Sean Berube
@SeanBerube4
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Catholic Men's Coach | Helping you pursue sainthood through Faith, Fitness, and the Great Books
Joined October 2023
Dr. Peter Kreeft is an expert in CS Lewis, Aquinas, and Plato. After teaching philosophy for 50+ years, he says there are 10 books you MUST read before dying. Here’s his list, and a run-down of what each book can teach you about the pursuit of life’s Truth, Beauty, and Goodness:
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C.S. Lewis was an atheist for 30 years. Finally, one conversation with J.R.R. Tolkien changed his mind. So what did Tolkien say?. Here’s what they discussed, and how it led to the conversion of the 20th century’s greatest theologian… 🧵
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Few novels were quite as controversial as Dostoevsky’s The Demons. Publishers censored the story — they said it was vile and graphic. Dostoevsky said it was brutal, but necessary. Here’s what he wrote, and why it was deemed too dangerous for print…
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Thomas-Alexandre Dumas is the most inspiring man you’ve never heard of. Born a slave, he went on to become France’s greatest general alongside Napoleon… and that wasn’t even his best achievement!. He actually inspired France’s all time greatest novel, written by his own son…
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How can a good God let you suffer and die?. Tolkien said a 600 year old poem had the answer to this question. He spent over 25 years reading, studying and teaching it to students. Here’s the poem, and what it taught him about God, grief, and finding hope in the face of death…🧵
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Alexander Solzhenitsyn was the “writer who took down an empire”. His work Gulag Archipelago details the horrors of life in the USSR, and made a global mockery of the evil regime. Here are some excerpts from Gulag that explain how to destroy an evil empire:
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Louis IX was a legendary king. He served the poor, led the crusades, and died a hero’s death. He even became a saint… but none of this compares to his best achievement. Believe it or not, he saved a holy relic that belonged to none other than Christ himself…🧵
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Dostoevsky understood the Devil like no one else. He captured his evil in one of the most chilling scenes in all literature. Here’s what he wrote, and what it reveals about Satan and the “unforgivable sin…”🧵
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Dostoevsky demolished Karl Marx in a single paragraph. In just a few lines, he dismantled Communism — and exposed the evil at its rotten core. Here’s what Dostoevsky wrote, and how it put Marx and Communism to shame…🧵
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"It is no bad thing to celebrate an ordinary life" - Tolkien
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800 years ago, a scholar nicknamed “the dumb ox” proposed a simple proof of God’s existence - it changed everything. Centuries later, it’s now a famous argument known to theologians and atheists alike. Here’s everything you need to know about the famous “5 Ways” proof of God…🧵
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Aquinas spent his whole life studying, praying and seeking God. Then he found him… literally!. A divine vision left him awestruck, and he stopped writing forever. Here’s what God revealed to Aquinas, and how it transformed history’s greatest theologian…🧵
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For 300 years, Christians were slaughtered and persecuted. Then one battle changed everything:. 2 Pagan Emperors went to war, and one saw a strange vision in the sky. What he saw changed the course of history, and turned Christianity into a global superpower…🧵
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The Sexual Revolution was a disaster:. 60 years ago, they tried to redefine sexuality to "liberate," mankind. Everything they said was a lie, yet their lies have ruined millions of lives. Here is the worst lie of the Sexual Revolution that is still plaguing society today…🧵
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France’s greatest author has a wild origin story:. Alexander Dumas grew up poor and fatherless. His own father was betrayed by Napoleon himself, and Dumas vowed to get revenge. What followed was the greatest rags-to-riches story of all time…🧵
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The French Revolution was a bloody disaster. Mobs ruled, cities burned, and guillotines roared - how could anyone fight back against such horrors?. Charles Dickens had the answer, and wrote a book all about it — here’s his advice on how to stop a Reign of Terror… 🧵
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Faith without reason is blind. Faith without love is cold and cruel. Faith, however, grounded in a love for truth is the key to flourishing. Joy, in other words, is having faith that the truth will set you free
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Alexander the Great is history’s most successful general:. - Never lost a battle.- Unified Ancient Greece.- Conquered the entire known world. Here are his 7 biggest lessons on the art of war: 🧵
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Vladimir Lenin hailed him as “The Titan of the Revolution”. Dostoevsky warned he was a genocidal maniac. Here’s the story of the most evil communist of all time — the man who sent Russia into an uproar…🧵
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Shakespeare, Tolkien, and Lewis were inspired by the same 3 writers. Their work shaped over 2,500 years of Western literature. yet most people have never heard of them. Here are the 3 men who, whether you know them or not, changed the entire course of literature. 🧵
