I don’t want to say “I told you so,” but many people are contacting me saying that it really works for them to employ the term “antichrist” in light of the goings-on in the MAGA regime currently.
Cutting one trillion dollars from the budget dedicated to children’s poverty and old people (Medicaid) and food stamps for the hungry? Why? To pave the way for tax cuts for billionaires and corporations.
In the search for words to talk about Evil, the archetype of the antichrist is one such term employed over the centuries.
Saint and doctor of the church, Hildegard of Bingen, painted a powerful painting of the antichrist in the 12th century, and 16th century artist Luca Signorelli painted a major fresco on the antichrist in the year 1501. Each tells a powerful story of the antichrist, and I feature both in my book on the same.
Luca’s fresco even has ninja-like warriors dressed in what appears to be black Klan outfits running around in the background. To me, these figures bespeak the young fellows that Elon Musk hired to invade all the departments of the government, and steal private information on all of us, for their computers. Check it out.
On Friday, we all witnessed an exchange in the Oval Office with America’s vice president and president shouting at a hero of our time, President Zelenskyy. A spiritual warrior indeed, who had the courage to stand up to an invading army by a tyrant seeking to destroy his country and threaten European democracy. One looks for words that can match what we saw occurring in the Oval Office.
Trump called it “great television,” and he and Vance invoked Putin’s talking points for all the world to see. They shouted over the visiting president, behaving like bullies in their treatment of him, striving to be just like Putin, the bully they both admire.
America, it seems, in forty days, has moved away from honoring and supporting those who want to defend their country from invasion and seek to uphold their democracy, toward siding with despots. America voted in the UN alongside Putin, North Korea and Sudan, to not criticize Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. It is quite an ending to 80 years of peace in Europe, and of NATO helping to keep that peace. And offered up on live television.
The Ukrainian ambassador to the US was seen burying her head in her lap. People who know something about how the world and diplomacy works, called it “abominable,” “dangerous,” “stunning,” and “embarrassing.” It demonstrated exactly the work of the antichrist that Hildegard painted, that of undoing hopes of order and substituting chaos and disorder. With “luxury living” (gold toilets anyone?) and greed and violence being integral to the entire dynamic.
We are reminded of the wisdom spoken by Thomas Aquinas, about how tyrants prefer the company of bad people over good people (Putin instead of Zelenskyy for example). The latter has demonstrated what true leadership and true courage are, by rallying his country to resist a tyrannical invader.
He deserves our praise and thanks. As Meister Eckhart says: “Who is a good person? A good person praises good people.”
To be continued.
See Matthew Fox, Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen, pp. 122-126.
And Fox, Meditations with Meister Eckhart: A Centering Book, p. 128.
And Fox, Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ.
Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society, pp. 301, 306.
And Fox, Sheer Joy: Conversations with Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality, pp. 493ff.
And Fox, A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice.
And Fox, “Character and Chakra Development,” in Fox, The A.W.E. Project: Reinventing Education, Reinventing the Human, pp. 138-145.
To read the transcript of Matthew Fox’s video meditation, click HERE.
Banner Image: Refusing to lend a helping hand. Note the colors of the wristbands — USA’s on one, Ukraine’s on the other. Image by Lisic on Shutterstock.
Queries for Contemplation
How did you feel on watching the public debacle in the Oval Office that all the world saw? How do you feel about America under MAGA now being on the side of Putin’s Russia? Do you agree with Eckhart that good people praise good people? And with Aquinas that tyrants prefer the company of bad people to that of good people?
Recommended Reading
Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen
An introduction to the life and work of Hildegard of Bingen, Illuminations reveals the life and teachings of one of the greatest female artists and intellectuals of the Western Mystical Tradition. At the age of 42, she began to have visions; these were captured as 36 illuminations–24 of which are recorded in this book along with her commentaries on them.
“If one person deserves credit for the great Hildegard renaissance in our time, it is Matthew Fox.” – Dr Mary Ford-Grabowsky, author of Sacred Voices.
Meditations with Meister Eckhart: A Centering Book
A centering book by Matthew Fox. This book of simple but rich meditations exemplifies the deep yet playful creation-centered spirituality of Meister Eckhart, Meister Eckhart was a 13th-century Dominican preacher who was a mystic, prophet, feminist, activist, defender of the poor, and advocate of creation-centered spirituality, who was condemned shortly after he died.
“These quiet presentations of spirituality are remarkable for their immediacy and clarity.” –Publishers Weekly.
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
Matthew Fox tells us that he had always shied away from using the term “Anti-Christ” because it was so often used to spread control and fear. However, given today’s rise of authoritarianism and forces of democracide, ecocide, and christofascism, he turns the tables in this book employing the archetype for the cause of justice, democracy, and a renewed Earth and humanity.
From the Foreword: If there was ever a time, a moment, for examining the archetype of the Antichrist, it is now…Read this book with an open mind. Good and evil are real forces in our world. ~~ Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Conversations with the Divine.
