Red Pill Books for 2024

Personal Update and the 1607 Project

We are live now on the conversations that matter podcast. I hope everyone can hear me Let me know if you can't. My microphone seems to be working. We have a number of books that I want to talk about today.

I've tried to narrow down the list of red pill books, which is hard because there's a lot and Some I didn't include some I wonder whether or not I can even include because of the restrictions YouTube has unfortunately and while I don't Necessarily always abide by those restrictions.

In fact in the past I've done some live streams and Or I should say videos that I've uploaded I put them on rumble and then an edited version on YouTube I I do tend to try to stay as Much above board as I can because most of the listeners are on YouTube.

So So anyway, we will see where things go. I'm open to questions. I'm open to people who call in I let the patrons know yesterday if you are a patron of this podcast patreon .com forward slash worldview conversation you can be part of the podcast and Today is kind of a free-for-all.

You can bring up any topic you want I mean, I'm kind of encouraging people talk about whether in the comments or if you call in the books that really kind of red-pilled you and But you can talk about anything and and ask me really any question.

And if I don't know I'll say I don't know. But I do want to say I want to start off the podcast by just Giving you a personal update. I appreciate all the prayers and Encouragement. I I feel like I've needed a lot of that lately with the tragedies that are going on in the lives of myself and my wife and and You know, I almost feel bad for for needing so much of that, but I do appreciate it I mean we all go through seasons and This is definitely a season for me and I didn't really understand I still don't understand the extent to which My grandfather's death would affect me.

There's been other deaths in the family. There's been other deaths of friends but this one has been especially hard for me and and I think one of the reasons for that is I had My wife and I were talking about this actually last night.

She had the same thing with her mom. I Had visions of my mind things I wanted to do with him and I know he was he was 101 I mean he was he was very old and and I you know, maybe some people would think well, that's kind of Ridiculous to be planning ahead when when someone's 101, but I've had I actually spent a year living in California and in like 2010 2011 and and since that time, especially I've really wanted to Finish my grandfather's story of World War two because I interviewed him extensively.

I've always letters from the war. I have audio recordings I even had video recordings. I spent a significant amount of time yesterday editing some of those video recordings and I've just really I wanted to like make a book and and I just I never could I never could I got like a Chapter and a half in and I would slowly work on it here and there but there was always like social justice stuff or You know other projects and it seemed like it was always an emergency like, you know, John we need you right now No one else is really And it's not that I'm I don't want it to sound arrogant.

I'm not like irreplaceable, but there was a time especially 2020 2021 and I still feel this at times that What I've said on this podcast what I've written in book form It's just not being said the critiques of social justice I think most of them that are popular are still inadequate and I just felt like and I think I think it was the Right thing to put time into that.

But anyway, I really wanted to finish the story so now I'm gonna finish it, but it's gonna be more for his great-grandkids and And those who come after and I want it to be good and and so anyway. That was one of the things and the other thing was I really wanted him to you know.

It's just special when you when you have your grandfather or your grandmother someone in that generation Holding your child and because my wife and I and I mentioned this in the last episode had some fertility issues.

It just was delayed delayed delayed and now we're pregnant and that's when he passes away. So my last conversation with him on Christmas was what was about that and he said, you know, he would look forward.

Actually, I'm not sure. I'm trying to think it was that conversation the one before that I think was one before that which was like maybe Thanksgiving or maybe it was a few weeks before Christmas but he was looking forward to meeting the child and.

But then I had plans to go out there in January and just I am going out there, but it's for a funeral instead. So anyway, that's probably way more personal details than most of you wanted. But some of you do Appreciate that kind of an update and I I have just been busy.

I went to California for a few days and was hopefully helpful in comforting the family who was there especially my grandma who I stayed with and I'm going back in two weeks for the funeral and I'm trying to put together a bunch of video stuff.

I recorded him actually quite a bit. Sometimes I think without his knowledge sometimes with his knowledge. He just didn't say anything. Because I don't know if he if he if it was more formal, I couldn't do that with him.

He's one of those some of you understand this like once you put a camera in front of someone Who doesn't really they're not formal and they don't really it changes the dynamic. I didn't want to change the dynamic so I have a bunch of Somewhat covert I guess operations and don't worry.

