I started out as a leftist when I was a teenager. I always believed that intellectual honesty, and admitting when you're wrong is the only way to get at the truth, which was always my highest goal. Naturally, my quest for truth, with an unrelenting desire to be honest with myself, however embarrassing it might be, led me to conservatism.
+NoSafeSpaces 'If you aren't a liberal when you're 20, you have no heart. If you aren't a conservative when you're 30, you have no brain.' - I've been called both. :)
I love that this was made 9 years ago and it is so relevant to today. Love Klavan and his podcast on the daily wire. I look forward to it every weekday while at work.
Andrew Klaven is my long awaited hero. Finally, someone who really thinks. He doesn't just spew words ....no wonder his marriage has lasted 30 years. Who would let a man like this go?
I was drafted in early 1970. I VOLUNTEERED for Infantry. I was PROUD to serve. I KNEW where I was going. I spent 9 months and 15 days assigned to an infantry company in Vietnam as a "rifleman". I did not like it very much, war is never a lot of fun for the people doing the killing and dying, but much of it stemmed from the politicians not allowing the military to do what needed to be done. And in fact KILLING Americans with stupid decisions based on the communist left (funded by the KGB in many cases) shouting lies about the war, not on sound strategic or tactical grounds. Some of the dead that resulted from this stupidity I knew personally... And even the "grunt" on the ground humping an M60 knew this. People need to remember that EVERY PERSON that died in the VN War was caused by COMMUNIST AGGRESSION not by American "imperialism".
Ramses the Great newsflash he was drafted in the Army but volunteered for the Infantry. Nice try, mabey you should read closer before being a condescending douch to a Vet.
At 29.30 Klavin says if hollywood made movies depicting our soldiers as the heros, they would capture the american audience. American sniper proves his hypothesis. It did capture us
What he talks about is the year 1948 in Czechoslovakia for me, it was to be paradise, they banned God, then they banned talking about God, then they sent the agents of the state into homes to see if there was evidence of a belief. What was the cost when they banned God from the public square, the private square and from the private mind. The cost was all the invisible attributes of God. When He left he took his attributes one of which was beauty, nothing that atheism built had a soul of beauty, it was technically perfect but it lacked beauty, Czech was soulless and gray, anywhere you looked atheism leaked into the beauty that remained until it too was dead. A society can not live for long without beauty, We are sick from this experience, freedom is a beginning, learn from us.
I hope that people in America and the west will listen to the wisdom of someoe like yourself that has lived through the consequences of the bad choices a nation can make, and learn from them. But, sadly most people will not know what they have to lose till it's already gone.
Well, the dream is about to end your social security will be bankrupt in 10 years and followed by all state and federal retirement funds will dry up, there is not enough money in the world to pay what the political class has signed your name too. Detroit is the future. That and a terrible war. Europe has almost completed its suicide.
it is a real pleasure to listen to two very intelligent men have an intellectual conversation. I would feel like a little boy in that room and just keep my mouth shut and listen.
I feel like I could watch this repeatedly -- listening to Andrew. I think it would help in navigating the fall down the "rabbit hole" of liberal non-thinking, as I try to reason (is that really even possible?) with them. Thank you so much: this is very enriching. And btw, Peter Robinson, you are a knight, on a white horse, with a lance in your own right. I thank God for conservatives who can THINK and are erudite as well.
Everything he says, I have to think about and check with my own mind. Then he went after John Lennon. Maaaaan... I hate that song. Klavan, you the man.
I don't know why so many conservatives find Hitchens so "charming". My impression of him was just as of any other atheist: condescending, impressed with himself, angry with God whose very existence he denied.
I've been listening to Klavan in his pre-christian state for some years because of his refreshing view of politics and the Middle East Crisis. How abundantly more refreshing it is now he has come to faith in God through Jesus Christ. I hope he doesn't lose his Jewish humour.
I know this is older than a lot of stuff on RUclips, and of course now Andrew is doing his podcast every day which you can watch on here (the first half anyway, then it's a slate and audio-only). I listen to every podcast (audio-only on Soundcloud actually) and he's still very clever. Starts every show with a short satire that is often very funny. I didn't listen to his pre-Christian stuff but since I started listening to Truth Revolt and his PJ Media stuff maybe six years ago he has only sharpened his humor, I think. Love the guy.
You a fortunate man Peter, you get to meet some awesome people, Andrew is another unsung hero in my book and I am not a christian, so it has nothing to do with that, he just taught me so many things in the videos he makes, and he is pretty funny at times too, always a good thing in a hero imo.
What an amazing man his son is. I only had the gift of observing and listening to one of his sons. Andrew Klavan is obviously a marvelous father and husband and his wife must be a marvelous mother and wife.
Klavan is reliably Klavan, awesome and insightful. I'd actually like to use this comment to give some love to the interviewer. He was engaged, interested, empathetic and it's clear Klavan enjoyed the conversation because of it.
Ive been listening to Klavan's podcast for about a year now..im going to have to read this book, it sounds fantastic.. especially knowing his eccentricities, depth of his thoughts, and his way w language.
Find the book "Pushing The Antithesis" by Greg Bahnsen. Brilliant thinking. "I believe that I may know." Augustine. All knowledge presupposes a belief or framework for understanding that knowledge.
