Simpson College hosted two authors this past Thursday in Hubbell Hall: Brian McLaren and Valarie Kaur.

Valarie Kaur is the author of the book “Sage Warrior” while Brian McLaren’s book is titled “Life After Doom.”

Both publications are centered around the idea of love and finding ways to improve the world around us.

“Sage Warrior” is a collection of personal stories, spiritual wisdom, and a call to action to embrace love as a revolutionary force for social justice.

“Life After Doom” is focused on addressing moral and spiritual questions about survival, hope, and the role of humanity in devastation.

Kaur draws on her Sikh faith and her experiences as an activist, lawyer, and filmmaker to present this book as a guide for those seeking to create change in the world.

Kaur described in her words what a “Sage Warrior” embodies.

“The warrior fights while the sage loves. It is a path of revolutionary love. The warrior is someone who fights for what is right. The sage is someone who leads with love. The one who can look upon the face of anyone and say you are a part of me I do not yet know. You need both the sage and the warrior,” Kaur said.

McLaren touched on some questions that his book presents in terms of building a better future.

“To become a better and more just society we need to be ruthlessly honest on what’s not working. We keep doing things that keep not working. We have to stop and say this way of treating the earth is not working. This way of religion is not working. Let’s have some change,” McLaren said.

Chief of Staff at the Revolutionary Love Project, Anusha Mehar, spoke briefly on how we can help push forward the idea of love to better our society.

“By identifying and acknowledging that nobody is outside of our sphere of care. If we are truly practicing the concept of oneness, then you are a part of me that I do not yet know. Sometimes the part of ourselves are the components that we do not yet know,” Mehar said.

Mehar faced racial discrimination during the time of 9/11 as a Punjabi Sikh who lived in the US.

“My father worked in a hospital as a brown Indian man where people started to shout racial slurs at him. They didn’t know that their care was trusted in his very hands. That he was organizing busloads of doctors to travel to New York to support 9/11 survivors,” Mehar said.

This highlighted the struggle that Indian people faced during this time of heightened racial discrimination in the US.

Kaur and McLaren left Simpson with hopes that the people in attendance can help push the future in a direction that is focused on love and positivity.

“We are one great movement longing for a world of love, peace, and liberation. I spent 20 years of my life organizing around hate. I will spend the rest of my life organizing around love,” Kaur said.

“If we ask ourselves if we are really a loving person then I think that raises the bars. It’s not just loving people either it’s about loving the earth itself and our fellow creatures,” McLaren said.

Both books are available to order, and for more information on the Revolutionary Love Project go to Revolutionarylove.org.