The Amateur Scholar Posts

March 6, 2020 / / TAS Podcast
March 6, 2020 / / TAS Podcast

Complicated, that’s what Lincoln was. Yet people continually try to simplify him into either a hero, or a villain based on taking him out of context. Diving into Lincoln, and the topic of slavery, we see just how complicated he was, and how much he grew over time.

March 6, 2020 / / Social Justice

There is a movement to change place names, which is coming on the shoulders of a larger issue, a misunderstanding of history. In this episode, I look at one example, and explore the complicated history of Custer in order to show that he, like most people, was complex. So to demonize him, or to make him into a mythical figure doesn’t make sense.

March 6, 2020 / / Religion

Job is a difficult work to get around. The author combines an older folktale with their own poetic material in order to argue against the traditional wisdom of the day. God is challenged in the work, but in the end we do get some answers, even though they aren’t the ones that were sought for.

March 2, 2020 / / TAS Podcast

In Bismarck, ND, a proposed mural of Greta Thunberg sparked outrage. But that outrage was voiced only by a minority, yet those involved were able to make it appear as if the community as a whole was divided on the situation. In the days that followed, certain individuals were able to capitalize on that division, and after many conversations, it appeared that the outrage that both sides were voicing was largely hypocritical. Neither side were on morally superior ground, and in the end, the entire community lost. In this episode, I look at how this all played out, and why freedom of speech needs to be protected.

February 28, 2020 / / TAS Podcast

How can a loving God exists when there is evil? This is one of the major stumbling blocks when it comes to the question of whether God exists. In this episode, I begin looking at the issue in order to see if it is possible to produce a viable answer. This is the first episode in a much larger series that will be looking at the question of theodicy. If a credible explanation can be created, this will lead into the question of God.

February 26, 2020 / / In the Gray
November 23, 2019 / / Debating Memes
November 22, 2019 / / In the Gray
November 22, 2019 / / Psychology