I guess this interview is mainly talking about the importance of the principles. The principles often means by a definition within a frame for us to do things right to avoid mistakes in many different fields and categories. Our great nation America is the same and should always be secured by principles, ensure greatness by principles, govern by principles. The principles have been established, framed, defined. Respect, follow and obey the established principles are important, necessary and without choices and do what the principles says are the duties. I don’t know other country, but I believe Americans respect, follow and obey America’s principles of Constitution laws for America’s greatness of Foundation of freedoms and Entrepreneurship spirit as the equality of the opportunities format are the most basic principles in America. To be responsible citizens, learn from the basic principles of our country America’s Foundation and Constitution by the attitude of learning to understand more and do better things always are necessary for America’s greatness and stop continued mistakes and bring back America’s own established principles for America’s greatness are very important. Politics and culture will fit in the frame of America’s own established principles and melt naturally for America’s greatness and Americans’ constant understanding from our country America’s own established principles. Since America is a melting pot of many 1st generations or 2nd generations immigrants from all over the world. The 1st generations will automatically remain own native cultures and old concept from own origin. The 2nd generations will more or less influenced from families too. It also will depend on each individual’s own learning experiences to understand more and do better things by own efforts too. It takes much time and effort to thoroughly or more understand America’s own established principles of Foundation and Constitution for America’s greatness from how and why, although it’s never easy to learn , respect, follow and obey quickly altogether and get rid of the influence from own original experiences and adopt America’s principles by appreciate what we have for others to dream for it quickly. If we neglect or forget continued learning from the principles, we easily make mistakes. Even many native Americans, if not learn often, can be confused or influenced by unknown ideologies systems too. This is why I believe Governing by America’s own principles, Americans of all will learn from principles and do better things together by principles and build America’s greatness altogether. Let’s be united together and learn from our country America’s principles together again from learning experiences to do better things by our own generosity of forgiveness this time only. Quickly govern by own established laws again to ensure America’s freedoms and equality of the opportunities by principles and honesty altogether. Govern by America’s principles of patriotism and loyalty toward America’s greatness instead of by ideologies of unknowns as races, genders and between the rich and poor from unknowns or own views, but by America’s principles and patriotism only. When President Bush was the President at the time, endless criticism from medias will only distract his efforts to get things done quickly. Otherwise, he might get more things done quickly at the time. Now endless criticism again toward elected President Trump again, why can’t we be united together again by our country America’s principles to govern, get rid of any ideologies from unknown systems, govern by America’s principles and patriotism for America’s greatness only. Medias focus on America’s principles for Americans of all to learn besides report news honestly. Stop endless criticism, but to help getting things done quickly together. This is America and govern by our country America’s principles only instead of govern by changing America into unknown systems of ideologies from unknown systems, I guess. God bless America always.
What he says should be are movies that tell the reality of what is going on in Mid-East beyond the progressive ideas we here in our news media so often. This speak was in 2008, he said that and now we have a movie that tells the truth American Sniper and boy oh boy, look how much it is being politicized and demonized instead of understood. Amazing interview, amazing brilliant discussion with a leader in thinking and observation.
Klavan's statement at 32:13 that The Dark Knight was an ode to George W Bush was a common observation at the time; there was a lot of arguing about it in the comments section of critic Dave Kehr's blog. Klavan is right to be modest.
I’m upset with the Bush family for not supporting Trump in 2020; but I do believe George W. is a Christian and I understand that he and Laura have been involved in philanthropy in Africa without calling much attention to themselves. It seems to me they did that work very well.
I'm going to disagree with Klavan on one point: as much as the Marvel Studios films are made by Obama-loving leftists and two of the Avengers co-stars have viciously attacked pro-lifers in interviews, and the whole thing is blanketed in the world of fantasy; the first Iron Man film had a neutral--even endearing--depiction of our troops in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the first Captain America film had a rather respectful view of World War II soldiers, especially since that's exactly what Cap was. I'm looking forward to the second film, though I think it's going in more of a '70s political feel thriller.
The second Captain America is very much a Glenn-Beck-powered thriller - especially where one of the villains reveals the evil plans to destroy free society from the inside, by collapsing the system and rebuilding a new one in its place. It's a VERY Conservative film.
For those interested, Prof Stephen C Hicks provides the philosophical explanation for exactly what mr Klavan is talking about here regarding paddling rather hard to reinvent your redundant leftist ideology. The book is called Explaining Postmodernism and has recently been mentioned by hero of free speech Prof Jordan Peterson. Essentially you respond to the problem that your every claim is empirical nonsense and factually incorrect by attacking empiricism and fact.
Ben Shapiro, Jordan Peterson, Dave Rubin, and Michael Knowles are all immensely smart and great conservative thinkers, but none of them can stand to Andrew Klavan, the great Infallible Lord of the Multiverse.
Hitchens is right about forgiveness - even if someone paid the price one still had done the possibly terrible deed. But if the price has been paid, one does not have the price oneself. This is what Hitchens doesn't understand. About the liberals' absolving Islam; liberals virulently hate conservatives and would sacrifice anything not to admit conservatives right. Statistically, people with a humanities or arts background are far more likely to be liberal than conservative. That is why the media is what it is. The most important thing an artist can do is to entertain. On average, they have too poor a grip on reality, being essentially emotional people as opposed to logical people, that they can't teach anyone anything about the real world.