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Few men endured terror like St. Anthony. His troubles began with a simple vow — live in poverty, prayer, and penance. What followed was a lifetime of demonic attacks. Here’s why the demonic hated St. Anthony, and how his faith conquered a lifetime of spiritual horror…🧵
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If God exists, why doesn't he show himself to us?. CS Lewis has the answer to this question. He wrote a book explaining why a good and loving God hides from mankind. Here’s the book, and what it reveals about God, human nature, and finding faith in a fallen world…🧵
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The joyous life is not blind faith, nor pure rationality — it’s an impassioned heart and a curious mind. To love the truth with all your heart is to begin a true walk of faith. Only the truth can set you free, and if you follow Lewis’ example, you too may be “surprised by joy”
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Odysseus had the offer of a lifetime:. Immortality and unlimited sex with a goddess. He turned it down… Why?. He knew it was a trap that’s ruined the souls of men for millennia. Here’s why an eternity of sex is a fate worse than death…🧵
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Tolstoy warns lust is more evil than you think. It doesn’t just ruin marriages — it’s a self-eating, suicidal demon. He wrote a whole book about how it can eat you alive. Here’s the book, the horrors it reveals about lust, and how you can escape them…🧵
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Lewis’ heartache was cured. The “true myth,” of Christianity brought him peace, and his old worldview collapsed:. “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world". Why was this a miracle?
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If you enjoyed this thread:. 1. Repost the original tweet (linked below).2. Follow for more threads on life's Truth, Beauty, and Goodness!.
C.S. Lewis was an atheist for 30 years. Finally, one conversation with J.R.R. Tolkien changed his mind. So what did Tolkien say?. Here’s what they discussed, and how it led to the conversion of the 20th century’s greatest theologian… 🧵
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Alexander the Great conquered the known world. He never lost a battle until he met one man:. A beggar-philosopher mocked him to his face and left him speechless. Here’s what he said, and how his wisdom humbled the greatest conqueror in history…🧵
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What’s wrong with casual sex?. Everything, according to TS Eliot. He warned casual intimacy makes you infertile, destroys families, and wrecks societal trust. Here’s Eliot’s warnings against casual sex, and what healthy sexuality looks like… 🧵
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Moby-Dick is a terrifying tale:. It warns you about the one evil that dooms a soul forever. Commit it, and you won’t just lose your life — you’ll lose eternity itself. Here’s the unforgivable sin, why it destroys you, and how to escape it before it’s too late…🧵
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"It is no bad thing to celebrate an ordinary life" - Tolkien
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One battle changed world history like no other:. A ragtag Christian coalition took on a foreign superpower… and won. Their victory was so unlikely, it’s said an actual miracle took place. Here’s the miracle, and the victory that saved Europe from total invasion…🧵
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He confided this confusion in his good friend JRR Tolkien. Tolkien — a practicing Catholic — had a simple answer for him:. Your heart is longing for God!. Lewis resisted this idea, but was open minded. His heart couldn’t stop wailing…
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All his studies, Lewis realized, pointed to ONE truth:. “the books in which we thought beauty was located will betray us if we trust them; it was not in them, it only came through them”. Myths couldn’t heal his heart because they weren’t truth — but they were pointing to truth
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Lewis didn’t just convert, he found the answer to joy:. The “true myth,” was the answer to his aching heart and curious mind. In other words, this isn’t just a story about Lewis’ conversion. It’s a story that teaches you what true faith actually looks like…
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A month later, Lewis wrote:. “What Dyson and Tolkien showed me was… the story of Christ is simply a true myth: a myth working on us in the same way as the others, but it really happened”. Within a few weeks, he came to a jarring realization
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Cincinnatus was dictator of Rome. He had everything you could ask for:. - Fame.- Fortune.- Total power. But at the height of his career…. HE GAVE IT ALL UP. Here’s why he traded an empire for a farm, and what his story teaches you about living the good life:
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Lewis was a member of the “Lost Generation”. He served in, and was traumatized by, World War I. The horrors of war — along with modernist philosophy — made him an atheist. It was no simple-minded atheism either. Lewis was a genius…
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The one thing Lewis couldn’t explain:. Heartache. He was unhappy. This wasn’t just your regular sadness either. It was desire — a profound longing for something he couldn’t have… but he didn’t know what exactly
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Tolkien and Dyson jumped on this point. They stressed Christianity was indeed a myth, but a true myth:. It actually happened. This revelation began haunting Lewis.