For immediate access to Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, order the e-book with 10 full-color prints from Amazon HERE.
To get a print-on-demand paperback copy with black & white images, order from Amazon HERE or IUniverse HERE.
To receive a limited-edition, full-color paperback copy, order from MatthewFox.org HERE.
Order the audiobook HERE for immediate download.
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics
Sheer Joy: Conversations with Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality
Matthew Fox renders Thomas Aquinas accessible by interviewing him and thus descholasticizing him. He also translated many of his works such as Biblical commentaries never before in English (or Italian or German of French). He gives Aquinas a forum so that he can be heard in our own time. He presents Thomas Aquinas entirely in his own words, but in a form designed to allow late 20th-century minds and hearts to hear him in a fresh way.
“The teaching of Aquinas comes through will a fullness and an insight that has never been present in English before and [with] a vital message for the world today.” ~ Fr. Bede Griffiths (Afterword).
Foreword by Rupert Sheldrake
A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice
In A Spirituality Named Compassion, Matthew Fox delivers a profound exploration of the meaning and practice of compassion. Establishing a spirituality for the future that promises personal, social, and global healing, Fox marries mysticism with social justice, leading the way toward a gentler and more ecological spirituality and an acceptance of our interdependence which is the substratum of all compassionate activity.
“Well worth our deepest consideration…Puts compassion into its proper focus after centuries of neglect.” –The Catholic Register
The A.W.E. Project: Reinventing Education, Reinventing the Human
The A.W.E. Project reminds us that awe is the appropriate response to the unfathomable wonder that is creation… A.W.E. is also the acronym for Fox’s proposed style of learning – an approach to balance the three R’s. This approach to learning, eldering, and mentoring is intelligent enough to honor the teachings of the Ancestors, to nurture Wisdom in addition to imparting knowledge, and to Educate through Fox’s 10 C’s. The 10 C’s are the core of the A.W.E. philosophy and process of education, and include: compassion, contemplation, and creativity. The A.W.E. Project does for the vast subject of “learning” what Fox’s Reinvention of Work did for vocation and Original Blessing did for theology. Included in the book is a dvd of the 10 C’s put to 10 video raps created and performed by Professor Pitt.
“An awe-based vision of educational renewal.” — Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice.
14 thoughts on “Anti-Christ Strikes Again: Putin, Trump, Vance vs. Zelenskyy”
We have to both resist and win back hearts at the same time. Drunkingley woke behaviour needs a proper burial. There is no unity in we are right and you are wrong, and we are good and you are bad, which becomes a bar room brawl. — BB.
Properly spelled ‘Drunkenly’.
“When injustice becomes law, resistance become duty!” Thomas Jefferson
Thank you, Matthew. But is a military response to the Anti-Christ simply taking the bait?
Thank you Matthew for:
Luca Signorelli’s fresco, ‘Sermon and Deeds of the Antichrist’, which predates but somehow predicts the Jan 6th assault on the US Capitol.
Invoking Meister Eckhardt’s wisdom “Who is a good person? A good person praises good people”, a valid critique of Trump and Vance’s verbal assault on Zelensky in plain sight.
Since President Zelenskyy was elected democratically I followed him closely and watched his TV series Servant of the People. In it he portrays a high school teacher speaking out against the Ukrainian oligarchs and then in a twist of fate he becomes president himself. It is both funny and prescient.
When people disparage him as “ just a comedian “ they don’t do him justice.
He obviously loves his country and has risen to the challenge of Russian aggression.
Of course war isn’t the answer but IF the US were serious our President would hold peace talks with Putin, Zelensky and Trump in the same room.
The situation reminds me of Judas’ betrayal of Jesus.
It was a fascinating spectacle and for those who believe in and argue for transparency, it was precisely that. Eckhart, of course, was right. I believe Donald Trump placed lavish praise on Sir Keir Starmer only the day before. However, nothing is gained by hating the president. He is who he and it is still feasible that he can and will bring an end to the Ukraine conflict. This was not achieved by his predecessor in the White House or anyone else. The end, in this case, is more valuable than the means.
I am puzzled by what you are saying here. The fascinating spectacle you refer to was two egregiously immoral and downright cruel men bullying a man who has watched and is watching war criminal Putin murder, rape and pillage his way through Ukraine for 3 years, and has bravely led his country to resist. Was he supposed to simply lay down and give Putin everything he wants? Biden did not bring about an end because he was too busy being honourable and supporting an ally who was illegally invaded. Biden also knows Putin better than you do, he knows what he is, as does Zelensky, as did Navalny. Do you think Putin ever negotiates in good faith? As Zelensky tried to tell the two fascist clowns in the oval office who were too busy yelling Kremlin talking points, Putin always goes back on his word. The war could be over tomorrow if Putin would simply withdraw his murderous forces that 100% started the war with their illegal and immoral invasion. Trump’s solution is to reward Putin with all the land he stole and to never let Ukraine in NATO, take half of Ukraines mineral wealth for the USA, and give Russian oligarchs all their blood stained wealth back. Bullies win, and Putin gets all of Ukraine’s wealth as a staging area to advance on Europe. “Peace in our time…” indeed.
