Favorite Influences

How can we as a people educate others and influence our culture towards Truth? How can we put Truth in the driver’s seat over our ideologies and make the search of it the everlasting foundation of our political, moral, and religious philosophies? How can we do so persuasively? How can we avoid closing the minds of the people we want to persuade?

I am writing this not to Democrats or Republicans, Liberals or Conservatives, Libertarians or Socialists, Christians or Atheists, Buddhists or Hindus, I am writing to you.

We must cast away those who value showmanship over the pursuit of Truth. These people make us feel good, but they do not persuade others and they do not give us arguments to persuade others, only to beat them. Winning is at best a dubious concept if what we leave behind is scorched earth and frustrated souls who swear never to side with us because of how terribly we have treated them.

We must strive to put our emotions aside and search for facts that justify our emotion. We must dream of a better tomorrow, but allow pragmatism to evaluate the efficacy of our dreams.

It is time to stop engaging in attacking the other side just because we can. It’s time to stop the name calling, and engaging in childish attacks that don’t criticize anything important; to stop arguing about whose signs are more hateful, or whose side is more evil.

We must not attack a person but instead evaluate their ideas.  We must stop labeling groups with disparaging names and instead be fair in our dealings. When in doubt, leave it out.

Learn the logical fallacies. Live by avoiding them. Learn to be charitable. Learn patience. Do not agree or disagree with a person’s position until you can understand and repeat their position back to them.  Learn to give credit when it is due, even to those whom you dislike and those who do not share your ideas or beliefs.

We must pursue the truth over our pet ideologies. We are all mistaken in some way and it must be our chief end to find those areas where we are, with humility and for our own betterment as a people.

We are not Democrats. We are not Republicans. We are not Libertarians. We are not Conservatives. We are not Liberals. We are not Progressives. We are moral human beings; the ones who stand for Truth and justice, mercy and fair-mindedness.

These are some influences which I think have led me to this belief and are helping me along the way to fully implementing it within my life. I’m not there yet, and I don’t claim to be. I fully expect to take the rest of my life to reach this goal. But these influences are those which have led me to find what I know to be true and to cast off what I learned to be false. I believe these resources can also help you to do these things and aid you in pursuit of Truth. That is why I compiled them.

I invite you to add your own influences in the comments section—even ones that contradict my own viewpoint—so that this page can become a resource to people from all walks of life to compare the very best each perspective has to offer in order to find Truth.

Last Updated: February 27, 2010

Christianity and Intersections of Faith and Reason
Apologetics.com Podcast
The Case For Faith, by Lee Strobel
Focus on the Family Daily Broadcast
Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis
PleaseConvinceMe.Com Podcast
Reasons To Believe – I Didn’t Know That Podcast
Reasons To Believe – Science News Flash Podcast
Reasons To Believe – Straight Thinking Podcast
Reasons To Believe Website
Religion: Poison or Cure? A debate and discussion between Alister McGrath and Christopher Hitchens
RZIM’s Just Thinking Podcast
RZIM’s Let My People Think Podcast
Stand to Reason Podcast
Stand to Reason Website
Tactics: A Game Plan For Discussing Your Christian Convictions, by Greg Koukl
The Things That Matter Most Podcast
UCLA Veritas Forum – Relativism: Feet Planted Firmly in Mid-Air
What’s So Great About Christianity? by Dinesh D’Souza
Without a Doubt: Answering the 20 Toughest Faith Questions, by Kenneth Richard Samples

Fair American Political and Media Analysis
Conservative
The Dennis Prager Show

Liberal
Camille Paglia on Salon.com

Finance
The Dave Ramsey Show Daily Podcast
The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan For Financial Success, by Dave Ramsey
Maxxed Out – A DVD Documentary

History
Apologetics.com Podcast
The Case For Faith, by Lee Strobel
Prager University
What’s So Great About Christianity? by Dinesh D’Souza

Personal Growth
The Dennis Prager Show (Happy, Male/Female, and Ultimate Issues Hours)
Learning Skills 101 Podcast with Kenneth Samples
Prager University
Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of A Man’s Soul
The Way of The Wild Heart: A Map For the Masculine Journey

Philosophy
Apologetics.com Podcast
Prager University
Reasons To Believe – Straight Thinking Podcast
Reasons To Believe – I Didn’t Know That Podcast
Stand to Reason Podcast
Without a Doubt: Answering the 20 Toughest Faith Questions, by Kenneth Richard Samples

Podcasts Just For Fun
The Adventures of Indiana Jim
The Butlerniverse
The Rob Arnie and Dawn Show
Star Wars Galaxies With Yivvits and Mr. Bubble

Pro-Life Issues
The Case For Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture, by Scott Klusendorf
Life Report Podcast: Pro-Life Talk. Real World Answers
The Life Training Institute
Life Training Institute Podcast

Science
The Origins of Life, by Fazale Rana and Hugh Ross
Reasons To Believe – I Didn’t Know That Podcast
Reasons To Believe – Science News Flash Podcast
Reasons To Believe Website
Skepticality: The Official Podcast of Skeptic Magazine
What’s So Great About Christianity? by Dinesh D’Souza

Writing
Freelancer’s Survival Guide, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
How To Think Sideways – Career Survival School for Writers, by Holly Lisle
How To Revise Your Novel – Create The Book You Want, From the Book You Have, by Holly Lisle
I Should Be Writing Podcast
Michael A. Stackpole’s Blog
Writing Excuses Podcast