James Talarico’s longtime pastor and trusted mentor expressed discomfort with the Texas Democrat’s religious beliefs, describing him as more of a mystic than a Christian, according to undercover footage obtained by The Daily Wire.
<a href="https://www.staopen.org/staffandleadership">Rev. Jim Rigby</a>, who has served as lead pastor of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin for more than 35 years, was speaking with an undercover journalist about the Democratic Senate nominee and his theological views. The footage shows Rigby admitting that Talarico’s beliefs make him “uncomfortable” and suggesting the Democrat’s approach to Christianity is more connected to mysticism.
“Well, he’s much more — it makes me uncomfortable. Now, don’t ever say that to him,” Rigby told the undercover journalist, who asked whether Talarico was a fundamentalist.
“No, he’s basically said God is not any being but being. I mean, that’s like mysticism,” Rigby said. “So, it’s like at that point, I just think he’s caught trying to cross the river. And whatever he said comes back as a hand grenade.”
Rigby was referencing a line from an October 2023 sermon Talarico delivered at St. Andrew&#8217;s titled <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/talarico-says-god-is-not-a-christian-in-unearthed-sermon">“God is not a Christian: Confronting Christian Nationalism.&#8221;</a>
&#8220;God is not a noun at all. God is a verb,&#8221; Talarico told the congregation. &#8220;God is not a being. God is being itself.&#8221; In the same sermon, Talarico praised the Islamic mystic Rumi and rejected the traditional Christian teaching that Jesus is the only way to God, insisting there are “so many pathways to the sacred.” He also said that the “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-book-is-gay-read-the-sexually-explicit-volumes-james-talaricos-church-gives-kids?utm_source=chatgpt.com">trans community needs abortion</a> care too.”
As Talarico races to win over Texas voters, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religious-landscape-study/state/texas/">67% of whom identify as Christian</a>, Rigby says Talarico&#8217;s campaign wants nothing to do with him. 
“His campaign has distanced from me completely,” Rigby said. “The reason he does it is he wants to be a counterbalance to Christian nationalism. It’s sad running in Texas, I think, and he’s got advisors and stuff. And I think the closer he gets to success, the more DNC people are going to come down.&#8221;
The candid comments offer a glimpse into the religious figures influencing Talarico, who has attended St. Andrew’s since childhood and told the New York Times that Rigby and the church, along wth his grandfather, were “the biggest influences on me as a Christian, as a human being.” The Times reported that Rigby baptized Talarico as a toddler and officiated his parents’ wedding<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/us/politics/james-talarico-christian.html">.</a>
“I think it’s a problem for him … he’s gonna have, I think, disavow and separate himself from this church if he wants to have a chance at winning this race,” Tom Bevan, co-founder and president of Real Clear Politics, <a href="https://x.com/JWheelertv/status/2103467709509870012?s=20">said</a>. “This is the kind of thing that could shave a couple points off.”
Critics argue the doctrine Talarico’s church pushes represents more blasphemy than biblical Christianity. Responding to The Daily Wire’s reporting, Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Dallas, <a href="https://x.com/robertjeffress/status/2103145187232956593?s=20">said</a> “no true Christian could ever be a member” of Talarico’s church.
In a Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jim.rigby.12/posts/957972940944180">post</a> from Christmas Day 2015, Rigby suggested that Jesus’ resurrection could actually be understood as “a poem about the whole life process.”
“Apparently, because I don’t believe in a literal resurrection, I’m not really Christian. This unfortunately also means I won’t be going to heaven with many of you,” he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/talarico-says-god-is-not-a-christian-in-unearthed-sermon">wrote</a>. “And it’s particularly embarrassing to be a Presbyterian minister bound for hell.”
Rigby’s official biography on his church&#8217;s website says his ministry helps people explore “the deeper aspects” of their lives. It mentions nothing about Jesus or preaching the Gospel. The spotlight on Talarico’s home church comes amid increasing scrutiny of his leftist approach to faith in a state where evangelicals, who polls show strongly oppose Talarico, make up the largest religious group.
Earlier this week, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-talaricos-pastor-says-jesus-didnt-die-for-sins-slanders-virgin-mary?author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Talarico%E2%80%99s+Pastor+Says+Jesus+Didn%E2%80%99t+Die+For+Sins%2C+Slanders+Virgin+Mary">The Daily Wire revealed</a> undercover footage of Rev. Babs Miller, another minister at St. Andrew’s, rejecting core Christian teachings, including the virgin birth and the belief that Jesus died on the cross for humanity’s sins. Miller also doubted whether Jesus actually existed, a view rejected by virtually all historians and scholars. 
Miller claimed the virgin birth was rooted in pagan mythology and told the undercover journalist, “We have no way of knowing if Jesus really existed any more than we have of knowing that the original Buddha ever existed.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) jumped on The Daily Wire’s viral clip.
“I try never to judge another’s faith — that’s for God to do — but if James Talarico’s pastor says she doesn’t believe that Jesus existed or that Jesus died for our sins, then that ‘pastor’ is not a Christian,” Cruz <a href="https://x.com/tedcruz/status/2102802330953326875?s=20">said</a> on X. “She’s just a left-wing activist.”
Miller also rejected the Christian understanding of Jesus’ crucifixion as atonement for sins, instead depicting Him as a political social justice warrior rather than what the Bible calls the “Savior of the world.”
“Jesus was put on that cross because Rome hated him and they thought he was a threat to their domination of that area,” Miller argued. “He didn’t die to save our sins.”
The video racked up millions of views on social media, with one rising Texas Republican tying Miller’s worldview to what Talarico’s political agenda could look like in the Senate. 
“James Talarico will take your most deeply held Christian beliefs and wear them like a skin suit to justify raising your taxes, abortion until birth, and putting a welcome mat on the border,” Congressman Brandon Gill <a href="https://x.com/realBrandonGill/status/2102839067964788880?s=20">said</a>.
Neither Talarico’s campaign nor St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church responded to requests for comment.

Screenshot

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Talarico’s Pastor Sounds Off On Dem’s ‘Uncomfortable’ Beliefs

