Jared Kaplan, the chief scientist and co-owner of the $180bn (£135bn) US startup Anthropic, said a choice was looming about how much autonomy the systems should be given to evolve.

The move could trigger a beneficial “intelligence explosion” – or be the moment humans end up losing control.

In an interview about the intensely competitive race to reach artificial general intelligence (AGI) – sometimes called superintelligence – Kaplan urged international governments and society to engage in what he called “the biggest decision”.

Anthropic is part of a pack of frontier AI companies including OpenAI, Google DeepMind, xAI, Meta and Chinese rivals led by DeepSeek, racing for AI dominance. Its widely used AI assistant, Claude, has become particularly popular among business customers.

Kaplan said that while efforts to align the rapidly advancing technology to human interests had to date been successful, freeing it to recursively self-improve “is in some ways the ultimate risk, because it’s kind of like letting AI kind of go”. The decision could come between 2027 and 2030, he said.

Read it all.

AI systems will be capable of doing “most white-collar work” in two to three years: Anthropic’s chief scientist https://t.co/CciDRlxTDH

— Lisa Abramowicz (@lisaabramowicz1) December 3, 2025

Metropolitan Kallistos Ware has captured the essential character of this [iconoclast vs. iconodules] dispute:

‘The struggle was not merely a conflict between two conceptions of Christian art. Deeper issues were involved: the character of Christ’s human nature, the Christian attitude towards matter, the true meaning of Christian redemption…the iconoclastic controversy is closely linked to the earlier disputes about Christ’s person. It was not merely a controversy about religious art, but about the Incarnation, about human salvation, about the salvation of the entire material cosmos.’

Although the above is true, it should be clarified that the rhetoric in the beginning of the dispute did not have an overtly Christological character and did not touch on these matters. Sebastian Brock and others have gone so far as to argue that the entire controversy did not bear any relation to Christology; rather the political element was paramount. In contrast, Joan Hussey adopts a more balanced view and argues persuasively that: ‘the Christological argument for and against icons was not really developed until the eighth century and then not in the opening stages of the conflict’.9 Given the Christological focus of his defence of icons, John’s role can therefore be seen as particularly important, connecting the dispute with the previous Christological controversies and with a long tradition of the semiotic of image/prototype far beyond the language of the Councils, especially if we take into account his possible lack of access to the
proceedings of the fifth and sixth Ecumenical Councils when he was writing his treatises. He thus played an indispensable role in the stabilization of the Orthodox faith for the following centuries. He saw iconological theology and practice as bound tightly with Orthodox Christology. The importance of his theology of images does not lie primarily in its originality; rather, as the recipient and active conduit of the preceding philosophical and theological tradition, he systematically re-exposed and drew attention to new dimensions of the philosophical and theological heritage he had been bequeathed; it is in this sense that he should be credited with originality and innovation. John’s work must therefore be viewed in the context of the theological appeal to ‘tradition’ evident in contemporary and earlier patristic writings, for example in the works of St. Maximos the Confessor. This is encapsulated in the phrase ‘I will say nothing of my own’ (‘ρω˜ μòν οδε´ν’) which is both an expression of monastic humility and a manifestation of a strong belief in the intellectual and spiritual legacy of the previous Christian centuries that continued to develop.

Read it all.

Happy feast day of St John Damascene. The last church father, defender of icons and highly influential on the scholastics pic.twitter.com/XVvRzg9bik

— Henri of Flanders (@MiltAnselm) December 4, 2025

Confirm our minds, O Lord, in the mysteries of the true faith, set forth with power by thy servant John of Damascus; that we, with him, confessing Jesus to be true God and true Man, and singing the praises of the risen Lord, may, by the power of the resurrection, attain to eternal joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for evermore.

On this day we remember St. John of Damascus. Monk, priest, defender of the faith, and a voice who spoke the truth with clarity and courage. He is often remembered as "the last of the Greek Fathers."
He defended the use of icons not for beauty’s sake, but because the Incarnation… pic.twitter.com/F7PeeS3DJ7

— Bishop Stephen Smuts (@BishopSmuts) December 4, 2025

Make us, we beseech thee, O Lord our God, watchful and heedful in awaiting the coming of thy Son Christ our Lord; that when he shall come and knock, he shall find us not sleeping in sin, but awake and rejoicing in his praises; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

I love this view of beautiful Bakewell, and perhaps never more so than on quiet winter mornings. I just see a jumble of dreaming, higgledy-piggledy rooftops, the woodsmoke coiling up lazily from the chimneys to meet the mist over the hills. And beneath it all, the murmuring,… pic.twitter.com/NJzprvitPw

— peaklass (@peaklass1) December 4, 2025

I love thee, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.

