Author & Speaker. A Rational Morality for Secular Thinkers.
Joined May 2020
- Tweets 7,967
- Following 596
- Followers 4,250
- Likes 40,099
647 Photos and videos
Pinned Tweet
11 Nov 2023
Two pieces of feedback:
Christianity is not what made the West great: earthlyidealism.com/p/christ…
There is a secular, inspiring, non-Christian morality: earthlyidealism.com/p/what-i…
68
47
417
56,497
Jun 8
I actually did this and don't regret it, but the downside is it's far harder to find interesting, ambitious people.
Jun 7
I genuinely don’t understand why people don’t sell everything they have, move to Iowa, buy a beautiful old house for next to nothing, and start enjoying a simpler, better, and more affordable life.
5
19
1,306
Don Watkins retweeted
May 28
We need your help finding the right creators and influencers to promote our new $100,000 competition, which challenges 16–22-year-olds to analyze, question, defend, or critique the ideas in Atlas Shrugged.
Details on how you can help are in the first comment👇
4
14
27
1,027
May 25
Good news for venture capitalists everywhere
May 24
Fernando Tatis Jr. has lost his lawsuit against Big League Advance.
Tatis was paid $2 million as a minor leaguer in exchange for 10% of his future earnings.
This was not a loan.
If Tatis didn't make it to the big leagues, he didn't have to repay the $2 million.
But Tatis did make it to the big leagues and later signed a 14-year, $340 million contract.
That meant Tatis owed Big League Advance $34 million.
Tatis had publicly praised Big League Advance, saying the $2 million allowed him to hire a personal trainer, upgrade his apartment, and eat better food.
But after realizing he owed $34 million in exchange for $2 million, Tatis sued the company, alleging that they used predatory tactics to lure him into an investment deal that was really an illegal loan.
The judge disagreed.
The agreement was upheld this week and Tatis was even ordered to pay Big League Advance’s legal fees.
This is a big deal because Big League Advance has signed deals with 700 athletes, including Elly De La Cruz (MLB) and Nolan Smith (NFL), across MLB, NFL, and college sports (think: NIL).
And now that the courts have ordered Fernando Tatis Jr. to follow through on the agreement, other potential legal challenges will likely go the same way.
1
2
12
1,065
Don Watkins retweeted
May 21
8
19
823
Don Watkins retweeted
May 17
>Have you heard the good news? A child's IQ and personality appear largely set at birth. Ergo, research shows parenting doesn't matter! We can all relax!
Spare me the drivel.
Parenting matters, and matters deeply, for who a child becomes.
6
9
108
6,993
I agree with everything Don says here in his review of Ehrman. My written review is forthcoming. Stay tuned.
May 11
"Christian 'love' is not shared joy but selfless suffering. It is not rooted in any actual admiration for others, let alone desire, but is rather about dutifully 'giving to others to help them in their need.'”
earthlyidealism.com/p/review…
2
7
27
1,736
Don Watkins retweeted
May 12
Bart Ehrman on the Christian Origins of Altruistic Morality
@BenBayer interviews historian Bart Ehrman on how Christianity invented the morality of self-sacrifice, and why this origin is anything but rational.
5
13
25
2,770
May 11
"Christian 'love' is not shared joy but selfless suffering. It is not rooted in any actual admiration for others, let alone desire, but is rather about dutifully 'giving to others to help them in their need.'”
earthlyidealism.com/p/review…
1
7
29
2,440
May 10
*Love Thy Stranger* by @BartEhrman is an important but flawed book.
It reveals how Christianity overthrew Greek and Roman moral ideals with a radical doctrine of self-sacrifice.
The problem: Ehrman doesn't understand altruism.
Full review below.
3
6
16
613
May 10
"Today most equate morality and altruism—to be moral simply is to sacrifice for those in need. But that is a product of 2,000 years of ideological indoctrination by Christianity."
earthlyidealism.com/p/review…
1
4
10
279
Don Watkins retweeted
Apr 26
Describing the thought and effort of parenting as a "sacrifice" belittles you and saps some of the joy of parenting.
*actually* sacrificing harms both you and your child.
I interviewed philosopher, @GSalmieri, to discuss how parenting without sacrifice is better for everyone.
3
5
23
1,045
Don Watkins retweeted
Apr 23
"Are we then to credit Christianity with modern science after all? Absolutely not. This has been my point all along. Christianity has always been an other-worldly ideology that made concessions to this world. Every advance civilization has made since Christianity’s rise has happened precisely because of these concessions. The more ground Christians cede to this world, the more civilization moves forward—the more Christianity’s other-worldly ideals dominate, the more civilization falters." ~ @donswriting
"How the Bible Corrupted the Soul of Western Civilization - Part 5" open.substack.com/pub/donswr…
1
4
11
404
Don Watkins retweeted
Apr 19
The Atlas Prize challenges exceptional young minds to engage deeply with the ideas of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged and demonstrate the power of their reasoning before a global audience for the chance to win up to $100,000. Get the details at hubs.la/Q04cF0zW0.
24
42
3,308
Apr 5
If I had to name the most plausible claim made in favor of Christianity’s contribution to civilization, it would be that it helped unleash modern progress.
But it turns out, even that claim is 100% false.
5
11
48
1,929
Apr 5
So was the Christian West uniquely inventive before the modern era? Not really.
And is there strong evidence to think that the inventiveness they did achieve was rooted in Christianity? Also no.
Progress was an Enlightenment achievement.
earthlyidealism.com/p/how-th…
6
20
533
Apr 2
In 1657, James Farr was prosecuted "for making and selling a drink called 'coffee,' whereby in making the same he annoyeth his neighbours by evil smells."
10
7
45
1,284
Don Watkins retweeted
Mar 30
Many are rightly pointing out that nature and technology are as full of wonder as any fairytale.
But this isn't enough to cure disillusionment.
You need to be enchanted with daily *life*—with authoring a vision using your own mind and building it with your own two hands.
what a boring planet… no fairies, no elves, no mermaids, no dragons, no vampires, no ware wolves….. just bills, stress, gossip, and insufferable people
2
7
31
1,593
Mar 29
Christianity didn’t gift the West reason—it was reason’s greatest enemy.
The Bible says to distrust our own mind (Proverbs 3:5) and that faith is superior to earthly reason.
Progress came when thinkers defied dogma and let reason reign.
2
14
70
1,774
Mar 29
"Mangalwadi is right: reason does explain the rise of the West. But reason’s triumph was a triumph over Christianity—not a triumph made possible by Christianity."
Read the whole thing: earthlyidealism.com/p/how-th…
6
19
527