There’s a ‘new’ conspiracy theory emerging on digital spaces like TikTok and Instagram. (Just search the hashtag.) Today, I want to offer a few quick thoughts on what it is, and what it means for our politics and our future. What is a 15 Minute City? The conspiracy theory is a reaction to an urbanContinue reading “We Built This City On Conspiracy Theory”
Author Archives: Jared Stacy
Fortune & Glory and Nostalgia
As film technology advances, the way we use it says something about our deepest longings. How theology intersects with de-aging in our favorite films and franchises… Get ready for more fortune and glory, kid. The trailer for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny dropped this week. It’s the 5th installment of a franchise that started back inContinue reading “Fortune & Glory and Nostalgia”
What We’re Missing With Musk
Elon Musk is now the self-proclaimed “chief twit”. His acquisition of Twitter has sparked strong reactions on the right and left. One question concerns both sides: will Donald Trump tweet again? I’ve been researching conspiracy theories and disinformation, particularly in the American church. And I’ve seen these two responses to Musk: elation and caution. ButContinue reading “What We’re Missing With Musk”
“Was Jesus Nice?” Is The Wrong Question
Asking if Jesus was “nice” or “mean”, whether he mocked his opponents or was winsome, is a proxy war. We are trafficking in baptized concepts of male domination and female domestication which themselves must be dismantled and reimagined in light of the gospel. In an interview this week Ken Harrison, who is the CEO ofContinue reading ““Was Jesus Nice?” Is The Wrong Question”
A (New) Lost Generation
In the classic World War I novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Remarque described the effect of the Great War on the men who fought it: “It is the common fate of our generation…We’ve been cut off from real action, from getting on, from progress. We don’t believe in those things any more;Continue reading “A (New) Lost Generation”
5 Great Quotes: Benjamin Lay
Benjamin Lay (1681-1759) was a Quaker activist who practiced a radical form of abolitionism drawn from his Christian convictions in the Quaker tradition. He wrote one book, published by Benjamin Franklin, which was titled: “All Slave-Keepers That Keep the Innocent in Bondage, Apostates.” Today, it’s common to hear “he was a man of his times”Continue reading “5 Great Quotes: Benjamin Lay”
The Triumph of Christianity?
The politics of conservative evangelicalism today seem fueled by equal parts nostalgia and paranoia. Nostalgia for the Bible Belt and paranoia of cultural and political winds. These winds of anxiety are enflaming a new (but old) form of theo-politics. The problem is many are calling for triumphs and forgetting the cross. ———— This summer ourContinue reading “The Triumph of Christianity?”
Why We Better Call Saul
The series “Better Call Saul” wraps this week on AMC. Over the last 6 seasons “Better Call Saul”—with its tale of Jimmy McGill turned con-man lawyer Saul Goodman—took on a life of its own. It was more than a spin off of the original “Breaking Bad”. It steps out from the shadow of Walter WhiteContinue reading “Why We Better Call Saul”
What Bonhoeffer Said When Hitler Survived
Today marks 78 years since the failed 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler. 78 years ago, and nearly 500 miles away, Dietrich Bonhoeffer sat in Tegal prison. He was waiting for news. He knew his suspicious associations (which had landed him in prison) would turn treasonous if the plot failed. When no news came, BonhoefferContinue reading “What Bonhoeffer Said When Hitler Survived”
Evangelical: Leave It or Love It?
There’s not one verse in the Bible where God says to the church: “and you shall call yourselves, “evangelicals”. Not one. There’s not even a verse for “Christian”. That ancient label was something given to followers of Jesus by their neighbors. (Acts 11.26) This should at least give us pause as we consider what itContinue reading “Evangelical: Leave It or Love It?”
Jared Stacy 