Ethnic narcissism has infiltrated modern church culture, and it’s much more insidious than those who embody or celebrate it seem to understand.

“I think we can celebrate our differences, but when you’re talking amongst the brethren, we don’t need to ignore our ethnic differences, but we also don’t need to elevate them to a level of what I would call ethnic idolatry or narcissism — ethnic narcissism,” Christian content creator April Chapman tells BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey on “Relatable.”

Chapman explains that “ethnic narcissism” is where you view the world through an ethnic lens.

“Why are you looking at the world in that way? That is something that the pagans do, the unbeliever, because they don’t have an identity that’s hidden in Christ. They don’t have their sins atoned for,” she says.

While we can acknowledge that we’re different, Chapman explains, elevating something like race to “an unhealthy level” where “we’re now levying charges of sin against others who look different than us” is not right — and Stuckey wholeheartedly agrees.

“I just remember seeing this a lot in 2020 from the pulpit. There was one message of guilt that was given to white congregants and one message that was given to black congregants, and that message was one of alleviating any responsibility for anything at all that they themselves have done,” Stuckey recalls.

“And then for the white congregants, it wasn’t only responsibility for what you have done, but also, you should feel some level of shame and guilt for what some people — not even related to you, but that kind of maybe looked like you — 200 years ago did,” she continues.

“I just thought, okay, I don’t see a biblical basis for that, especially when we’re talking about justice, which is inherently supposed to be blind,” she adds.

Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Video, Sharing, Video phone, Free, Camera phone, Upload, Youtube.com, Relatable with allie beth stuckey, Relatable, Allie beth stuckey, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, April chapman, Ethnic narcissism, Modern church culture, Religious, Religion, Christianity 

Pedro Pascal has a Rachel Zegler problem, and he doesn’t even know it.

The ubiquitous actor (he’s in four movies and a TV show this year alone) is set to play Reed Richards in “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” on July 25. The Marvel Comics supergroup previously hit theaters in several lackluster films, most recently the 2015 dud starring Miles Teller.

Rob Reiner’s reign as the ultimate Trump derangement victim may be over.

So plenty is riding on this reboot of a reboot. Enter Pascal, who can’t stop making incendiary comments to alienate potential ticket buyers. Remember how he compared Trump voters to Nazis?

See the Zegler connection?

Pascal recently attacked J.K. Rowling for the crime of defending women against trans women in sports. Does he regret his profanity-laced rant against the author?

Nope. Per Variety:

“The one thing that I would say I agonized over a little bit was just, ‘Am I helping? Am I f**king helping?'” Pascal told [Vanity Fair]. “It’s a situation that deserves the utmost elegance so that something can actually happen, and people will actually be protected. Listen, I want to protect the people I love. But it goes beyond that. Bullies make me f**king sick.”

If “The Fantastic Four” underwhelms at the box office, Pascal may find his opportunities to offer such “help” rapidly disappearing.

RELATED: Pedro Pascal gets political after acting in reportedly anti-MAGA movie: ‘F**k the people that try to make you scared’

Photo by Sebastien Nogier/Pool/Getty Images

He/his/has-been

They’s ba-ack!

Actor Ezra Miller resurfaced this week, announcing plans to co-write and star in a vampire movie co-created by filmmaker Lynne Ramsay. The actor, who switched to they/them pronouns mid-career, made all the worst headlines in recent years.

Miller’s rap sheet would make Alec Baldwin blush.

The star’s breakout film, 2023’s “The Flash,” flopped. That gave Hollywood permission to quietly cancel the nonbinary star.

Miller is penning a comeback story. Here’s betting audiences won’t care no matter how Miller refers to himself/themself …

Rosie takes Trump derangement crown

Rob Reiner’s reign as the ultimate Trump derangement victim may be over. The once-mighty director behind “Misery,” “The Princess Bride,” and “This Is Spinal Tap” admitted he sought therapy following President Donald Trump’s 2024 victory.

Enter the new TDS queen, Rosie O’Donnell.

Not only did “The Flintstones” star flee America for Ireland following November 5, she can’t get her longtime nemesis out of her head. She recently suggested a recount to make extra sure Trump won in November.

Now, she’s admitting Trump’s revival had other effects on her.

“I was very, very depressed. I was overeating. I was overdrinking,” O’Donnell told Cuomo. “It hurt my heart that America believed the lies about him. And then it broke my heart to be in a business that creates and sells those lies for profit.”

Your move, Reiner …

Late night host’s Mamdani mania

Seth Meyers is all in on socialism.

If that wasn’t clear by his past monologues, the former “Saturday Night Live” player made it clear via his love for New York’s Zohran Mamdani — the avowed socialist whose surprise primary victory over Andrew Cuomo Tuesday gives him a great shot at being New York City’s next mayor.

See, fellow Democrats. You don’t have to shift to the center. Go the full Mamdani! And if that means diminishing October 7 or embracing the kind of “wealth redistribution” that always leads to breadlines, all the better!

“The point is, Bernie’s right. Bernie’s right,” gushed Meyers. “All we have is each other.”

“And to the liberals who are always saying we need a liberal Joe Rogan: Are you seeing this?” the desk-chair revolutionary continued. “It turns out all you need to do is be more like Bernie Sanders. There’s no secret trick. You just need to be genuine. You need to run on ideas that will improve people’s lives.”

Just ask the fine folks of Chicago, currently wilting under another socialist regime. Let’s see how long before Mayor Mamdani’s poll numbers reach 14% like Chicago’s own Brandon Johnson …

Moron Maron misses mark

Poor Marc Maron.

The far-left comedian had a meltdown on his “WTF Podcast” this week, bemoaning how anti-woke comedians had won the culture war.

He’s right. Mostly.

Need proof? Bert Kreischer just snagged a Netflix sitcom and Shane Gillis will host the upcoming ESPYS telecast.

That leaves Maron, who recently announced the end of his long-running podcast, bemoaning that cancel culture no longer silences stand-up.

