Bye-Bye Hypatia Science Martyr?

Last updated on: March 16, 2014 at 1:04 pm By Artur Rosman

Continuing in a demythologizing vein I’d like to debunk the picture of Hypatia of Alexandria as a science martyr to Christian prejudices against science. Beware! The history of Late Antiquity is more Byzantine than you suspected. The Giordano Bruno episode we discussed here in connection with its garbled presentation in the new Cosmos TV series shows the complexity of the issues behind the relationship behind science and religion. What we get from our retelling of the episode is a picture of... Read more

Lies, Damned Lies, and Cartoons: Cosmos on Giordano Bruno

Last updated on: March 13, 2014 at 3:16 am By Artur Rosman

NEWSFLASH: The Giordano Bruno portion of “Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey” (click link to watch the full first episode) looks like it was researched on 4Chan. The notion that Bruno was a martyr for science or that he was an inventive dreamer ultimately useful to science is false. The show wants to enlist him for science while denying he was a scientist, although the way it presents his story makes Bruno look like a science martyr. I can’t figure out what... Read more

Lost in the Cosmos: Why Does Space Leave Us Cold?

Last updated on: March 12, 2014 at 7:13 am By Artur Rosman

Once in a while you run across a thread that nearly makes all those hours you waste on facebook somewhat almost worthwhile. A couple of days ago I spent some time belittling the Nova story about cosmology I found in my news feed (I felt bad about it later). My attitude grew out of how the nice PBS people went for the jugular in their posting of the story. The post led with, “Ready to have your mind blown? We... Read more

Augustine Rocha n' Rolls

Last updated on: March 11, 2014 at 10:12 am By Artur Rosman

Confession: I’m not here to talk about rock n’ roll… but Augustine still doesn’t even remotely seem like he’s someone who’d shack up with the blues, jazz, funk, and folk music. Sam Rocha begs to differ. Before I get to the meat: Has anyone written a song about the passage in the Confessions where Augustine talks about all newborns being murderous egotists (despite the potential shock to single hipsters, parents know this true) and the praying over the exposed hemorrhoids... Read more

Cross-Kremlin-Orthodoxy: Conservative (Non)Moments Near Catholiclandia

Last updated on: March 7, 2014 at 10:32 am By Artur Rosman

The rumors of Russia’s Conservative Moment remain rumors. The return of Holy Orthodox Russia is not a Putin miracle, because Orthodoxy isn’t rebounding, nor is it in a particularly strong position to face off against Western liberalism, because it suffers from many of the same diseases. How silly does Patrick Buchanan look these days after pining for Putin’s Paleo-Conservative moment as a cure all for everything that ails the West? Rod Dreher was much more realistic in talking about Russia’s demographic collapse,... Read more

Larry Chapp: Christianity is the Most Worldly Religion of All

Last updated on: March 4, 2014 at 6:47 am By Artur Rosman

Part II of Larry Chapp’s interview with me is now available here on Ethika Politika. A preview of what you can expect from Larry: “Only Christianity, therefore, can provide us with an ontology of Trinitarian love that properly grounds the world precisely as ‘world’ and grounds worldly difference and distinctions in the realm of real being giving them standing. Christianity thus preaches the resurrection of the flesh, and a new heavens and a new earth–not the reduction of all things at... Read more

I Don't Believe in an Interventionist God

Last updated on: February 28, 2014 at 11:37 am By Artur Rosman

The first part of Larry Chapp’s interview is up right here on Ethika Politika. May I tempt you with a brief excerpt? “Thus, in classical Catholic thinking, it is stated that God is the ‘primary cause’ (he is the source of being as such) and he has gifted creation with its own causative powers which we call ‘secondary causes.’ God is active in all secondary causes as their ground, but God is not some Divine tinker-toy maker in the sky... Read more

Understanding the Mechanics of the Incarnation? Larry Chapp Interview

Last updated on: February 27, 2014 at 11:34 am By Artur Rosman

Today brings you an excerpt from an interview I recently conducted with theologian Larry Chapp. Larry has been involved in dialogues between scientists and theologians for goodness knows how long. His book on that very topic, The God of Covenant and Creation, was featured in the very first Cosmos TOP10 list entitled “Top 10 Theology Books of the Last 10 Years (That I’ve Read).” Our conversation grows out of questions readers directed at me after my widely circulated science and... Read more

Quick Catholic Ch-Ch-Ch Changes: Pope Francis Does a Phil Jenkins

Last updated on: February 26, 2014 at 12:40 pm By Artur Rosman

It seems that the changes in the Catholic Church under Pope Francis are proving Philip Jenkins right. Jenkins is my favorite historian cum sociologist, sociologist cum political scientist, political scientist cum theologian. He is a convert from Catholicism to the Church of England, which makes him an interesting commentator about all things Catholic. He’s able to look at Catholic phenomena as both an insider and outsider, critically, but with a residue of affection. I suppose this is why he’s so... Read more

What Makes Literature Catholic?

Last updated on: January 17, 2015 at 12:09 am By Artur Rosman

One of the main problems with current debates about the state of Catholic literature is the lack of a consensus about what makes literature Catholic. Paul Elie sets up one set of criteria that can only presumably be met by the novel he’s now writing. Randy Boyagoda argues contemporary Catholic literature doesn’t interface with the experience of its readers, but he promises us a book that will do just that. Gregory Wolfe of IMAGE Journal makes an argument is more nuanced and... Read more