Daniel Wise
@danielswise.bsky.social
PhD in Religious Studies from University of Virginia. I write a lot about paranormal belief. Currently writing a book on America's obsession with Halloween.
Scholars like Egil Asprem and @profstorm.bsky.social have shown that modernity has been a project, not an unstoppable force in which human agency is tangential. A realtime analogy to how this played out: AI boosters' confident predictions about the coming dominance of AI in nearly every field.
June 8, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Scholars like Egil Asprem and @profstorm.bsky.social have shown that modernity has been a project, not an unstoppable force in which human agency is tangential. A realtime analogy to how this played out: AI boosters' confident predictions about the coming dominance of AI in nearly every field.
Shocked to see an article by an exec editor (or really any journalist) who actually knows anything about religion. For the record, it is an ancient and orthodox Christian belief that God is neither male nor female (or encompasses both as the source of all being).
www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...
www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...
The Texas Senate Race's Biggest Question: Is God Male?
Republicans have pounced on an old statement as they seek to make gender politics the focus of the Senate campaign.
www.texasmonthly.com
May 28, 2026 at 6:27 PM
Shocked to see an article by an exec editor (or really any journalist) who actually knows anything about religion. For the record, it is an ancient and orthodox Christian belief that God is neither male nor female (or encompasses both as the source of all being).
www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...
www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...
Reposted by Daniel Wise
missed this earlier but this @religiondispatches.org piece by @danielswise.bsky.social is good!
religiondispatches.org/2026/05/23/s...
religiondispatches.org/2026/05/23/s...
Is the Surge in Belief — Both Conventional and Bizarre — A Sign We're 'Sliding Back Into the Middle Ages'?
On May 17, the New York Times published a guest essay by Katya Ungerman—“We Are Sliding Back into the Middle Ages”—attributing a strange surge of both conventional religious observance and supernatura...
religiondispatches.org
May 24, 2026 at 4:06 PM
missed this earlier but this @religiondispatches.org piece by @danielswise.bsky.social is good!
religiondispatches.org/2026/05/23/s...
religiondispatches.org/2026/05/23/s...
Without @archive.org there is so much research I couldn't do. But more importantly, I would have never gotten to see the creepy Mickey Mouse balloon at the 1934 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (skip to 48:15 in the video):
archive.org/details/0362...
archive.org/details/0362...
[Home Movies: Medicus Collection: New York, 1934] : Medicus, Gertrude and Philip : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Some good shots to be logged.Selected list of contents:New York City schoolchildren in street outside school family picnic roller skating in Central Park1934...
archive.org
March 11, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Without @archive.org there is so much research I couldn't do. But more importantly, I would have never gotten to see the creepy Mickey Mouse balloon at the 1934 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (skip to 48:15 in the video):
archive.org/details/0362...
archive.org/details/0362...
I am still haunted by the fact that JFK's sister Rosemary was lobotomized by their father while their mother was out of town because she had an intellectual disability and started struggling to pass in Kennedy social circles.
March 10, 2025 at 3:05 AM
I am still haunted by the fact that JFK's sister Rosemary was lobotomized by their father while their mother was out of town because she had an intellectual disability and started struggling to pass in Kennedy social circles.
Friends, I very highly recommend these accessible, concise lessons from @carlbergstrom.com and Jevin D. West if you need to explain to anyone what LLMs/AI are, what their pitfalls are, and why they cannot be said to "think." Read it yourself even to be ready for these convos
thebullshitmachines.com
thebullshitmachines.com
Modern-Day Oracles or Bullshit Machines: Introduction
A free online humanities course about how to learn and work and thrive in an AI world.
thebullshitmachines.com
March 8, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Friends, I very highly recommend these accessible, concise lessons from @carlbergstrom.com and Jevin D. West if you need to explain to anyone what LLMs/AI are, what their pitfalls are, and why they cannot be said to "think." Read it yourself even to be ready for these convos
thebullshitmachines.com
thebullshitmachines.com
A post somewhere reminded me to withdraw my critique of Parker Posey's southern accent in White Lotus. I was taken aback by her first few lines, but she kind of settled in a good place.
March 2, 2025 at 3:11 PM
A post somewhere reminded me to withdraw my critique of Parker Posey's southern accent in White Lotus. I was taken aback by her first few lines, but she kind of settled in a good place.