2026 midterm election

christianity

james talarico

politics

ted cruz

texas senate race

A lesbian minister at James Talarico’s longtime church doubts Jesus ever existed, rejects the virgin birth, and believes Christ “didn&#8217;t die to save our sins,” according to undercover footage obtained by The Daily Wire.
Rev. Babs Miller, minister to the parish at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin, flatly rejected core tenets of the Christian faith, even as fellow congregant James Talarico, the Democratic Senate nominee, routinely invokes his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/talarico-says-god-is-not-a-christian-in-unearthed-sermon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fringe view of the Gospel</a> to appeal to voters in the Bible Belt’s largest state.
Speaking to an undercover journalist, Miller was caught saying she believes the virgin birth was made up while describing her approach to religion as similar to a 12-step program: “Take what you want and leave the rest.”
“Mary and the Virgin Birth comes out of the pagan belief that the gods came down and impregnated people,” Miller told the undercover journalist. “We have no way of knowing if Jesus really existed any more than we have of knowing that the original Buddha ever existed. And whether or not Jesus existed doesn&#8217;t really matter to me.”
But among mainstream historians, there is near-universal agreement that Jesus of Nazareth existed and was a historical figure, regardless of whether those scholars are Christian, Jewish, agnostic, atheist, or otherwise. Within decades of His lifetime, Jewish and Roman historians mentioned Jesus, providing independent evidence for aspects of the New Testament’s account of His life and crucifixion, <a href="https://www.history.com/articles/was-jesus-real-historical-evidence">according to history.com</a>.
“It could have all been made up, for all I know,” Miller said in the footage. “The God in the Old Testament is not a loving God; it&#8217;s a vengeful, killing-people kind of God. This is a lot of mythology.”
Historians almost universally agree that Jesus was a real person who walked the earth around 2,000 years ago. Eric Meyers, an archaeologist and emeritus professor of Judaic studies at Duke University, said: “I don’t know any mainstream scholar who doubts the historicity of Jesus.”
“The details have been debated for centuries, but no one who is serious doubts that he’s a historical figure,” Meyers told <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/jesus-tomb-archaeology">National Geographic</a>.
Miller’s <a href="https://www.staopen.org/staffandleadership">church bio</a> says she has been part of the St. Andrew’s community since the mid-1990s and was ordained there in 2014 as an “out” lesbian chaplain. She retired shortly before the COVID pandemic but returned in 2022.
Biblical teachings, archaeological evidence, and scholarly accounts aren’t enough for the leftist minister, who cloaks herself in the faith while also dismissing the central New Testament teaching that Jesus died on the cross to save humanity from sin, telling the undercover journalist: “He didn’t die to save our sins.”
“Jesus was political. Jesus was put on that cross not to save us. Jesus was put on that cross because Rome hated him and they thought he was a threat to their domination of that area. So they killed him. He didn’t die to save our sins,&#8221; she argued, framing Jesus as a social justice martyr rather than the biblical teaching of Him being the “<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/John%204%3A42?utm_source=chatgpt.com">Savior of the world</a>.”
“That makes a whole lot more sense to me than to say that some God would kill his son for us. That doesn’t make sense. How does that make up for all the things I can do? No, it doesn’t.”
Talarico has been part of the Austin religious community since he was a toddler. The congregation’s longtime pastor, Rev. Jim Rigby, baptized Talarico, who has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/us/politics/james-talarico-christian.html">called</a> Rigby “one of the biggest influences on me as a Christian, as a human being.” In a Christmas Day Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jim.rigby.12/posts/957972940944180">post</a> from 2015, Rigby suggested that Jesus&#8217; resurrection could actually be understood as “a poem about the whole life process.”
“Apparently, because I don’t believe in a literal resurrection, I’m not really Christian. This unfortunately also means I won’t be going to heaven with many of you,” he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/talarico-says-god-is-not-a-christian-in-unearthed-sermon">said</a>. 
St. Andrew’s is <a href="https://www.staopen.org/about-us">part</a> of the Presbyterian Church (USA), a denomination known for its liberal positions on gender and sexuality. There, the Texas Democrat has delivered controversial sermons, declaring that “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/talarico-says-god-is-not-a-christian-in-unearthed-sermon">God is not a Christian</a>” and that “our <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-book-is-gay-read-the-sexually-explicit-volumes-james-talaricos-church-gives-kids">trans community needs abortion</a> care too.”
Miller’s comments come as scrutiny grows over the theological views of Talarico’s home church and their potential impact on his campaign in a state where evangelicals, who <a href="https://x.com/JWheelertv/status/2082987392626020796?s=20">polls show</a> are most opposed to Talarico, make up the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religious-landscape-study/state/texas/">largest religious group</a>. Last week, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-talaricos-lesbian-minister-caught-on-camera-saying-his-political-makeover-is-a-lie?author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=19&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Talarico%E2%80%99s+Lesbian+Minister+Caught+On+Camera+Saying+His+Political+Makeover+Is+A+Lie">The Daily Wire revealed</a> Miller saying Talarico’s shift toward the political center was merely for show, predicting the Democrat — who is racing to moderate his positions on transgender issues and walk back his declaration that “God is non-binary” — would return to his previous rhetoric once elected.
“He’s getting some advice that I don’t think he should be following,” Miller said in the <a href="https://x.com/JWheelertv/status/2100259352338686248?s=20">viral</a> clip. “I can guarantee you that once he gets elected, he’ll change his tune back to where he was.”
The Daily Wire reached out to Talarico’s campaign and St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

EXCLUSIVE: Talarico’s Pastor Says Jesus Didn’t Die For Sins, Slanders Virgin Mary

presbyterian church

For an innocent man whose ex-wife killed their children, Patrick Clancy gets an inordinate amount of scrutiny. From the nuts who claim he’s the actual killer to those who think he moved on too quickly after divorce, he’s found himself under the microscope of public opinion almost as much as Lindsay. Now, though, he finds himself facing criticism not for anything negative he’s done, but because he chose to forgive Lindsay for killing Cora, Dawson, and Callan. 
In <a href="https://x.com/60Minutes/status/2101812618679800102">an interview</a> with Ross Douthat on “60 Minutes,” Patrick told Douthat, “And I think when it comes to forgiveness, I also felt that if I didn’t get there, I would be eaten up inside, forever.” More shocking, though, was the revelation that Lindsay herself never asked to be forgiven. There are a variety of opinions on this, with some saying he made the right choice, some pointing out he has an ongoing civil case against her health providers and must guard what he says because of that, and others referring to him as a sniveling wimp. The reality is that his forgiveness isn’t a sign of weakness, but instead a sign of strength. 
There are biblical reasons for Patrick to forgive his ex-wife. In the Book of Matthew, Jesus tells Peter, when Peter asks how many times he must forgive a brother or sister who has sinned against him, “I tell you not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” To illustrate this point, he tells the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. In the parable, a servant owes the king a large debt, one he cannot repay, and begs the king for mercy. The king releases the servant from his debt, but when the servant faces a similar situation, he does not offer the same treatment. This enrages the king, who reinstitutes the servant’s debt and has him thrown in prison. The parable closes with, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Granted, Lindsay is not Patrick’s sister, but there is still the command to forgive. As Patrick grew up in a large Catholic family, such teachings were part of his upbringing, as were ones from Ephesians that command believers to avoid unwholesome talk, bitterness, rage, and anger. The fourth chapter of the book concludes with “be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” 
Beyond the biblical reasons for forgiveness are the practical ones. As Patrick himself said, he didn’t want this to weigh on him for the rest of his existence. Nursing a grudge would do just that, preventing him from finding the healing he so needs. It doesn’t remove the grief or the loss, and it doesn’t absolve Lindsay of responsibility. Instead, it removes a weight from Patrick’s soul, allowing him to live a life driven by love. 
Nor will anger allow him to heal. Absent forgiveness, he will spend the rest of his days stewing over what happened rather than grieving and moving on, which is what he’s been trying to do since the tragic murders. Initially, the public was on his side, for example when he ran the Boston Marathon in 2024. He did so in memory of his children and raised $75,000 for Boston Hospital, where son Callan spent his last four days on earth. During the trial, some used the marathon run as proof that he was <a href="https://www.thefp.com/p/amanda-knox-patrick-clancy-grief-internet-crime">either guilty or had moved on too quickly</a>. 
No one knows what’s going on in Patrick Clancy’s head except for Patrick. No one knows what timelines he should adhere to other than Patrick. Given his behavior prior to the murders, and everything that has come out since, he was a loving and devoted man who worked as hard as he could to help and support his ex-wife. He hired a nanny and worked from home so he’d be present. He assisted her when she was trying to get the mental health care she needed after Callan’s birth. It isn’t surprising that such a man would want to find new paths and people to share his love with. 
As Sun Tzu wrote, “Anger may in time change to gladness … But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.” Patrick’s kingdom, the one he built with Lindsay, is never returning, nor will he set his eyes upon the children who were ripped away from him. By forgiving, though, he makes way for gladness. He makes himself ready to build another life and build a new kingdom. It’s a lesson for all of us, especially those of us nursing grudges over much smaller infractions. Forgiveness is only partly for the forgiven. Its larger role is in freeing the forgiver from the shackles of rage. 
***
Rich Cromwell is a writer living in Northwest Arkansas. He produces the Cookin’ Up a Story podcast, which you can listen to <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cookin-up-a-story/id1624969096" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. You can also follow him on X: <a href="https://x.com/rcromwell4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@rcromwell4</a>.
This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

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Patrick Clancy’s Most Painful Revelation Yet