Comedians against comedy. Good riddance, Marc …

‘Bond’ boon

Oh, and “Dune” director Denis Villeneuve will direct the next James Bond film. That’s the first good 007 news in so long we forget the last item.

​Hollywood, Entertainment, Pedro pascal, Fantastic four, Movies, Rob reiner, Donald trump, Rosie o’donnell, Ezra miller, Seth meyers, Zohran mamdani, Toto recall 

A Republican senator stated that he will not seek re-election after drawing President Donald Trump’s ire by defying the One Big Beautiful Bill.

On Saturday night, Trump rebuked North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis on Truth Social.

‘Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against ‘Senator Thom’ Tillis.’

Tillis cited a crackdown on states dodging the 50-50 state-federal Medicaid reimbursement for his no vote, claiming the proposed provider-tax rules “would be devastating to North Carolina.”

RELATED: Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ agenda passes first major Senate test

Sen. Thom Tillis. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

“It would result in tens of billions of dollars in lost funding for North Carolina, including our hospitals and rural communities,” Tillis stated. “This will force the state to make painful decisions like eliminating Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands in the expansion population, and even reducing critical services for those in the traditional Medicaid population.”

The senator noted that there were “a lot” of other aspects about the bill that his constituents would “love,” including the Trump tax cuts, increases to the child tax credit, “historic funding for border security,” and termination of “wasteful spending.”

Trump responded to the senator’s criticisms of the One Big Beautiful Bill by saying he would support one of Tillis’ challengers in next year’s election.

“Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against ‘Senator Thom’ Tillis,” Trump wrote. “I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

RELATED: The Republicans’ big reconciliation problem

Senator Thom Tillis and U.S. President Donald Trump. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

In a separate post, he accused Tillis of failing to “understand the importance of a Debt Extension.”

Trump continued, “I can’t believe that the Great People of North Carolina, a State that I love and won all three times, and a State that I just brought back with money, blood, sweat, and tears, from the recent tragic floods, when Sleepy Joe Biden let them DROWN, right up until the end of that Administration, without doing anything — I was given an A+ Rating for the job we did in bringing it back, and Tillis, despite being a Republican, was MISSING IN ACTION — North Carolina will not allow one of their Senators to GRANDSTAND in order to get some publicity for himself, for a possible, but very difficult Re-Election.”

On Sunday, Tillis made a shocking announcement, declaring that he would not seek reelection.

The senator stated, “In Washington over the last few years, it’s become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species.”

“It’s not a hard choice, and I will not be seeking re-election,” he remarked.

Editor’s note: This article has been edited after publication to include Sen. Tillis’ announcement he will not seek re-election.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​News, Thom tillis, Donald trump, Trump, Trump administration, Trump admin, Senate, North carolina, One big beautiful bill, Big beautiful bill, Politics 

Social media often serves as a cultural barometer, providing useful insight into cultural trends and their shifts. Consider a song parody video that recently went viral. “California Freedom” is an AI-generated satirical reimagining of the 1960s classic “California Dreamin’” by the Mamas and the Papas. Remember that one?

The original song painted California as a paradisiacal escape from the drab and dreary East Coast, a dream only a lucky few could call their home: “All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray. I’ve been for a walk on a winter’s day. I’d be safe and warm if I was in L.A. — California dreamin’, on such a winter’s day.”

California Freedom gets closer every day as locals rise to the challenge and opportunity in front of them.

The song predates the internet era, but its imagery is timeless: golden sunshine, palm trees, beaches, teens in drop-top cars cruising down Sunset Boulevard. It depicted California as a place of effortless joy — life as it ought to be.

— (@)

This is a starkly different California. The scenes are familiar but jarring: riots, wildfires, corrupt officials with clown faces, piles of money from China and other state malefactors. Set to the same tune, the new lyrics deliver a biting contrast:

Our governor’s a clown, so’s the mayor of L.A. Corruption at the top, arrogance on display. Always assumed we would conform — we’re finally awake. California freedom gets closer every day …

At first glance, this parody video might seem dark and pessimistic, a major fall away from the sunshine of the original. But the opposite is true. The Mamas and the Papas’ version is the one with a sad, nostalgic, depressed message despite its lovely harmonies and lilting flute interlude. The writer is resigned, stuck. He has little agency in his condition. He tells us:

Stopped into a church I passed along the way. Got down on my knees, and I pretended to pray. You know the preacher liked the cold, he knows I’m gonna stay … if I didn’t tell her I could leave today… California dreamin’ on such a winter’s day …

The lead singer contributed nothing to the California dream he longed for and felt no control over his own life. Many in his generation shared that attitude. Baby Boomers who came of age in the mid-1960s soaked up messages that told them they were powerless over their future. They grew up and raised children with little resilience, unprepared to face adversity.

These were the kids who never walked alone in the woods or dug up worms by hand. They grew into college students who needed “safe spaces” and coloring books to cope with opposing viewpoints. They are the fragile offspring of a generation that surrendered its agency — and passed along the habit.

RELATED: LA wildfires point to a long list of failures by California authorities

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

But the “California Freedom” video tells a different story. Early on, the bear from the state flag rears up, growls, and bares its teeth — startling Nancy Pelosi. We see ICE and law enforcement pushing back on rioters. And after a litany of the corrupt and destructive acts of key state leaders, the original song’s flute solo plays once again — but this time, Donald Trump is shown performing it in front of California’s most iconic and breathtaking landscapes.

Trump playing the flute may draw laughs — a wink at his claim of childhood musical talent — but the image carries weight. His administration has moved swiftly and forcefully to restore order where leftist leaders welcomed chaos and destruction. Through initiatives like the Department of Government Efficiency and budgetary reform, Trump has choked off taxpayer funds to activist groups pushing bloated, often corrupt government control over everyday life.

The video places Trump against California’s most iconic landscapes — redwoods, poppy fields, the Golden Gate — transforming a moment of satire into something more. It’s not just a gag. It’s a statement: California’s promise still lives. Freedom, prosperity, and integrity don’t flow from bureaucrats or ideologues. They come from the land itself — and the people who choose to defend it.

