Sign in

Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought

@crucibleofthought.com
799 followers 292 following 1.6K posts

Assigned Evangelical At Birth. I'm writing a book on the abuse & weaponization of fear in religion. Blog at crucibleofthought.com

PostsRepliesMedia
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 14h
It's going to be a long October. Soon, for only the second time in my life, I'll be voting for Democrats. Even though I feel our politics are critically important, there are plenty of wiser and louder voices speaking now, so I won't be saying much about that; follow me if you want a different focus.
100
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 15h
For years I wrestled with "bouncing my eyes" when I noticed a female figure. But when nobody can tell you if you crossed that invisible line where noticing ends and looking begins - when purity culture says "you're lusting, dude!" - that "bounce your eyes" behavioral fix will fail *every* time. And:
120
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 30/09/2026
It's amazing the excuses that fear will hand you, the opium that it pumps into your brain to numb the pain and discomfort of human relationships. In some perverse way, I think fear is a friend to most of us. It's utterly predictable when people aren't.
011
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 29/09/2026
Who we are is often defined by the things that divide us from others.
110
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 29/09/2026
Six years ago, I started to realize I no longer believed what my tribe preached. And I also realized that was incredibly dangerous to my standing in the tribe. I was going to have to choose: follow what the Spirit was telling me, or shut up and conform. 1/6
120
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 28/09/2026
I was 30+ years into marriage before I realized I'd probably harmed myself and my marriage far more by obsessing over the "chewed gum" & "licked cupcake" fears that purity culture created in me, than any actual harm from a bit of fooling around before marriage. Those lies it teaches you stick hard.
110
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 27/09/2026
The Wesleyan Quadrilateral says that our theological method is based on scripture, tradition, reason, and Christian experience. But our interpretation of scripture is inherently based on our received tradition. One may claim "prima scriptura" but in reality tradition arrives first.
120
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 27/09/2026
Here's exactly what's wrong with the right wing today. This was a response from a Christian evangelical acquaintance, to my detailed and sourced and fact-checked post about the supposed but illusory drug price reductions under TrumpRx. "I see your facts and I raise you my dogma."
110
Reposted by Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought
Transphobes Can't Read @lordaslan.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
lol
A series of tweets that reads "we didn't have a measles outbreak until we let in four years of millions of people pour over our border" 

"I live in Honduras. We vaccinate" 

"I live in American we can choose if we want the shot or not" 

