J. Chase Davis: Articles

Without Men, We Lose

Chase Davis — Fri, 22 May 2026 16:35:33 GMT

Why does it seem Christian men have lost their fighting spirit? We hail from the men who tamed the frontier, defended our way of life, and did it all under the banner of Christianity. This wasn’t a casual religious affiliation. It was born out of a sincere belief that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one true God.

The Puritan settlers of New England received spiritual blessing in the form of sermons and prayers for their defensive wars and new settlements. In their mind, martial action and the Christian faith were not opposed to one another.

We have forgotten the old ways. Instead, perversion is celebrated, the birthrate is in free-fall, and the church meets the moment by teaching a therapeutic faith with sermons that resemble TED talks designed to soothe and music meant to soothe.

The deeper issue is that men have forgotten what it means to be a man. They have no sense of agency, assertion, or ambition. For many, becoming a good man now means becoming more womanly.

The Christian God does not demand men decrease their testosterone in order to be faithful to Him. He demands their strength, vigor, and capacities be fully committed to His mission to take dominion. That’s what I mean by Offensive Christianity: a Christianity that does not apologize for the God-given strength, courage, and aggression of men. Or as Doug Wilson put it, the kind that “has the ball and intends to do something with it.”

It starts with men taking ownership over their bodies. Pick up a barbell, learn to fight, and run some sprints. And you don’t do it alone. You weren’t designed to. You need to find your phalanx, a cohort of brothers pursuing glory with you, and you move forward together.

Offensive Christianity: Restoring the Strength of Men in a Feminized Age is available now. As of this morning, it’s a bestseller on Amazon. Get your copy here.

Thank your for your support! One of the best ways to help more people find the book is to leave a review on Amazon. So head to the book listing and let me know what you think of Offensive Christianity!

Can the King Save England?

Chase Davis — Mon, 18 May 2026 15:50:25 GMT

Britain is being shaken awake by its own collapse.

You can walk down a high street in a small English town and feel like you have moved to Lahore without ever having packed a bag. The shops are cash-only barbers fronting drug operations. The vape stores are run by criminal gangs. The hospital waiting rooms are packed with people who cannot communicate with the security guard, who himself cannot communicate in English. The state has become a Leviathan that consumes the productive and protects the predatory. And the people who did this, the uniparty that ran the Boris wave, covered up decades of Pakistani grooming gangs, and threw a grieving mother in prison for thirty-one months over a tweet. still expect the public to keep voting for them.

But they are not.

Connor Tomlinson joined me on episode 197 of Full Proof Theology to explain what is actually happening in Britain right now. Connor is a Catholic, a husband, and a soon-to-be father of twins. He came up through the university free-speech wars of the late 2010s, weathered a series of cancellations, and now runs his own YouTube channel and Substack.

The recent local elections in the UK functioned as a referendum on Keir Starmer’s government and Labour was annihilated. Reform UK gained roughly 1,400 seats. Restore Britain, Rupert Lowe’s brand-new party, contested only ten seats in Great Yarmouth and won every single one of them by margins of 40 to 50 percent of the vote. The public has had enough.

But this is not a simple story of “the right is winning.” Connor walks through the perception gap between Reform UK, which has absorbed dozens of failed Conservative ministers who ran the Boris wave in the first place, and Restore Britain, which is willing to say openly what most Britons already believe: that the Pakistani grooming gangs and the families who covered for them must be deported, that legal migration from the third world must be reversed, that the 1948 Nationality Act must go, and that the country belongs to a particular people with a particular inheritance.

We also get into the Peter Mandelson and Epstein revelations, the Southport murders and Starmer’s response, the captured civil service, the gerrymandered House of Lords, and whether King Charles III (or his successor) could actually do anything to save the nation.

Connor’s surprising answer: he is more bullish on Britain than he is on America, because in the British system, if you win an election with the right manifesto, you can do almost anything you want. You just have to win it with the right people.