60 minutes

forgiveness

lindsay clancy

opinion

patrick clancy

Actress Meryl Streep has been tapped to voice the iconic C.S. Lewis-created character Aslan in 2027&#8217;s &#8220;Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew.&#8221;
Director Greta Gerwig (&#8220;Barbie&#8221;) described to <a href="https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/narnia-magicians-nephew-aslan-meryl-streep-cover-exclusive/">Empire</a> what she was looking for in an actor for that particular role, and she said that Streep — who has won three Academy Awards and been nominated another 18 times — had been one of a very small group of actors who checked all of her boxes.
&#8220;I wanted someone who was profound but not pretentious, who had gravitas but not morose self-seriousness. Someone who could communicate depth and pathos as well as joy and delight. I wanted someone who was older than 70, so there was a wisdom of experience, but who also had the capacity of fresh wonder, like a child,&#8221; Gerwig explained. &#8220;And also to be one of the greatest actors to ever do it. That list is not a long one.&#8221;
The Daily Wire&#8217;s Isabel Brown was one of many who reacted to the news, noting that Aslan was the direct allegorical reference to Jesus Christ.
<blockquote>In case there&#8217;s ANY confusion, CS Lewis literally intended Aslan to be the incarnation of Christ inside the world of Narnia. When Lucy and Edmund learn they cannot return to Narnia again, Aslan comforts them by saying they&#8217;ll know him again in their own world: &#8216;There I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name.&#8217;
Aslan is more than an allegory for Christ, he *is* how the creatures of Narnia experience Christ in their world just as we experience Jesus Christ as an incarnate MAN in ours.
To cast Meryl Streep as Aslan in Greta Gerwig&#8217;s Narnia is a slap in the face to the genius of Lewis, but also a deliberate mockery of Christianity that is 100% intentional. So deeply disappointing. 
Makes me wonder what else they&#8217;ll mock about this Christian story&#8230; </blockquote>
Gerwig&#8217;s casting of Streep is not the only liberty she&#8217;s taking with the classic story: she told the outlet she envisioned the Narnia creation story as a sort of &#8220;<a href="https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/narnia-magicians-nephew-greta-gerwig-rock-opera-fantasy-bowie-exclusive/">rock opera</a>&#8221; — although not quite literally in the &#8220;Tommy&#8221; or &#8220;Jesus Christ, Superstar&#8221; sense.
Aslan, with his heterochromic eyes and red streaks around his face, is vaguely reminiscent of David Bowie — and that&#8217;s not by accident.
&#8220;I wanted a rock opera. I wanted it to be big and transporting,&#8221; Gerwig said. &#8220;David Bowie saved my life. Paul McCartney saved my life. David Gilmour saved my life. Pete Townshend saved my life. Jimmy Page, Robert Plant … When I heard their music, I had this deep sense of, ‘You’re gonna be okay.’ Narnia is literally a world made out of music,&#8221; she explained. &#8220;It is a world sung to life by Aslan, and rock ’n’ roll to me felt like a world made out of music.&#8221;
Gerwig also changed the setting of the story, from the 1900s to 1950s postwar Britain, saying of the story&#8217;s heroes, &#8220;They had this relationship to pain and loss and something as unpromising as a bomb site, and they made a castle. They made a universe. They made something you could live inside of. I don’t know how you went from David Jones to David Bowie unless you went to Narnia and you saw something.&#8221;

Meryl Streep

DW’s Isabel Brown Rips Streep’s Aslan Casting As ‘Mockery’ Of Christian Allegory

It's Official: Aslan Will Be Voiced By Meryl Streep

arts

greta gerwig

meryl streep

narnia

If you tell people, “Annie Dillard has died,” most of them will say, “I don’t know who that is.” And there’s no shame in that, for them or for her. 
 
Annie Dillard, the great naturalist, essayist, and Christian interrogator — and minor novelist — died Tuesday at her home in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, at the age of 81. She was the antipode of Joan Didion, as blonde and soft and rural as Didon was dark and twitchy and urban.
“We can live any way we want,” Dillard wrote in her signature essay, “Living Like Weasels.” “People take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience — even of silence — by choice. The thing is to stalk your calling in a certain skilled and supple way, to locate the most tender and live spot and plug into that pulse.”
That’s who Annie Dillard was: a woman who stalked her calling, weasel-like and unabashed.
Born Meta Ann Doak in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 30, 1945, Dillard was raised in a well-heeled progressive family that she detailed in her first book, an autobiography called “An American Childhood,” which literary scuttlebutt says succeeded because she was upper-crust and photogenic, a pin-up Thoreau who experienced the outdoors between opulent meals.
She was 29 at the time, married to the poet Richard Dillard — thus her name. But they soon divorced and she married twice more, teaching, traveling, and living the life of an academic star, which insulated her.
Her critics pointed out that it was easy for young, chain-smoking Annie to explore nature, what with her tenure and big publishing payouts. She never denied it, referring to her “suburban wilderness.” She was honest about the fact that her adventures were simple, safe day trips to observe local wildlife, and she always returned after a couple hours to her comfortable home.
Dillard was a writer’s writer, someone whose biggest mark was on literature itself rather than the masses of paperback readers and filmgoers. Her career receded as she aged, but the echo of her observations about what it is to live in the world and make a transcript of it is loud.
“While writing is an art, it’s not a martial art,” Dillard wrote in the introduction to her 1989 book, “The Writing Life.” I&#8217;ve repeated this mantra to every nonfiction writing student I&#8217;ve ever had, and I say it to myself at least once a week. 
Like Janet Burroway, who wrote the classic “Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft,” and Vivian Gornick, whose “The Situation and the Story” is essential for both essayists and eulogists, Dillard — a longtime English professor — was best-known for her writing advice. 
Writing that’s designed to settle scores or argue a case is boring, she taught. When memoir is written in order to attack, it’s obvious; it’s bad art. She was right. 
When I attended the Iowa Nonfiction Writing Program in 1999, Dillard was canon and those guidelines were workshop staples. Did you hold yourself accountable? We would ask the writer of each piece. Was your account fair? Is the conclusion earned, or is it simply a rant?
These concerns have been lost in an era of confessional personal essay and memoiristic screed. Titles such as “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” the runaway 2022 bestseller by child actor Jennette McCurdy, violate every one of Dillard’s stately directions. And it’s everyone’s loss.
The best of literature is, as Annie Dillard wrote, designed to illuminate and elevate, not belittle or argue. “No manipulation is possible in a work of art, but every miracle is,” Dillard wrote in “Write Till You Drop,” <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/99/03/28/specials/dillard-drop.html?_r=1">an essay</a> for the “New York Times Book Review.”
She also provided the single best piece of writing advice I’ve ever heard: Spend it.
“One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better. These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.” 
The punchline is that Dillard repudiated her own terrific book on writing, insisting (through her third husband, the Thoreau biographer Robert D. Richardson) that “The Writing Life” was “an embarrassing nonfiction narrative.” About her famous essay, “To Fashion a Text,” which appeared in “Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir,” edited by William Zinsser, Dillard wrote on her own website: &#8220;This is emphatically not interesting; I renounce it.”
It’s ironic that so many readers’ favorite title is the one she couldn’t stand. But it’s also consistent with her never-still character. Above all, Dillard was a seeker, and this is the third piece of her legacy. Nature, writing, God. Raised in the Presbyterian Church, she was an on-again-off-for-short-times lifelong Christian who defined herself not by sect but by her relationship to paradox and sanctity — which she found everywhere in the world. 
Again, she started with that which she abnegates: creationism, dogma, the idea of a personal God. “Did God create people? Sure, if that’s how you like it,” Dillard wrote in “<a href="https://www.christiancentury.org/article/how-my-mind-has-changed/do-i-consider-myself-christian">Do I Consider Myself a Christian</a>?” for “The Christian Century” magazine. “We didn’t create ourselves. We evolved, just as all other living beings evolved. Every creature alive today is a pinnacle of creation. So is every extinct creature.”
Hers is a modern response to works such as G.K. Chesterton’s Christian apologetics, “<a href="https://app.storyaliz.com/read/3f138a7a-58e6-443a-b173-76dd47700c46/about">The Everlasting Man</a>.” And true to her progressive roots, she wraps in Hasidism, Islam, and Buddhism, but concludes with something so fundamentally true, it seems — in the vernacular of the book Dillard abjured — “earned.”
“I know only one thing for certain: there is holiness,” she said. “Standing there, a person can sing myriad songs.”
***
Ann Bauer is co-founder of the serialized classic literature platform <a href="https://www.storyaliz.com/">Storyalīz</a>.
This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