Oliver Stone also made a movie called El Salvador which was awful!! It was not filmed in El Salvador and is not realistic at all. I also dislike “Imagine” for the same reason.
It's not mixing genre but realizing that humans christian or other wise live in the same world. Being a changed christian doesn't change whatever your past was.
There is nothing wrong with being atheist or religious. Both seek truth. If a Christian or atheist is not seeking truth then they are failing in their path.
Klavan is obviously an intelligent man. Strange that he apparently can't see that the question whether atheism is or is not an obstacle to a morally and logically absolutely sound philosophy is completely independent from the question whether a specific religion is true. For example, the beliefs that the world was created in six days or that Jesus existed are completely irrelevant to the belief that, say, it should be forbidden to steal.
Abstract Loop It's not the historical nitty gritty that he's concerned about, it's the moral concepts of whether or not an overlying power that is the supreme model of morality
Abstract Loop That's true, but it was the philosophy that drove him away from atheism, and I guess it was just the message in the Gospel that drew Andrew to Christianity
Most historians agree that at the very least Jesus existed. The translation of the word "day" in Genesis is deceptive since the original word simply means "passing of time" and could just as easily mean "era"- very few Christians believe God created the world in six days- days as we know them. Given that time is infinite the amount of time it took to create the world could very well seem like days to God as days appear to us. These questions are absolutely NOT what makes up Christianity. I'm sorry that the Christians in your life have so failed you to the point you think this is true. If they were better you'd know how ridiculous that statement is. The point is not that they are linked but that the real question is "is it true?" "Is Jesus God?" "Did his crucifixion mean something?" "Was he resurrected?" All questions which Klavan would answer "yes" to. If it isn't true then it is irrelevant whether or not it makes us feel good or act like better human beings. If it isn't true then it ought be banished from our hearts and minds. Is it true? Is the most important question and one that intellectual atheists who are cultural Christians really need to wrap their heads around. There is no such thing as a cultural Christian. It is either true or it isn't.
"At the center of human life is the experience of love." How can he say that? At the center of human life is the hatred for everything that 's in any way different from oneself. And the smaller the difference, the greater the hatred. The very right / left fight he talks about here is a perfect example. There are loads of others. Just look around. This sentence is no different from Lebanon's "Imagine". Same romantic crap. Homo homini lupus. A man to a man is a wolf. Much worse than a wolf.
"Inherent in the knowledge of good and evil, ... is a weird sense of shame" =Nail on the head Yes. You should be ashamed of continually trying to compartmentalize reality in the basic/ simple terms of good and evil. That is the scapegoat. I'm not the most fervent fan of Hitchens, but Klaven has to confront Hitchens' point that: religious people actually believe they know what 'god-almighty' says/ wants/ commands/ etc.
+John C Well, good and evil exist as in their respective results and consequences. Since everything you think and do has a consequence on your behavior, small or great, obvious or imperceptible, it will exhibit traits of both good and/or evil. It's not always a black and wite divison, but the effect of what you think or do will inevitably lean to either good or evil, in that it will either create, conserve or enhance people's well-being or take away; harm or destroy this well-being. It applies to both others and ourselves. The problem is that consequences are not always obvious or immediate. For instance, no one will say telling a little white lie is eveil, and yet, it isto be categroised as "evil" because when this becomes a habit, the person will develop cowardly traits, be prone to further deception, and may end up beleiveing his or her own lies. It will have negative effect on his environment; people will be deveived by him, disappointed by him, say bad things about him, curse him out, start a quarrel, or even a big feud etc. Little whiet lies ultimately end up creatinga very negative environment, thus it is classified as "evil" - although it is an evil of littel power when performed singularily. You can apply this to everything, so whet the effect will be in the long run and on a large scale and it is a wise thing to do. (Then, you will probably see that the conservative values were not randomly chosen, and are, despite their imperfections, the best option in the long run.... )
Well, I'm not Klaven but I'll give it a shot. If you accept that there is a god, expressly one who created the universe, and the universe contains beings who communicate to one another concepts both simple and complex, than it is reasonable to accept that this god can communicate with humans. The only reason to find that unreasonable is to reject the major premise, i.e. either that there is a god at all or that this god created the universe. Which you can, mind you, but keep in mind that this reasoning is descriptive and is not meant to be proof. That said, what in the world did Klavan say that leads you to believe that he is comparmentalizing reality in any way, let alone along moral lines? He spoke in this interview about moral choices and used moral terms. But if he had, what exactly would be your problem with it? I'm so very curious to find out.
I think someday this jewelry box will be discovered by archeologists in the distance future like they do now with no idea why this box came to be!!! Lol klaven!!!!
