Episodes

It’s our great honor to welcome the founder of Apologetics.com, the delightfully humorous Lion of Christian Apologetics, Dr. Harry Edwards.

Dr. Edwards is ethnically Filipino, speaks Tagalog fluently having grown up there in the big city on Luzon. Harry moved to the US lawfully when he was a very young man.

There were many, many years when every time you went into the Biola University bookstore, back when they sold, well, books instead of everything else besides books (you can buy coffee mugs, skis, hunting rifles, used Toyota trucks, and rare military insignia, but not like hard cover books anymore at the Biola Book Store since the decline began)(actually, hunting rifles would be progress, but), you would see Harry Edwards there, the king of the Biola Bookstore Commonwealth. And that’s because fundamentally Harry is a nerd, sure, but more superficially, it’s because Harry was the Biola Bookstore Manager.

In other words, you thought of Harry, you thought, books. Books, books, books. And he loves books, and he had and has a passion for introducing people to books, books, and more books.

That alone would be a good reason to be a fan of Dr. Harry Edwards.

Harry has jet black hair (and he’s old, and he does not dye it), he’s got dark skin, and he grew up elsewhere, yet he is a red-blooded American.

Dr. Harry Edwards has a passion for reaching the lost in America, especially Generation Z, with the wonderful news (true, defensible news) of the historic, biblical Christian Gospel and all the truths of general revelation that flow out of and are consistent with that view of the world. His doctoral dissertation was on reaching Generation Z with Apologetics. His doctorate is a D.Min., a Doctor of Ministry, with emphasis in Apologetics from the epicenter of scholarship on Christian Apologetics, Southern California’s Biola University, Talbot School of Theology, in Lost Angeles County.

(D. Min. is ironically pronounced “dmon” — ironic because there’s nothing dmonic about it, actually).

Many years ago Harry founded Apologetics.com which he still runs while on the pastoral staff of Christian church in Orange County, California. Part of that effort involves a late-night radio program and podcast in Lost Angeles which helps listeners develop, refine, correct, and progress in the best way to understand Christianity and the world.

The Republican Professor is a pro-books, pro-awesome-bookstore-that-actually-sells-books, pro-Apologetics-done-right, pro-red-blooded-American-no-matter-what-color-you-appear-to-be, pro-America-loving-lawful-immigrant, pro-re-thinking-how-best-to-reach-the-young podcast.

Therefore, welcome Dr. Harry Edwards, D.Min. (in Christian Apologetics, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, California).

The co-host for this episode is Kurtis Olson, co-founder of TheRepublicanProfessor.com

The Republican Professor podcast is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

—

A helpful note on the numbering of TRP episodes:

This is Episode 70 of The Republican Professor on YouTube.

The last two audio-only episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. (featuring a topic on which YouTube censors free discussion) featured Dr. John R. Lott, Ph.D. and Jon Matthews. The last YouTube episode, The Fatty Truth on Instagram on Political Censorship, was numbered episode 68 on YouTube because our Good Friday and Easter episodes 2022 were not numbered. But this is the 70th episode uploaded to The Republican Professor channel on YouTube.

The Audio only version of The Republican Professor podcast included Episode 1 on Abortion, recorded January 2021 with K-12 Public School Teacher Aaron Axtell, published late 2021. Episode 2 was published early 2022. Episode 2 of the audio-only line-up is Episode 1 on YouTube, since the real Episode 1 with Aaron Axtell on Abortion did not have video.

More than you ever wanted to like evar like know about, like, how the like episodes are like numbared and stuff.

~Dr. Ljm, Trp

Hey TRPers,

This is a conversation with Jon Matthews of Election Integrity Project California which has settled one lawsuit and is in the middle of appealing another right now at the 9th Circuit.

We talk about Election Integrity. The key to moving forward with shoring up Election Integrity is transparency.

I normally publish the episode to my YouTube channel, The Republican Professor, before it goes out to the rest of the world on Apple podcasts through TRP’s website. But I hesitate to do that for this episode and the one which came before with Dr. John Lott.

YouTube censors discussion about Election Integrity.

