The Blue Collar Scholar

Congratulations to all our graduates! Life is going to get a lot more rewarding and more difficult. New beginnings fill us with fear because of the fear of the unknown. But there is joy in new beginnings as well, because there is opportunity there. And this is not just a message for young people. As long as you draw break, there are new experiences in store for you: opportunities to find joy, serve others, and worship God.

For the second time, The Blue Collar Scholar completes a course on the Second World War. The first attempt was choppy, and I failed to record every episode. This go round, I feel much more confident that this series is a good, surface-level-yet-deep-dive into the bloodiest conflict in human history. ... In this last episode of the WWII class, we talk about the sequel to World War II. Thankfully, that has not been World War III. Instead, the United States and the Soviet Union spent nearly a half century in an intense, will-they-won't-they "Cold War." But even though the Cold War never became a hot war, it was still extremely eventful. This episode does a criminally-brief overview of the entire Cold War.

This Spring, we've been going over the religions of the world. This Comparing World Religions class comes to a conclusion with this short lecture. In this episode, I make some concluding remarks, including going over what we should have learned from this class, but also what I hope that we have NOT learned from studying world religions.

Happy Mother's Day! All of people, our mothers are the people in our lives that deserve the most gratitude. But this sermon is not just about the gratitude we should have for the mothers in our lives. Each of us should cultivate and attitude of gratitude that permeates all aspects of our lives, and shines through in good times and in bad. Thankful people are healthier, happier, and more joyful, and they have better relationships and more abundant lives.

My grandfather on my father's side was named Billy Reitz. He was drafted shortly after turning 18 on the first day of winter 1944. He entered the service in the US Army in April 1945, so fighting in Europe was never in the cards for Sgt. Reitz. Instead, he trained for the invasion of Japan. His ship was on the way to the Pacific Theatre when the news of Japan's surrender was announced. So instead of storming the beaches of Japan, Sgt. Reitz spent the next year and a half serving in occupation duty in Korea, being honorably discharged long before hostilities broke out on the peninsula. I honor his service. ... Note: This episode opens with extensive follow-up notes to previous questions and comments from class, mostly dealing with the Manhattan Project & the Nuremburg Trials.

Atheists claim that atheism is not a religion. Rather, it is a lack of religion. I see no reason to not allow atheists to define their religious beliefs thusly. However, since atheism answers all the same questions that religions answers, it would be a gaping hole in this sermon series if atheism is left out. So this episode delves into the definition of atheism, related terms (like agnosticism), a rundown of many of the big names in atheism/agnosticism since the Enlightenment, and finally we look at some arguments for and against the existence of God.

Happiness is a good thing. If something makes you happy, then that is probably evidence that that thing is good. However, if the need to be happy (or, if the need to avoid unhappiness) is the driving force in all your decision-making, then the emotion of happiness is the Lord of your life. It isn't the President, or your boss, or the Lord Jesus Christ. Emotion itself becomes your king. We must not allow this to happen.

The Second World War changed human history is ways that are hardly even measurable. It changed everything. In this episode, we will look at the Nuremburg Trials and the Japanese War Crimes Trials, economic and political shifts, the move toward international cooperation and justice, the rise of 2 superpowers, decolonization, and the legacy of the war.

This episode reviews polytheism and pantheism, then gives a overall analysis of various kinds of pagan religions. For instance: African traditional religions, Native American tribal faiths, the traditional religions of Oceania, pre-Christian ancient paganism in Europe and the Middle East, neopaganism (both eclectic and reconstructionist neopaganism), and finally New Age religions, such as Wicca and Scientology.

The promise of Heaven is a source of immense joy for the Christian. It is unfortunate that so many powerful Christians throughout history have used the promise of Heaven as a weapon against the oppressed, promising them that the afterlife will be where they finally find their joy, while the powerful continue to oppress them in this life. That is a deplorable use of Scripture. The promise of Heaven should not be a weapon. But, for the person who is redeemed by Christ, the promise of Heaven is a source of much joy!

