Paul Martin
To Overthrow the Order of Ignorance and Injustice in the World.
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When Wisdom Grabbed Me

November 15, 2022 By paulosophia in Culture, Philosophy, Politics, Relationships, Spirituality, Uncategorized Tags: my life, philosophy, selfcare

 

When Wisdom grabbed me my life changed. Let me explain.

I was a horrible student as a kid. When I say “horrible,” I mean horrible. My third-grade teacher once called my parents and told them, flat out, “Paul is dumb.” I barely graduated high school. My GPA was around 2.0.

I didn’t become interested in learning until my 20s. I enrolled in a psychology class when I was 22. Not to pursue a degree, but to learn more about psychology, of which I knew nothing. After that, it was a western civilization class. Then music history.

When Wisdom grabbed me my life changed.

Later, via C.S. Lewis I was introduced to some philosophers: Plato and Aristotle, mostly, but later Augustine and Descartes. I started reading them. Man, that was tough! I knew I needed help, like a coach. So in my 20s, I audited philosophy courses at UCI Irvine. Eventually, I got serious, and I ended up with a BA in philosophy from UCLA. I then received a second degree in philosophy and MA from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University.

 

At shot this on my Leica Q2 last week. Royce Hall, UCLA

C.S. Lewis helped me stay determined with his words, “The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions never come.”

All this work was done while I had a flourishing career.

Over the years some have asked why I didn’t get more “practical” degrees. More than a few men have said, “You could have done an MBA.”

Wasn’t interested.

Philosophy doesn’t teach you what to think – facts, data, information – it teaches you how to think. Moreover, education should never be a means to an end — it’s an end in itself.

Too many today view education as a task you must “get through,” so you can go get a better job. Parents teach their children this canard, drilling into their young minds the importance of good grades and test scores and extra cirriculars, so the kids go get into a “top university.”

I get it; we want our children to get decent jobs, which, we’re told, leads to better lives. Makes sense. Fact is though, studies show the “American dream” often doesn’t work. Making more money does not always lead to greater fulfillment.

Being stuck in some field that you ultimately hate, having to live for the weekends and vacation – I question it.

Later in life, countless men (women less) wonder why they gave the best years of their lives, decades, to climbing the corporate ladder, the pursuit of wealth and status, “success” — only to find little meaning and sense of purpose.

Treating education and learning as a means to an end — and this sounds strong I realize — is destroying our nation today. Some talk about how we need a spiritual revival. Perhaps we do. But I’m certain we need a revival of thinking, reasoning, and the pursuit of education for the sake of learning, being well-informed and finding our true passions.

We need to be seeking wisdom. When Wisdom grabbed me my life changed.

If you want to learn more on this topic, watch my new video at the link below.

Can You Know God Without Jesus?

November 6, 2022 By paulosophia in Religion, Spirituality Tags: religion, spirituality

 

Can You Know God Without Jesus? Can Muslims know God? Can atheists? Jews? Are only “born again” Christians part of the Body of Christ?

Recently on Facebook, I got into this not-so-cozy little conversation on these questions. My view was met with intense resistance. By fellow Christians.

One guy called me a heretic.

But my opinion was not my own.

One’s religious views are shaped by others   — in my case, two men in the very best of the Evangelical Christian tradition, and a saintly Roman Catholic woman who gave her every fiber to welcome outsiders in Jesus’ name.

So if you find my view controversial — the view that many can know God, even though they don’t identify as Christians — please understand that I didn’t invent it.

Dr. Billy Graham, one of the greatest Christian evangelists of our time, said this:

“I think everybody that that loves Christ, or knows Christ, whether they’re conscious of it or not, they’re members of the body of Christ. And that’s what God is doing today. He’s calling people for ‘eh, out of the the world for his name whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world, or the Christian world, or the non-believing world uh they are members of the body of Christ because they’ve been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus but uh they know in their hearts that they need something that they don’t have and they turn to the only light that they have. And I think that they are saved and they are going to be with us in heaven.”*

And Mother Teresa, this:

“There is only one God and He is God to all; therefore it is important that everyone is seen as equal before God. I’ve always said that we should help a Hindu become a better Hindu, a Muslim become a better Muslim, a Catholic become a better Catholic.”

C.S. Lewis’s held the same view. His articulation of it is far longer, more literary, and more beautiful. So I won’t be so vulgar as to copy and paste it. If you’d like, read about it here in chapter 15 of Lewis’s Narnia series, The Last Battle.

I’ve been invited to join Muslims for prayers. And when I’m there kneeling and standing and kneeling and standing — practicing their way of worship — I always feel peace. I always feel calm. I always feel a deep connection with fellow journeyers.

I always feel God.

The more time I spend with Muslims, the more I realize how virtues like humility and wisdom and generosity are universal forces of good. I realize their presence on display throughout the spectrum of world religions, and even amongst the non-religious.

Some of you are reading this and thinking, Wow, Paul is really losing it.

That’s okay. I get that this view will confuse or upset many. If that’s you, I’d like to ask you three questions.

First, why does it make you so uneasy?

Second, and respectfully, what do you know that Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, and C.S. Lewis don’t?

Finally, do you think God might just big enough to be okay with people knowing him, but not his exact name?

 

*the video of Billy Graham’s statement can be watched here.

