Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Josiah Hawthorne

@josiahhawthorne.bsky.social

5.8K followers 610 following 6K posts

I'm not Young, Restless, or Reformed -- I'm Old, Exhausted, and (Ana)baptist. Half Took, Half Baggins. #ADHD. He/him.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Josiah Hawthorne @josiahhawthorne.bsky.social · Jan 9

On Twitter, JeremyWingert79 asked how we stay sane through the next few years. Here's my answer -- a 🧵:

--Focus on the local, things within your sphere of influence, and your ability to impact.

--Cultivate unplugged times. Awareness is important, but this is a marathon, not a sprint.

1/4

23 96 390

Reposted by Josiah Hawthorne

Holly Anderson 🍇 @hollyanderson.bsky.social · 2h

you fucked around and now the Episcopalians are doing memes. are you happy now. are you

Screenshot of a Facebook post featuring three of the Portland protesters wearing inflatable frog costumes with the following text:

Episcopalians on Facebook
Elizabeth Rose Elrod • 22h •
Exodus 8:2-6
"But if you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs...
The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your officials."

28 4K 13K

Reposted by Josiah Hawthorne

"spooky sukkot" daniel s. @self.agency · 4h

everyone on that stage went along with pardons for jan 6 participants

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4h

Mike Johnson: "They berated a Capitol police officer, screamed at him. He was merely standing his post. It shows, again, their disdain for law enforcement, the Democrats, screaming, assaulting officers."

3 510 2K

Josiah Hawthorne @josiahhawthorne.bsky.social · 3h

Wait, they think the Portland Frog is a furry?

Josiah Hawthorne @josiahhawthorne.bsky.social · 4h

(The Deep Ones protesters say: No King but Father Dagon, who rules in cyclopean and many-columned Y'ha-nthlei!)

Josiah Hawthorne @josiahhawthorne.bsky.social · 4h

At a local No Kings rally near Innsmouth, Massachusetts, *every* protester showed up in an inflatable frog costume.

They must be from a different supplier than the Portland frog's costume, though. Bystanders describe the costumes as more like fish-frogs, "batrachian," with an odd, loping gait.

7 24 110

Josiah Hawthorne @josiahhawthorne.bsky.social · 4h

Then he said, “Sir, I’m rethinking some of my old messaging. I used to say 'Love your enemies.' Maybe that was too soft.”

I told him, “You gotta be tough, you gotta win. You tried turning the other cheek. Didn’t work well with the Romans, did it?” We had a great conversation, maybe the best ever.

Josiah Hawthorne @josiahhawthorne.bsky.social · 4h

Jesus of Nazareth -- this big, tough guy -- came up with tears in His eyes, and said, "Sir, thank you for saving Me. You did more for Christianity than anyone since Me."

I said, "Well, Lord, maybe we both had good fathers."

They're saying heaven had its highest ratings ever.

3 5 39

Reposted by Josiah Hawthorne

NakedPastor @nakedpastor.bsky.social · 6h

I call this Jonah's dilemma because he wants love but doesn't want everybody to have love too.

It's an ancient story with contemporary applications.

1 3 29

Reposted by Josiah Hawthorne

Noah Berlatsky @nberlat.bsky.social · 17h

every ruling out of chicago is like, "federal judge rules ICE agents cannot desecrate graves; must not deploy nuclear weapons against journalists and faith leaders."

18 280 1.7K

Josiah Hawthorne @josiahhawthorne.bsky.social · 15h

Jess: “What kind of weird timeline are we living in where our son was just crying because we wouldn’t let him stay up past bedtime to keep working on his protest sign?”

1 37

Reposted by Josiah Hawthorne

Matt G. Metcalf @mattmetcalf.bsky.social · 16h

This is the way.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 23h

ARIZONA AG: “.. Arizona’s right to a full delegation, and the right of the residents of CD 7 to representation from the person they recently voted for, are not up for debate ..”

@politico.com #AZ07
www.politico.com/live-updates...

3 17

Josiah Hawthorne @josiahhawthorne.bsky.social · 16h

But we can no longer get Christopher Lee to voice Death, alas.

Josiah Hawthorne @josiahhawthorne.bsky.social · 16h

Ooooh

1 1

Reposted by Josiah Hawthorne

Josiah Hawthorne @josiahhawthorne.bsky.social · 1d

"In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action." --MLK

Many of us are planning on engaging in some form of the fourth step this weekend. It behooves us to pursue the third now.

From Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter From A Birmingham Jail." "In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action..."