The cords of death encompassed me,
the torrents of perdition assailed me;
the cords of Sheol entangled me,
the snares of death confronted me.

In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears
Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
He bowed the heavens, and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
He rode on a cherub, and flew;
he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his covering around him,
his canopy thick clouds dark with water.
Out of the brightness before him
there broke through his clouds
hailstones and coals of fire.
The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings, and routed them.
Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare,
at thy rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.

He reached from on high, he took me,
he drew me out of many waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy,
and from those who hated me;
for they were too mighty for me.
They came upon me in the day of my calamity;
but the Lord was my stay.
He brought me forth into a broad place;
he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.

–Psalm 18:1-20

A snowy morning on Prince Edward Island. ❄️❄️❄️#pei #Canada #winter #StormHour pic.twitter.com/wj9IUoOAh5

— Brian Wagner (@DrummerBoy2112) December 3, 2025

The retiring Bishop of Leeds, the Rt Revd Nick Baines, has used his valedictory speech in the House of Lords to draw attention to the humanitarian situation in Sudan, which was, he said, “so dire that ‘urgent’ does not do justice to the need for action”.

During a debate on the topic last week, Bishop Baines, who has been one of the Lords Spiritual since 2014, described Sudan as “a country I love, where I have friends, and which I have visited a number of times”.

Its “suffering”, he said, was “almost unbearable, the worst humanitarian catastrophe on the planet. . . Whatever the causes of and motivations behind the current conflict, it is civilians — women, children, young men, and vulnerable ethnic groups — who are being targeted and abused in the most inhumane ways.”

He offered some scale of the conflict. “It is estimated that up to 150,000 people have died, and 13 million have been displaced, 9.6 million internally and 4.3 million in exile. Some 25 to 30 million people are hungry, malnourished, or severely malnourished. Save the Children estimates that 16 million children are in need of aid. . . Access to aid is frequently blocked, and funding is inadequate to the need.”

Read it all.

The retiring Bishop of Leeds, the Rt Revd Nick Baines, has used his valedictory speech in the #HouseofLords to draw attention to the humanitarian situation in #Sudan, which was, he said, “so dire that ‘urgent’ does not do justice to the need for action”… https://t.co/IHsY5yMW33

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) December 3, 2025

In September, a wave of 19 Russian drones crossed into Polish airspace. The Gerbera-type drones cost as little as $10,000—so cheap that they are often used as decoys to misdirect and overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses. NATO countered with a half-billion-dollar response force of F-35s, F-16s, AWACS radar planes, and helicopters, which shot down four of the drones with $1.6-million AMRAAM missiles.

This is a bargain compared to how challenging U.S. forces have found it to defend against Houthi forces using this same cheap tech. Our naval forces have fired a reported 120 SM-2, 80 SM-6, and 20 SM-3 missiles, costing about $2.1 million, $3.9 million, and over $9.6 million each. And this is to defend against a group operating out of the 187th-largest economy in the world, able to fire mere hundreds of drones and missiles. Our supposed pacing challenge, China, has an economy that will soon be the largest in the world and a combined national industrial and military acquisition plan to be able to fire munitions by the millions.

Even in America’s best-laid plans for future battlefields, there is a harsh reality that is too often ignored. The math of current battlefields remains literally orders of magnitude beyond what our budget plans to spend, our industry plans to build, our acquisitions system is able to contract, and thus what our military will deploy.

Read it all.

"When you spend orders of magnitude more than your foe, you are in what is known as a “losing equation.” https://t.co/hUVfR4sw66 pic.twitter.com/OW3w9kuGhM

— Peter W. Singer (@peterwsinger) December 3, 2025

Europe is breathing a sigh of relief. On December 2nd Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, held lengthy talks about Ukraine with Vladimir Putin in Moscow—and not much happened. Many had been expecting Team Trump to sell out Ukrainian sovereignty in return for commercial deals. The risk of such an odious stitch-up now seems to have receded a bit. Thanks to pressure from European leaders and some sensible Republicans, including the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, some of the worst elements of a 28-point plan hatched by Mr Witkoff and his Kremlin chum, Kirill Dmitriev, have quietly been dropped. Mr Putin seems unenthusiastic about the current version. Mr Trump now says the whole thing is “a mess”. Diplomacy, like the war, will grind on.