I don't do that with anyone else. Really. I've never I don't think I've ever filmed anyone else I've recorded maybe if like like I could count on one hand probably two or three conversations in my life.

Without the other person knowing only in states that were one-party consent. You know for for whatever reason I've never I don't think I've ever recorded a phone call. So it's not it's not a habit of mine to do that but with him I Knew he was getting older and I really wanted to I wanted to have I wanted my children to know what he was like.

If they didn't get a chance to interact with him and and you don't always get that through writing. So Anyway, I've been editing some of that stuff. I've been posting some of it on my Facebook page for those who are on Facebook.

But uh, anyway, I should probably move on from that. It's been a big part of my life the last few weeks. But I've also just so everyone knows. Since I haven't been podcasting. I have been working hard though on something else and that's the 1607 project.

We're calling the documentary for it, Virginia first. There will be a book called the 1607 project that accompanies it is a series of essays on everything from economics to religion to The government to music it's all about the founding of the United States through Jamestown, which is a story That's not often told it's usually told especially in our circles and what I mean by our circles more evangelical conservative circles.

It's Plymouth. It's the Puritans. This is not that. This is a story for some of you. You may never have heard it to be honest with you. It hit me as I was doing some editing this week. This really is something unique and it wasn't that long ago I mean this was something that especially if you go back to like the 19th century people would have been familiar with but The the story really does start in Jamestown and Most of the things that we consider American the positive things that we're proud of they really are rooted back to Jamestown.

And so that's what the 1607 project is about. It's not 1619. In fact, that's why we started this was to to to compete with those compete with the 1619 project compete. Even with the 1776 Commission, which was almost it was about as bad to be honest with you.

It's just it wasn't accurate. And so So I'm excited about that and that's premiering Next February. I should have probably had it queued up. But you can go to the Abbeville Institute's website to their events Abbeville Institute and if you go there, there's an event at the events page, you'll see 1607 project and It there it's in Georgia south of Atlanta.

Trying to remember the name of it Cal Calaway. I think is the name Calaway Gardens beautiful place, by the way I've been there once and it's just a great place. And so if you if you have the means to be there, I'd love to meet you.

If not, that's totally fine. It is going to be made available publicly, but I've been mr Editor lately, which is not usually my forte with documentaries. I'll do the interviews I usually don't even film the interviews this one though.

I filmed all the interviews. I've done all the travel I've done a lot of the editing because I I've gone painstakingly through every part of this hour and a half long Documentary and suggested the b-roll and everything else.

So so that's what I've been up to. Before we get into the the books, which I know many of you are waiting for I do want to give a shout out here to a sponsor for this particular podcast and I'm thankful for them and Actually, I've talked to the owner of this particular website on the phone and great guy Christian, man you know, I'm not gonna give you his address, but he's uh, let's just say he you know, he just gave off the right the kind of Impression you want from someone whose business you would like to support he gave that impression to me.

Definitely someone I want to support screen first calm I should rephrase that it is screen it first calm screen it first calm and this is a website for you parents that I think will be very helpful and And they're in the phase right now of needing to gather information.

So There's a few books I think on it right now, but they need more. So this is you can be part of the ground floor of this project for free. There's no sign up. It's not even an app it's just a website screen it first calm and What it does is it gives parents the opportunity to screen books that their children may read.

So what kind of books what kind of themes and books are we talking about? Well, there's foul language in books. There's violence and death. There's sexual content. There's LGBTQIA plus stuff. There's Alcohol and drugs they list racism as one of the things lying stealing dark content like scary things children.

Especially younger age children that may be hard potty humor and explicit content there's just a lot of things in books depending on the age of your child that you may want to be aware of before they start reading a book maybe they're given a book on their birthday or for Christmas or a relative or someone who's trusted but In but you but you don't know all the details and you have a time.

You know the time to read these books. So go to screen it first calm and you can look up various books. You can find out what's in and what other parents have found objectionable or at least Things that they think you should know about and if you're a parent who's reviewing a book.

You can't be the one to help other parents donate your time. They even have a section here With with books. It says help screen books and I'm clicking on it right now. It's gonna take me to a section where It says here's some books that we need screen.

These are on the list. You know books like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. That's not screened yet. That's kind of a popular book maybe there's a parent who can go through that and what they can do with their phone is they can use their phone to take a picture of it upload a shot a screenshot of the book.