Nerd question: Star Wars isn't really my thing, but is there, in canon or former canon, discussion of how the Jedi handle ex-Jedi or other people strong in the force who are not governed by Jedi discipline? It seems like this might be a concern, sort of like it was for the Aes Sedai in Wheel of Time
February 26, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Nerd question: Star Wars isn't really my thing, but is there, in canon or former canon, discussion of how the Jedi handle ex-Jedi or other people strong in the force who are not governed by Jedi discipline? It seems like this might be a concern, sort of like it was for the Aes Sedai in Wheel of Time
Many will forecast and celebrate a cultural reversal in reaction to recent survey data, but it is just as likely that the decline will continue after this pause, due to the effects of generational replacement.
www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...
www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...
Decline of Christianity in the U.S. Has Slowed, May Have Leveled Off
After years of decline, the U.S. Christian share now shows signs of leveling off. The new Religious Landscape Study explores trends in identity, beliefs and practices. Pew Research Center.
www.pewresearch.org
February 26, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Many will forecast and celebrate a cultural reversal in reaction to recent survey data, but it is just as likely that the decline will continue after this pause, due to the effects of generational replacement.
www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...
www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...
Didn't expect to be texting my mother at the age of 36 to just double check she stuck to the US vaccine schedule (I know she did) because a mostly eradicated childhood disease has reached San Antonio and is moving up the I-35 corridor, but here we are.
February 25, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Didn't expect to be texting my mother at the age of 36 to just double check she stuck to the US vaccine schedule (I know she did) because a mostly eradicated childhood disease has reached San Antonio and is moving up the I-35 corridor, but here we are.
Preliminary good news for churches in regard to ICE raids. This suit is similar to the one filed in DC by the Episcopal Church and many others
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/u...
Judge Blocks Immigration Raids in Certain Places of Worship
Religious organizations are challenging a Trump administration policy that allows ICE to conduct operations in sensitive locations. The judge declined to pause the policy more broadly.
www.nytimes.com
February 25, 2025 at 5:12 AM
Preliminary good news for churches in regard to ICE raids. This suit is similar to the one filed in DC by the Episcopal Church and many others
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/u...
Reposted by Daniel Wise
One thing I’m seeing *a lot* more is this attempt, I think largely by people on the left, to try to keep Christians who oppose Christian nationalism and Christofascism from being able to decouple those movements from Christianity.
This is… frustrating.
This is… frustrating.
February 22, 2025 at 3:14 PM
One thing I’m seeing *a lot* more is this attempt, I think largely by people on the left, to try to keep Christians who oppose Christian nationalism and Christofascism from being able to decouple those movements from Christianity.
This is… frustrating.
This is… frustrating.
Alright, the Trump appointed interim head of NIH has said clinical trials can continue
www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
Critical NIH research continues after 'confusion' over Trump team directives
The acting head of the National Institutes of Health told scientists that clinical trials could carry on, despite a "pause" in communications about their work.
www.nbcnews.com
January 28, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Alright, the Trump appointed interim head of NIH has said clinical trials can continue
www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
What a great foreign policy idea to push the majority of the American continents into the arms of China. I guess the move is consistent with the rest of his foreign policy so far.
January 26, 2025 at 11:15 PM
What a great foreign policy idea to push the majority of the American continents into the arms of China. I guess the move is consistent with the rest of his foreign policy so far.
Just as he said he would be back in December, Trump and his administration have revoked the rule that kept immigration enforcement from raiding churches, schools, and hospitals.
apnews.com/article/immi...
apnews.com/article/immi...
Trump administration throws out policies limiting migrant arrests at sensitive spots like churches
Officers enforcing immigration laws will now be able to arrest migrants at sensitive locations like schools and churches after the Trump administration threw out policies limiting where those arrests ...
apnews.com
January 23, 2025 at 5:25 AM
Just as he said he would be back in December, Trump and his administration have revoked the rule that kept immigration enforcement from raiding churches, schools, and hospitals.
apnews.com/article/immi...
apnews.com/article/immi...
I have, at first, been sympathetic to the apologies on here for Dems' bipartisanship rhetoric on practical political grounds, but belligerent obstruction in Congress has actually borne great fruit for Republicans since the Obama years.
January 21, 2025 at 3:32 PM
I have, at first, been sympathetic to the apologies on here for Dems' bipartisanship rhetoric on practical political grounds, but belligerent obstruction in Congress has actually borne great fruit for Republicans since the Obama years.
“Because he has no sense of his own continuity with the past or debt to the future, he seems baffled by…ceremonial duties of the state. He understands a nice big desk—it’s where you fire people…But an altar, where you kneel, will always be alien to Trump.” www.newyorker.com/culture/on-t...
Donald Trump Plays Church
On Inauguration Day, the forty-seventh President cast himself as an especially favored vessel of the Almighty.
www.newyorker.com
January 21, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Watching Bernie Sanders grilling Scott Bessent in his Senate confirmation hearing just highlights how much more mentally with-it he seems than that (slightly) younger Biden and Trump.
