For the New Christian Intellectual

FTNCI 101: America at 250 and the Wisdom of Calvin Coolidge

The New Intellectual Book Study met in 2022 and 2023 to discuss For the New Intellectual, by Ayn Rand. This week our reading was pages 101–116. About the Book Study: Today’s society is degenerating into a cult of despair. Not even churches are immune. In For the New Intellectual, Ayn Rand gave a brilliant overview of the status of Western culture, what brought us here, and how to bring a second Renaissance. The book is a good first or second read for someone wanting to understand Ayn Rand’s Objectivism. Rand offered the book as a collection of the essential ideas in her philosophy “for those who wish to acquire an integrated view of existence.” Rand’s goal was to advocate against mysticism, altruism, and collectivism, and for their opposites: reason, individualism, and capitalism. This book study was designed for Christians interested in understanding Rand’s work and finding out where her insights can be valuable specifically to Christians. Project Outline: Ayn Rand’s “For the New Intellectual” Week 01 – pg 10–23 Week 02 – pg 24–37 Week 03 – pg 37–57 Ayn Rand’s Character Speeches Week 01 – Short Speeches, pg 60–76 Week 02 – Roark’s Courtroom Speech, pg 77–86 Week 03 – Earlier Atlas Shrugged Speeches, pg 88–101 Week 04 – Later Atlas Shrugged Speeches, pg 101–116 Galt’s Speech Weeks 01 – 05 Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Objectivism Book Study Become a Patron As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, attend our Video Hangouts and access patron-only podcast episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, get an invite to attend occasional podcast recording sessions via webinar and submit questions either live or beforehand. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 100: Later Atlas Shrugged Speeches first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The New Intellectual Book Study met in 2022 and 2023 to discuss For the New Intellectual, by Ayn Rand. This week our reading was pages 88–101. About the Book Study: Today’s society is degenerating into a cult of despair. Not even churches are immune. In For the New Intellectual, Ayn Rand gave a brilliant overview of the status of Western culture, what brought us here, and how to bring a second Renaissance. The book is a good first or second read for someone wanting to understand Ayn Rand’s Objectivism. Rand offered the book as a collection of the essential ideas in her philosophy “for those who wish to acquire an integrated view of existence.” Rand’s goal was to advocate against mysticism, altruism, and collectivism, and for their opposites: reason, individualism, and capitalism. This book study was designed for Christians interested in understanding Rand’s work and finding out where her insights can be valuable specifically to Christians. Project Outline: Ayn Rand’s “For the New Intellectual” Week 01 – pg 10–23 Week 02 – pg 24–37 Week 03 – pg 37–57 Ayn Rand’s Character Speeches Week 01 – Short Speeches, pg 60–76 Week 02 – Roark’s Courtroom Speech, pg 77–86 Week 03 – Earlier Atlas Shrugged Speeches, pg 88–101 Week 04 – Later Atlas Shrugged Speeches, pg 101–116 Galt’s Speech Weeks 01 – 05 Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Objectivism Book Study Become a Patron As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get an invite to our monthly Patron Hangout. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, get an invite to attend occasional podcast recording sessions via webinar and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive training on getting started as a writer. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 099: Earlier Atlas Shrugged Speeches first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The New Intellectual Book Study met in 2022 and 2023 to discuss For the New Intellectual, by Ayn Rand. This week our reading was pages 77–86. About the Book Study: Today’s society is degenerating into a cult of despair. Not even churches are immune. In For the New Intellectual, Ayn Rand gave a brilliant overview of the status of Western culture, what brought us here, and how to bring a second Renaissance. The book is a good first or second read for someone wanting to understand Ayn Rand’s Objectivism. Rand offered the book as a collection of the essential ideas in her philosophy “for those who wish to acquire an integrated view of existence.” Rand’s goal was to advocate against mysticism, altruism, and collectivism, and for their opposites: reason, individualism, and capitalism. This book study was designed for Christians interested in understanding Rand’s work and finding out where her insights can be valuable specifically to Christians. Project Outline: Ayn Rand’s “For the New Intellectual” Week 01 – pg 10–23 Week 02 – pg 24–37 Week 03 – pg 37–57 Ayn Rand’s Character Speeches Week 01 – Short Speeches, pg 60–76 Week 02 – Roark’s Courtroom Speech, pg 77–86 Week 03 – Earlier Atlas Shrugged Speeches, pg 88–101 Week 04 – Later Atlas Shrugged Speeches, pg 101–116 Galt’s Speech Weeks 01 – 05 Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Objectivism Book Study Become a Patron As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get an invite to our monthly Patron Hangout. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, get an invite to attend occasional podcast recording sessions via webinar and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive training on getting started as a writer. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 098: Roark’s Courtroom Speech first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The New Intellectual Book Study met in 2022 and 2023 to discuss For the New Intellectual, by Ayn Rand. This week our reading was pages 60–76. About the Book Study: Today’s society is degenerating into a cult of despair. Not even churches are immune. In For the New Intellectual, Ayn Rand gave a brilliant overview of the status of Western culture, what brought us here, and how to bring a second Renaissance. The book is a good first or second read for someone wanting to understand Ayn Rand’s Objectivism. Rand offered the book as a collection of the essential ideas in her philosophy “for those who wish to acquire an integrated view of existence.” Rand’s goal was to advocate against mysticism, altruism, and collectivism, and for their opposites: reason, individualism, and capitalism. This book study was designed for Christians interested in understanding Rand’s work and finding out where her insights can be valuable specifically to Christians. Project Outline: Ayn Rand’s “For the New Intellectual” Week 01 – pg 10–23 Week 02 – pg 24–37 Week 03 – pg 37–57 Ayn Rand’s Character Speeches Week 01 – Short Speeches, pg 60–76 Week 02 – Roark’s Courtroom Speech, pg 77–86 Week 03 – Earlier Atlas Shrugged Speeches, pg 88–101 Week 04 – Later Atlas Shrugged Speeches, pg 101–116 Galt’s Speech Weeks 01 – 05 Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Objectivism Book Study Become a Patron As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get an invite to our monthly Patron Hangout. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, get an invite to attend occasional podcast recording sessions via webinar and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive training on getting started as a writer. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 097: Ayn Rand’s Short Character Speeches first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The New Intellectual Book Study met in 2022 and 2023 to discuss For the New Intellectual, by Ayn Rand. This week our reading was pages 37–57. About the Book Study: Today’s society is degenerating into a cult of despair. Not even churches are immune. In For the New Intellectual, Ayn Rand gave a brilliant overview of the status of Western culture, what brought us here, and how to bring a second Renaissance. The book is a good first or second read for someone wanting to understand Ayn Rand’s Objectivism. Rand offered the book as a collection of the essential ideas in her philosophy “for those who wish to acquire an integrated view of existence.” Rand’s goal was to advocate against mysticism, altruism, and collectivism, and for their opposites: reason, individualism, and capitalism. This book study was designed for Christians interested in understanding Rand’s work and finding out where her insights can be valuable specifically to Christians. Project Outline: Ayn Rand’s “For the New Intellectual” Week 01 – pg 10–23 Week 02 – pg 24–37 Week 03 – pg 37–57 Ayn Rand’s Character Speeches Week 01 – Short Speeches, pg 60–76 Week 02 – Roark’s Courtroom Speech, pg 77–86 Week 03 – Earlier Atlas Shrugged Speeches, pg 88–101 Week 04 – Later Atlas Shrugged Speeches, pg 101–116 Galt’s Speech Weeks 01 – 05 Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Objectivism Book Study Become a Patron As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get an invite to our monthly Patron Hangout. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, get an invite to attend occasional podcast recording sessions via webinar and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive training on getting started as a writer. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 096: Foundations for a Moral Culture first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The New Intellectual Book Study met in 2022 and 2023 to discuss For the New Intellectual, by Ayn Rand. This week our reading was pages 24–37. About the Book Study: Today’s society is degenerating into a cult of despair. Not even churches are immune. In For the New Intellectual, Ayn Rand gave a brilliant overview of the status of Western culture, what brought us here, and how to bring a second Renaissance. The book is a good first or second read for someone wanting to understand Ayn Rand’s Objectivism. Rand offered the book as a collection of the essential ideas in her philosophy “for those who wish to acquire an integrated view of existence.” Rand’s goal was to advocate against mysticism, altruism, and collectivism, and for their opposites: reason, individualism, and capitalism. This book study was designed for Christians interested in understanding Rand’s work and finding out where her insights can be valuable specifically to Christians. Project Outline: Ayn Rand’s “For the New Intellectual” Week 01 – pg 10–23 Week 02 – pg 24–37 Week 03 – pg 37–57 Ayn Rand’s Character Speeches Week 01 – Short Speeches, pg 60–76 Week 02 – Roark’s Courtroom Speech, pg 77–86 Week 03 – Earlier Atlas Shrugged Speeches, pg 88–101 Week 04 – Later Atlas Shrugged Speeches, pg 101–116 Galt’s Speech Weeks 01 – 05 Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Objectivism Book Study Become a Patron As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get an invite to our monthly Patron Hangout. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, get an invite to attend occasional podcast recording sessions via webinar and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive training on getting started as a writer. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 095: World History in Terms of Philosophy first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The New Intellectual Book Study met in 2022 and 2023 to discuss For the New Intellectual, by Ayn Rand. This week, our reading was pages 10–23. About the Book Study: Today’s society is degenerating into a cult of despair. Not even churches are immune. In For the New Intellectual, Ayn Rand gave a brilliant overview of the status of Western culture, what brought us here, and how to bring a second Renaissance. The book is a good first or second read for someone wanting to understand Ayn Rand’s Objectivism. Rand offered the book as a collection of the essential ideas in her philosophy “for those who wish to acquire an integrated view of existence.” Rand’s goal was to advocate against mysticism, altruism, and collectivism, and for their opposites: reason, individualism, and capitalism. This book study was designed for Christians interested in understanding Rand’s work and finding out where her insights can be valuable specifically to Christians. Project Outline: Ayn Rand’s “For the New Intellectual” Week 01 – pg 10–23 Week 02 – pg 24–37 Week 03 – pg 37–57 Ayn Rand’s Character Speeches Week 01 – Short Speeches, pg 60–76 Week 02 – Roark’s Courtroom Speech, pg 77–86 Week 03 – Earlier Atlas Shrugged Speeches, pg 88–101 Week 04 – Later Atlas Shrugged Speeches, pg 101–116 Galt’s Speech Weeks 01 – 05 Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Objectivism Book Study Become a Patron As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get an invite to our monthly Patron Hangout. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, get an invite to attend occasional podcast recording sessions via webinar and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive training on getting started as a writer. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 094: World History in Terms of Attila and the Witch-Doctor first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. This week our reading was: The Epilogue: The duel between Plato and Aristotle (451-460) “Philosophy is the prime mover of history,” writes Leonard Peikoff. Today we are discussing what this claim means and how it is so. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 093: Objectivism Book Study (Week 35) — How Ideas Move History first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. This week our reading was: Chapter 12 – Romantic literature as illustrating the role of philosophy in art (428-437) Chapter 12 – Esthetic value as objective (438-450) Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 092: Objectivism Book Study (Week 34) — Objective Esthetics first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. This week our reading was: Chapter 12 – Introduction (413) Chapter 12 – Art as a concretization of metaphysics (414-428) Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 091: Objectivism Book Study (Week 33) — The Role of Art first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. This week our reading was: Chapter 11 – Capitalism as the system of objectivity 395-405 Chapter 11 – Opposition to capitalism as dependent on bad epistemology 406-412 Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 090: Objectivism Book Study (Week 32) — Capitalism as Objective first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. This week our reading was: Ch. 11 – Capitalism (Introduction) 378-379 Ch. 11 – Capitalism as the only moral social system 380-395 For a society’s legal system, the alternatives are either: 1) A policy of legalized plunder. OR 2) Laissez-faire capitalism. There are no other options. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 089: Objectivism Book Study (Week 31) — Capitalism as Moral first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. This week our reading was: Ch. 10 – Government as an agency to protect rights 363-368 Ch. 10 – Statism as the politics of unreason 369-377 Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 088: Objectivism Book Study (Week 30) — Good and Bad Government first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Welcome to Week 29 of the Objectivism Book Study. Our reading this week was: Ch. 10 – Government (Introduction) 350 Ch. 10 – Individual rights as absolutes 351-363 See our related article: “Religious Liberty” — A Different Take Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 087: Objectivism Book Study (Week 29) — Individual Rights first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Our reading this week was: Chapter 9: Virtue as practical 329-335 Happiness as the normal condition of man 335-342 Sex as metaphysical 343-349 Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 086: Objectivism Book Study (Week 28) — Happiness first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Our reading this week was: Ch. 8 – The initiation of physical force as evil 312-324 Ch. 9 – Happiness (Introduction) 325 Ch. 9 – Virtue as practical 326-329 “So long as men desire to live together, no man may initiate… no man may start the use of physical force against others.” This is a quote from the main hero in Atlas Shrugged. In this episode we finish discussing why the initiation of physical force is evil. Then we move into chapter 9 to discuss Ayn Rand’s claim that virtue is practical. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 085: Objectivism Book Study (Week 27) — Trader Principle and Force first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Our reading this week was: Ch. 8 – Pride as moral ambitiousness 303-309 Ch. 8 – The initiation of physical force as evil 310-312 Is pride a good thing? Yes and no. Today we are looking at Ayn Rand’s understanding of pride as a virtue. We will compare this idea with Christian teaching. After that discussion, we will to look at one major vice that Rand and Peikoff consider worthy of special investigation: the initiation of physical force. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 084: Objectivism Book Study (Week 26) — Pride first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Our reading this week was: Justice as rationality in the evaluation of men (276-291) Productiveness as the adjustment of nature to man (292-303) In Proverbs 25:2 we read: “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.” At FTNCI, we believe in searching out the truth, wherever it is to be found. Today we’re looking at Ayn Rand’s understanding of the virtues of Justice and Productiveness. We read this with an eye toward how Christians in particular can benefit from the thought of Ayn Rand. “Productive work,” writes Ayn Rand, “is the central purpose of a rational man’s life, the central value that integrates and determines the hierarchy of all his other values.” Justice is the recognition of the fact “that every man must be judged for what he is and treated accordingly.” Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 083: Objectivism Book Study (Week 25) — Justice and Productiveness first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Our reading this week was: Integrity as loyalty to rational principles (259-266) Honesty as rejection of unreality (267-276)  Ayn Rand understood integrity as meaning loyalty to rational principles. And she understood honesty as the rejection of unreality. These, along with the other virtues that Rand names, tend to be missing from our society, and even from our churches, in exactly the kind of way that would lead to the kind of situation that the world has descended into today. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 082: Objectivism Book Study (Week 24) — Integrity and Honesty first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Our reading this week was: -Values as objective 244-249 (cont.) -Virtue (Introduction) 250 -Independence as a primary orientation to reality, not to other men 251-259 “There is a flow to history and culture. This flow is rooted and has its wellspring in the thoughts of people.” That is a quote from Francis A. Schaeffer, in How Should We Then Live? How should we live? That is the question to which the philosophical branch called ethics seeks to provide a robust answer. What we’re exploring in the reading this week has a huge bearing on our understanding of theological topics. Once again, we run into disagreements with mainstream Christian notions, especially the moral argument for the existence of God, which is often discussed by those who follow Van Til’s Presuppositionalism. “Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.” -Proverbs 8:33-36 ESV An area where we agree with Ayn Rand is that morality is practical, and it is based on life as the standard of value. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 081: Objectivism Book Study (Week 23) — Independence first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Our reading in “Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand” this week was: -The individual as the proper beneficiary of his own moral action 229-240 -Values as objective 241-244 We have come to the key idea in Ayn Rand’s ethics: Rational Egoism. We are looking at the claim that “The individual is the proper beneficiary of his own moral action.” This section is in many ways common sense. But the precise way of arguing is unique. And some of Rand’s conclusions contradict ideas people accept as true today, especially within evangelical Christianity and other culture making institutions. Related Resources: Articles about “Goodness” Discussion on the Is-Ought Dichotomy Playlist: Christian Egoism Articles about Rational Self-Interest: Top New Testament Verses on Egoism 78 Verses For Understanding Holy Self-Interest in Christianity A Flowchart of Self-Interest Why Be Moral? Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 080: Objectivism Book Study (Week 22) — Objective Morality first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Our reading in “Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand” this week was: Ch. 7 – Man’s life as the standard of moral value 213-219 Ch. 7 – Rationality as the primary virtue 220-229 It is necessary to return to a robust Christianity—an actual Christianity for people who love the truth and who love to look at God’s book truthfully. In order to do that, at FTNCI we find it useful to engage with the work of Ayn Rand. This week we look at the idea that “Man’s life is the standard of moral value” for him and we look at the idea that “Rationality is man’s primary virtue.” We do this with an eye toward restoring a sound and truthful vision of man—a view that requires common sense and courage. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 079: Objectivism Book Study (Week 21) — Value and Virtue first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Our reading this week was: Ch. 7 – The Good (Introduction) 206 Ch. 7 – Life as the essential root of value 207-213 This week’s reading introduces the concept of “value”—which Ayn Rand and Leonard Peikoff correctly ground in our nature as goal-directed, living beings. We work to make it clear where Christians might agree with parts of Rand’s argument and disagree with other parts. We tend to agree with Rand and Peikoff’s definitions and conclusions about value (or with modified versions of those conclusions), but we reject some of the key substance of how Rand and Peikoff argue. Some of the material in this reading relies on Rand’s immortal robot argument, which we find unpersuasive. We also criticize some of Peikoff’s arguments. Within a Christian philosophical context, we do not need to rely on several of the specific (seemingly inadequate) arguments found in this section. Nevertheless, much of the material is correct and useful. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 078: Objectivism Book Study (Week 20) — Life and Value first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Our reading this week was: Ch. 6 – Reason as an attribute of the individual 198 to 205 We begin our discussion this week by looking at a thread Jacob Brunton posted to Twitter: “Conservatives will rightly scoff at the Communist notion of pathetically making yourself and your family material dependents of the tribe. But those of the anti-individualist variety will openly advocate for being spiritually dependent upon the tribe for your ideas and values. They proudly assert the virtues of independence, self-sufficiency, and personal responsibility in the material realm, then scorn those same virtues as vices in the spiritual realm of ideas and values. That which they spurn as effeminate in material life is praised in spiritual life. Such a gnostic dichotomy cannot, and will not, hold. The effeminate collectivism of their spiritual world will either bleed over into the material, yielding “Christian” socialists, or they will reject the spiritual altogether as effeminate and impractical. The solution: Reject the Communism of the soul which demands that you submit your mind and your morals to the tribe, for the same reason that you reject the Communism of the body. Your mind and values, like your body and your wealth, are *yours* to steward—and not to be farmed out to others. Learn the virtue of being an independent thinker, just as you’ve learned the virtue of being an independent producer. Learn that the ability to come to independent conclusions is of much more value than the ability to make an independent living (which is very valuable). Learn that, just as material wealth is not a zero sum, neither are ideas or virtues. Just as the independently wealthy man does not earn his wealth at the expense of others, so the man of independent mind and character does not build that state of soul at the expense of others. Cooperation is good in both the spiritual and material realms, but only insofar as it is cooperation with other men who are independently competent. Cooperation with incompetents is not a positive value. Learn to guard your soul from incompetents as you guard your wealth.” ** Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 077: Objectivism Book Study (Week 19) — The Reasoning Individual first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study is meeting through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Welcome to the Objectivism Book Study (Week 18) — Nature of Man. Our reading this week was: Ch. 6 – Man (Introduction) 187-188 Ch. 6 – Living organisms as goal-directed and conditional 189-193 Ch. 6 – Reason as man’s basic means of survival 193-197 The reading this week introduces the need for a philosophical inquiry into the nature of man. Leonard Peikoff notes that this inquiry comes before a theory of ethics. Before knowing what is right for man to do, we should establish what man is. In agreement with Aristotle, Ayn Rand understood man as the rational creature. It is man’s ability to be rational that makes him unique from the other creatures. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 076: Objectivism Book Study (Week 18) — Nature of Man first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Welcome to the Objectivism Book Study (Week 17) — Certainty and Context. Our reading this week was: Ch. 5 – Certainty as contextual 171-181 Ch. 5 – Mysticism and skepticism as denials of reason 182-186 Is science nothing but a progression of exploded theories? Is all knowledge only relative? Never fully validated? Never absolute, immutable, or certain? What can Christians learn about these issues from the unique philosophical system of Objectivism? Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 075: Objectivism Book Study (Week 17) — Certainty and Context first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Welcome to the Objectivism Book Study (Week 16) — Reason vs. the Alternatives. Our reading this week was: Ch. 5 – Reason as man’s only means of knowledge 159-162 Ch. 5 – The arbitrary as neither true nor false 163-171 Ayn Rand was once asked if she could summarize the essence of her philosophy while standing on one foot. She replied: “Metaphysics: Objective Reality. Epistemology: Reason. Ethics: Self-interest. Politics: Capitalism.” Rand expands on this encapsulation: “If you want this translated into simple language, it would read: 1. “Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed” or “Wishing won’t make it so.” 2. “You can’t eat your cake and have it, too.” 3. “Man is an end in himself.” 4. “Give me liberty or give me death.” That is an overview of Rand’s whole system of ideas. To understand the second of those four points is the goal of our discussion today. Ayn Rand summarized her point about reason: “Reason (the faculty which identifies and integrates the material provided by man’s senses) is man’s only means of perceiving reality, his only source of knowledge, his only guide to action, and his basic means of survival.” Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 074: Objectivism Book Study (Week 16) — Reason vs. the Alternatives first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Welcome to Objectivism Book Study (Week 15) — Reason and Emotion. “Philosophy is the science that defines the proper relationship between a volitional consciousness and reality.” -Leonard Peikoff (Induction in Physics and Philosophy, session 6) This week we are discussing the following sections in Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand: Ch. 5 – Reason (Introduction) 152 Ch. 5 – Emotions as a product of ideas 153-158 In this section we look at the implications of Objectivist epistemology for our choices about how to live as human beings. We must commit to live by the guidance of what we learn through observation and conceptualization. That is the choice to be logical and rational. It means we should not only aim to use reason on occasion, but aim to actually live by reason. The choice to live by reason is the basis of all morality. Within this chapter we’re also going to look at the relation between reason and emotion, reason and faith, and reason and God’s special revelation. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 073: Objectivism Book Study (Week 15) — Reason and Emotion first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study is meeting through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Epistemology is the hill on which our civilization lives or dies. Accurate concepts and principles will make the world a better place. For the New Christian Intellectual is a podcast and online project devoted to explaining this claim and helping Christians learn to think philosophically. That’s why we’re doing this ongoing study of Objectivism: the Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. This week we are discussing pages 142 to 151, the section called “Intrinsicism and subjectivism as the two forms of rejecting objectivity.” While these are abstract topics, as Christians in 2022, we can easily see their importance by looking at what purportedly Christian leaders are saying about how knowledge works. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 072: Objectivism Book Study (Week 14) — Objective Epistemology first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. In this session we continued exploring the Objectivist understanding of essences and universals. We proposed two ways Christians might view Leonard Peikoff’s (and Ayn Rand’s) conclusions about these topics. Jacob Brunton proposed that Christians could adopt Peikoff’s method of forming concepts, but also reject some of Peikoff’s positions on Metaphysics. Peikoff rejects Platonic Realism and Aristotelian Realism, but Brunton would maintain that Christians are not required to reject those ideas. I (Cody Libolt) agreed that Christians are not required to reject those ideas, but I did agree with Peikoff’s overall framing of the debate between the variants of Realism, Nominalism and Randian Objectivism. I agreed with Peikoff’s understanding of the term “real” in a philosophical context. In the second half of the discussion, we explored an example of how we might discuss “essence.” We compared the essence of human maleness vs. human femaleness. We also discussed what it means to be a masculine vs. an effeminate man. Here’s a related resource I recently came across. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 071B: Objectivism Book Study (Week 13B) — Essences and Universals first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. In this session we explored the Objectivist understanding of the hierarchical nature of knowledge. The reading was: Ch. 4 – Knowledge as hierarchical 129-141 “Concepts have a hierarchical structure… The higher, more complex abstractions are derived from the simpler, basic ones (starting with the concepts of perceptually given concretes).” –Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, pg. 32. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 071: Objectivism Book Study (Week 13) — Hierarchy first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study is meeting through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Welcome to the Objectivism Book Study (Week 12B) — Similarity​. ==> Click here for the full discussion on YouTube In this video we explore what Objectivists mean by “similarity,” an idea that is important within their theory of concepts. Differences in our understanding of “similarity” lead to differences in our understanding of metaphysical theories such as Nominalism and Realism. Is Ayn Rand’s Objectivism distinct from Aristotle’s version of Metaphysical Realism? Does Rand depart from Metaphysical Realism altogether?​ And, if so, does Rand’s theory also differentiate itself from Metaphysical Nominalism? The issue revolves around the question: “What does it mean when we say similarities are real?” Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 070B: Objectivism Book Study (Week 12B) — Similarity first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study is meeting through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Welcome to the Objectivism Book Study (Week 12) — Context. ​This week, the reading was: Ch. 4 – Objectivity as volitional adherence to reality 116-120 Ch. 4 – Knowledge as contextual 121-128 ==> Click here for the full discussion on YouTube “The concept of objectivity is essential to a rational epistemology. It is a requirement of the proper development of human consciousness and ultimately of human survival.” – Leonard Peikoff. We’re discussing the rational foundation of philosophy. In the news daily, we see tangible demonstrations of the need for such a foundation. A potent example came in Spring 2022, during the nomination hearing for Supreme Court Justice. We saw Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee ask prospective Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson: “Can you provide a definition of the word woman?” Jackson replied: “No, I can’t. I’m not a biologist.” Jackson is pro-abortion. Her view amounts to: “I don’t know when life begins, but I do know that something I can’t define (a woman) has the right to kill it.” This is what happens when the people of a nation see no need for precision in concepts, logic, and philosophy. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 070: Objectivism Book Study (Week 12) — Context first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study is meeting through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Welcome to the Objectivism Book Study (Week 11) — Objectivity. This week, the reading was: Ch. 4 – Objectivity (Introduction) 110 Ch. 4 – Concepts as objective 111-116 ==> Click here for the full discussion on YouTube “We need to learn not only when (and when not) to form concepts, but above all, once they are formed, how to use concepts properly in the quest for knowledge.” That is how Leonard Peikoff concluded the last section in the reading. The main question for this reading is: Now that we know what concepts are, what are the principles for forming concepts? The rest of this book amounts the answer to that question, but these next sections deal with the purely epistemological foundations. Once we have the principles for forming objective concepts, we will be better equipped to look at the main concepts of philosophy, including concepts about man and human relationships, government, and art. Together, these concepts form the basis of a consistent and integrated system of beliefs. That is something philosophy is uniquely suited to help us achieve. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 069: Objectivism Book Study (Week 11) — Objectivity first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study is meeting through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Welcome to the Objectivism Book Study (Week 10) — Definitions. This week, the reading was: Ch. 3 – Definition as the final step in concept-formation 96-104 Ch. 3 – Concepts as devices to achieve unit-economy 105-109 Why are we doing this discussion series? Because the world would be a better place if Christian leaders were capable of philosophical thinking. One of my life goals is to help show the Church the value of Ayn Rand’s writing. To give you a look at why this is needed, let me share a short conversation I observed online that shows the need for this Objectivism Book Study. A certain seminary president, a follower of Van Til’s Presuppositionalism, said the following: “The Bible is sufficient in answering philosophy’s ultimate questions—what is real, how do we know what is real, and how do we live? It’s dangerous to mix the Bible with a philosophy that answers these questions differently.” A Classical Foundationalist (my view) responded: “Scripture never itself lays claim to a sufficiency in answering ‘philosophy’s ultimate questions.’ Further, Scripture cannot ground an epistemology (how we know) since we employ an epistemology prior to ever approaching, and in our first encounters with, Scripture.” A third person asked: “Genuine question here: If as you say Scripture is not grounds for epistemology, what is?” Here was my response to that question: “The world and our observations of it are the grounds for epistemology.” But the person replied: “How do we know we are interpreting those correctly?” My response was: “There is no automatic and guaranteed way. If you think there needs to be, there are a lot of premises to check there.” To learn how to correctly interpret observations takes a specific kind of work, done regularly over a lifetime. It takes being reality-oriented, by choice, in how we form and use our concepts. The field of Epistemology accounts for how to do that. The topic is one we have done a lot of work on at FTNCI. We are working through the details of a sound epistemology right now, so that we can be on firm ground when we learn what nature teaches us about ethics and political theory. And that is why we are doing this kind of work. In this week’s discussion, we encounter some of the most important material Ayn Rand and Leonard Peikoff have to offer. We introduce the idea of the floating abstraction and we see the difference between concepts and definitions, and their respective roles in thinking. “Abstractions as such do not exist: they are merely man’s epistemological method of perceiving that which exists—and that which exists is concretes.” -The Psycho-Epistemology of Art,” The Romantic Manifesto, 23. What concepts do, and what definitions do, is allow us to view “concretes” in a way that condenses the material so that our limited minds can work with it can come to general knowledge. To those who say that certainty is not possible to mere men, here is our answer. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 068: Objectivism Book Study (Week 10) — Definitions first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study is meeting through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. This week, the reading was: Ch. 3 – Concept-formation as a mathematical process 81-90 Ch. 3 – Concepts of consciousness as involving measurement-omission 91-95 What are you doing when you form a concept? Can you know (and can you show) that your ideas match reality, and thus can you have actual knowledge? And can you have moral certainty? Ayn Rand was once asked how she arrived at her theory of concepts. Her answer was to analyze what is meant by calling two things fundamentally similar. She asked herself: What is similarity? If you can offer a theory of what is meant by similarity, then you are of the part way to having a theory for how concepts work. Rand observed that the mind compares objects to one another and to other related objects, and then omits particular measurements of each of the objects in order to arrive at the conclusion that two objects are, for human cognitive purposes, best treated as similar to one another, as compared with a third thing. It takes a bit more explanation to show how Rand’s account of similarity and concept formation works. We cover this in our episode. What is the significance of this theory? It means Rand has offered an account of what we are doing when we claim to have knowledge about things. Our account of what knowledge is (and what concepts are) does not need to be vague or incomplete. This theory, in conjunction with other epistemological principles, allows us to give a technical and robust rebuttal to those who claim objectivity is impossible to man. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 067: Objectivism Book Study (Week 09) — Measurement Omission first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study is meeting through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. “The investigation of the meaning of words is the beginning of education.” –Antisthenes If that is true, then the completion of education is to understand not only the meanings of individual words, but also to understand how words function in human life—what they do, and what the rules are for using them in a way that corresponds to reality. Words are symbols—auditory and visual symbols—that stand in most cases for concepts. (Except for proper names, any word is a concept.) A concept is an abstract idea or a general notion. How do our words (our concepts) relate to reality? That is the topic of our discussion this week. Can we show that our words accurately correspond to reality—in other words, that they are true? Can we do it exactly? Or merely approximately? Is there a way to justify a generalized claim that something is true and to be able to say “I am certain of it”? That is what is at stake. That is why we need Epistemology. This week, our reading from Leonard Peikoff was: Ch. 3 — Concept-formation (Introduction) (Objectivism, 73) Ch. 3 — Differentiation and integration as the means to a unit-perspective (Objectivism, 74-81) In this book study, one of our goals is to become intellectually equipped to offer Christian responses to false ideas prevalent in the Church today, especially including ideas related to Postmodern Subjectivism or Skepticism, or also Van Tillian Presuppositionalism. That last idea is an attempt to combat Skepticism that fails because it does not reject the fundamental premises of David Hume and Immanuel Kant. As we proceed in this material, we will have a chance to see how helpful Rand’s ideas are for understanding why Van Tillian Presuppositionalism is mistaken and how to answer those who advocate it. According to Leonard Peikoff, the goal in this chapter is to face the fundamental problem of Epistemology: how to ground concepts themselves in the nature of reality. This is necessary in order to fully explain the meaning of our claim that our words correspond to reality and there is a way we can know it with certainty. When you understand this material, you will have a more robust understanding of the nature of man, the role of reason for man’s life, and, as Peikoff points out later on, of the validation of conceptual knowledge itself—and of reason itself. