Matthew D. Taylor

visiting scholar at @GeorgetownFaith | | author "The Violent Take It by Force" | creator "Charismatic Revival Fury"

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

Announcing my new book: DEFYING TYRANTS: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists.

Pre-order now, out October 6th.

For those who've followed my reporting on Christian nationalism — this one goes somewhere different.

A thread. 🧵

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

DC-area friends: tomorrow night at Georgetown I’m joining @kkdumez, @robertpjones & @jimwallis to ask “What Now?” about faith, power & democracy the week after the midterms.

Tues 11/10, 6:30pm, Bioethics Research Library. Free & open to the public.

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

This isn’t the “religious left” coming back. It’s a play for the dissatisfied Christian middle, the politically homeless Christians the religious right left behind.

My advice to Democrats: keep up the God-talk.

https://t.co/bHa1muAETD
2/

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

My post-election hot take. 🔥

Talarico won Texas by 12. Hamilton won Kansas by ~5. That’s a 26-point and a 21-point swing from 2024. Both men are faith leaders. That’s not a coincidence. 1/

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

My latest in @BulwarkOnline

[The Bulwark @BulwarkOnline]

"Speaking from positions of immense power, they are using the idea as a tool to further their own power—precisely what the concept is meant to warn against."

@TaylorMatthewD on Thiel, Vance, and the Antichrist:
https://t.co/pyXIznIuOq

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

Tonight at 7 PM ET: a free online evening on my new book, Defying Tyrants, with @InsChr (Institute for Christian Studies).

Sign up and you'll receive an excerpt from the book.

Bring your questions to the live chat.

https://t.co/ZVzD4NXKLs

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

2/ Why I wrote it, and why Christians who love Jesus can't keep shrugging off each new MAGA blasphemy and moving on:

https://t.co/LslmlzGROD

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

1/ My new book, Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists, is out today.

It's a Bible-forward confrontation with Christian nationalism and the abuse of power in Jesus's name. In the book, I call it a "primal theological scream."

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

Today I joined @MatthiasBeier, psychoanalyst and theologian, for a Substack Live on Defying Tyrants. Thank you for the rich conversation, Matthias!

Watch: https://t.co/142WFv3sWC

📗 The book is out TOMORROW, Oct. 6: https://t.co/XitenA1Gcf

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

It was a tremendous honor to get to speak w/ my friend @JemarTisby about my new book, DEFYING TYRANTS (out Oct 6!).

We talked about Christian nationalism, Christian supremacy, & why the gospel of Jesus calls us to denounce such bastardizations of his way.
https://t.co/ZJEkLDgImR

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

Today, I'll be going live at 12pm (Eastern) with Jemar Tisby on his Substack (https://t.co/JWMXvNpJeP) to talk about my new book:

Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists

Please join us!

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

@Anonymous_jane9 Thanks for calling my attn to it. I hadn't seen that clip yet.

That's Norma (and Pasqual) Urrabazo. They were at the Int'l Church of Las Vegas, which was led by an NAR apostle & prophet, & now they're deep in both NAR circles & Trump advisory circles.

I should post about it.

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

In his "State of the Force" speech today, Pete Hegseth managed to wedge in 2 notable Christian nationalist phrases: "appeal to heaven" & "putting on the full armor of God."

Both of these represent a very dangerous & anti-democratic conflation of military service & religion. 1/

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

Hegseth is a peacock & a buffoon, so it's easy to laugh or write him off.

But I fear that when the history of collapse of Amer democracy under Trump 2.0 is written, Hegseth's ideological & relig consolidation of the military may be one of the most devastating developments. 4/

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

Hegseth also announced a new Office of Religious Affairs that will report directly to him, another tentacle of this effort.

When will Amer news media actually interview experts around the world in religious nationalism & democracy to accurately report how perilous this is? 3/

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

In a religiously diverse democracy the military is supposed to represent & defend everyone, but Hegseth's rhetoric sends a message:

Hardline Christian nationalists welcome. Others not.

The ideologization of the military is one of the most dangerous things for a democracy. 2/

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

Logrolling disclosure: @InsChr originally published my essay, and now I'm plugging their event about my book.

Please join us for the free livestream, Thu Oct 8, 7pm ET: https://t.co/ZVzD4NYiB0

Defying Tyrants is out Oct 6: 1/https://t.co/XitenA1Gcf. 2/

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

It's strange how Christians apply Jesus's teachings to every corner of our personal lives, then act as if a preacher Rome executed as an insurrectionist was politically neutral or ambiguous.

My latest Substack posts reconsiders the politics of Jesus. 1/

https://t.co/SLc83MqCKQ

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

This is the propaganda that is pumped into the algorithms of millions of American Christians.

I'm not talking about surveys or debates about statistics on Christian nationalism. What we are watching is a real-time, on-the-ground construction of a Christian religious state. 4/

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

I'm still utterly baffled by people who claim that "Christian nationalism" is too offensive or too harsh of a phrase to describe how far-right American Christians & churches behave.

This is Exhibit 1,393,284 of what "Christian nationalism" looks like. 1/
https://t.co/elz5mDJ3T5

[Matthew D. Taylor @TaylorMatthewD]

To decode charismatic evangelical-speak for the uninitiated: "Now it's reformation time" means that they believe that an end-times revival has begun, and that they are now empowered by God to take over local politics to enact the kingdom of God. 3/