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A quick video with some book recommendations:
* Mystery of the Magi by Fr. Dwight Longenecker
* Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary by Brant Pitre
* Five Lectures on Psycho-Analysis by Sigmund Freud
* A Monument to Saint Augustine, the essay by Fr. Erich Przywara
* Hunting the Hard Way by Howard Hill
A little bit of a niche video. I answer the question from a viewer of what makes human beings unique in the world.
What Should Christians to Make of AI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL15c3Enr3g
In this video, I answer a viewer's question about what Christians should make of AI. (It's really the same thing that everyone should make of AI.) Basically, there are two senses of AI:
1. Like us
2. Something that does what we would do by intelligence.
All AI that exists is AI in sense 2, not in sense 1, though sense 1 wouldn't be a massive problem if it did exist.
In this video I talk about the problem with unlimited skepticisim, and then where to draw the limits of skepticism, remembering that limits refers to the place where it's good up to there and bad after, i.e. that I am in favor of skepticism where it helps, but not where it harms.
In this video I talk about determinism and how there are both theistic and atheistic versions of determinism, and how determinism only excludes (real) human beings, it doesn't exclude God.
A video in which I look at the relationship of pragmatism to truth as inspired by an exchange between Chris Williamson and Jordan Peterson on the Modern Wisdom podcast. I emphasize it in the video, but to be clear: this is a reflection on something that Chris Williamson said and something that Jordan Peterson did NOT say, but might have. Their discussion was just a springing-off point, and this is not any kind of criticism of either man.
In this I talk about how physics—its equations and methods—is really its own thing and the other sciences are not "based in physics" in the sense of being "just applied physics." This is about how the limitations of applying physics and how each science really is its own thing and not any kind of criticism of physics or any of the other sciences.
In this video I look at Mary Sue characters in action and science fiction stories and look at how they don't have to be bad characters (though, of course, they mostly are).
My video on The Original Mary Sue:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN6ZECwxS88
This in my series about prayer in response to a viewer request, this one looks at the validity of prayers: when are prayers valid and when aren't they?
A look at the lyrics of the song Saint Christopher by the singer Devil Doll, and the brilliance of its lyrics.
The song: https://youtu.be/S6pOs5K8j8A
A look at distractions during prayer, whether they're bad, and how to handle them. Also some discussion of how to pray always, and what it means to make your life a prayer.
In this video on prayer, I answer the question, "what is prayer?" I answer this question for the three main types of prayer: conversational prayer, intercessory prayer, and prayer of thanksgiving. (common classifications of prayer often have "praise" as a kind of prayer, but I'm considering that, basically, an alternative expression of prayer of gratitude.)
Bishop Barron's excellent video on prayer: https://youtu.be/aR6J1pPiRQo?si=q6uPlKGzu_qXoSpz
A viewer asked me a question about how to refocus one's life on better things than pleasure. I do my best to answer. Bear in mind that to greater and lesser extents this is something we're all working, and certainly I'm not giving my answer from a place of perfection.
A quick explanation of how everyone worships something, and what that means.
In this video I deal with the practical problem of evil, that is, how to be happy in spite of how much evil there is in the world.
For the philosophical problem of evil:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-m0V_W7H5Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZRBllpTl_4
G.K. Chesterton's introduction to the Book of Job:
http://www.gkc.org.uk/gkc/books/job.html
A discussion of the philosophical implications of the temporary nature of all things in the world and how you can usefully classify all philosophical systems and religions based on how they deal with this problem.
In this video (with a surprise appearance by my superdwarf reticulated python, Aristotle) I talked about why it is that some women are attracted to "bad boys".
A discussion of niceness and the problems that it comes with if it's not treated as the highly subordinate good that it is.
In which I discuss that referring to myself as a sinner is simply true and not rhetorical, as well as draw some lessons to when others (such as Bishop Barron) refer to themselves as sinners and how that should be taken seriously (but without speculating as to the specifics).
The title of the video is a reference to one of my favorite prayers, the Jesus prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." (This prayer is, itself, a reference to the publican in the story of the pharisee and the publican.)
Admittedly very similar ground to my video "Advice for Men on Dating and Finding a Wife", but considerably shorter. Only 1 hour instead of 2! And it covers the useful subject of how to keep an acquaintanceship ambiguous to create space for the two people to get to know each other without having to make rush judgements. At some point I'm going to break this up into several shorter videos by individual subject...
This one is about the whole, "I'm not Christian because some Christian is a sinner" excuse. You also see it from Christians, usually in the form "how can you expect people to be Christian if there are Christians who sin?" Of course Christians should be perfect, but the existence of bad Christians is a terrible excuse for ignoring the truth of Christianity.
The shirt is from Jonathan Pageau's merch store for The Symbolic World.
A discussion with Fr. Dwight Longenecker about his book The Mystery of the Magi. It's an interesting book which goes into the historicity of Magi—did they exist, who were they really, where did they actually come from, how did they follow the star, and related questions.
Fr. Longenecker's books:
The Mystery of the Magi: https://dwightlongenecker.com/shop/the-mystery-of-the-magi/
The Secrets of the Bethlehem Shepherds: https://dwightlongenecker.com/shop/the-secret-of-the-bethlehem-shepherds/
Bookstore: https://dwightlongenecker.com/shop/
Fr. Longenecker's blog: https://dwightlongenecker.com/blog/
Fr. Longenecker's website: https://dwightlongenecker.com/
In this video I talk about how to enjoy things that one has already enjoyed, without the need for novelty.
The video on psychelics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8xmF7tUKxg
The t-shirt is a depiction of Saint Christopher in the style of an icon from Jonathan Pageau's merch store: https://www.thesymbolicworld.store/
In this video I take a look at a really stupid quote from Steven Weinberg.
The t-shirt is a depiction of Saint Christopher in the style of an icon from Jonathan Pageau's merch store: https://www.thesymbolicworld.store/
Some thoughts on psychedelic drugs and their relationship to religious experience.
Videos referenced in this video:
God loves beetles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajxHJjOQ1Mk
HIstory of Psychedelia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7gJGMeTz2Q&list=PLkCOIGR7V_pVynkay8GvlmRmdAjjTFl4o
Four Horsemen of Meaning: https://youtu.be/FCvQsqSCWjA
The shirt is from Jonathan Pageau's Symbolic World merch store.
In this channel I look at all sorts of things, from pop songs to movies to literature to science and history, primarily through the lenses of philosophy and theology, looking for meaning wherever we can find it, because the world is an awesome, and a fascinating, place.