Listen to the episode.

Watch the episode.

Follow at connortomlinson.substack.com and on YouTube.

Jesus the Merciful, Compassionate, and Offensive

Chase Davis — Tue, 05 May 2026 14:31:16 GMT

Our family is in the season of birthdays. For the last two months and for the next two months, each member of my family has a birthday. These are kind of important to keep track of. It would be a shame to forget your child’s birthday. Not only that, but you’ve got to keep track of your parents’ birthdays and your siblings’ birthdays and your friends’ bi…

Lead Like Jael

Chase Davis — Mon, 04 May 2026 14:51:52 GMT

Emma Water’s book “Lead Like Jael” has created a bit of a stir amongst the truly reformed.

The premise is simple but the implications cut hard: the daily, ordinary faithfulness of a wife in her home is not a retreat from the cultural battle but is precisely what equips her to fight when evil comes knocking at the door. Jael didn’t pick up a sword. She u…

Why I Translated a 17th-Century Dutch Theologian No One Asked For

Chase Davis — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 20:19:13 GMT

I was deep in the corners of archive.org reading facsimiles from corrupted scans trying to make sense of what Thomas Hooker was saying about the the souls preparation for Christ. I love research. But this felt like research on dumb mode. It used to be that you would have to visit specific archival libraries to find original manuscripts if you were studying a historical subject or idea. Now with the internet at least you could find the sources online. That part is exciting but lacks the thrill of finding what feels like a treasure when you go to a library.

Thomas Hooker, “The Soules Preparation for Christ,” https://archive.org/details/bim_early-english-books-1475-1640_the-soules-preparation-f_hooker-thomas_1638_0/page/n1/mode/2up

If I was going to study Hooker, I couldn’t just read Hooker. I needed to read Perkins, Ames, Cotton. I had to read Dutch theologians writing in Latin. All in all there were over 300 books I needed to read and research in order to answer the question: How did the theological anthropology of Thomas Hooker inform his approach to Christian spirituality and community?

Somewhere in the middle of all this I started translating Cocceius. Johannes Cocceius was a Dutch federal theologian whose Summa Theologiae ex Scripturis Repetita shaped covenant theology on the continent and, downstream, in New England. I needed to read him in English, and I couldn’t. So I started translating it myself.

Months in, I went looking for an existing English edition to check my work against. Not a partial, not a selection in a journal but a real edition. There isn’t one. As far as I can tell, no complete English translation of Cocceius’s Summa has ever existed in print.

That got me thinking. I had been thinking of this as personal study. It wasn’t anymore.

I realized this wall I kept hitting in research, the late nights reading corrupted scans on a computer screen, wasn’t unique to me. It was common for anyone doing research. And more than that, the non-academic Christian didn’t even know where to look to find these resources from our Protestant history. The retrieval project has been working on this issue for at least a decade. Institutions like Davenant have been translating works, reprinting old works, and providing education for Protestant Christians on these old sources for years. I myself took a course on Richard Baxter’s political theology from and .

But some of the works of Baxter and many others still lay dormant for Christians today. Worse, many Christians don’t even know these figures exist.

So I built it. Commonplace.study.

Maybe you’re not a scholar. You’re just a Christian who wants to read good books (books that have stood the test of time and aren’t found on the shelves at Hobby Lobby). This site is for you too. You can read works that have never been translated into English. You can read works that have shaped Protestant history. You can read works that will deepen your walk with God.

Three years ago I was up late on archive.org trying to read corrupted scans of Thomas Hooker. Commonplace.study is the thing I needed then.

A clean library with readily accessible English translations of Zanchi, Keckermann, Cocceius. A library retrieval system that quotes real sources with real footnotes instead of telling you what it thinks they said. And study guide that pulls Scripture, commentary, and sermons into one place with notes you can export (I’m a pastor after all).