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“The object of life is not prosperity as we are made to believe, but the maturity of the human soul.”. Solzhenitsyn learned this in prison: tyrants can take everything from you but your soul. Being virtuous is the ultimate rebellion. You fix the world by fixing yourself
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Nothing destroys great men like lust. It ruined King David and destroyed King Arthur’s empire. But there’s one knight in particular whose story shows lust is even worse than you think — it not only corrupts your soul, but tears down civilization itself. Here’s his story…🧵
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One day, Lewis, Tolkien, and mutual friend Hugo Dyson took a stroll around Oxford. It was meant to be a casual talk, but turned into intense discussion that lasted all night. What were they discussing?. Christianity, and oddly enough… mythology
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Why mythology?. Because Lewis loved it. He said the truths of myth helped his heartache. He even appreciated Christianity as a myth:. “If I read a Pagan myth of God sacrificing himself to himself… I liked it very much and was mysteriously moved by it”
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Lord of the Rings revolutionized the fantasy genre and inspired millions. But what inspired Lord of the Rings?. To help him write the novel of the century, Tolkien pulled from an obscure collection of Norse mythology. Here are the 10 myths that inspired him most… 🧵
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His entire life, Lewis was plagued by “stabbings of joy,” and a following sadness. He asked — What is this longing inside of me? Am I doomed to unhappiness?. The questions plagued him for years. For all of his studies, nothing could explain his misery
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Lewis graduated top of his class in Oxford. He was studied in philosophy, literature, language, science, and religion:. He didn’t just believe in atheism, he could outsmart any man of his day. However, Lewis was plagued by one thing that defied all rationality…
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Why does a good God let you suffer and die?. The question haunted Augustine for years — his best friend’s death shattered him. Yet that same grief led him to God. Here’s how death and despair led to the conversion of history’s greatest theologian…🧵
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Ever wonder why Tolkien made Sauron an eye?. It’s no mere fantasy symbol — it points to a Satanic evil. Here’s what the Eye really means, and why Sauron’s evil is worse than you think…🧵
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CS Lewis rejected pacifism. He called it a moral failure — incompatible with Christian duty. Here’s why Lewis denounced pacifism, and his take on the warrior ethos of Christianity…🧵
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Philosopher Aldous Huxley warned that pleasure would enslave mankind. He said, “most men and women will grow up to love their servitude”. Here’s his advice on how to avoid getting trapped into a life of cheap pleasure:
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The Divine Comedy has a wild origin story:. Dante spent 20 years in exile — facing heartbreak, death threats, and homelessness — to write it. His story teaches you how to conquer Hell itself, and why your greatest pains can lead you to ultimate happiness…🧵
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From Socrates to South Park, satire has exposed corrupt elites for ages. But who was the greatest satirist of all time?. He was hated by Socrates and Greek politicians, and is hailed the “father of comedy” - here’s his greatest works, and why they’re still relevant… 🧵
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Demons is Dostoevsky’s famous warning against nihilism. He equates nihilism to a “demon,” that drives humanity to destruction…. The story takes place in a quaint Russian village. All is peaceful to start, but after two nihilists show up, strange things begin to occur
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Rome was on the brink of collapse. A ring of criminals conspired to murder the senators and overthrow the government…. Only one man could stop them and save the republic. This is the story of how he did just that…🧵
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The answer to the evils of nihilism, then, is humility:. To humbly recognize the good and evil inside everyone, repent, and surrender to goodness. This fear of evil, or “fear of God,” is the beginning of all wisdom:. It’s what births true hope and redemption in a fallen world…
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CS Lewis predicted moral relativism will destroy mankind. So far, history has proven him right… though it’s not too late. Here’s his advice on how to live nobly and save a world without morals:
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The nihilists — Pyotr and Stavrogin — have one goal:. Create a utopian revolution. To do this, however, they believe they must destroy the “oppressive,” chains of society. This means sow chaos and disorder by any means…
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If you enjoyed this thread:. 1. repost the original tweet below.2. follow to get more threads on life's Truth, Beauty, and Goodness!.