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The American Writer Who Refused To Play By Today’s Rules

annie dillard

memoir

obituary

The first thing that always comes up when talking about September 11, 2001, is: Where were you when you heard the news?
It was a weird day for me. A 16-year-old sophomore, I was out of school that morning. Having suffered massive injuries from a snow skiing accident in April of 2001, I was driving to Springfield, Illinois, on Interstate 72 to visit a surgeon for a follow-up appointment with my mother.
The morning really was as beautiful as everyone describes — an uncannily early-fall day with crisp temperatures and not a cloud in the sky. That everyone remarks on the beauty of the day in retelling the events of 9/11, I think, is a subliminal way that the human mind interprets beauty against the carnage of brutality and sadness. We find categories of good and evil, beauty and ugliness, as backgrounds for making sense of our moral memories. That day, odd as it may be, we used the weather to help frame the mind’s memory of 9/11. These moral timestamps have a quiet, imperceptible way of searing images into our brains, and the beauty of that day’s beginning is offset by the ugliness of carnage and ashes that would mark the day’s end.
I’ll never forget the breaking news alert from our local radio station, WLDS, announcing that a plane had struck the World Trade Center. Like everyone else, I believed it was just a one-off mistake. Who, after all, would do such a thing purposefully? Between arriving at the doctor’s office and the appointment, we got news that another plane had struck the other tower. I’ll never forget, paradoxically, the felt, audible silence that fell over the waiting room as everyone was processing that the invincible fortress that is, and was, the United States, was under attack.
After we got back to school late that morning, televisions were set up in a common area where students and faculty alike watched the carnage and disbelief in real time. Against all odds, and something that never happened before or after that day, at lunchtime, our principal began to yell for everyone to exit the cafeteria and flee to the parking lot. At the moment, what immediately came to mind was that the terrorism of New York was going nationwide, so widespread that students in central Illinois, of all places, were now potential victims. It turned out that an electric breaker caught fire, triggering a fire alarm and the fire department’s arrival. You can imagine the sense of anxiety that fell on us as we had no idea what was happening at the time.
They canceled school for the rest of the day, and my then-girlfriend (and now wife) and I went to my house to watch the news. I’ll never forget returning her home later that afternoon. The thoughts that swept over me were visceral — I genuinely felt that at age 16, we had had my generation’s Pearl Harbor moment. It was as though the world had changed (and it had) and that my generation, emerging millennials, would be called to action around the world (and they were). Several of my friends from high school would serve in the War on Terror, in Iraq and Afghanistan. They would not come back the same. What immediately came to mind was a call to arms. It dawned on me with real sadness that, had America declared war, my injuries would have kept me from serving. It now makes sense to me, reading the stories of young men in World War II who could not serve because of medical disability and who felt shame the rest of their lives for not doing their part. In retrospect, what seems bizarre is how compartmentalized the war became — especially for those of us who did not fight (or could not fight, as in my case). The war could be kept out of mind and out of sight if you let it, but all the while, we knew there were young men fighting and dying in far-away lands. I say this with embarrassment. As a patriotic American, what feels like shirking responsibility and letting someone else carry the burdens of protecting the nation is a mental frame not to be forgotten. It was as if American culture went on while a generation of men spilled blood in a war that Americans grew accustomed to, given its length and protracted nature.
But this essay is not about me. Even if this psychological retelling helps historians understand what my generation processed that day, it gains renewed importance as I now teach students who were either too young to remember 9/11 or who were not yet born.
9/11 was many things. It was a display of humanity at its worst and at its best. It was a display of Islamist barbarians drunk on the power of false religion, and fueled by evil, retribution, and hate — a hate that would pour down destruction in the deaths of 3,000 innocent Americans. It was a display of American altruism at its best, too—the firefighters who selflessly stormed upward in burning towers to save trapped victims, only to become victims themselves. The story of 9/11 is about Americans who formed long lines outside hospitals and blood banks waiting to donate to their fellow Americans. It was the raucous patriotism of Americans who pled for justice. It was George W. Bush standing on rubble, declaring to a watching world that the terrorists would pay — and they did. The killing of Osama bin Laden at the hands of Navy SEALS in 2011 was an epic, unforgettable coda to a decade of tumult. Biblical justice rained down on bin Laden (Rom. 13:1-7), a man whose infamy ended with his corpse sunk to the ocean depths. It was like a World Series game: the President, in a deafening crowd of applauding spectators (many of whom probably did not vote for him as New Yorkers), throwing a pitch down the middle of the plate, creating a memory that signaled—in a mysterious way that only America’s love affair with baseball could do—resolve and solidarity.
But today, on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, as a theologian and ethicist, I now look back at that day as a test of the regnant secularism that our society was gambling its existence on. I evaluate that day by what the moral plates underneath American society revealed. In the early 2000s, America was more Christian than it is today, at least statistically. But the secularization thesis scholars heralded was well underway by then. But amid all of our progress, our enlightenment, and our belief that secularism affords us the moral categories to make sense of moral tragedy, 9/11 proved the impotence of secularism. When the Twin Towers fell, no one went looking to an atheist manifesto to understand what had just happened. No one pulled Nietzsche from their shelves — they chose Psalm 23 instead. Scholars may make academic and transgressive arguments about moral relativism, but on 9/11, rest assured, no one wondered what the neighborhood atheist thought. The famed atheist Christopher Hitchens’ worldview could not satisfy the longings for justice, but Billy Graham’s could. Secularism was exposed as fleeting and intellectual, divorced from the needs of objectivity, affection, and explanation. Moral realism — the idea that morality is real, objective, and felt within the inner recesses of our souls — was the currency of grief-stricken Americans that fateful day. Americans did not soothe their fears with strip clubs, Wiccan manifestos, or sports stadiums to quench their existential wonderings. Out of 9/11, we think of the Americans who returned to churches in dramatic numbers in the weeks that followed. We think of the answers sought against the horizons of loss, longing, and assuagement.
Like all tragedies that befall human civilization, we go back to the moral categories we’re told that secularism moved us on from. From the Nuremberg Trials that sought justice for the atrocity of the Holocaust to the palpable angst of the 1960s that oversaw a cultural revolution, moral convulsions have a way of jarring us awake from our moral slumbers. When events unfold with such heinous evil on open display, the ambient moral assumptions we’ve grown up on while living in a secular country become questionable. Moral events of such magnitude leave us crying out for a form of justice that no human court of law can finally deliver upon. Can political justice really rectify the wrongs of that day? It can, in the temporal sense. But in a final sense, a guilty verdict cannot bring back a deceased son or daughter, but the Lord Jesus, who calls himself “the resurrection and life,” most certainly can if we repent of our sins and follow Him (John 11:25-26). September 11, 2001 reminds us that “law written on the heart” (Rom. 2:15) is a law etched on it from its Creator, and that we must reach for a Higher Court, a divine court, to assuage the anguish of human grief—to believe that in the divine ledger of eternity, evil will truly be answered for with perfect justice.
I am now 41. As a proud American, I measure my early adolescence and early middle age against the realities of what happened twenty-five years ago. I was 16 when America was attacked, and until 2021, when then-President Joe Biden unceremoniously (though not unjustifiably) withdrew our forces from Afghanistan, the largest chunk of my life has been lived in the afterglow of what I hear soldiers refer to as “GWOT”—the Global War on Terror, a war sparked by what occurred on that beautiful-and-macabre September day. What occurred on 9/11 is a testament to the reality of evil, the valor of fallen heroes, and the promise that no matter how secular the modern West may think itself to be, God has placed not only eternity on our hearts, but the cry for justice, too.
***
Andrew T. Walker, Ph.D., is Dean of the School of Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Professor of Christian Ethics and Public Theology. He is a Fellow with The Ethics and Public Policy Center and the Managing Editor of WORLD Opinions. You can follow him on X: @AndrewTWalker.

