Well Read Christian

Is the meaning of life something which can actually affect our daily lives, or is it an abstraction for philosophers? Viktor Frankl is convinced that a lack of meaning causes depression, addiction, aggression and boredom. He believes the key to finding meaning is realizing that life’s meaning is not a question that you ask life, it is a question that life asks you. Even the task of suffering courageously can be a means of fulfillment. Our sole and brief life offers one chance to act rightly before being forever sealed into the past. The task of being worthy of your sufferings, if that is your fate, might not be so meaningless after all.Episode NotesThe featured watercolor is called One Spring by Karl Robert Bodek (1905–1942) and Kurt Conrad Löw (1914–1980), who survived the Gurs concentration camp. It was painted in 1941.LinksVisit our website: https://www.wellreadchristian.comCheck our our blog: https://www.wellreadchristian.com/blogFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellreadchristianTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/WellReadChrist1Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfGxz4OH1-hVD0fL9AWR4Xg

Viktor Frankl (1905-1997) was a survivor of the holocaust as well as a psychologist, neurologist and author. As a clinician, he became convinced that human beings actually desire meaning, not pleasure or power. As a survivor, he discovered that even horrendous suffering and death are not obstacles to a meaningful life. As an author, Frankl explains that every moment of every day––regardless if it is filled with the grime of Auschwitz or the glitter of Hollywood––gives an opportunity for us to manifest our human freedom to choose whether our souls flourish or perish. The difference is always up to us, it will always be significant, and so we will always have a purpose.Episode NotesThe featured watercolor is called One Spring by Karl Robert Bodek (1905–1942) and Kurt Conrad Löw (1914–1980), who survived the Gurs concentration camp. It was painted in 1941.LinksVisit our website: https://www.wellreadchristian.comCheck our our blog: https://www.wellreadchristian.com/blogFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellreadchristianTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/WellReadChrist1Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfGxz4OH1-hVD0fL9AWR4Xg

Christopher Browning took a historical and psychological survey of the grass-roots killers who perpetrated the Holocaust in Poland. What he unveils in his book “Ordinary Men” is an ugly truth about humanity: everyday people are capable of mass murder, if given the right environment. But what is the direct cause of the holocaust? Did Hitler merely unleash the fury of racism and hatred? Or do average, decent people have the capacity for unspeakable evil?LinksVisit our website: https://www.wellreadchristian.comCheck our our blog: https://www.wellreadchristian.com/blogFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellreadchristianTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/WellReadChrist1Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfGxz4OH1-hVD0fL9AWR4Xg

Jordan Peterson, a renowned psychology professor from the University of Toronto, dives deep into the interplay between Christianity and modern thought. He discusses how Christianity's metaphysical aspects ground meaning in contrast to his seemingly atheistic claims. The conversation touches on nihilism, the moral implications of rejecting God, and the challenges of navigating faith and philosophy. Peterson's views spark a critique of contemporary moral discourse, making listeners ponder whether he is a friend or foe of traditional Christianity.

From Ricky Gervais to reputable scholars, the contemporary trend for atheists is to argue for the assumption of atheism to avoid the burden of proof. But is it true that atheism doesn’t make a knowledge claim, and therefore is the rational starting point? Should we presume atheism when examining worldviews? Does atheism get a pass when shouldering the burden of proof? Does arguing for God sound a lot like arguing for Bigfoot? Definitions, details and discussion to follow.LinksVisit our website: https://www.wellreadchristian.comCheck our our blog: https://www.wellreadchristian.com/blogFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellreadchristianTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/WellReadChrist1Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfGxz4OH1-hVD0fL9AWR4Xg

Happy New Year! Changes are coming to Well Read Christian in 2020, including, (1) a new episode schedule, (2) opportunities for listeners to submit questions and dialogue on the air, and (3) tax-exempt donations are now available. Also, Mark Stanley goes over his favorite moments on the podcast in a review of 2019.LinksVisit our website: https://www.wellreadchristian.comCheck our our blog: https://www.wellreadchristian.com/blogFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellreadchristianTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/WellReadChrist1Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfGxz4OH1-hVD0fL9AWR4Xg

Merry Christmas from Well Read Christian! In case of emergency, Mark Stanley had prepared a blooper reel to run so that you wouldn't feel the cold emptiness of an episode-less Thursday morning. Instead, we decided a holiday was emergency enough. Please enjoy, and we will see you next week!

