My new article in Ratio Juris: “Justificatory Liberalism and Same-Sex Marriage”

Last updated on: November 22, 2020 at 3:51 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

Earlier this week I was informed that my article, “Justificatory Liberalism and Same-Sex Marriage,” has just been published in the journal Ratio Juris: An International Journal of Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law 26.4 (December 2013): 487-509. Here is the abstract of the article: Supporters of Justificatory Liberalism (JL)—such as John Rawls and Gerard Gaus—typically maintain that the state may not coerce its citizens on matters of constitutional essentials unless it can provide public justification that the coerced citizens would be irrational in rejecting.... Read more

November 9 – My Late Grandmother’s 100th Birthday

Last updated on: November 22, 2020 at 3:51 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

Tomorrow, November 9, would have been the 100th birthday of my maternal grandmother, Frances Guido, who died in 2002. (To the right is a picture of her in the 1930s when she served as her niece’s sponsor for Confirmation. Below is a picture of my Grandmother and my sister, Lizzie, from the early 1980s, standing on the stoop of my Grandma’s Brooklyn home). In Return to Rome, I write about my Grandmother and the years I lived with her (1984-1987)... Read more

C. S. Lewis 50th Memorial Conference Week at Baylor: Nov. 18, 22-23

Last updated on: January 31, 2021 at 8:41 am By Francis J. Beckwith

Here’s the conference itinerary from its web page: C.S. Lewis may be best known for his literary works, The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Mere Christianity but the Irish-Born philosopher, English professor and prolific writer, held a deep and powerful belief in God that permeated his life’s work. Join noted scholars and researchers as they discuss aspects of Lewis’ work that reflect the many SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23: 5th Floor, Cashion Academic Center 9:30am Gather (on 5th floor Cashion Academic Center)... Read more

UK Telegraph: US ‘spied on future Pope Francis during Vatican conclave’

Last updated on: November 22, 2020 at 3:51 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

Read about it here. Wonder how many breaches of the confessional our government participated in? Read more

Malcolm & Alwyn: The World Needs Jesus

Last updated on: November 22, 2020 at 3:51 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

This song was released 40 years ago by my favorite Christian music duo, Malcolm & Alwyn. They influence of the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Simon & Garfunkel is all over their work. (I imagine that Pope Francis would love this song) Read more

Another Protestant Theologian on Reformation Day: Timothy George

Last updated on: November 22, 2020 at 3:51 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

Here is my latest entry in my week-long commemoration of Reformation Day (October 31). In an October 30, 2009 piece published in First Things, Timothy George offers a different Protestant perspective on Reformation Day than the one offered by Stanley Hauerwas, about which I blogged yesterday. A friend with whom I have participated in several public dialogues concerning Evangelicals and Catholics, George is the Dean of the Beeson Divinity School at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Here’s how his essay... Read more

Protestant Theologian Stanley Hauerwas on Reformation Sunday

Last updated on: November 22, 2020 at 3:51 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

Stanley Hauerwas in one of America’s truly great public intellectuals, and perhaps the most influential theologian alive today. The Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Studies at Duke Divinity School, Hauerwas is a Protestant. On Reformation Sunday 1995, he delivered a sermon that began in the following way: I must begin by telling you that I do not like to preach on Reformation Sunday. Actually I have to put it more strongly than that. I do not like Reformation Sunday,... Read more

Essays on the relationship between Evangelicals and Catholics

Last updated on: November 22, 2020 at 3:51 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

In this latest installment for the week of Reformation Day (October 31), what follows are links to a few articles of mine in which I discuss the relationship between Evangelicals and Catholics. “Evangelical Catholicism and Being an Ambassador for Christ.” The Catholic Thing (1 March 2013) “Evangelicals, Catholics, and the Ecumenism of Conviction.” The Catholic Thing (23 November 2012) “The Perils of Intra-Christian Apologetics.” The Catholic Thing (1 October 2010) ”Evangelical Catholicity.” The City (Summer 2009): 32-35. “Proclaiming Christ to Today’s Generation: What Catholics Can Learn From Evangelical... Read more

R.I.P. Lou Reed

Last updated on: November 22, 2020 at 3:51 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

Lou Reed, founding member of The Velvet Underground, has died. Although I did not always agree with Reed’s politics or views on religion, I was deeply moved by his art. As my friend, Rod Dreher, notes, “He was a broken man — he wrote and sang about very dark things, including drug addiction and prostitution — but out of that brokenness came beauty, at times, and even grace.” Other than Bob Dylan, Reed was about the only performer that I... Read more

Five doctrinal issues that divide Catholics and Protestants

Last updated on: November 22, 2020 at 3:51 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

In my second installment for the week of Reformation Day are links to five articles I published over at The Catholic Thing. Each deals with a doctrinal issue over which Catholics and Protestants disagree: Justification: “Was Aquinas a Proto-Protestant?” The Catholic Thing (09 December 2010) Sola Scriptura: “Revelation, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium.” The Catholic Thing (16 September 2011) The Eucharist: “Transubstantiation: From Stumbling Block to Cornerstone.” The Catholic Thing (21 January 2011) Penance: “In the Time of My Confession.” The Catholic Thing (04 February 2011) Apostolic Succession: “Apostolic Succession.” The Catholic Thing (04 March... Read more