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On June 26, 2000, ABC aired a documentary called The Search for Jesus. The networks leading news anchor, Peter Jennings, interviewed liberal and conservative scholars of early Christianity about what we can know historically concerning Jesus life, death, and resurrection. The series ended with a striking statement by New Testament scholar Paula Fredriksen, who is not a Christian herself.

Commenting on the post-Resurrection appearances of Jesus, Fredriksen said,

I know in their own terms what they saw was the raised Jesus. Thats what they say, and then all the historic evidence we have afterwards attest to their conviction that thats what they saw. Im not saying that they really did see the raised Jesus. I wasnt there. I dont know what they saw. But I do know that as a historian that they must have seen something.

Shes admitting, in other words, that the best available historical evidence confirms that followers of Jesus like Mary Magdalene, his brother James, Peter and his other disciples, and even an enemy (Paul) were absolutely convinced that the crucified man Jesus appeared to them alive, raised from the dead.

Fredriksen is not alone in supposing that these followers must have seen something. Virtually every Bible scholar across the Western world, regardless of religious background, agrees that Jesus earliest followers believed he appeared to them alive. This is what launched the worlds largest religion. As a result of these appearances, Jewish fishermen began proclaiming to crowds in Jerusalem that God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it (Acts 2:32). Two thousand years later, the message of Jesus death and resurrection is proclaimed by billions of Christians in nearly every nation and in almost every language on planet earth.

What did all these witnesses see?

According to the earliest source we have on record for Jesus death and resurrection, a hidden pearl found within 1 Corinthians 15, Jesus appeared to multiple individuals and groups, and at least one enemy. This creedal tradition, according to virtually all scholars, dates to within five years of Jesus death. Through this source, we can reach back to the earliest years of the Christian movement in Jerusalem, to the bedrock confession of the earliest followers of Jesus.

Here is what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:38:

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

This catalog of Resurrection appearances is unparalleled in the New Testament, even in all of ancient literature. We learn from this list that Jesus appeared to three individuals: Cephas (Peter), his chief disciple; James, his brother; and Paul, his former enemy. And we also learn that he appeared to three groups: the Twelve (disciples, minus Judas); more than 500 early followers; and all the apostles.

That Jesus appeared to more than 500 men and women at the same time is a truly remarkable claim. Paul boldly puts his credibility on the line when he mentions that most of them are still alive. After all, he is essentially inviting members of the Corinthian church to travel to Jerusalem and speak to these witnesses, investigating for themselves what it was like to see the risen Jesus. We can see, then, that solid eyewitness testimony to the risen Jesus was readily available in the decades following his resurrection. As G. K. Chesterton observed in The Everlasting Man, This is the sort of truth that is hard to explain because it is a fact; but it is a fact to which we can call witnesses.

Mary Magdalene also belongs on the list of key eyewitnesses, as she too was readily available to be questioned about her experience with the risen Jesus. As the agnostic New Testament scholar Bart D. Ehrman writes in How Jesus Became God, it is significant that Mary Magdalene enjoys such prominence in all the Gospel Resurrection narratives, even though she is virtually absent everywhere else in the Gospels. She is mentioned in only one passage in the entire New Testament in connection with Jesus during his public ministry (Luke 8:13), and yet she is always the first to announce that Jesus has been raised. Why is this? One plausible explanation is that she too had a vision of Jesus after he died. Mary Magdalene was given the high honor of being not only the first to see the risen Jesus but the first person in history to proclaim, I have seen the Lord! (John 20:18).

Whatever these eyewitnesses saw, it transformed their lives to the point of being willing to suffer and die for it. In 2 Corinthians 11:2333, Paul recounts his almost daily suffering for his conviction that Jesus appeared to him. He was beaten, imprisoned, stoned, starved, lost at sea, and daily in danger of all kinds of evil on his journeys throughout the Roman Empire.

