The AK47 Podcast Season 2: Episode 10

Aaron Gleason and Kyle Hendricks come back together for another B.S. episode.  We talk about our love for the new Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse movie, which recently won an Oscar.  We also talk about other films, T.V. shows, and anime.  We talk about why the new animated Spiderman was good, how it compares to the other Spiderman movies, superhero movies in general, how these movies and anime handle drama and humor, which movie had the better Kingpin, and more.  Despite talking about our favorite entertainment, we still couldn't help but get political in the second half.  We talk about critical theory, intersectionality, and racism.

Listen to the episode here.

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The AK47 Podcast Season 1: Episode 34

Aaron and Kyle talk about "woke" Christianity, social justice, critical theory, intersectionality, and their compatibility with the Christian worldview.  We get into issues of politics, freedom, the Gospel, and some book recommendations.

Listen to the episode here.

McArthur's social justice statement.

Find the Neil Shenvi articles cited on the show here and here.

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Things I like: Part 2

In this series, I will recommend things that I happened to come across that I like.  That's about as simple as it gets.

Political Discourse in America

David French writes a good piece on the bad state of political discourse in America today.  People overreact to the smallest things, especially as people replace religious commitment to political commitment.  Political Overreaction is the New American Way.

The SJW

Nathan Robinson writes an interesting piece giving criticisms and concerns about the extreme leftists that are often pejoratively known as "Social Justice Warriors."  Nathan considers himself a leftist, but is critical of this more extreme group.  I don't agree with everything he says, but I find his post fair and balanced for the most part.

Slavery in the Bible

J. Warner Wallace, a cold-case detective and apologist, answers a question on the issue of slavery in the Bible, which is often used to undermine the moral legitimacy of the Bible.

Apologist Recommendation: Neil Shenvi

In this series, I will recommend certain scholars and apologists to our readers and listeners.  These are people that I believe are worth listening to because they are informed and give good arguments and insights into the subjects that they study, which helps intellectually equip Christians so that they can grow in their own faith and their outreach towards non-Christians.  I am not claiming that these scholars and apologists have everything correct, but I think they are intellectual powerhouses that we can learn much from.

Neil Shenvi

Neil Shenvi has his Ph.D in theoretical chemistry from UC-Berkeley and was a research scientist at Yale and Duke University before becoming a homeschooler for his kids.  When we look at most of the scientifically trained critics of Christianity like Dawkins, Krauss, Stenger, and others, Christians often rightly notice that their knowledge and credentials as scientists does not make them intellectual heavyweights when it comes to philosophy, ethics, religion, history, theology, or any other subject that connects to apologetics.  Scientists who are critics of Christianity often make very elementary blunders because they are simply not well educated or well read in philosophy, theology, biblical studies, or history.  Dr. Shenvi, however, is an exception when it comes to scientists.  Having read his articles and seen his extensive interactions on Facebook, I can say firsthand that this guy is well versed in philosophy, ethics, and biblical studies.  His intelligence, thoughtfulness, winsomeness, and his ability to engage in multiple subjects of inquiry make him a valuable resource to Christians.

His Website

His website is, of course, the best place to look at his content.  Neil Shenvi-Apologetics is where you can find his essays, book reviews, talks, notes, and more.

The Resurrection and the Bible

As I've stated, he is well read in subjects outside of science.  He has material on evidence for the resurrection of Jesus in multiple places.

Christianity and Science

Being a scientist, he is well qualified to talk about sciences connection with Christianity.  He has talks on quantum mechanics and miracles and science and religion that you can check out.

Social Justice

Lately, Dr. Shenvi has been putting most of his time into learning about critical theory and intersectionality and how they have become part of the modern social justice movement.  This is an important topic in cultural apologetics.  His conclusion is that critical theory is a worldview that, while getting some things right and having some usefulness, has significant incompatibilities with the Christian worldview.  These two articles are where you can get his introduction to the ideas of social justice and critical theory and their compatibility with Christianity.  You can find his reviews and analysis of the books, Race, Class, and Gender, and Readings for Diversity and Social Justice, as a good start, but he also has other book reviews on the subject to look at.  You can also check out his interview on the subject if you would rather listen.

This should get you started on his material.  My understanding is that he is also in the process of writing a book defending Christianity, but it is not out yet.  I think this guy should have more recognition for his contribution, so I hope this post contributes to that.

Things I Like: Part 1

In this series, I will recommend things that I happened to come across that I like.  That's about as simple as it gets.  While this sounds frivolous, I will focus on recommending things that I think will be informative and edifying to people.

Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath

Leah Remini is an actress that you may recognize in shows like King of Queens and others.  She was a long-time scientologist, but left the religion several years ago.  In this docuseries on Hulu, she interviews many people who have left scientology, exposing the abuses of the church and the controlling nature of the beliefs and structure of the church.  It is also an interesting look at the practices of scientology and how cults work.

Social Justice in Video Games

Troy Leavitt, a former video game developer, has an interesting series responding to a controversial feminist in video game culture named Anita Sarkeesian.  He has a series of videos responding to her claims that there is rampant sexism in the video game industry and criticizing the worldview and premises she holds that lead her to make the claims she makes.  Part one of his series can be found here.

Philip DeFranco

Philip DeFranco is a Youtuber who releases new 15-18 minute videos every weekday giving the news.  He covers anything from news regarding Youtube and youtubers to important world events and world politics.  He is a very fair and balanced person, he makes it known when he is giving the facts and when he is giving his opinion and he is often quick to correct himself if he makes a mistake.  I recommend him as an alternative news source.

I like these things and I hope you do too.  God bless.

Racial Reconciliation in the Church and the Methods and Worldviews Involved

This article was originally featured on ResistanceTV.

We live in a somewhat heated racial climate in America right now.  Because of perceived injustices towards racial minorities in America, people are more loudly and fervently calling for racial reconciliation, relational healing between races.  As Christians, we should be in full support of racial reconciliation because we are all made in the image of God and our faith in Christ brings us together into God’s family.  There are, however, a lot of bumps in the road.  What we often don’t realize is that people adopt different methods of racial reconciliation and that these methods are often based on different worldviews.  When a person who wants racial reconciliation doesn’t adopt a particularmethod of racial reconciliation or does not see the world in the exact way that some activists see it, that person is often condemned as a racist.  While I believe we as Christians should care about racial reconciliation, we need to be clear on what methods are being espoused and the underlying worldviews that influence those methods, otherwise we may unwittingly adopt beliefs that are incompatible with the faith and cause damage.  In the next section, I will give two different resources for Christians to read and explain them.  Christians need to be aware of the methods of racial reconciliation that are proposed and the worldviews that often influence those methods.

Methods

Dr. George Yancey, a sociologist at the University of North Texas, gives a speech at a church on four different methods of racial reconciliation, their pros and cons, and his own method of relational healing between races.  This talk is a condensed version of his book.  Dr. Yancey makes it clear that there are different methods of racial reconciliation that we see espoused in the West (colorblindness, white guilt, multiculturalism, etc.) and that, despite each of them having some positive aspects, they have some major problems too.  He suggests a method that he calls Mutual Responsibility.  When wanting to achieve a great good, it is good to realize that not all ways of achieving that great good are created equal.  We need to think clearly about the methods we are adopting and ought to adopt.

Thinking deeply and critically about methods is one thing, but the methods we adopt are often influenced by our worldviews.  That is where this next resource comes in.

Worldview

Dr. Neil Shenvi, a scientist at Duke University, in his post, A Long Review of Race, Class, and Gender, reviews a book about the inequalities found in society.  He gives the pros and cons of the book, but the most important thing is that he analyzes the philosophy that underlies the viewpoints of all the authors.  Neil reveals that the underlying viewpoint of all the authors in this anthology is critical theory and that critical theory is a worldview.  Neil says that critical theory “often functions as a worldview (that is, as a comprehensive, interpretive framework for understanding reality),” and that the beliefs expressed by the authors are “not a random assortment of disconnected beliefs. Instead, they form a unified, coherent framework for viewing everything about our lives, from our identity, to our fundamental problem (oppression), to our fundamental moral duty (fighting for liberation), to the basis for unity between individuals (common oppression/solidarity).”  The problem with the worldview of critical theory, argues Neil, is that it is incompatible with Christianity in very important and fundamental ways. Many Christians do not realize that some or all of their viewpoints on race and racial reconciliation are based on a worldview that is not compatible with their Christianity.  It is important for Christians to think deeply about their worldview and the worldviews of others so that they can see how they are being affected by the world.  Racial reconciliation is important, but if Neil is right, we should not unwittingly adopt beliefs about racial reconciliation that are based on an incompatible worldview, or at the very least, we shouldn’t adopt those beliefs for the same reasons.  It can affect our faith and our actions.

I hope and pray that these two resources will help people think clearly about this issue and that clear thinking can aid us in finding a good, biblical solution.