The video speaks clearly: We have agency. California doesn’t have to remain broken. Beneath the corruption, arrogance, and engineered collapse lies a chance to rebuild. The bear — California’s symbol — rises, growls, and shows its teeth. And through the noise, the music plays again. Behind the drug camps and trash-choked boulevards, the state’s beauty and strength still hum with life.

This energy, stronger than COVID lockdowns that crushed working people while Gavin Newsom dined at the French Laundry, signals something new. The future is coming — and it looks nothing like the ruins left behind.

I first traveled to the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 1970s to meet my fiancé’s family, and I fell in love immediately with the land and the sea. Later, while living in Silicon Valley, we explored the state whenever possible. In the L.A. area, I walked the ocean paths often.

What happened to California in the decades since grieves me. It’s one reason I refused to retire there.

But now, a new generation offers hope. Young people inspired by Trump are shedding the passive fragility their parents too often embraced and indulged. They’re building a different California — one rooted not in globalist pretensions or bureaucratic arrogance but in the sea, the mountains, and the enduring beauty of the land itself.

California freedom gets closer every day as locals rise to the challenge and seize the opportunity in front of them.

​Opinion & analysis, California, Gavin newsom, Karen bass, Wildfires, Law and order, Riots, Corruption, Nancy pelosi, Redwoods, Pacific ocean, California dreamin, The mamas and the papas, Song parody, Viral video, Freedom, Liberty, Golden gate bridge, Golden state, Doge, Debt, California freedom video 

Between his draconian COVID-19 lockdown measures and his progressive policies on transgenderism, abortion, and immigration, California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) is as deplorable as they come.

On top of his insidious progressivism, however, there’s something else that makes him one of the slimiest politicians in the country, something few are aware of: He’s got deep ties to communist China.

To get the scoop on Newsom’s entanglement in Chinese organized crime, Glenn Beck sat down with author and journalist Peter Schweizer, who revealed the California governor’s hidden financial ties to Chinese criminal networks.

“Gavin Newsom, governor of California, will not call out China on fentanyl,” says Schweizer, pointing to Newsom’s October 2023 visit to China, during which he refused to call out the communist nation for its role in America’s fentanyl crisis — specifically, its supply of precursor chemicals fueling California’s opioid epidemic.

Newsom was criticized for missing an opportunity to address a pressing public health crisis, but Schweizer says his refusal to “finger-point” stems from his deep ties to China, which he’s reluctant to jeopardize.

“His history is a long association with Chinese organized crime figures,” he says. “When he was mayor of San Francisco, he appointed as the head of Chinatown economic development a guy who was a dragon head — that is a mafia leader in Chinese organized crime.”

Newsom also “gave taxpayer money from San Francisco to [another dragon head’s] nonprofit,” and “he had on his transition team yet another guy who was involved with Chinese organized crime who went to jail on a murder-for-hire plot,” says Schweizer.

Further, during Newsom’s San Francisco mayoral tenure, “he also set up something called ChinaSF to bring China investment dollars to San Francisco.” To establish ChinaSF, he partnered with “Vincent Lo” — a man “already publicly known to be associated with Chinese organized crime.” As a result of their partnership, “some of the early businesses that came and invested in San Francisco through this scheme were tied to Chinese organized crime,” Schweizer explains.

“This is different than the corruption I have seen in the past,” says Glenn. “This corruption leads to the destruction and the death — literal death — of Americans.”

To hear more of the conversation, watch the episode above.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​The glenn beck program, Glenn beck, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze media, Gavin newsom, Communist china, Newsome china, Fentanyl crisis, Newsom fentanyl 

In 1535, Saint Thomas More went to his death, not in defiance of his king but in ultimate service to both God and England. His final words — “I die the king’s faithful servant, and God’s first” — captured the essence of true religious liberty: the freedom to fulfill the duty to worship God rightly. As the patron saint of religious liberty, More challenges lawmakers and church leaders to renew their commitment to defending that sacred duty.

To More, religious liberty wasn’t just freedom from state interference. It meant the freedom to obey God, even at the cost of his life. His last declaration made clear that duty to God comes before any loyalty to civil authority. Pope Leo XIII put it plainly in “Immortale Dei”: “We are bound absolutely to worship God in that way which He has shown to be His will.”

When laws hinder the duty to worship God rightly, they chip away at the foundation of religious liberty the founders meant to preserve.

More lived this principle, choosing martyrdom over surrender to the world. His death makes clear that real freedom begins with obedience to God — a truth rooted in the moral obligations of human nature. To defend religious liberty is to affirm the duty to give God the worship He deserves, a duty no earthly power — not even a king — can rightly deny.

America’s founders understood this well. They saw religious liberty not as license, but as the right to fulfill one’s duty to God. James Madison wrote, “It is the duty of every man to render to the Creator such homage and such only as he believes to be acceptable to him. This duty is precedent, both in order of time and in degree of obligation, to the claims of Civil Society.”

RELATED: Why Trump’s religious liberty agenda terrifies the left — but tells the truth

imagedepotpro via iStock/Getty Images

America’s founders drafted the Constitution with the understanding that citizens would practice their religious duties — not as optional acts, but as essential to a free and moral society. As John Adams put it, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

That understanding now faces growing threats. When laws hinder the duty to worship God rightly, they chip away at the foundation of religious liberty the founders meant to preserve. Consider the case of Colorado baker Jack Phillips. For refusing to make cakes that violated his faith, Phillips endured more than a decade of legal battles, fines, protests, and business losses. He wasn’t seeking special treatment — he simply wanted to live out his faith. Although the Supreme Court eventually sided with him, the fight drained years of his life and resources. Religious liberty delayed for a decade amounts to religious liberty denied.

True religious freedom, as More and the founders envisioned it, demands strong protections for people and institutions to live out their beliefs in every area of life, not just within a sanctuary or under the narrow shelter of exemptions.