We also possess strong historical evidence that certain key eyewitnesses were martyred for their faith. Peter, for instance, was crucified. James was stoned. Paul was beheaded. Whatever they saw, it was worth giving their lives for. They sealed their testimonies with their blood.

In order to explain away these Resurrection appearances, some scholars have speculated that the eyewitnesses were merely hallucinating.

In his excellent book Resurrecting Jesus, New Testament scholar Dale Allison surveys the available scientific studies and literature on hallucinations. In documented cases, he concludes, there are four things that do not happen (or rarely happen). First, hallucinations are rarely seen by multiple individuals and groups over an extended period of time. Second, hallucinations are rarely seen by large groups of people, especially groups of more than eight. Third, hallucinations have never led to the claim that a dead person has been resurrected. And fourth, hallucinations do not involve the persons enemy. (We could also add the fact that hallucinations typically arent known for launching global movements or world religions.)

Yet in the case of the resurrection appearances of Jesus, every last one of these rare or seemingly impossible circumstances has come to pass.

Allison sums up the implications forcefully: These appear to be the facts, and they raise the question of how we should explain them. The apologists for the faith say that the sightings of Jesus must, given the reports, have been objective. One person can hallucinate, but twelve at the same time? And dozens over an extended period of time? These are legitimate questions, and waving the magical wand of mass hysteria will not make them vanish.

The only other answer given by respectable scholars wrestling with this robust historical record is some variation of I dont know. Much like Fredriksen, renowned New Testament scholar E. P. Sanders also represents this cautious-agnostic approach when he writes, in The Historical Figure of Jesus: That Jesus followers (and later Paul) had Resurrection experiences is, in my judgement, a fact. What the reality was that gave rise to the experiences I do not know.

Jordan Peterson, the popular professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, also belongs in this category. He neither affirms nor rejects the historicity of Jesus resurrection. When asked directly if Jesus literally rose from the dead, Peterson responded, I need to think about that for about three more years before I would even venture an answer beyond what Ive already given.

The cautious-agnostics position is a respectable one. Even the original apostles did not believe the claim of the Resurrection when the women first told them (Luke 24:811). Yet if someone like Peterson, with an open mind and heart, follows the evidence where it leads, I am convinced he will find himself at the feet of the risen Jesus, proclaiming with Thomas, My Lord and my God! (John 20:28).

The extraordinary nature of Jesus resurrection reminds me of my favorite scene in Shakespeares Hamlet. The play opens with the wondrous strange appearances of Hamlets dead father to Bernardo and Marcellus and then later to Hamlets friend Horatio. Horatio is the skeptic of the group, and Hamlet challenges his disbelief of the supernatural in this exchange:

Horatio: O day and night, but this is wondrous strange!

Hamlet: And therefore as a stranger give it welcome.There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

Shakespeare speaks through Hamlet, telling us to expect the unexpected. Welcome the strange and extraordinary. It is indeed wondrous strange that the ghost of Hamlets father is appearing to people, but do not reject it for that reason alone. Your philosophy should be wide enough for the supernatural. More things are happening in our wonderful world (and beyond) than you can imagine. If your philosophy is not wide and open enough to include the miraculous and the extraordinary, then you need a new philosophy.

We should be open to miraculous claims from the ancient world and in modern times. Our philosophies should make room for the unexpected, strange, and extraordinary. And yet, the most important question to ask of any miraculous claim is What is the evidence?

We have seen that, even from the perspective of the most skeptical scholars, the weight of the historical record attests that a host of individuals and groups believed they saw the risen Jesus. All the evidence we have suggests that his eyewitnesses were trustworthy and honest. Why disbelieve them?

And if that doesnt convince our modern-day Horatios, then we can go further, summoning the Twelve and the more than 500 who saw the resurrected Messiah.

We can even move beyond the first-century time frame, exploring how belief in the Resurrection laid the foundations of all Western civilization, inspiring some of the greatest art, literature, music, film, philosophy, morality, and ethics that the world has ever seen. Is this all based on a lie?