Prayers for World Trade Center Victims

September 11 And The Impotence Of Secularism

osama bin laden

secularism

september 11 attacks

war on terror

A year ago, my friend Charlie Kirk was shot and killed just feet from me.
Millions knew Charlie as one of the most influential voices of his generation. He built a movement, mobilized young people, challenged institutions, and refused to accept the idea that Christians should keep their convictions safely tucked inside church walls.
I knew that Charlie too. But I also knew him as a friend, a student, and as someone I came to love like a son.
Our friendship began in 2020, when Charlie asked me to mentor him in Christian apologetics. I often joke that it can be hard to mentor somebody smarter than you. But not Charlie — because the only thing that exceeded his intellect was his humility.
In fact, despite being twice Charlie’s age, I think I learned more from him than he ever learned from me. Charlie didn’t teach simply through what he knew, but through how he lived. His intellect was remarkable and his work ethic relentless, but both were driven by something deeper: a hunger to know and serve God, a fierce love for his family, and an unwavering hope for his country.
Depending on which side of the algorithmic bubble your social media scrolling landed you on, Charlie was either a courageous voice for truth and reason or a hateful, bigoted fascist. He was, admittedly, a rather peculiar kind of “fascist”: one who routinely put himself in harm’s way by walking onto hostile college campuses, handing his opponents a microphone and inviting them to the front of the line.
Because if there’s one thing Mussolini was famous for, it was his tireless enthusiasm for open microphones and hostile questions. (News flash: The leftist who shot Charlie is the fascist!)
Despite his youth, Charlie possessed a wisdom that seemed well beyond his years. He understood that if you genuinely love people and want to reach them with the truth, you had to be willing to make yourself vulnerable. And that takes courage.
Charlie spoke often about courage because he believed it was one of the few virtues available to absolutely everyone. It requires no special talent, no money, no status, and no connections. You don’t have to be born with it or wait until you feel brave enough to use it. Courage is simply a choice: to show up, stand firm, and speak the truth even when you know you’ll be challenged, misunderstood, mocked, hated, or maybe even murdered.
That was a choice Charlie made every day, and it cost him his life.
Just days before his death, Charlie and I took what would become our final long walk together. I didn’t know it was our last. If I had, I probably would have walked a lot slower. That night, Charlie wasn’t talking about his fame, his platform, or what he had already accomplished. He was thinking about the future and the three institutions God established to help that future flourish: the family, the church, and the government.
That conversation captured Charlie remarkably well. For all he had already accomplished, his mind was fixed on the generation coming behind him. He worried that young people, particularly young women, had grown disillusioned with the beauty of marriage, family, and children, and he wrestled with how to remind people that those things are still worth aspiring to.
He had spent years laboring alongside the church, urging pastors to be bold and to equip their congregations not only in matters of salvation, but in matters of culture too, about which, inconveniently for those who would prefer Christianity remain safely confined to Sunday mornings, Scripture has quite a lot to say.
And he dreamed about the America his children would inherit. An America that remembered the Christian roots of its past and recognized that our rights are not gifts bestowed upon us by governments, but from the author of reality himself. The one to whom we owe those audacious ideas of life, liberty, and justice.
Charlie spent his life defending reality and its author. In the end, he became a casualty in the war. But he did not lose it.
A bullet can end a life. It cannot make a lie true. And death does not get the final word over someone who belongs to Christ. The murderer only managed to change Charlie’s address, while motivating thousands to come to Jesus.
Today, Charlie is absent from the body but present with the Lord. And while I long for the day when I will see my friend again, those of us still here have work to do.
For 365 days and counting, his spirit-guided wife, Erika, his faithful friends, and his devoted Turning Point family have honored Charlie not merely by remembering what he did, but by continuing what he started. Together, they have chosen to build rather than destroy, to focus rather than distract, and to defend truth, family, faith, and country even when it costs them something. I pray you have made the same choice.
Charlie once said that, for everything he accomplished, he wanted to be remembered above all for two things: his courage and his faith in Jesus Christ. One year later, that is how I remember him.
***
Frank Turek is coauthor of “The War on Reality” and was a good friend and mentor to Charlie Kirk.
This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