World War II came to a radically-unpredictable conclusion when Japan was bombed - twice - by the most powerful individual weapons ever used on human beings. The scientific knowledge necessary to accomplish the creation of the atomic bomb was only made possible a few short years before this when non-Nazi Germany scientists discovered nuclear fission in 1938. Determined to unlock the power of the atom before Hitler could, the United States & the United Kingdom got quickly to work - eventually combining their efforts - to master the chemistry, physics, engineering, industry, and logistics necessary (costing $2 Billion in 1945 money) to create the first nuclear weapons. This episode does not attempt to explain the bombs on a scientific level. Rather, we will survey the history surrounding the formation, the maintenance, and the successful conclusion of the Manhattan Project.

This episode gives brief (repeat: brief) overviews of Sikhism, Jainism, Shinto, Taoism, Chinese traditional religions (including Confucianism), the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1964), the Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901), Zoroastrianism, and the Baháʼí Faith.

For the person who has been redeemed by Jesus, the answer to "Who Am I?" has changed. For the one who is in Christ, the answer to "Who Am I?" is that I am redeemed, I am a friend of Jesus, I am chosen & adopted by God, I am a child of God, I am used by God, I have a future of resurrection & royalty, and I am destined for Heaven!

As the Second World War approached the final year, Allied victory became inevitable. But that did not mean that the war was over. Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan fought fiercely, making the Allies earn every island, every mile, every air strip, every bridge, etc. Yet, by the end of Spring 1945, the war in Europe came to an end with a smashing Allied victory. The war against Japan raged on through the summer, but on the eve of America's use of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Allied victory over Japan was a foregone conclusion. But how long it would take to secure victory, and just how victory was going to be secured, those were open questions.

Buddhism is the major world religion that branched out of Hinduism in a way very similar to how Christianity branched out of Judaism. It is a fascinating religious system, technically non-theistic but deeply spiritual. This episode attempts to provide a broad overview of one of the world's most popular religions, popular mostly in East, Southeast, & Central Asia.

The Easter Sermon Series continues as we "Celebrate with Joy!" However, there are things in life that kill our joy: depression, despair, and apathy can drain joy. I contend that pride and false humility can be some of the biggest joykillers there are. In this sermon I will explain what pride and false humility are, and why they can kill our joy.

World War 2 was a total war that affected all areas of life and society in every nation engaged in the war (and also many that did not actively participate). The American (and Canadian) experience was very different from the other major powers - the UK, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Imperial Japan, Italy, and France - because our continent was almost entirely untouched by combat. Hundreds of thousands of American lives ended in the fight against global fascism, but our cities and factories did not get bombed. That allowed our industries and our economy to grow leaps and bounds while many other nations were still looking forward to a post-war stage of intensive rebuilding before they could bounce back economically. This episode digs into the massive war mobilization in the United States, but we also look at some less admirable parts of our history, such as Japanese-American internment camps and the Zoot Suit Riots. This episode also does a breakdown of every US President that was alive during the war and how they contributed to Allied victory.

Hinduism is almost certainly the oldest active religion in the world. Hindus form the majority community in the most populated nation on earth. In this episode, I will attempt to do a brief, non-expert survey of the Hindu religion. This is not an area of expertise, and I welcome any feedback correcting any factual errors I have made in my lecture prep work.

Our Easter 2026 Sermon Series is "Celebrate with Joy!" Far too often, preachers bring the gloom and the doom and they preach repentance and righteousness. As they should. But we Christians should never forget that it is God's intention for us to live free, liberated, joyous lives, resting in the peace and the joy of Jesus Christ. So, as the Easter season kicks off, let us find joy in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ!

June 6th, 1944, is probably the most important, pivotal day of the 20th Century. On that day, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the forces of Free France & Free Poland (among other nationalities fighting to overthrow their fascist oppressors) banded together to do the impossible: to penetrate Fortress Europe and expel the Nazi menace from the continent of Europe. Operations in North Africa and Sicily (see the North Africa episode) and the invasion of Italy (examined in this episode) provided the Western Allies the opportunity to fight and to hone our ability to win. These men really are the Greatest Generation. Join us as we examine the invasions of Italy & France.

Having discussed the history of Islam in the previous episode, the Comparing World Religions lecture series now turns to an analysis of the religion of Islam itself. The second largest world religion, and one of the most influential religions in human history, Islam is often misunderstood by the average American who does not understand what the religion teaches. The only interactions that many non-Muslims have with Islam is the news. Islam is an incredibly diverse religion, with distinct characteristics that differentiate it from all other religions.