But if European governments think they are off the hook, they are wrong. First, another bad pseudo-peace plan could pop up. Second, even if it doesn’t, Ukraine will need solid military and financial support for the foreseeable future, and it will have to come from Europe. It is still not clear that Europeans grasp this.

When Mr Putin first launched his full-scale, unprovoked invasion, Europe did the right thing. The EU and others imposed stiff sanctions on Russia and gave military and financial aid to Ukraine, roughly matching the level of support from America. But that united front depended on the White House agreeing that territorial aggression should not be rewarded. Mr Trump has blown that consensus apart. Now, the $90bn-100bn it costs each year to support Ukraine’s war effort, a burden previously divided evenly, must be shouldered by Europe alone. The maths is brutal, as we analysed earlier this year. Until a durable peace arrives, Europe must keep paying what it did before—and then find an extra $50bn a year.

Russia may be advancing on the battlefield, but only slowly and at a huge cost in men and money…

Read it all.

On Tuesday Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, held lengthy talks about Ukraine with Vladimir Putin in Moscow—and not much happened. But if European governments think they are off the hook, they are wrong https://t.co/LrJSfsETpF

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) December 3, 2025

Orthodox Anglicans have accused bishops in the Church in Wales of “misleading” statements as it moves towards making same-sex blessings permanent. 

Bishops in the Church in Wales have published a ‘road map’ for the future of same-sex blessings following a four-year trial and a six-month consultation with clergy and parishioners.

During the trial period, same-sex couples in a civil partnership or marriage were allowed to come to Church in Wales churches with friends and family to receive a blessing.

The bishops said that the Church is reaching the point “where it must take major decisions on these matters”. 

In a pastoral letter to Church in Wales members, the bishops said that “most” responses to the consultation were “in favour of the view that the time is right to offer equal marriage to traditional and same sex couples”.

Read it all.

Church in Wales 'road map' for same-sex blessings is 'distressing' https://t.co/0eujIwhx2e

— Christian Today (@ChristianToday) December 3, 2025

Loving God, who didst call Francis Xavier to lead many in India and Japan to know Jesus Christ as their Redeemer: Bring us to the new life of glory promised to all who follow in the Way; through the same Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

On Dec. 3, the Roman Catholic Church honors St. Francis Xavier, one of the first Jesuits who went on to evangelize vast portions of Asia.

Francis Xavier was born during 1506 in the Kingdom of Navarre, a region now divided between Spain and France. His mother was an esteemed… pic.twitter.com/mmYAmu0rMn

— ACI Africa (@aciafricanews) December 3, 2025

Grant, O Almighty God, that as thy blessed Son Jesus Christ at his first advent came to seek and to save that which was lost, so at his second and glorious appearing he may find in us the fruits of the redemption which he wrought; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God world without end.

I have tried and failed for a decade to capture this view in #Pittsburgh, and this morning I was finally able to. In this scene, the Duquesne Incline passes above the train tracks right as a Norfolk Southern train was going underneath it. Can't believe my luck that it worked out. pic.twitter.com/waZxpxiaAc

— Dave DiCello (@DaveDiCello) December 3, 2025

This is now the second letter that I have written to you, beloved, and in both of them I have aroused your sincere mind by way of reminder; that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles. First of all you must understand this, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own passions and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation.” They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago, and an earth formed out of water and by means of water, through which the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist have been stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up.

–2 Peter 3:1-10

Happy ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Ot3epNLT0I

— Alison O’Neill ~ Shepherdess (@woolismybread) December 3, 2025

The Church of England has launched what it describes as its “biggest-ever” Advent and Christmas campaign, which focuses on the theme “The Joy of Christmas”.

Announced on Monday, the campaign features a new children’s storybook, The Grumpy Owl and the Joy of Christmas, written by Jonathan Maltz and Christopher Poch, with artwork by Jago Illustration.

The Bishop of Stockport, the Rt Revd Sam Corley, said of the book: “There’s a lot of talk — and quite a bit of singing — about joy at Christmas. . . If you feel like joining the grumpy owl in our story and shutting yourself away, then the message of Christmas is for you.”

The campaign is designed to help “people pause, reflect and celebrate wherever they are”, with the help of specially commissioned reflections and meditations. Among them is Twelve Joys of Christmas, written by the Dean of Salisbury, the Very Revd Nicholas Papadopulos, which explores the meaning of joy in everyday traditions. He also wrote O Come Emmanuel, a new set of Advent meditations based on the ancient “O” antiphons (News, 7 November).

Read it all.

