MSI Press Blog

TL Brink TL Brink is the author of  How to Argue with an Atheist: How to Win the Argument without Losing the Person . T.L. Brink is a social scientist and author of fifteen books, two dozen encyclopedia articles, and hundreds of journal articles, reviews and conference presentations. His main topics of interest include clinical assessment and treatment of mental disorders in later life, religious phenomena, cancer attitudes, consumer behavior, qualitative research methods, and Big Data Analytics using Bayesian Sequential Statistics. He has degrees from Claremont Men’s College, San Jose State University, Santa Clara University and the University of Chicago. He has been a member of the Association for Psychological Science, American Psychological Association, American Sociological Association, Western Psychological Association, Western Positive Psychology Association, Midwestern Psychological Association, International Council of Psychologists, Sociedad Interamericana de Psicol

STEP #1:   I affirm that people are values-centered. STUDENT: Dr. Brink? Do you remember me? I came by last week and we talked about religion. BRINK: Of course, but as I said last time, to give you the entire answer as to why I am religious, or why you should be religious, is not something that we should attempt all at once. We need to approach this topic advancing slowly but surely, one step at a time. STUDENT: So, where do we start? BRINK: My first point is that humans are values-oriented beings. They seek values, uphold values, and when they are not oriented by values, they fall into alienation. STUDENT: That sounds like Chapter 13 on social psychology. BRINK: My, you have read ahead in your psychology textbook. STUDENT: So, what’s the next point? BRINK: Don’t be so quick to agree with me. If we have not fully established step #1, then we do not have a good footing for the next step. We need to break down step #1 into several sub-steps. In order for you to agr