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2026-04-02T08:03:04-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

10 Things The Last of Us Teaches Us About Our World

Last updated on: April 2, 2026 at 8:03 am By Matthew Distefano

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Note: Spoilers for The Last of Us (Part I and II) ahead. I didn’t write a book about The Last of Us because I was trying to be clever. Rather, I wrote it because I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Because after playing both games repeatedly, I kept asking questions that no amount of ruminating could answer. Questions like: Why does a story about a fungal apocalypse feel more honest than the real-world news? Why does Joel’s lie feel more... Read more

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2026-03-22T08:12:25-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A Second Coming That Undoes the First

Last updated on: March 22, 2026 at 8:12 am By Matthew Distefano

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There is a version of Christianity that has grasped power in America that should trouble anyone who takes Jesus seriously. It shows up in the rhetoric of people like Pete Hegseth and Mike Huckabee, and it carries real-world consequences, especially given the degree of political power folks like them now have. It is a Christianity that is fixated on the end, obsessed with conflict, and strangely comfortable with imperial violence. At the center of this framework is an assumption that... Read more

Politics and Religion

2026-03-16T11:48:47-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

My Universalism Demands Hell

Last updated on: March 16, 2026 at 11:48 am By Matthew Distefano

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Universalism has a reputation problem. For a lot of Christians, the word sounds like moral surrender. Everyone gets saved, no matter what they’ve done. No consequences and certainly no justice. Just a cosmic shrug from God while the victims are told to move on. That version of universalism deserves the criticism it gets. Because if the world contains monsters like Donald Trump—a man credibly accused of sexual violence who have shown absolutely zero evidence of repentance—then any theology worth taking... Read more

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2026-03-02T21:32:06-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

War (With Iran): What Is It Good For?

Last updated on: March 2, 2026 at 9:32 pm By Matthew Distefano

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For years, Donald Trump sold himself as the anti-war candidate, mocking the architects of the Iraq War, ridiculing “forever wars,” and promising no more regime changes, no more nation building, no more American blood and treasure wasted in deserts half a world away. He said he would end the chaos. And yet here we are. Another drumbeat. Another Middle Eastern enemy. Another breathless claim that this time the threat is existential. Another insistence that military escalation is not war but... Read more

Politics and Religion

2026-02-24T19:10:29-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Trading Curiosity for Certainty

Last updated on: February 24, 2026 at 7:10 pm By Matthew Distefano

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It was cool, breezy, and perfectly ordinary at last week’s farmer’s market. Then I noticed the shirt. “I don’t debate. I tell you what is right.” The guy wearing it was a white dude with a thick silver cross hanging from his neck like a police badge. Not as a symbol of surrender or a reminder of self-sacrificial love. A badge. A declaration. A warning even. And I couldn’t help but think that this is the distilled theology of modern... Read more

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2026-02-18T15:46:18-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

It’s Not Persecution, It’s Just a Bad Paper

Last updated on: February 18, 2026 at 3:46 pm By Matthew Distefano

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Remember that OU student—Samantha Fulnecky—who got famous for writing a horrible essay? Well, I do, and today I would like to offer some comments on it. Here it goes. Every time a Christian student earns a failing grade on an assignment involving gender or psychology, a familiar chorus begins: accusations of bias, claims of religious persecution, and the terribly loud insistence that the professor must simply hate Christianity. Because of course, what else could explain an F besides “muh rights... Read more

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2026-02-12T20:37:58-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Bad Bunny and Kid Rock: A Lesson in Authenticity

Last updated on: February 12, 2026 at 8:37 pm By Matthew Distefano

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During The Super Bowl we were treated to two halftime shows. One pulsed with culture and confidence. The other felt like a grievance rally set to a backing track. A Stage Big Enough for All of Us Bad Bunny stepped onto the stage in the Bay draped in Puerto Rican pride—flags waving, rhythms pulsing, Spanish filling the air like it belongs here (because it does). He didn’t sand down the edges of who he is or translate his soul into... Read more

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2026-02-06T08:10:31-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Megyn Kelly’s Gospel of Cruelty

Last updated on: February 6, 2026 at 8:10 am By Matthew Distefano

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Megyn Kelly has had quite a few months. First, she dove headlong into the defense of pedophilia by suggesting that the 15-year-old girls Epstein trafficked weren’t really children-children, because, in her words, they weren’t “8-year-olds” but “barely legal.” Hey Megyn: “Barely legal” is porn-site language. “Barely legal” is three years away from legal. “Barely legal” is what gross men say when they want to fantasize about kids without admitting they’re fantasizing about kids. But Megyn Kelly—self-appointed moral compass of MAGA... Read more

Politics and Religion

2026-02-04T17:46:04-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

“Woke”: How White Folks Colonized a Compliment

Last updated on: February 4, 2026 at 5:46 pm By Matthew Distefano

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I know it’s been a while, but I am now back and will be posting regularly on here. Below is my first entry. Language, like land, is never safe from colonization. If there’s something white folks—especially white conservatives—can’t help but do, it’s take something that isn’t theirs, plant a flag in it, and redefine it until it loses all connection to its roots. Case in point: the word woke. This week, I found myself digging through an article from the... Read more

Politics and Religion

2025-06-05T07:38:38-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A Fond Farewell (for Now) to All Set Free

Last updated on: June 5, 2025 at 7:38 am By Matthew Distefano

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After several years of writing here on All Set Free, I want to take a moment to say thank you—to Patheos, to the editors who have supported my work, and most of all, to you: the readers who’ve shown up, subscribed, shared, and engaged with these words. Whether you’ve followed me from the very beginning or just stumbled across a post or two, your encouragement has kept me going through countless essays, rants, theological musings, and moments of raw honesty.... Read more

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