If I may be so bold as to recommend a book here "Weathercock" by Glen Duncan has a protagonist, Dominic Hood, who has a moral odyssey that is genuinely shattering to read (with no pat born-again christian ending to comfort you, just a survival of profound humanity). So yeah....read a talented writer like Glen Duncan and not this friggin weirdo
Am I a leftie or a rightie? What are you if you agree with Andrew that love is important, the West is in an undeclared war with Islam, but you also think all religion is bullshit? (All religions look forward to and pray for Armageddon!!!...I mean come on!) What are you if you think going into Iraq or Afghanistan was a good idea but Bush made copious enormous mistakes when he got there? (Hollywood didn't torture prisoners in Abu Ghraib. Or fire the entire upper echelons of the sunni Iraqi civil service replacing them with a Shia government thereby ensuring a civil war.) What are you if you think Western Culture is clearly superior to 'Resterner' Culture but rampant Capitalism is destroying the planet & setting the seeds of its own destruction... again? (When inequalities grew as large in Europe as they currently are in the US we had the French Revolution & Napoleonic wars in the late 18th & early 19th centuries then we had the WW1, Depression, WW2 sequence last century. And global warming IS man made.)
You miss my point... a little. The west especially the US, is so at war with itself, left vs right, that it's tearing itself apart now just like it did last time the West was in ascendancy, when the barbarians were at the gates of Rome. There is a truth. Islam is a threat or it isn't. Global warming is man made or it isn't. All any good defence lawyer has to do to win his case is muddy the waters. Both left and right muddy the waters to the detriment of truth. I find myself on the right in one argument and on the left in the other.
Evan Gorman I do not know about other religions, but Christians do not pray for Armageddon. Rampant Capitalism? Government regulations in the US have squashed capitalism in the US and around the world. What we have here in the US is Cronyism drifting toward Fascism. Europe is now socialist. Where in the world is there true free capitalism? Nowhere that I know of. Government oppression is usually the culprit in wars, not successful capitalists. You stated that all religion is BS. Yet you believe in the religion of man made Global Warming when there is no valid evidence to support the contention
What!!! Christians don't pray for Armageddon!!? Have you ever heard this prayer -Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, "THY KINGDOM COME"-.... What do you think "THY KINGDOM COME" means? A prerequisite for THY KINGDOM COME is Armageddon. We did have close to full Capitalism once. You can read about it in Dickens novels. Not a great advertisement for rampant Capitalism. I hope we've evolved beyond that now. Europe isn't socialist, it's a bureaucratic dictatorship with laws made in Brussels by the unelected. As for Global Warming. Here's a quote from the CEO of BHP Billiton the largest mining company in the world. JACQUES NASSER: "Our view on climate change has been very clear. We don't make it up. We accept the IPCC's (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) assessment of climate change science and that science says the warming of the climate is clear. That human influence is also clear and that the physical impacts are unavoidable." Here's the link: www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2014/s4132464.htm This is from Shell's own website: www.shell.com/global/environment-society/environment/climate-change.html This is from BP's website: www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/sustainability/the-energy-future/climate-change.html BP, Royal Dutch Shell and BHP Billiton all say there is Global Warming, all agree its occurring AND it's man made however they do pay for people to muddy the waters with arguments like the science isn't in yet. (They wouldn't want to tank the share price.) If that argument sounds familiar it was used since the 1930's in the tobacco debate. If you believe there's no global warming I suppose you believe cigarettes don't cause cancer?
Evan Gorman The Kingdom of God is already but not yet. Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom when he declared to his followers that the Kingdom of God is among you (that is Jesus is among us). You also leave out the rest of the prayer that says , "thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." What Jesus is teaching his followers to pray for is that the will of God be on earth by his people as it is in Heaven where God rules in total justice and righteousness. There is no request that Armageddon come, but rather the will and Kingdom of God be fulfilled through Jesus followers.
I started out as a leftist when I was a teenager. I always believed that intellectual honesty, and admitting when you're wrong is the only way to get at the truth, which was always my highest goal. Naturally, my quest for truth, with an unrelenting desire to be honest with myself, however embarrassing it might be, led me to conservatism.
Me too, Mr. Moustache. Me too.
Stephen Murray
It has nothing to do with being stupid or smart. It's about intellectual honesty.
If you aren't a liberal when you're 20, you have no heart. If you aren't a conservative when you're 30, you have no brain.
+NoSafeSpaces 'If you aren't a liberal when you're 20, you have no heart. If you aren't a conservative when you're 30, you have no brain.' - I've been called both. :)
=))
I love that this was made 9 years ago and it is so relevant to today. Love Klavan and his podcast on the daily wire. I look forward to it every weekday while at work.
Andrew Klaven is my long awaited hero. Finally, someone who really thinks. He doesn't just spew words ....no wonder his marriage has lasted 30 years. Who would let a man like this go?
Diana Pasley Me, because I like women.
I was drafted in early 1970. I VOLUNTEERED for Infantry. I was PROUD to serve. I KNEW where I was going. I spent 9 months and 15 days assigned to an infantry company in Vietnam as a "rifleman". I did not like it very much, war is never a lot of fun for the people doing the killing and dying, but much of it stemmed from the politicians not allowing the military to do what needed to be done. And in fact KILLING Americans with stupid decisions based on the communist left (funded by the KGB in many cases) shouting lies about the war, not on sound strategic or tactical grounds. Some of the dead that resulted from this stupidity I knew personally... And even the "grunt" on the ground humping an M60 knew this. People need to remember that EVERY PERSON that died in the VN War was caused by COMMUNIST AGGRESSION not by American "imperialism".
Ramses the Great newsflash he was drafted in the Army but volunteered for the Infantry. Nice try, mabey you should read closer before being a condescending douch to a Vet.