Debating an atheist about evil is one thing, but how could we respond at the bedside of a dying child in the house of a desperate family? Dostoyevsky’s own son died at three years old, and interweaved in his Magnum Opus is a profound reflection on the result of tragedy––and how to keep tragedy from unraveling everything you care about.The featured oil on canvas is called Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoi (1837–1887). It was painted in 1883. I chose it because I think it perfectly depicts Grushenka: beautiful, mischevous and immoral. Grushenka is a central character in The Brothers Karamazov because she directly instigates the feud between Dimitri and Fyodor that leads to critical circumstantial evidence in Dimitri's murder trial.The featured piece is Piano Concerto No. 1 (Op. 23) - Allegro Non Troppo E Molto Maestoso by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840–1893), a Russian composer and contemporary of Dostoyevsky.LinksVisit our website: https://www.wellreadchristian.comCheck our our blog: https://www.wellreadchristian.com/blogFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellreadchristianTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/WellReadChrist1Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfGxz4OH1-hVD0fL9AWR4Xg

The problem of evil is one of the most cited arguments against Christianity and the existence of God in the modern age. Dostoyevsky’s brilliance articulated a potent blistering assault on the existence of God through Ivan Karamazov, a character who is as brilliant as he is passionate. The sentiment, “God does not exist––and I hate him!” could summarize his views, and the views of many atheists. But is atheism really better equipped to deal with the cruel realities life gives us? Is a tragic optimism, or even a deep insurmountable joy despite the tears, an unjustifiable position? It seems that despite the rage against God, atheism is not an intellectually consistent nor emotionally satisfying answer to the problem of evil.The featured oil on canvas is called Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoi (1837–1887). It was painted in 1883. I chose it because I think it perfectly depicts Grushenka: beautiful, mischevous and immoral. Grushenka is a central character in The Brothers Karamazov because she directly instigates the feud between Dimitri and Fyodor that leads to critical circumstantial evidence in Dimitri's murder trial.The featured piece is Piano Concerto No. 1 (Op. 23) - Allegro Non Troppo E Molto Maestoso by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840–1893), a Russian composer and contemporary of Dostoyevsky.LinksVisit our website: https://www.wellreadchristian.comCheck our our blog: https://www.wellreadchristian.com/blogFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellreadchristianTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/WellReadChrist1Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfGxz4OH1-hVD0fL9AWR4Xg

Within The Brothers Karamazov is a chapter so powerful, vivid, and shocking that it has since impacted the course of Western Civilization. The chapter, called The Grand Inquisitor, expresses Dostoyevsky’s worst fears about the human condition, and discusses how man desperately wants to give his free will to any tyrant who will give him food and existential security, regardless of whether that tyrant is the church or the state. In this fascinating chapter, The Grand Inquisitor declares that Jesus Christ has actually acted cruelly towards man for giving him free will, when he knows so many are too weak to follow Christ. Is that true? Does God expect too much from mere mortals? Are his rules, precepts and teachings simply too hard? Or are Christ’s commandments actually the gateway to a relationship with God? Perhaps even the road to virtue, even the destination of peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control is about the journey rather than the destination.LinksVisit our website: https://www.wellreadchristian.comCheck our our blog: https://www.wellreadchristian.com/blogFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellreadchristianTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/WellReadChrist1Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfGxz4OH1-hVD0fL9AWR4Xg