Mark Stanley

How to Waste Your Life (Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilych)

The Death of Ivan Ilych (1886) is a famous novella (short novel) by Leo Tolstoy which penetrates our cavalier attitude about death, challenges our notion of a fulfilling life, and warns of the tragedy we may be headed towards. Fortunately, it also portrays a potential solution to the vain and superficial lifestyle which often consumes us. With his signature style and psychological realism, Tolstoy’s work challenges us to consider life from its endpoint in order to live rightly before it is too late.

Frankl: Finding Meaning In Everyday Life (2/2)

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.

How The Nazis Deconverted a Jew

Elie Wiesel’s book Night proved to be too dark for the podcast. It is one of the more chilling, horrific and stirring accounts from the Holocaust. Wiesel documents in short, clear, unvarnished terms how he lost his family and his faith. But atheism is a worldview which, ultimately, makes no distinction between putting a Jew or a pizza in an oven.

Frankl: Introduction to Man’s Search For Meaning (1/2)

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.

The Holocaust and Ordinary Men

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?

A Christian Critique of Jordan Peterson

Jordan Peterson has challenged and revitalized our postmodern conceptions of meaning, morality and religion. But without the metaphysics of Christianity, it is unclear how some of Peterson’s optimistic claims can be grounded. The result is that he sounds like an atheist when he talks to a Christian, but he sounds like a Christian when he talks to an atheist. Without a literal God, the Jungian psychologist is essentially an atheist with extra steps. Regardless, is Peterson ultimately a friend or a foe of traditional Christianity?

The Presumption of Atheism

The Presumption of Atheism

Description

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.

We’ll Be Right Back!

See you Summer 2020!

Upcoming Changes in 2020 and a 2019 Review

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.

Merry Christmas from WRC! (2019 Blooper Reel)

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!