In The Liberal Mind, Kenneth Minogue speaks of misguided political and social reformers in the line of modern liberal thought: How many visionaries have unwittingly prepared a hell on earth because their gaze was stubbornly fixed on heaven? And when hell comes — well, there is always some ad hoc theory of sinister interests or … [Read more…]
[This article is reposted from my other blog, To See a World in a Grain of Sand. It was originally published on 2007/04/11. I hope it will mean something to some as we approach the day of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.] In this modern age, we maintain constant levels of activity and … [Read more…]
As Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger noted years ago, western Christians built Western Civilization as a home for the churches united to Rome. St. Augustine and St. Benedict and St. Gregory the Great laid the foundations and many others built upon those foundations. For centuries, Western Civilization was a home for the Catholic Church and then for … [Read more…]
The point I’d like to make is a general one, but I’m mostly targeting my fellow-Christians who have the greater responsibility if they truly have the belief they claim in God as the all-powerful Creator of this world. First, a poem by Emily Dickinson: Faith is a fine invention For gentlemen who see, But microscopes … [Read more…]
Recently, I had reason to refer to Michael Polanyi’s Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy, a book which had a good deal of influence upon my thoughts, upon my views of how human beings are embodied creatures and not body-soul chimeras and also upon my views of the way that human beings are embedded in … [Read more…]
[This entry has also been posted to my other blog, To See a World in a Grain of Sand.] Those who belong to that school of thought labeled Intelligent Design typically describe themselves as Christian, sometimes Jewish, and sometimes there is only an impression of a vague Theism. In any case, most of these thinkers … [Read more…]
Today, August 21, is the feast-day of St. Pius X who was Pope from 1903-1914. A saintly man for sure, he was born into poverty and lived an ascetic and morally disciplined life, being greatly concerned about pastoral issues. He was greatly concerned with the needs of ordinary Catholics and also the needs of the … [Read more…]
John Hawks is an evolutionary thinker who seems to think clear and to speak honestly. I’d recommend his weblog, John Hawks Weblog for anyone wanting an intelligent take on evolutionary biology from the viewpoint of an anthropologist who has done highly regarded work on the genetics aspects of his field. In a recent entry about … [Read more…]
Like most Christians, I believe that — if Christ choses me — I’ll be raised from the dead into a world that might be called ‘Heaven’ where I’ll live with Jesus Christ for time without end. I’ll take this as a typical schizophrenic Christian belief. See A Thomistic Take on Madness and Modernism for a … [Read more…]