Well Read Christian

Is there such a thing as right and wrong, or is morality a fabrication of social and evolutionary design? Enlightenment thinkers, such as Hobbes and Rousseau, believed that morality is a social construct. Contemporary atheist philosophers, like Paul Kurtz and Michael Ruse, are convinced that evolutionary biology is responsible for a sense of morality. Judeo-Christian thinkers throughout millennia have said that moral laws require a moral law giver. And Friedrich Nietzsche dismisses the entire conversation, arguing that all morals are illusory constraints adopted by weak willed peons.NotesThe featured painting is an oil on canvas by Caspar David Friedrich, painted in 1818. It is titled, "Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog." I selected it because it is widely considered one of the greatest masterpieces from the Romantic Era––an era that was destroyed by the horrors of the 20th century. Furthermore, it seems to beautifully symbolize man as Nietzsche sees him. A lone wanderer navigating a mysterious and unknown future. The tone and color matches Nietzsche's work brilliantly.The featured piece is by Hanz Liszt, a Hungarian composer of the 19th century and contemporary of Nietzsche. The piece, Sonata in B Minor, is one of the most influential and powerful sonatas after Beethoven's. Similarly to the chosen artwork, it, too, marks the best and last one of its kind before the death of Romanticism after World War 1.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

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) is one of the most radical, untamed and influential philosophers of all time. Often categorized as an Existentialist, Nietzsche is remembered for his blistering and unapologetic denouncement of religion, especially Christianity. Nietzsche declared that “God is dead” and spent a large portion of his intellectual efforts demolishing the remnants of Christianity’s influence, including the moral framework established by two thousand years of cultural dominance. Genealogy of Morals is one of his last works, and seeks to expose the sinister roots of Christian ethics, explore the true rise of morality among humans, and predict the inevitable collapse of society into nihilism until a “Superman” will lead humanity to greater heights. Notes The featured painting is an oil on canvas by Caspar David Friedrich, painted in 1818. It is titled, "Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog." I selected it because it is widely considered one of the greatest masterpieces from the Romantic Era––an era that was destroyed by the horrors of the 20th century. Furthermore, it seems to beautifully symbolize man as Nietzsche sees him. A lone wanderer navigating a mysterious and unknown future. The tone and color matches Nietzsche's work brilliantly. The featured piece is by Hanz Liszt, a Hungarian composer of the 19th century and contemporary of Nietzsche. The piece, Sonata in B Minor, is one of the most influential and powerful sonatas after Beethoven's. Similarly to the chosen artwork, it, too, marks the best and last one of its kind before the death of Romanticism after World War 1. Links Visit our website: https://www.wellreadchristian.com Check our our blog: https://www.wellreadchristian.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellreadchristian Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/WellReadChrist1 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfGxz4OH1-hVD0fL9AWR4Xg

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US, and the trends are on the rise. There seems to be a question about whether or not life is worth living that very few are talking about. On October 2nd, 2018, The Thinking Atheist published an episode titled “A Secular Perspective on Suicide,” which, in our estimation, offered little hope. But does Christianity offer a higher calling for suicidal people, or is it actually a contributing cause of their anguish? Is life worth the effort it takes to endure the pain? Is there any hope for people struggling with severe depression or suicidal ideation, or are cliches and slogans the best we can offer? Perhaps happiness is better obtained as an accidental byproduct rather than the chief end of a well lived life. Notes Links Visit our website: https://www.wellreadchristian.com Check our our blog: https://www.wellreadchristian.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellreadchristian Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/WellReadChrist1 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfGxz4OH1-hVD0fL9AWR4Xg

John Donne’s (1572-1631) poem The Bait is a poem about the winsome appeal of Jesus Christ, his teachings, message and life. Here at Well Read Christian we take the truth of Christianity’s attractive nature to heart, and even though arguments and critical thinking are essential, there is a beauty to the Christian viewpoint that advocates sometimes forget. We would like to share with you our vision––and the poem––in this episode.EPISODE NOTESCome live with me, and be my love, And we will some new pleasures prove Of golden sands, and crystal brooks, With silken lines, and silver hooks. There will the river whispering run Warm’d by thy eyes, more than the sun; And there the ‘enamour’d fish will stay, Begging themselves they may betray. When thou wilt swim in that live bath, Each fish, which every channel hath, Will amorously to thee swim, Gladder to catch thee, than thou him. If thou, to be so seen, be’st loth, By sun or moon, thou dark’nest both, And if myself have leave to see, I need not their light having thee. Let others freeze with angling reeds, And cut their legs with shells and weeds, Or treacherously poor fish beset, With strangling snare, or windowy net. Let coarse bold hands from slimy nest The bedded fish in banks out-wrest; Or curious traitors, sleeve-silk flies, Bewitch poor fishes’ wand’ring eyes. For thee, thou need’st no such deceit, For thou thyself art thine own bait: That fish, that is not catch’d thereby, Alas, is wiser far than I.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

