Austin Ruse just published an article over at Crisis. And I like it. I don’t mean that I agree with every word that it says, but rather that I think everyone who dislikes Ruse, or abominates Crisis as a magazine, should read it. Here’s why: There’s a difficulty that I see frequently in left-leaning Christian circles, which is a tendency to subtly excommunicate those on the right – especially reactionaries who seem to struggle a lot with contemporary social change.... Read more
It’s fun game time again. What if your life was a film by one of your favourite directors? Here are mine: Andrei Tarkovsky: Бессловесный (The Wordless One) A writer’s relationship with her autistic son leads her to reflect on three important men in her life: her father, her husband, and God. The climactic image is of my son Ulysses by the pool. The pool is half-drained, full of algae, with a rip in the lining. A fringe of overgrown wild... Read more
Yesterday, I got an e-mail containing a transcript of the testimony given by one of the facilitators of Journey Into Manhood. For those who don’t know all that much about the weird world of sexual orientation change therapies, JiM is a weekend retreat for gay men that is supposed to heal them of homosexuality. It’s been endorsed by prominent reparative therapists, including Joseph Nicolosi, and some Christians still recommend it as a resource for men with same-sex attractions. The transcript... Read more
Okay, so I finally got around to writing a more complete review of Atheos, the app that teaches you how to be a better atheist apologist. Basically, I think it’s an interesting project but ultimately the premium content disappoints: everything that’s good about it is available for free. Although I am a Catholic, the primary audience for this product is atheists, so I’m going to review it with that in mind. What’s good about this app is that it does... Read more
Over the next few days, I’m going to do a series discussing the recent New Atlantis article on sexual orientation and gender identity. Throughout the Christian world, this paper is being presented as scientific proof that everything traditional Christians have been saying for the past few decades about sexual orientation is true – and that, by extension, everything that is being said about gender identity is also true. We’re already aware that McHugh, one of the paper’s authors, is fast... Read more
There’s a lot of buzz today about a new “study” on sexuality and gender published by The New Atlantis. Actually, as Warren Throckmorton points out, the article is not a study at all – it’s a review of other studies that attempts to grapple with the data about sexual orientation and gender identity from a basically socially conservative perspective. Throckmorton links to another review from the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest, this one basically socially liberal, that examines... Read more
I’ve been thinking recently about political correctness, and specifically the way that many people seem to find it odious and irritating – so much so that Donald Trump’s hideously inappropriate comments seem to make him more, not less, popular with his core voters. The standard left-wing assumption is that basically white men have had the right to behave like insensitive boors for hundreds of years, and that they feel that they are being oppressed if they’re told they can’t be... Read more
So my big fun for today has been playing through the first level of an app called Atheos that is supposed to train atheist apologists in how to effectively challenge people on their faith-based beliefs. The structure of it is that you work your way through various “Caves,” and at each level you encounter more complex and sophisticated theists. Or at least that’s how I think it works. Only the first cave is available for free, and the theistic arguments... Read more
One of the things that I love about ancient philosophy is that it’s often embodied and concrete in ways that modern philosophy is not. Lucretius begins his treatise with a long hymn to Venus in which he praises fecundity in all of its forms. Epictetus answers particular questions put to him by human beings, and he has these wonderful incursions of the absolutely normal – like when one of his students wants to know whether it is in accord with... Read more
Eve Tushnet has been twisting my arm a bit to try to get me to write an NFP book. My basic concept is to write a book that answers the questions that people have that nobody is answering. So I’m inviting questions. If you have a question about NFP that you feel is not being adequately engaged, please leave it in the combox or if prefer privacy, drop me a line through my contact button. Cheers! Image credit: pixabay Stay... Read more
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