iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

2. Hamilton said people should repent of their meat consumption—a veritable heresy in cowtown Kansas City! More boos! 3. The final and most egregious reason is that @hamilton4kansas.bsky.social's church supported Pride fest. Vance plays this up as something appalling and scandalous.

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The cherry on top is Vance's attack on @hamilton4kansas.bsky.social. JD said Holscher is "not as crazy" as Hamilton—returning once more to the leitmotif of the rally. Why is Hamilton so "crazy"? 1. Hamilton, Vance said, calls people to "repent of white privilege." The crowd booed at this.

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But Vance can't keep up the reasonable image for very long. He pivots hard again back to the MAGA rhetoric the crowd loves. Here he goes after Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cindy Holscher, whom he calls a "left-wing lunatic." Why? Because she idolizes Gavin Newsome and see Cali as a model.

Vance pairs his obscenely racist comments with moments like this, where he does his best impression of a somewhat reasonable pre-Trump politician. Here he gives a standard colorblind message about everyone, "white or black," being a child of God. It's like Vance is experimenting to see what sticks.

Vance did his best Trump impression by painting immigrants as dangerous, claiming that Democrats let in "murders, predators, gang leaders." He then told a long story about Akhror Bozorov—supposedly an Uzbek jihadist who was arrested by ICE in Kansas. DHS's press release about him is online.

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Trying to post a different version of that video again. This is the immediate aftermath of the protester during Vance's speech.

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At this point a protester interrupted Vance. This was the 2nd time a protester made a scene, but both felt so contrived and convenient, like they were plants. Vance said the last time he was interrupted, the protester "had the common courtesy to bring a Mexican flag so we knew where he stood."

Vance put his distinctively Catholic postliberal spin on this with the line: "This isn’t about hating anyone. It’s about loving our fellow Americans." This is a reference to the ordo amoris that Vance often claims in support of his nativist, anti-immigrant policies.

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Vance is clearly campaigning for 2028. His speech was arguably the least bombastic of the day, the most similar to a pre-Trump stump speech. But he still had his moments, especially toward the end. The first half about was praising GOP leaders in the area and talking about Webco as a model.

VP JD Vance, trying to appear presidential.

After booing US Rep Sharice Davids (who represents Olathe), Loeffler got the crowd riled up in support of Vance, who came out to cheers of "USA! USA!"

More lines from Loeffler: - "We want common sense over crazy" - Dems want to "open our borders, close our prisons" - Dems were "laughing at the 9/11 memorial service" - "Thanks to Trump, common sense is back" - "He's deporting illegal aliens" - "He's protecting girls in sports" (huge applause)

The event was supposed to end at 1:30, but around 1:35, after a lot of waiting, Kelly Loeffler appeared as the official intro to Vance. This was the closest thing to a Trump speech. Here are some highlights: "Dems want to trade your freedom for their power" "It's America forgotten or America first"

Marshall ended his speech by sharing a story. He claimed that on the Monday after the July 2024 assassination attempt on Trump, Trump called him up to ask for his opinion on Vance as a VP pick. Marshall then said he stopped to ask how Trump was doing and said they "shared a solemn moment."

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Now we get to the main event. Next up was Senator Roger Marshall. The rally was largely about trying to support Marshall's campaign against @hamilton4kansas.bsky.social, and the crowd went wild for Marshall. Marshall said Hamilton is "too weak to stand up to China." He praised Trump's tariffs.

Roger Marshall, looking smarmy as usual.

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Michael Austin, the chief economic adviser to former KS governor Sam Brownback, then led the audience in saying the Pledge of Allegiance. An elderly woman in front of me gave a genuine Nazi salute and looked around with a smile afterwards.

Michael Austin, one-time KS economic adviser and failed candidate for state treasurer.

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Next was a long prayer by a Dr. Ron E. Wilson (or maybe Ronnie Wilson). This was the most Christian nationalist moment of the day. He thanked God for a nation that recognizes "In God We Trust," for the founders who established a Christian nation, for the 50 in Ripon, WI who started the GOP, et al.

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The rally began with Danedri Herbert, chairwoman of the GOP in Kansas. She's a former journalist who lives in Gardner, just south of Olathe. She wasted no time in saying that Dems would "mutilate children" and open borders. She said 9/11 should remind us why we always need to vote Republican.

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This was my first encounter with secret service. The line of cars to get in went for a LONG time and moved very slow. Like many, I ended up pulling into a lawn nearby and walking the rest of the way. Turns out it was slow because security was doing a full vehicle check (including under the hoods).

Walking into the event at Webco Manufacturing

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It struck me how similar these political rallies are to sporting events, where you have "your team" and you are supposed to be loyal to your team no matter what they do, no matter how awfully they play, or how terrible their leadership is. The GOP has effectively exploited this fandom culture.

