#stephen wolfe

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Sarah Posner for TPM:

I am a journalist who has covered the Christian right for two decades. Over the past three years, I began to more frequently use the term “Christian nationalism” to describe the movement I cover. But I did not start using a new term to suggest its proponents’ ideology had changed. Instead, the term had come into more common usage in the Trump era, now regularly used by academics, journalists, and pro-democracy activists to describe a movement that insists America is a “Christian nation” — that is, an illiberal, nominally democratic theocracy, rather than a pluralistic secular democracy. To me, the phrase was highly descriptive of the movement I’ve dedicated my career to covering, and neatly encapsulates the core threat the Christian right poses to freedom and equality. From its top leaders and influencers down to the grassroots — politically mobilized white evangelicals, the foot soldiers of the Christian right — its proponents believe that God divinely ordained America to be a Christian nation; that this Christian nation has come under attack by liberals and secularists; and that patriotic Christians must engage in spiritual warfare to rid America of demonic forces, and in political action to restore its Christian heritage. That includes taking political steps — as a voter, as an elected official, as a lawyer, as a judge — to ensure that America is governed according to a “biblical worldview.”

If you want to see that definition in action, look no further than the career of House Speaker Mike Johnson. Seventeen years ago, when I interviewed Johnson, then a lawyer with the Christian right legal powerhouse Alliance Defending Freedom, I would have labeled him a loyal soldier in the Christian right’s legal army trying to bring down the separation of church and state. He is a product of and a participant in a sprawling religious and political infrastructure that has made the movement’s successes possible, from politically active megachurches, to culture-shaping organizations like Focus on the Family, to political players like the Family Research Council, to the legal force in his former employer ADF. 

In today’s parlance, Johnson is a Christian nationalist — although he, like most of his compatriots, has certainly not embraced the label. But Mike Johnson the House Speaker is still Mike Johnson the lawyer I interviewed all those years ago: an evangelical called to politics to be a “servant leader” to a Christian nation, dedicated to its governance according to a biblical worldview: against church-state separation, for expanded rights for conservative Christians, adamantly against abortion and LGBTQ rights, and especially, currently, trans rights. That mindset is still the beating heart of the Christian right, even as the movement, and other movements in the far-right space, have radicalized in the Trump era, taking on new forms and embracing a range of solutions to the apocalyptic trajectory they see America to be on. Different movements imagining a version of Christian supremacy exist side by side — different strains that often borrow ideas from one another, and that fit comfortably under the banner of Christian nationalism.  

The term “Christian nationalism” became popularized during Trump’s presidency for a few reasons. First, Trump, who first ran in 2016 on a nativist platform with the nationalist slogan “Make America Great Again,” was and still is dependent on white evangelicals to win elections and maintain a hold on power. He is consequently willing to carry out their goals, bringing their ambitions closer to fruition than they’ve ever been in their 45-year marriage to the Republican Party. They have been clear, for example, in crediting him for the downfall of Roe v. Wade, among other assaults on other peoples’ rights.

Second, the prominence of Christian iconography at the January 6 insurrection, and the support for Trump’s stolen election lie before, during, and after January 6 by both Christian right influencers and the grassroots, brought into stark relief that Christian nationalist motivations helped fuel his attempted coup.   Finally, sociologists studying the belief systems of Christian nationalists pushed the term into public usage, as did anti-nationalist Christians, especially after January 6, in order to elevate awareness of the threats Christian nationalism poses to democracy. (The paperback edition of my book, Unholy, which was published in mid-2021 and included a post-January 6 afterword, reflected the increasing usage of the term Christian nationalists by including the term in a fresh subtitle.)

The Trump era, along with the rise of openly Christian nationalist social media sites like Gab, and Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, have given space for otherwise unknown figures, like the rabidly antisemitic Gab founder Andrew Torba, co-author of the book Christian Nationalism: A Biblical Guide For Taking Dominion And Discipling Nations, and Stephen Wolfe, author of the racist book The Case for Christian Nationalism, to enter the Christian nationalism discourse. Although Torba and Wolfe have made waves online, and extremism watchers are rightly alarmed that their tracts could prove influential and radicalizing, they remain distinct from the Christian right. 