Highlight the area that's objectionable out of maybe a little brief description and that's it. There's even a live demo here if you want to see exactly how this is done that they've put together and You can see here.

How yeah, so it's just it's on your phone. You go to the website. You don't even need an app and you can start doing this.

So.

So anyway, check that out. Screen it first comm and I think it's definitely well fitting within the theme of this particular podcast. Which is going to be red pill books or books that I found to be red pills.

So.

Let's let's start here. I'm gonna I'm gonna do and I need to do a few books and then I'll take questions. We'll take a break. So if you have questions anything is fine anything that's in the news, whatever you can put in the chat box here.

You know part of the reason I'm doing this is also Just to get back in the swing of things. I thought this was an easy topic for me to talk about just books that have.

Been.

And I should explain probably for those who don't know what a red pill is but books who have red pilled me meaning books that Had information that I can that changed the way I looked at things. That's really what a red pill is now.

Some people will talk about red pill books and there you know Books that show that were controlled by lizards or something, right? It was a red pill and it doesn't mean that a red pill book is necessarily the truth.

It's supposed to be. I mean some it by definition I guess it should be it's the revelation of the truth, but some people will think that lies are the truth, right? So so not every book that someone says or Documentary or piece of information that someone says is a red pill is actually a red pill but but it goes back to a movie The Matrix and this option between the red and the blue pill the red pill being Understanding what reality really is what's really going on.

So So these were just books that I found Particularly Informative their secondary sources. I think maybe one has primary sources in it but these are books that that frame the way I looked at certain things and I And it changed the way I looked at certain things or at least Challenged the way I looked at them previously.

For the better and it's influenced even this podcast to some extent the way that I look at things compared to the way that maybe other commentators look at things and and I can compare myself before having looked at this information and after and and seen a development a positive development, so We're gonna start with with this.

This is a book called returning to reality Christian Platonism for our Tom times by Paul Tyson. I've never talked about this book on the podcast. But as I was going through some of the books that I've read that I found very influential.

I read this book. I believe in.

2018.

2017 I think 2018 spring semester if I'm not mistaken and it wasn't assigned it wasn't. I had a philosophy class at Southeastern.

And.

We had to watch a documentary Roger Scruton's Documentary about beauty which I totally recommend that documentary. Please go watch that if you've never seen. It's called why beauty matters. I think by Roger Scruton.

It's on I think Vimeo you can check it out. It's like over and it's like in about an hour, maybe Little over that but it's worth it. And so this got me thinking What is it about this particular documentary this why beauty matters that I resonate with and it's some of these red pills are really Things I knew kind of were true, but I didn't have any categories for it.

I'd never really heard it articulated and. And this is one of those.

I.

Was shocked to be on well surprised I'll say surprised. I was surprised to find out how much. How many platonic categories are found especially in the New Testament?

It.

It wasn't something I was prepared for and it's very integrated. Actually, and this was the book that kind of helped me understand that and I'm just gonna read the description and then maybe get into A little more of why I found this to be particularly helpful and why you should read it.

I mean, it was it was it's not an old book. It was published in 2014 By Paul Tyson, but here's what it says. Could it be that we have lost touch with some basic human realities in our day of high-tech efficiency frenetic competition and ceaseless?

Consumption have we turned from the moral the spiritual and even the physical realities that make our lives meaningful. These are metaphysical questions questions about the nature of reality, but they are not abstract questions.

These are very down-to-earth questions that concern power and the collective framework of belief and action governing our daily lives. This book is an introduction to the history theory and application of Christian metaphysics yet.

This book is not just an introduction. It is also a passionately argued call for a profound change in the contemporary Christian mind. Paul Tyson argues that as Western Christians cultures Christian Platonist understanding of reality was replaced by modern pragmatic realism.

We turned not just from one outlook on reality to another but away from reality itself. This book seeks to show that if we can recover this ancient Christian outlook on reality reframed for our day. Then we will be able to recover a way of life that is in harmony with the human and divine truth.

And so. With the term metaphysics for those who don't understand. This is just our understanding of reality. Metaphysics is the study of What constitutes reality itself. What kinds of things are out there?

I mean a materialist would say everything's material. Is that really true or are there non material things that actually exist in reality? That's metaphysics up until this point. A lot of my reading had been presuppositional apologetics.