This sermon series ends with a short story that I wrote years ago. I have picked carefully when to use this story in a sermon. I want to use this tool at the most opportune time in whatever ministry I've served, but I have shared it with every ministry I've been a part of the last 20 years. Since this is the 3rd time I've shared this story on this podcast feed, it will likely be the last time. But I stand by this short story as a powerful, effective way to share the Gospel. Note: These sermons are given at a nursing care facility, and so there is often noise in the background that I try to edit out. This week had a lot of noise, particularly in the middle of the episode with a sustained alarm sound for a few minutes.

Italy & France had colonies in North Africa when World War II started in Europe, and so the war crossed the Mediterranean Sea, drawing in first the British -- coming to protect their investment in the Suez Canal -- and then later the Germans, who came to bolster their Italian allies. And, once Japan brought the US into WWII after the bombing of Pearl Harbor (with Hitler inexplicably declaring war, dragging the US into the European war), the United States found itself using the crucible of the North African front to learn how to fight, lose, regroup, improve, and finally, how to win. North Africa, I contend, was a necessary step for the American G.I. and for the American brass to learn how to win WWII. The US would take lessons learned in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy into their invasion of France, where the fate of the free world would be determined.

Islam is the second biggest religion on Earth, and by many accounts, the fastest growing religion. It has a long and rich history. Every major Empire in Asia, Europe, and Africa has had to interact with the religion of Islam and powerful Islamic states for almost a millennium and a half. In this episode, I try hard to provide a fair, unbiased analysis of the history of Islam, from the career of the Prophet Muhammed to the Hamas attack on Israel a few years ago.

Christians are tempted to reinterpret every teaching Jesus gives us about wealth, because His insight into wealth is so counterintuitive. Building off last week's teaching about the Upside-Down Kingdom of God, today we will take a look at Jesus' teachings about wealth and dare to take them seriously.

This week is Spring Break in Southeast Kansas, so our classes are taking a break. Instead of the regularly scheduled World War II lecture, I decided to dust off (and re-edit) an old lecture from April 4, 2023. When I taught this class previously, it was called "The World Wars" and I devoted the last quarter of the class to the Pacific Theatre in WWII. To kick off this section of the class, I went far back into Japanese (and a bit of Chinese) history to provide more background than I chose to do this semester. So, enjoy this throwback episode, as we build a bit of historic background in order to better understand Imperial Japan.

This one will be controversial. I have concluded that several religions are not part of Christianity because they have changed or abandoned major theological components of Christianity: the Trinity, the Incarnation, the nature of reality, the existence of God, etc. I acknowledge that many of these groups claim to be denominations of orthodox Christianity, and I don't deny their right to define their own religious expression. But if the world "Christian" has any meaning, I cannot make the claim that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Jehovah's Witnesses, or Christian Science (to name a few) are Christian. What I will admit freely is that these groups clearly descended from the Christian tradition, often from American Protestantism. In this lecture I attempt to be unbiased. But - full disclosure - while editing this episode I came to the conclusion that I did a pretty poor job of that. So consider this episode to be a mild polemic from an evangelical Protestant Christian who is trying to make sense of the beliefs of religions that branched of Christianity.

Jesus calls us to an unbelievably counter-intuitive calling: the lead by serving. As He washed His disciple's feet and willingly died as a sacrifice for sin, we too should use whatever leadership we get in this life to love and to serve other people, even if it means that we lose out on this or that advantage or payday.

This episode returns to the Pacific Theatre of World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the Japanese conquest of the Philippines. In the 1st six months of the war, Japan racked up an impressive list of victories. Then at the Battle of the Coral Sea, Japan failed to take Port Moresby, and for the first time, they suffered a strategic defeat. However, since the Allies lost more ships in that battle, Japan could sell the battle to its citizenry as a victory. But about a half a year after Pearl Harbor, the US Navy dealt the Imperial Japanese Navy a crushing blow at the Battle of Midway, which turned out to be the turning point of the war, though no one suspected that was the case at the time. At the end of 1942, the Allies racked up another big win in the Guadalcanal Campaign in the Solomon Islands. And just like that, the tides turned.

