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20 August 2026
Paul Vander Klay is a Christian Reformed minister who has a YouTube channel connected more or less loosely with Jordan Peterson, Jonathan Pageau, John Vervaeke. I've watched his channel for a few years on and off, drawn to his video titles on subjects that interest me.
Vander Klay could be seen as being in the tradition of Reformed pastor-theologians (in his case, more "pastor-cultural-commentators"), and one of his influences is Tim Keller, another in that tradition. Vander Klay's channel is largely about relating the church to itself (Protestant vs. Catholic vs. Orthodox) and society. It's also about the interface between Christianity and non-Christianity. The channel is part of a community ("TLC") which Vander Klay founded (or co-founded? I don't remember clearly), which drew together people orbiting Peterson, often enough people on the edges of Christianity and non-Christianity, so that they had conversations with each other about religion and life. Vander Klay has a sort of in-person version of this, called Estuary, which meets in multiple cities. (The metaphor of saltwater meeting freshwater.) Vander Klay makes a point of interviewing "randos" (ordinary people without Internet standing, I guess), talking about their life stories. Some of his videos are of him rehearsing sermons for his day job. Otherwise, Vander Klay's videos are usually him speaking improvisationally, somewhat like Andy Edwards.
Both Vander Klay and Edwards are older and come from professions with an educational and pastoral element (Edwards being a music teacher). They both have a base of knowledge that they can draw on on the fly. Both of them could be seen as cultural critics ("critic" in the sense of "literary criticism", someone who speaks about culture, considers it from different angles, traces influences, etc.). Vander Klay has ADHD and he is curious, sociable, and disorganized to some extent. Vander Klay has worked as a missionary, and comes from a ministry family. Vander Klay has opinions, but presents them with a light touch, sometimes speaking in a way which seemingly avoids presenting his opinion, avoiding conflict.
I find myself drifting into scenes/followings that are conservative in some sense, but aesthetically inclined. When I was young, Francis Schaeffer (another Reformed pastor-theologian) fit the bill. Much more recently, the "Christian humanists" (or whatever the name of that scene is, kind of like a more Catholic version of the aesthetic conservative idea). I'm not so much a fan of Jordan Peterson, but he fits that (conservative, but wears custom suits that are trying to express an aesthetic), and Vander Klay orbits Peterson somewhat. There is a kind of political conservatism (maybe more British than American) that I think connects -- don't change old things if you don't have to. While I try not to have mainstream political opinions, the idea of working with rather than against nature, working with existing institutions rather than razing them to the ground, does appeal to me. (Nature and tradition have a certain aesthetic quality to them.)
I'm not sure what to think of this. Is that the box I should put myself in? I might be OK saying something like "my loyalty is not to conservatism or progressivism, but my search for truth may lead me to agree with conservatives sometimes". These "aesthetic conservatives" have the virtue of typically being more humane than some other right-wing movements. Truth-seeking should probably lead to a somewhat moderate view (because listening to many different voices to draw them into one truth should moderate you somewhat, or a lot), and I think these aesthetic conservatives tend to reach into both Christian and secular culture, maybe being aesthetically liberal or secular, while religiously conservative.
Aesthetic conservatism may seem like a comfortable setting. I could see the label applying to Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. I grew up in a basically aesthetic conservative movement, Tolkien and Lewis Christianity (along with other influences). It's hard to see anything wrong with it in itself (maybe because of my temperament and formation). However, considering movements and thoughts from outside that mindset, I think that seeking the truth means that you must sometimes leave behind the past, and even beauty. Trying to be true to the truth is what leads to doing things in the real world. Trying to be true to the truth produces seriousness. I think secular effective altruism (despite its failings), models this better than the aesthetic conservatisms that I've known.
I see Vander Klay as a window into a certain kind of world I'm interested in: Christianity (particularly theologically-conservative Christianity), non-Christian religions and spirituality (as he understands them from a Christian background), politics, society. In that he fills the role of a journalist. I also see Vander Klay as an example of what people can do to make the Internet (and IRL community) better. Imitating him in different social scenes (the Estuary movement has a training manual you might be able to reference; or you could watch his channel to pick up on how he does things online) could help take diffuse interest groups (e.g. various corners of the Internet, like LitStack and PhilStack (literary Substack and philosophical Substack)) and make them more self-conscious and self-aware, "keep score", and also promote genuine friendship amid intellectual scenes that can often by default be about discourse rather than substantive human connection. His emphasis on conversation is an interesting counterpoint to typical Internet culture, and becoming pastoral, as he is, may be helpful to those who are intellectual.
I think that a loose parallel can be drawn between Peterson and Vander Klay on the one hand, and Eliezer Yudkowsky and Scott Alexander on another. Peterson and Yudkowsky being similarly dark, weird, and dramatic, the founders, while Vander Klay and Alexander are the more reasonable community builders and popularizers. Both Vander Klay and Alexander have that "journalist of a subculture and of society at large" element to what they do.