Dan Phariss thank you for putting your neck on the line for us.
At 29.30 Klavin says if hollywood made movies depicting our soldiers as the heros, they would capture the american audience. American sniper proves his hypothesis. It did capture us
+CreedOfHeresy But, it was a huge box office sucess, and the whole world doesn't revolve around you and whatever movies you see or don't. shrugs
What he talks about is the year 1948 in Czechoslovakia for me, it was to be paradise, they banned God, then they banned talking about God, then they sent the agents of the state into homes to see if there was evidence of a belief. What was the cost when they banned God from the public square, the private square and from the private mind. The cost was all the invisible attributes of God. When He left he took his attributes one of which was beauty, nothing that atheism built had a soul of beauty, it was technically perfect but it lacked beauty, Czech was soulless and gray, anywhere you looked atheism leaked into the beauty that remained until it too was dead. A society can not live for long without beauty, We are sick from this experience, freedom is a beginning, learn from us.
Probably the most accurate and illustrative definition of a society without God that i've ever read. Thank you.
B. Aaron von Hagen Marching doesn't bother me. Strutting in lingerie should be in a private venue, for anyone of any sex and orientation.
I hope that people in America and the west will listen to the wisdom of someoe like yourself that has lived through the consequences of the bad choices a nation can make, and learn from them. But, sadly most people will not know what they have to lose till it's already gone.
Well, the dream is about to end your social security will be bankrupt in 10 years and followed by all state and federal retirement funds will dry up, there is not enough money in the world to pay what the political class has signed your name too. Detroit is the future. That and a terrible war. Europe has almost completed its suicide.
Beautifully written.
it is a real pleasure to listen to two very intelligent men have an intellectual conversation. I would feel like a little boy in that room and just keep my mouth shut and listen.
I feel like I could watch this repeatedly -- listening to Andrew. I think it would help in navigating the fall down the "rabbit hole" of liberal non-thinking, as I try to reason (is that really even possible?) with them. Thank you so much: this is very enriching. And btw, Peter Robinson, you are a knight, on a white horse, with a lance in your own right. I thank God for conservatives who can THINK and are erudite as well.
Andrew Klavan! 2008!!! Sir this was prophetic! 5-7 years ahead of its time. Fascinating! Thank you!
Watching this in 2018: so much of what he has been talking about is actually happening in today's day and age.
I do not have a religion. But I am a hardcore conservative and I dig this guy
Klavan just won my respect
There's no E in his name?
All I can think of while watching this is what was Michael Knowles doing at the time this was recorded.
he's a genius... one of a kind...
Klavan and prager are insanely good at putting ideas into words
wow, a really intelligent conversation about faith. much appreciated.
Everything he says, I have to think about and check with my own mind.
Then he went after John Lennon. Maaaaan... I hate that song. Klavan, you the man.
Woah!! This guy was ahead of his time, talking about the post modernists and the leftist agenda of PC way back in the day, and back then I was PC
I don't know why so many conservatives find Hitchens so "charming". My impression of him was just as of any other atheist: condescending, impressed with himself, angry with God whose very existence he denied.
Came to Peter Robinson stayed for Klavan ;-)
13 years ago....& so relevant still.
Starting at about 29:10, Klavan makes a prediciton. Today, seven years later, this weekend's box of "American Sniper" proved him right.
Amazing no? Guy's a regular prophet making a profit!
Wow. I can't stand 'Imagine' either.
I must have watched this interview twenty times by now and am rejuvenated by it every single time.
I've been listening to Klavan in his pre-christian state for some years because of his refreshing view of politics and the Middle East Crisis. How abundantly more refreshing it is now he has come to faith in God through Jesus Christ. I hope he doesn't lose his Jewish humour.
I know this is older than a lot of stuff on RUclips, and of course now Andrew is doing his podcast every day which you can watch on here (the first half anyway, then it's a slate and audio-only). I listen to every podcast (audio-only on Soundcloud actually) and he's still very clever. Starts every show with a short satire that is often very funny. I didn't listen to his pre-Christian stuff but since I started listening to Truth Revolt and his PJ Media stuff maybe six years ago he has only sharpened his humor, I think. Love the guy.
You a fortunate man Peter, you get to meet some awesome people, Andrew is another unsung hero in my book and I am not a christian, so it has nothing to do with that, he just taught me so many things in the videos he makes, and he is pretty funny at times too, always a good thing in a hero imo.
Andrew and Ben are my heros!
What an amazing man his son is. I only had the gift of observing and listening to one of his sons. Andrew Klavan is obviously a marvelous father and husband and his wife must be a marvelous mother and wife.
Fantastic interview, should be viewed much more
Great Interview.
Came here from the daily wire. I'll have to read some of his books.
Hate to sound cliche, but this guy then was ahead of his time.
Klavan is reliably Klavan, awesome and insightful. I'd actually like to use this comment to give some love to the interviewer. He was engaged, interested, empathetic and it's clear Klavan enjoyed the conversation because of it.
Andrew Klavan is ageless.
Ive been listening to Klavan's podcast for about a year now..im going to have to read this book, it sounds fantastic.. especially knowing his eccentricities, depth of his thoughts, and his way w language.
Find the book "Pushing The Antithesis" by Greg Bahnsen. Brilliant thinking.