In.

In the category, I would consider philosophy which is very heavy on epistemology, so that's the nature of. Not not the nature of reality so much but more. How do we know. How can we even approach that question?

Right, and this was I think one of the first books that really got me to grapple with metaphysics and. It's changed over the course of time. It's changed the way I think I've viewed certain things.

It.

Is.

Platonism and I feel like I'm not doing this justice. So just bear with me here, but Platonism just really Boiled down is this idea think of Plato's cave if you have any understanding of that. It's this idea that there there is reality truly exists that the things in our world are meaningful and that they actually conform to.

Somewhat of a higher level of being so oftentimes the example of like a circle will be used. There's you know, you can't really make a perfect circle, but we know that a perfect circle exists. And so there's all these kind of standards of perfection that that even when we talk about masculinity.

There's something we're trying to be that exists in reality, right? But it might not be in our physical world. There are things beyond this physical world there there there are things that are mysterious to us even but we know they exist and intuitively we know this and You see glimpses of this in Scripture you see when Paul even says things like You know, we see in part, but we will see face to face.

It's it's that that's a very platonic thing to kind of say. Especially if you get into the original language and what it's communicating and Paul Tyson teases this out. So I'm not gonna do justice to what he's already done.

But this has I think Ramifications for how we live our lives how we see the way that we operate in this world. It's not just cause and effect. It's not just action and reaction it there's something more going on and You think of even writers like Lewis and Tolkien who were very influenced by play Platonism.

In fact, the silver chair in the Chronicles of Narnia series is basically Plato's cave it and I didn't know that when I was little reading this book, but Anyway, I think when you understand that it just gives a richer to me at least it gave me a richer understanding of my life.

The significance of my life and of the activities that take place in this temporal world. So returning to reality Christian Platonism for our times. Paul Tyson Is the author of that particular book? I'm gonna take a few questions and then I'll get into some more books that were red pills for me.

Let's see, we have a question here. I Hope John will at some point review the movie police state by Dinesh D'Souza. I Don't think I've seen police state by Dinesh D'Souza. I there's a lot of documentaries people send me that I am books that I kind of skim or I read or I watch a few minutes of it and decide whether or not and I'm wondering if this is one of the ones that I did watch a few minutes of a but then I Is this is this the one about George Floyd?

And the whole What happened in Minneapolis or is that I'm I think of a different documentary? Maybe someone can confirm for me. If not, then I don't think I've ever seen it. So If people recommend it, I'll put it on the list and look at it at some point.

Let's see, we have a sure guide to love is the The name here. Can you explain your view of the Dominion mandate in Genesis and where you think some get it wrong? How does the life of Christ relate to it?

I'm not sure exactly what's meant by this question, but I'm gonna give it my best shot. So the Dominion mandate to For mankind for Adam and I think this extends to Eve as well because she's his helper to have Dominion over the earth is Used by a lot of different Christians in different ways.

In fact when I was in seminary, I remember an ethics class. This was used in The Abad and Shamar keep and cultivate the garden. This was actually translated as to worship and obey him in the class I had and since then I've actually rejected that I don't think that's accurate.

I think that was a stretch and I think it was Here's how it was framed. I'll just tell you and I'm not blaming the professor who told me this necessarily I think they got it from somewhere else and they weren't Hebrew scholars or anything but what he told us was that the whole purpose and the Dominion mandate was to create worshipers through procreation and These these would in a perfect world they would worship and obey God that's what Adam was supposed to do and Because of the curse of sin That did not happen.

And so when Christ came now the way that we fulfill this mandate So this is the Dominion mandate still is to make disciples. So that so making disciples is an extension of the Dominion mandate. So it's almost like a replacement or an abrogation.

It's it's a It's it's how you fulfill it today. The command of God in Genesis today is the Great Commission Right and in a southeastern and they call themselves a Great Commission seminary. You can see why that has an appeal, you know, we're fulfilling the Dominion mandate here I don't think that's accurate if that's what the question is is aimed at.

I.

Certainly think that can fit into the the Dominion mandate because.

It is.

Related to.

The.

Control and influence of Christ which is that that is basically the kingdom of the kingdom of God is Where Christ has dominion and influence and so forth? That's why when Christ was on this earth when he talks about That the kingdom is present with you and stuff it's I'm here my it's my Dominion.