This episode wraps up the Christianity subsection of the course on Comparing World Religions. From here on out, the course will cover religions that are separate from Christianity. (Note: Some of these religions do come out of the Christian tradition, and some of them consider themselves a version of Christianity.) Before we broaden the scope of the class, I thought that it was a good idea to lay out my biases as the professor. For there are 2 ways to be unbiased: (1) You can have "no dog in the fight," which means that you have no preconceived notions. You truly are a tabula rosa, ready to provide unbiased analysis. (2) You can pretend that you have no dog in the fight, even though you actually do. This is dishonest. So as a Christian from the Baptist tradition, I decided to provide my personal story, including my religious testimony, so that anyone who wishes to critique the teachings of this class can do so knowing exactly what the professor believes. And, of course, I shall try to do my best to be as unbiased as I possibly can be moving forward, even though I do have established beliefs in contradistinction to the religions we will cover in the next few weeks.

Luke, the author of the Book of Acts, tells us that the Jews from the town of Berea were "of more noble character" than the Jews from the town of Thessalonica, because when they heard the Gospel, they listened intently, then they went home, searched to Scriptures, and investigated to see if the things Paul was teaching them was true. And from that excellent Bible study, the church in Berea was born. This sermon seeks to use the example of Acts 17:10-12 to inspire the church to be of more noble character.

The Holocaust is a tragedy on an unimaginable scale. It was the result of unrestrained racism amongst those with absolute power. This episode focuses on the history of antisemitism, the rise of the Nazis as an explicitly antisemitic regime, and the unspeakable evil that they wrought. This was a packed lecture, and a rushed lecture. I did not even have time to talk about Oskar Schindler. During the editing process, I was ashamed that I did not even mention once that the Holocaust also targeted the Roma people, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, pacifists, and communists, among others. Alas, if everything about World War II that should be addressed was in fact addressed in this class, it would last years and years. For now, listen to this episode, internalize that visceral reaction that I hope you have against such violent hatred, and join with me in saying, "never again."

Since the professor and every member of the Comparing World Religions class in Christian, our sub-section over Christianity is several lectures long. Furthermore, since (I believe) we all come from Protestant traditions, I have set aside 2 full lectures to talk about Protestantism. In the previous episode, we took a historical deep dive into the Protestant Reformation. This episode is a broad survey of the most common denominations. By "most common," I am referring to the kinds of churches we see most often in Erie (Kansas), Neosho County (Kansas), the state of Kansas, the American Midwest, & the USA. The types of prominent Protestant denominations in your region may look a bit different.

One of the most important attributes of God is that He does not change. For if God can change, then He was either imperfect and has changed into perfection, or else He was perfect, and no longer is. Furthermore, if God can change, then we cannot trust His promises. And if an All Powerful Deity could change, even a little bit, then given enough time, His perfection would change so much that He would become an All Mighty Tyrant. But we can trust in God that He does not change (James 1:17). This episode briefly explores what it does and does not mean when we say that God does not change.

1941 was the year when the final major chess pieces were put on the World War II chessboard. Neither the United States of America nor the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics were full participants in the Second World War when 1941 began, even though the war was in its second year in Europe and its fifth year (or so) in East Asia. But the Empire of Japan and Nazi Germany changed all that. First, Nazi Germany violated its own non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union and began the Summer of 1941 with the largest land invasion in the history of mankind. And in response to an oil embargo (among other grievances), Japan chose to engage in a surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i, on December 7th, 1941, a date which lives in infamy. As 1942 began, all of the major powers were officially engaged in the biggest war in history.

This episode goes into both reform and separatist movements in the Church going back long before Martin Luther. And, of course, we discuss the life and times of Luther, Zwingli, And Calvin. This episode briefly touches on Protestant theological developments, the disastrous Muenster Rebellion, and the Catholic Counter-Reformation.

There is a word that pops up in Scripture from time to time: "rebuke." It is not a word that is part of the average American's vocabulary. A better term might be "correction." A fool hates being corrected and would prefer to go on believing that he is right, even when he is not. But a wise man accepts correction, not because it is pleasant (for neither giving nor receiving correction is pleasant), but because it is much preferable to be in the Truth than to continue in error.

Following the miraculous British evacuation from Dunkirk, the UK stood alone as the sole major, unconquered nation standing in the way of Adolf Hitler. The United States, officially neutral, tried to help out, using a cash-&-carry policy to supply the Brits, then a destroyers-for-bases plan designed to arm the British Navy while remaining neutral, then finally stretching the definition of "neutral" to its breaking point with the Lend-Lease policy. Meanwhile, the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe engaged in an all-out air war for the future of the UK. ... This episode also discusses, briefly, the North African front and the lead-up to Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union.