January 17, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Watching Bernie Sanders grilling Scott Bessent in his Senate confirmation hearing just highlights how much more mentally with-it he seems than that (slightly) younger Biden and Trump.
Just a heads up: 1st ep of a docuseries about Myka Stauffer, a mommy vlogger who made her and her husband's adoption of a Chinese child into monetized content, then "rehomed" him in 2020 at the age of 4 because his autism was too much for them, is now on Max.
January 16, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Just a heads up: 1st ep of a docuseries about Myka Stauffer, a mommy vlogger who made her and her husband's adoption of a Chinese child into monetized content, then "rehomed" him in 2020 at the age of 4 because his autism was too much for them, is now on Max.
ACAB rat colony in Houston, TX takes a stand against US drug enforcement policy
www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
Rats nearly compromise Houston Police case after eating mushroom evidence
A rat colony in a downtown Houston police property room has compromised a bag of mushrooms intended as evidence against two defendants.
www.houstonchronicle.com
January 14, 2025 at 8:52 PM
ACAB rat colony in Houston, TX takes a stand against US drug enforcement policy
www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
Can someone help me understand how so many people I follow can be confident the gofundme links they are sharing are from real Palestinian refugees and not scams? What am I missing?
January 13, 2025 at 12:38 AM
Can someone help me understand how so many people I follow can be confident the gofundme links they are sharing are from real Palestinian refugees and not scams? What am I missing?
This is horrible. The Theosophical Society has had a massive influence on spirituality throughout the world. Mahatma Gandhi was deeply influenced by it. Modern astrology was shaped by it. So much that now or has been labeled New Age or metaphysical spirituality has been shaped by it.
![Image of the Thesosphical Society in Altadena near Pasadena, along with a post by Wouter J. Hanegraaff: Horrible, deeply dramatic news for anybody who cares about the preservation of Theosophical heritage.
I was just told that the entire property of the Theosophical Society in Altadena near Pasadena has been completely destroyed by the fires in Los Angeles. This was the world's largest archive of Theosophical materials, including a library with 40.000 titles, the entire archive of the history of the TS, including ca. 10.000 unpublished letters, pertaining to HPB, the Mahatmas, W.Q. Judge, G.R.S. Mead, Katherine Tingley, and G. de Purucker, membership records since 1875, art objects, and countless other irreplaceable materials. The archives also contained works of Boehme, Gichtel, donations from the king of Siam including rare Buddhist scriptures, and so on. [with thanks to Reinout Spaink for the information]
This is obviously just one part of an even much larger drama that is currently unfolding, but one that deals a devasting blow to the modern study of esotericism and of modern Theosophy more in particular. It is hard to fathom but it seems to be true.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:mm6k7dx5zlvj2l5wu7eaiqhb/bafkreib2sscppfgtfctksyhgrcccgelt23gz6v2jcpeozd3uerebrjzgem)
January 9, 2025 at 5:39 PM
This is horrible. The Theosophical Society has had a massive influence on spirituality throughout the world. Mahatma Gandhi was deeply influenced by it. Modern astrology was shaped by it. So much that now or has been labeled New Age or metaphysical spirituality has been shaped by it.
It's kind of goofy when people try to use AI being good at advanced computing like designing personalized weightlifting routines as evidence that we should embrace AI "art," "writing," or "psychotherapy"
January 2, 2025 at 12:40 AM
It's kind of goofy when people try to use AI being good at advanced computing like designing personalized weightlifting routines as evidence that we should embrace AI "art," "writing," or "psychotherapy"
The Bear always struck me as oddly timed. A show about a chef abandoning the possibility of making awesome beefs to pursue the only valid dream, Michelin star fine dining premieres 6 months before Noma announces it has to close.
December 29, 2024 at 11:03 PM
The Bear always struck me as oddly timed. A show about a chef abandoning the possibility of making awesome beefs to pursue the only valid dream, Michelin star fine dining premieres 6 months before Noma announces it has to close.
Peak Austin is all the one-star reviews of a panderia written up in the NYT being from Latinos saying the bakery is inauthentic and too expensive and a 5-star review from an Anglo woman scolding the bad reviewers for not realizing how elevated it is and better than cheap pastries elsewhere
December 29, 2024 at 5:13 AM
Peak Austin is all the one-star reviews of a panderia written up in the NYT being from Latinos saying the bakery is inauthentic and too expensive and a 5-star review from an Anglo woman scolding the bad reviewers for not realizing how elevated it is and better than cheap pastries elsewhere