Feminism is a slippery issue that gets more slippery the more you think about it. It starts off seeming perfectly clear. One Catholic feminist, an intelligent woman, tells us that “The core of feminism lies in the simple demand that women receive the same respect as men as independent, capable human beings.” She’s right, I think, … Read more
A common argument against same-sex marriage is that it is ‘unnatural.’ But without qualification, such an argument is pointless. What do people mean when they call something ‘unnatural’? Do they mean ‘unusual,’ ‘abnormal,’ or ‘ugh’! I don’t like it!’? Do they mean ‘it doesn’t happen in the animal kingdom!’ or ‘it can’t happen without human … Read more
We consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law. –Rom. 3:28 We have believed in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. –Gal. 2:16 In November, 2008, … Read more
Rescuing the princess. Punishing unjust oppressors. Liberating a people from slavery. International gamers across the world live out these fantasies on a daily basis. These fantasies don’t make themselves, however. Grown men and women have to sit down at computers and think them up. Most video games these days have some kind of pre-packaged narrative … Read more
There you will show me That which my soul desired; And there You will give at once, O You, my life! That which You gave me the other day. —John of the Cross, Spiritual Canticle Midnight. Shelly is getting herself drunk so that she can bring herself to go home with the strange man seated … Read more
For most of you this weekend contains a date you’ll never forget, along the lines of September 11, or December 7 — anniversaries of profound wounds to our country as a whole, even if we didn’t lose a relative in those surprise attacks or the wars that ensued. For millions of Americans, however, January 22 … Read more
On April 12,1963 — Good Friday — Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led a group of about 50 anti-segregation protesters into downtown Birmingham, Alabama. It was a peaceful protest, but they were not naïve: They knew that their message would offend and cause problems. King was not surprised when they were all arrested. Eight white … Read more
To me, there’s nothing that quite says “Christmas” like schadenfreude — that grim satisfaction one takes in watching the suffering of others, especially other people whose ideas are evil. The Church father Tertullian used to write in lengthy detail of how the Romans who tortured Christians would undergo the same tortures themselves in hell, while … Read more
Natural law has had a hard time in the modern world. Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) castigated the natural law theorists of his day for promoting “personal opinions and sentiments” as standards of right and wrong. He offered utilitarianism as a replacement, versions of which have taken the lead in modern university courses on ethical theory. Immanuel … Read more
Bill Whittle, explaining the Natural Law underpinnings of good law, and observing what is the underlying (as opposed to the proximate) cause of the current economic malaise: What We Believe, Part 4: Natural Law It’s Part 4 of Bill’s series about what American conservatives (and especially Tea Party folks) believe. Here are Parts 1, 2, … Read more
On June 9th, the Catholic News Agency (CNA) reported that Dr. Kenneth Howell, an adjunct professor at the the University of Illinois, was fired for teaching that homosexual acts violate the natural moral law during his class on Catholicism. A student (not in the class) wrote to the head of the religion department on behalf … Read more
In the current opposition to abortion on moral grounds, the “right to life” principle has attained an indisputable hegemony. But numerous exceptions to this principle are admitted, even by those who stand firmly by the general rule. Self-defense in the face of unjust aggression or threats to life is almost universally approved; just war … Read more
“As an explanation of the world, materialism has a sort of insane simplicity. It has just the quality of the madman’s arguments; we have at once the sense of it covering everything and the sense of it leaving everything out.” G.K. Chesterton In the struggle to survive, the fit win, and so it is also … Read more
If you’re like me, you can’t wait for Barack Obama to speak at the University of Notre Dame — if only because it will put a stop to the flurry of news stories and commentaries about the scandal. (Such as . . . the one you’re presently reading. And my piece from two weeks ago … Read more
December 10, 1948: Keep your eye on that date. It’s likely to have an important symbolic role in Pope Benedict XVI’s upcoming visit to the United Nations and the United States. Religious and civic pageantry, teddy bears wearing T-shirts with papal-visit logos, and celebrity worship may be the visit’s most obvious features. But people … Read more
