By Bradley J. Birzer on Jul 03, 2019 09:31 pm
Natural Law, common law, Natural Rights, and localism—all so dear to the Founding—existed in 1776, simply put, because of the Catholic Church. [...]
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Catholicism and the American Founding
By Bradley J. Birzer on Jul 03, 2019 09:31 pm Natural Law, common law, Natural Rights, and localism—all so dear to the Founding—existed in 1776, simply put, because of the Catholic Church. [...] Read in browser »
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Why Did Harry Jaffa Change His Mind? by David Tucker To preserve both the country and political philosophy, Jaffa returned to the beginning. Read More » World War I: War as Revolution
by Mark Malvasi When World War I ended in disillusionment, with much of Europe in chaos and ruin, many Progressives blamed Woodrow Wilson. It was he, in the end, who betrayed the cause of democracy. Only after the war did John Dewey and other Progressives admit that the Allies had never championed democratic values at all, but had gone to war from selfish motives of national aggrandizement... [MORE] The Early Church & the Origins of Religious Liberty
By Casey Chalk on Jun 28, 2019 10:00 pm From Tertullian, a North African Christian writer of the early third century, to the Reformation, there is a significant Christian tradition that affirms religious freedom. Tertullian The origin story of religious liberty commonly cited in college courses and museums, informed by proponents of the so-called Whig view of history, goes something like ... Read in browser » “Death in Venice”: The Problem of Romantic Reaction
By Eva Brann on Jun 24, 2019 10:00 pm We live in a state of decadence, of falling away, the more so for no longer naming it as such, and Mann’s way of laying the past to rest seems to me vastly better than the hatred of it accompanied by ignorance which characterizes the brutal branch of the phenomenon of decadence… For the ... Read in browser » Africa: Alarming Rise of Christian Persecution by Uzay Bulut • Christians in Africa: "You have three days to go or you will be killed!"
by Giulio Meotti • Has Science Run Its Course?
Regis Nicoll One year after scientists flipped the switch on Large Hadron Collider (LHC), physicist Lawrence Krauss fretted, “I worry whether we’ve come to the limits of empirical science.” His worry was not unfounded—for in the last eleven years at the cost of over $13B, the sole accomplishment of the LHC has been the confirmation of the […] The Liberal Religion Chilton Williamson, Jr. Some time ago I argued in a magazine column that liberalism has developed in recent decades from a rigidly secular political philosophy into a this-worldly religion with its own more or less developed though unsystematic dogma based on faith and a reciprocal concept of heresy, its own unwritten creed and sacramental system, a loose rhetorical […] Why Liberalism’s Pantheon Failed
By John Horvat on Jun 23, 2019 10:00 pm For most of our history, the American liberal consensus held that the nation’s God was Christian. However, modernists undermined this consensus by welcoming in secular idols through the back door. They turned the temple into a pantheon. A great debate is raging among conservatives about the future of the movement. At stake is the ... Read in browser » Antigone and Me By Christine Norvell on Jun 19, 2019 10:00 pm Antigone was verbally attacked by Creon for her choice, for her womanhood, and for her independent actions. Being able to withstand a barrage of abuse made Antigone’s resilience clear. My life is in no way a parallel of Antigone’s, yet thousands of years later, the virtues that rise within us by God’s grace and ... Read in browser » Egypt’s Al-Azhar retreats from fatwa on beating women
Al-Azhar's Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb ruled that women cannot leave the house without their husbands’ permission and may be beaten as long as no bones are broken, sparking an uproar in Egypt. Why Satanism Is Now on the Center Stage in the Culture War
John Horvat II The religious right has often been looked down upon by many Americans involved in the political scene. For them, it shouldn’t exist. According to the secular liberal tradition, the public square is supposed to be value-neutral. Any religious intrusion into political matters is to be discouraged. The secular left is especially fearful of mixing politics […] A Proposal for Episcopal Reform Jason Surmiller In many ways, the following is an attempt to respond to Pope Francis’s invitation to help reform the Church. Specifically, this short missive intends to shed light on a couple of the problems affecting the episcopacy and how we as the faithful can support our bishops’ ministry. I believe there is a strong case to […] Analysis: One year after McCarrick, what’s next for the Church? By Catholic News Agency on Jun 19, 2019 07:01 pm Washington D.C., Jun 19, 2019 / 04:20 pm (CNA).- Exactly one year after revelations about the sexual abuse of then-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick were made public, the Church in the U.S. remains in a state of [...] Read in browser » Whose republic? Which “liberalism”? By George Weigel on Jun 19, 2019 12:38 pm Extra credit question: Name the author of this admonition about the insecure cultural foundations and potentially perilous future of the American republic — “Seeds of dissolution were already present in the ancient heritage as it reached [...] Read in browser » A sorely needed theological justification of the truth of the Catholic faith By Eduardo Echeverria on Jun 19, 2019 12:13 am Cardinal Gerhard Müller’s book The Power of Truth: The Challenges to Catholic Doctrine and Morals Today consists of several essays on a variety of teachings that are currently in the limelight of the Church’s crisis—doctrinal, [...] Read in browser » Called out of the priesthood?