[...]

The conventional Christian right does not want a parallel society or a divorce. They believe they are restoring, and will run, the Christian nation God intended America to be — from the inside. They will do that, in their view, through faith (evangelizing others and bringing them to salvation through Jesus Christ); through spiritual warfare (using prayer to battle satanic enemies of Christian America); and through politics and the law (governing and lawmaking from a “biblical worldview” after eviscerating church-state separation). Changes in the evangelical world, particularly the emphasis in the growing charismatic movement on prophecy, signs and wonders, spiritual warfare, the prosperity gospel, and Trumpism, has intensified the prominence of the supernatural in their politics, giving their Christian nationalism its own unmistakable brand.

For decades, Christian right has been completely open about their beliefs and goals. Their quest to take dominion over American institutions by openly evangelizing and instituting Christian supremacist policies sets the Christian right apart from other types of Christian nationalists who might operate in secret, or imagine utopian communities as the ideal way to save themselves from a secular, debauched nation.  The fact that far-right extremists like Torba or Wolfe embrace the Christian nationalist label gives the more conventional Christian right leaders and organizations space to disassociate themselves from it. Some also berate journalists who use it to describe them, accusing them of hurling a left-wing slur at Christians. 

The bottom line is that Christian nationalism takes on different forms, and despite organizational or even ideological differences, ideas can penetrate the often porous borders between different camps. Someone who receives the daily email blast from the Family Research Council might also be drawn to Wolfe’s book, for example. On a more unnerving, macro level, major right-wing and GOP figures, including Marjorie Taylor Greene and the CEO of the Daily Wire, the podcast consortium run by conservative influencer Ben Shapiro, have embraced the rabidly antisemitic, Hitler-admiring antagonist Nick Fuentes, who is Catholic but also is accurately described as a Christian nationalist. The increasingly influential Catholic integralist movement, which seeks a Catholic-inflected replacement for the “liberal order,” is yet another unique form of Christian nationalism.

Sarah Posner wrote for TPM about the variants of Christian Nationalism within the larger Christian Right movement.

[ladysnowangel]

[classichorrorblog]

Village Of The Damned (1960)

[oliveoilcorp]

Hi there, new followers!~ (an intro post)

You can call me Olivia or Olive

she/her

Black Queer graphic novelist / illustrator / writer of werewolves, supernatural horror, romance, etc.

ºMy Portfolio, Socials, and Store Linksº

Recent works include...

Darlin' and Her Other Names: A werewolf-western-horror-romance comic set across Colorado and Kansas in 1881. The story follows two strangers who meet in a moment of mutual desperation and forge a vengeful partnership. The first installment, Part 1: Marta, was self-published online in March 2023.

BALLAD FOR BLACK CASSANDRA (coming soon): A brooding comic-poem debuting in October 2024 as part of the ShortBox Comics Fair. 

Hyssop: A short horror comic featured in the Ignatz award-winning horror anthology Shades of Fear... "Rachel becomes a live-in caregiver for an elderly woman on a rural property. Things between the woman and her daughter have been tense, and Rachel quickly realizes that this is no ordinary job."

The Muse: A short horror comic featured in Dark Horse Comics' Headless Horseman Halloween Annual... "Dear Writer, Congratulations on your acceptance to the Meadowgrove Writing Residency..."

Artie and the Wolf Moon: A middle-grade werewolf graphic novel that follows 8th grader Artemis "Artie" Irvin after she accidentally uncovers her hidden werewolf heritage.

That's about it! Thanks for following along with my work 💕

[fuckwhoeverpickedallthefunnyurls]

Y'all know I'm right.

[rosebug3]

OG Falsettos casts Revival Falsettos in an old playbill article.

Well, one of them guessed right. It probably helped that Michael did two previous shows with Christian, during which Christian fangirled about Falsettos and Marvin. It is really cute that he did think of him.

Leslie did attend opening night and I think this is the first time I’ve heard from Jonathan since the original closed. It’s cool that he came back for this.

