David B. Gowler
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dgowler.bsky.social
David B. Gowler
@dgowler.bsky.social
Pierce Chair of Religion, Oxford College/Emory University. Latest books: Howard Thurman & the Quest for Community; Parables after Jesus; WATSA the Parables?; & Howard Thurman, Sermons on the Parables. #COYS. New Testament / Reception History of the Bible
Pinned
Yes, it’s my book, but now’s a good time to revisit #HowardThurman’s insights about social action to oppose discrimination & oppression, build compassion & community, & not be consumed, like MAGA/Trump, with hatred that ultimately destroys oneself & community: www.paulistpress.com/Products/569...
Howard Thurman and the Quest for Community - David Gowler : PaulistPress
Howard Thurman and the Quest for Community
www.paulistpress.com
My alma mater, the University of Illinois, plays a football game against Northwestern tonight. U of I was already going to win, but now they're on a mission from God

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/u...
Northwestern Agrees to a Deal With Trump Administration
www.nytimes.com
November 29, 2025 at 8:58 PM
My latest post on Howard Thurman and the Quest for Community contains some of the key quotes about the Prodigal Son parable that provide a deeper understanding of Thurman's thought and the foundation of how/why human beings should treat each other with empathy and compassion:
Howard Thurman and the Quest for Community: Coming "face to face with God" (Includes quotes of Thurman; Chapter 5 study guide, part 2)
Reception history of the parables by David Gowler (Emory University) for a Baylor University Press book: A Chorus of Voices
parablesreception.blogspot.com
November 29, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
Courage in the streets. Capitulation among the elites.
BREAKING: Northwestern University has agreed to pay the U.S. Treasury $75 million, over the course of three years as part of an agreement with the federal government to restore funding and end investigations into the university

Full statement from NU below:
November 29, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
BREAKING: Northwestern University has agreed to pay the U.S. Treasury $75 million, over the course of three years as part of an agreement with the federal government to restore funding and end investigations into the university

Full statement from NU below:
November 29, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
"Hagueseth"
November 28, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
To put a finer point on this whole thing: "Two people with direct knowledge of the operation" — presumably uniformed military leaders — are accusing the U.S. Secretary of Defense of personally ordering specific war crimes. That's a historic accusation.
Textbook war crime/extrajudicial killing

"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."

Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
This would be a war crime even if there were an actual war and these people were actual combatants, which there isn't and they weren't.

It's unquestionably an unlawful homicide under any form of law you wish to apply: military or civilian, domestic or international, federal or state. ...
Textbook war crime/extrajudicial killing

"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."

Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
The Economic Impact of Brexit
Other
siepr.stanford.edu
November 24, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
Judges need to start throwing some of these DOJ clowns in jail for contempt.
Beyond depraved: "Hours after her detainment, court documents obtained by ABC News show that a federal judge ordered the government not to remove the 19-year-old from the U.S. and not to transfer her outside of Massachusetts. But Lopez Belloza was deported to Honduras the next day."
November 28, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
It is unfathomable that the USG lawyers would sign off on a no-survivors boat strike (no get of jail free card).

There's clear precedent dating back to World War II trial of Germans for that very act, which lawyers know well.

The Peleus World War II War Crimes Trial

www.usni.org/magazines/na...
November 28, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
The only solution is to dismantle ICE and CBP completely. This lawlessness and cruelty cannot be reformed.
Beyond depraved: "Hours after her detainment, court documents obtained by ABC News show that a federal judge ordered the government not to remove the 19-year-old from the U.S. and not to transfer her outside of Massachusetts. But Lopez Belloza was deported to Honduras the next day."
November 28, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
Who are the Ds ready to take this seriously?
So I'm pretty sure a three star knows that an order to strike alleged combatants who are hors de combat is facially illegal, in case anyone's still having any hangups on whether Bradley needs to be in the dock after this
November 28, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
I'm not a lawyer of course but in my personal opinion hard to see how an order to deliberate kill survivors squares with the Law of Armed Conflict, as the generals receiving this order would also have known
November 28, 2025 at 6:05 PM
The prosecutions should start with Hegseth.
Exclusive: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave an order to “kill everybody” in the first strike on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. After two men survived, the mission commander ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions, according to two sources.
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
Exclusive: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave an order to “kill everybody” in the first strike on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. After two men survived, the mission commander ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions, according to two sources.
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
November 28, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
The most openly racist, eugenicist monsters are running the U.S. They will use every opportunity to advance their agenda.

And as the wheels come off their regime they will only grow more brutal and obscene. These are dangerous days for us all.
Stephen Miller is now arguing that assimilation is fundamentally impossible and that certain cultures are not compatible with Western civilization
November 28, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
When a politician says: we’ll deregulate health insurance and send you a “freedom account” check, ask: freedom to buy what? If insurers don’t offer real policies or can cherry-pick only healthy people, that money is a coupon for a store that’s not open.
November 28, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
I'm very grateful I get to write this annual giving column
Opinion | Give to Groups Defending Immigrants From ICE
www.nytimes.com
November 28, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
This is almost word for word what xenophobes in the 1930s and 1940s said about Miller's Jewish ancestors and relatives. He's so hateful he couldn't possibly recognize that of course.
Stephen Miller is now arguing that assimilation is fundamentally impossible and that certain cultures are not compatible with Western civilization
November 28, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
Send the National Guard home. Stop bombing civilians. Quit breaking up families in America while giving sweetheart deals to sex traffickers and Apartheid deadenders. Stop ripping us off and selling out our allies just so you and your kids can get richer. For a start.
November 28, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
We feed you.
They hunt us.
June 11, 2025 at 5:05 AM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
The official voice of the US government is cruel, gross, and weird. What is that doing to us?
The official voice of the US government is cruel, gross, and weird. What is that doing to us?
Joking memes about imprisonment, deportation, and death by alligator are designed to radicalize and desensitize.
www.motherjones.com
November 27, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Reposted by David B. Gowler
There's a short little documentary on the Super Bowl Shuffle on MAX and it's fantastic.

The clip of the New England Patriots' sad response video is worth the price of admission alone.
The Shuffle | Official Trailer | HBO
YouTube video by HBO
www.youtube.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:03 PM
November 26, 2025 at 9:43 PM