To fulfill the vision of religious liberty embodied by Thomas More and upheld by America’s founders, Americans must renew their commitment to strengthening religious institutions through laws that promote the common good. Elected leaders cannot separate their faith from their public responsibilities. Religious truth shapes just governance.

Having just celebrated Religious Liberty Week, we would do well to recall More’s words: “God’s first.” True religious liberty begins with the duty to worship God as He commands. That duty forms the bedrock of a free and just society.

​Opinion & analysis, Thomas more, Pope leo xiii, King henry viii, Immortale dei, Religious liberty, Religious freedom, James madison, John adams, Civil society, First amendment, Jack phillips, Masterpiece cakeshop, Supreme court, Religious liberty week, Congress, Faith, God, Worship 

The left’s new favorite boogeyman — so-called “Christian nationalism” — is back in the headlines. But don’t be fooled by the narrative. The real story isn’t about Christian extremism but an obsession with tarring faithful conservative Christians.

After police arrested Vance Boelter — the man accused of targeting two Minnesota politicians and their spouses, which included murdering state Rep. Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband — the media seized on Boelter’s associations with charismatic Christianity and his background as a preacher.

If there is anything Americans should be concerned about, it’s the leftist ideology that seeks to replace God with government and silence dissent in the name of progress.

Quickly, a narrative was born: Boelter is yet another example of “Christian nationalism” and far-right extremism.

Wired: The Minnesota shooting suspect’s background suggests deep ties to Christian nationalismThe Forward: Understanding accused Minnesota shooter Vance Boelter’s ties to Christian nationalismWashington Post: Minnesota shooting suspect went from youthful evangelizer to far-right zealotNew York Magazine: The spiritual warfare of Vance BoelterMSNBC: Killings in Arizona and Minnesota shine light on the crisis of Christian extremist violence

At the New York Times, evangelical columnist David French wrote about the “problem of the Christian assassin,” using Boelter as a cudgel to smear Christians — and take a shot at President Donald Trump.

“And right now — at a time when the Christian message of grace and mercy should shine the brightest — America’s Christian extremists are killing people, threatening and intimidating public servants and other public figures who oppose Trump and trying to drive their political opponents from the public square,” French claimed.

In the view of leftists and media pundits, this heinous act of violence wasn’t the result of one individual’s sin but the inevitable fruit of “Christian nationalism.” If you hear them tell the story, Boelter’s views of Christianity gave him license to act. But it’s a lie.

Guilt by faith

Let’s be honest about what’s happening here: The media, leftists, and opponents of President Trump use the label “Christian nationalism” to smear conservative Christians.

In the media, “Christian nationalism” has become an elastic term that is stretched to cover anyone who believes a biblical worldview should influence public life and anyone who wants their communities to be more Christian.

Do you oppose the LGBTQ+ agenda? Christian nationalist. Do you oppose giving children “trans-affirming” drugs? Christian nationalist. Do you believe that life begins at conception? Christian nationalist. Are you a Christian who supports President Trump? Christian nationalist. Do you believe that America was uniquely founded on Judeo-Christian principles? Christian nationalist. Jesus is Lord? Christian nationalist.

The goal of the “Christian nationalist” panic is clear: to discredit and silence Christians for refusing to go along with the leftist agenda.

By connecting isolated violent acts to “Christian nationalism,” they make all conservative Christians guilty by association. This is their narrative: Your faith is suspect, your convictions are dangerous, and your faith, if taken seriously, is a threat to democracy — or worse.

Faith, not extremism

The media and leftists who fearmonger about “Christian nationalism” are intentionally omitting basic truths.

Loving your country and wanting it to flourish is not the type of “nationalism” (i.e., fascism) they accuse conservative Christians of advocating for. Believing in biblical truth and voting in alignment with biblical values is not “extremism,” and it certainly isn’t an attempt to impose a theocracy on everyone else. Christians who speak about Christ publicly — and want their communities to reflect Christian values — aren’t calling for a state religion.

Despite their accusations, conservative Christians are not inclined toward violence.

We want moral sanity. We don’t want the progressive agenda shoved down our throats. We want to raise our families in healthy, peaceful communities. We want every American to know and experience the goodness of God and the riches of a relationship with Him.

It’s not radical, and it’s certainly not extreme.

What they really fear

The heinous acts that police accuse Vance Boelter of committing on the morning of June 14 are not Christian. They are pure evil.

No faithful Christian would disagree with that assessment. And yet, the media rushed to connect an isolated act of evil to all conservative Christians in the name of “Christian nationalism” when there is no link at all.

Not only is it dishonest, but it underscores yet another leftist double standard.

When far-left progressives commit violence, the media instructs us not to rush to judgment. When leftist ideologies produce bloodshed, we’re told to wait for the full story. But when an alleged conservative or Christian commits violence (two claims about Boelter that remain more tale than truth), the entire conservative Christian movement is put on trial and swiftly condemned.

The distinction between what the media and leftists define as “Christian nationalism” and actual conservative Christianity is important. Not just for the sake of truth — although truth is important — but for the sake of every Christian trying to follow Jesus in a world that increasingly calls evil “good” and good “evil.”

If there is anything Americans should be concerned about, it’s the leftist ideology that seeks to replace God with government and silence dissent in the name of progress. The real story here isn’t that Christianity turns people violent or results in extremism; it’s that people with an agenda who hate Christianity use any excuse to try to turn Americans against faithful believers.

The real nationalism the left fears is a nation that still believes in God and Christians who won’t be silent. Don’t let them win.

​Christian nationalism, Jesus, God, Bible, Christianity, Legacy media, Media bias, Leftists, Vance boelter, Faith 

President Donald Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill passed a major procedural milestone at 11:07 p.m. Saturday night, when the United States Senate voted 51-49 to invoke cloture. Cloture is an essential step in the upper legislative chamber, limiting the remaining time members have to debate and starting the countdown to when they can vote on passage.

The late-night vote was a close call on a lengthy and arduous process. Vice President J.D. Vance was on hand at the Capitol from around 8:20 p.m. on, in case his vote was needed. In his Executive Branch capacity, Vance serves as president of the Senate — a constitutional role that empowers him to preside over Senate proceedings and cast the tie-breaking vote in cases of gridlock.