By Fr. Charles Fox on Jun 17, 2019 07:22 pm Father Jonathan Morris, a priest of the Archdiocese of New York and former member of the Legionaries of Christ, recently has attracted a great deal of attention by publicly announcing his decision to petition for [...] Read in browser » Wayfaring in America
by Brian A. Smith Americans take to the road because it turns out that Bruce Springsteen was on to something: democratic souls are born to run. Read More » What the Trinity Reveals About God and Us Regis Nicoll I once heard someone say that the most popular time for pastors to leave town is Trinity Sunday. How true that is, I don’t know. What I do know, is that during fifty plus years in the pews I have never heard a comprehensive sermon on the subject. I suspect my experience is not unique. […] Jihad against the Crucifix by Raymond Ibrahim
PJ Media June 6, 2019 https://www.meforum.org/58701/the-jihad-on-the-christian-cross The Un-Burkean Economic Policy of Edmund Burke
By Ralph Ancil on Jun 16, 2019 10:00 pm Edmund Burke allowed his fear of the French Revolution to cloud his judgment of a fitting response to the needs of agricultural workers. He was blind to the dangers of monopoly and concentration of economic power, to the possible ways of intervening that conform to the character of a market economy. “The mistakes which ... Read in browser » Sauron Comes to Middle England William Kilpatrick Tolkien, the new biopic about the master storyteller’s life, has come under criticism for giving the impression that Tolkien’s service in World War I was the decisive influence on his work. In fact, Tolkien was far more influenced by other factors—in particular by his love of mythology, and by his strong Catholic faith. Before her […] Art and the New Evangelization: How Beauty Will Save the World by Christopher West I’m sure each and every one of us can point to an experience in which we experienced a beauty that pierced us. Beauty has the ability to pierce the heart like nothing else, and if we are going to evangelize the modern world, we will need encounters with real beauty to do it. Evangelization, if it is true evangelization, is always an appeal to eros, because eros is the desire of the human heart for God—for Truth, for Goodness, for Beauty. It passes by way of finite things, but launches us to infinite things... [MORE] What Is Beauty and Why Do We Need It?