And if all that is still not enough, then let our Horatios behold the billions across the world today who readily testify to how the living Christ has transformed their lives. These include intellectual giants who have converted to Christianity from every world religion (or from atheism and agnosticism). In Christ, they have found all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

On Easter, these billions were proclaiming the same message the apostles proclaimed on the Day of Pentecost: God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.

Now more than ever, in this dark, plague-ridden world, your family, friends, and neighbors are looking for hope. The living Christ is the only hope for us all. Before Easter fades into the rush of everyday life, ask your neighbor: What (or who) did all those witnesses see?

They saw hope incarnate, new creation, life in its fullness, God in the flesh.

This indeed is wondrous strange! Encourage your skeptical friends not to stop at I dont know. Give the risen Jesus welcome.

Justin Bass is professor of New Testament at Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary in Amman, Jordan. He is the author of The Bedrock of Christianity: The Unalterable Facts of Jesus Death and Resurrection (Lexham Press) and The Battle for the Keys: Revelation 1:18 and Christ's Descent into the Underworld (Wipf and Stock).

Continue reading here:
What Skeptical Scholars Admit about the Resurrect... - ChristianityToday.com

Special Announcement: Ill be giving a special one-hour Webinar for the LA chapter of the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) this Saturday starting at 10:45 am California time (1:45 pm Eastern Time). You are welcome to join us, but space is limited. To attend this virtual meeting, go tohttps://aaiila.org/april-2020-webinar-monthly-meeting-notice/.

The health and wealth of a large number of individual businesses small, medium and large determine the economic health and wealth of a nation. When they succeed, managers create wealth, income and jobs for large numbers of people.When they fail, working people and their families suffer.

Shlomo Maital (Visiting Professor MIT Sloan School of Business)

Professor Maital knows THE antidote to the epidemic that has swept the nation and the world into chaos and depression.A healthy business community!

It is businesses that create wealth, not countries or governments. It is business that decides how well or how poorly off we are, Maital stated.Amen!

It is not the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that are releasing new drugs or discovering new vaccines to kill the coronavirus.It is private biotech companies, both large and small, that are working night and day to find an antidote.

If anything, its the government the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that has held back new drugs to fight the disease. Meanwhile, American workers are suffering far more than the victims of the coronavirus.

The government-mandated shutdown of the private sector in transportation, restaurants, entertainment and manufacturing is killing far more people than this pandemic. Millions of Americans are suddenly out of work, suffering severe anxiety, heart attacks, alcoholism and even suicides.

And all in the name of public safety!

President Eisenhower Warned Us

In his 1961 Farewell Address, PresidentDwight D. Eisenhowerwarned Americans of two dangers a military-industrial complex AND government bureaucrats who attack the supreme goals of our free society.He said:

We must be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.

Thats the danger we face today with medical experts, such asDr. Anthony Fauci, who seemingly are willing toshut down the global economy into 2021, all in the name of saving a few lives from the latest pathogen.

In the words of former Bolivian PresidentJorge Tuto Quiroga,More and more, everything is either prohibited or mandated.

Now, its happening everywhere, in America and around the world.

May Day!May Day!May Day!

How bad is it going to get if this lockdown lasts until May Day?

It is unprecedented.Goldman Sachs warned a new report, The Sudden Stop: A Deeper Trough, A Bigger Rebound, that Wall Street should prepare for theBiggest Decline EVER.Goldman Sachs predicts a 34% crash in gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter.34%!Gross output (GO) and the supply chain will fall even more.To see the rapid plunge in the Daily GDP Tracking Estimate, click this link.

No bailout by the Federal Reserve or Congress is large enough to make up for the devastating losses in private businesses.It is now estimated that 30% of all small businesses will never come back.