In the end, his vote was not needed for this hurdle; Republican Sen. Ron Johnson (Wisc.) — a Trump ally but also a fiscal hawk and vocal critic of the bill — switched his vote to a yes, allowing cloture to proceed. Republican Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Thom Tillis (N.C.) voted no. Tillis’s no vote was based on objections to restrictions the bill will place on states gaming their end of the 50-50 Medicaid expenses split with the federal government. Paul, a D.C. libertarian, was never counted on for a “yes.”

RELATED: The Medicaid tax trick pitting old-guard Republicans against the populist new right

The Big, Beautiful Bill, or H.R. (House Resolution) 1, as it’s officially designated, funds key aspects of the White House’s agenda, from deportations to border enforcement, making his first-term tax cuts permanent and adding no taxes on tips or overtime. It will be the signature legislative accomplishment of Trump’s first year back in the Oval Office.

Cloture is a Senate procedure that limits further debate on a bill — in this case, to 10 hours each, for the Republican and Democratic parties. Democrats drew the process out further by exercising their right to have Senate clerks read the bill first — no small process for a 940-page bill. At 7:35 a.m., the Senate press gallery tweeted clerks had completed 470 pages of reading, or half of the bill, in the preceding 8 hours and 27 minutes — setting them up for completion early Sunday evening.

Once they’re done, Republicans are expected to yield most of their 10 hours — starting the 10-hour timer for Democrats to debate passage overnight. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) will be able to hold a final vote by early Monday morning.

If the Senate passes the bill, es expected after a successful cloture vote, it will go the House of Representatives, where the president and his legislative affairs team are actively engaged in courting Republican holdouts and critics to vote yes.

​Big beautiful bill, J.d. vance, John thune, Donald trump, Senate republicans, Senate democrats, United states senate, Ron johnson, Rand paul, Thom tillis, Politics 

For anyone who read my commentary last week, it should be no surprise that I am overjoyed that state Rep. Zohran Mamdani trounced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the New York City mayoral Democratic primary on Tuesday.

Cuomo is a repulsive creep who, as governor, killed thousands of elderly New Yorkers by filling nursing homes with COVID-infected patients. He then lied persistently about his misdeeds. Adding insult to injury, Cuomo groped and mishandled vulnerable women, an offense that led to his resignation in disgrace.

Except for Mamdani’s use of the verboten term ‘socialist’ and his outspokenly anti-Israeli positions, someone like him fits quite well into the present Democratic Party.

Finally, Cuomo removed bail for violent criminals, something he tried to cover up in his primary race by promising to be “tough on crime.” The fact that Wall Street plutocrats — led by the feckless former mayor, Michael Bloomberg — were backing this shameless reprobate made me even more eager to see him defeated.

Clearly, I am not happy to see Mamdani victorious because I agree with his politics. Looking at the positions he advocates, I can’t find one that doesn’t turn my stomach — but that is also the case when listening to Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, and Amy Klobuchar.

I’ve been told that Mamdani is worse than these other leftists because he calls himself a socialist and bleeds for Hamas. Let me register my doubts that once in office (if he manages to win the general election) he would do anything to nationalize anything. His Upper East Side Manhattan backers, who poured out to vote for him, wouldn’t allow him to act like Castro or Lenin.

What Mamdani would likely do if elected mayor would be to make all the horrible conditions produced by New York’s big-city government even worse. Streets, outside the opulent neighborhoods inhabited by Mamdani’s benefactors, will be overrun by criminal thugs. New York City will become even more of a magnet for LGBTQ+ and Black Lives Matter exhibitionists, and normal people will move out of the urban zoo even faster than they’re doing right now.

Mamdani fits right in

Those claiming that Zohran Mamdani marks some unprecedented plunge into leftist madness haven’t been paying attention. High-ranking Democrats such as the Squad, Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, and Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii have long paved the way. Cultural leftists already infest Congress and crowd the statehouses. Aside from Mamdani’s unapologetic use of the word “socialist” and his anti-Israel posturing, he fits quite well in the modern Democratic Party. Nothing about him signals a deeper descent than what voters already hear nightly on MSNBC.

RELATED: New York City’s likely next mayor wants to ‘globalize the intifada’

Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg via Getty Images

In the general election, Mamdani may end up splitting the left-wing vote with fellow Democrats, including Mayor Eric Adams, who plans to run as an independent. That kind of vote-splitting could hand the race to Republican Curtis Sliwa, who has positioned himself as the law-and-order candidate. He’s the only one I’d actually like to see win. Still, I won’t pretend I wouldn’t enjoy the irony if Mamdani pulled it off. A Mamdani victory would deliver maximum schadenfreude.

Democrats forsake the working class

For decades, New Yorkers and denizens of other major cities have sabotaged themselves at the ballot box — electing pro-criminal politicians, embracing every deranged social experiment, and lately drooling over criminal illegal aliens. Despite the hand-wringing on Fox News, these urban voters aren’t victims of the Democratic Party. They’ve reshaped it. They turned a once-working-class coalition into a hive of government dependents and ideological psychopaths.

Justice demands that these “progressives” live with the consequences of their own political choices. They asked for this. Let them have it — good and hard. The tragedy, of course, is that normal people will suffer too. Those without the money to flee to private buildings with armed security or relocate entirely will pay the price. That’s why I hesitate to cast Mamdani as some kind of avenging angel.

Still, even with the obvious costs of a Mamdani administration, his rise might accelerate a trend that’s both inevitable and necessary. Sane people with means will keep fleeing cities run by criminals and ideologues. Those who stay behind — those who cheer on the chaos — can live with the rot they helped create.

Nothing new under the sun

Let me close with a brief speculation about politicians like Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar, Mamdani, and their counterparts in Europe — figures who somehow blend radical leftist politics with expressions of Islamic fervor. On paper, devout Muslims ought to align with the Christian right on most social issues. And many Muslim parents across the country have taken a stand, loudly opposing LGBTQ+ indoctrination in schools.

