Last November, prominent Christian leaders released and signed “The Antioch Declaration,” a document that directly confronted the rising tide of antisemitism among certain segments of the Christian right. It was written in response to a disturbing cultural shift: Antisemitism is not just re-emerging; it is metastasizing. It has found its way into the ideological bloodstream of groups that claim to champion Christian renewal, including Christian “masculinity.”
Since the horrific October 7 attacks, antisemitic incidents in the U.S. have reached unprecedented levels, and public attitudes worldwide show alarming acceptance of anti-Jewish attitudes. Figures like Nick Fuentes have built platforms on Holocaust denial, grotesque praise of Hitler, and conspiratorial ravings about Jewish control. Fuentes is no fringe figure; he commands a legion of anonymous sycophants online — “groypers” — who amplify and escalate his toxic ideas. Worse still, his rhetoric finds subtle endorsement from more mainstream voices, such as Candace Owens, a former employee of the Daily Wire who, with her 6.6 million followers on X, has flirted with Holocaust minimization, invoked blood libel tropes, and speculated about Jewish domination over American cultural institutions. The nonprofit StopAntisemitism named her “antisemite of the Year.”
But this has moved beyond internet trolls and media provocateurs. Antisemitism has found unsettling traction within the new Christian dissident right, often under the banner of Christian nationalism. Andrew Torba, founder of the social media platform Gab and co-author of one of the most prominent Christian nationalist manifestoes, has openly declared contemporary Jews — which he regularly labels “the synagogue of Satan” — the primary enemy of America and the Church. His social media is rife with claims about Jewish conspiracies, white decline, and Christian subjugation. Another Christian nationalist text explicitly attributes America’s “steep decline over the recent decades” to Jewish domination of politics, media, and the entertainment industry. Apparently, “anti-white suicidal tendencies” are the result of “Jewish influence.” “Jewish hegemony in the West” is presented as a “clear and present danger” to whites. Christendom will continue to crumble if churches sell out “white people to a Jewish globalist regime” that is opposed to it. Some pastors have adopted similar rhetoric, presenting Jews as “parasitic” and a uniquely malevolent force hindering the revival of Christendom.
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For these people to be obsessed with the “Jewish Problem” reveals an irony: While claiming to lead a resurgence of Christian masculinity, they have embraced a posture that is un-Christian and, frankly, unmanly. Instead of calling men to rise above hardship with courage and faith, they wallow in grievance, blame-shifting, and victimhood. It is a perverse mirror image of the very “wokeism” they so loudly decry.
Consider the rhetoric of Stone Choir, a growing podcast among the Christian dissident right. In just one recent episode, the hosts blamed Jews for everything from the porn industry to ritual child sacrifice. Host Corey Mahler’s social media posts include conspiratorial comments about Jewish control over the U.S. government and media, blaming Jews for the porn industry, and saying that Jews are the enemies of white Christians, or just whites more broadly.
Besides this generic conspiratorial thinking, Mahler also offers grotesque declarations that would make any authentic Christian recoil: “The Christian faith is antisemitic,” it is a “Christian duty … to be unapologetically antisemitic,” and thus “Adolf Hitler’s opposition to the Jews is proof of his Christian faith.” Most shockingly: “Jesus Christ is Lord, and Adolf Hitler is His faithful servant.”
Stone Choir continues to influence young men on the Christian dissident right, such as Michael Spangler, who has publicly expressed his gratitude for the podcast. After being divested of his ordination in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Spangler has gotten more vehement in his antisemitism. He recently offered this “confession”: “I used to write off those who publicly opposed Jews as wild conspiracy theorists. I was wrong. Jews are a real and present danger to Christianity and civilization. Much worse than most Christians are willing to think.” Just weeks later he posted: “Jews are evil.” Such rhetoric is antithetical to the Gospel, but also at odds with other aspects of the posturing of influencers in this tribe.
This rhetoric isn’t just toxic; it’s pathetic. Many of the figures peddling and promoting this nonsense present themselves as bold, brave leaders standing against cultural decline. But the endless scapegoating is a recipe for effeminacy, undermining resiliency by promoting hyper-obsession with blaming a group for one’s woes. These supposed gurus of masculinity and guides to rebuild Christendom are in fact pied pipers leading disillusioned young men deeper into the abyss of ressentiment.
People who face hardship are tempted by fellowship in shared grievances. They gravitate toward confident voices who say, “It’s not your fault. It’s their fault.” But it is unmanly to obsess over the external source of one’s problems. It is akin to perpetually going to therapy only to complain about your parents and how they ruined your life, paying for the therapist to baptize your victimhood. This is trading the dignity of responsibility for the cheap comfort of scapegoating. And what is the fruit of this pedagogy of hatred? Not strength, not courage, not resilience, but bitterness, helplessness, and an endless cycle of blame. Like the grievance merchants of the left, these peddlers of right-wing resentment deny their followers the very agency they claim to champion. Their obsession with scapegoating “the Jews” serves as a catechism for learned helplessness. This is not the way Christ taught us: From the cross, he forgave his Jewish and Roman killers, and proceeded with his salvific mission.
The Kingdom of God advances through the faithful labors of those who look to Christ and labor hard to love their neighbors. Seek God. Get involved in a church. Build good things. Start with your family. Love your wife and children. Lead your household in faith. Then look outward — serve your neighbors, pursue excellence in your vocation, and build institutions that honor God and bless others. These are the tasks of men who understand their purpose and embrace their agency.
The grievance grifters sell a poison pill. Don’t take it. Reject the lies, refuse the victimhood, and get to work.
Originally published at First Things
James R. Wood is an assistant professor of religion and theology at Redeemer University in Ancaster, Ontario. He is also a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America, a Commonwealth Fellow at?he Davenant Institute, co-host of the Civitas podcast produced?by the Theopolis Institute, and former associate editor at First Things.