But I think though If we want to be about original intent if we want to be about the original intention that God had I really do think the Dominion mandate is is man's Control over nature man's stewardship really over nature and that's why Adam is first given the task of naming the animals because naming is Implies control if you define something You have an ability to control that thing.

This is one of the reasons the left.

Is so.

Concerned with Putting the microscope on us. Defining what Christian nationalism is what all the things that we hold dear every time we. I remember when the Gadsden flag became popular again remember that that don't tread on me and Immediately within two seconds the left had to define what that meant.

The reason is is because they you have control over these things when you can define them. It's the reason the Confederate statues and now founding father statues are coming down. It's like they've been given the control to defining these things and that was the control Adam had of all of creation of all of the animals at the beginning of creation all living things and So I think that it should be properly Translated to keep and cultivate the garden.

That was his job and that's our job with the material that God has made in this in this realm. Our jobs in this temporal realm Physical realm is to manage it to steward it to the glory of God and we could go all sorts of directions on there I suppose and maybe do a whole podcast at some point.

But I hope that maybe gets at if I didn't hit it. I am I do apologize. But the life of Christ that how does I'll just say briefly to you. How does the life of Christ relate to it? I think what that I think perhaps the question there is.

Maybe along the lines of like the Great Commission and how does the New Covenant? How does that relate to the Dominion mandate? Well, I think it restores our ability as as believers at least. It's it guides us towards it.

Orients us towards a heavenly good so it's not that non Christians can't by a Certain instinct that God has programmed into all creation and all of mankind Do things to have dominion. I don't think that's true.

But I do think that Christians are Better suited for that. This is one of the reasons that the Christian nationalists quote-unquote people think that hey It's better for Christians to be in elected office.

They are the ones that have a better understanding. They have access to the special revelation and they're led by the Holy Spirit and they're going to make decisions Lord willing. I mean if things are working correctly that will That are better suited.

That's at least how it should happen. We know that there are Christians who? Aren't always acting in accord with what the Bible teaches but but they should if they're being discipled in the word in Scripture if they Should have tools and an ability that goes beyond those who are not.

So I think even when it comes to business and other matters in this temporal world you're you're going to find that That Christians are going to behave in ways that or at least they should there's a general trend that they're going to Do a better job of taking Dominion and isn't that the story of Western civilization to be quite honest with you?

The this civilization that was so influenced by Christianity for so long.

So.

I don't know if I'm hitting it. I hope I am. I hope I am. But we got to move on and so. Someone can ask a follow-up question if I didn't get to it there. Okay, police state is about January 6. I haven't seen it then.

I kind of lived it though. So I guess I've seen a few January 6 documentaries. I did not see that one, but in each case I was. I didn't really learn much. I was kind of like, okay I mean I lived it and then I guess I read enough on the Ray Epps stuff and other things to be like, okay, that's I.

I.

Kind of know what happened at least as much as we can now. I think Tucker Carlson's doing some great interviews, by the way on this topic, but yeah, maybe maybe I'll look into it. I don't know. Is it free if it's free?

Maybe I'll look into it. Okay. There's no more questions for now. If you have questions or comments though, feel free to put them in the chat. I'm gonna keep going with some of these books and I'll try to speed it up a little since we're almost half an hour in here.

Ideas Have Consequences and the Critique of Modernity

Ideas have consequences. I did a series of podcasts on this actually with my father and my brother. I've read this book twice and I probably will read it again because this book really was probably the most the most profound redpill I've ever read in book form and The description says this is by Richard Weaver and what has become a classic work.

Weaver Unsparingly diagnosis the ills of our age and offers a realistic remedy. He asserts that the world is intelligible and that man is free the catastrophe of our age are the product of unintelligent choice and the and the cure lies in Man's recognition that ideas like actions have consequences a cure.

He submits as possible. It lies in the right use of man's reason in the renewed acceptable Acceptance rather of an absolute reality and in the recognition that ideas like actions have consequences. This is a really good and I and the order that I put these in is important.

This is a good follow-up to Tyson's book or you can read Tyson's after Richard Weaver. Because this is also about Platonism to be honest with you. This is About how it starts with William of Ockham. It's not a history, but it's William of Ockham's ideas.