Would you still be talking about “woke” if you stood above the bodies in kill pits in Ukraine?Or spoke to the tortured in Ukraine?What about 1930’s Germany, would you still be saying we must not call the removal of your neighbours to death camps wrong, that it would cause “disunity”? Would you be burying “wokism” instead of opposing a lynching in the racist southern Confederacy, or would you have opposed political action as “radical” and “divisive” during the civil rights era, saying instead that we must win hearts back over the long term in racially segregated churches?There is in fact right and wrong.To not oppose it, & call it what is, is to be on the side of the oppressor.Jesus called it out, he called people like Trump and Vance,&Putin the murderer who they endorse, “white-washed tombs”. This does not mean that one would not fully welcome any of them who repent&want to follow kindness. To not defend against bullies is to take the side of the bully, & here you are raging against “wokism”, instead of genocide, good grief! If woke means believing in kindness, science, reason, inclusion, then yes, I am “woke”. Are there sometimes a minority of people who get silly on the “woke” side, yes, but note they are not siding with dictators&murderers. Big difference.I wish you well, Bill, but it is beyond me why you hang out here of all places, stop being a troll.
Thank you Matthew for again clarifying and speaking the Truth about the recent events of this autocratic Trump administration and the sycophant Republican congress that keeps up this ongoing destructive and dehumanizing actions trying to destroy our Democracy and even our past leadership in the world for democratic and humanitarian values. Trump is also a sycophant to Putin. This is one brief definition of sycophant that describes Trump and the present Republican congress besides lack of character: “… a person who seeks favor by flattering people of wealth or influence; parasite; …” Cowardly and even evil in their behavior as you suggested.
Sometimes it does feel like a spiritual warfare between good and evil. Fortunately, there have always been good and brave spiritual warriors within and among Us within Our Source~Co-
Creator’s Spirit of Divine Love~Wisdom: Truth, Peace, Justice, Healing, Forgiveness, Transformation, Freedom, Creativity, Beauty, Joy, Compassion, Loving Diverse ONENESS… ongoing and evolving personally, communally, and Cosmically in all spiritual dimensions in the Sacred Process of the ETERNAL PRESENT MOMENT….
I wonder what Putin has on Trump.
In Heather Cox Richardson’s excellent newsletter this morning 3/3/25 she reports:
“During the 2024 campaign, Trump said repeatedly that he would end the war in Ukraine. Shortly after the election, a newspaper reporter asked Nikolai Patrushev, who is close to Putin, if Trump’s election would mean “positive changes from Russia’s point of view.” Patrushev answered: “To achieve success in the elections, Donald Trump relied on certain forces to which he has corresponding obligations. And as a responsible person, he will be obliged to fulfill them.”
https://www.newsweek.com/vladimir-putin-nikolai-patrushev-donald-trump-russia-1984360
Watching the two rude bullies pointing fingers and shouting at Zelensky stirred up an anger in me that I have not felt in a long while. My daughter was brought to tears watching that spectacle. I admired Zelensky for his ability to keep his cool. His facial expressions in reaction to the bullies’ words spoke volumes! I was wishing that Zelensky was OUR president and deeply ashamed of the two creeps representing us, the United States of America.
So how do we conquer the anti-christ? I’ve been calling and emailing our two useless Senators in Indiana and our congressman. I got a letter back from Senator Jim Banks addressing my “issue” and in the second paragraph, he says, “President Trump is the greatest president of my lifetime and I am proud to work along side him to address the needs of Hoosiers.” My heart sank. He has sold his soul to the devil. Will my letters and calls make a difference to him? How can I help him see?
Just a note–Matthew’s video was very difficult to hear, even when I turned the volume on my speakers up. There is no doubt that what is going on in this administration is sheer evil and anti-Christian and anti-democratic. It is Domestic Terrorism at its worst. It has occurred to me lately that the “leaders” are completely sadistic and take great and visible pleasure at making people suffer, whether it is Zelensky in person or the millions of people here and abroad who are losing their jobs and those in Africa who are starving. It is an unholy, satanic glee (I do not believe in Satan literally but I do believe in evil). The President and his minions are personifications of the worst that human beings are capable of, in my opinion, alongside Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin and so many other tyrants. But I also try to follow one of Richard Rohr’s teachings, that the best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better. So, I think we need to gird our loins, continue contacting the folks in Congress, and work on how as communities of faith we can care for those who are being damaged.
I agree that ALL parties involved must be present for a true, lasting peace in Ukraine. The trouble is, both Trump and Putin lie through their teeth when it serves them (nearly always). How can anyone really believe what they offer when the next minute they will reverse course? I am with the President of Ukraine. THAT man’s word I trust. I am ashamed for the US and wonder if anyone in the world will ever trust us again after this debacle.