"I know and that's why you have measles and we don't"
129116071948
Reposted by Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought
Covie @covie93.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
If you have a dollar for every transgender athlete playing college sports you'd have about $6 which just happens to be the price for a gallon of diesel now. Congrats MAGAts, you played yourselves.
6841061082
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 21/09/2026
The only thing this administration is defending against is its own citizens. This is not freedom.
020
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 21/09/2026
"I have since stopped locating evil outside myself, because every time I have looked at it honestly I have found it in human choices and in the systems we build and tolerate and profit from, and I would rather take responsibility for that than hand it off to something I cannot see." (from my book)
000
Reposted by Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought
Dare Obasanjo @carnage4life.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
The economy is now so bad that MAGA can’t even afford to rent the libs.
415223
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 20/09/2026
I'm writing a book! "Perfect Love,Perfect Fear: How the Religion of Love Gave Me Fear as Its Tool" is about how fear is the perfect tool used by institutional religion to drive behavior and enforce tribal boundaries. Learn more on my blog. crucibleofthought.com/perfect-love...
crucibleofthought.com
Perfect Love,Perfect Fear: How the Religion of Love Gave Me Fear as Its Tool
I’m writing a book! The typical Christian has no idea that the underlying operating system of their faith, its primary tool, is actually fear. In 2020 I watched the American church utterly fail its major test: would it uphold the things it had taught for many decades? The resulting fallout only accelerated a trend of […]
010
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 20/09/2026
I just want candidates promising that they'll tear down literally everything that Trump has built or created and undoing every single one of his executive orders. That's it. That's the platform. I don't care about party. Just undoing it all. ALL.
000
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 20/09/2026
"The tradition in which I was raised considered “hell” to be a place of eternal torment: punishment that lasted for eternity. For decades, I accepted that definition unquestioningly." I no longer think that's the best reading of the scriptures.
011
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 19/09/2026
"Fear can unfortunately become a trusted companion, keeping you on what you see as the right path. And that fear is probably doing some unhealthy work in you, even while it may seem to be helping you. It’s a hideous but stealthy poison that can taste oh so sweet and be perversely oh so comforting."
011
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 18/09/2026
Two things drive human behavior: "Terror management theory": humans spend most of our lives trying to manage the terror of knowing that we all die. "Existentialism": we also spend most of our lives afraid we don't matter. Both are linked to fear. crucibleofthought.com/perfect-love...
crucibleofthought.com
Perfect Love,Perfect Fear: How the Religion of Love Gave Me Fear as Its Tool
I’m writing a book! The typical Christian has no idea that the underlying operating system of their faith, its primary tool, is actually fear. In 2020 I watched the American church utterly fail its ma...
010
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 17/09/2026
It's been a while since I posted a new episode, since I was working on my book. Recently, someone confronted me over my progressive doctrine, and said "I'm concerned for your soul." I thought that my response might be worth sharing with others. youtu.be/B26Lx5F7N2E
youtu.be
"I'm Concerned For Your Soul"
YouTube video by Crucible Of Thought
000
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 15/09/2026
Wait... so Kash Patel is looking out for the victims who were harmed by bestiality? The animals that the people victimized, right? Because the perpetrators are the humans. Oh, I get it... the FBI is hiring animals now. Never mind.
010
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 14/09/2026
Putting this image on the big screen during the entire sermon and printing it on the bulletin cover screams "we're lazy and careless."
An obviously-AI-generated image of a man laying on the ground, raising his arm to protect his eyes from blinding light, probably a reference to Saul on the road to Damascus in the Book of Acts. But the right arm appears in two different places, an obvious physical impossibility.
130
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 14/09/2026
The church I attend recently started using AI-generated images on its social accounts and printed bulletins. I wonder, would your participation in a church be affected by its obvious use of AI imagery?
310
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 14/09/2026
This is a problem. But here's the elephant in the room: we think of church like a giant corporation that has business interests and needs to protect its reputation. The entire underlying model doesn't look ANYTHING like the Bible describes. Why are we surprised it doesn't look and act like Jesus?
062
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 13/09/2026
You can also follow me on Tweet. app.tweet.app/user/crucibl...
app.tweet.app
000
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 13/09/2026
I'm writing a book! I just sent the first full draft to a printing service for a couple of hardcover copies. Time to get some other people's eyes on my writing.
120
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 10/09/2026
This is the party of family values and traditional heterosexual purity, folks. www.irishstar.com/news/politic...
020
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 09/09/2026
Someone really needs to point out to AI that if the humans die, they die too.
010
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 07/09/2026
What a powerful photo from an award-winning photojournalist (Omar N Ashtawy).