As in so many past experiences, our hopes had been blasted, and the shadow of deep disappointment settled upon us. We had no alternative except to prepare for direct action, whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local and the national community. Mindful of the difficulties involved, we decided to undertake a process of self purification. We began a series of workshops on nonviolence, and we repeatedly asked ourselves: “Are you able to accept blows without retaliating?” “Are you able to endure the ordeal of jail?” We decided to schedule our direct action program for the Easter season, realizing that except for Christmas, this is the main shopping period of the year. Knowing that a strong economic-withdrawal program would be the by product of direct action, we felt that this would be the best time to bring pressure to bear on the merchants for the needed change.

2 23 51

Josiah Hawthorne @josiahhawthorne.bsky.social · 20h

They've spent weeks carefully building this Charlie Kirk hagiography and then Trump comes blundering in and knocks it down in seconds.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 21h

Trump on Charlie Kirk: "He was able to fight people that were enemies. And he didn't necessarily love those enemies so much. You know, I heard 'he loved his enemies' and I said, 'Wait a minute, is that the same Charlie that I knew? I'm not sure.' But I didn't want to get into it."

5 12 38

Reposted by Josiah Hawthorne

Josh @joshmallow.bsky.social · 20h

He really said "skill issue" at charlie's memorial

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 21h

Trump at the Charlie Kirk memorial event: "They fired sniper rifles at ICE agents, and me. But I made a turn at a good time. I made a turn at a good time. Charlie couldn't believe it, actually."

75 580

Josiah Hawthorne @josiahhawthorne.bsky.social · 22h

Oh yes, the four elements.

A truck for home repair. Near the bottom is a list of presumably, the kind of things they repair, which reads: “fire, water, wind, mold.“

6 1 21

Reposted by Josiah Hawthorne

Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 1d

So far, the only media outlet that has signed Pete Hegseth's new prohibitive press policy for covering the Pentagon is One America News.

Even Newsmax and the Washington Times have rejected the letter.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Even Newsmax rejects the Pentagon’s new press restrictions ahead of signing deadline

‘Newsmax has no plans to sign the letter,’ the network stated on Monday. ‘We believe the requirements are unnecessary and onerous and hope that the Pentagon with review the matter further’

www.independent.co.uk

13 120 490

Reposted by Josiah Hawthorne

ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 1d

every young Republican staffer is a Nazi, it's that simple www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat

Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

www.politico.com

120 1.2K 3.8K

Josiah Hawthorne @josiahhawthorne.bsky.social · 1d

For a split second I thought this was going to say “Therefore a leopard will eat their faces”

(Jeremiah 5)

LORD, do not your eyes look for truth?
You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused
correction.
They made their faces harder than stone
and refused to repent.
4
I thought, "These are only the poor; they are foolish,
for they do not know the way of the
LORD,
the requirements of their God.
5
So l will go to the leaders and speak to them;
surely they know the way of the LORD, the requirements of their God."
But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke
and torn off the bonds.
6
Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them,
a wolf from the desert will ravage
them,
a leopard will lie in wait near their towns to tear to pieces any who venture out, for their rebellion is great

2 32

Josiah Hawthorne @josiahhawthorne.bsky.social · 1d

And all this is a team effort. Some are better at the in-person confrontations than others.

Years back someone joked that "Social Justice Warriors" also need Social Justice Clerics and Social Justice Bards and Social Justice Rogues, etc.

1 1

Josiah Hawthorne @josiahhawthorne.bsky.social · 1d

I mean, it's good that you know that about yourself, at least! Honest assessment of your limitations.

Some of the times I've effed up the most is when I had no idea what my limitations were and assumed I wouldn't have any.

2 1

Josiah Hawthorne @josiahhawthorne.bsky.social · 1d

I wish I had more answers.

Anyway, here's the talk that got me thinking. And if you've never read "Letter From A Birmingham Jail," go read that too.

for-the-good-of-the-public.captivate.fm/episode/spir...

Spiritual Formation for Activists - Archived: For the Good of the Public

Michael and Phebe wrap up this season of For the Good of the Public podcast with a talk by James Catford, founding board chair for the CCPL. James share...

for-the-good-of-the-public.captivate.fm

1 7

Josiah Hawthorne @josiahhawthorne.bsky.social · 1d

The King Center defines purification as "The cleansing of anger, selfishness and violent attitudes from the heart and soul in preparation for a nonviolent struggle."

But I know I am full of anger. I know I am full of selfishness. My heart is prone to violence, even if my convictions are not.

4 1 14

Josiah Hawthorne @josiahhawthorne.bsky.social · 1d

Am *I* able to accept blows without retaliating? I know it isn't easy to do so.

Am *I* able to endure the ordeal of jail for what I believe? I think I am willing but I know I am sheltered.

God, give me boldness to stand in the way of harm meant for others, even if it means taking it myself.

1 10