The Church of England has launched what it describes as its “biggest-ever” #Advent and #Christmas campaign, which focuses on the theme “The Joy of Christmas”.https://t.co/cXyKKVbNyO

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) December 1, 2025

Putin knows he can’t defeat NATO in a head-on fight, especially given how badly the war in Ukraine has gone for Russian forces. His only hope is to defeat it politically by undermining its cohesiveness, which he tries to do all the time, said Ed Arnold, a former British army infantry officer who specializes in European security analysis for the RUSI think tank.

The U.S.’s latest peace plan would go a long way toward dividing NATO, by proposing what would amount to an amnesty for Russia for the invasion, allowing it to re-enter the G-8 club of rich countries and pursue joint economic development plans with the U.S. in areas like the Arctic.

“That would create huge divisions within the trans-Atlantic partnership,” Arnold said. “Politically, Russia is on the cusp of winning.”

Read it all.

Trump’s Push to End the Ukraine War Is Sowing Fresh Fear About NATO’s Future

Washington’s latest peace efforts have jolted the trans-Atlantic alliance https://t.co/C3FLsf5mXm via @WSJ

— Nino Brodin (@Orgetorix) December 2, 2025

You may listen directly here:

Or you may download it there.

From there.

The House of Bishops will be meeting this month, amongst other things to confirm the course of action outlined in the statement made in October about the Prayers of Love and Faith.

There will, no doubt, be pressure from some to row back on these proposals. As the Church Times reports, the Bishop of Chelmsford has publicly stated her bitter regret at what was agreed, and Lincoln Diocesan Synod has called for the bishops to reverse it.

Although the supporting paperwork and the original statement suggest that it would be very difficult for them to do so, we should not underestimate the strength of feeling some will bring to this debate.

Please continue to pray that they will live up to their calling as shepherds and overseers of God’s flock.

Lincoln diocesan synod has called on the House of Bishops to “proceed at pace” to implement stand-alone blessing services for #samesex coupleshttps://t.co/ThKnbVlTYp

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) November 27, 2025

O God, who in thy providence didst call Channing Moore Williams to the ministry of this church and gave him the gifts and the perseverance to preach the Gospel in new lands: Inspire us, by his example and prayers, to commit our talents to thy service, confident that thou dost uphold those whom thou dost call; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates Channing Moore Williams, Bishop and Missionary, 1910 https://t.co/ZOU8hteijR

Bishop Williams was the 1st Bishop of the Nippon Sei-Ko-Kai (Anglican-Episcopal Church of Japan)

Image: Statue at Rikkyo University, Tokyo. Photo: DT Johnson pic.twitter.com/3hXGauARtz

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) December 2, 2023

Serene Son of God, whose will subdued the troubled waters and laid to rest the fears of men: Let thy majesty master us, thy power of calm control us; that for our fears we may have faith, and for our disquietude perfect trust in thee; who dost live and govern all things, world without end.

—Daily Prayer, Eric Milner-White and G. W. Briggs, eds. (London: Penguin Books 1959 edition of the 1941 original)

Bright Blue Skies. 7°C with a Southwesterly breeze. Redwing. pic.twitter.com/9pQDIlZa8w

— Yorkshire Wolds Weather (@WeatherWolds) December 2, 2025

Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt:

“You only have I known
    of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish you
    for all your iniquities.

“Do two walk together,
    unless they have made an appointment?
Does a lion roar in the forest,
    when he has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out from his den,
    if he has taken nothing?
Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth,
    when there is no trap for it?
Does a snare spring up from the ground,
    when it has taken nothing?
Is a trumpet blown in a city,
    and the people are not afraid?
Does evil befall a city,
    unless the Lord has done it?
Surely the Lord God does nothing,
    without revealing his secret
    to his servants the prophets.
The lion has roared;
    who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken;
    who can but prophesy?”

Proclaim to the strongholds in Assyria,
    and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt,
and say, “Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samar′ia,
    and see the great tumults within her,
    and the oppressions in her midst.”
“They do not know how to do right,” says the Lord,
    “those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.”

Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“An adversary shall surround the land,
    and bring down your defenses from you,
    and your strongholds shall be plundered.”

–Amos 3:1-11

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico transforms into a visual and auditory sensation with the arrival of sandhill cranes and geese for the winter.

