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GruntGod2

GruntGod 2.1.4: How the Church Got Cain Wrong

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Don't be baḏ: a martial theodicy

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GruntGod 2.1.3: Reading Genesis 4 in Hebrew

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Fightin' Words

😇 Epiphany 2

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GruntGod2

GruntGod 2.1.2: Imago Dei and the Grunt

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GruntGod2

GruntGod 2.1.1: From Printing Press to PTSD

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GruntGod2

GruntGod 2.2.4: From Lamb to GOAT

Adventures in Veteraning

When Fellow Military Families Choose Silence

In 2014, my partner babysat Esau McCaulley's children in Scotland so he and his wife (a Navy Reserve medical officer) could work and teach. When Esau organized a prayer vigil after Mike Brown's murder, we showed up. That's what military families do for each

Adventures in Veteraning

Military Voices Only Count if They Confirm Civilian Bias

In April 2022, Chris Smith, editor of The Englewood Review of Books, declined to review my book God is a Grunt (Hachette). His reasoning was explicit: "the primary audience for this book (active military/veterans) is narrower than the previous books, and doesn't intersect well with our

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Fightin' Words

😇 Epiphany 1 (and Combative Noncombatant essay)

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GruntGod2

GruntGod v.2.2.3: Why Azazel Matters

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GruntGod v.2.2.2 Passover's Political Theology

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Update 20260108

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Where's the Battle? The Missing Word at the Heart of Epiphany

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Fightin' Words

😇 Xmas 2

Whoops! 😬 Philosopharmer is now Martinalian 👽

I realized I made changes to my newsletter without telling you—sorry! Since landing in Oregon with some geographical stability, I've been able to commit energy to projects I've dreamed about forever. The Chapter House is one (still can't believe it's real,

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Between Wanna-Warriors and Toxic Pacifists: Where Grunt Works Stands

Adventures in Veteraning

The Fourteen-Year Echo: When "Lament" Becomes Liturgical Theater

I've been sitting with something that makes my skin crawl. In October 2011, I interviewed Stanley Hauerwas at Duke. We talked about moral injury, about the church's complicity in sending people to war without adequate formation, about Veterans Day pageantry and the people who "put

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Fightin' Words

😇 Xmas 1 (and Murder≠Kill essay)

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GruntGod2

GruntGod 2.2.1 Pharmakoi: The Ancient Roots of TYFYS

Oops! Here's the Advent 4 video...

My last email contained the wrong video for Advent 4, so I wanted to quickly correct that and provide the correct link. As consolation ;-) keep scrolling to read my essay on the divine message to barren women that connects Christ with Abraham's firstborn son, Ishmael. The Hidden

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Fightin' Words

😇 Advent 4

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Fightin' Words

😇 Advent 3

Adventures in Veteraning

When Compassion Looks Like Betrayal: The Limits of Revolutionary Purity

*I am unable to record for Advent 3 today for personal reasons, but I will get to it tomorrow. In the meantime, here is an essay on the Matthew 11 reading, the parallel of which is Luke 7. There's a familiar pattern in our cultural moment. Someone builds

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How to Read Scripture Like You’re Still in the Field