I think my dialogue with Sam is beginning to reach the point of diminishing returns, so here I will just assert some things, correct others, and so forth. There is nothing systematic here. That being said… What Is The Scientific Method?  Sam asks for clarification about the scientific method. It is true that most academic establishments dedicated to the “science” of education do not do science at all. Given that this is the circles I understand Sam to have been... Read more

  So, I owe Sam a response, after being sidetracked into other things. His latest post gets at our disagreement in an interesting way. I think it is as subtle as it is crucial. I think I’m a bit to blame for being fast and loose with the terminology. All right, first, yeah, Sam takes me to task for strawmanning him by taking him to imply that Montessori can be a bit of a cult. Fair enough. I took that... Read more

There’s been a panel discussion between Peter Thiel, N.T. Wright and Ross Douthat, as I relate in my other haunt at Forbes, organized by the Veritas Forum, a Christian organization. Readers here will probably be familiar with Wright, orthodox Christian theologian and one of the greatest Biblical scholars alive, and with Douthat, the conservative Catholic Times columnist. They might not be so familiar with Thiel. Thiel is one of the most prominent entrepreneurs and investors in Silicon Valley and, relevantly... Read more

  Over the Paschal Triduum this year, if you recall, I read all four Gospels straight through. I had read the Gospels more than once before of course, but never all four of them straight in quick succession. If you haven’t done it I really recommend it, because a bunch of things shine through that you hadn’t noticed before. (For example, the thunderingly recurring theme of damnation really gave a cold shower to my flirtation with Universalism.) One of the... Read more

My esteemed Patheos co-blogger and talented artist Sam Rocha may be one of the most important Catholic intellectuals today. Education is one of the principal missions of the Church, in the school and outside, and Sam and I agree (“This man is smart, he agrees with me!”) that the way the Church typically views education has been infected by Modern and secular ideas in ways that should not go unquestioned. It is high time for a renaissance of Catholic education,... Read more

(An old, but evergreen post from my old blog; reposting prompted in part by this excellent post by Calah Alexander on how modern beauty standards warp our perspective) L’Imparfaite is an erotic print magazine published by students at Sciences Po, the elite Parisian university. Since many friends are recent alumni, I’ve been able to lay my hands on a few copies and, by and large, it’s much what you would expect, a mostly-embarrassing display of hipster undergraduate pseudo-intellectualism. L’Imparfaite means “The Imperfect One” in the... Read more

I’m slowly starting to get used to the fact that Father’s Day is a day when I get celebrated too. In my family, we never gave much thought to either Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. But yesterday it hit me that, especially for the Catholic, Father’s Day is a fractal. First, like for everyone else, Father’s Day is an occasion to remember patrilineal relationships at several levels. My daughter and my wife fete me. I fete my Dad. And I... Read more

At the mountain of God, Horeb, Elijah came to a cave, where he took shelter. But the word of the LORD came to him, “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.” A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD— but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake— but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the... Read more

First draft, a work in progress, very silly… Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be in your heart. And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall speak of... Read more