Few novels were quite as controversial as Dostoevsky’s The Demons. Publishers censored the story — they said it was vile and graphic. Dostoevsky said it was brutal, but necessary. Here’s what he wrote, and why it was deemed too dangerous for print…
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If you enjoyed this thread:. 1) Repost the original post below.2) Follow for more threads on life's Truth, Beauty, and Goodness!.
How can a good God let you suffer and die?. Tolkien said a 600 year old poem had the answer to this question. He spent over 25 years reading, studying and teaching it to students. Here’s the poem, and what it taught him about God, grief, and finding hope in the face of death…🧵
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As a Christian, Dostoevsky believes anyone can find redemption. His story implies even Stavrogin, had he repented, could have redeemed himself. Dostoevsky wants us to understand how to find redemption in a fallen world:. It begins by first recognizing good and evil
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"One day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again" - CS Lewis
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Remember the labyrinth and minotaur story?. It’s not just a myth — it’s a map of your soul. The beast at the center is the root of all evil:. Conquer it, and you master yourself. Run, and you’re lost forever. Here’s how to slay your Minotaur—and why your life depends on it…🧵
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“the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”. Spiritual maturity is painful:. You have evil inside of you. To truly grow, you must sacrifice your bad habits and immoral ways of being
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True faith, then, is not about asking for a lighter burden:. It’s about asking for the strength to carry your burden nobly. To love despite heartache is to show greatness of soul. Your agonies on Earth are meant to be treasures in heaven
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It take courage to love, because love makes you vulnerable:. Everything you love will die — love WILL make you suffer. Faith is about trusting that suffering is worthwhile:. Better to have loved and suffer than to never have loved at all
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Dostoevsky’s point — if you’re a nihilist, EVERYTHING is permitted…. He wants you to feel sickened, to truly stomach what a world without good and evil looks like. But Stavrogin’s confession is meant to do more than horrify us. It also reveals what nihilism does to your soul
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Tolkien’s villains were terrifying. Sauron was bad enough, but there was someone even worse. He was so twisted critics compared him to Satan himself. Here’s the villain, his satanic ambitions, and what they reveal about the nature of evil…🧵
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“When we neither punish nor reproach evildoers. [we rip] the foundations of justice from beneath new generations”. Injustice today destroys society tomorrow. Conversely, there’s no limit to the ripple of virtue. Your single act of goodness today can change course of history
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“In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us… we are implanting it, and it will rise up 1000-fold in the future”. Ignoring evil only gives it deeper roots inside you. You need courage to call out evil when you see it. Reality hates cowards
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Pyotr organizes a revolutionary group and tells members to commit crime:. The village gets overrun with theft and vandalism. They destroy the social order too — disrupting public events and openly mocking public officials. Distrust arises, but things are just getting started…
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I wish I discovered adoration 10 years ago. It’s a peace that surpasses all understanding
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Good and evil runs through everyone — including yourself. The key, however, is not just recognizing evil, but repenting (unlike Stavrogin). Repentance doesn’t just help you forgive yourself, but also others. It precedes patience, love, and personal redemption
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In Tolkien’s own words:. "The poem is a profound meditation on the paradoxes of faith:. the loss that leads to gain, the sorrow that yields joy, and the justice that is reconciled with mercy in the divine economy"
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Their crimes ramp up in intensity:. Pyotr spreads gossip, lies, and rumors via anonymous letters in town. His group encourages public vice like drunkenness and lust. They desecrate religious icons, blackmail village members, and even plot arson
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Realizing his mistake, the Father repents. Pearl then offers him a final gift — the vision of a “New Jerusalem,” in heaven. It’s a picture of the paradise to come and reminds the father of a crucial lesson:. All earthly suffering — handled nobly — leads to heavenly glory
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Alexandre Dumas wrote:. “Man was not meant to attain happiness so easily. It's like those palaces whose gates are guarded by dragons: we must fight in order to conquer it”. Here are excerpts from his writing explaining how to find your life's adventure and live a good life:
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Stavrogin's confession reveals that his crimes have destroyed his capacity to feel:. He’s numb, insomnia-driven, and hallucinates demons. The only feeling he knows is pleasure at debasing himself through evil. His nihilism is like a drug addiction…
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By the end of the novel, large scale atrocities take place including:. - Murder.- Multiple suicides.- Plots to attempt a mass killing. The bleak novel ends in tragedy, but sharp readers notice something missing…
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Not only were his works best sellers, they were masterpieces. His Magnum Opus - The Count of Monte Cristo - is France’s all time greatest novel and directly inspired by Dumas Sr.’s life. 200 years later, it’s still inspiring readers to this day. Not a bad legacy.