The Missing Piece of the Macroeconomic Puzzle

My GO statistic includes all business-to-business (B2B) spending in the economy.It is the ultimate supply-side statistic.GDP leaves out all B2B spending in the supply chain.GO includes it.

As Hawaii Pacific University ProfessorKen Schoollandstated, Skousens GO model demonstrates that business investment, not consumer spending, drives the economy, thus confirming Says Law.

Right now, consumer spending is plummeting, but business investment is collapsing even more, despite the governments intervention.

Oh, What Idiots We Have Been

Imreading the classic book,The Making of the Atomic Bomb,byRichard Rhodes, and he tells the story of Austrian nuclear physicistOtto FrischmeetingNiels Bohron January 3, 1939, where he tells Bohr about the splitting of the uranium nucleus and the tremendous release of energy the breakthrough that led to the development of the atomic bomb (Frisch coined the term nuclear fission).

Upon hearing the news, Bohr struck his forehead with his hand and exclaimed, Oh what idiots we have all been!Oh but this is wonderful!This is just as it must be!(p. 261 of chapter 9, An Extensive Burst).

The Macroeconomic Breakthrough

Thats exactly how I felt when it came to me one day that Gross Output (GO) wasthe top line in national income accounting and GDP was the bottom line.

It took years for me to figure it out, but then it all came together in 2014 after writing aWall Street Journalarticle on GO, and a bond trader came up to me at a cocktail party that evening and said,I didnt realize that GDP left out most B2B spending,referring to intermediate production.That led me to the idea that GO includes the supply chain, and it was all part of total spending in the economy, or revenues/sales what finance people call the top line in financial statements.

I dont think I would have come up with the idea of top line and bottom line national income accounting if I hadnt had considerable experience in business and finance.

I thought to myself, Oh what idiots we economists have all been!For decades, accountants and finance people have measured the top line (sales/revenues) and bottom line (earnings, net income) in their quarterly financial statements.Now finally, the economists have caught up with them and in the future will measure the top line (GO) and the bottom line (GDP) in national income accounting, as the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is now doing.Oh this is wonderful!This is just as it must be!

Now, perhaps my discovery of the top line in national accounting isnt as big as the breakthrough in nuclear physics, butGO is the missing piece of the macroeconomic puzzle and a true paradigm shift. For the latest press release and recent work on GO, Ive created a new website,www.grossoutput.com.

I suspect GO is going to be down sharply, more than GDP, in the second quarter, not unlike what happened in 2008-09.Here is the chart comparing changes in GO and GDP.

We must reverse this trend now, or we will see permanent damage to the economy, and years of slow growth, not counting the huge burden we are placing on future generations with an out-of-control national debt.

Why We Are Calling for an Emergency Session at FreedomFest 2020

Ive received lots of inquiries about our big show in Vegas in July.Many investment conferences have postponed or canceled their events but not FreedomFest!We are still planning our emergency meeting and the 40thanniversary of my newsletter,Forecasts & Strategies, at the Paris Resort in Las Vegas, July 13-16 (Monday through Thursday).

It is absolutely vital for you to attend this meeting in July.We are seeingpermanentchanges in the United States, and not all for the good you will need to make important changes in your life, your business and your investment portfolio.That is what our emergency meeting is all about, and it will be led by top authorities includingSteve Moore, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Steve Forbes, John Fund, Matt Ridley, Tom Woods, Grover Norquist and financial advisorsAlex Green, Louis Navellier, Rob Arnott, Jim WoodsandHilary Kramer.

We even have confirmedHillsdale Collegeas a sponsor and theClub for Growthfor the first time.

Two of the Worlds Best Timers Coming to FreedomFest

Given our Catch the Vision theme, we are bringing together the most successful forecasters and visionaries to FreedomFest 2020. For example:Jim The Ace Woods,editor of Successful Investing, and ranked as the #1 financial blogger in the world by TipRanks, gave anall out SELLsignal for the stock market on Feb. 27, two weeks after stocks had hit an all-time high and right before the collapse.

