Joe Smith

History shows us what happens when death becomes entertainment: Rome’s crosses. America’s lynching trees. Each one dressed up as “justice,” but really tools of terror.

✍️ I wrote about this in my latest Substack: The Dangerous Fantasy of Televised Executions.
👉 Link in bio to read.

Stephen Miller isn’t a builder of worlds. He isn’t shaping history.
He’s a side note. An asterisk in the Trump years. If his name shows up in textbooks, it will be in the footnotes of America’s ugliest chapters.

open.substack.com/pub/therealj...

If your theology protects pastors over children, demands purity from teens while excusing predators, and calls itself holy while covering harm—let it die. Some things need to die so something honest can rise. Something that actually looks like Jesus.

THIS IS AWESOME! I love Jason…such a great person doing amazing work. 👏👏👏

This can’t be real,” I say for the 700th time, knowing full well that it is, in fact, very real and very stupid.

If your faith leads you to fight for the right to hit disabled kids but not to feed the hungry ones in the lunchroom, then it’s not Christ you’re following.

“Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion awaiting burial.”
Dr. King Jr.

Why do they always have Jesus is king or Jesus is lord in their bios? What is it about this strain of Christianity that feels entitled or empowered to be such jack wagons?

It really is.

Hey @coreysnathan.bsky.social thanks for the book recommendation. How to Know a Person by David Brooks is fantastic!

You’re not wrong. This has always been Christianity since Constantine. However, there has also always been a Christianity that existed outside that imperial system. I think that’s worth fighting for.

100%

Empires build themselves on fear and chaos, but they always fall. Every single one. They burn bright, but they burn out. Stay grounded. Stay focused. Love doesn’t need to be loud to win—it just needs to endure.

This is what happens when Christianity is co-opted by empire. A government that boasts about chains is a government that has lost its soul. And a church that remains silent has lost its witness.

White Christian nationalism is obsessed with controlling LGBTQ+ people. They’d rather legislate suffering than face the truth:

Queer people exist, thrive, and belong fully in the image of God.

Christian leaders once said interracial marriage would destroy society. Now they say the same about trans rights.

If history teaches us anything, it’s this: The people screaming the loudest about “protecting the children” are often the ones we should be protecting them from.

Imagine sitting in church yesterday, hands raised in worship, while defending policies that kill the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized. Jesus wouldn’t be in that pew—he’d be the one those policies are crushing.

Singing praises to Jesus while supporting policies that destroy lives is the modern version of the priests saying, “We have no king but Caesar.” (John 19:15)

He who saves his country does not violate any law” is not patriotism—it’s a confession of corruption. It’s the lie every tyrant tells before they seize total power. And if Christians defend it, we are no longer standing with Christ—we are standing with empire.

He has sent me to declare that the poor deserve their lot, that prisoners should remain captive, that the sick don’t deserve healthcare, and that only the self righteous deserve freedom.

To proclaim this as the year of Christian dominance, where our kingdom will reign on earth.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, he has anointed me to protect the powerful, to ensure the rich get richer, to cast out the immigrant, and to silence the oppressed.

1/

Sometimes, the most radical thing we can do is keep the door open.

To stay soft, even when it hurts.

If the world knows you only by your persecution complex and not by your love, maybe it’s time to ask: What kind of witness are you really offering?

But Jesus didn’t say, “Be hated for being obnoxious, unkind, or judgmental.” He called us to love radically, serve humbly, and extend grace—even to those who disagree with us. 6/

When being hated becomes a badge of honor, it justifies cruelty and dismisses empathy. It fosters an “us vs. them” mentality that keeps people trapped in echo chambers of fear and pride. 5/

It’s curious, isn’t it? Many Christians take that part of Jesus’ message as a literal, inevitable fact. But what about His other words?
“Love one another as I have loved you.”
“They will know you by your love.”

Why isn’t that the defining marker of faith? 4/

This not only shuts down honest reflection but encourages believers to double down, escalating their separation from the very people they’re called to love. 3/

When Christians expect to be hated, any form of disagreement or accountability becomes “persecution.” Criticism of harmful behavior? Persecution. Being called out for bigotry or exclusion? Persecution. 2/

It’s deeply problematic when Christians claim they should be hated and persecuted simply because Jesus said, “The world will hate you because of me.” This mindset doesn’t just misinterpret scripture—it reinforces toxic, cult-like behaviors that thrive on isolation and animosity. 1/

Same! Thankfully, I typically will delete something before I hit send. Been getting better at it lately. Love the step by step you created.