They took down one of TRP’s videos early on when my co-host and I, Kurtis Olson, interviewed the film producer and book publisher Brad Cummings (The Shack, book and film). In three hours, Brad said his opinion that there a lack of integrity and transparency in our election system twice. That’s right, in 3 hours of conversation about everything else, he briefly mentioned just twice, very quickly, his personal opinion about how much work we have to do to shore up Election Integrity in the United States, and YouTube took it down for “spreading misinformation” about a very specific election for a specific office during a specific year, details Brad hadn’t even bothered to mention, his comments were so brief.

Democrats run YouTube, and we had a strike, or warning of a strike against my YouTube channel (you get 3 before your channel is gone).

I did appeal and they did republish the video, so verify yourself — go watch Brad Cummings’ episode and see for yourself whether that video is “harmful” to the community.

The bottom line for me is that although YouTube reinstated the video , they did so at their sole discretion without any explanation (or expectation that they owed us or anyone any explanation) as to why they changed their minds, or how specifically they make their decisions, nor did they offer an apology for their admitted mistake. And so I’m left with a chilling effect on frank discussion about that topic on YouTube. By the way, YouTube sure seems to be run by Democrats, certainly not by Republicans.

Enjoy this episode with our guest Jon Matthews with Election Integrity Project Californai, and look for the video on Rumble if you want to see us.

The Republican Professor is a pro-secure-elections, pro-shoring-up-election-integrity, pro-Free-Speech-about-election-integrity-on-any-platform, pro-producing-people-who-can-think-for-themselves-instead-of-having-Youtube-run-by-Democrats-censor-the-information-they-may-need-to-make-up-their-own-minds-intelligently, pro-transparency-in-elections podcast.

Therefore, welcome Jon Matthews of Election Integrity Project, California.

The Republican Professor podcast is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

Dr. John R. Lott, Jr. (Ph.D. UCLA, Economics) is best known to us as a researcher on the harms and myths of the effectiveness of gun control, but Dr. Lott joins The Republican Professor podcast this episode to discuss his recent Hillsdale College Imprimis piece called “Is Ensuring Election Integrity Anti-Democratic?” (October 2021, to 6.1 million readers). Dr. Lott provides a comparison of the US with the rest of the World on efforts to shore up election integrity.

What he writes is shocking.

I normally publish the episode to my YouTube channel, The Republican Professor, before it goes out to the rest of the world on Apple podcasts through TRP’s website. But I hesitate to do that for this episode and the one to follow. YouTube censors free discussion about Election Integrity.

They took down one of TRP’s videos early on when my co-host, Kurtis Olson, and I interviewed the film producer and book publisher Brad Cummings (The Shack, book and film). In his three hour episode, Brad expressed his opinion twice, within a span of about 10 seconds, that there a lack of integrity and transparency in our election system.

That’s right, in 3 hours of conversation about everything else, he briefly mentioned just twice, very quickly, his personal opinion about how much work we have to do to shore up Election Integrity in the United States.

YouTube took it down for “spreading misinformation” about a very specific election for a specific office during a specific year, details Brad hadn’t even bothered to mention, his comments were so brief. And they threatened my TRP channel with a strike.

Democrats run YouTube, and we had a strike, or warning of a strike against my YouTube channel (you get 3 before your channel is gone).

I appealed and they did republish the video. So verify yourself — go watch Brad Cummings’ episode and see for yourself whether that video is “harmful” to the community.

The bottom line for me is that although YouTube reinstated the video , they did so at their sole discretion without any explanation (or expectation that they owed us or anyone any explanation) as to why they changed their minds, or how specifically they made their decisions, nor did they offer an apology for their admitted mistake. And so I’m left with a chilling effect on frank and free discussion about that topic on YouTube. By the way, YouTube sure seems to be run by Democrats, certainly not by Republicans.

Enjoy this episode with our esteemed guest, Dr. John R. Lott, Jr., Ph.D., and look for the video on Rumble if you want to see us.

The Republican Professor is a pro-secure-elections, pro-shoring-up-election-integrity, pro-Free-Speech-about-election-integrity-on-any-platform, pro-producing-people-who-can-think-for-themselves-instead-of-having-Youtube-run-by-Democrats-censor-the-information-they-may-need-to-make-up-their-own-minds-intelligently, pro-transparency-in-elections podcast.