And Alex The Master Green,chief investment strategist of the Oxford Club, one of the countrys best investment forecasters, gave a strongall in BUYsignalon March 24 (Its time to load up again) within a day ofthe bottom of this market.

Both will be at this years three-day investment conference at FreedomFest to give us their latest recommendations.

Special Session on Gold at FreedomFest

Our theme song at FreedomFest is Freedom and Gold, and this year its especially true.For the first time in years, were having a special session on investing in precious metals.Ive been recommending gold for the first time since December 2018, and made some big profits, with more to come.(The Gold Boom is just getting started.)

Ive just confirmedJeff Phillips, president of Global Market Development in San Diego, who is one of the worlds top experts on gold and the mining industry.Plus, Van Simmons,president of David Hall Rare Coins, the worlds top expert in coins and collectibles, will be speaking along with Doug Casey,a long-time gold bug.

We have more than 800 people signed up and are still getting registrations every day.One of our long-time subscribers, a physician from Atlanta, told me yesterday that he is excited about getting out of the house and joining us in Vegas.And hes a doctor, who is fully aware of the need for social distancing!He has already bought his airline tickets super cheap!

I just re-confirmed many of our speakers, and they feel like I do, that Vegas will be open for business soon.Tech guruGeorge Gilderemailed me to say that he is coming for sure.He said that his book, Life After Google, won a prize as the best social science book in China. Plus, China recently republished his book Wealth and Poverty.He has a very different view on China that he will discuss at FreedomFest.(We also haveLi Schoollandcoming, an expert on China.)

We are gathering the best forecasters and visionaries for this years 2020 Catch the Vision theme.Jim Doti,the former president of Chapman University, is a new speaker.His economic outlook of California and the United States is considered the top forecasting model for the past 25 years.You wont want to miss his prediction about the impact of the coronavirus on the economy.

Alex Green,the chief investment strategist of the Oxford Club, is one of the countrys best forecasters.He gave a strong buy signal two weeks ago at the bottom of this market.He is a regular at FreedomFest.

All subscribers who attend FreedomFest receive two gifts for attending the 40thanniversary of my newsletter:a free autographed and numbered copy of The Maxims of Wall Street (new 7thed.) and a 2020 American eagle silver dollar.

To sign up, go towww.freedomfest.com, and be sure to use code FF20EAGLE. Or call toll-free 1-855-850-3733, ext. 202.

Good investing, AEIOU,

Mark Skousen

P.S.I was pleasantly surprised and honored by the following announcement by the Center for Individualism.

You Nailed it!

Mayor Goodman:Stop the Insanity:Open Businesses Now!

Las Vegas MayorCarolyn Goodmanhas had enough of what she calls the total insanity of the economic shutdown that is threatening to cause the bankruptcy of the entire Las Vegas economy.

At Wednesdays city council meeting, she spent several minutes warning that the lockdown needs to end now because its killing us. I agree with her.

This shutdown has become one of total insanity, in my opinion, for there is no backup of data as to why we are shutdown from the start, no plan in place how to move through the shutdown or how even to come out of it, Mayor Goodman said.

In her discussions with experts, the mayor concluded that the virus isnt going to go away and, in the meantime, the Nevada economy is sinking.

This is truly an opportunity for having a bully pulpit as your mayor and Im going take advantage of that, she said.

At one point during the meeting, she had a staff member hold up a graph and mentioned the 128 reported statewide deaths. While expressing her condolences over the deaths, she said they represent a small number of people.

With a population of 3.2 million, those whom weve lost represent less than half of one percent of our population which has caused us to shut down the entire state, she said. Of the estimated 900,000 who have lost their jobs, 300,000 have already filed for unemployment. These are families that no longer have the ability to buy for their children.

Nevada Gov.Steve Sisolakissued a directive on March 17 and then extended it earlier this month to keep all non-essential businesses, including casinos and schools, closed until the end of April.