If you’re doing research, it will save you nights. If you're a curious Christian who suspects there's more in our Protestant inheritance than what's on the shelves at Mardel, now there is. Start a 14-day trial at commonplace.study and read the full translation of Cocceius Summa, plus the rest of the exclusive translations, while you decide.

The Tomb Is Empty. Go and Tell.

Chase Davis — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:16:55 GMT

Every year, during this season, something amazing happens. In my backyard, we have an apple tree. We don’t really care for it that well. I think we have a strand of lights connected to it. It got damaged a decade ago from a late freeze so it’s got some character. But without fail, every year that apple tree buds again. We don’t water it, or fertilize it…

Who Belongs in Jerusalem?

Chase Davis — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 19:10:34 GMT

Before Nehemiah came to Jerusalem there was no order. Imagine the situation: you had some Jews who were left behind, but there is no organization, they are in disarray, they have no worship, no identity. That’s what Nehemiah was stepping into when he was led by the Lord to return and rebuild the walls. Chaos and disarray.

In Nehemiah 11–12, we see the ci…

Most Baptists Don't Know What Their Own Confession Teaches

Chase Davis — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 13:48:27 GMT

Most Baptists don’t know what their own confession teaches about church membership.

The 1689 Second London Baptist Confession, the document that historically defines what it means to be a confessional Baptist, does not teach regenerate church membership. That may sound like clickbait but it’s not. In fairness, most churches who promote regenerate church membership actually practice what the 1689 calls professing church membership.

Professor Josh Tinkham, who teaches at Founders Seminary and pastors Covenant Community Church in Newark, Ohio, joined me on Full Proof Theology to walk through confessional subscription, the real presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper, and what baptism actually does according to our own tradition.

The average evangelical church in America operates with what’s called the “memorial view” of the Lord’s Supper. That means it’s just a symbol, a time of remembering, and if you have the Lord’s Supper too often (like weekly) it somehow loses its uniqueness.

Josh and I discussed how this view came about and how it is different than what the 1689 LBCF teaches. We go through the history of Baptists and their views on the Lord’s Supper (among many other things). This is the longest podcast I have recorded to date.

We also got into why Baptists used the word “ordinance” instead of “sacrament” (it’s polemical, not a denial) and why indefinitely delaying the baptism of young believers can do real spiritual damage to their walk with Christ.

Paid subscribers get early access below. Enjoy.

What Does National Renewal Look Like?

Chase Davis — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 14:54:50 GMT

The year 1517 may not mean much to you, but for many people, including myself, we remember the great Martin Luther who nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg.

We tend to bring it to mind every Reformation Day, October 31, aka All Hallows’ Eve, aka Halloween. Nailing the 95 Theses to the church door was a declaration, like Doc Holliday qui…

They Promised Basic Training. They Delivered Group Therapy.

Chase Davis — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 14:45:33 GMT

There’s a tell in men’s ministry that most men sense but can’t name.

You sign up for the retreat. The branding is masculine with names like Basic Training, The Crucible, Survival School, etc. The promotional video has a voiceover that sounds like a movie trailer. Men hiking or praying with clenched fists. They’re staring meaningfully into campfires or th…

Love Is Not Flat

Chase Davis — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 19:50:28 GMT

One of the most clarifying books I’ve read in the last year is Alex Kocman’s Ordered to Love, out now from Founders Press.

The premise is simple but the implications are significant: love has a hierarchy. The ordo amoris, the order of loves, is embedded in the plain reading of Scripture, traceable from Genesis to Revelation, and it directly addresses nearly every contested question in the church and culture today. While some are cautious about it’s scholastic or Catholic associations, evangelicals would do well to heed the truth about God’s design for love.

When JD Vance brought this concept into the mainstream conversation a couple years ago, a lot of Christians were surprised to learn it had deep roots in Christian tradition. Liberals were very upset. Even some evangelical Christians were worried about the implications (probably because they are closet liberals). But the concept didn’t originate with Vance, or even with Augustine. You can find it in the pastoral epistles, the household codes, and even in the way Jesus himself ordered his affections even from the cross.