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 066: Objectivism Book Study (Week 08) — Concept Formation first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study is meeting through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. This week, the reading was: Ch. 2 – Human actions, mental and physical, as both caused and free (62-68) Ch. 2 – Volition as axiomatic (69-72) We are finishing out our discussion of chapter 2 (the anteroom of Epistemology). As with the reading last week, we found places where we disagree with this material. The disagreement is over exactly how to understand what volition is and how to understand the sense in which a person is himself a causal agent while also maintaining the idea of causality and especially the principle of sufficient reason. In regard to the concerns raised in this chapter, we are in agreement with Peikoff. We agree with the intention to uphold causality and also uphold the reality that human beings are moral agents that make meaningful choices. We also agree with the points that volition is axiomatic and with the point that the fundamental choice we as human beings make is whether or not to focus our minds. As we get into the reading, we can explore where we might agree or disagree on technical details. I (Cody) find this topic of free will to be challenging. To prepare for this discussion, I have been reading Jonathan Edwards’ book Freedom of the Will. You can find that online to read and for free on audible. I also read Edwin A. Locke’s book: The Illusion of Determinism. Locke is a student of Ayn Rand and he agrees with Peikoff as far as I can tell. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 065: Objectivism Book Study (Week 07) — Volition first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study is meeting through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. This week the reading was: Ch. 2 – The perceptual level as the given 52-54 Ch. 2 – The primary choice as the choice to focus or not 55-62 “It is the mark of an educated man to look for precision in each class of things just so far as the nature of the subject admits.” ~Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics How much precision can we have in our concepts? We should not demand more precision than a given subject allows; but we should not settle for less than that. How can we know we have obtained the proper level of precision? You will know you have obtained it when your knowledge is organized into principles and your principles are integrated into a reality-oriented, internally consistent whole. That is what we are seeking together in the Objectivism Book Study. In this, our sixth meeting, we are continuing our discussion of chapter 2, the anteroom of epistemology. This week our topics are: -The perceptual level as the given -The primary choice as the choice to focus or not Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 064: Objectivism Book Study (Week 06) — Perception and Focus first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study is meeting through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. This week, the reading was: Ch. 2 – Sensory qualities as real, pg 44-47 Ch. 2 – Consciousness as possessing identity, pg 48-52 We are moving in Leonard Peikoff’s book toward the material on epistemology. We are still in the anteroom. To show what an Objectivist view of epistemology is and why it is credible, Peikoff is confronting some of the questions and claims of philosophical skeptics and philosophical idealists. He is working toward an account of where man’s knowledge comes from and how it is rooted in observation. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 063: Objectivism Book Study (Week 05) — Sensation and Consciousness first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study is meeting through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. This week, the reading was: Ch. 2 – Sense perception and volition 37-38 Ch. 2 – The senses as necessarily valid 39-44 We look at common philosophical arguments that lead toward skepticism and relativism, such as: -Don’t our eyes deceive us when we see a bent stick in water, or a mirage in the distance, or railroad tracks converging at the horizon? -How can the senses be called reliable in the case of someone who is color-blind? -Is it “circular reasoning” to claim that something is true based on having observed it? The topics in this chapter are what Leonard Peikoff calls the anteroom to Epistemology. They are issues on which a sound, objective Epistemology relies. While, as Christians, we do not accept many of the positions of Ayn Rand’s Objectivism, we do find Rand and Peikoff’s account of the anteroom of Epistemology to be both correct and important. Peikoff’s book lays out much of the terminology and context a person would need to be able to discuss Epistemology with competence. Some may wonder why these topics matter. The coming sections in OPAR resolve difficulties (or apparent difficulties) that have historically resulted in irrational views about method, such as Van Tillian Presuppositionalism or so-called Reformed Epistemology. Once poor methods are accepted at the base of philosophy, the rest of your belief system will be affected. The issues we will discuss this week are foundational. They make sound philosophy itself defensible. Such a defense will be necessary if the church is to stand against philosophical attacks it now faces, especially on topics of the truth of Christianity and the convictions Christians should hold about morality and social and political issues. For that reason, culture warriors and anyone wanting to be a good communicator should make use of what this book has to say. As we are learning the ideas in this book, especially its material on keeping our thought and communication reality-oriented and honest, we are becoming, in those words of Francis Bacon: more full, more ready, and more exact as thinkers and teachers. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 062: Objectivism Book Study (Week 04) — Perception and Volition first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study is meeting through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. This week, the reading was: Ch. 1 – The metaphysically given as absolute 23-29 Ch. 1 – Idealism and materialism as the rejection of basic axioms 30-36 Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. Francis Bacon has a famous saying: Reading maketh a full man; Conference, a ready man, And writing, an exact man. This quote shows why what we’re doing in this book study is important. Each week we are reading material that is challenging, and that we do not entirely agree with. Some of us are writing notes as we read and working to express what is valuable in what we have read. Now we are conferring together. As we go along, it can be helpful every once in a while to zoom out and look at how far we have come and where we are in the overall material. The reading this week is the last part of chapter 1: Reality. We are finishing looking at the main claims Objectivism makes about reality as such. Leading up to our reading for this week, the earlier sections were: -Existence, consciousness, and identity as the basic axioms -Causality as a corollary of identity -Existence as possessing primacy over consciousness The last section concluded by saying Rand’s philosophy “is the primacy of existence come to full, systematic expression in Western thought for the first time.” This week, we finished reading chapter 1, with the final two subsections: -The metaphysically given as absolute (“No alternative to a fact of reality is possible or imaginable.”) -Idealism and materialism as the rejection of basic axioms Here Peikoff contrasts the main alternative views on Metaphysics (Idealism and Materialism) with Rand’s view, which is simply called Objectivism. Most of the chapters end with a similar coda comparing Rand’s view to its competitors. These sections make it more obvious how her view is different. They offer an introduction to understanding the other views and making a polemic against them. (The discussion continues in the audio.) ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 061: Objectivism Book Study (Week 03) — Objective Metaphysics first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

