Ryan Flanigan

Christian Nationalism 101

@Ferndiggity I once sang in Benny Hinn’s choir. True story.

Here we have Paula White trying to make a woman fall over in the Spirit but the woman ain’t having it. These kinds of services were my mainstay when I was a teenager. I barely survived with my faith intact.

@griffingulledge I have seen you speak consistently. I respect you for that. Something is off, though, in your assessment of Talarico. You judge him as an unbeliever on the basis of (clips) his theology alone. He is not a classic theological liberal, btw.

@FrFlanigan Convenient of you to try and make this a discussion about judging me instead of about judging him, who has sought a public platform for his views. The assumption that I haven’t shows you know nothing about me.

Is conservatism Christianity?

@griffingulledge Do you speak with as much certainty about the unchristianness of conservatives who use their platform to advocate for things that are contrary to Christ? It was safer for you to judge Talarico so quickly because he’s liberal. And used trans and abortion in the same sentence.

@FrFlanigan The benefit of the doubt is then lost when you repeatedly use your platform to advocate for things that are contrary to Christ, contrary to the scripture, and contrary to the entire tradition universally held Christian ethics. “Life” isn’t separate from the things you advocate.

@griffingulledge Agree. Wouldn’t it be the charitable thing, then, to give someone the benefit of the doubt who has flawed beliefs, and yet their life reflects the love of Christ? Conversely, what if someone has perfect theology, and yet their life does not reflect the love of God?

@FrFlanigan It is one necessary indicator (what the Bible calls "fruit"), but not the sole indicator.

@griffingulledge I appreciate the dialogue. This is important. It seems you assess Christianness based on theological beliefs? Is that how we know people are Christians?

@FrFlanigan Theological liberalism is not synonymous with liberalism. My critique is of the former.

@griffingulledge I know there are certain liberal values you find inconsistent with Christianity, but can you think of any liberal values that Jesus might affirm? I can think of many conservative values that are inconsistent with Christianity, and yet I don’t write off all conservatism.

@FrFlanigan As you well should. Christianity is Christianity, and no other -isms serve as synonyms. Some -isms also have the force of negation.

@griffingulledge I consider as theologically suspect those who think conservatism is Christian.

@FrFlanigan Not necessarily, but it’s not diametrically opposed.

James Talarico is too busy loving the people conservatives hate to respond to their libel. I know someone else whom the Scripture experts hated for his scandalous views. Keep up the good work, @jamestalarico. You’re in good company.

Trump didn’t fire Kristi Noem because she failed to respond to the floods in Texas which claimed the lives of at least 100 people. He didn’t fire her because Americans were murdered by her rabid masked goons. He didn’t fire her for posing for photos in front of human beings in cages like they were livestock. He didn’t fire her for racially profiling Latinos, African-Americans, Arab Americans and Asian Americans. He didn’t fire her because she was arresting legal permanent residents and US citizens and detaining them illegally. He didn’t fire her because she was keeping children in fetid, rancid concentration camps without access to clean water, fresh food or medical care. He didn’t fire her for turning our cities into militarized war zones. He fired her because she made him “look bad.” That was the red line. None of the other things were.

Lotsa people abouta get an education in trinitarian theology.

White Christian Nationalism, pure and simple.

Jesus would have a hard time recognizing what most modern American rightwingers think a devout Christian is: cruel, violent, selfish, racist, anti-immigrant, pro-rich.

@Peter_Assad Great Substack by a friend.

@Peter_Assad open.substack.com/pub/jeremiahgr…

Quick reminder: What’s happening in Iran is no more the battle of Armageddon than every other war of all of time. The blood “up to the knees” is less a statement on the brutality of a single event, and more a metaphor on the sum total of suffering caused by human violence.

Dangerous people should not be allowed into the country. Dangerous people should not be allowed to get guns. Texans understand this — you apparently don’t.

“Spliced” Ryan Flanigan February 28, 2026

The principality of darkness undergirding Christian Nationalism is whiteness. When you hear people say things like “our culture” or “American identity,” what they are saying is “unless you are a white, English-speaking Christian, you are not one of us.”