Charlie Kirk

Why Charlie Kirk’s Faith And Courage Still Define A Generation

assassination

charlie kirk

erika kirk

turning point usa

I was at work when I learned that Karoline Leavitt, President Trump’s viral press secretary, will be stepping down from her position.
“Our wonderful White House Press Secretary, and one of my most trusted aides, Karoline Leavitt, will be departing her role at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect!” wrote President Trump <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https*3A*2F*2Ftruthsocial.com*2F*40realDonaldTrump*2Fposts*2F117084211457388624&amp;data=05*7C02*7Ckhamrick*40studentsforlife.org*7C134c92309b6540ffbb6908deff08512f*7Cb3f92ab929b141449c57d11e0e7a368a*7C0*7C0*7C639228608401918627*7CUnknown*7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ*3D*3D*7C0*7C*7C*7C&amp;sdata=nD77BtewLQfiFspqviKJ8gNMo*2FQY1cqAPWgv*2F8AYbhA*3D&amp;reserved=0__;JSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSU!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!3gh47lGdv1wz0dEtOLHFNRUfsTFa9EhM56f7QiqiYWEfY3N6La9Pr0uOnhTv6MTpb5W2B6_pVPqp-uFyJ5pA$">on Truth Social</a>.
As a Gen Z woman who works full-time in the pro-life movement, I knew what would come next: some on the political Right telling women to follow in her footsteps, using Christianity as justification.
The irony of young Christians telling women to go back to the kitchen and care for the kids as the Good Word commands is that Scripture does not actually say that — it says the ideal wife is a working mom.
Everyone has heard of the “Proverbs 31 woman,” especially if you are young and single like me. On every dating app, Christian men pick a prompt saying they’re looking for one of these rare women before asking for a stay-at-home mom who will bake homemade sourdough and birth 12 kids.
I am not here to argue that women’s roles as mothers and wives are not important. They clearly are, and they are indispensable. I would also like to make bread for my dozen kids one day.
However, the conservative political narrative that women must be stay-at-home moms is not reflective of scriptural teachings.
<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https*3A*2F*2Fwww.biblegateway.com*2Fpassage*2F*3Fsearch*3DProverbs*252031*26version*3DESV&amp;data=05*7C02*7Ckhamrick*40studentsforlife.org*7C134c92309b6540ffbb6908deff08512f*7Cb3f92ab929b141449c57d11e0e7a368a*7C0*7C0*7C639228608401932304*7CUnknown*7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ*3D*3D*7C0*7C*7C*7C&amp;sdata=ApuuEB2W62ak8Xp6d3wYhvitmf0cgNgQDZK3mdvEVfk*3D&amp;reserved=0__;JSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUl!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!3gh47lGdv1wz0dEtOLHFNRUfsTFa9EhM56f7QiqiYWEfY3N6La9Pr0uOnhTv6MTpb5W2B6_pVPqp-n8DgDA1$">Proverbs 31:10–31</a> describes “The Woman Who Fears the Lord,” who is said in verse 10 to be “far more precious than jewels.” The first three verses, 10–12, describe the nature of a good relationship between man and wife, one filled with trust and service.
The next section, verses 13–24, describes the behaviors of this ideal woman.
The woman portrayed in verses 13–15 fits the image young conservatives find appealing: a woman who makes clothes for her family, collects food and prepares it for her household, and finds joy in her service. Young men and women grasp these verses while watching trad wife and homesteading reels on Instagram.
While providing necessities like this is an expectation of a biblical wife, the description does not end with her using their resources to maintain a home. Scripture expects her to conduct business and earn money outside the home to support it.
Verses 16–24 portray a woman who is active outside the home. She purchases land and cultivates it, pursues physical strength and health, creates products and sells them, and helps the needy in her community. Her role is not only in the home. In fact, it necessitates leaving.
Leavitt is a great example of this. She continued to work in this position after the birth of her kids, as it worked for her family.
However, she is working with intention: Leavitt is not leaving the workforce entirely, but forging a path that lets her serve her country and family best.
“Karoline will now be one of my top outside advisors, and an influential voice within the Republican Party, as we work to defy History, and conclusively win the Midterm Elections,” continued President Trump <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https*3A*2F*2Ftruthsocial.com*2F*40realDonaldTrump*2Fposts*2F117084211457388624&amp;data=05*7C02*7Ckhamrick*40studentsforlife.org*7C134c92309b6540ffbb6908deff08512f*7Cb3f92ab929b141449c57d11e0e7a368a*7C0*7C0*7C639228608401945689*7CUnknown*7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ*3D*3D*7C0*7C*7C*7C&amp;sdata=UY6TwV*2FZxBZfRnuYihqBUkM7Jfq4eq6*2Bh6b2BGjiAV8*3D&amp;reserved=0__;JSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSU!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!3gh47lGdv1wz0dEtOLHFNRUfsTFa9EhM56f7QiqiYWEfY3N6La9Pr0uOnhTv6MTpb5W2B6_pVPqp-vuH6oB2$">on Truth Social</a>. “Karoline has been a real leader in the White House, and has done a phenomenal job fighting for Justice, Liberty, and Freedom, since 2018, including our Historic Re-Election Campaign of 2024. Karoline has been one of the best White House Press Secretaries in the History of the Office. Thank you, Karoline, for a job well done!”
Leavitt figured out what worked for her and her family at this time, and she did it. This move is an example of biblical balance.
I can understand why some conservative Christian women of my generation want to be housewives. We grew up in the throes of fourth-wave feminism, teaching women to reject their God-given traits in favor of the corporate image of masculinity. We’ve been forced into a role we could never fill, and <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https*3A*2F*2Fwww.forbes.com*2Fsites*2Fdeloitte*2F2026*2F05*2F21*2Fmental-health-is-improving-for-gen-z-and-millennials-but-more-needs-to-be-done-to-address-chronic-stress-at-work*2F&amp;data=05*7C02*7Ckhamrick*40studentsforlife.org*7C134c92309b6540ffbb6908deff08512f*7Cb3f92ab929b141449c57d11e0e7a368a*7C0*7C0*7C639228608401958640*7CUnknown*7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ*3D*3D*7C0*7C*7C*7C&amp;sdata=VbFGoktaV0DtaPq5qbI83EjpRerVe4eJp*2FBueD1yKS0*3D&amp;reserved=0__;JSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJQ!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!3gh47lGdv1wz0dEtOLHFNRUfsTFa9EhM56f7QiqiYWEfY3N6La9Pr0uOnhTv6MTpb5W2B6_pVPqp-mxwew5q$">the chronic stress of feminist work culture is destroying our mental health</a>.
Similarly, I can understand some men wanting a housewife as they navigate a man-defeating culture. The imagery of a 1950s housewife — a dress-wearing woman with carefully styled hair, a clean home, a plate of hot food, and a warm smile — is intoxicating to men starved for healthy femininity as <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https*3A*2F*2Fwww.brookings.edu*2Farticles*2Fthe-growing-gender-gap-among-young-people*2F&amp;data=05*7C02*7Ckhamrick*40studentsforlife.org*7C134c92309b6540ffbb6908deff08512f*7Cb3f92ab929b141449c57d11e0e7a368a*7C0*7C0*7C639228608401971733*7CUnknown*7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ*3D*3D*7C0*7C*7C*7C&amp;sdata=5A7oVvREkosP7EfIGdXDezHn102qd45FwuXVv*2B65uT0*3D&amp;reserved=0__;JSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUl!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!3gh47lGdv1wz0dEtOLHFNRUfsTFa9EhM56f7QiqiYWEfY3N6La9Pr0uOnhTv6MTpb5W2B6_pVPqp-gqrQtEq$">the majority of Gen Z women embrace modern feminism and liberalism</a>.
This is why young Christians cannot look to the world’s culture for fulfillment. Whether that culture is politically conservative or liberal does not matter. Peace can only be found in the Word of God.
What stands out in Proverbs 31 is the mutual respect shown between man and wife. Proverbs shows a man trusting in his wife and praising her. A woman is encouraged to serve her family and community in both care and business, and her husband is elevated as a result.
To young women, I say: use Scripture as your roadmap. Serve your family through care and work. Find ways to serve your community. Listen to the lessons of Proverbs 31:25–31 and clothe yourself in strength and dignity, be kind with your words, and fear nothing but the Lord.
And to men: do not give up hope on women. Be the leaders God asks you to be. Value the role God has truly given her, and you will see Christian women respond in kind.
***
Olivia D’Angelo is a policy analyst, writer, and strategic project coordinator for Students for Life of America, studying biblical leadership at Fruitland Baptist Bible College. Follow her on X: @olivia_dangelo