[incorrect-losers]

Bill: Nobody got hurt

Eddie: I broke my arm

Bill: Nobody got seriously hurt

Eddie: I was in the ER for 6 hours

Bill: Okay do you want to know the truth, Eddie? Your little wrist in a cast is about-

Bill *squatting down holding his hand an inch over the ground*: this high on our list of problems right now

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Mark Sumner at Daily Kos:

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance is a jerk. The Ohio senator is a feckless liar and inveterate blowhard whose squinty-eyed smirk only flashes after he’s delivered a line that he thinks will cause someone pain. There’s a very good reason why Vance is the most disliked figure on either party’s ticket this election year: He’s an unmitigated asshole. 

But there’s a group of white men who believe that he may be something more. They see Vance’s ugly attacks on women, immigrants, and others as points to be celebrated. And they see him as the leader they’ve been looking for, a kind of anti-diversity messiah—a “Christian Prince” for a white nationalist America. As Mother Jones reports, these men pore over Vance’s words, searching for hidden signals with a kind of fervor usually reserved for “Bible code” numerologists. When Vance says America is “a group of people with a shared history and a common future” they don’t hear patriotic pablum. They hear a clear message that America was created for them and only them—and everyone else needs to go.

[...] They’re looking beyond, to a nation Trump barely hints at. For Trump supporters, he may be Orange Jesus, but for the “TheoBros” who thirst after Vance’s every word, Trump is more John the Baptist—the guy who made it possible for the real deal to take center stage. Christian nationalists have been a threat to American democracy for decades, but as Mother Jones reports, these aren’t the dusty old evangelists who have crowded the AM radio airwaves and supported past Republican candidates.

[...] The idea that the 19th Amendment should be repealed gives a good idea of what they think about Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. As one of Vance’s biggest admirers writes, the idea of being governed by a woman is a “punishment from God.”  With her diverse ethnic background, her record of professional accomplishments, and her lack of biological children, Harris might as well be standing in a flaming red pentagram as far as these men are concerned. That her husband is Jewish is not a plus. Vance—a conservative Catholic married to a Hindu—doesn’t seem like the obvious candidate to carry the message of angry, narrow-minded, Protestant purity. However, he’s found that as long as he regularly voices their ideas on the national stage, the TheoBros seem willing to overlook his little peccadilloes and provide him with rabid support. He knows how to blow their dog whistles, and he blows them regularly.

Far-right male TheoBros, led by Joel Webbon and Douglas Wilson, are pushing to make Trump VP Pick J.D. Vance the “Christian Prince” of America with its Christian Nationalist vision.

See Also:

Mother Jones: To Understand JD Vance, You Need to Meet the “TheoBros”

[ladysnowangel]

Summer nonfiction reading

[its-to-the-death]

Glasses Swag Sequel Preliminary Round #15

Only one will make it into the bracket!

[teenwolfpackincorrectcaptions]

Stiles: We’re partners. Derek: Temporarily! Matt: I don’t think it’s temporary. You two were made for each other.

[weirdlookindog]

Barbara Shelley and Martin Stephens in Village of the Damned (1960)

[johnny-dynamo]

The Monster Squad by Stephen Sandoval

[dxcstrange-stuff]

It's THAT time again folks!! ✨

I'm opening up my comms with a COMPLETELY new sheet! AND with more options! :)

I'll close them again once I get to a specific amount so be sure to nab a spot! Just shoot me a DM or an email if you're interested!

The link to my commission sheet and TOS is HERE

Any support is GREATLY appreciated, and if you have any questions, don't be afraid to send me a message!! I'm always happy to help 💖🪶

[muined]

I cosplayed as Gardiner from Wolf Hall (and real life, but this was specifically the Wolf Hall TV series version) at a Renn Faire (which one? oooooh mysteryyy) this past weekend:

The hat (a Canterbury Cap, pattern by me and sewing by my mom, the only high-effort part of an outfit otherwise composed of random stuff I already owned) was a little wonky, we adjusted it after the Faire. I mostly wanted to do this because I thought Gardiner doing normal modern activities while dressed like this would be funny. Someone confidently identified me to a friend as the princess from A Knight's Tale, who, to be fair, also has a funny headdress.

Cromwell, get up wake up. You fucked up big time