I endorsed Ordered To Love and I mean what I said: This work deals with some of the most contested ground in modern life with reasonableness and Biblical clarity.

Alex joined me on episode 194 of Full Proof Theology to walk through the book and talk about something I find particularly important: the danger of Christians using a supposed “love for the nations” as a socially acceptable cover for contempt toward their own people and culture (see also Roger Scruton on Oikophobia). Paid subscribers get early access below. Enjoy!

Joe Carter Wants You to Be Gelded

Chase Davis — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 17:35:35 GMT

The election of 2016 saw the rise of the memelords, those who created quick graphics to mock opponents and promote friends. I came late to the party but quickly took to the model. In the early days, some would call me a theobro or edgelord. I was not familiar with these terms (I have now become educated). The basic critique was that I was engaging in ta…

Remember Who You Are

Chase Davis — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 20:28:36 GMT

Why Can’t We Remember?

One of the most important and frequent commands God gives His people is to remember. God’s people are to remember what He has done: how He brought them out of Egypt, delivered them, and made them His people for His purposes.

Remembering is one of the most difficult things for people to do. We are frail and weak. We are forgetful and…

Conspiracy Against God’s Work

Chase Davis — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 17:53:29 GMT

One of the more difficult situations you may face in life is dealing with a false accusation. People will levy charges publicly about you that are untrue. And they do this in order to get you in trouble and turn people against you. This happens to many people from time to time, whether in small circles or big.

I think of my sons who often have disputes …

Usury and Division Among God’s People

Chase Davis — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 17:28:01 GMT

In Nehemiah 4, God’s people faced threats from outside their ranks. They were mocked, slandered, reviled, and even threatened with death. These are significant threats that come against those who follow Christ. In short, Satan and all those who hate God will oppose Christians.

Experiencing opposition often means you are doing important kingdom work, and…

An Egalitarian Church

Chase Davis — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 21:08:11 GMT

This was a talk delivered on January 21, 2026 at the Pre-Conference gathering for the Founders Conference. You can learn more about Founders Ministries here. Some of this talk includes excerpts from my upcoming book.

What’s the Big Deal?

Here’s my working assumption. I don’t think that if you’re reading this article, you’re the type of person who has wom…

Christian: It’s Time to Go on Offense in the Public Square

Chase Davis — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 18:26:50 GMT

If you haven’t heard, my next book, “Offensive Christianity: Restoring the Strength of Men in a Feminized Age” is available for pre-order here. Go buy it here. Do it now.

I’ll have some pieces and podcasts coming out to discuss “Offensive Christianity” soon. For now, here’s a piece originally published by the Center for Baptist Leadership and hits on so…

The Fall of the West: The Post-War Consensus and the Sexual Revolution

Chase Davis — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 19:59:52 GMT

This is a shorter version of a talk I gave at Trinity Church Denver this past fall. It was well attended and we had a lively discussion. I’m thankful for them hosting me. Think of this as a quick hitter reference guide to shed some light on an important meta-narrative that has basically permeated every aspect of our world.

What Is the Postwar Consensus?

B…

The Pattern of Worship

Chase Davis — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 20:16:53 GMT

People today are tired of McChurch’s doing their next can’t miss series called “At the Movies.” They are looking for something more rooted and real. They are not looking for novelty. We are inundated with choices. Want a buy a kids mattress? Here are 5,000 options. It’s tiresome.

This happens in church too. There’s a tension in church where we feel that …

Why Professors Leave When the Church Gets Courageous

Chase Davis — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 18:27:39 GMT

Pastoring in a college town comes with it’s own challenges: transient congregations, academic schedules, the revolving door of undergrads. But there’s another challenge rarely discussed:

Ministering to Christian professors and grad students who live under vocational siege.