Can a dog receive communion?

I have a few TikToks to talk about soon, but this edition is already “too long for email” (even though readers tell me they can still read it all?) Anyway, this edition I’m focussing exclusively on all the weird stuff that happened on Christian Twitter these last few weeks. Also, I have written a little reflection inspired by Flamy Grant’s album Bible Belt Baby.

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You can't have communion you are a dog

This week on Christian Twitter people are arguing over the question: Is it right for a dog to receive communion?

For something that sounds like a shitposty hypothetical a la “Would you baptise Baby Yoda”, it’s difficult for me to describe just how serious the discourse has been. This has lasted nearly a week at this point and shows no signs of slowing down.

A quick search for “dog communion” on Twitter reveals hundreds of people chipping in with their theological take and, now, more than a few memes. How did we get here?

The conversation about communion had been running for several days around the question: Should unbaptised people be allowed to eat it? I didn’t catch what kicked this part off — it’s pretty standard conversation in Christian Twitter. In that context user @theowo_ tweeted:

That began its own discourse, but the next day, user @Heikki_Deafie quote tweeted:

Kells’ tweet itself hasn’t gotten much engagement, but it was reposted to the Crazy Ass Moments in Christian Twt History account where it’s gotten much more traction. Now everyone’s talking about dog communion and the Christians are fighting!

Whenever this happens I’m always impressed how it surfaces key theological questions that have been boiling for centuries:

• Where do animals sit within the grand scheme of creation?
• Theologically speaking, are humans animals, or a special other thing?
• What is going on when a priest consecrates the bread and wine?
• Is it possible to defile it, once consecrated?

Wars have been fought and people have died over these questions, and now, we argue on Twitter about them.

There are other questions too, like does the special relationship dogs have with humans change any of this? Is denying a service animal communion ableist? What about the fact grapes are poisonous to dogs? Do dogs go to heaven? Do dogs even need to repent of sin? What about werewolves, mid-transformation Animorphs and Goofy-from-Disney dog-man abominations? What about Christian furries? But as far as I’m aware nobody in history has killed another person over these.

A good tweet

These vegetables are actually fruits

There’s no time to explain, but while arguing with the editor of the Babylon Bee on Twitter, Phil Vischer, co-creator of Veggie Tales, joked(?) implied(??) that Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber are trans.

Thank you to the dozen people who saw this on their timelines and immediately thought of me. It was truly a blessing.

The Pope got some really cool shoes

Please Father Jim can I have some Francis kicks as well I need them.

As usual, The Simpsons predicted this turn of events years ago.

Pride and shame

I’ve been listening to drag artist Flamy Grant’s newly-released debut album Bible Belt Baby. In particular, this song called ‘I Am Not Ashamed’. At the risk of being entirely too earnest, let me share a few thoughts.

Growing up in a Uniting and Baptist evangelical context I often heard people say Do not be ashamed of the Gospel or the name of Jesus! People will make fun of you and say bad things about you but you should be proud and tell the truth about who you are and what you believe! It was the main theme of this very funky Geoff Bullock song I grew up listening to.

I took this to heart, and as it turns out it was pretty good advice. So, when I realised I was gay and at risk of judgement from those same people, I knew what to do: reject shame, be proud and tell the truth. The first pride parade I went to wasn’t all that shocking, because defiant pride in the face of people saying you should be ashamed was already part of how I approached the world.

I feel like I got away with coming out in a Christian context with pretty minimal trauma, which is unusual. That’s for a few reasons — one of them is that I took my theological teachers seriously when they told me, God loves you. Grace is an unearned gift. Our hope is in Christ, not in people. So later, when fellow Christians told me different because my circumstances had changed, I knew they were mistaken. Not everyone got that message from their evangelical background, but I did, and for that I’m very grateful.

Sometimes I think about this tweet from @MtrKDJoyce, who grew up in an evangelical context and is now an Episcopal priest. She says, sure, leave evangelicalism, but (alluding to the book of Exodus) “plunder the Egyptians on your way to somewhere freer”. Refusing to be shamed by others is one part of that theology I cherish, so I’m taking it with me.

Anyway, that’s what Flamy Grant, the drag queen with a guitar, made me think about.

Fleming Rutledge is hot for Legolas

This afternoon Fleming Rutledge — a noted Episcopal priest, homilist and Tolkien scholar — said that the only reason she read Lord of the Rings is because Orlando Bloom “looked wonderful” in the movies lmao. Honestly same!

And lastly, another good tweet