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As I was walking in, I was surrounded by people in MAGA fashion like this—shirts praising Charlie Kirk as a true patriot—as well as your usual MAGA hats. But there was also many Chiefs jerseys, because of tonight's season opener.

Family walking into the rally with matching shirts about Charlie Kirk

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David W. Congdon @dwcongdon.com · 11/09/2026

Today I attended the MAGA rally at Webco Manufacturing in Olathe, KS, where JD Vance was the featured speaker. This was my first time being at a MAGA event, and it was an eye-opening experience. There was a complete cell deadzone at the event, so I wasn't able to post in real time. 🧵

Picture of JD Vance at the podium in Olathe.

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I was honored to be able to introduce my author, Sam Walker, at yesterday’s event. I recommend watching his talk. It was both informative and moving.

David W. Congdon @dwcongdon.com · 10/09/2026

TIL the church fathers are actually fanfic from the late middle ages.

Amazon review of Varieties of Christian Universalism, edited by David W. Congdon.

Dennis Gannon
Weak job of proving a truth
August 24, 2026

While Christian Universalism is true, they did a poor job of proving it. Only one of the authors tries to come close. Some don't know the "church fathers" are fictions written in the 1400s, 1500s. Real Christians just want exegesis from the Bible like the Universalists of the 1800s did. Also, like the other four views books, the authors did not review/critique the other views.

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David W. Congdon @dwcongdon.com · 03/09/2026

Great to see the inimitable @stephenknott.bsky.social at the APSA conference in Boston. His book is on sale here, along with many others. Come stop by and say hello.

David W. Congdon @dwcongdon.com · 20/08/2026

A truly shameful but revealing post last night by Christianity Today, in which Bonnie Kristian—author of the new book defending American evangelicalism—praises the posthumously published AI-generated book by Charlie Kirk. This is who they always were, but now it's plain.

FB post by Christianity Today:

Charlie Kirk’s “Stop, in the Name of God,” is “overwhelmingly as its title suggests: a sincere and faithful exhortation to keep the Sabbath and serve the Lord,” writes Bonnie Kristian
Also, with familiar sentence construction (“It’s not this. It’s that.”), repeated and rephrased content, and misquotations, the assassinated activist’s posthumous book “appears to have been made with the help of generative artificial intelligence.”
I’m thankful for it anyway, Kristian says.
“I think about the readers Kirk would have had in mind: young men, uncertain about what they believe, unsure of their place and value in the world, confused about how to live, in need of a role model, and perpetually being invited into the most dangerous and disgusting corners of the internet.
When I think about those young men and the alternatives to Kirk and his earnest plea for Sabbath-keeping, then, without a doubt, I want them to read this book.”

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David W. Congdon @dwcongdon.com · 17/08/2026

As promised, here is my piece on peer review. Please be sure to read my introductory remarks. dwcongdon.substack.com/p/breaking-u...

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David W. Congdon @dwcongdon.com · 12/08/2026

Brutal paragraph from Pitchfork's 0.0 review of $TARFACE (Tyga)'s new self-titled album.

From Pitchfork's 0.0 review of $TARFACE's self-titled album:

If you want to get a sense of what $TARFACE actually sounds like, I suggest going to the free-to-use music AI music generator Treblo (née Sonauto), allegedly the one that Fenix Flexin used to create his hit single “Rubberz,” and typing in the following tags: “tyga, 1980s, synthpop, new wave, 80s pop, tyga, tyga, tyga, sung, thriller, synth.” (You have to type “tyga” a bunch of times to make the model realize you want Tyga’s vocals; do not, under any circumstances, try to add a “Fenix Flexin” tag to get your AI Tyga to sing because it’ll just spit out Fenix Flexin vocals.) I’m not saying the record is AI-generated; all I’m saying is that I was personally able to generate a song that sounded exactly like $TARFACE, assuming it had included a song about a critic trying to write a review of a Tyga album.

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David W. Congdon @dwcongdon.com · 05/08/2026

Despite repeated efforts by conservatives, Kansas continues to be one of the most consistent in supporting abortion rights. Amendment 1 was the latest attempt to circumvent the will of the people—and it has failed spectacularly.

Results of voting on Amendment 1 in Kansas: 37% Yes and 63% No, with 70% of votes counted.

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David W. Congdon @dwcongdon.com · 04/08/2026

This is where I live. I swear if a polling location forced me to use a Republican ballot I would literally explode into flames.

The Lee's Summit Community SheKnowsStuff • 11m • S
...
So this is a hot mess:
FYI: Election poll site Holy Spirit Catholic Church Lee's Summit ran out of democratic ballots so they are encouraging democrats to only vote for the bipartisan issues and skip voting for people running for office. No matter how you plan to vote, this should piss you off.

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David W. Congdon @dwcongdon.com · 24/07/2026

If you'll be at AAR/SBL this year, save the 9:30am slot on Saturday, 11/28 to come hear my paper on Karl Barth and American Christian nationalism.

