Jody Howard
@thegospelplow.com
Husband to @AEHowardwrites.bsky.social, daddy to 2 boys, Episcopal priest, Asheville native, Historian, nerd. Religious but not spiritual.
did the holy spirit give the chinese evangelical dad the gift of prophecy
My sermon from last Sunday at the Church of the Redeemer in Shelbyville, Tennessee. Redeemer is a beautiful little church in one of the area's oldest church buildings, which began as a Presbyterian church in 1817. thegospelplow.com/p/whose-image
Whose Image?
Proper 24, Year A · Matthew 22:15–22 Church of the Redeemer, Shelbyville, Tennessee · October 18, 2026
thegospelplow.com
Heartbreaking. The worst emperor you know made a good point.
lastpositivist.bsky.social@lastpositivist.bsky.social · 3w ago"Since you have reason and they do not, treat dumb animals and generally all things and objects with generosity and decency". - Marcus Aurelius weighing in on the anthropomorphising LLMs debate.
I recently watched a presentation where an expert disagreed with the interpretation of an audience member on a technical reading of some material, and the questioner announced that an AI bot agreed with them & encouraged the expert to have a chat with it. It’s the new “Ackchyually.”
Dylan@dyl057.bsky.social · last mo."I put it through AI and it said I'm not gulity" is a new one for me that we should probably be expecting a lot now
The Trump administration was too stupid to realize that cutting food safety programs and firing thousands of public servants would have shitty consequences. Watch.
As a friend of mine is fond of saying, “people have amazing powers of self deception.”
Mike Boylan-Kolchin@mbkplus.bsky.social · last mo.“You're not an Ai influencer”, the sickest of burns a pope has ever received
Is it cynical to think the support for the idea of AI consciousness/moral agency is because it will pump stock prices & drive investment, & because the narrative of AI choice-making complicates the clarity of responsibility for the people who set the AI up & on its course?
🗽LOLGOP🗽@lolgop.bsky.social · last mo.No one has ever been this high on their own supply
We are ruining our own institutions, which is sad for us and great for our enemies.
Stars and Stripes@starsandstripes.bsky.social · 2mo agoA civilian geography professor was fired from West Point for pushing back after department officials barred faculty from teaching that humans contribute to climate change.
My sermon from this past Sunday at Holy Trinity, Nashville: You have made us equal: www.thegospelplow.com/p/you-have-m...
You have made us equal.
Sermon for Proper 20, Year A • September 20, 2026 • Scripture: Matthew 20:1-16 • Holy Trinity, Nashville
thegospelplow.com
One of the most annoying things about "both-sidism" is also its most fundamental fallacy: it assumes there are two sides rather than many, and then it automatically puts the two identified "sides" on equal footing. In nearly every case, it's shoddy thinking and a cover for intellectual laziness.
A recording of a poem I wrote several years ago. www.thegospelplow.com/p/afternoon-...
Birthright citizenship has benefited some of the very people now seeking to undermine it. As Rep. @scanlon.house.gov noted, that includes “senior officials in the Trump administration like Marco Rubio or Nikki Haley, who were born to non-citizens and received their U.S. citizenship at birth.”
My personal reflection from Sunday on one reason that I think so many people identified with Dolly Parton, and how her kindness exemplified Christian charity. To see the context you’ll need to read or watch the rest of the sermon, here: www.thegospelplow.com/p/poor-peter
My sermon this morning at Christ Church Cathedral, Nashville. Grateful for the invitation from Dean Sides. I enjoy the opportunity to visit and preach at many of our congregations in the Diocese of Tennessee, but my family worships at Christ Church, and I always enjoy preaching there.
Poor Peter?
Proper 17, Year A · Romans 12:9–21 & Matthew 16:21–28 · Christ Church Cathedral, Nashville
thegospelplow.com
Anthony Fauci made mistakes. But his diary reveals a conscientious public servant trying to save as many lives as he could during the pandemic. His recent summons before a Senate committee was surely intended to humiliate him. It should embarrass America
The real covid-19 scandal is still unfolding
The failure to reckon with lives needlessly lost will make the next pandemic deadlier
bit.ly
BREAKING: Liam Tadeo was just deported by ICE.
James Talarico@jamestalarico.bsky.social · 2mo agoA 5-year-old Texan just spent the first day of school in an ICE detention center. ICE kidnapped Liam Tadeo on his way to a soccer game with his dad. Liam should be in kindergarten. Instead, our government has thrown him in a prison camp hundreds of miles from home.
Isn't "excessive" inherent in the word "sycophancy?" In other words, it's a negative trait... there's no acceptable or non-excessive amount.
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 3mo agoOpinion: The executive aide has quickly become a symbol of the excessive sycophancy within Donald Trump’s entourage and his need for flattery at all times. ft.trib.al/oz2U8kZ
I had a former parishioner who’d moved to another state contact me during the pandemic to ask if I would be a reference on their application for a religious exemption from taking the COVID vaccine for their job. I said that if they had a medical reason for requesting an exemption, they should go
Patrick Hickey, MD@pwhickey.bsky.social · 3mo agoThe Catholic Church (like every other religion) all understand the importance of protecting children and the vulnerable. The “religious freedom” exemption demand is smokescreen for personal whim.
Chauvin was, in fact, the cause of Floyd’s death. He used a technique that MPD and most other agencies have banned, specifically because it causes death. And the crime for which he was convicted is unintentional second-degree murder, which by definition does not require intent to kill.
Justin Baragona@justinbaragona.bsky.social · 3mo agoIs there ever a time now when he's not trying to ignite a race war?
It probably would have been better if we hadn't decided to go through the list of important things a society does and then stop doing them because we didn't know much about them
"Republicans said moral rot was infectious. They warned that a party led by a scoundrel, and dedicated to defending that scoundrel, would come to resemble him. Under Trump, they’ve proved it." ICYMI @saletan.bsky.social:
How to Survive a Republican Scandal: Imitate Trump
Embattled politicians have learned what to do: Never resign. Deny everything. Accuse the accusers. And invoke Trump.
lnk.thebulwark.com
So much of American politics is very easily explained by “People either can’t or won’t keep dates & the actual chronology of events straight in their heads”
Peter@notalawyer.bsky.social · 3mo agothe actual order of events from 2020-2024 gets strategically jumbled by reactionary centrists all the time. They love to blame 2024 on wokeness while skipping over the fact that Dems won in 2020. They talk about early COVID Iike it was a failure of Dem policy when Trump was in office.
Spouse is a OB/Gyn MD reviewer for COVID vaccines and their outcome on pregnancy, birth defects, reproduction and other outcomes. Miscarriages were not caused by Covid vaccines. medicine.yale.edu/news-article...
COVID-19 Vaccines Not Linked to Miscarriage
A new study adds to existing evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are safe during pregnancy.
medicine.yale.edu
Administered at the first sign of an allergy to extremes, or a reaction to enthusiasm laced with tackiness.
Jill Twiss@jilltwiss.bsky.social · 3mo ago*confident voice* It's ACTUALLY short for Episcopalian Pen
Anti-immigration movements in Europe and the US either don't realize it or don't care, but the day that South-to-North immigration ends is the day Europe and the US have locked in the decline those movements are obsessed with. And not just due to the demographic impact that pro-natalists fixate on.