Therefore, welcome Dr. John R. Lott, Jr., Ph.D.

My co-host for this episode was Kurtis Olson.

The Republican Professor podcast is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

When our guest began her Instagram page, it was about Keto stuff. It was a typical food account, pictures of food. It still is about food, if you go and look at her pictures.

But then the first quarter of 2020 happened, and she lost her job as a result of the lockdowns in New York, and she went from not having a political pulse–in her words, not knowing the difference between a Republican and a Democrat, a self-described liberal woman, a racial and ethnic minority who grew up in a foreign country–she went from political novice to voting for Trump in 2020. This despite the fact she is not in the Klan, as she clearly says when I asked her just to make sure. She’s also not a Nazi — I double-checked on that, as well. So.

She now uses Instagram to post Bible quotes and political and social commentary on the news of the day through Instagram stories.

Instagram doesn’t like her.

It doesn’t let her be tagged by other people. Instagram doesn’t allow you to hashtag her account name. It shadow-bans her. It has caused her to lose thousands of followers. And this kind of thing has been happening ever since she , well, became a Republican !

Amazing coincidence !

It’s almost as if the people who run Instagram are … Democrats !

The Republican Professor is a pro-Free-Speech, pro-Free-thought, pro-freedom-of-inquiry, pro-civil-non-censored-dialogue-on-social-media podcast.

Therefore, welcome, the woman behind The Fatty Truth on Instagram !

The Republican Professor is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

At the time of this recording in Spring of 2022, Professor Paul Franks, Ph.D. was not yet Vice President of Tyndale University in Toronto, Canada, but as you’ll see in this episode, he brings an authentic, warm, honest, charitable demeanor to our conversation, sprinkled with a delightful sense of humor. And we needed it for such serious topics as firearms over-regulation and the problem of evil.

What I love about this episode is how Paul takes us through, in painstaking detail, the dignity-defying, overly-regulated process of obtaining, owning, and carrying a firearm in Canada (it costs $20,000 to take a pistol outside the home lawfully–not kidding–that’s how corrupt the system is), offering lightheartedly as he does that Canadians think that guns have cooties, which is a word that I last heard for girls in elementary school. He talks about it in as much detail as I asked (and I asked a lot), very minimally critiquing, just describing the process by which one has to ask the sovereign for permission to have a firearm .

He did his graduate work at the University of Oklahoma (studied Philosophy of Religion for his Ph.D. under the famous philosopher Linda Zagzebski) and is from Oklahoma so this kind of thinking is quite foreign, which makes sense, because Canada is almost like a foreign country. (That’s my dry sense of humor). He has wonderful things to say about Canada otherwise, however, and about Tyndale University in Toronto, where he as taught for a long time.

Most crucially, Dr. Franks takes us through The Problem of Evil in an area of Philosophy commonly called “Philosophy of Religion.” How does God fit in a world with evil ? Atheists think there is no fit, so evil must stay and God must go. (It’s an interesting question then, what exactly is the definition of evil , then? Doesn’t evil go, as well ?).

Paul is the editor of “Explaining Evil: Four Views” published by Bloomsbury Academic Press, available in paperback here: https://www.amazon.com/Explaining-Evil-W-Paul-Franks/dp/1501331124/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Explaining+evil+four+views&qid=1657992816&sr=8-1

Join us as we talk through all these things. Maybe have a notepad ready to take notes.

The Republican Professor is a pro-Philosophy-of-Religion, pro-rightly-understanding-the-Problems-of-evil, pro-describing-accurately-the-arduous-dignity-defying-labyrinth-of-firearm-regulation-criminalizing-innocent-conduct, pro-I-need-a-sense-of-humor-to-get-through-this podcast.

Welcome Dr. Paul Franks, Ph.D.

The Republican Professor Podcast is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

What an incredible honor to spend this precious time with Samra Dresevic of Maverick Lingo, a small business in based in Lost Angeles, California. She speaks to us in her 4th language. And good luck finding any mistakes in her diction, vocabulary, or grammar. She speaks flawless English.