The Objectivism Book Study is meeting through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. This is for anyone wanting to… -Get to know Christians defending individual rights and capitalism. -Sharpen skills in defending America’s unique principles. -Explore connections between Christianity and Ayn Rand’s ideas. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. INTRODUCTION: This week, the reading was: Ch. 1 – Causality as a corollary of identity 12-16 Ch. 1 – Existence as possessing primacy over consciousness 17-23 Main topics for discussion include: -Why do we need philosophy at all? -Why do the axioms need to be used at all? -Why are Rand’s axioms correct? Why not some others? -What is the real life benefit of knowing about these axioms? ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 060: Objectivism Book Study (Week 02) — Causality and Identity first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

We invite you to check out the Objectivism Book Study, now available on YouTube and podcast. This is our series of in-depth philosophical interactions with Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. This is aimed toward anyone wanting to… -Get to know Christians defending individual rights and capitalism. -Sharpen skills in defending America’s unique principles. -Explore connections between Christianity and Ayn Rand’s ideas. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. INTRODUCTION: Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand is Leonard Peikoff’s complete presentation of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism. Those who attend for this book will come away with a solid understanding of both the philosophy of Objectivism and of the convictions we hold at For the New Christian Intellectual, which are sometimes aligned and sometimes not aligned with the Objectivist movement. At For the New Christian Intellectual, (FTNCI), we aim to create a Christian reconstruction of significant parts of Ayn Rand’s philosophical system, correcting the errors inherent in a philosophy that has rejected Christian teaching. As a participant in this book study, you will get the chance to play a part in this effort of reconstruction by contributing questions and discussion points. We will review around two chapter subsections per week. Typically, that would be around 8-15 pages. We will proceed at a pace suitable for heavily philosophical material with time for question and answer sessions. You’ll find this book study more accessible if you have already read Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged and if you have already listened to the first nine episodes of the FTNCI podcast, which you can find at this website. Each week I (Cody Libolt) will introduce the reading, and guide the discussion. The goal will be open discussion. We are not aiming for agreement or what you could call indoctrination on the points under discussion. The aim is to explore where Christian can agree, cannot agree, and might agree with Rand’s various claims. The claims in this book are made by Leonard Peikoff, but for simplicity, I will be referring to them as Rand’s claims, or the claims of Rand and Peikoff, and I will operate on the assumption that Peikoff has accurately represented Rand’s views. This week, the reading was: The Preface Ch. 1 – Reality (Introduction) 1 Ch. 1 – Existence, consciousness, and identity as the basic axioms 4 To frame the discussion for this week, here is a short introduction: What is the truth you are most sure of? And what is the most logically basic fact? Here, I am not asking for a tautological statement like A is A, but for a fact describing the universe as it is. The correct answer is: That things exist. Once I asked a seminary friend (now a professor) this same set of questions. His answer was that the most basic thing he knows, and the thing he is most sure of, is that there is a good God who exists and created him and loves him. That is the difference between a common Christian (typically Van Tillian) view of faith and knowledge vs. the objective view of these things. Mainstream evangelical Christians, whether Van Tillian or not, tend to assume that God’s existence is the truth of which we (creatures) are (and ought to be) most certain. They tend to believe that anything other than this would be a failure of piety. The unchallenged assumption is that the thing that is the most important would necessarily be the thing that is known first. But which is greater: The herald, or the king? The fact that a truth comes first to our attention means it is most foundational, or basic, or early within our human process of gaining knowledge, but that has no bearing on whether we consider it to be the truth that is most glorious. Here we see the confusion between ontology and epistemology. God is ontologically prior to all other things. But God is not prior to all other things in the order of human knowledge, anymore than the king would be prior to the herald in the order of the knowledge of the peasants. It is due to our status as peasants that the herald is necessary. If we were God, we would start with God in our order of knowing. But we are creatures. While many Christians might try to claim that their approach is the one that properly glorifies God, their approach is built on assumptions incompatible with the kind of world God has made. They might even say the approach toward knowledge that I am advocating is “man-centered.” That is a hand-waving way to dismiss the discussion. What we ought to be discussing is whether God is glorified by an approach to human knowledge that does not draw distinctions between God vs. man—the king vs. the peasants. (The discussion continues in the audio.) ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: List of Dates and Readings Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find our replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 059: Objectivism Book Study (Week 01) — Axioms first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

“Man was forced to accept masochism as his ideal—under the threat that sadism was his only alternative,” wrote Ayn Rand. “This was the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on mankind. This was the device by which dependence and suffering were perpetuated as fundamentals of life.” “The choice is not self-sacrifice or domination” (For the New Intellectual, 81). Ayn Rand does a good job summarizing how people tend to think about morality today. Unfortunately, even Christians have accepted the idea that life requires human sacrifices. They imagine a dog-eat-dog world, where it is impossible for men to avoid being in conflict with one another. That would mean it is impossible to be at peace with other men. My interests would somehow end up in conflict with your interests. On this view, life is a zero-sum game. My happiness might require others to suffer, and my success might require others to fail. And visa versa. Ayn Rand argues that this need not be the case—not in our personal lives, not among the members of a society, and not between one nation and another. Rand shows what a rational and self-interested policy can actually look like in all these areas. This leads to an uncommonly wise vision for peace and prosperity. That is our topic for this closing session of the 9-part Americanism Book Study. Thank you for continuing to follow our work as we engage with the philosophical thought of Ayn Rand and as we search for the truth, wherever it is to be found. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ABOUT THE BOOK STUDY: The Americanism Book Study met from October 23rd to December 19th, 2021 to discuss A New Textbook of Americanism. The goals of the group were to help our viewers: ​ -Meet Christians who care about individual rights and capitalism. -Sharpen skills in defending America’s unique principles. -Explore connections between Christianity and Ayn Rand’s political work. This series of meetings laid the foundation for a larger discussion series, called the Objectivism Book Study. This latter project aims to provide a robust Christian response to Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study (Sign Up Page and Replays) Objectivism Book Study (Sign Up Page and Replays) Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find all nine replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 058: Americanism Book Study (9 of 9) first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

