A Year of Jubilee, MAGA's Christian Fear, Meta Surrenders

Plus, Biden nearly empties death row

Hi everyone,

We know this year is going to be a chaotic and difficult one politically, but we will continue to be here doing what we do to root all of us in Jesus and find hope. Below you’ll find a lot of resources to help, including an upcoming prayer session and, for our paid subscribers, our monthly Zoom call.

Also, we wanted to give you a heads up that we’re going to be trying something new in the upcoming editions of this newsletter. We’ll still be going every other week for now, but we’ll also be writing the newsletter individually, the two of us rotating in every other post. We hope it lends more of a personal touch to the writing, and we would love to hear your feedback once you read it!

Our highlights this week include:

- Andrew Whitehead on the emotional roots of Christian Nationalism

- The Catholic Year of Jubilee, Jesus, and justice

- Meta Bends the Knee to Trump

- Biden nearly empties federal death row, and commutes almost 1500 sentences

- Jonathan keeps us grounded with a prayer session before the inauguration

- And our monthly Zoom call for paid subscribers

Jonathan’s Recommendations

Andrew Whitehead on the Emotional Roots of Christian Nationalism

When I wrote my essay about White American Folk Religion for our anthology in 2020, I found other people calling out the same heretical theology. One of them was Professor

Andrew Whitehead

, who I’ve followed ever since. In a recent essay, he examines national survey data to draw a clear connection between (mostly White) people’s Christian nationalist politics and their fear of losing freedom as they are replaced by ethnic and racial “others.” He says, "Fear and a sense of threat are incredibly powerful, especially for creating strong in-group ties and motivating group members toward a particular goal. The quickest way to know who ‘we’ are is to know who ‘we’ are not.” As I think about everything that is coming this year in the new Trump administration, I want to be clear that choosing Jesus over White American Folk Religion takes more than simply rejecting beliefs. The thing we are so often combating is fear. Choosing God’s love over that fear takes intentional, daily actions. May we all press into the formation necessary to follow Jesus well and lead others to do the same.

- Read Whitehead’s essay

The Catholic Year of Jubilee, Jesus, and Justice

Joash Thomas

is a great follow on Substack. Last week, he wrote a reflection on Pope Francis’ declaration that 2025 is a year of Jubilee. Both Thomas’ essay and the papal declaration are a refreshing and full-throated call to resist American empire and rebuke exploitative capitalism. What I appreciate the most is Thomas’ push to connect our faith with the rich history of Christian traditions that take the Bible’s radical call to justice seriously. Additionally, I appreciate that he directs us back to the teachings of Jesus. This is the type of reflection I hope to see among believers in 2025 and beyond. Thomas’ book, The Justice of Jesus, comes out in September. I can’t wait, and you can sign up to get notified when pre-orders become available.

- Read Thomas’ article

Sy’s Recommendations

Meta Bends the Knee to Trump

Mark Zuckerberg announced on Tuesday that Meta will make several changes to its social media platforms ostensively in the name of free speech. The announcements are actually concessions to Donald Trump who complains non-stop about the company’s “liberal bias” and its “censorship” of “truths” like Joe Biden’s election theft. Among the announcements, Meta will stop flagging posts on immigration and gender. This will once again allow users to claim without fear of consequence that, for instance, women are the property of men or queer people are mentally ill. Notably, Zuckerberg’s announcement made no mention of the constant complaints from the left that Meta censors pro-Palestine posts. Meta’s also getting rid of its fact checkers, who admittedly did relatively little to stop the spread of misinformation. But there will be an even less-effective method of fighting lies: community notes à la Twitter. Plus, ditching fact checking is a direct capitulation to a demand from Trump’s incoming nominee for FCC Chairman. These are just two of Meta’s several announcements, and there are many more problems associated with them than I’ve mentioned here. I encourage people to watch Zuckerberg’s whole reel plus the articles I link here. We’re going to have to be on our toes in the upcoming years for institutions currying favor with Trump while claiming high-minded values like free speech. And we’ll have to make some decisions about whether we want to continue using those company’s products. Of course, you could all just join me on the 100% non-profit, algorithm -free Mastodon. Just saying…

- Read about Meta’s announcements

Biden Nearly Empties Federal Death Row, Commutes Almost 1500 Sentences

It’s worth celebrating good news when we hear it at the moment, especially as inauguration day looms closer. In December, President Biden commuted the sentences of about 1500 federal prisoners, by far the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history. Chiefly, he was allowing people who had been released from prison to home confinement because of the Covid-19 pandemic to remain there for the rest of their sentences. Our prisons in America are violent, dehumanizing, and engage in arbitrary acts of torture like solitary confinement. I’m more or less happy when anybody gets out of one. I hope this serves as proof to politicians and others that we can safely free lots of people. But President Biden took his clemency one step further and commuted the death sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row to life in prison. Trump wanted to kill as many of these people as possible, so that particular evil has been thwarted. Let’s thank God for this good news.

- Read about Biden’s Clemency

Staying Grounded with Jonathan

For many people, the beginning of 2025 feels overwhelming. It’s a continuation of so many recent challenges with no end in sight. Unless we stay focused on Jesus, it could be easy to feel lost and believe that our efforts don’t matter. But when I root myself in God’s word, lean into His community, and stay present to the needs around me, I find renewed strength and purpose. On January 17, from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EST, my team at my job with Intervarsity will host a virtual gathering to pray in preparation for President Trump and other new elected officials taking the oath of office. We will be going through This guide to praying for political enemies, which has been a tremendous help to me. Coming together in prayer deepens my dependence on God. It reminds me that our faith is not only personal, but also collective. Let’s join in seeking God’s guidance for our leaders and communities as we head into this difficult time.

- Register for the prayer gathering

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