Can human beings determine their own destiny, or are we the inevitable product of our environment and nature? Sam Harris is convinced that free will is an illusion. After all, if the world is just matter and motion, how could there be free will? Not everyone agrees with Harris, however, and many thinkers see free will as a self-evident axiom on which morality is based. The question of free will is one that every serious thinker must consider, and for Tolstoy, this is an essential prerequisite for the question of human motivation and therefore the cause and direction of history. Notes The intro music for this series is a section from a piece by Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (1844—1908) titled The Sea and Sinbad's Ship. Rimsky-Korsakov was a contemporary of Leo Tolstoy and my favorite Russian composer of the era. I hope you enjoy the segment and the podcast. The artwork is titled Battle of Moscow, 7th September 1812, painted in 1822 by Louis-François Lejeune. Links Visit our website: https://www.wellreadchristian.com Check our our blog: https://www.wellreadchristian.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellreadchristian Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/WellReadChrist1 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfGxz4OH1-hVD0fL9AWR4Xg

EPISODE SUMMARY There are brief moments in our lives where we are thrust out of ourselves and granted to see life as exceptionally magnificent, but also too close to touch, and impossible to fathom. For some people, it is love, poetry, friendship or maybe a film which causes us to see our world as a beautiful and cohesive whole for a fleeting and mysterious moment. For Andrei, it is the sky over a battlefield, a few notes in a song, and the cold grip of death. What do these moments of profound insight and deep emotion show us about life? EPISODE NOTES Buy War and Peace and actually read (or listen) to it! You won't regret it. See our full introduction to the series and more information on our website. wellreadchristian.com/tolstoys-war-and-peace The intro music for this series is a section from a piece by Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (1844—1908) titled The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship. Rimsky-Korsakov was a contemporary of Leo Tolstoy and my favorite Russian composer of the era. I hope you enjoy the segment and the podcast. The artwork is titled Battle of Moscow, 7th September 1812, painted in 1822 by Louis-François Lejeune. Episode title changed from "What Can Our Intuitions Tell Us About Reality?" to "What Can Beauty Teach Us?" on 8/20/19 Links Visit our website: wellreadchristian.com Check our our blog: wellreadchristian.com/blog facebook: facebook.com/wellreadchristian twitter: twitter.com/WellReadChrist1

Description Pierre Bezukhov searches for meaning in high society, sacrifice, relationships and religion, but ultimately he finds these things purposeless. Seth Andrews, host of The Thinking Atheist, says that the question of meaning is a bad question. Jordan Peterson says that personal responsibility provides an adequate foundation for meaning. St. Augustine says our hearts are restless until they find God. Leo Tolstoy says we have the whole question backwards. References Buy War and Peace and actually read (or listen) to it! You won't regret it. I recommend this translation and edition. See more information on this episode on our website. wellreadchristian.com/tolstoy-can-we-find-the-meaning-of-life The intro music for this series is a section from a piece by Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (1844—1908) titled The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship. Rimsky-Korsakov was a contemporary of Leo Tolstoy and my favorite Russian composer of the era. I hope you enjoy the segment and the podcast. The artwork is titled Battle of Moscow, 7th September 1812, painted in 1822 by Louis-François Lejeune. Links Visit our website: wellreadchristian.com Check our our blog: wellreadchristian.com/blog facebook: facebook.com/wellreadchristian twitter: twitter.com/WellReadChrist1

Description With rhetorical mastery, psychological insight and an artist’s vision of the world, the prolific Russian author Leo Tolstoy (1828—1910) takes a few narratives, a brutal war, and a modern view of history to capture all of life in his 1,200 page epic War and Peace. Tolstoy asks this pivotal question: how are decent people capable of war and slaughter? Then, Tolstoy digs deeper; what causes anyone’s behavior at all? War and Peace is Tolstoy’s answer to the question of human motivation, desire and interaction, from the scope of monarchs and peasants, soldiers and slaves, in country and city life alike. The finished product is one of the finest achievements in human civilization. References Buy War and Peace and actually read (or listen) to it! You won't regret it. I recommend this translation and edition. See our full introduction to the series and more information on our website. wellreadchristian.com/tolstoys-war-and-peace The intro music for this series is a section from a piece by Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (1844—1908) titled The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship. Rimsky-Korsakov was a contemporary of Leo Tolstoy and my favorite Russian composer of the era. I hope you enjoy the segment and the podcast. The artwork is titled Battle of Moscow, 7th September 1812, painted in 1822 by Louis-François Lejeune. Links Visit our website: wellreadchristian.com Check our our blog: wellreadchristian.com/blog facebook: facebook.com/wellreadchristian twitter: twitter.com/WellReadChrist1