So why don’t Muslim politicians follow suit? Two possible explanations come to mind. Either they’re mimicking the old communist playbook — aligning with fringe social movements as a means to power — or they’re using Islamic identity as a wrecking ball to level what’s left of Western tradition and cohesion.

Let’s not pretend both options are equally likely. I suspect it’s the latter.

A version of this article was originally published in Chronicles.

​Opinion & analysis, New york city, Mayoral election, Zohran mamdani, Andrew cuomo, Curtis sliwa, Eric adams, Ilhan omar, The squad, Leftism, Progressives, Socialist, Hamas, Wall street, Michael bloomberg, Kamala harris, Pete buttigieg, Amy klobuchar, Crime, Law and order, Intifada, Hakeem jeffries, Jasmine crockett, Mazie hirono, Democratic party, Msnbc, Criminal aliens, Illegal immigration, Lgbtq agenda 

Naomi Epps Best is a married Christian mother and graduate student in marriage and family therapy at Santa Clara University. Like anyone who enters the counseling profession, she wants to help people thrive.

Sadly, in today’s world, helping people thrive is often synonymous with affirming their delusions. On a recent episode of “Relatable,” Naomi sat down with Allie Beth Stuckey to share what future therapists are being taught about gender identity and care for minors.

“We were taught that if a child comes to us and they are experiencing extreme gender-related distress,” it is our “ethical obligation … to affirm them in their belief and to not act as a gatekeeper for their medical treatment,” says Naomi. “That is what I am taught at [Santa Clara University], and that is what is being propagated down from the psychological governing bodies in this country.”

“I’ve talked to so many de-transitioners,” says Allie, “and every single one says that there was a therapist who didn’t ask questions that checked off the boxes” and “uncritically affirm[ed]” their gender of choice. And even if the child also suffers from anorexia, bipolar disorder, or autism, the therapist is obligated to “ignore all of that, and say, ‘Yes, here is your letter of recommendation to go on puberty blockers, cross- sex hormones, [or] get your breasts cut off.”’

“Yes, exactly,” says Naomi. “[That methodology] is by design in this profession, and there are great therapists out there, who will ask deeper questions and will walk with a child who has gender dysphoria and provide them good care, but those individuals are going against the ethical standards and guidelines in our profession, and they’re taking a risk by doing that.”

Earlier this month, Naomi published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal criticizing Santa Clara University’s Marriage and Family Therapy program, particularly its required human sexuality course. The article, titled “Santa Clara University’s Crazy Idea of Human Sexuality,” exposed explicit and coercive practices like assigning sadomasochistic erotica and mandatory sexual autobiographies, alongside ideological bias, unprofessional conduct, and racial stereotyping. Best argued these elements, coupled with denied accommodations, ethical violations, and retaliations against her, prioritize political agendas over neutral clinical training.

Just days after the article’s publication, Naomi was fired from her therapy internship. But before that, she was “summoned to a 15-on-one struggle meeting,” where her fellow “therapists-in-training” launched “character attacks” at her.

“These people called me unsafe. They called me a danger to the profession,” she tells Allie.

To hear more of Naomi’s wild story about what’s going on in the world of therapy education in our country, watch the episode above.

Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Relatable, Relatable with allie beth stuckey, Allie beth stuckey, Blazetv, Blaze media, Naomi epps best, Wall street journal, Santa clara university, Therapy, Gender affirming care 

What do Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Bill Maher, and Ricky Gervais have in common?

If you’re the sort of person who reads HuffPost, sips oat milk lattes, and thinks everything wrong with the world boils down to white men with opinions, you probably already have your answer: privileged patriarchal monsters.

Atheism, in its purest form, is an ideology of erasure, a faith in subtraction.

But if you’re a little more honest — and a little more curious — you’ll notice something different.

These aren’t just successful men. They’re atheists — and they’re also, quite clearly, miserable.

Bill Maher

Maher is a comedian by trade, but rarely funny any more — at least not in the way that feels joyful or generous.

On “Club Random,” his podcast that masquerades as freewheeling conversation, Maher talks over his guests so relentlessly that it’s become the most consistent punch line in his YouTube comments.

“Stop cutting them off, Bill.” “Let them speak, for once.” “Do you invite guests just to hear yourself talk?”

He lectures, sneers, and plays the same greatest hits week after week. He’s not sharing ideas — he’s performing superiority. You can practically feel the clenched teeth through your screen.

Richard Dawkins

Then there’s Richard Dawkins, the patron saint of Darwinian superiority, the man who turned religious skepticism into a career of scowling, condescension, and book tours.

Dawkins hasn’t smiled in public since the Cambrian explosion. He scolds believers like a substitute teacher who can’t believe anyone is still talking about God after he’s assigned the fossil chart. Every public appearance is an exercise in barely contained frustration — at creationists, at the Bible, at people who pray for the sick instead of shrugging their shoulders.

RELATED: Richard Dawkins’ atheism collides with reality — then it crumbles

Dawkins doesn’t merely disbelieve. He resents belief, and nothing is more exhausting than a man perpetually outraged that billions of people don’t think exactly like him.

Ricky Gervais

Some will point to Ricky Gervais as the exception.

An atheist, a comedian, a master of satire, and they’d be right — at least partly. Gervais is funny. Incredibly so. But happy? That’s another story.

Gervais has never struck me as someone content. Even in interviews, there’s a fog of irritation that never quite lifts. He’s always complaining, always nagging, always rolling his eyes at something. And while he packages the whole thing in charm and wit, the engine underneath doesn’t sound like joy. It sounds like frustration dressed up for a Netflix special.

His entire career — brilliant as it may be — has been a decades-long monologue of gripes. Yes, he makes people laugh. But the deeper source of it all feels like a man quietly suffocating on his own disbelief. If in doubt, feel free to watch his recent interview with Jimmy Kimmel, a practicing Catholic, where he spent minutes rambling about everything wrong with himself and the world — his body, his brain, society, death.