"I believe that I may know." Augustine. All knowledge presupposes a belief or framework for understanding that knowledge.
An EXCELLENT interview on both sides
I think he is cool!
These words were never so true as today in 2022.
He has a great devotion to truth.
We have a moral obligation to set straight the dialogue that in time will reunite America.
This just popped up on my tv (I left the chrome cast on) and I was like “wow, they both look young!” lol.
klavan is cool
Such a poignant and relevant interview right now. Andrew is so ahead of his time..
I guess this interview is mainly talking about the importance of the principles. The principles often means by a definition within a frame for us to do things right to avoid mistakes in many different fields and categories. Our great nation America is the same and should always be secured by principles, ensure greatness by principles, govern by principles. The principles have been established, framed, defined. Respect, follow and obey the established principles are important, necessary and without choices and do what the principles says are the duties. I don’t know other country, but I believe Americans respect, follow and obey America’s principles of Constitution laws for America’s greatness of Foundation of freedoms and Entrepreneurship spirit as the equality of the opportunities format are the most basic principles in America. To be responsible citizens, learn from the basic principles of our country America’s Foundation and Constitution by the attitude of learning to understand more and do better things always are necessary for America’s greatness and stop continued mistakes and bring back America’s own established principles for America’s greatness are very important. Politics and culture will fit in the frame of America’s own established principles and melt naturally for America’s greatness and Americans’ constant understanding from our country America’s own established principles. Since America is a melting pot of many 1st generations or 2nd generations immigrants from all over the world. The 1st generations will automatically remain own native cultures and old concept from own origin. The 2nd generations will more or less influenced from families too. It also will depend on each individual’s own learning experiences to understand more and do better things by own efforts too. It takes much time and effort to thoroughly or more understand America’s own established principles of Foundation and Constitution for America’s greatness from how and why, although it’s never easy to learn , respect, follow and obey quickly altogether and get rid of the influence from own original experiences and adopt America’s principles by appreciate what we have for others to dream for it quickly. If we neglect or forget continued learning from the principles, we easily make mistakes. Even many native Americans, if not learn often, can be confused or influenced by unknown ideologies systems too. This is why I believe Governing by America’s own principles, Americans of all will learn from principles and do better things together by principles and build America’s greatness altogether. Let’s be united together and learn from our country America’s principles together again from learning experiences to do better things by our own generosity of forgiveness this time only. Quickly govern by own established laws again to ensure America’s freedoms and equality of the opportunities by principles and honesty altogether. Govern by America’s principles of patriotism and loyalty toward America’s greatness instead of by ideologies of unknowns as races, genders and between the rich and poor from unknowns or own views, but by America’s principles and patriotism only. When President Bush was the President at the time, endless criticism from medias will only distract his efforts to get things done quickly. Otherwise, he might get more things done quickly at the time. Now endless criticism again toward elected President Trump again, why can’t we be united together again by our country America’s principles to govern, get rid of any ideologies from unknown systems, govern by America’s principles and patriotism for America’s greatness only. Medias focus on America’s principles for Americans of all to learn besides report news honestly. Stop endless criticism, but to help getting things done quickly together. This is America and govern by our country America’s principles only instead of govern by changing America into unknown systems of ideologies from unknown systems, I guess. God bless America always.
@19:00 Is a brilliant observation.
What he says should be are movies that tell the reality of what is going on in Mid-East beyond the progressive ideas we here in our news media so often. This speak was in 2008, he said that and now we have a movie that tells the truth American Sniper and boy oh boy, look how much it is being politicized and demonized instead of understood. Amazing interview, amazing brilliant discussion with a leader in thinking and observation.
Klavan kicks butt. And look how well Am Sniper did at the box office. The notion/claim that hollywood reflects the culture is way out in left field.
Klavan's statement at 32:13 that The Dark Knight was an ode to George W Bush was a common observation at the time; there was a lot of arguing about it in the comments section of critic Dave Kehr's blog. Klavan is right to be modest.
What a great interviewer! cheers
wonderfull thank you!
I’m upset with the Bush family for not supporting Trump in 2020; but I do believe George W. is a Christian and I understand that he and Laura have been involved in philanthropy in Africa without calling much attention to themselves. It seems to me they did that work very well.
Is it just me, or does he remind anyone else of Professor X?
He saw the future like nobody else!
It is mind boggling what people throw away.
I'm going to disagree with Klavan on one point: as much as the Marvel Studios films are made by Obama-loving leftists and two of the Avengers co-stars have viciously attacked pro-lifers in interviews, and the whole thing is blanketed in the world of fantasy; the first Iron Man film had a neutral--even endearing--depiction of our troops in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the first Captain America film had a rather respectful view of World War II soldiers, especially since that's exactly what Cap was. I'm looking forward to the second film, though I think it's going in more of a '70s political feel thriller.
The second Captain America is very much a Glenn-Beck-powered thriller - especially where one of the villains reveals the evil plans to destroy free society from the inside, by collapsing the system and rebuilding a new one in its place. It's a VERY Conservative film.
For those interested, Prof Stephen C Hicks provides the philosophical explanation for exactly what mr Klavan is talking about here regarding paddling rather hard to reinvent your redundant leftist ideology. The book is called Explaining Postmodernism and has recently been mentioned by hero of free speech Prof Jordan Peterson. Essentially you respond to the problem that your every claim is empirical nonsense and factually incorrect by attacking empiricism and fact.