 

 

 

The Truth About Politics and Keeping Your Relationships

August 24, 2022 By paulosophia in Politics, Relationships, Uncategorized Tags: politics, relationships

 

 

In this motivational video Paul discusses technology and politics, then family issues and solutions in the USA. He uses practical wisdom, formal training in philosophy, ethics and religious studies, and experience as a candidate for U.S. Congress, to cast a vision for lifelong learning in a world where social media and politics strains relationships with family and friends.

 

Understanding Abortion Debate

August 2, 2022 By paulosophia in Politics, Relationships, Religion, Spirituality, Uncategorized Tags: politics, religion

 

News of overturning of Roe v Wade brought abortion rights into question, and questions about understanding abortion debate, US abortion laws, pro choice vs pro life tension, and even the return of abortion protest. Though Trump news is on the wane, he did play a part in where we are today, and Biden abortion comments leave many in the pro choice camp hopeful.

 

What is the USA?

July 5, 2021 By paulosophia in Culture, Donald Trump, Lifestyle, Philosophy, Politics, Religion Tags: my life, philosophy, politics

 

 

Millions celebrate the USA today. And, yes, I should, I suppose, be on the boat, or the wakeboard, or the paddleboard, or the kayak. Like everyone else, here in flawless Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, where it’s a dry ninety degrees, the water as transparent as glass.

Millions celebrate the USA today.

I sit here instead. For now at least. On a patio chair, enviously listening to the sounds of boats and laughing, watching everyone frolic in the warm sun.

Have you ever taken a step back, ask what we celebrate on July 4th? I mean, of course, we celebrate the “birth of a nation.” But precisely what is the nation?

What is the USA?

Because when I was a kid, on Independence Day, everyone seemed to be on the same page. Like other national holidays like Memorial Day or Veteran’s Day or New Year’s Day — or even on a birthday or wedding anniversary — never debate about what you were celebrating.

Millions celebrate the USA today. And they ain’t celebrating the same thing.

In fact, tens of millions seem to be celebrating very different countries.

On the political left, a celebration of diversity. Not just celebration, pride in diversity. Giddiness. Glee. Jump up and down and scream hullaballoo.

Whether race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, religion, socioeconomic status — the more diverse, the better. Food and culture and music and language. The more diverse, the better. Black as much as white. Lesbian and gay and bisexual and transgender and queer, as much as straight. Muslim or atheist or Hindu as much as Christian. Equal rights for all.

To the question, What is the USA? the far left, its core — American means not just diversity, but a celebration of it.

What is the USA to the far right? Most certainly equal Independence Day celebration. Parties and trucks with flags — lots of flags. Lots said about patriotism. Songs and memes about being proud to be American. Most certainly pride in “America.” But not so much pride in diversity.

Perhaps even fear of that diversity.

To those on the far right, I’m afraid America means something very different than it does to those on the far left.

What is the USA? This is not a political question; today, it’s a question with no easy answer.

 

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Stuff I Write About

education (1) family (7) for the children (13) my life (158) parenting (90) philosophy (29) politics (136) relationships (44) religion (121) selfcare (2) spirituality (78) spiritually (1) teens (45)

About Me

Former U.S. House of Representatives candidate. Writer. Activist for children of neglect, abuse, and abandonment. Politics junkie. Chess geek. INTP. Enneagram 5w4. Mediterranean cook. UCLA. Philosophy.

Paul E. Martin

Philosopher, humanitarian, and cultural critic Paul Martin works to challenge the order of ignorance and injustice — to build stronger relationships, and a better world.

www.paulmartin.org

Paul E. Martin
Exposing the Reality of Evil: What to Do With Troublemakers. From serial killer to basic jerk. From basic troublemaker, failure to launch teen, to family problems kill all your happiness. 

A stigmatization of mental illness, social interaction, parenting challenges, problem children, and all the relationship advice in the world -- in this episode we draw on the wisdom of socrates

Join philosopher Paul Martin as he unpacks Exposing the Reality of Evil: What to Do With Troublemakers.

01:40 Why do they act that way?
04:31 A glimpse of a scumbag
07:38 The anatomy of a scumbag
11:14 All those scumbags
13:36 The facade of choice
17:10 The solution to feeling crazy about others
18:01 Is vice simply ignorance?

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I never make a new year’s resolution. I make new I never make a new year’s resolution. I make new year’s resolutions. Plural. And don’t usually give up anything. I prefer adding things. Over the years it’s been writing, learning about the Ottoman Empire, photography, Greek cooking, Lebanese cooking, French cooking, learning Arabic, Russian history, hot yoga and dozens of other new ventures. 

In 2016 I had 33 new year’s resolutions. I posted them on my blog. At the end of the year I gave myself a grade for each one. The link to those posts are in my story. 

The more resolutions you have, the better the chance of achieving one or two or more of them. You improve your odds of getting something done, learning something new. 

Sometimes you end up planting a seed in your mind by failing at a resolution. That year, in 2016, Resolution #18 was “Begin video posts even though I don’t have the technology to make them professional.” Nothing much happened. But seven years later — this year — voila!

This year I’m committing to just one. I guess you could say it’s two but they are opposite sides of the same coin. 

It’s about going deeper as a human. That’s my resolution for 2023 — to stretch myself, broaden my aptitudes, mentally and spiritually. Or, if you will, head and heart.

If things go as planned, I will end 2023 smarter, sharper, more knowledgable, wiser. AND, kinder, more caring, more aware, more giving to others, spiritually grounded. 

Tomorrow I will talk more about my resolution in an Instagram reel, and a longer YouTube video. I’d love for you to join me in going deeper in 2023. And let me know how it goes. 

Happy new year!

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