Mayor Goodman said the closure makes no sense and the city, county and state should be reopened.

We cannot live going forward with the medical and health industry telling us this virus is going to be around longer than a month or two maybe even a year, Mayor Goodman said.

For Heavens sake, being closed is killing us already, and killing Las Vegas, our industry, and convention and tourism industry we have all worked so hard to build, Mayor Goodman continued. The longer we wait, the more impossible it will be to recover.

The protests are coming.Is the government the servant of the people or its master?As Americas first PresidentGeorge Washingtonis alleged to have said, Government is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.

Read more here:
We have THE Vaccine to End The Great Suppression! - Stock Investor

It all started with the Hadids. Where supermodels who went before used shades to shield themselves from the paparazzi, Bella can often be seen taking shelter behind a hefty book. To be more specific, The Outsider by Stephen King. Over the course of Paris Fashion Week autumn/winter 2019, she carried the novel distinguishable by its scarlet jacket with her everywhere she went. And upon leaving the city, Hadid shared an Instagram photo of her unputdownable read as her chosen form of in-flight entertainment. Next to it sat some other cherished accessories: a cherry-print vintage Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami carry-on and a Dior monogrammed pouch. Leaving us to wonder: are hardback books back? Because where the supers lead, the rest of the world tends to follow.

Bella Hadid clutching her copy of The Outsider

Claudio Lavenia

Days before at Milan Fashion Week, Bellas older sister Gigi was seen toting not a Chanel bag, but a copy of The Stranger by Albert Camus. Never heard of it, far less attempted to read it? Thats because its typically found on the bookshelves of French literature geeks and aspiring philosophers. En route to the Fendi show, Hadid clasped her copy rather than a clutch, its black and white cover the perfect complement to her light olive green suit.

Gigi Hadid is a Camus fan

Arnold Jerocki

In the months that followed, Kendall Jenner was frequently seen with her latest read tucked under her arm, or sidelining her phone to delve into a book instead while on holiday. In one exotic locale, Jenner sunned herself with friend Luka Sabbat while devouring Darcie Wilders Literally Show Me A Healthy Person. That was in May 2019, by August she was onto her next literary find: No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July. Next came Fariha Roisins How To Cure A Ghost, swiftly followed by Melissa Broders So Sad Today.

While fashions love affair with literature is nothing new, models flaunting their latest must-read like a fresh-from-the-runway accessory certainly is. British Vogue cover star Jourdan Dunn spent February getting stuck into Candice Carty-Williamss debut novel, Queenie, and took care to Instagram it for her followers to take note of, too.

Read more: Kaia Gerber Rediscovers Her Denim To Kick Off Her Book Club

Kaia Gerber, meanwhile, is a self-confessed bookworm who was photographed leaving many a 2019 fashion show clutching her copy of Mario Vargas Llosas page-turner Bad Girl. Fast forward a few months, and the super-in-the-making has launched her own online book club. Before doing so, she shared a hefty, 18-book round up of suggested reads to keep your mind busy during the global lockdown. From A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara and Perfume by Patrick Sskind to A Lovers Discourse by Roland Barthes and even Platos Symposium, the list was proof that Gerber isnt really into light reading.

One things for certain, books are providing a much-needed panacea for many of us as we navigate lockdown life. Something which two more models whove recently entered the literature-loving fold can attest to: Emily Ratajkowski and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. While self-isolating in her apartment in New York, EmRata has been getting stuck into All About Love: New Visions by Bell Hooks, White Girls by Hilton Als and Martin Hgglunds This Life: Secular Faith And Spiritual Freedom.

On the other side of the pond, RHW recently shared the stack of novels currently occupying her bedside table: Joan Didions The White Album, Inner Engineering: A Yogis Guide To Joy by Sadhguru, Jordan Petersons 12 Rules For Life, and The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. As more and more virtual book clubs spring up on our feeds (further proof that it is indeed the new social hang), its just a matter of time before another It-girl proudly embraces her bookworm status.