Samra grew up Muslim in an idyllic, rural childhood only to experience massive trauma as a 10 year old when her youth was shattered by war. Her family immediately became refugees in Europe, and her life was never the same again. In her words, she lost her childhood.

Many, many years later, in her 4th language, she had Professor Mather, the producer and host of The Republican Professor podcast, while a student at Loyola Marymount University in Lost Angeles, California. It was a morning class, Philosophy 160, Philosophy of Human Nature as it was called at the time, that began her friendship with the professor.

[LMU has since dispensed with the course for reasons that utterly baffle all intelligent people].

That was 10 years ago as of the recording of this episode. The lines of communication and dialogue have stayed open throughout the years between Samra and the professor.

Samra is now a successful small business owner, an entrepreneur, related to language learning in Lost Angeles, California, having become an American. Her company is called Maverick Lingo and you can check out her website here : https://www.mavericklingo.com/

The Republican Professor is a pro-staying-in-touch-with-the-best-students, pro-lines-of-communication-open, pro-entrepreneur, pro-small-business-owner, pro-language-learning, pro-intriguing-life-story podcast.

Therefore, welcome dearest Samra Dresevic, one of my very favorite former students ever out of thousands.

The Republican Professor podcast is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

It seems like only 47 years ago that Dr. Ciocchi began teaching Logic, but no: It’s actually been 48. David Ciocchi has nearly half a century of service to Christ, Culture & kids under his belt.

My former boss joins us in this episode of The Republican Professor podcast.

Partial disclosure (people say “full disclosure” but then go on only to partially disclose — *full* disclosure would take a lot of time, wouldn’t it?): I was his Logic Teaching Assistant (TA) for multiple semesters while I was in graduate school studying Philosophy for my Masters at Biola University in Lost Angeles County, California.

I cut my teeth learning from this master how to teach Logic, something I ended up doing myself for 15 years in Lost Angeles and Ventura Counties (So Cal). His name is Dr. David Ciocchi, Ph.D., and Professor Ciocchi has taught for darn near half a dadgum century Introduction to Logic to blurry eyed students and budding citizens of this great Republic.

Dr. Ciocchi is known as a gentle, patient mentor with one of the driest and most pedagogically effective senses of humor known to man. (It’s not on full display here because that was not the purpose of the episode–you’d have to talk to his former students). His classes for decades have been Mon Wed Fri (MWF) starting before 8 am. The co-host for this episode, Kurtis, took his course 3 times at that early schedule, each time faring better than the last, and Dr. Ciocchi’s consistent gentle, patient demeanor is on full display there as those sensitive details come up.

Dr. Ciocchi talks us through what teaching is like, or has been like, including challenges and regrets that he’s come to terms with over those 48 years. He’s seen a lot of changes in California, not all worth celebrating (to say the least). But he’s maintained a faithfulness to the Logic-teaching ministry to Christ and Culture in California by the grace of God, and we are so grateful for God’s grace to us, through him, and for spending time with us today on this episode.

The Republican Professor is a pro-effectively-teaching-Logic-to-the-younger-generation, pro-decades-of-faithful-service, pro-mentoring-new-professors, pro-deadpan-dry-humor-in-the-morning podcast.

Therefore, welcome Dr. David Ciocchi, Ph.D., professor of Logic for 48 years at Biola University, Lost Angeles County, California.

The Republican Professor podcast is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

This episode was co-hosted by TheRepublicanProfessor.com co-founder and former student of Dr. Ciocchi, Kurtis Olson.

Our guest today is Monique Duson. She grew up in South Central Lost Angeles, California and attended Biola University in Lost Angeles County where she majored in Sociology. She spent years in the social services profession. An Obama voter, and pro-choice on abortion, she was a missionary in South Africa for several years, returning in 2018 during the Trump administration.

Monique spends nearly 3 hours with The Republican Professor podcast to talk about her story growing up in LA, about her changing attitudes toward what is sometimes called “Critical Race Theory”. But we discuss as well what she calls the alternative CRT conclusions or assumptions which is Biblical in its explanations, directed toward unity in the image of God, as opposed racial unity. Monique, in her words, has grown in wisdom, has come to change some of her views from years past, and seeks to help others in their journey of discovery, growth, and change centered in how the Bible sees us.