There are no e’s in Klavan!!
Ben Shapiro, Jordan Peterson, Dave Rubin, and Michael Knowles are all immensely smart and great conservative thinkers, but none of them can stand to Andrew Klavan, the great Infallible Lord of the Multiverse.
Hitchens is right about forgiveness - even if someone paid the price one still had done the possibly terrible deed. But if the price has been paid, one does not have the price oneself. This is what Hitchens doesn't understand.
About the liberals' absolving Islam; liberals virulently hate conservatives and would sacrifice anything not to admit conservatives right.
Statistically, people with a humanities or arts background are far more likely to be liberal than conservative. That is why the media is what it is.
The most important thing an artist can do is to entertain. On average, they have too poor a grip on reality, being essentially emotional people as opposed to logical people, that they can't teach anyone anything about the real world.
I’m subscribed to this channel yet RUclips recommends videos from 13 years ago on here and NEVER anything posted recently.
Define racism and then tell me which race doesn't feel that way .
adrew will allways look like a 50 year old, from is20s all the way to is 80/90s,good guy tho
Oliver Stone also made a movie called El Salvador which was awful!! It was not filmed in El Salvador and is not realistic at all. I also dislike “Imagine” for the same reason.
wow so young looking.
It's not mixing genre but realizing that humans christian or other wise live in the same world. Being a changed christian doesn't change whatever your past was.
Thank you
I hate John Lennon as a person but love his music. He was a genius. His lyrics may have been dumb, but he was a genius.
When I think of a Christian novel, I first think of the Bible. And second, of Dante's Divine Comedy.
There is nothing wrong with being atheist or religious. Both seek truth. If a Christian or atheist is not seeking truth then they are failing in their path.
I agree that you keep learning by seeking truth. And it does help finding it or her/Him.. Seeking is not the goal but a requirement to get somewhere.
Klavan is obviously an intelligent man. Strange that he apparently can't see that the question whether atheism is or is not an obstacle to a morally and logically absolutely sound philosophy is completely independent from the question whether a specific religion is true. For example, the beliefs that the world was created in six days or that Jesus existed are completely irrelevant to the belief that, say, it should be forbidden to steal.
Abstract Loop It's not the historical nitty gritty that he's concerned about, it's the moral concepts of whether or not an overlying power that is the supreme model of morality
Joey Tarnowski The "nitty gritty" is what makes up Christianity (or any other religion for that matter).
Abstract Loop That's true, but it was the philosophy that drove him away from atheism, and I guess it was just the message in the Gospel that drew Andrew to Christianity
Most historians agree that at the very least Jesus existed. The translation of the word "day" in Genesis is deceptive since the original word simply means "passing of time" and could just as easily mean "era"- very few Christians believe God created the world in six days- days as we know them. Given that time is infinite the amount of time it took to create the world could very well seem like days to God as days appear to us. These questions are absolutely NOT what makes up Christianity. I'm sorry that the Christians in your life have so failed you to the point you think this is true. If they were better you'd know how ridiculous that statement is.
The point is not that they are linked but that the real question is "is it true?" "Is Jesus God?" "Did his crucifixion mean something?" "Was he resurrected?" All questions which Klavan would answer "yes" to. If it isn't true then it is irrelevant whether or not it makes us feel good or act like better human beings. If it isn't true then it ought be banished from our hearts and minds.
Is it true? Is the most important question and one that intellectual atheists who are cultural Christians really need to wrap their heads around. There is no such thing as a cultural Christian. It is either true or it isn't.
He was just talking about empire of lies today lol.
"At the center of human life is the experience of love."
How can he say that? At the center of human life is the hatred for everything that 's in any way different from oneself. And the smaller the difference, the greater the hatred. The very right / left fight he talks about here is a perfect example. There are loads of others. Just look around.
This sentence is no different from Lebanon's "Imagine". Same romantic crap.
Homo homini lupus. A man to a man is a wolf. Much worse than a wolf.
Hatred is just frustrated love. If you want to believe the opposite you should say ‘indifference’.
"Inherent in the knowledge of good and evil, ... is a weird sense of shame"
=Nail on the head
Yes. You should be ashamed of continually trying to compartmentalize reality in the basic/ simple terms of good and evil. That is the scapegoat.
I'm not the most fervent fan of Hitchens, but Klaven has to confront Hitchens' point that: religious people actually believe they know what 'god-almighty' says/ wants/ commands/ etc.
+John C Well, good and evil exist as in their respective results and consequences. Since everything you think and do has a consequence on your behavior, small or great, obvious or imperceptible, it will exhibit traits of both good and/or evil. It's not always a black and wite divison, but the effect of what you think or do will inevitably lean to either good or evil, in that it will either create, conserve or enhance people's well-being or take away; harm or destroy this well-being. It applies to both others and ourselves.
The problem is that consequences are not always obvious or immediate. For instance, no one will say telling a little white lie is eveil, and yet, it isto be categroised as "evil" because when this becomes a habit, the person will develop cowardly traits, be prone to further deception, and may end up beleiveing his or her own lies. It will have negative effect on his environment; people will be deveived by him, disappointed by him, say bad things about him, curse him out, start a quarrel, or even a big feud etc. Little whiet lies ultimately end up creatinga very negative environment, thus it is classified as "evil" - although it is an evil of littel power when performed singularily.