More from British Vogue:

See the article here:
From Kaia To Kendall, The New Supers Making Reading Cool - British Vogue

McManus and Hamilton have each written exceedingly unfair reviews of Jim Prosers recent bookSavage Messiah: How Dr. Jordan Peterson Is Saving Western Civilization.

Jean-Paul Sartre, the French philosopher and playwright, wrote the script for a screenplay, which would later be turned into a play entitled LEngrenage (in English, In the Mesh). The name of the main character is Jean Aguerra, and the play opens with the scene of a sign installed in a suburb, which reads:Jean Aguerra, the tyrant.

In the Mesh, in all, is a very insightful play, though it is one of Sartres lesser-known works. It is about a wealthy city that has oil fields and all of the necessities for a blossoming economy, as well as a a productive and satisfied society. Still, the city hands its government over to one tyrant after another. Jean Aguerra, the latest in the chain of the citys leaders, is a bright and thoughtful intellectual, who truly desires what is best for his city and its people. However, he ends up following precisely the same path as each of the tyrants that preceded him.

Jean Aguerra hopes to eradicate poverty, and he also believes that each person should have the same degree of privilege as every other person. For him, the ideal of equality of outcome is so obvious and intuitive that he has a hard time imagining how anyone could possibly oppose that objective. However, as soon as Jean Aguerra establishes his government, he realizes that the other members of his team do not perfectly share his worldview. Even his closest allies have aspects of their own agenda that they hope to implement in the city. And, over time, corruption and mismanagement arise, which, in turn, undermines the unity of his government, giving rise to lies and schemes that permeate each level of the administration. However, Jean Aguerra remains rigid in his worldview, believing inveterately that the other members of his government are clandestine enemies seeking to destroy his masterplan for equality and prosperity.

In response, Jean Aguerra begins to order mass imprisonments, tortures, and killings. He hopes that when all of his enemies are gone that his fantasy for a perfect society will finally be reachedand that his people will, as a result, be happy and grateful. Yet, before long he is, himself, brought to be executed by a firing squad by a band of revolutionaries. Only five years prior, he was the leader of a group of revolutionaries who had executed the previous tyrant, and, within a short time, he had become what he had once existed to replace. The play suggests that this cycle will repeat ad infinitum, as each band of revolutionaries, over time, becomes the very evil that it had once existed to defeat.

The play, thus, shares some elements withThe Myth of Sisyphus, the 1942 philosophical essay written by Sartres friend and later rival Albert Camus. However, in the case of In the Mesh, there is the additional dimension. The play also examines what happens to those who box themselves into a corner with a certain ideology; no matter how grand or noble their intentionsbefore longtheir single-mindedness leads down the path towards tyranny.

Matt McManus and Conrad Hamilton repeatedly in their writings assert that the Left, as they see it, is all that is great and high. For them, the problems of our society can be explained by tyranny that comes from the Right. They incessantly critique Jordan Petersonor anyone else for that matterwho even slightly brings up ideas that contradict their views of what makes for a just society. McManus and Hamiltons critiques, most of the time, are nothing short of relentless. And there is no one they attack more unfairly than Jordan Peterson. As Tony Senatore, Fred Hammon, and others have argued in Merion West, Jordan Peterson is someone who truly helps people; he is not just a conservative ideologue. Yet, McManus and Hamilton even continue their endless criticisms of Jordan Peterson as the man fights for his life, dealing with the most serious and trying of health problems.

Most recently, McManus and Hamilton have each written exceedingly unfair reviews of Jim Prosers recent bookSavage Messiah: How Dr. Jordan Peterson Is Saving Western Civilization. For the value that Peterson brings, look no further than Prosers own recent words about his subject:

I was in a very bad period of personal suffering, having lost my wife to cancer just prior to beginning the writing of the book. So, I was very deep into my own personal suffering, and I appreciated the advice to accept suffering as a gateway to finding a deeper meaning in my life, rather than just re-living the mindless and random catastrophes of the past. Rather than accepting it as just a random lot in existence, I actually found a deeper meaning to it that would propel me to a life of greater understanding and greater compassion.

