Man Rampant, NSA, Hale Institute, and Moods
Man Rampant, NSA, Hale Institute, and Moods
Here is a potpourri of my 72 hours in Idaho!
This may have been my sixth trip to Moscow in the last few years. And now they have set the bar high enough for me to know what to expect and what kind of work they want. One of the hardest things to decide before I make my way to northern Idaho is how to use my time most profitably. There are plenty of avenues to share your content, but there are also plenty of people to invest, network, and learn from. When my time is limited, I fill it up and make every second count. This was the nature of my trip.
I knew I had a short 2-3 day span, so I filled it to the brim with eight meetings in a little over 50 hours. Reflecting on my time, I think every space was used as intended. Again, my gratitude to Moscow Inc. for their receptivity. I have spent time with many folks there and established a tribe of friends, which makes my stay cozy. There is nothing more delightful than walking into Bucer’s or Sword and Shovel or Tapped and seeing a multitude of faces of people you love. The smallness of the city allows you to engage 2-3 times daily with the same faces, and that high-level familiarity builds an inescapability of community life that is quite manageable and pleasant.
I am not going into details about all my movements, but I will focus on three key moments.
The first was the anticipated Man Rampant recording with Tucker’s Sabbath host, Douglas Wilson. The interview should be out in a few weeks. We discussed something about Jews and something about Gentiles and something about Jew and Gentile. My last substack has hinted at some of these things, so you may wish to start there to get a head-start on the whole business.
Wilson is an incredibly talented respondent and an evenly gifted questioner. It is difficult to possess both gifts. Usually, there is a fellow who does talking just fine but can’t do the whole interaction enterprise. Either he talks too much or listens too little. But Doug engages well and asks the right questions. Even at times when my line of reasoning wasn’t going precisely towards the goalie, he brought me back to get my midfield in order and try once more to infiltrate defensive lines.
The experience was great, and as a big fan of Man Rampant, it was a pleasure to be a part of it. Here is the trouble-maker himself standing at a whoppin’ 6’1:
Secondly, I was at a New Saint Andrews College graduation rehearsal a few hours after my interview. It’s been a couple of years since I put on my Doctoral vestments, so I had the opportunity to act all academic again in front of some really cool kids. NSA graduation is like Paco de Lucía playing Concierto de Aranjuez. The whole thing has a melodic flow to it, ending in a serene rendition of Aaron’s benediction offered by the choir and the entire alumni present. You had to experience the 100+ students singing to feel the blessing with Pentecostal gusto.
I was honored to deliver the main address for the evening. I aimed to communicate one big idea perspectivally like that hipster John Frame. The goal was to inculcate the idea of our calling as ambassadors of laughter to the world. While the world fails to get the jokes, we keep laughing along, doxologizing like gangstas. I believe the message was well received, and the high-fives flowed everywhere abundantly. You can see me here hanging out with radical Christian Nationalists:
Finally, the evening before my departure, I made a trip to the lovely Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, to offer an invocation for the Hale Institute. Unlike previous situations, this invocation did not invite demonic forces. It was pretty mild.
The banquet was a fundraiser for the Hale Institute. The founder, Jeff Shafer, is a superb combination of scholarly yet manages to be quite friendly. That combo doesn't usually go together in all my years at ETS and RTS, so cheers for Jeff. Shafer addressed the Role of Law in the Crisis of our Age. I hope the video is up soon. It was terrific and incredibly informative.
Then, Theo Wold closed the evening with a look into the wild immigration policies ruining our country and planting the seeds of a Venezuela banana republic. Theo works for the Claremont Institute and served as Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy during the Trump Administration. Spending some of the evening engaging him on all things theological was a delight. I suspect Theo would play a significant role in the new Trump presidency should Hal Lindsey’s prophecies come to pass. Theo is a force of nature commanding the English language and adding a sobering tone to his lawmaking skills.
The trip back home left much to be desired, but apart from 18-hour delays and a lost suitcase, I returned to the Holy Land in just enough time to get some brief moments of sleep and awaken to Ascension Sunday at Providence.
I will cherish those 72 hours in Idaho. The conversations and fruitful networking strengthened my mission and created greater bonds.
God is good, and his steadfast love endures forever.
Notations
I hope you all will sign up for the Friday substack, where I will finish my closing touches on Romans 11 and some supersessionist tic-tac-toe.
My interview with Toby Sumpter is now available on audio and video. We discussed the philosophy behind some recent declarations from Columbia rioters and the overreaction among some on the right. There is a pendulum swing from Gnosticism to materialism, and this is reflected in many of the anti-Jewish sentiments expressed by those on our side of the aisle.
"The hatred of “whiteness” is not really, fundamentally about the skin color. Yes, I am well aware that many are openly saying they hate whites, and I’m sure a great deal of animosity has come to fixate on that superficial feature – just as it has in the history of our country from whites toward blacks. I’m not denying that, but I am denying that we should simply take what people say at face value. For example, why do men sodomize one another? Ask them, and they will tell you because they are attracted to men, they love men, they are gay, etc. But the Bible says that the real reason they do that to one another is because they have rejected God and refused to give Him thanks (Rom. 1:21). There is a theological and spiritual reality driving it all. "
My interview on Eschatology Matters was a blast. We talked community and Nacho Libre; practically my two favorite subjects in the whole world.
For my Friday subscribers, I will give a little sample of my upcoming trip to the UK and all the agenda has in store.
Ascension Cheers,
Uriesou T. Brito
FOLLOW ALONG
FACEBOOK / X / YOUTUBE / INSTAGRAM
PODCAST / KUYPERIAN / SUBSTACK