A Christian Approach to Politics w/ Dr. Darren Guerra, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science, Biola University, Lost Angeles County, California (TRP Ep. 78)
A Christian Approach to Politics w/ Dr. Darren Guerra, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science, Biola University, Lost Angeles County, California (TRP Ep. 78)  
Podcast: The Republican Professor
Published On: Mon Aug 15 2022
Description: Professor of Political Science Dr. Darren Guerra, Ph.D., shares his approach to teaching Political Science from a Christian perspective to undergraduates in Lost Angeles County, California. Professor Guerra is a Constitutional Scholar who has thought deeply about the original purpose and wise design of key features of the US Constitution and Declaration. For example, one issue is, how slow the Amendment process is, is that justified to correct it? He has written a book about Article V of the original Constitution called "Perfecting the Constitution: the Case for the Article V Amendment Process" available at your local book dealer (please support brick and mortar local bookstores !) and here on Ganges: https://www.amazon.com/Perfecting-Constitution-Case-Amendment-Process-dp-1498515444/dp/1498515444/ref=mt_other?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1660537303 Guerra thinks it's true slavery is wrong. Professor Guerra (Italian, pronounced Gu-air-rah) is careful to get the students talking constructively with each other about fundamental issues prior to politics per se, issues that include basic epistemology: epistemic justification, the conditions for acquiring knowledge, and the definition of truth itself. This political epistemology, as we might call it, is geared toward equipping the student to recover from and then withstand the nonsense of moral relativism, the absurdity of the so-called "fact-value" distinction, and its ancient neighbor, metaphysical naturalism or materialism. Pedagogically, sometimes, it means slowing way down and rethinking for ourselves our commitment to the truth of certain propositions with political relevance, such as murder is wrong, or that slavery is wrong. In the American context, historically Democrats have long been skeptical of the truth of the statement that slavery is wrong (and hence, that murder of a slave is wrong), and clearly Democrats often still do maintain skepticism of the truth of such basic political statements. Presently, Biola University is surrounded by contemporary California Democrats. The temptation to fit in with them culturally and philosophically is enormously powerful for many, I imagine. Democrats control most of popular culture in California and beyond, including the disastrous government K-12 schools that squeeze out often inarticulate, incoherent metaphysical naturalists, materialists, relativists, in short, Democrat graduates, almost as if by design. But Republicans have always held to to truth of the statement that slavery is wrong (any counterexamples ?). We have always insisted on the know-ability of that fact (see Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural, discussed here in this episode by Prof. Mather in a college evaluation anecdote of his own), and indeed, the modern Republican party was founded upon it in 1854, and fought a war in part over that issue. On one level it may be discouraging to have to continue, in a different form, to fight that philosophical battle, as it were, so to speak, yet again in the classroom or in the culture, sometimes it's not clear how exactly that should go. Dr. Darren Guerra is a master at crafting the curriculum to move the ball discernibly down the road to greater true progress. (The so-called "Progressive" "progress" quite often isn't true progress). (It's important to distinguish "progressivism" in name only from true progress). The Republican Professor is a pro-solid-political-epistemology, pro-anti-slavery, pro-anti-murder, pro-anti-metaphysical-naturalism, pro-anti-murder, pro-encouraging-the-students-to-dialogue-gracefully-and-honestly-with-each-other, pro-getting-down-to-brass-tacks, pro-legit-progress-not-just-"progressive"-in-name-only, pro-smashing-the-so-called-"fact-value"-distinction-to-smithereens, pro-let's-think-on-theology-and-politics podcast. The Republican Professor is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D. TRP Podcast is currently ranked dead last in the entire world in the category of Uninteresting Podcasts.