“The code of rugged individualism was a social fact,” writes C. Bradley Thompson, “not some idealized myth.” “It began with a man, his axe, and his gun. American pioneers did not have medicare, medicaid, unemployment insurance, social security, food stamps, public housing, government schools, or Amtrak.” “Shockingly (at least to us in the 21st Century) they lived their lives free of meddling government officers, inspectors, regulators, teachers, and social workers.” “They cleared the land, they built homes, factories, hospitals, stores, roads, bridges, ships, schools, universities, opera houses, museums, and all other assets of a developing industrial nation, and they did it without the approval or assistance of government bureaucrats ” (A New Textbook of Americanism, 139 ff). In this session of the Americanism Book Study we discuss Thompson’s understanding of the values that made America possible and that can restore her to prosperity and stability. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ABOUT THE BOOK STUDY: The Americanism Book Study met from October 23rd to December 19th, 2021 to discuss A New Textbook of Americanism. The goals of the group were to help our viewers: ​ -Meet Christians who care about individual rights and capitalism. -Sharpen skills in defending America’s unique principles. -Explore connections between Christianity and Ayn Rand’s political work. This series of meetings laid the foundation for a larger discussion series, called the Objectivism Book Study. This latter project aims to provide a robust Christian response to Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study (Sign Up Page and Replays) Objectivism Book Study (Sign Up Page and Replays) Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find all nine replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 057: Americanism Book Study (8 of 9) first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

In the Americanism Book Study, we are discussing the unique set of ideas behind the original American way of government. The reading this session was from one of Ayn Rand’s workshops on ethics and politics. Rand applies her vision of a rights-based government to specific subtopics, including: -Is the consent of the governed the basis of government authority? -What power do we delegate to a proper government? –Is there a right to secede? -Why should Americans reject the conception of a world government? -“International law” and the “laws” of war -Enforced vaccination and quarantine Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ABOUT THE BOOK STUDY: The Americanism Book Study met from October 23rd to December 19th, 2021 to discuss A New Textbook of Americanism. The goals of the group were to help our viewers: ​ -Meet Christians who care about individual rights and capitalism. -Sharpen skills in defending America’s unique principles. -Explore connections between Christianity and Ayn Rand’s political work. This series of meetings laid the foundation for a larger discussion series, called the Objectivism Book Study. This latter project aims to provide a robust Christian response to Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study (Sign Up Page and Replays) Objectivism Book Study (Sign Up Page and Replays) Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find all nine replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 056: Americanism Book Study (7 of 9) first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

Jacob Brunton commented on why some people have been attracted to the Alt-Right movement: “Given our current cultural atmosphere, where being a heterosexual, right-handed, white male is the epitome of evil, and that’s preached from every institution in western culture, you can kind of understand why some people have a knee-jerk reaction: Forget that! I’m not evil! That reaction can lead to another set of choices: I need some self-esteem… I’m going to find a collective that I can be a part of… one that is self-assertive, where the members don’t need to be ashamed of having been born. In today’s society, with collectivism being preached nearly everywhere, a young white person is likely to find the kind of support he desires in a group of white collectivists. That’s how you get the Alt-Right. Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ABOUT THE BOOK STUDY: The Americanism Book Study met from October 23rd to December 19th, 2021 to discuss A New Textbook of Americanism. The goals of the group were to help our viewers: ​ -Meet Christians who care about individual rights and capitalism. -Sharpen skills in defending America’s unique principles. -Explore connections between Christianity and Ayn Rand’s political work. This series of meetings laid the foundation for a larger discussion series, called the Objectivism Book Study. This latter project aims to provide a robust Christian response to Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study (Sign Up Page and Replays) Objectivism Book Study (Sign Up Page and Replays) Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find all nine replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 055: Americanism Book Study (6 of 9) first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.

“Charity is no part of the legislative duty of government,” said James Madison in 1794. When Congress voted to provide relief for French refugees, Madison dissented: “I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” That is the vision of the Founding Fathers. That is drastically different from the kind of government we have today. We are certainly a welfare state at this point. We are a mixed economy, partly socialized, as you see, for example, with our healthcare system, our education, our transportation, and so on. Just about every industry is either overseen by the government or controlled by the government. This is totally different from the system the Founding Fathers envisioned. They never would have imagined that a society in the United States should have developed in such a way that we would have so many handouts and controls. They would not have wanted there to be any entitlements, welfare payments, or subsidies. The Founding Fathers believed in individual rights. They believed that the collective does not have a claim against individual men. The collective cannot take away what a man has earned by his own work. In this session of the Americanism Book Study, we explore this better vision for our country: Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the video here. ABOUT THE BOOK STUDY: The Americanism Book Study met from October 23rd to December 19th, 2021 to discuss A New Textbook of Americanism. The goals of the group were to help our viewers: ​ -Meet Christians who care about individual rights and capitalism. -Sharpen skills in defending America’s unique principles. -Explore connections between Christianity and Ayn Rand’s political work. This series of meetings laid the foundation for a larger discussion series, called the Objectivism Book Study. This latter project aims to provide a robust Christian response to Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Why Christians Should Reconsider Ayn Rand About Us (For the New Christian Intellectual) Ayn Rand and Christianity? Christianity + Western Civilization The Plunder of the Egyptians Americanism Book Study (Sign Up Page and Replays) Objectivism Book Study (Sign Up Page and Replays) Become a Patron and Get Full-Length Exclusive Podcasts As a $1/mo. Podcast Insider, get access to occasional patron-only episodes. As a $10/mo. Philosophy Club Member, you can attend occasional live podcast recording sessions and submit questions either live or beforehand + get access to our exclusive culture war training. Video Version Click here to find all nine replays on YouTube. About the Podcast For the New Christian Intellectual is a free show created for Christian thinkers and communicators. We focus on classical (and overlooked) Christian principles such as reason, rational self-interest, individualism, and individual rights. Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts to automatically get every episode. How to Help The best way to help more people find out about the show is to subscribe through Apple Podcasts, download several episodes, and leave us a review. Click here to subscribe. Listen to the Podcast The post FTNCI 054: Americanism Book Study (5 of 9) first appeared on For the New Christian Intellectual.