Funny? Sure, but also bleak. The laughter lands, but the undertow is pure despair.

And then there’s “After Life,” his hit Netflix show. Lauded for its honesty, praised for its emotion. But look closely, and what you see isn’t fiction; it’s confession. A man mourning his wife’s passing, clinging to sarcasm like a flotation device in a sea of grief. It’s gulag humor without the bars — just a soulless bloke with a dog and a sharp tongue, cracking jokes to keep the walls from closing in.

Gervais is playing himself. “After Life” isn’t just a comedy — it’s an atheist’s eulogy.

Sam Harris

Gervais’ close friend Sam Harris is no better.

Before he was consumed by Trump derangement syndrome, he was a sharp mind who took a blowtorch to radical Islam. Harris positioned himself as the cold, rational surgeon cutting through sacred narratives full of hate and delusion.

But even then, the man radiated pessimism. There was always an oddness to him — like he was describing humanity from orbit, distant and curiously detached.

These days, it’s worse. His permanent frown, his stilted delivery, his fixation on Trump supporters as if they’re some primitive tribe to be studied under glass — it all screams anxiety, not authority. He doesn’t project clarity. He projects burden. Every podcast, every essay, every panel feels like another brick in a bunker of airtight, joyless “reasoning” — sealed off from awe, from beauty, from anything resembling peace.

No comfort. No transcendence. No light. Just a man methodically dismantling meaning while sounding more drained with each attempt. Harris whispers meditations and mouths moral truths, all while insisting there’s no divine author behind any of it.

Christopher Hitchens

Even the great Christopher Hitchens — brilliant in so many ways — died with a cigarette in one hand, a scotch in the other, and a rage against the God he claimed didn’t exist.

Hitchens was a man of genuine intellect and rhetorical firepower. He could dazzle a room into silence. He could devastate an opponent with a single line. Joy, however, was never part of the package. The Brit burned hot, but never warm. His wit wasn’t rooted in love. It was weaponized. He didn’t laugh with you; he laughed at the absurdity of the world and often at the people trying to find meaning in it.

RELATED: Neil deGrasse Tyson tries to mock Christianity — but exposes his own ignorance instead

His takedowns of Mother Teresa, of Henry Kissinger, of religion itself — they were theater, yes. But they were also therapy. They came from a place of deep unrest. His war wasn’t just with belief systems but with the very structure of consolation. The human need for mercy, for absolution, for something sacred. He couldn’t tolerate it, maybe because he wanted it too much.

Atheism didn’t bring him peace. It gave him license to rage: to reject sentiment, spit on tradition, and scorn the spiritual longings of billions.

He could speak for hours. But when it came to rest — to true stillness — he had none.

The problem with atheism

The problem with modern atheism isn’t just lack of belief. It’s that it builds identity around lack itself, around the removal of things. Strip away God, strip away the soul, strip away metaphysics, strip away teleology, and what’s left isn’t freedom — it’s vacancy.

Atheism, in its purest form, is an ideology of erasure, a faith in subtraction. And subtraction, no matter how eloquently defended, is not a place from which joy can grow.

It is, however, a place from which misery flourishes. Consciousness gets recast as a glitch, morality as adaptive behavior. Love? A chemical bribe from nature. Everything that once lifted the human soul now gets filed under “illusion.”

And illusions, we’re told, are best destroyed.

RELATED: How atheism created a terrorist — but his bomb shattered secularism’s illusions

But here’s the truth atheists ignore: You cannot build a life — let alone a civilization — on negation. You cannot inspire the heart with “there is no God,” no matter how clever the phrasing. You can’t raise a child on “nothing matters” and expect the child to thrive. You can’t look into the eyes of someone dying and offer neurons as comfort.

This public face of atheism — the podcast hosts, the viral thinkers, the smug Substack intellectuals — don’t sell joy. They sell despair dressed up as clarity. They tell you that meaning is a delusion, that your suffering has no higher context, that the love you feel is just your DNA playing dress-up. They perform autopsies on transcendence, then wonder why their audiences walk away spiritually numb.

Humans don’t just crave truth. They crave belonging, direction, awe, and something to serve that isn’t themselves.

Atheism offers none of that. It hands you a mirror and tells you it’s a map — and then it dares you to walk in circles and calls it freedom.

​Christianity, God, Christians, Atheism, Bill maher, Richard dawkins, Ricky gervais, Sam harris, Faith, Christopher hitchens 

Does the church replace Israel? Did I ignore the Jews? Does the formation of Israel in 1948 fulfill Old Testament promises?

These were a few of the questions and critiques sparked by an essay I wrote last week, “How Tucker Carlson vs. Ted Cruz exposed a critical biblical question on Israel.” After providing a cursory biblical-theological exploration of the question “What is Israel?” I answered that no, the modern nation-state of Israel is not the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. I also stated that Christians are not biblically commanded to support the modern nation-state of Israel because the state of Israel and the biblical Israel are not the same entity.

To some, my conclusions sounded like heresy. But others, through emails or comments, expressed thankfulness for what they saw as a long-overdue correction.

In any case, I am thankful for every subscriber to and reader of Blaze Media, and I am thankful for everyone who wrote comments, positive or negative, and engaged with me.

This topic understandably touches nerves, but that’s why this conversation matters. And if the reaction proved anything, it’s that we need more biblical clarity. Below, I am going to respond to some of the critiques. I hope to provide clarity with charity and continue the dialogue about this important topic.

Did I ignore the Jews?

Mark Brown commented: “I’m curious how you just seemingly ignore the Jew in your theology. The New Covenant in Jeremiah is to be made with the House of Judah and with the House of Israel. Gentiles (read as the nations) are grafted into the olive tree and the roots of that tree are Israel. In effect, you are teaching that the church has replaced Israel which couldn’t be further from the truth!”

First off, thank you for subscribing to Blaze Media, Mark. I appreciate your thoughtful pushback.