You can apply this to everything, so whet the effect will be in the long run and on a large scale and it is a wise thing to do.
(Then, you will probably see that the conservative values were not randomly chosen, and are, despite their imperfections, the best option in the long run.... )
Well, I'm not Klaven but I'll give it a shot. If you accept that there is a god, expressly one who created the universe, and the universe contains beings who communicate to one another concepts both simple and complex, than it is reasonable to accept that this god can communicate with humans. The only reason to find that unreasonable is to reject the major premise, i.e. either that there is a god at all or that this god created the universe. Which you can, mind you, but keep in mind that this reasoning is descriptive and is not meant to be proof.
That said, what in the world did Klavan say that leads you to believe that he is comparmentalizing reality in any way, let alone along moral lines? He spoke in this interview about moral choices and used moral terms. But if he had, what exactly would be your problem with it? I'm so very curious to find out.
why does this guy care if the main character is a Christian or not? blah!
I think someday this jewelry box will be discovered by archeologists in the distance future like they do now with no idea why this box came to be!!! Lol klaven!!!!
Coming, man! -Biden
Apostate?
👍
If I may be so bold as to recommend a book here "Weathercock" by Glen Duncan has a protagonist, Dominic Hood, who has a moral odyssey that is genuinely shattering to read (with no pat born-again christian ending to comfort you, just a survival of profound humanity).
So yeah....read a talented writer like Glen Duncan and not this friggin weirdo
Am I a leftie or a rightie? What are you if you agree with Andrew that love is important, the West is in an undeclared war with Islam, but you also think all religion is bullshit?
(All religions look forward to and pray for Armageddon!!!...I mean come on!)
What are you if you think going into Iraq or Afghanistan was a good idea but Bush made copious enormous mistakes when he got there?
(Hollywood didn't torture prisoners in Abu Ghraib. Or fire the entire upper echelons of the sunni Iraqi civil service replacing them with a Shia government thereby ensuring a civil war.)
What are you if you think Western Culture is clearly superior to 'Resterner' Culture but rampant Capitalism is destroying the planet & setting the seeds of its own destruction... again?
(When inequalities grew as large in Europe as they currently are in the US we had the French Revolution & Napoleonic wars in the late 18th & early 19th centuries then we had the WW1, Depression, WW2 sequence last century.
And global warming IS man made.)
You miss my point... a little.
The west especially the US, is so at war with itself, left vs right, that it's tearing itself apart now just like it did last time the West was in ascendancy, when the barbarians were at the gates of Rome.
There is a truth.
Islam is a threat or it isn't.
Global warming is man made or it isn't.
All any good defence lawyer has to do to win his case is muddy the waters.
Both left and right muddy the waters to the detriment of truth.
I find myself on the right in one argument and on the left in the other.
Evan Gorman I do not know about other religions, but Christians do not pray for Armageddon. Rampant Capitalism? Government regulations in the US have squashed capitalism in the US and around the world. What we have here in the US is Cronyism drifting toward Fascism. Europe is now socialist. Where in the world is there true free capitalism? Nowhere that I know of. Government oppression is usually the culprit in wars, not successful capitalists. You stated that all religion is BS. Yet you believe in the religion of man made Global Warming when there is no valid evidence to support the contention
What!!! Christians don't pray for Armageddon!!? Have you ever heard this prayer -Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, "THY KINGDOM COME"-.... What do you think "THY KINGDOM COME" means?
A prerequisite for THY KINGDOM COME is Armageddon.
We did have close to full Capitalism once. You can read about it in Dickens novels.
Not a great advertisement for rampant Capitalism. I hope we've evolved beyond that now.
Europe isn't socialist, it's a bureaucratic dictatorship with laws made in Brussels by the unelected.
As for Global Warming. Here's a quote from the CEO of BHP Billiton the largest mining company in the world.
JACQUES NASSER: "Our view on climate change has been very clear. We don't make it up.
We accept the IPCC's (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) assessment of climate change science and that science says the warming of the climate is clear. That human influence is also clear and that the physical impacts are unavoidable."
Here's the link:
www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2014/s4132464.htm
This is from Shell's own website:
www.shell.com/global/environment-society/environment/climate-change.html
This is from BP's website:
www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/sustainability/the-energy-future/climate-change.html
BP, Royal Dutch Shell and BHP Billiton all say there is Global Warming, all agree its occurring AND it's man made however they do pay for people to muddy the waters with arguments like the science isn't in yet. (They wouldn't want to tank the share price.)
If that argument sounds familiar it was used since the 1930's in the tobacco debate. If you believe there's no global warming I suppose you believe cigarettes don't cause cancer?
Evan Gorman The Kingdom of God is already but not yet. Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom when he declared to his followers that the Kingdom of God is among you (that is Jesus is among us). You also leave out the rest of the prayer that says , "thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." What Jesus is teaching his followers to pray for is that the will of God be on earth by his people as it is in Heaven where God rules in total justice and righteousness. There is no request that Armageddon come, but rather the will and Kingdom of God be fulfilled through Jesus followers.