Photo by Robert Dunn pic.twitter.com/kTQ63nEDae

— US Department of the Interior (@Interior) November 29, 2025

The advice from the Legal Office is that changing this would involve several pieces of legislation to change multiple canons, change the Book of Common Prayer, overrule ecclesiastical common law, and even “repealing references to dominical teaching” from Canon B30. In other words, if we want to change what we teach about marriage, we can’t even say that our teaching is based on the teaching of Christ. That’s how far this departs from our current teaching. Is it any wonder that the bishops are saying in the subtext that none of them even wants to attempt this legislative package?

The other route examined whether bishops could grant a canonical dispensation to allow such marriages. This would be akin to the existing power in Canon C4.5 to allow the ordination of those who are divorced and remarried whilst their former spouse still lives. The comparison is not straightforward, however, as the “[e]xisting powers of canonical dispensation do not permit the doing of things which are contrary to the Church’s doctrine; they permit doing things which are not normally permitted as being contrary to good order or that otherwise require regulation. To provide for a power of dispensation to permit the doing of something that was contrary to doctrine would be a novel departure in canon law of the Church of England” (p.68). It would stretch things so far as to break the internal consistency of the canons.

Finally, the paper addresses the same question as that addressed above in the FAOC papers: whether bishops could choose to turn a blind eye to clergy and ordinands in same-sex marriages. Whilst bishops have a large degree of latitude and discretion, they are not permitted to simply do whatever they want. “What it plainly is not lawfully open to a bishop to do is to declare that no clergy in his or her diocese will face discipline if they enter into a same sex marriage. First, such a statement would amount to an abrogation of the bishop’s canonical duties… Secondly, it is not even in the bishop’s gift to grant such a dispensation.”

Now that we have the full content of the theological and legal papers, it is quite easy to see why the House of Bishops made the decision that they made in October to stop trying to shove everything through by episcopal fiat. Those of us opposed to the whole project have been saying for years now that they can’t do what they’re attempting to do, and they certainly can’t do it in the way they’ve been attempting to do it. These papers only confirm what we’ve been saying all along.

Read it all.

Why can't we have the Prayers of Love and Faith after all? A look at the theological and legal papershttps://t.co/9CVcoP0m4p

— Michael Hayden (@michael__hayden) November 7, 2025

Europe is now caught somewhere between war and peace.

In recent weeks, drones appearing mysteriously above airports and halting flights have made headlines. Those are just the tip of the iceberg.

Germany alone has three drone incursions a day on average—over military installations, defense-industry facilities and critical infrastructure points—according to a previously unreleased tally by German authorities.

Drones are part of an intensifying barrage that European leaders suspect Russia is directing at the continent over its support for Ukraine. It includes sabotage, cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns.

“We are not at war” with Russia, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said recently, “but we are no longer at peace either.”

For Russia and the West’s other adversaries, including China, Iran and North Korea, small-scale action can yield big payoffs. Moscow is bogged down militarily in Ukraine and so would struggle to engage members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in conventional combat. Instead, malicious activities that are often dubbed hybrid war or gray-zone conflict let the Kremlin challenge its adversaries without overt hostilities.

Read it all.

Michael Claesson, Sweden’s chief of defence staff, told the Financial Times that Russia was combining "sabotage, special operations, even attacks against individuals" with attacks on critical infrastructure and "exploiting vulnerabilities in the information environment" in order… pic.twitter.com/Qtlm7vvZum

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) November 23, 2025

The godly and the ungodly, at present, are all mingled together. In the congregation and in the place of worship–in the city and in the field–the children of God and the children of the world are all side by side. But it shall not be so always. In the day of our Lord’s return, there shall at length be a complete division. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye; at the last trumpet, each party shall be separated from the other forever more. Wives shall be separated from husbands–parents from children–brothers from sisters–masters from servants–preachers from hearers. There shall be no time for parting words, or a change of mind, when the Lord appears. All shall be taken as they are, and reap according as they have sown. Believers shall be caught up to glory, honor, and eternal life. Unbelievers shall be left behind to shame and everlasting contempt.

–Expository Thoughts of the Gospels, cited by yours truly in the sermon yesterday on Matthew 24

In this month’s Q&A, contributing editor Serena Sigillito interviews Dr. Angela Franks about her new book, Body and Identity: A History of the Empty Self.

Serena Sigillito: I’ve just finished reading your fascinating new book. Can you give PD readers a brief description of the argument you make there?

Angela Franks: Sure. I argue that our concern with the body is usually a smokescreen for deeper questions about identity. I try to show historically why and how identity became a problem for us—why our culture is going through a systemic identity crisis. I try to show that this is not simply a new development, but it has its roots in phenomena that go back centuries, and even millennia.