031
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 02/09/2026
Look, if he wants his name to be eternally tied to a symbol of the permanent loss of American influence in the Middle East, sure, go right ahead.
030
Reposted by Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought
Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Haha, a more fitting logo for Google.
588259336975
Reposted by Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought
Joe Walsh @walshfreedom.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
The Supreme Court today said the current president had the unilateral authority to tear down the East Wing of the White House and build a monstrous ballroom. That means the next president will have the unilateral authority to rebuild the East Wing and tear down the monstrous ballroom.
887112552637
Reposted by Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought
M Meerkat @kackbro.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Reflect On This,Trumpster.......
67925
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 31/08/2026
I compiled a sourced list of all the harmful and legally-questionable actions by the current Trump administration. Maybe this will be useful for others as we approach the election. crucibleofthought.com/trump-admini...
crucibleofthought.com
Trump Administration 2025-2026: Harmful Actions
This is a fairly thorough list of questionable and harmful actions by the 2025-2026 Trump Administration.
020
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 31/08/2026
Once again, a court has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from preventing mail-in voting. But the instability is stacking up; the "flood-the-zone" tactics by the administration will have an effect even if they ultimately lose. www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...
pbs.org
Judge again blocks Trump mail ballot executive order in ruling that’s likely to be swiftly appealed
A federal judge on Thursday halted — at least for now — attempts to implement President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting mail voting.
000
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 31/08/2026
I was Assigned Evangelical At Birth, and I've spent the last six years identifying as exvangelical. And given the "coming out" stories I've heard from my queer acquaintances of their coming out, the pushback I've experienced from my family is just as toxic.
050
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 30/08/2026
Let's call it Lake Epstein.
020
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 30/08/2026
There's a new acronym for remembering the names of the Great Lakes: SHAME.
030
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 30/08/2026
I grew up playing in the Canadian water on the shores of Lake Ontario. It will never be "Lake of America" no matter what some arrogant politician claims.
030
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 29/08/2026
Here’s a sign I saw in Florence, Italy, yesterday. The world is watching us, and is not impressed.
030
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 20/08/2026
Just a reminder that no matter how important you are, birds will poop on your statue too.
030
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 18/08/2026
Weird how people won't get a vaccine but are happy to get all kinds of other stuff injected, even when it's got significantly higher proven risks. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/17/w...
nytimes.com
Peptides, GLP-1 Drugs and Botox: Needles Are Everywhere Now
Weight-loss drugs, peptides, I.V.F. As sharps migrate out of doctors’ offices, even needle-phobics are willing to embrace shots.
040
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 17/08/2026
My hatred for the em dash has nothing to do with AI. I simply cannot abide a punctuation mark that separates two thoughts but looks exactly like a hyphen. If you're gonna use an em dash, it ought to have spaces on either side. A few extra pixels of dash length is not enough.
210
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 17/08/2026
I went looking on Fox News for stories about North Korea or South Korea. I found none. Your conservative friends have no idea what's going on.
063
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 14/08/2026
I posted over on Threads about the idiocy of Trump's new directive to go back to steam catapults. www.threads.com/@crucible_of...
021
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 13/08/2026
Really good blog post here.
010
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 12/08/2026
Get ready for an ugly November. Don't expect to wake up on the 4th and know who won any election; in any race with a Republican candidate who didn't get enough votes to win, there will be challenges. The inevitable cases will clog the courts. The precedent has been set; the facts no longer matter.
000
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 12/08/2026
I'm honored to have this piece published on Whosoever. whosoever.org/from-evangel...
whosoever.org
How Peter's Vision Helped Me Evolve From Fearful Evangelical Christian to Fierce Trans Ally
Whatever I believed about LGBTQ+ people, God was saying that God had made them clean. Like Peter, I could no longer protest about religious ideas I inherited.
241
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 10/08/2026
Last year after my Dad passed away, while we were cleaning out his belongings I found the carved wooden paddle he used to spank us children. 40 years later it was still in his house. Maybe he hadn't thought about it for those 40 years, but there it was. So I burned it. I now reject that teaching.
youtube.com
Finally burning my dad's hand-carved spanking paddle
YouTube video by Crucible Of Thought
130
Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought @crucibleofthought.com · 10/08/2026
What if this was always the point?
000
Reposted by Brandon @ CrucibleOfThought
Ben Makuh @benmakuh.com · 10/08/2026
One thing I wish Hegseth and his alpha male buddies knew is that sure, testosterone might help start wars, but it doesn’t help end them. To quote my favorite show The Expanse, “Here we are, still trying to kill our way to a better tomorrow.”
0111