By John-Mark Miravalle on Jun 11, 2019 10:00 pm Beauty demands that we celebrate order with creativity, surprise, and freshness. We are meant to be startled by the goodness of reality, astonished by things working the way they’re supposed to, and delighted by the truth. Let us suppose there is such a thing as objective beauty. Suppose, along with the classical and Christian traditions, ... Read in browser » Beware the Pitfalls of Curial Reform Msgr. Hans Feichtinger A structural reform of the Roman Curia has been one of the goals of Pope Francis and a reason why he was elected pope. Even some in the Curia support the idea. The last two major reforms were made by Popes Paul VI and John Paul II, yet many think what they did no longer […] Correspondence confirms Benedict XVI placed restrictions on McCarrick in 2008
By CWR Staff on May 28, 2019 04:55 pm A priest who was ordained by then-archbishop Theodore McCarrick and who worked with the defrocked prelate for decades has published a report detailing correspondence that confirms that Pope Benedict XVI had placed restrictions on McCarrick’s [...] Read in browser » When Does Human Life Begin? Adam Kirsch This week’s ‘Daf Yomi’ Talmud study happens to pit contemporary abortion law against Jewish views of conception and viability in all animals. Read More The Democracy of the Unborn By Steven Kessler on May 24, 2019 10:00 pm Society has been reduced to those living in the present; but in being reduced, it has excluded the democracy of the dead and unborn. We, in the present, must fight for this most obscure of all classes. In the abortion debate, one of the pro-choice arguments is based on the idea of “personhood.” Personhood ... Read in browser » Every age needs prophets—whether or not they heed their cautions—because prophets stand out of and often against the current. Read More »
MEASURING THE INFLUENCE OF CONSERVATIVE AUTHORS & THE CONCEPT OF BEAUTY IN CATHOLIC THOUGHT5/19/2019 Measuring the Influence of Russell Kirk and Other Conservative Authors by Bradley J. Birzer By using Google’s Ngram Viewer, we find that Russell Kirk’s reputation hit its highpoint in 1964, and then began a painful decline that remained unabated until his death in 1994. What does Ngram tell us about other conservative authors, like Robert Nisbet, Leo Strauss, Eric Voegelin, and Christopher Dawson? Google Ngram is a blast, but it’s more indicative of what might be than what is. It forces us to ask certain questions that might not be asked in its absence, but it rarely yields promising and definitive answers... [MORE] What Is Beauty and Why Do We Need It? John-Mark L. Miravalle Suppose there is such a thing as objective beauty. Suppose, along with the classical and Christian traditions, that the human person is made for beauty. Now suppose further, that beauty is a kind of composite, that the beautiful is made up of two parts, one metaphysical and the other psychological. If such were the case, […] Gnosticism Still a Challenge to Christianity Fr. Tim McCauley Gnostic philosophy, like a noxious weed, thrives in the barren soil of our post-Christian culture. It also emits a foul odor akin to the smoke of Satan, filtering through the doors of the Church and influencing our anthropology, as well as severely compromising the integrity of our worship of Christ in the Eucharist. Catholicism is […] Cicero’s Republic: Implanted in the Nature of Man by Bradley J. Birzer In two of his last dialogues--On the Republic and On the Laws--Cicero offered some of his most Stoically-influenced thoughts on the nature of man, the community, and the divine. The best society, Cicero argues, cultivates us as free individuals, not for our benefit, but for the benefit of the community. Such is virtue. Virtue, according to Cicero, exists in every being, but few realize it or cultivate it. Yet, it is what makes men, men. It allows them to be free... [MORE] Russell Kirk’s Forgotten “Intelligent Citizen’s Guide to Conservatism”
By Bradley J. Birzer on Jun 09, 2019 10:00 pm Within a few months of its release in early May 1953, Russell Kirk’s dissertation-turned-massive-best-selling book, “The Conservative Mind,” became an international media sensation. But few know of his later work, “An Intelligent Citizen’s Guide to Conservatism.” It is a deeply profound book, exploring the very depths and widths of the human person. Editor’s Note: This ... Read in browser » The Liberal Sciences and the Lost Arts of Learning by Brent Orrell The thrust of the St. John’s program is that final knowledge, while it is held to exist and must be pursued, cannot be possessed. Read More » Armed With Steel by Glenn Arbery As this year's seniors take their last exams and prepare to walk across the stage on Saturday morning, I’m led to think about the effect of this whole unique education on them. How will it all come together—all the theology and philosophy, the literature and history, the Latin, music, and fine arts, the outdoor trips, the math and science? Of course, it is not simply a matter of knowledge but of habitus; and he who is armed with habitus is armed with steel... [MORE] HEATHER MAC DONALD
The College Bureaucracy That Never Shrinks Like most other prestigious universities, Georgetown is forever expanding its costly and corrosive diversity initiatives.
