Theory 2 Action Podcast
Theory 2 Action Podcast
MM#436--Reason and Revelation = Become a life long learner
FAN MAIL--We would love YOUR feedback--Send us a Text Message
What does it take to create a truly flourishing life in today's distraction-filled world? Charlie Kirk's powerful challenge to read 50 books yearly and eliminate "soul-depraving" content offers a compelling answer that few of us want to hear but all of us need to consider.
This episode explores the twin pillars of reason and revelation that built Western civilization—from the monotheistic foundations of Judaism through the rational inquiry of Greek philosophers like Socrates and Aristotle, culminating in the person of Jesus Christ. We examine how these complementary forces shaped not just history but continue to offer the surest path to personal wisdom and societal flourishing today.
Through a vulnerable sharing of my own faith journey, I reveal how returning to serious Catholic practice transformed me into what others describe as "a far better, more patient, more godly person." The communal aspect of faith development gets special attention as I highlight the decade-long impact of the "That Man Is You" men's group on my spiritual growth. This personal testimony serves as an invitation for listeners to consider how intentional faith practice might similarly transform their lives.
The practical takeaway is clear: commit to both revelation (putting God first through serious faith practice) and reason (becoming a lifelong learner through reading quality books) for at least 60-90 days. This dual commitment, I promise, will set you on the path to a flourishing life characterized by wisdom, virtue, and purpose. Will you accept the challenge to trade mindless scrolling for the timeless treasures found in great books and faithful living?
Key Points from the Episode:
• Reading 50 books per year on entrepreneurship, history, finance, and economics
• Cutting out "soul-depraving" content like excessive streaming media
• Reason and revelation as the twin pillars that built Western civilization
• The historical progression from Judaism through Greek philosophy to Christianity
• Taking faith seriously through regular practice and humble commitment
• Finding community through faith-based groups like "That Man Is You"
• Reading the Bible and classic books as complementary paths to wisdom
• Trading mindless scrolling for intentional learning and spiritual growth
Try committing to both revelation (putting God first) and reason (reading good books) for 60-90 days, and I promise it will change your life. Become a lifelong learner for Charlie Kirk, and you will be on the road to a flourishing life.
Other resources:
Want to leave a review? Click here, and if we earned a five-star review from you **high five and knuckle bumps**, we appreciate it greatly!
Welcome to the Theory to Action Podcast, where we examine the timeless treasures of wisdom from the great books in less time to help you take action immediately and ultimately to create and lead a flourishing life.
SPEAKER_00:Now, here's your host, David Kaiser. Hello, I am David, and welcome back to another Mojo Minute. As is our custom, let's begin not with a quote from a book, but with a great piece of advice. Go on to the audio.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so so here's my here's my advice, especially if you you hear that a lot. Every single one of you now, thanks to these literal supercomputers, for no charge, you can take learning very seriously. Every single one of you should do this. If you want to be an entrepreneur, you have to be a lifelong learner. You should be reading at least 50 books a year. You should be listening to fulfilling soul-enriching content for two hours a day. You should cut out all of the soul-depraving Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, all of that. You want to be taken seriously? Read 50 books over the next decade. That's 500 books. 50 books, 50 books a year for the next decade. That's 500 books. On entrepreneurial, on American history, on finance, on economics. There's no lack of them, right? They're all out there. By the way, most of them, they're like 20 bucks a pot, but if you want to, there's like free versions, there's YouTube lectures. There is no excuse for anybody in this room to not take learning seriously.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. So most of you will know that that voice was that of Charlie Kirk. He was a passionate lifelong learner until his death. I actually did not know he was reading 50 books a year. So he was a man after my own heart. He loved books, and as you know, I love, love, love the good books. Now I will tell you that reading 50 books a year is hard. That's a lot. That's very, very hard. But I agree. I agree with Charlie. I agree so much with Charlie that before I knew him or even of his cause, that's exactly what I found myself doing in my life, in the world of social media, scrolling, and wasting tons of time. We have a huge treasure trove of wonderful, if not incredible books we can learn from. We all have to become lifelong learners. You know, reason and revelation is what built our Western civilization, the greatest civilization the world's ever seen. And the United States is the greatest country the world has ever seen. And the United States is built upon reason and revelation. So how did all this happen? Well, over time, hundreds of people began believing in reason and revelation, especially the revelation with Judaism and the monotheistic worship of God. Then after that, the Greeks came with reason. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, among the top ones of the Greeks. And then came Jesus Christ as a fulfillment of both reason and revelation. And over time, say that thousand to fifteen hundred years from the time of Moses and the Ten Commandments up until the time of Christ, hundreds, if not thousands, of people began to follow that way of life. And like we said, then came Jesus Christ, and from a small band of twelve, then a hundred, then hundreds of followers of Christ began to spread out throughout the world. And that hundred to thousand began to be more than a thousand, began to be tens of thousands. And what were they doing? They were using reason and revelation to live their lives. We have to practice our faith with a seriousness that God requires of us. Now, here's just a little bit of my story in the hope that it helps you find your way. Because that's what we're all doing. We're all trying to find our way in this world. I had found God and was baptized at age of 24 into the Catholic Church. And I certainly wasn't taking my faith seriously at the beginning. And I knew better. I wasn't reading the Bible, I wasn't practicing the sacraments, monthly confession, at least, was not happening, and Holy Mass each and every Sunday was not happening. For us Catholics, those are the minimums, at least for a practicing Catholic. But over time, I began to read more. And I began to read the Bible more. So reason and revelation began my call back to the church. Along with finding a wonderful group, it's a national group within the Catholic Church called That Man Is You. Our local parish had a That Man Is You literally 10 years ago, started up, and this group is a wonderful Catholic men's group. I'd encourage you to find it anywhere that is close to you. You can just Google Catholic men or That Man Is You if you're a Catholic, and you can find the local groups almost, well, many, many parishes. I won't say almost every parish, many parishes have them. Our local group is wonderful. Wonderful guys, all trying to practice their Catholic faith, all coming with a humble heart. And I will tell you, showing up every morning on Saturday mornings for the last 10 plus years has made me a 10 times better Catholic, 10 times better person. And along with reading and revelation, that has helped me to become a better person. And everyone that says that about me, who's around me day in and day out, says that that I'm that I'm a far better patient person, far more godly person, far more, not that I'm still not a sinner. We all are certainly still a sinner. But if we remain humble and we acknowledge our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is our God and we are not our gods, and we submit to his will, then over time we will all get better practicing the virtues. And that is the point of this whole podcast to live a flourishing life. So I would suggest the first step is to begin by finding our Lord Jesus Christ as your God. If you're a baptized Catholic and you've been away from the church, find the nearest confessional time, make a good examination of conscience, make a good confession, and then you're back in the fold. There's plenty of resources to help you make a good exam and a good confession that are free online. Just Google it. And begin to practice your faith seriously. If you're a Christian, make a humble confession and begin to practice your faith seriously. If there's one thing Charlie Kirk taught us and led by example, is to take your faith seriously. And we always talk about this on the Catholic corner. We cannot put our faith in the corner. We have to take it out of the corner and put it first in our life. So that's the first step. Put God first. And the second, and that's the revelation side. If we put God first, that's the revelation side. And second, reason helps us by beginning to read the good books. The books that we've all known we should be reading for the last for all of our lives, but have been written over the last 3,000 years. The classics, the modern classics, the books that help us, as Charlie said, add to our soul. When you're reading a book, you can know if it's adding to your soul or depriving you. And frankly, that's what I began doing over 15 years ago, and I cannot agree more with Charlie. We have to be lifelong learners. Books have helped me to become a better person, to increase my virtues, to increase my knowledge, and more importantly, increase my wisdom of the universal laws that are eternal. And part of that reading plan as a lifelong learner is reading the Bible, the Holy Bible. So reason and revelation are the two pillars that have upheld and further gave progress to our Western civilization. Western civilization has lasted for the last 3,000 plus years. If we are professed Christians and Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, why would we not take him up on that promise? Why would we not make it our prayer for him to teach us the way, the truth, and the life? Try it. Try it for 60 to 90 days. I promise it'll change your life. So in today's mojo minute, revelation and reason are and is the good map for all Christians. It's the blueprint. Read your Bible and read the good books. Not Howard Zinn's garbage that every college student and high school student has been mandated to read. That's rubbish. Read the good books. If you don't know what the good books are, listen to this podcast for the last 400 plus episodes. You'll peel out all the good books. So read the good books and read your Bible. Become a lifelong learner. Become a lifelong learner for Charlie Kirk. And then you will be on the road to a flourishing life.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you for joining us. We hope you enjoyed this theory to action podcast. Be sure to check out our show page at teammojoacademy.com, where we have everything we discussed in this podcast as well as other great resources. Until next time, keep getting your mojo up.