How they played out in history, right so we don't we don't want to blame everything on William of Ockham. There's seldom people that you can blame everything on even Karl Marx even Darwin. It's yes, they bear a lot of with you and Freud these guys bear a lot of blame for things.

But it it's never one person acting alone, right? And so I'm sensitive to that because that's ideologies. Form sometimes around these things. It's all Hegel and then you look at the world binary. It's either Hegel or not Hegel it's it's it's not all William of Ockham, but.

But he makes the case that Ockham's ideas nominalism were. Were influential on producing modernity and that modernity is a rejection of the platonic metaphysic right that that that there is A reality beyond us that we should be aiming for and orienting ourselves toward.

So I would definitely recommend this because it reads almost like a newspaper when you read this you can't believe this was written in 1948. It it seems to diagnose exactly what we're living in today.

And I think if Richard was just very perceived that Weber was very prescient. He could see beyond his own time to see what would happen. And and how did he do that? How did he know? Well, he could see philosophically what was happening.

And and yes, I've read, you know, I've read Francis Schaeffer. I've read you know that the typical Christian books reformed Christians are supposed to read on these things and.

I.

Don't I I really think Richard Weaver's analysis is one of the best analysis. I would put it above Even how should we then live which I think is a good book for the most part. But I I think Weaver's really on to something with this and and read some of his other books, too.

He's got a number of good books, but that's the place I'd start. Next is in a similar vein David Wells a no place for truth or whatever happened to evangelical theology and The description here is has something indeed happened to evangelical theology and evangelical churches according to David Wells the evidence indicates that Evangelical pastors have abandoned their traditional role as ministers of the word to become therapists and managers of the small enterprises.

We call churches along with their parishioners. They have abandoned genuine Christianity and biblical truth in favor of the sort of interdirected Experiential religion that now pervades Western society.

Major red pill. Okay, this book showed me and it helped me understand that. Okay, most of what calls itself Christianity has already compromised in the United States. That's why I'm I I'm not as disappointed and not as surprised when I see compromise because I realize okay.

The vast majority and I'm talking about even Southern Baptists. I'm talking about the most conservative in the United States. They've slid into a modern mindset and and it starts really with Pastors the role of the pastor being respected and now not respected.

Because of modernity because the they were replaced by the psychologists and the therapists and. And now I mean the activists. I mean how many Christians are also. Pastors are basically just activists.

They're social justice warriors, right? These are things that have a higher cash value. They're they're more esteemed. They're more respected and so You look at even the evening news. Are they calling pastors on to comment on the issues of the day?

I mean there was a time when pastors would have think of the black robe regimen, right? Like pastors were the educated ones pastors would have been talking about these things, but not now now. You know, we're gonna call in our experts and so pastors in order to regain what had been lost.

There was an attempt that new evangelicalism is this attempt to Reorientate what a pastor is they're a therapist. They're your buddy. They're a manager. And I have to tell you a lot of churches. I've been.

Well, I shouldn't say a lot the churches I've been a part of and a lot of churches I've observed and the way I was even trained in seminary. Totally infused with this in my opinion totally infused with this.

Even as I saw the curriculum change at Southeastern before I left we're replacing, you know classes on theology with Christian leadership. Like what is this? And you know the class is like, how do you make your church more diverse, you know things like that?

That's. That's the problem. That is modernity. That is a an inward oriented navel gazing at yourself looking at just just the temporal not orient a or in. Orienting your life to the higher life. That exists to the to God and what he's trying to communicate.

It's bringing everything down. It's the immanent ising of the eschaton. And David Wells, I think really expands on what Weaver starts he shows How this plays out in Christianity, and I think it's a great book.

So with that I will just look to see if there's questions. I think I don't think we have Any questions? Let's just keep going here. How to be a conservative. Roger Scruton how to be a conservative? This is the next book and this is a book that I am going to actually review with my dad and my brother.

It's it's actually been months that I plan to do this and with all the tragedies that have happened and it just with family. It just hasn't really worked out, but we'll do this soon.

And.

Here's the I'll just be brief on this because I have so many more books to talk about. Roger Scruton is I think an excellent thinker. If you read Charles Haywood you know, he thinks that Roger Scruton's time has basically passed perhaps and that it's.