1960s HAPPY COUPLE MAN…

Dear Gen Z Christians: It Is Biblical For Women To Work

donald trump

gender roles

karoline leavitt

proverbs 31

What makes a movie Christian? Some reviewers have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-christopher-nolan-couldnt-bring-himself-to-do">argued</a> Christopher Nolan&#8217;s &#8220;Odyssey&#8221; was shaped by Christian themes. Daily Wire host <a class="css-1unrqcp">Michael Knowles has called both the horror film </a><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dont-believe-reviews-mother-thought-provoking-michael-j-knowles">&#8220;Mother!&#8221;</a> and the coming-of-age story <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/review-lady-bird-brutally-honest-christian-michael-j-knowles">&#8220;Lady Bird&#8221;</a> Christian, though neither film purported to be. Can a film be Christian if it doesn&#8217;t explicitly mention God, and even if it depicts behavior that Christians find objectionable?
I was listening to a <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/016-the-power-of-1-minute-with-russ-devos/id1549028686?i=1000637979057">podcast</a> recently when the topic of “Christian” movies came up. Not titles that explicitly depict the life of Christ, such as “The Passion of the Christ” or the show “The Chosen,” but movies which one might group under the umbrella term of “Christian.” Leadership coach Russ De Vos said his favorite movie, and the one which pointed him toward Jesus, was the 1995 blockbuster “Braveheart” starring Mel Gibson as William Wallace.
This choice surprised me, though it turns out it should not have. “Braveheart” apparently routinely ranks high, if not at the top, on lists of people’s favorite “Christian” movies, especially among men, who find in its depiction of William Wallace an example of heroic and sacrificial manliness. Yet this got me thinking: What do we mean when we describe a movie as not just inspiring, but as “Christian”? 
I don&#8217;t have a definitive answer, but I can tell you why “Braveheart” doesn&#8217;t make the cut for me. It is unquestionably a rousing, beautiful film, and a good piece of dramatic art. But it fails my “Christian” test because, gratuitous violence aside, it is unabashedly historically inaccurate.
All historical movies take a degree of historical license; essentially, they have to. Verifiable facts about the historical past are so sparse, especially when it comes to 13th-century Scotland, that anyone wishing to dramatize the story must embellish certain details and invent others simply to fill in the missing pieces of the historical jigsaw puzzle. Yet surely a line should be drawn at inserting details that we know for sure could never have happened. And “Braveheart” is full of such <a href="https://scotlands-stories.com/braveheart-historical-check/">inventions</a>, some of which are laughable, some defamatory. 
One of Christianity’s claims to truth concerns its rigorous historical accuracy. The New Testament does not introduce the Incarnation, that moment when Christians believe that God entered into the historical timeline as a man, in a vague way — as in, “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” — but with a historical precision that is worth noting. Indeed, distinguished Cambridge philosopher <a href="https://justinbrierley.beehiiv.com/p/conversion-classicist-reading-greek-new-testament-led-james-orr-christ">James Orr</a> came to Christian faith precisely because he recognized the historical accuracy of biblical accounts of the birth of Christ. Therefore, if historical accuracy mattered to the writers of the New Testament, then any movie that merits the term “Christian” must display a similar respect for historical truth.
For some, a “Christian” movie encapsulates wholesome content: no sex, no swearing, minimal violence, and no lauding of illegal acts. Think of the kind of movie you can show to your church youth group without concern. There is an obvious logic to this viewpoint. A “Christian” movie is one that Christians will choose to watch, that aligns with their values, and resonates with the kind of lives they are trying to lead. Such a movie might typically show people praying, quoting the Bible, making right moral choices, and seeing the fruits of these choices in greater blessing and flourishing in their lives. Examples of this kind of movie could be the classic 1981 British movie “Chariots of Fire,” or the more recent 2015 sleeper hit “<a href="https://youtu.be/mIl-XY9t_Lw?si=oJsdxUNE4__kV-mS">War Room</a>,” and its 2024 spin-off, “<a href="https://youtu.be/s4aCsaDvagw?si=vtusA_tjskKp9iux">The Forge</a>,” co-written by brothers Alex and Stephen Kendrick, both of whom are also pastors.
As popularity for such faith-based movies grows, the big studios have taken <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-oct-02-la-ca-religious-films-20111002-story.html">notice</a>. The Christian movie company <a href="https://www.affirmentertainment.com/about">Affirm Films</a> was set up in 2007 as a subsidiary of <a href="https://deadline.com/2016/11/affirm-faith-based-label-promotions-sony-1201850273/">Sony</a>, with its stated mission to produce content that “inspires, uplifts, challenges and captivates.” This brings up the question of what is meant by <a href="https://apnews.com/article/faith-religion-films-tv-bible-stories-c53a47a0fb3a5a4020d225a65aac0075">faith-based content</a>, and who the target and actual audiences are for such openly Christian movies. Is it people who already believe, or people who are not sure and need a vision of what the Christian life looks like in real life? If the latter, how accurately can the fictional medium of storytelling replicate reality? 
It is routine for movies with a direct Christian message to be challenged by mainstream movie critics as “preachy.” Another criticism is that they are formulaic and use clichéd tropes. Essentially, critics find such wholesome stories to be boring and unoriginal. It is worth noting that if one did classify as “Christian” only those movies with no bad language, sex, or violence, and which were safe for a church youth group, then the astonishing “Dead Man Walking,” which explores extreme sin, repentance, and atonement, probably would not qualify. 
Another faith-based studio, Angel Studios, which started in 2013 under the name VidAngel, operates independently of an established studio format, preferring to crowdfund its movies. Its breakout film was 2023’s “Sound of Freedom,” based on a true story and starring Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in “The Passion of the Christ.” Yet the success of that movie led to Angel Studios getting sucked into the culture wars, receiving <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240619-christian-studio-eyes-culture-wars-challenge-to-hollywood">criticism</a> that likened the plot to a QAnon fever dream. Controversy notwithstanding, that film’s healthy box office receipts have allowed Angel Studios to break into mainstream movie making. The studio now routinely attracts well-known actors, and its upcoming movie “<a href="https://youtu.be/m8JUmBgHejI?si=SDiDzMp1v1IETQcQ">Runner</a>” features action man of the moment Alan Ritchson with Owen Wilson as the comic relief. 
Amid the rise of films for Christian audiences, there is no definitive answer to what qualifies as a &#8220;Christian&#8221; movie. Unlike, say, action movies or rom-coms, which must follow a generic plot line, what makes a movie “Christian” is surely more personal. For those interested in outside-the-box contenders, though, I have a few.
For starters, “<a href="https://youtu.be/MF7JH_54d8c?si=n5VtwoipA1ZdlaeZ">Casablanca</a>.” Yes, the previous love affair between Rick and Ilsa was adulterous, but neither knew it at the time, so that must surely count for something. Plus, once they realized the truth of the situation, they refused to rekindle their passion. Their selfless choices at the end of the movie — which seem to be pretty accurate depictions of the Pauline concept of “dying to self” — lead to them both having happier and more fulfilled futures than had they furtively run away together. If you are still skeptical, compare “Casablanca” to its hedonistic doppelgänger, “<a href="https://youtu.be/Xk_LRcOFT0c?si=gmnp6TStYCuPJu2T">The English Patient</a>,” in which the lovers choose each other over “doing the right thing,” and everyone dies. Horribly. 
Another movie that gets my “Christian” rating is “<a href="https://youtu.be/Ftkmhs8BEms?si=D6GFOKC1uRWS9_PZ">The Painted Veil</a>.” Again, adultery is the plot twist, but here the selfishness, immaturity, and infatuation that caused it are burned up in a crucible of suffering, leading to our hero and heroine gaining a genuine knowledge of and love for each other, which in turn leads to profound repentance, self-sacrifice, and ultimately self-fulfillment. 
A very different movie that also qualifies is the strange but brilliant “<a href="https://youtu.be/WWoDBcSW4_c?si=AkhBExvq0BEhyHZ8">Moon</a>,” directed by the late David Bowie’s son, Duncan Jones, and starring Sam Rockwell alone in a space station on the Moon. Spoiler alert: Rockwell’s character gradually realizes he is not the human he believes himself to be, but a clone whose function is to supervise the robots and harvesting machines on the space station, which are mining the Moon’s rare minerals and sending them back to Earth. He discovers he can only live for three years before starting to physically degrade, whereupon he will be euthanized and replaced by an identical and equally oblivious clone, who will supervise the mining colony before similarly starting to decompose.
Now why is this one “Christian?” Because just as C.S. Lewis used the artistic medium of sci-fi in his adult fiction series, “<a href="https://transform.westernseminary.edu/resources/cs-lewis-space-trilogy">The Space Trilogy</a>,” to explore man’s relationship to the divine, “Moon” shines a spotlight on the wonder of our human uniqueness. It reminds us that each person is a created being and designed to be fully autonomous, not an anonymous commodity fabricated in a lab for commercial profit. Each time I watch “Moon,” my response is to thank God for giving us humans true freedom, which is something I guess William Wallace from “Braveheart” could understand.
So now, over to you. What do you think makes a movie “Christian,” and what is at the top of your list?
***
Bridget Riley studied modern history at Oxford and completed a Ph.D. in medieval history at the University of Reading. She writes on history, culture, and the philosophy of religion.
This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

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Three Unlikely Films That Carry Surprising Christian Themes

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Actress Anna Faris admitted this past week that she challenges her 14-year-old son, whom she shares with ex-husband Chris Pratt, on his pro-life and conservative beliefs.
Speaking to comedian Chelsea Handler on her &#8220;Dear Chelsea&#8221; podcast, Faris spoke lovingly of her son, Jack, but noted they have some differences when it comes to religion and politics. She told Handler that she challenges Jack&#8217;s beliefs, specifically bringing up his pro-life views.
“I try to challenge him. I’m like, ‘Do you think it’s a luxury that you get to be pro-life?’” Faris said. “He’s like, ‘Maybe.’”
“He is &#8230; religious,” the 49-year-old said, sounding hesitant. Faris said she did not grow up with religion herself, but that Jack has developed strong religious beliefs. When she challenges him on his faith, she said she brings up what she views as religious “hypocrisy.”
“I’ll say, ‘So, what do you think of this mega pastor that’s kind of a grifter?’” Faris said. “He’s like, ‘Oh, mega pastors are the worst.’ So it’s like, okay, he&#8217;s getting there.”
Faris also praised her son, saying she&#8217;s impressed by his responses and calling him as “solid as a tugboat, emotionally. &#8230; He just doesn’t get easily jarred — he handles situations really well.&#8221; She added that she was &#8220;appreciative that he’s examining religion the way he is, in terms of recognizing hypocrisy.”
The &#8220;House Bunny&#8221; actress also revealed that Jack has asked her to become a Christian and accept Jesus as her savior. Faris, who has said she did not grow up religious, indicated she isn&#8217;t currently a believer herself but suggested she&#8217;d consider becoming one for her son. “It’s gonna take a whole lot of long conversations,” Faris said she told Jack.
Faris was married to Pratt in 2009 and gave birth to Jack in 2012. Pratt has been very open about his Christian faith, including discussing how Jack’s premature birth strengthened his belief in God. The actor routinely supports our veterans and has been piled on by liberals online for apparently secretly holding conservative views, though Pratt has generally stayed out of politics.
After his split from Faris in 2017, Pratt married Katherine Schwarzenegger, daughter of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, in 2019. The pair have three children together. Faris married cinematographer Michael Barrett in 2021.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chris-pratt-goes-viral-after-proving-gentlemen-do-still-exist-in-hollywood?author=Katie+Jerkovich&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Chris+Pratt+Goes+Viral+After+Proving+Gentlemen+Do+Still+Exist+In+Hollywood">Chris Pratt Goes Viral After Proving Gentlemen Do Still Exist In Hollywood</a>