I do not ignore Jews in my theology. I believe that scripture is clear that Jesus — a descendant of King David from the line of Judah (and therefore a Jew) — is the one true Israelite. As I stated in my essay, “He is the true and faithful Israelite who perfectly fulfills Israel’s vocation and perfectly keeps the covenant. Jesus is the great high priest, the anointed one, and the prophet of prophets.”

In that sense, Jews have a unique and special role in God’s redemptive plans. It is the line of Judah, after all, that God preserves to bring about his redemptive promises despite Judah’s repeated covenant unfaithfulness. You are right that the new covenant is made with the “House of Judah” and the “House of Israel” and that indeed happens in Jesus, as the author of Hebrews explains (Hebrews 8).

The question, then, is this: Do Jews retain their special status today?

On one hand, yes (e.g., Romans 3: 9-11). But the apostle Paul makes it clear that faith in Jesus, not ethnic identity, is what defines the true “Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16). For example, whereas torah commands physical circumcision as an external sign of inclusion, what humans really need is circumcision of the heart (Deuteronomy 30:6) — internal transformation. This happens in Jesus and through the Holy Spirit. As Christians, God has replaced our hearts of stone with hearts of flesh, and God’s law is now written on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33-34; Ezekiel 36:26-27).

I do not teach replacement theology (i.e., that the church replaces Israel). Rather, I teach fulfillment theology — that all of God’s promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. I will say more about this criticism below.

One more point: I think it’s important to understand that “Jew” and “Israel” are not synonyms. The Hebrew word for Jew, yehudi, literally means “of Judah.” While biblical Israel certainly includes Jews (one of 12 tribes), not every Israelite is a Jew; by definition, Israel encompasses all 12 tribes of Abraham’s descendants.

This is why Paul understood what happens in Jesus — the ingathering of Israel — to be no longer limited or defined by ethnic boundaries. By definition, then, the restoration of Israel is not limited to the tribe of Judah.

Is Jesus a Jew?

Dale Errett responded: “Will you next claim that Jesus is not Jewish because He is a Christian?”

Dale, thank you for being a loyal subscriber to Blaze Media and taking the time to comment on my last essay.

I do not deny the Jewishness of Jesus. He was descended from David, born into the tribe of Judah, circumcised on the eighth day according to torah, raised under torah, and lived as a faithful Jew. In fact, if you read the New Testament carefully, you will see how Jesus perfectly keeps torah, never violating nor abrogating it.

The Jewishness of Jesus is critical to his identity as the Messiah.

Does the church replace Israel?

Dale Errett responded: “You couldn’t be more wrong! The modern stand of replacement theology that you are spouting here is utter heresy.”

Rebecca Freimann commented: “Replacement theory is from Satan.”

Dale and Rebecca, thank you for subscribing to Blaze Media. I appreciate the responses.

I share your concerns about replacement theology, a strand of thought that I find extremely problematic. But I do not teach replacement theology, nor do I think my essay advocated for it. I simply teach, as the New Testament does, that God’s promises to Israel are fulfilled in Jesus Christ — the true and faithful Israelite — and that anyone united to him by faith, whether Jew or Gentile, is an heir of those promises.

From this perspective, Israel is not discarded but brought to its intended purpose in Christ, the shepherd who gathers the lost sheep of Israel and brings in the nations.

Paul teaches that “not all who are descended from Israel are Israel” (Romans 9:6) and that “if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed” (Galatians 3:29).

The church — Christians, people who follow the Christ, that is, Jesus — is the continuation and fulfillment of God’s Old Testament promises. Jesus is the revelation of those promises, not the replacement.

The apostle Paul takes great pains to explain how this works (see, again, Romans 9-11) using the metaphor of an olive tree. Gentiles are grafted into the family of God, sharing in the nourishing root of the Abrahamic covenant. The church — or, as Paul calls it, the true “Israel of God” — includes both Gentiles and Jews, the faithful remnant who place their faith in Jesus.

This is how God has always worked, not through ethnic boundaries alone, but through covenant faithfulness. Notice that Jesus’ genealogy in the Gospel of Matthew includes several non-Israelites (i.e., Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba).

In Jesus, God is forming one people through faith in Him.

Did the modern formation of Israel fulfill OT prophecies?

An anonymous subscriber commented: “Might want to read Isaiah 11, Ezekiel 36, Jeremiah 32, among others regarding the restoration of the nation of Israel, and then consider if 1948 and modern Israel might be the fulfillment of these prophecies.”

Anonymous, thank you for subscribing to Blaze Media and leaving this thoughtful comment. Unfortunately, there is not enough space here to adequately respond to your objection, but I will try my best to give a cursory answer.

Each of the chapters that you cite refers to the future restoration of Israel. But the key question is when and how these prophecies are fulfilled. I believe the New Testament consistently teaches and interprets the restoration of Israel happening in and through Jesus.

For example, Isaiah 11’s vision of a righteous ruler points to the Messiah who inaugurates God’s kingdom, which is what Jesus did (e.g., Mark 1: 14-15). Ezekiel 36, meanwhile, envisions not just a physical restoration of Israel, but a spiritual one in which God gives his people a “new heart” and a “new spirit” (Ezekiel 36:26). And it is this internal transformation that defines the new covenant people of God (Jeremiah 32:40), a hope and transformation that is realized in Jesus.

Yes, the formation of the state of Israel in 1948 is historically significant. But it leaves me wondering: If the Old Testament is referring to that event, where does Jesus fit in?

Here I will quote the apostle Paul in Romans 9:25-26, where he quotes from the prophet Hosea:

As he says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,” and, “In the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”

It is my belief that scripture invites us to see Israel’s restoration as both physical and spiritual, ultimately centered on faith in Jesus Christ and the ingathering of God’s people from all nations into one new humanity.

Thank you, again, to every Blaze Media reader and subscriber. It has been a deep joy to wrestle with scripture and these questions and to engage with you all.

​Israel, Christianity, Church, Bible, Apostle paul, Prophet ezekiel, Prophet jeremiah, Prophet isaiah, Replacement theology, Christians, Faith