Genocide of Christians Reaches "Alarming Stage" by Raymond Ibrahim •
Female Genital Mutilation in the United States: Estimating the Number of Girls at Riskby Phyllis Chesler
Dignity: A Journal on Sexual Exploitation and Violence May 2019 https://www.meforum.org/58466/female-genital-mutilation-in-the-us Evangelization and Doctrine Are Inseparable David G. Bonagura Jr. We preach doctrine, and doctrine exists to be preached. If that sounds circular, then we understand correctly that doctrine and evangelization are two sides of the same coin. Recently announced plans for Pope Francis’s reform of the Roman Curia have produced euphoria among liberals and concern among conservatives that evangelization is being elevated over doctrine […] UNFINISHED BUSINESS By EPPC Fellow Stephen P. White
The Catholic Thing For ecclesiastical leaders to begin to regain the confidence of their flocks, they’re going to have to find ways to overcome the distrust of one another. Read More THUCYDIDES & THE US COMMERCIAL REPUBLIC: Peacock’s rediscovery of the lost Federalist is a much needed corrective to contemporary scholarship. Read More » The Medieval and Catholic Roots of American Democracy Andrew Latham Ask a typical college student today who “invented” American democracy and you’ll likely be told “the Founding Fathers, of course.” If you’re lucky, that typical student might then go on to tell you a bit more: that the historical roots of the American republic are to be found in the political traditions of early modern […] The French and American Revolutions Revisited By Nayeli Riano on May 15, 2019 09:59 pm Friedrich von Gentz It is often said that the American Revolution resonated across the pond and inspired the French to rebel and liberate their country in a similar, heroic fashion to that of their American allies. The nature of these two revolutions, however, ran divergent intellectual courses that made their causes, and ... Read in browser » How the Framers Embraced Conventional Rules and Avoided Substantive Intent by John O. McGinnis In the Bank debate, the consensus of the Framers coalesced against use the substantive intent of the Philadelphia convention. Read More » The Natural and the Foreign: Republics from Rome to America
By Bradley J. Birzer on May 31, 2019 10:00 pm According to Cicero, the Republic follows the paths of nature and god in all its activities. As such, the true statesman—like the gardener—knows when to plant, when to fertilize, when to water, when to weed, when to prune, and when to harvest. Yet there is still, to be certain, a season for everything. And, ... Read in browser » Analysis: Power, and its appearance, in Vatican curial reform By Catholic News Agency on May 08, 2019 08:13 pm Vatican City, May 8, 2019 / 05:35 pm (CNA).- In the coming months, Pope Francis is expected to approve a final draft of a new governing constitution for the Roman Curia. Evangelium praedicate, as it [...] Read in browser » Expert on marriage and family: The father-son bond is ‘civilization’s keystone’ By Piers Shepherd on May 08, 2019 04:47 pm The bond between father and son is the basis of a stable society. This was the thesis expounded by Dr. Patrick Fagan, an international expert on marriage and family, in an address given on May [...] Read in browser » A Practical Agenda for Catholics
By James Kalb on May 07, 2019 11:27 pm The Church has had a political role since Constantine. That is no surprise. Catholicism is primarily a doctrine and way of living for its adherents. But the Faith deals with basic realities that have public [...] Read in browser » Francis expresses gratitude for Jean Vanier’s “great witness” By CWR Staff on May 07, 2019 09:56 pm On the plane returning to the Vatican after his trip to Bulgaria and North Macedonia, Pope Francis expressed his gratitude for the “great witness” of Jean Vanier, who passed away on May 7 at the [...] Read in browser » |
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MISSIONGlobal Strike Media examines the shape and sources the challenge of modernity presents to Islam & Christendom. How their leaders conceived of solutions to socio-political,moral challenges of the 21st century. Archives
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