Links below are not necessarily endorsements for periodicals or websites.
(Some of the links include my commentary from my original posts.)
Religious Leaders
Elder Ahmad S. Corbitt
“Activism vs. Discipleship, Protecting the Valiant”
(Elder Corbitt spoke to Church-endorsed chaplains in the Conference Center Theater on Oct. 4, 2022. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
Elder Ahmad S. Corbitt was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the April 2023 general conference. At the time of his call, he was serving as First Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency.
Others Who Inspire
Scholars, Authors, & Commentators
Dr. Kathleen Stock
“Feminism Between the Right and the Left”
Dr. Stock is a former professor of philosophy at the University of Sussex until 2021 when she resigned her position after a student campaign and the University Trade Union demanded her dismissal accusing her of “institutional transphobia.” In May 2021, Stock was appointed as a trustee of the LGB Alliance. In March, 2023, Stock, alongside tennis player Martina Navratilova and writer Julie Bindel, launched The Lesbian Project.
From the website: Stock delivered this lecture to UATX’s Forbidden Courses students on June 29, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. Each summer, the Forbidden Courses gather courageous thinkers to explore the great human questions of our time.
Atheism vs. Christianity | Christopher Hitchens debates Dinesh D’Souza
The late Christopher Hitchens was a British author, journalist and educator. A prominent atheist, he has authored several books, including the international best-seller, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. Over the years, his political views seemed to be a combination of liberal and conservative—depending on the issue.
Dinesh D’Souza was born in Bombay, India. He is a conservative political commentator, author, filmmaker. He has written over a dozen books, several of them on the NYT best-seller lists.
An appropriate debate for our times. I’ve always respected the intellect and debate skills of both men.
Hitchens gives the most reasonable argument for atheism I’ve ever heard—although he seems a bit drunk by the end of the debate. (Sober or drunk, Hitchens is brilliant.)
D’Souza’s finest moment, I believe, is when he says:
Religion makes moral demands on us. Christianity asks that we move outside of ourselves and consider first the welfare of the other person. This is ultimately a little bit annoying and irritating and difficult doctrine. Even St. Augustine prayed, ‘Make me chaste, oh Lord–but not yet.’ The atheist is chafing under the moral rules of Christianity. A life lived under the Ten Commandments is a life in which we are accountable. We humans hate the idea that our actions are ultimately accountable that even the things we do in private and in the dark are under scrutiny and being recorded (by God). Atheism is a massive rebellion against that but disguises itself as moving along the strict path of reason. It’s not an intellectual revolt; it’s a moral revolt . . . if God is not, everything is permitted.
Before his death, Hitchen’s often warned the West about a new kind of emerging secularism. In the years since, I have observed the transformation of this new secularism into its own form of religion; it looks, sounds, and acts very much like one—some call it a cult: Righteous (or self-righteous) crusaders preach and “evangelize” its canons using specialized language, artifacts, and symbols. In the name of love, and often through trauma bonding, its hierarchical clergy demand conformity to its notions pertaining to a utopian social transformation, justice, collective guilt and atonement, along with its definitions of goodness, and respectability. Unfortunately, like every religion, it has its dark side: dissenters are quickly shunned and punished. (Think “cancel culture.”) They are offered little to no grace, mercy, good-faith assumptions, and conditional, limited forgiveness—requiring dissenters’ total submission to its practices. In the end, it seems this “secular” movement is increasingly promoting its own brand of totalitarianism, authoritarianism, bigotry, and oppression.
Also, D’Souza echoes my above observations in his comment regarding Marxist and neo-Marxist socialism, and “cultural Marxism” as a form of religion:
Secular utopia is simply a secular religion which is still totalitarianism which is still forced righteousness or ‘goodness’ which results in fanaticism, zealotry, and bloodshed.
#defenderofChristianity #religiousfreedom #liveandletlive
Dr. James Lindsay
Oxford Union Address: “Has Wokeism Gone Too Far?”
Dr. James Lindsay is an American-born author, mathematician, atheist, and former professor at Oregon State University. He has written six books spanning a range of subjects including religion, the philosophy of science, and postmodern theory. He is a leading expert on Critical Race Theory.
(In this debate, Dr. Lindsay was assigned to debate on the side of “wokeism” — aka the Critical Social Justice perspective. As a leading opponent of the Woke, Lindsay’s speech below is using sarcasm to criticize wokeism.)
Dr. Jordan B. Peterson
A Canadian, Dr. Peterson was a former professor at the University of Toronto. He is a psychologist, author, and commentator.
From the website: On January 16, 2018, journalist Cathy Newman interviewed Canadian psychologist and author Jordan Peterson. The interview covered topics such as gender equality, including the gender pay gap, freedom of speech, and other topics.
Jordan Peterson debate on the gender pay gap, campus protests and postmodernism
www.youtube.comChannel 4 News’ full, fiery interview with clinical psychologist and professor Jordan B Peterson, whose views on gender have amassed great controversy – and …