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CS Lewis said real men are a dying breed. He warned society bought into a “pernicious lie,” that destroyed masculinity. Here’s the lie, how it ruined manhood, and Lewis’ solution to raising strong, healthy, virtuous men…🧵
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In this censored chapter, Stavrogin visits a priest and makes a confession. First, he expresses his nihilism:. “I neither know nor feel good and evil. I have not only lost any sense of it, but know that neither exist”. Nihilism has destroyed his humanity.
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Addison's Walk:. The trail where Tolkien convinced CS Lewis to become a Christian
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Does fighting lead to the good life?. Ancient philosophers loved to fight:. - Plato wrestled.- Pythagoras boxed.- Xenophon was a soldier. They knew that combat made STRONG bodies and SHARP minds. Here's how fighting makes you virtuous, according to ancient philosophy:
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Suffering is not just a “drawback,” that accompanies love. It's transformative:. Just as Christ suffered on the Cross, you get closer to Christ when you “carry your cross”. To carry your cross is to do good, and love your neighbor, despite your pains
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Evil gives him pleasure, but numbs him. Growing numb, he chases greater evil for greater pleasure. He spirals and spirals until he “destroys and betrays himself for nothing”. What becomes of Stavrogin in the end? (spoilers)
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The missing piece has to deal with Stavrogin. While Pyotr was a devout revolutionary, Stavrogin was not. He supported nihilism, yet didn’t fully buy into the revolution. It was as if he knew something that he wasn’t telling us. Like something was omitted.
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Tolkien called this story a work of genius. He spent decades studying it, teaching it, and even publishing his own translation. Why?. He said this poem explains the “paradox of faith”
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“Do not pursue what is illusionary -property and position…Live with a steady superiority over life”. The fortune you spent decades building can be taken, but tyrants can't touch your soul. True rebellion to tyranny requires indifference to wealth. then no one can hurt you
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Turns out, publishers omitted an entire chapter on Stavrogin. The chapter was crucial to not just understanding him, but also the true horrors of nihilism. The chapter, however, is vile. Publishers considered it an “affront to the Russian people”
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Whereas Pyotr enjoys the chaos of nihilism, Stavrogin seems tormented by it. He clings to evil, yet is disgusted by evil, as if he has a guilty conscience. Surprisingly, though, readers never learned why Stavrogin was so tormented…
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Finally, Pearl breaks through to her father. She doesn’t give him hopeful assurances, but a harsh truth:. He cannot be happy until he lets her go. He can only get Pearl back if he looks beyond Pearl, to God himself…
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Dostoevsky concludes:. “To love is to suffer, and there can be no love otherwise”. It’s a paradox — love makes you suffer, but only love can conquer suffering. If you persevere through pain with a loving heart, you transcend your pain:. You become fully human
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In the end, Stavrogin confesses but refuses to repent. He clings to his ways, his conscience ruins him, and he commits suicide…. Now, as bleak as this story is, Dostoevsky was not a nihilist. He did not want us to abandon hope… but where is the hope in this story?
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To conclude:. Dostoevsky doesn’t run from the bleakness of life. Life is indeed filled with suffering. His frankness, however, is exactly why we can believe his conclusion. Learn to love the Good, and no evil can withstand you. Not even Satan himself
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It means the father needs gratitude and courage:. To keep striving to live well and do good, despite his pain. This won’t end his suffering, but it will make him strong and virtuous. The “cross,” of Pearl’s death is an invitation to greatness
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Tolkien concludes:. "The journey of the narrator is not a descent into despair but an ascent into understanding. From grief to grace, his path reflects the transformative power of divine revelation, turning personal loss into eternal gain"
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Stavrogin confesses to raping a child, driving her to suicide, and happily listening to her die. He says, “I liked the intoxication from the tormenting awareness of my own baseness”. It’s the ultimate act of evil, but Dostoevsky wrote this chapter for a specific reason…
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“Let your credo be this: Let the lie come into the world, let it even triumph. But not through me”. This is the conclusion of Solzhenitsyn’s 4800 page attack on the USSR:. You resist tyranny by rejecting the lie. This is how you destroy evil, triumph, and save the world
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“The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie.”. The truth sets you free. If you’re unsure what’s true, make a commitment to stop lying. This alone begins your rebellion against tyranny
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