SS: You’ve mentioned elsewhere that you were inspired, in part, to write this book by Carl Trueman’s The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. I found that a really helpful and thought-provoking comparison. My sense is that your book is more unabashedly academic than Carl’s. Your book seems like it’s aimed at the kind of people who write for places like Public Discourse, who can then draw on your scholarly work and translate it into a more accessible register and help popularize the ideas you articulate. Does that seem right to you?

AF: Yes, I think that’s accurate. I had already been working on my book when Carl’s came out. We got to know each other pretty soon after that, and—as I told him—I was very relieved that his book was not making mine superfluous! I think Carl’s book is primarily a work of translation, whereas mine is a more academic synthesis. One of the books that was really helpful to me was Charles Taylor’s Sources of the Self, as well as A Secular Age. Those books are similar to what I’m trying to do—a work that’s lengthier, with an abundant use of footnotes, that really gets into texts at a deeper level. The hope is that it shifts the scholarly discussion around identity.

Read it all.

A great interview with @theologianmom @PublicDiscourse on her fine book on “the empty self.” With @SerenaSigillito.

It wasn’t only secularism that “liquified” the body and emptied the self. Christianity played a large role too. What do we do with that?https://t.co/y6RwYWeaqb

— Rachel Lu (@rclu) December 1, 2025

Almighty God, who didst give such grace to thine apostle Andrew that he readily obeyed the call of thy Son Jesus Christ, and brought his brother with him: Give unto us, who are called by thy Word, grace to follow him without delay, and to bring those near to us into his gracious presence; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

30 Nov: Charles Le Brun
The Martyrdom of Saint Andrew, 1646–1647 The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles pic.twitter.com/1aefgOJXt0

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) November 30, 2025

Almighty God,
as your kingdom dawns,
by your Spirit turn us from the darkness of sin to the
light of holiness,
that we may be ready to meet you
in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen (slightly edited; KSH).

Hello December#WinterReady #newmonth #MondayMotivation #ThePhotoHour #wilderness #jefinuist #StormHour #OuterHebrides #Scotland pic.twitter.com/N6HigzKXCg

— DaliMach (@frenchscotjeff) December 1, 2025

Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours in the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature.

For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these things are yours and abound, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be the more zealous to confirm your call and election, for if you do this you will never fall; so there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

–2 Peter 1:1-11

Ladybird Artists Advent Calendar, window 1
‘The village’
Artist: SR Badmin pic.twitter.com/aJoSYrN0Lq

— Helen Day (@LBFlyawayhome) December 1, 2025

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

'Uton awurpan þeostra weorc, and beon ymbscrydde mid leohtes wæpnum.'
(Let us cast away the works of darkness, and be clothed with the weapons of light.)

An Anglo-Saxon sermon for the First Sunday of Advent:https://t.co/tcBt7L0Y5m pic.twitter.com/cVWHuVLRb8

— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) November 30, 2025

The Lord sets the prisoners free;
    the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
    the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the sojourners,
    he upholds the widow and the fatherless;
    but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The Lord will reign for ever,
    thy God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!

–Psalm 146: 7c-10

"This holy feast which now we celebrate …"

John Cosin describing Advent Sunday, in a 1626 sermon. pic.twitter.com/emVnaPgod8

— laudablePractice (@cath_cov) November 30, 2025

Heavenly Father, who hast called us by thy grace to be a colony of heaven here on earth: Deepen within us, we beseech thee, a sense of our citizenship with the saints in glory; and grant that through all the days of our pilgrimage in this world we may humbly walk with thee in the way of holiness, and faithfully care for the needs of others, till we come to thy everlasting kingdom; through the mercy of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

Scarborough ❄️ pic.twitter.com/Mv7Ksgnq79

— North Yorkshire (@visitnorthyork) November 29, 2025

The end of all things is at hand; therefore keep sane and sober for your prayers. Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. Practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another. As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who utters oracles of God; whoever renders service, as one who renders it by the strength which God supplies; in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

–1 Peter 4:7-11

Good morning! #SunsetBeach @EdPiotrowski @medwick @DylanHudlerWXII @jamiearnoldWMBF @LeeHaywoodWX @dogwoodblooms @marioncaldwx @JustinMcKeeWx @StarboardRail @ThePhotoHour @CMorganWX @Christina4casts @AndrewWMBF @ScottyPowellWX @jgreenhillwx @TimBuckleyWX @matt_wx @clairefrywx pic.twitter.com/OWtJw8oike

— Mark Moore (@MMoore_hoops) November 29, 2025