By: Adam Cheney on April 16, 2025
Pre-Reading on modern Ideologies: Let me first state that I am painting with a broad stroke here regarding modern ideologies. Secondly, let me state that I am primarily looking through a Western, American lens. There are Islamic ideologies that are also growing that I do not have space to dig into. Modernism: This ideology…
By: Ryan Thorson on April 16, 2025
Reflecting on ideologies is a little bit like reflecting on water when you’re a fish. The ideologies we ascribe to are often simply a part of our everyday lives and hard to notice unless we stop and think critically about them. As I began to think about modern ideologies, I realized that even the ability…
By: Jennifer Eckert on April 16, 2025
The Parasitic Mind by Dr. Gad Saad – My Beliefs about Modern Ideologies and Why: My belief system stands at the intersection of modernity and postmodernity, shaped by a lifetime of navigating both. As a Gen Xer, I came of age during a period of cultural transition. I absorbed values from an older, more communal…
By: Betsy on April 16, 2025
This week’s cohort zoom chat made me cry because the vision of my life bubbled up in heat inside of me. I do believe that trauma recovery should change the world and is a message that is entirely about the Kingdom of God. I really enjoy our cohort Zoom chats and the contributions everyone brings.…
By: Shela Sullivan on April 16, 2025
Introduction The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense [1]by Gad Saad refers to the idea that certain harmful and irrational beliefs, which he calls “idea pathogens,”[2] can infect the human mind much like biological parasites infect the body. These “idea pathogens” distort rational thinking and common sense, often leading to destructive outcomes…
By: Rich on April 15, 2025
This week, we read Shane Parrish’s book, Clear Thinking.[1] The author identifies challenges that get in the way of thinking clearly, strategies to overcome those challenges, and a framework for decision making. The book is a compilation of wisdom and learnings from business leaders, cross-referencing material we have read from authors including Katheryn Schulz, Thomas…
By: Glyn Barrett on April 15, 2025
I picked up The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense with curiosity, and, I’ll admit, a little caution. As a Bible-believing Christian and a pastor, I’m used to navigating the waters where faith, reason, and culture intersect. Much of what I hold to is shaped by Scripture, prayer, tradition, and the…
By: Jeff Styer on April 14, 2025
What I already know What do I believe about modern ideologies? Sometimes you hear a term and because of the various ways in which it is used and where you are at in the semester, you must go back to the basics and look the term up. I looked up the term ideology on Philosophy…
By: Diane Tuttle on April 14, 2025
What I currently believe and why From high school science class, I learned that a parasite is an organism, my brain says a bug, which needs to actually live on another organism, a host, to keep it alive. It feeds off the host which provides nutrition to fuel its life. The problem is that in…
By: Robert Radcliff on April 14, 2025
Clear Thinking by Parrish is a stoic look at decision-making through the lens of taming your natural instincts. Parrish’s point is that we can live deliberate lives by overcoming our defaults with reason. He writes, “The overarching theme of this book is that there are invisible instincts that conspire against good judgment. Your defaults encourage…
By: Christy on April 14, 2025
“Houston, We Have a Problem,” reports Apollo 13 to the NASA control station as they announced an oxygen tank explosion on the spacecraft. Similarly, Gad Saad reports on a critical failure of academia and liberal ideology from his perspective as a professor. Saad is a professor of marketing at Concordia University in Canada and shares…
By: Noel Liemam on April 13, 2025
Introduction “Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief,” by Jordan Peterson, Canadian clinical psychologist, is about how people come up with meaning of life through history, myth, psychology, and religion. The author attempts to shows the connections of myths, beliefs, science and how people try to understand life.[1] Themes Explored Peterson explores various essential themes…
By: David Weston on April 12, 2025
In 1987, I wandered around the former Byzantine Cathedral of the Greek Orthodox Church in Constantinople, modern-day Istanbul. I was ill-prepared to experience what was about to take place. The Hagia Sophia (also spelled Agia Sophia) was first built in 537 AD during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. In 987, Prince Vladimir…
By: Michael Hansen on April 11, 2025
I was introduced to peer evaluations while attending the United States Military Academy. As a nineteen-year-old, I didn’t glean much from the experience. However, I distinctly remember the results and my follow-up discussion with our tactical officer. We were asked to rank our classmates from our company (floor) and identify five who we would qualify…
By: Julie O'Hara on April 11, 2025
This is my third attempt at a post-worthy blog. To say I feel demoralized is an understatement. My personal anxiety over the weekly blogs is nearly crippling, and this week’s experience expanded the boundaries of suffering. Attempt number one was based on the video “Introduction to the Idea of God” which I watched as an…
By: Ivan Ostrovsky on April 11, 2025
Just when I thought I had read and learned everything about leadership, who knew that picking up the book The Sound of Leadership would provide me with a different perspective and deeper insights! As great as it is, my favorite part describes God as an artist and creator, portraying us as something artistic and special. In the…
By: Jeremiah Gómez on April 10, 2025
And some days weeks months seasons it’s harder than others. When I first picked up Glanzer’s The Sound of Leadership, I read it inspectionally and thought, “Great! A quick and easy read!”[1] What I encountered, though, was a helpful tool intersecting not just in a challenging season but in a week full of unique experiences……
By: Chad Warren on April 10, 2025
We live by stories. As a child, I tried convincing my mom that I had a radio in my head because I could recall music just as I heard it on the radio. I often imagined music playing as I engaged in playful activities, as if I were in a movie. I still love imagining…
By: Alex Mwaura on April 10, 2025
Throughout this semester, several recurring themes have emerged in my mind based on the books we read and our discussions as a cohort. One theme is that the world is in a challenging place. Even though the wisest man declared that “there is nothing new under the sun,”[1] we are facing systemic issues, some of…
By: Joel Zantingh on April 10, 2025
Dr. Jordan B. Peterson is a clinical psychologist, author, podcaster, cultural critic and former professor at the University of Toronto. Michelle Butterfield, writing for Global News in December 2024, described Peterson as “a public figure with a huge social media following that people appear to either fully embrace or abhor” [1]. His fame sky-rocketed when…
