Welcome to Crucible of Thought! I'm Brandon, and I was a member of conservative evangelical congregations for 45 years. This blog is about things that I've learned since 2020, as I've been undergoing a process of "deprogramming," "deconstruction," "reconstruction"... pick whatever term you want, but basically a process carefully examining many different aspects of my social, political, and religious beliefs to see what really actually aligns with the Bible and specifically the teachings of Jesus, more than what aligns with the host of dogmatic statements I inherited in years of church training. I'm not trying to persuade anyone: I'm sharing my process, in the hopes that it inspires and enlightens others. I welcome you to join me as we move forward in our faith together.My Social Media Ethos
Recently I was told I should do short-form videos to gain followers and increase engagement. Here are some thoughts about why I choose not to do that.
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Special Council Jack Smith’s deposition to the House Judiciary Committee
On 12/17/2025, Special Council Jack Smith gave an 8-hour deposition to House members regarding Donald Trump’s actions on and around January 6th, 2021, allegedly attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Smith explained his case for charging Trump with crimes, and strongly defended his work as being entirely non-partisan. The video and transcript
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A Seat on the Beast
Today’s American evangelical church is in deep danger, and doesn’t realize it. She thinks she is sitting astride the throne of power, finally able to impose her will on her society. But in reality, she’s sitting astride a filthy beast that is already turning to devour her, at the very command of God.
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Being Welded Together
What if the thing Christians call “hell” was effectively just a welding torch, designed to join us all into one? What if we could become one, without all that heat and fire and pain? Let’s talk about becoming one, and how it relates to something the aerospace industry calls “cold welding” or “vacuum welding.”
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Be the Church. Feed the poor.
American Christians could feed the poor if individual families stepped up, instead of leaving it to the government – or to their institutional churches.
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On the Reality of Demons
Are there such things as demons? Are the principalities and powers mentioned in the Bible real, individual, entities with independent awareness and volition?
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Incarnating the Divine
“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done” is our privilege to bring into existence. We can incarnate the Divine to those around us, instead of waiting for Jesus to come back someday in the future.
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Life from Death
Life and death are impossible to separate. And inevitably, life itself springs from death. It doesn’t ease the pain of loss, but we can take comfort in the rebirth inherent in the process of life.
Weaponizing the Human Soul
The MAGA propaganda machine is powerful and dangerous. More than anything I’ve seen in my lifetime, I’ve watched it successfully weaponize the human soul, taking the worst primal human emotions and using them to wound and even kill our neighbors and fellow citizens and the most vulnerable among us.
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The Eternal Fate of John MacArthur
I believe two things that may seem contradictory: John MacArthur is in hell today. And he will also spend eternity in heaven.
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