James Diddams
@JamesDiddams
Managing Editor: @provmagazine Writing: @firstthingsmag @CTmagazine @LawLiberty @mereorthodoxy @provmagazine @amconmag @actoninstitute
Thoroughly enjoyed this rollicking discussion with @rwnicholson_ and Robert Joustra on the connection between good apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic fiction (The Waking Dead, Fallout), and the Christian realism that undergirds how we think of international relations
.@JamesDiddams and @rwnicholson_ interview Redeemer University’s Robert Joustra on the role of the apocalypse and the eschaton in fiction as well as international relations on the latest Providence Magazine podcast providencemag.com/podcast/ep-95-…
I wonder if the Epstein files will ultimately be like Trump's Watergate, which also started small before ballooning into a much larger scandal, with Nixon's attempts to fight it only making things worse. Now that the stupidest & most energized part of Trump's base has been…
Applications for the Jean Bethke Elshtain Fellowship in Christian Realism, led by @mlivecche, are due August 1. Anyone interested in the classical, Jewish, and Christian roots of realist ethics, foreign policy, and just war theory is encouraged to apply. providencemag.com/the-jean-bethk…
Unbelievable. 👻🚂 strikes again.
My friends and I had a whole train car to ourselves once, four stops. NYC, middle of the day. SO BIZARRE!
Ghost train 👻🚂 cursed to roam the Earth deep in the bowels of Washington, DC

Just got this Providence submission in my email - subject line: Foreign Policy email text: foreign policy attachment title: foreignpolicy.docx the attachment: a 500 word doc composed of a ChatGPT-generated definition of "foreign policy"
.@JamesDiddams and @rwnicholson_ interview Redeemer University’s Robert Joustra on the role of the apocalypse and the eschaton in fiction as well as international relations on the latest Providence Magazine podcast providencemag.com/podcast/ep-95-…
Coming to the end of the OT and finding that it's never not relevant

America has much to learn from Britain’s attempts to strategically prioritize its military and economic assets in the 19th and 20th centuries. providencemag.com/2025/07/domina…
"It's this reason that, when about the [Iran] airstrikes, German Chancellor Merz responded: 'There is no reason for us to criticize what Israel started a week ago, nor what America did last weekend… Yes, it is not without risk, but leaving it as it was wasn’t an option either.'"
The truth is that, despite frequent criticism, American leadership is completely indispensable for maintaining global order and that absent US engagement the world would be far worse off @egstafford. providencemag.com/2025/07/iran-a…
You would not believe how many posts I wrote for @TheIRD’s blog before learning how to pronounce “ecumenism”
You would not believe how far I got into my senior philosophy seminar on epistemology before learning how to pronounce "hermeneutic"
I was at a museum in Trento, Italy with an exhibit on Neolithic Italy that said like “and these ancient arrowheads and simple tools show the beginning of class-based society, before which there was equality” and all I could do was scream “ROUSSEAUUU!!!” to express my frustration
Thanks so much to @AaronBMacLean for being @ProvMagazine’s July lunch speaker. I recommend everyone listen to Aaron’s podcast, @schoolofwarpod, and particularly the latest episode on Cromwell and the English Civil War.



What did he mean by this?
It is simply obvious common sense that the CofE should not be ordaining grossly overweight people who are also dim. There are far too many candidates for ordination like this. They need help, not promotion to positions of public influence, where they will fail.
You would not believe how far I got into my senior philosophy seminar on epistemology before learning how to pronounce "hermeneutic"
When I saw this I thought ten thousand swords must have leapt from their scabbards to avenge even a look that threatened the Tulsa Honors College with insult. But the age of liberal arts and chivalry is gone, replaced by the age of logical tricksters, economists, and calculators
Now for some personal news: today is my last day as Dean. I was stunned to be informed by our new provost there will no longer be a Dean of Honors, period. Nor an Assistant Dean. Rather, I was told there will be a “director” of honors--but that person will not be me. (12/21)
When you're an editor and you get a submission where the email font is Comic Sans, you know that's a bad sign
Standing room only at tonight’s @ProvMagazine event on what we mean by ‘Judeo-Christian.’ Thanks to @JackMillerCtr and @PepperdineSPP for sponsoring. Fortunately everyone who couldn’t fit in the room can watch online!
What We Mean by ‘Judeo-Christian’ x.com/i/broadcasts/1…