Premiere Of Disney And Marvel’s “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2” – Arrivals

Chris Pratt’s Ex Admits She Grills 14-Year-Old Son Over His Pro-Life, Conservative Views

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A nationally growing ministry for female athletes is launching new chapters across the country this fall, countering attacks on gender integrity with formative, feminine, Christian encounters.
<a href="https://fierceathlete.org/why-fierce-2">FIERCE Athlete</a> reaches women and girls in sports through clinics, retreats, and coaching that strive for whole-person formation. The organization has had impressive growth since 2019, with reach in more than 20 states, impacting 24,000 people, and 5,200 female athletes. Several schools are launching or continuing in-house chapters this fall and engaging in mentorship programs to raise up student leaders.
Programs typically run full-day or after school in lieu of practice and are commonly attended by coaches. This year’s expansion of chapters marks significant progress in the ministry.
A “toxic world”
Female athletics has been targeted by the transgender industry with particular malice, played out on the world stage at the <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2024/08/08/olympics-boxing-fiasco-is-more-proof-men-dont-belong-in-womens-sports/">2024 Olympics</a>, and through recent<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403269732112"> threats </a>of discriminatory action by transgender men demanding entrance into professional women’s leagues. <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11569523/">Mental health</a> challenges plague elite female athletes at higher rates than males. <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11370166/">Violence</a> is becoming more <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2026/08/10/the-nba-is-enabling-the-wnbas-anti-white-violence/">flagrant</a>.
A former Division I soccer player and competitive rower, Samantha Kelley designed FIERCE to combat the obstacles she witnessed in women’s sports years before abuses of biological integrity became standard. Elite athletes are extremely driven, exhibiting extraordinary mental and physical capacities, and achieving insurmountable gains. They train hard, set best records, and can suffer identity loss when off the field or court.
Sidelined by a 13-month injury recovery as a freshman at the University of Connecticut, Kelley became depressed. For years she had lived and breathed success as a multi-sport high school state champion living in a legacy household. Then an encounter with Christ reshaped her understanding of authentic self and dignity as a woman.
“There’s a lot of confusion regarding identity and femininity,” Kelley said. “[FIERCE] is teaching truth because truth sets free. Your identity is not in your appearance, your body weight, or performance, but in the beauty of being designed as a woman.”
After five years as a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvDd9X87294">FOCUS missionary</a> and a thorough study of John Paul II’s landmark speaking series, <a href="https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/theology-of-the-body-21271">Theology of the Body</a>, Kelley was inspired to confront the “toxic world” of female athletics in a way that male-dominated leadership had failed. Developing female athletes through Christ-centered training clinics and retreats became her mission field.
Quenching a thirst
FIERCE offers an intimacy with a God who calls each by name, quenching what Kelley calls a “thirst” amongst female athletes, who too often define themselves within the confines of their sport. Breaking down barriers allows for more difficult discussions around struggles with body dysmorphia and same-sex attraction, and healing.
Kelley’s ministry is crucial, working from the ground up. In nearly half of the states, women are not protected within their sports, adding excessive external pressure where internal pressure is already high.
New York and California maintain state policy and education promoting men in women’s sports. They are two of the states where FIERCE chapters are developing a permanent presence. A New York school will continue its FIERCE chapter this school year; chapters in California, Ohio, and Tennessee are just launching.
Uniquely woman, uniquely FIERCE
The Supreme Court’s <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/06/court-rules-that-states-can-exclude-transgender-athletes-from-girls-and-womens-sports-teams/">June rulings</a> on states’ rights to exclude men from women’s sports were a crucial defining step, but nearly half the states still promote biological non-realities. As Kelley says, the victory still leaves a lot of work to be done, and “there are going to have to be a lot more Supreme Court cases.”
Kelley is hopeful a cultural shift reclaiming the protection of children is underway.
In a culture that has degraded women to nothing more than mislabeled men, FIERCE offers something desperately needed: a sisterhood celebrating the unique strength and beauty of women as created with a definitive purpose, and the ability to excel in God-given, female bodies.
***
Ashley Bateman is a policy writer for The Heartland Institute. Her work has been featured in The Washington Times, The Daily Caller, The New York Post, The American Thinker, the Ascension Press blog, and numerous other publications. She previously worked as an adjunct scholar for The Lexington Institute and as editor, writer, and photographer for The Warner Weekly, a publication for the American military community in Bamberg, Germany. She and her brilliant engineer/scientist husband homeschool their six children.

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FIERCE Female Athletes Are Flipping The Script On Transgender Athletes And Women’s Sports

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The family of an 83-year-old devout Christian grandmother who opposed euthanasia said the elderly woman was killed through Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program, a process that was initiated while her family was on a brief scheduled vacation.
The family of Brigitte “GG” Stegemann said the grandmother strongly opposed euthanasia and told doctors she did not want to be killed after she developed Stage IV stomach cancer. Despite Stegemann&#8217;s objections, and the family&#8217;s objections, medical staff claim the grandmother consented privately to be euthanized while her granddaughter Brigitte Kranendonk, who was also her power of attorney, was on a brief scheduled vacation with her husband. Stegemann died through MAID a week later on July 10, notably without providing verbal consent, instead remaining silent and keeping her hands clasped in a prayer position.
<div id="attachment_1155841" style="width: 1162px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1155841" class="wp-image-1155841 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-8.32.50-AM.png" alt="" width="1152" height="824" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-8.32.50-AM.png 1152w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-8.32.50-AM-300x215.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-8.32.50-AM-805x576.png 805w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-8.32.50-AM-768x549.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1152px) 100vw, 1152px" />Facebook: Brigitte Frances Kranendonk</div>
A Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10165694418302871&amp;set=our-familys-experience-with-medical-assistance-in-dying-maidthis-is-our-familys-">post</a> published by the family outlines their experience with doctors, nurses, and staffers pushing MAID on Stegemann. The program is part of the nation&#8217;s &#8220;free&#8221; publicly-funded healthcare system.
When she returned from vacation, Kranendonk was told that the staff had &#8220;met privately with GG on two occasions during Brigitte&#8217;s 10-day vacation to discuss MAID.&#8221; When Kranendonk asked why these discussions were taking place after Stegemann explicitly objected to MAID because of her Christian faith, Kranendonk was met with anger and pushback. She said one nurse told her, &#8220;I don&#8217;t need to tell you anything.&#8221;
When Kranendonk asked her grandmother privately if she really wanted to be euthanized, Stegemann appeared &#8220;confused&#8221; and responded, &#8220;I&#8217;m going to die Friday? They&#8217;re going to kill me Friday?&#8221;
Still, the home where Stegemann was staying for supposed care went ahead with the procedure. The family was told Stegemann would give consent to be killed at the start of the process, but she did not. Stegemann was killed anyway.
&#8220;[The doctor] attempted to speak with GG. By this point, GG was silent, her hands tightly clasped together in a fixed prayer position,&#8221; the family wrote. &#8220;GG never provided a verbal response to Dr. K.&#8221;
&#8220;Our family had been strictly assured that GG would be asked for a final, explicit verbal confirmation on the day of the procedure to ensure she still wished to proceed,&#8221; the family added. &#8220;When GG remained completely silent and gave no response, Brigitte felt a sudden wave of relief and a big smile came over her face, believing that the procedure would finally be halted because the strict requirement for final consent had not been met. Tragically, we were left alarmed and horrified when the clinical team completely ignored her silence and carried the procedure forward regardless.&#8221;
The incident is fueling more criticism of the MAID program, which was legalized in 2016 and has dramatically expanded since, with the total number of assisted deaths set at roughly 100,000.
Critics of MAID argue about its ethics and the financial incentives for Canada’s publicly funded healthcare system, which can save money when patients are euthanized rather than receive long-term care. Notably, Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated that the 2021 expansion of MAID under Bill C-7 would result in approximately $149 million in net healthcare savings in its first year.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-catholic-priest-walks-into-a-canadian-hospital-they-offer-to-kill-him-twice">A Catholic Priest Walks Into A Canadian Hospital. They Offer To Kill Him, Twice. </a>

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