Matt McManus and Conrad Hamilton, in the vein of Slavoj iek and other luminaries of the Left, argue for various versions of equality of outcome. A brief look at history reminds us that efforts to pursue that end have had the same result every time throughout history: tyranny, brutality, and suppression. Todays Left, when faced with questions about such miseries, tends to put forward a version of the same argument: But that was not true socialism. Bernie Sanders just articulated that very argument in a recent town hall.

Matt McManus and Conrad Hamilton are, no doubt, smart and well-read men. Yet, they should pay more careful attention to how repressive, totalitarian-inclining governments so often arise in welfare states. They also ought to give a detailed and close readingnot like the job they did with Prosers bookto the 1997 bookThe Black Book of Communism, which chronicles the horrors that have taken place in collectivist states. Page after page (and chapter after chapter) tells the story of how people with enormous powernominally acting in the interest of equality for allbecame horrible little tyrants of their own, from China to Ethiopia. Maybe then McManus and Hamilton would be more open-minded towards thoughtful critics of their aims, such as Jordan Peterson.

The story told in The Black Book of Communism, after all, is the same one as that of Jean Aguerraand the many real life leftists he represents. Dreamworlds belong in fantasy books, where they can entertain and charm their readers. However, in the actual world, sweeping sentimentalities about equality rarely engage with the questions of How? and At What Cost? But, then again, when it comes to many of these leftist schemes, the answers are hardly attractive.

Kambiz Tavana is an Iranian-American journalist and writer.

Read more from the original source:
Understanding the Viciousness of Jordan Peterson's Critics - Merion West

Did you know getting counted in the U.S. Census has huge political and financial benefits for your community?

If the government doesnt know the number of people living in an area, that area wont receive as much funding, which will affect parks, schools, churches and more, says the President of Temples Black Public Relations Society Lauryn Edmondson, Class of 2020.

This semester, Lauryn and four of her public relations classmates are mobilizing the Temple-area community as part of a national competition designed to get college students and members of other undercounted groups to participate in the 2020 Census.

We asked Lauryn to share what shes learned through her Census outreach activities.

What is the U.S. Census?The U.S. Census is conducted every 10 years and is actually mandated by the Constitution. The Census aims to count everyone once, only once, and in the right place, and can now be completed by phone, mail orfor the first time in historyonline at2020census.gov.

Why is completing the Census so important?The Census determines how billions of dollars in funding is given to support communities across the country. It determines the number of seats each state will have in the House of Representatives, which is then used to draw congressional and state legislative districts.

When is the deadline?April 1 is officially Census Day nationwide. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the deadline to complete the questionnaire has been extended to August 14, 2020. Its available now at 2020census.gov.

How are college students being counted in the Census? Where should I file?The Census asks you to fill out the questionnaire with information on where you live and sleep most of the time. Students affected by college and university closures should still be counted where they live while theyre at school.

If you live off campus in an apartment with three friends, you can complete the Census for your apartment, including your three friends.For students who live on campus, (i.e. residence hall or dorm), you will be counted through the university staff directly as a part of their Group Quarters count.

Learn more about being counted through the university.

Is there a citizenship question on the Census?No! The Census does not ask about citizenship in its questionnaire.

What is a good way to remind friends and family to complete the Census form on time?Tell them about it! Remind them to go online to 2020census.gov to fill it out. It takes less than 10 minutes to complete. In our outreach campaign, weve used the hashtag #10minutesfor10years to help spread the word, and the U.S. Census Bureau also has active YouTube and social media profiles @uscensusbureau where you can get more information.

Andrew Lochrie

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How to get counted in the U.S. Census - Temple University News