We talk about what is “the black community,” what “representation” is for an individual for a group, how she feels about the US flag, how she feels about America, how she feels about the current Vice President versus how she felt about Senator Obama, and yes, I ask her what she thinks about Trump. We talk about what a “racist” is, what the harm in racism is (many don’t seem to have thought carefully about this, nor seem to be prepared to give a clear, accurate answer to the question), about “Black Lives Matter,” and whether the unborn black human being should have the same value, inherent worth, and dignity in the eyes of the law as George Floyd.

The Center for Biblical Unity is a relatively recently established non-profit devoted to helping shed harmful assumptions or conclusions about race and disparity, and about what real justice is and what it is not.

For more information on the Center and how you can support its mission, check out https://www.centerforbiblicalunity.com/

The Republican Professor is a pro-understanding-so-called-Critical-Race-Theory, pro-unity-in-the-imago-dei-not-race, pro-life-including-of-course-black-life, pro-abolition-of-slavery, pro-black-economic-liberty-as-part-of-the-original-Republican-purpose-of-the-Civil-Rights-Act-of-1866-response-to-Democrat-black-codes, pro-grappling-with-the-implications-of-God’s-Word, pro-acknowledging-and-correcting-American-problems, pro-real-honest-legit-talk-about-race-and-justice podcast.

Therefore, welcome Monique Duson, of South Central LA, Co-Founder of the Center for Biblical Unity !

The Republican Professor is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

Dr. Glenn Elmers, Ph.D. has written a definitive biography, based on a wide swath of primary sources (innumerable letters, publications, other writings) of the late great Dr. Harry Jaffa, Ph.D.

It’s called “The Soul of Politics: Harry V. Jaffa and the Fight for America.”

Jaffa was a preeminent scholar of the birth of the Republican Party, what that had to do with the US Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and before that classical philosophy, Jerusalem, the end of slavery in America, as well its enduring relevance to the modern disputes over the nature and size of the administrative state, e.g., during the Republican Convention at Cow Palace, San Fransisco in 1964.

Love him or hate him, it’s impossible to be indifferent to the man and the weighty issues he made the subject of his life’s work.

Dr. Glenn Elmers has done the careful spade work and shares it gladly on this special July 4th episode of The Republican Professor (2022).

Please support your local bookstore. If you must , here is a link to the book on Amazon : https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Politics-Harry-Jaffa-America/dp/164177200X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+soul+of+politics+harry+v.+jaffa&qid=1656706654&sprefix=the+soul+of+poli%2Caps%2C524&sr=8-1

The Republican Professor is a pro-rightly-contemplating-the-nexus-of-Philosophy-and-American-Politics, pro-correctly-articulating-the-nature-of-the -Constitution-given-the-Declaration, pro-ending-slavery, pro-birth-of-the-Republican-Party, pro-man-myth-legend-Harry-v-Jaffa-warts-and-all podcast.

Therefore, welcome Dr. Glenn Ellmers, Ph.D., Harry V. Jaffa biographer !

The Republican Professor podcast is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

One of America’s newest citizens, Danka Kissell, a proud gun owner (.357 magnum) who was born and raised under Russian sponsored Communism (Slovakia), comes on TRP podcast to talk a bit about what life was like under Communism in her childhood, how America, or the promise of America’s design, is different, what kind of revolver she has now, and more.

For instance, she lives in New Jersey, and she says some things she’s seen on the East Coast give her PTSD by reminding her of the very real Communism of her youth.

The Republican Professor is a pro-new-American-citizen, pro-becoming-a-citizen-the-right-way, pro-taking-the-oath-seriously, pro-learning-the-right-lessons-from-Communism, pro-responsible-gun-ownership podcast.

Therefore, welcome Danka Kissell, newly minted United States citizen, having been born in Communism who now owns a .357 magnum (a Smith & Wesson, I found out shortly after the interview).

The Republican Professor is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.