When I first saw the animated Disney film Beauty and the Beast, I knew that the girl singing must be one of the bad sisters in the story. After father lost his money they: . . . did not know how to spend their time; they got up at ten, and did nothing but saunter about the whole day, lamenting the loss of their fine clothes and acquaintance. “Do but see our youngest sister,” said they, one to the other,... Read more
Charles Murray was invited to speak at a college and his speech was shut down violently. This is dangerous in a Republic. A viewpoint bubble may already exist in mainstream campus life. This can be deadly to liberal arts education, but even worse for civil discussions. If you begin to think there are no good arguments for the “other side” or that everyone who disagrees is a conman, dupe, or idiot, you start making mistakes, begin losing arguments, and then resort to... Read more
God speaks. He is there and He is not silent, but hearing God is the Alpha of a process through the Logos until reaching the Omega; knowing Truth. We are sure before we know, but only when we know can our feelings be vindicated. There came a time when I was unsure what to do next with my life. I was sad, plain old sad, and discouraged and then I knew what to do. God was there: helping and giving me... Read more
Socratic discussion is my life’s work and I am going to dialog with a religious skeptic today. Of course, I dialog with religious skeptics most days, I am a teacher with all sorts of students. As a follower of Socrates, I am also skeptical myself, properly understood, about everything including my own religion! This is joyful, but not because the outcome is certain. I have met people who wanted to make Socratic dialog end up (for sure!) in Christian faith.... Read more
I have an idea: let’s see and understand. Oddly, people keep pretending they can begin with no assumptions and then reason their way to Truth. The desire to find the truth is highly commendable, but to find the truth, we have to begin by looking for it. We do not start from no place, but some place and this changes our search. It makes it harder, but since God exists and His creation is filled with regularity, the search is not impossible.... Read more
Just as Malory was ending, Machiavelli was beginning and that is as good a summary as any about the choices in politics. Where Malory ends, Machiavelli begins, but a stable body politic will have both. Too often we dismiss Malory as a mere dreamer of a golden age, of Arthur and Camelot, while Machiavelli is a man of the present, practicing real statesmanship in a broken world. The romantic fails to see his work in context and condemns the Italian... Read more
Sometimes a man wishes for great television and sometimes he just wants to enjoy some sound entertainment. The best of all cold cereals, Peanut Butter Crunch, is too good for daily use, it is for the Holidays. However, Life cereal combines just enough sugar and oat goodness to endure the breakfasts of February. Life is comfort cereal: sweet, but not too sweet. You can eat it with anything, but it does not taste too bland either. And this brings us... Read more
Faith is the voluntary response of our souls when God reveals Himself to our inner being. We know. It is intellectual, emotional, and physical! Of course, then (as Plato pointed) out, reason and experience can help us understand what God has shown us, but it is in the very nature of God, His goodness and truthfulness, that we place our hope. We have faith seeking understanding. This is the context of a very important prayer for Lent that my Mother... Read more
Charlotte Bronte was right: forgiveness is the mightiest sword. Forgiveness cuts away the hate and leaves us dead to evil and alive to God. We are starting Lent this week: a time to focus on our own sins and not on the sins of others. Christianity teaches us to love our enemies and to be forgiving. Forgiveness is (at least) letting go a desire for personal vengeance and letting go of hate. Let’s stick to those two hard tasks for a moment! Beware refusing... Read more
Change that comes too quickly can do more harm than good. Ask the Russians of 1917. Sadly, this general truth can be used by bad men to justify no change. Washington knew slavery must go, but he chased his runaways and lacked the moral courage to free his slaves in his lifetime. In an otherwise great man, this is a sickening sin. Why are we so hard on Southern American Christians and their sin of race based slavery? Over time, the... Read more
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