The Brian Holdsworth Podcast

A critique of how modern philosophies that prioritize sensation over truth can erode moral imagination. A look at how boredom and novelty-seeking fuel addiction and risky behavior among the powerful. An exploration of wealth multiplying access to exotic experiences and the ways that spectacle and manipulation can enable corruption.

Why does the Society of St. Pius X provoke such intense reactions among Catholics—especially among those who have no real connection to them? Support the channel by visiting: https://brianholdsworth.ca/help In this video, I don't argue whether the SSPX is schismatic or whether they should be excommunicated. Instead, I look at something deeper and more widespread: the culture of online "chattering" that erupts whenever a controversial Church topic hits the headlines - and why that habit does real damage to Christian unity, charity, and credibility. Drawing on history, St. Thomas Aquinas, and common sense, I argue that many Catholics mistake being informed for being authoritative, and opinion for competence. The result is a cycle of outrage that solves nothing and often makes the Church look worse to outsiders. Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com

Can God die? Muslims often argue that the Trinity and the Incarnation are incoherent, but their own theology makes that argument impossible. Sponsor: https://exodus90.com/brian Support the channel by visiting: https://brianholdsworth.ca/help Islam's dominant Divine Command Theory teaches that God can will anything whatsoever, even what seems incoherent or contradictory. Therefore Muslims cannot logically argue that the Trinity or the Incarnation are impossible, because their own theology denies any intrinsic limits on God's power. At most they can claim that God wouldn't do these things, which shifts the burden of proof and collapses their usual objections.

Modern entertainment trains us to live for self-pleasure, turning us inward and making us passive consumers, whereas true worship trains us in sacrifice, gratitude, and outward-facing love; because these orientations are opposites, a culture addicted to entertainment is structurally incapable of sustaining real worship or belief in God.

In this podcast, I analyze the recent debate between Catholic apologist Joe Heschmeyer and Mormon apologist Jacob Hansen, and show how his central LDS argument for a "Great Apostasy" commits a fatal logical fallacy: if not Catholicism, therefore Mormonism. I explain why this reasoning collapses, why the burden of proof is on the one claiming the Church disappeared, and how the historical record actually ends up pointing straight back to Catholicism.

"When you seek to fill an infinite need with finite material means, no amount of consumption will satisfy." Sponsor: https://exodus90.com/brian Support the channel by visiting: https://brianholdsworth.ca/help Every year, secular Christmas extends itself further into sectors of seasons and places it doesn't belong. It seems that no amount of time, no quantity of purchases, no amount of decorations, and no amount of indulgence will finally be enough for people who seem to need Christmas to meet some need that they have that is far greater than any Christmas display or material consumption will satisfy. Perhaps this is because we have an infinite need to worship the infinite God who alone can satisfy this need that we have. Instead, we're trying to meet the infinite need with finite solutions, and we find we are unsatisfied as a result, committing ourselves to more, and greater consumption to try to appease the restlessness of our dissatisfaction.

A conversion story that leads to wrestling with James 2 and apparent clashes with sola fide. A look at how Protestant reinterpretations reshape plain readings of Scripture. An argument that claiming Scripture alone still relies on interpretive traditions. A self-driving car analogy and a historical appeal to apostolic teaching as alternatives.

"Feminism is the shadow Church - it mimics the faith with a sacrament, it has commandments, it evangelizes, and it offers a whole ethos for women." Sponsor: https://exodus90.com/brian Support the channel by visiting: https://brianholdsworth.ca/support

"Good laws are designed to judge visible actions, not internal emotional states." Sponsor: https://exodus90.com/brian Support the channel by visiting: https://brianholdsworth.ca/help Clear laws protect ordinary people. Vague laws empower authorities. In this video, I explain why legal certainty is essential to justice, how hate-speech laws undermine the rule of law, and why criminalizing intent and offense opens the door to arbitrary enforcement and abuse of power — using real-world examples from the UK, Canada, and beyond.

"If validity is all that mattered, the Church wouldn't bother with all these other instructions, and it certainly wouldn't have rewritten the liturgy at a massive cost to unity, tradition, and pastoral peace." Sponsor: https://catholicmatch.com/ Support the channel by visiting: https://brianholdsworth.ca/support The idea that the Latin Mass and Novus Ordo are "equal" simply because both are valid collapses liturgy into its bare minimum. The Church repeatedly teaches that validity is only the floor, not the measure of excellence. If validity were all that mattered, the Church would never have issued extensive liturgical norms, nor undertaken the most disruptive liturgical reform in its history. Honest evaluation is therefore not judgmentalism but necessary for genuine reform and unity. Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com