for hellfire and parental warning pamphlets. She builds shrines, talks to trees, and believes the future ...

June 25, 2025

BY Stuart Delony

When the State Becomes the Thief in the Night

Would Jesus, alive in 2025 America, support the works of Donald Trump’s ICE officers grabbing honest, quiet, hard-working people off the street and disappearing them to… wherever? Not a chance ...

June 11, 2025

BY Paul Swearengin

Spiritual Bypassing in Times of Crisis

“Everything happens for a reason.” “God’s in control.” “We’ll never be given more than we can handle.” These phrases have something important in ...

June 10, 2025

BY Anna Clark Miller

A vintage 1950s-style advertisement featuring a blonde woman in a modest blue dress with eyes closed, basking in a radiant glow. She is flanked by bold retro lettering that reads “Jesus Glow: America’s #1 Faith-Based Beauty Serum.” A stylized bottle of the product sits beside her. The design mimics classic beauty ads, blending religious iconography with influencer-style marketing.

Glow Up for God: TikTok’s New Gospel of Good Looks

Once upon a time, salvation was about the soul. Now it’s about the skin. Welcome to the era of the “Jesus Glow,” the hottest new holiness trend sweeping TikTok—where conversion comes with contour, sa...

June 6, 2025

BY Stuart Delony

Jesus Supports Trans Athletes; A Hard Teaching

On a sweltering June day in Central California, high schoolers gathered for the California State High School Track and Field Championships. There was laughter, selfies, hugs – just kids being kids...

June 13, 2025

BY Paul Swearengin

A vintage-style wedding cake topper of a bride and groom, each holding signs labeled "CHURCH" and "STATE," stands atop a white cake with the U.S. Supreme Court building blurred in the background.

When Church and State Swipe Right

Once upon a time, the phrase “separation of church and state” meant something. It was the constitutional speed bump that kept our country from careening into theocracy. But in the year of our Lord and L...

June 3, 2025

BY Stuart Delony

Pride Is a Protest, Not a Punchline

It’s Pride Month—and We’re Still Fighting for Our Lives It’s Pride Month. Again. And once again, I find myself standing at the edge of this same battlefield, beating the same tired horse, raising th...

October 10, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

When Compassion Breaks You Open

I Wear My Heart on My Sleeve And maybe you do too. No truer statement could be said about me. I woke up just last week, poured my coffee, and stepped onto the porch to check the day’s messages and not...

June 2, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

The Real Jesus Was Nonviolent (And His Followers Are Too)

Like it or not, Jesus was nonviolent. I don’t mean symbolically, or selectively, or sometimes. I mean totally, radically, unflinchingly committed to a way of love that refused to pick up the sword—even ...

June 2, 2025

BY Keith Giles

I Am Disappointed…

Or, Don’t Mess with a Surgically-Menopaused Woman A few months back, I texted an out-of-state friend from over 25 years ago who had given me some helpful advice for my medical issues that led t...

June 1, 2025

BY Lisa Martinez

Evangelicals — Jesus Will Be at Pride. And So Will You.

I get it, you’ve believed that being gay is a sin for a long time. You’ve believed that all gay people are going to hell and all the other things fundamentalist pastors have told you about them. But thi...

October 10, 2025

BY Jeremy Steele

When Repentance Is Demanded

“You need to repent” I hear this phrase often in my line of work. But every time, it prompts the same question: Repent for what, exactly? I’ve dedicated my entire life to the minist...

May 29, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

America, Revelation, and the Stench of Blood

Let’s get something out of the way: The Book of Revelation was written about the Roman Empire in the first century. It’s not about America, the U.N., or any other modern agency or government. Sorr...

May 22, 2025

BY Matthew Distefano

When Moral Failure Pays

The Falwell Scandal and the High Cost of Evangelical Corruption In the summer of 2020, as the nation reeled from a global pandemic, Jerry Falwell Jr.—then president of Liberty University—posted a pho...

May 22, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

Religious Nationalism Breeds Narcissism

Americans are witnessing a troubling, though not unexpected, rise in hateful rhetoric and political policies. Like it or not, this trend directly correlates with the increasing entanglement of Christian...

May 29, 2025

BY Anna Clark Miller

The Religion of Politics

How Evangelicalism Trained Me to Vote Against My Neighbor—and What I’m Doing Differently Now It was 1991 and I was just a 12-year-old kid in school. We were studying history at the time, and Bill Cli...

May 17, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

Three Holy Wars

THREE HOLY WARS “Christians could never slay their enemies. For the more that kings, rulers, and peoples have persecuted them everywhere, the more Christians have increased in number and gr...

May 13, 2025

BY Keith Giles

Yes, I Know Trump Is Trolling Us. That’s Not the Point.

Let me say this right out of the gate: Yes, I’m fully aware that Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as the Pope.Yes, I know that on May the 4th, no less, he also portrayed himself ...

May 11, 2025

BY Matthew Distefano

Your Beliefs Aren’t Who You Are

A critical part of growing and learning as humans is distinguishing between our beliefs (what we think), our behaviors (what we do), and our identities (who we are). Making this distinction can keep us ...

May 29, 2025

BY Anna Clark Miller

The Ethics of Deporting Immigrants: Making Decisions Ahead of Fear and Propaganda

Is a deported person a terrorist? Or ‘father of the year?’ It actually doesn’t matter in the eyes of the law and it shouldn’t matter to any ethical person. Every human in America...

June 13, 2025

BY Paul Swearengin

The Church And The Side Chick

When we hear the term “Side Chick” we normally default to “the other woman”. Some folks use this word loosely, but technically there can’t be a side chick unless there is a wife. Except for his mother a...

May 13, 2025

BY Desimber Rose

A Pope for the People, Not the Power-Hungry

A New Pope Has Been Chosen—And Evangelicals Are Already Big Mad The bells rang out from St. Peter’s Basilica, signaling a moment of transition, of hope, of change. A new pope has been chosen. B...

May 12, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

Unlearning Church, Remembering Christ

I grew up hearing that there wasn’t a soul on earth God didn’t love. That the gospel was about helping people, not judging them. That Jesus wasn’t interested in playing church—he was out feeding the ...

May 12, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

There Is Poison In The Holy Water

There is poison in the holy water.And this poison is lapped up like a thirsty dog, dying for a drink. It’s poured into shiny baptismal fonts, lifted high in golden goblets, and sold in bite-sized dev...

May 2, 2025

BY Rev. Heather

Dear American Evangelicals: Your Favorite Politicians Wouldn’t Have Even Liked Jesus

You are sucking at this. (and I did too). There’s something you need to hear, and it’s going to sting a little. Your favorite politicians? The ones you post memes about. The ones you claim are def...

May 1, 2025

BY Jeremy Steele

The Cross Is Not A Couch

Are You Committed to Christ, or Just Hooked on the Comfort He Brings? I used to sit in churches where the pastor would warn us about complacency. They’d stand behind the pulpit and say, “Don’t get...

April 30, 2025

BY Rev. Heather