I am no expert on the Roman Catholic Church, and I know even less about the Eastern Orthodox Church. (Note: This will be true for many of the world religions we cover this semester.) So consider this episode a history buff's (and a Protestant's) honest attempt to better understand these branches of Christianity with incredibly ancient roots.

Here's a nice, short, sub-20-minutes sermon to enjoy on your Valentine's Day. I dusted off the oldest sermon notes I have, at least for any sermon that (apparently) was not recorded when I gave it in 2003. (A few older sermons are available elsewhere in the Blue Collar Scholar back catalogue, using the audio recording from that time.) So I smoothed out, edited, and updated the notes to bring you this 2026 version of this sermon I gave in college. In this message, I make the case that we have to be intentional about living out our faith, and that "coasting by" just is not enough.

Blitzkrieg (German for Lightning War) is designed to move quickly, discombobulate your enemy, and achieve victory before they can properly counter attack. In the earliest stages of World War II in Europe, the Wehrmacht - exhibiting an incredible amount of speed and coordination between the Heer (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy), and Luftwaffe (Air Force) - achieved an unprecedented series of conquests, conquering Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, and France (as well as a decisive defeat of the British Expeditionary Force) all in a couple months time in the late spring & early summer 1940. However, the miraculous evacuation of most of the B.E.F. (and 100,000 of their French allies) at Dunkirk meant that Britain would be able to continue the good fight, and the French fighters formed the core of the Free French forces who would continue fighting with the Allies throughout the war.

This will not be the only lecture on Christianity in the Comparing World Religions class this spring. This lesson mostly focuses on Christian teachings and theology that make Christianity different from other religions.

The Book of Job is a fascinating case study in human suffering. In it we see an extremely righteous man suffer, and we see his well-meaning friends misunderstand, thinking that only a wicked person would suffer so. But that is not what the Bible teaches. In fact, sometime people suffer because of the good that they do, or because of the purity and excellence of their faith. In this sermon, we will draw five lessons that we learn from the Book of Job.

Even though World War I was supposed to be "The War To End All Wars," there were several major and minor wars that ravaged the world between World War I and World War II. The way World War I ended caused many of these conflicts, and each and every one of these conflicts affected how, why, and who fought in World War II. This lecture will briefly touch upon the Spanish Civil War, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, the Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland, the Japanese occupation of Korea, the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, the Chinese Civil War, and the Sino-Japanese War & the Rape of Nanking.

Our survey of world religions begins with Judaism. With a common Tanakh (Old Testament) tradition shared with Christianity, Judaism has an impact on history way beyond their numbers. This episode - and each Comparing World Religions lecture to follow - is intended to increase understanding for those who may not belong to that religion. If any listener would like to critique my take on Judaism, or any religion to follow, I welcome your feedback. I, too, would like to grow in knowledge, understanding, compassion, and empathy for others.

This is the conclusion to the Heaven series. Since we learned about Heaven in the previous three sermons, we now examine what it looks like to be an ambassador for the Kingdom of Heaven, for Christians are called to be ambassadors in 2 Corinthians 5:20.

This episode jumps right into the the end of World War I and the Paris Peace Conference & the Versailles Treaty. We take a quick survey through the technological and cultural advances and trends in the 1920s and 1930s. This episode also covers the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. At this point, we discuss the "Okies" who became migrants from one part of the nation (Oklahoma Panhandle and the surrounding region) to another part of the nation (California). While referencing the Grapes of Wrath, we see that even white Americans are treated poorly when they are migrants. This should cause us to have empathy for those who are immigrants. This caused the class to delve into a discussion of immigration in the U.S. today. This discussion was impassioned, and we did not all agree. But I feel like all students remained respectful toward each other.

This Spring, I will be teaching a World War II class and a Comparing World Religions class for the Lifetime Learning program at Neosho County Community College. The first lecture in the WWII class dropped a few days ago. This is the first lecture in the Comparing World Religions, as we explore how different religions answer ten questions very differently.

The Heaven Series now focuses on the last few chapters of Revelation and asks important questions about what the eternal Kingdom of Heaven, called "New Heavens and New Earth," will be like.

The Spring 2026 Lifetime Learning classes kick off with our World War II class. This episode analyzes World War I with special emphasis on how the Great War influenced World War II.