AAR panel on Saturday, Nov. 28.

Hosted by: Karl Barth Society of North America
Theme: Karl Barth and Christian Nationalism
Cambria Kaltwasser, Northwestern College, Orange City, presiding
Paul Dafydd Jones, presiding
This session comprises two papers that reckon with Karl Barth's work in relation to Christian nationalism, past and present, along with responses and a period of QandA.

Papers

David Congdon
The Politics of God’s Yes: Karl Barth in Conversation with American Christian Nationalism

Nicola Whyte
On Nationalism, Patriotism, and Sin: Reading Karl Barth in Scotland
Respondent
Philip G. Ziegler
Keith Johnson

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David W. Congdon @dwcongdon.com · 24/07/2026

If you need a palate cleanser, here are some photos I took during the last two weeks while on vacation in Oregon.

Lookout near Oswald West State Park in Oregon

One of the Ten Falls at Silver Falls State Park

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David W. Congdon @dwcongdon.com · 23/07/2026

My AAR talk from last fall on the postliberal ecclesiology of Project 2025 is now out in the journal Ecumenical Trends. The article is an extension/sequel to my Journal of Religion article from last year. If you want a copy, leave a comment or send me a message.

First page of the article "Resident Arsonists: The Postliberal Ecclesiology of Project 2025" by DAVID W. CONGDON.

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David W. Congdon @dwcongdon.com · 16/07/2026

The bio on the back is very generous—calling me one of the theologians who has studied Bultmann the most deeply and saying that my first book "reshaped the landscape of English-language Bultmann studies." My sincere thanks to Kim Ji-ho for this translation!

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David W. Congdon @dwcongdon.com · 16/07/2026

I was excited to learn my guide to Rudolf Bultmann's theology was published in Korean—something I found out on Facebook this week when someone in Korea tagged me in their post. mall.godpeople.com?G=9791189092...

Cover image for the Korean translation of my introductory book on Rudolf Bultmann

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David W. Congdon @dwcongdon.com · 15/07/2026

Went to Powell’s City of Books and found one of my old books on the shelf. Never gets old seeing my work on the shelf of my favorite bookstore.

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David W. Congdon @dwcongdon.com · 12/07/2026

Here is the paragraph that discusses my work. The article is not as bad as I feared—though it ends predictably with the usual conservative claim that progressive churches are pushing people away.

Then there are the Biblical arguments. Within this theological framework, “mononormativity” is seen as exclusionary, hierarchical and judgmental, whereas polyamory reflects the radical acceptance and divine grace embodied by Jesus. “The very nature of Jesus’s ministry suggests the abolition of exclusive norms,” theologian David Congdon wrote last year. Hence the early Christian community’s decision to share all possessions in a communal spirit. “If one’s material goods ought not belong exclusively to one person,” Congdon wrote, “how much less should a fellow human being be viewed as exclusively belonging to another?”

From the official White House account. Not at all subtle.

White House X account posted an image of "Let Us Have Peace" by American artist Jean Leon Gerome Ferris with the words “whose broad stripes & bright stars through the perilous fight.”

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Redeemed Zoomer—AKA Richard Ackerman—ironically making a good case for becoming Catholic.

Redeemed Zoomer @redeemed_zoomer
X.com
"If you wanna stay and fix the church and not leave it, why not just join Rome?"
BECAUSE, in the PCUSA, you can reject their recent liberal councils without getting excommunicated.
In Rome, you CANT DO THAT. They just excommunicated the dissenters from Vatican II

Matthew Vines is part of a larger story. In April Ben Appel published a similar op-ed in WSJ. Last November he published Cis White Gay, about how he left the "Cult of Queer" at Columbia University. The same month McCrea published a book on how the addition of T and Q to LGB was hubris.

I’m Gay, but That Doesn’t Make Me ‘Queer’
My sexuality doesn’t require me to reject all that is ‘normal’ and ‘legitimate.’
By Ben Appel
April 2, 2026 2:59 pm ET

Cover image of Cis White Gay by Ben Appel

Cover image of The End of the Gay Rights Revolution by Ronan McCrea

Opinion
Guest Essay
I’m Gay, Not Queer. It Matters.
June 30, 2026, 5:02 a.m. ET
by Matthew Vines

First Things is falling all over themselves trying to be the most anti–birthright citizenship mouthpiece. They’ve read the tea leaves for the conservative movement and decided to go all in on this.

Is Trump v.
Barbara the New
Roe?
RACHEL BOVARD
The Supreme Court's decision against Trump's birthright citizenship ban is a disaster for the nation, writes Rachel Bovard. The conservative movement must work to undo it.

Birthright
Citizenship Is
Living on
Borrowed Time
R. R. RENO
Editor R. R. Reno writes that today's world is not one where the broad application of the Fourteenth Amendment is viable. Tuesday's Supreme Court decision upholding birthright citizenship only puts off the explosive issue of mass migration.